many species of the freshwater pulmonate snail family lymnaeidae act as intermediate hosts in the transmission of digenean trematode larvae, including those of the causative agent of fasciolosis. based on this, current investigation was aimed to determine diversity and geographical distribution of lymnaeidae snails and role of biochemical indices in habitat of them in west azerbaijan province, ...

The effects of 2 benzoylphenylurea insect growth regulators, OMS 2017 and diflubenzuron, on 4th instar larvae of Aedes aegypti were investigated in the laboratory. Apart from delayed lethal action, possible effects on the reproductive potential were also studied. A baseline concentration of each compound causing 30% emergence inhibition was determined. At this concentration, OMS 2017 affected f...

In studies of insect cold-hardiness, the supercooling point (SCP) is defined as the temperature at which spontaneous nucleation of body fluids occurs. Despite having an SCP of -20 degrees C, adults of Drosophila melanogaster did not survive exposure to -5 degrees C, which suggests that cold shock causes lethal injury that is not associated with freezing. If, however, flies were chilled at 5 deg...

Semi-terrestrial brachyuran sesarmid crabs are the most diverse and important faunal components of mangrove forest temperate coastal communities worldwide. To establish a stable larval rearing method for understanding their developmental processes including molecular mechanisms molting metamorphosis, we examined effects diet on survival growth three crabs, Chiromantes haematocheir, Orisarma int...

Three major hypotheses have been advanced for the adaptive nature of plant galls: nutrition, enemyavoidance, and microenvironment. Of these, the microenvironment hypothesis has been frequently invoked, but rarely tested directly. We tested this hypothesis in a population of Andricus quercuscalifornicus (Bassett) (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae) wasps inducing galls on Quercus lobata Née (Fagaceae) tree...

Investigations on the biology of Phlebotomus papatasi were carried out under laboratory conditions at 28 +/- 2 degrees C and 80 +/- 1% RH. Fecundity of the female varied between 61 and 48 (mean 56.2 +/- 5.46) and the incubation period of eggs ranged from 7-9 (mean 7.81 +/- 0.61) days. The developmental duration of larvae and pupae varied from 24 to 31 (mean 28.57 +/- 2.71) and 9 to 11 (mean 10....

It has long been assumed that the resistant eggs of many zooplankton are able to survive passage through the gut of migratory waterbirds, thus facilitating their dispersal between isolated aquatic habitats. We present the first evidence that such passive internal transport within birds may be relevant for insect populations. In three out of six faecal samples from black-tailed Godwits on autumn...