A new formula for insect rearing artificial diets without using any of their conventional gelling agents was provided in the present work, for the first time. Larvae of the Egyptian cotton leafworm, Spodoptera littoralis (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) were successfully mass-reared, for nine consecutive generations on an agar-free artificial diet. This suggested medium is based on yellow lentils, Lens...

BACKGROUND Glehnia littoralis, as a traditional herbal medicine to heal various health ailments in East Asia, displays various therapeutic properties including antioxidant effects. However, neuroprotective effects of G. littoralis against cerebral ischemic insults have not yet been addressed. Therefore, in this study, we first examined its neuroprotective effects in the hippocampus using a gerb...

Plants activate direct and indirect defences in response to insect egg deposition. However, whether eggs can manipulate plant defence is unknown. In Arabidopsis thaliana, oviposition by the butterfly Pieris brassicae triggers cellular and molecular changes that are similar to the changes caused by biotrophic pathogens. In the present study, we found that the plant defence signal salicylic acid ...

We evaluated the responses of three generalist herbivores (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) to the most abundant coumarin in young leaves of spurge-laurel, Daphne laureola L. (Thymelaeaceae), a perennial shrub consistently fed upon by several noctuid species. Pseudenargia ulicis Staud and Noctua janthe Borkhausen are natural herbivores of the species in southeastern Spain, whereas Spodoptera littoralis ...

The multicapsid nucleopolyhedroviruses (NPVs) of Spodoptera exigua (SeMNPV), Spodoptera frugiperda (SfMNPV), and Spodoptera littoralis (SpliNPV) are genetically similar (78 % similarity) but differ in their degree of host specificity. Infection by each of the three NPVs in these three Spodoptera host species was determined by oral inoculation of larvae with occlusion bodies (OBs) or intrahaemoc...

Although genetically modified (GM) plants expressing toxins from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) protect agricultural crops against lepidopteran and coleopteran pests, field-evolved resistance to Bt toxins has been reported for populations of several lepidopteran species. Moreover, some important agricultural pests, like phloem-feeding insects, are not susceptible to Bt crops. Complementary pest co...

The Hymenocallis littoralis, an ornamental and medicinal plant, had been traditionally used for wound healing. In the present study, an analytical method using HPLC with ultraviolet detection was developed for the quantification of lycorine in the extracts of different parts of wild plant and tissue culture samples of H. littoralis. The separation was achieved using a reversed-phase column. The...

The tiger beetle assemblage of the wetlands of La Mancha (central Spain) comprises nine species: Calomera littoralis littoralis, Cephalota maura maura, Cephalota circumdata imperialis, Cephalota dulcinea, Cicindela campestris campestris, Cicindela maroccana, Cylindera paludosa, Lophyra flexuosa flexuosa, and Myriochila melancholica melancholica. This assemblage represents the largest concentrat...

Aquaporins (AQPs) are integral membrane proteins that can transport water and small molecules across cell membranes in organisms. In a previous report, we identified an AQP (SlAQP1) gene of the cotton leafworm, Spodoptera littoralis. current study, identify characterize two more SlAQP genes their developmental tissues expression. Predicted amino acid sequence phylogenetic analysis revealed SlAQ...

The most challenging tasks for phytophagous insects are the location and selection of mates, food sources, and oviposition sites, all crucial for survival and reproduction. To perform these tasks insects rely largely on their sense of smell (olfaction). I address how the insect olfactory system discriminates between components of complex odor mixtures, modulating behavior and fitness. I have st...