The optimal culture conditions of exopolysaccharides (EPS) production in submerged culture medium by Xylaria nigripes were determined using orthogonal matrix method. The optimal medium (per liter) EPS was 60.0 g L maltose, 1.0 g L peptone, 5 mmol L KH2PO4, and initial pH 7.0 at 28 C. In the optimal culture medium, the maximum EPS production was 11.967 g L in shake flask. Two groups of EPSs (des...

Local outbreak risk for the southern pine beetle, Dendroctonus frontalis Zimmermann (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is forecast with a trapping survey conducted every spring throughout the southeastern United States. Traps baited with pine odors and components of the D. frontalis aggregation pheromone are used to obtain abundance estimates of both this species and its clerid predator Thanasimus du...

Oxyopomyrmex André, 1881 is a small genus of myrmicine ants found in arid grasslands of the Mediterranean region. Here we provide a new taxonomic revision of the genus. Twelve species are recognized, including five new to science: O. laevibus sp. nov. (Greece: Crete), O. magnus sp. nov. (Spain), O. negevensis sp. nov. (Israel) O. polybotesi sp. nov. (Greece: Nisyros, W Turkey) and O. pygmalioni...

The study of parasite body size is an important approach to understand the different patterns of helminth community structure, once it is usually analysed using only numerical descriptors which do not capture size heterogeneity among parasite species. In the present study, we compared the pattern in the helminth community of three sympatric wild rodent species Akodon cursor, A. montensis and Ol...

the functional response of aphidius ervi to different sitobion avenae densities on two wheat cultivars (sardary and alvand) was examined in laboratory conditions. experiments were carried out in test tubes on an f2 lab generation without wheat clusters and also on f2 and f5 generations in pots using wheat clusters. in the tubes, female wasps were exposed to aphid densities of 2, 4, 7, 14, 28, 3...