Report of new invasive scale insects (Hemiptera: Coccoidea), Crypticerya multicicatrices Kondo and Unruh (Monophlebidae) and Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Green) (Pseudococcidae), on the islands of San Andres and Providencia, Colombia, with an updated taxonomic key to iceryine scale insects of South America

The multicicatrices fluted scale, Crypticerya multicicatrices Kondo and Unruh (Hemiptera: Coccoidea: Monophlebidae) is reported from the islands of San Andres and Providencia, Colombia, as a recent invasive species. This scale insect is polyphagous, and attacks numerous plants of economic importance such as avocado, breadfruit, mango, papaya and tropical ornamental plants. A compiled list of 95 host plant species of C. multicicatrices is given. A diagnosis of the adult female of C. multicicatrices and a revised taxonomic key to the species of the tribe Iceryini (Hemiptera: Monophlebidae) known from South America is provided. The pink hibiscus mealybug, Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Green) (Hemiptera: Coccoidea: Pseudococcidae), also is reported for the first time from the island of San Andres, where it is found commonly on Hibiscus spp. and Malvaviscus arboreus Cav. The need for the implementation of a classical biological control program in the archipelago in order to control invasive scale insect pests is discussed.Se reporta la cochinilla acanalada Crypticerya multicicatrices Kondo and Unruh (Hemiptera: Coccoidea: Monophlebidae) en la Isla de San Andrés, Colombia, como una reciente especie invasora. Este insecto escama es polífago y ataca numerosas plantas de importancia económica como el aguacate, árbol del pan, coco, mango, papaya y plantas tropicales ornamentales. Se provee una lista de 95 plantas hospederas de C. multicicatrices. Se provee una diagnosis de la hembra adulta de C. multicicatrices y se incluye una clave taxonómica revisada para las especies actualmente incluidas en la tribu Iceryini (Hemiptera: Monophlebidae) de Sur América. Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Green) (Hemiptera: Coccoidea: Pseudococcidae) también se reporta por primera vez para la isla de San Andrés, donde se encuentra comúnmente sobre Hibiscus spp. y Malvaviscus arboreus Cav. Se discute la necesidad de implementar un programa de control biológico clásico en el archipiélago para el control de insectos escama plagas invasores

Obituary: Helen May Brookes (3.11.1917-1.1.2008)

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Species richness and host-plant diversity are positively correlated in Coccidae

Οι αλληλεπιδράσεις φυτοφάγων εντόμων και των φυτών ξενιστών τους είναι από τις πιο βασι- κές βιολογικές σχέσεις. Αν και υπάρχουν πολλά δεδομένα για τις σχέσεις κοκκοειδών εντόμων με τους ξενιστές τους, εντούτοις δεν έχουν γίνει πολλές προσπάθειες να δημιουργηθεί μια σύνθεση αυτών των πληροφοριών. Στην παρούσα εργασία εξετάζουμε τις σχέσεις φυτών ξενι- στών με είδη της οικογένειας Coccidae που είναι η τρίτη σε αφθονία ειδών στην υπεροικογέ- νεια Coccoidea. Συγκρίναμε δεδομένα σχέσεων φυτών ξενιστών με είδη της παραπάνω οικο- γένειας που ήταν διαθέσιμα από ηλεκτρονικές βάσεις δεδομένων όπως το ScaleNet και από τη βιβλιογραφία και εκτιμήσαμε την αφθονία ειδών σε επίπεδο οικογένειας φυτών ξενιστών. Πα- ρόμοια με άλλες ομάδες εντόμων τα είδη της οικογένειας Coccidae παρουσιάζουν υψηλή εξει- δίκευση ως προς τον ξενιστή τους, με το 64% των ειδών να απαντώνται σε μία μόνο οικογέ- νεια φυτών. Παρατηρήθηκε μια θετική συσχέτιση μεταξύ αφθονίας ειδών ανά οικογένεια φυ- τών αγγειοσπέρμων και αφθονία ειδών της οικογένειας Coccidae (P < 0.0001). Ωστόσο, η πα- ρουσία αρκετών εξαιρέσεων (Orchidaceae και Asteraceae ειδικότερα) μας κάνει να πιστεύουμε ότι οι σχέσεις φυτών ξενιστών και ειδών της οικογένειας Coccidae είναι πιο περίπλοκη από ότι έδειξε η ανάλυση συσχέτισης.The interactions between insect herbivores and their hosts are among the most fundamental biological associations. Although there are many data available on the host associations of scale insects, there have been few attempts to synthesize the available information. Here we examine host associations of Coccidae, the third most species-rich family of scale insects. We compare host-plant data for most species of coccids that were available from online databases, especially ScaleNet, and the literature, with species richness estimates for host-plant families. Similar to most insect groups, coccids showed high host specialization with about 64% of species recorded from only a single plant family. Analysis of the relationship between species richness of host-plant families and the number of species of coccids recorded on these plants showed a significant positive correlation between host-plant species richness per angiosperm plant family and coccid species richness (P < 0.0001). This is expected under a null model in which host use is randomly distributed across families according to plant species richness of the families. However, the presence of several exceptions (Orchidaceae and Asteraceae in particular) warns that host associations in coccids might be more complex than the correlation analysis suggests

