The causes and consequences of flower constancy have been the focus of many studies, but almost all have examined the foraging behavior of bumblebees, honeybees, or butterflies. We test whether constancy occurs in an overlooked group of pollinators, the syrphid flies. Foraging sequences of wild flies of two species, Episyrphus balteatus and Syrphus ribesii, were examined when visiting flowers i...

Abstract Conservation biological control could be an alternative to insecticides for the management of aphid Myzus persicae (Sulzer). To develop sustainable strategies M. in peach orchards Mediterranean, a 2-yr field experiment was conducted identify key predators aphid; determine whether proximity insectary plants boost natural enemies comparison resident vegetation; and selected enhance enemy...

Encouraging natural enemies by growing attractive plants is considered an effective method of pest control in organic farming. However, it is important to identify which flowers best attract beneficial insects. In this study, relative attractiveness of 16 species of flowering plants to adult hoverflies was assessed by conducting timed observations of feeding-visit frequencies. The experiments w...

Axis specification and segment determination in dipteran insects are an excellent model system for comparative analyses of gene network evolution. Antero-posterior polarity of the embryo is established through systems of maternal morphogen gradients. In Drosophila melanogaster, the anterior system acts through opposing gradients of Bicoid (Bcd) and Caudal (Cad), while the posterior system invol...

The ability of hoverflies to control their head orientation with respect to their body contributes importantly to their agility and their autonomous navigation abilities. Many tasks performed by this insect during flight, especially while hovering, involve a head stabilization reflex. This reflex, which is mediated by multisensory channels, prevents the visual processing from being disturbed by...

Absract The diversity and community structure of arthropods in the primitive tobacco ecosystem in the South of Anhui province, China was studied. The investigations were undertaken from April to August 2012. The comparisons were undertaken using a combination of community assessment approaches, including morphospecies richness, the Shannon-Weaver diversity index, H', the Simpson dominance index...