Controlling microbial growth in artificial diets is a key component in the rearing of laboratory insects. In this study an antimicrobial agent, Diet Antimicrobial Agent (DAA), was tested for its ability to suppress microbial growth on a range of different diets, and for its effect on larval and pupal performance of individuals from two different strains of Heliothis virescens Fabricus (Lepidopt...

The refuge strategy is used widely for delaying evolution of insect resistance to transgenic crops that produce Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxins. Farmers grow refuges of host plants that do not produce Bt toxins to promote survival of susceptible pests. Many modelling studies predict that refuges will delay resistance longest if alleles conferring resistance are rare, most resistant adults ma...

Based on morphological and molecular data we investigated the species boundaries in genus Ochraethes Chevrolat, 1860. The delimitation with cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) supports some synonymies highlights existence of a high phenotypic plasticity species. following are considered as new junior synonyms: O. virescens (Chevrolat, 1860) syn. nov. brevicornis 1860), octomaculata Chemsak &am...

ScathL is a cathepsin L-like cysteine protease derived from the flesh fly Sarcophaga peregrina that functions in basement membrane (BM) remodeling during insect development. A recombinant baculovirus expressing ScathL (AcMLF9.ScathL) kills larvae of the tobacco budworm, Heliothis virescens, significantly faster than the wild-type virus. Here, we show that the occurrence of larval melanization p...

The development of pest resistance to transgenic crop plants producing insecticidal toxins from Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner (Bt) poses a major threat to their sustainable use in agriculture. "Pyramiding" two toxins with different modes of actions in the same plant is now being used to delay the evolution of resistance in the insects, but this strategy could fail if a single gene in a pest c...

In the olfactory pathway of Drosophila, a GABAB receptor mediated presynaptic gain control mechanism at the first synapse between olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) and projection neurons has been suggested to play a critical role in setting the sensitivity and detection range of the sensory system. To approach the question if such a mechanism may be realized in the pheromone recognition system o...

Discrimination between edible and noxious food, crucial for animal survival, is based on separate gustatory receptors for phagostimulants and deterrents. In the moth Heliothis virescens, gustatory receptor neurons (GRNs) tuned to phagostimulants like sucrose and deterrents like quinine, respectively, have indicated a labeled line mechanism for mediating appetitive and aversive information to th...

A taxonomic treatment of the genera included in Catapyrenium s. lat. in the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands is provided, based on study of c. 2000 specimens from both herbaria and fresh material collected by the authors from 2005 to 2009 in numerous localities. A total of 33 species belonging to six of the eight genera included in Catapyrenium s. lat. are present in the region, which...