Wireless Stimulation of Antennal Muscles in Freely Flying Hawkmoths Leads to Flight Path Changes

Insect antennae are sensory organs involved in a variety of behaviors, sensing many different stimulus modalities. As mechanosensors, they are crucial for flight control in the hawkmoth Manduca sexta. One of their roles is to mediate compensatory reflexes of the abdomen in response to rotations of the body in the pitch axis. Abdominal motions, in turn, are a component of the steering mechanism for flying insects. Using a radio controlled, programmable, miniature stimulator, we show that ultra-low-current electrical stimulation of antennal muscles in freely-flying hawkmoths leads to repeatable, transient changes in the animals' pitch angle, as well as less predictable changes in flight speed and flight altitude. We postulate that by deflecting the antennae we indirectly stimulate mechanoreceptors at the base, which drive compensatory reflexes leading to changes in pitch attitude.United States. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agenc

Anti-cancer effects and mechanism of actions of aspirin analogues in the treatment of glioma cancer

INTRODUCTION: In the past 25 years only modest advancements in glioma treatment have been made, with patient prognosis and median survival time following diagnosis only increasing from 3 to 7 months. A substantial body of clinical and preclinical evidence has suggested a role for aspirin in the treatment of cancer with multiple mechanisms of action proposed including COX 2 inhibition, down regulation of EGFR expression, and NF-κB signaling affecting Bcl-2 expression. However, with serious side effects such as stroke and gastrointestinal bleeding, aspirin analogues with improved potency and side effect profiles are being developed. METHOD: Effects on cell viability following 24 hr incubation of four aspirin derivatives (PN508, 517, 526 and 529) were compared to cisplatin, aspirin and di-aspirin in four glioma cell lines (U87 MG, SVG P12, GOS – 3, and 1321N1), using the PrestoBlue assay, establishing IC50 and examining the time course of drug effects. RESULTS: All compounds were found to decrease cell viability in a concentration and time dependant manner. Significantly, the analogue PN517 (IC50 2mM) showed approximately a twofold increase in potency when compared to aspirin (3.7mM) and cisplatin (4.3mM) in U87 cells, with similar increased potency in SVG P12 cells. Other analogues demonstrated similar potency to aspirin and cisplatin. CONCLUSION: These results support the further development and characterization of novel NSAID derivatives for the treatment of glioma

Phylogenetic congruence of mealybugs and their primary endosymbionts

Tight interactions between unrelated organisms such as is seen in plant–insect, host–parasite, or host–symbiont associations may lead to speciation of the smaller partners when their hosts speciate. Totally congruent phylogenies of interacting taxa have not been observed often but a number of studies have provided evidence that various hemipteran insect taxa and their primary bacterial endosymbionts share phylogenetic histories. Like other hemipterans, mealybugs (Pseudococcidae) harbour multiple intracellular bacterial symbionts, which are thought to be strictly vertically inherited, implying codivergence of hosts and symbionts. Here, robust estimates of phylogeny were generated from four fragments of three nuclear genes for mealybugs of the subfamily Pseudococcinae, and a substantial fragment of the 16S–23S rDNA of their P-endosymbionts. Phylogenetic congruence was highly significant, with 75% of nodes on the two trees identical, and significant correlation of branch lengths indicated coincident timing of cladogenesis. It is suggested that the low level of observed incongruence was influenced by uncertainty in phylogenetic estimation, but evolutionary outcomes other than congruence, including host shifts, could not be rejected

Comparative gene expression profiling of ADAMs, MMPs, TIMPs, EMMPRIN, EGF-R and VEGFA in low grade meningioma

MMPs (matrix metalloproteinases), ADAMs (a disintegrin and metalloproteinase) and TIMPs (tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases) are implicated in invasion and angiogenesis: both are tissue remodeling processes involving regulated proteolysis of the extracellular matrix, growth factors and their receptors. The expression of these three groups and their correlations with clinical behaviour has been reported in gliomas but a similar comprehensive study in meningiomas is lacking. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the patterns of expression of 23 MMPs, 4 TIMPs, 8 ADAMs, selective growth factors and their receptors in 17 benign meningiomas using a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Results indicated very high gene expression of 13 proteases, inhibitors and growth factors studied: MMP2 and MMP14, TIMP-1, -2 and -3, ADAM9, 10, 12, 15 and 17, EGF-R, EMMPRIN and VEGF-A, in almost every meningioma. Expression pattern analysis showed several positive correlations between MMPs, ADAMs, TIMPs and growth factors. Furthermore, our findings suggest that expression of MMP14, ADAM9, 10, 12, 15 and 17, TIMP-2, EGF-R and EMMPRIN reflects histological subtype of meningioma such that fibroblastic subtype had the highest mRNA expression, transitional subtype was intermediate and meningothelial type had the lowest expression. In conclusion, this is the first comprehensive study characterizing gene expression of ADAMs in meningiomas. These neoplasms, although by histological definition benign, have invasive potential. Taken together, the selected elevated gene expression pattern may serve to identify targets for therapeutic intervention or indicators of biological progression and recurrence