Large-scale monitoring programmes often make inferences about insect abundance based on count data collected using some probability-based sampling technique. Unfortunately, it is rather difficult to obtain reliable estimates of insect abundance from count data unless the scale is very fine or localized. A major issue, that has to be explicitly addressed when estimating insect abundance, is the ...

Recent work has shown a potential role for both host plant genotype and spatial context in structuring insect communities. In this study, we use three separate data sets on herbivorous insects on oak (Quercus robur) to estimate the relative effects of host plant genotype (G), location (E), and the G x E interaction on herbivore community structure: a common garden experiment replicated at the l...

Beech bark disease (BBD) results in high levels of initial mortality, leaving behind survivor trees that are greatly weakened and deformed. The disease is initiated by feeding activities of the invasive beech scale insect, Cryptococcus fagisuga, which creates entry points for infection by one of the Neonectria species of fungus. Without scale infestation, there is little opportunity for fungal ...

Objective(s) Lipocalin 2 (Lcn2) is a 25-kDa glycoprotein that has initially been extracted from neutrophil granules. Expression of Lcn2 is induced under various pathophysiological conditions. It is also known as an early marker of kidney and heart injury. High-level expression of recombinant Lcn2 neutrophil gelatinase-associated(NGAL) in insect cells was the aim of this study. Materials and M...