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Plants can respond to insects that feed with stylet mouthparts using various processes that are initiated via the salicylic acid metabolic pathway. In Australia, scale insects of the genus Parthenolecanium can cause economic damage to grapevines as they feed on the vines and produce honeydew as a waste by-product, which supports the growth of black sooty mould on fruit and leaves, potentially affecting the plant growth and yield. Using rootlings of Sauvignon Blanc (SB, resistant) and Chardonnay (Char, susceptible), the growth and production of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) following exposure to scale insect infestations were measured under controlled greenhouse conditions. At harvest, the numbers of scale insects per five leaves were higher on plants infested at the start of the study compared with the control plants. Infested SB had increased dry root and shoot mass compared with the SB control, which was also the case with Char (control and infested). Leaf volatiles differed between cultivars in response to scale infestation. Benzyl alcohol decreased among infested SB plants compared with the other treatments. A change in the salicylic acid pathway as indicated by the change in benzyl alcohol may cause the increased growth in SB associated with the increased scale insect infestation.

We describe a pair of labial gland lobes on either side of the retrocerebral complex in the head of the Australian black field cricket, Teleogryllus commodus Walker. As the retrocerebral complex includes the corpora cardiaca and corpora allata, hormones secreted by these glands can be absorbed by these lobes. These lobes of the labial gland are connected to the thoracic lobes via a relatively long duct that enters the main duct draining the thoracic lobes. Measurement of the flow rate of dye from head to thorax in the ducts is rapid, suggesting that these glands may serve as a transport system into the thoracic region. Both serotonin and adipokinetic hormone are shown to be present in the lobes near the retrocerebral complex and the ducts of the thoracic lobes, but whether this connection between the head and thorax acts as a hormone transporter is still unclear., Graphical Abstract Graphical AbstractIn the black field cricket (Teleogryllus commodus), one pair of salivary lobes are located on either side of the corpora cardiaca and corpora allata, connected to the thoracic salivary glands by a long narrow duct. We suggest that this might be one way of transferring hormones from the retrocerebral complex directly into the thoracic region.

Phosphine is used for fumigating stored commodities, however an understanding of the physiological response to phosphine in insects is limited. Here we show how the central pattern generator for ventilation in the central nervous system (CNS) responds to phosphine and influences normal resting gas exchange. Using the American cockroach, Periplaneta americana, that perform discontinuous gas exchange (DGE) at rest, we simultaneously measure ventilatory nervous output from the intact CNS, VCO(2) and water loss from live specimens. Exposure to 800 ppm phosphine at 25 degrees C for 2 h (n=13) during recording did not cause any mortality or obvious sub-lethal effects. Within 60 s of introducing phosphine into the air flow, all animals showed a distinct CNS response accompanied by a burst release of CO(2). The initial ventilatory response to phosphine displaced DGE and was typically followed by low, stable and continuous CO(2) output. CNS output was highest and most orderly under normoxic conditions during DGE. Phosphine caused a series of ventilatory CNS spikes preceding almost complete cessation of CNS output. Minimal CNS output was maintained during the 2 h normoxic recovery period and DGE was not reinstated. VCO(2) was slightly reduced and water loss significantly lower during the recovery period compared with those rates prior to phosphine exposure. A phosphine narcosis effect is rejected based on animals remaining alert at all times during exposure.

Theoretical studies of the H2O·O2 complex have been carried out over the past decade, but the complex has not previously been experimentally identified. We have assigned IR vibrations from an H2O·O2 complex in an inert rare gas matrix. This identification is based upon theoretical calculations and concentration dependent behavior of absorption bands observed upon codeposition of H2O and O2 in argon matrixes at 11.5 ± 0.5 K. To aid assignment, we have used a harmonically coupled anharmonic oscillator local mode model with an ab initio calculated dipole moment function to calculate the OH-stretching and HOH-bending frequencies and intensities in the complex. The high abundance of H2O and O2 makes the H2O·O2 complex likely to be significant in atmospheric and astrophysical chemistry.

In response to Natarajan and Allen's article, there is absolutely no need to pay £300, or anything like it, for good software to produce web pages.1 A book on HTML (or any of the many tutorials on the web) and a text editor are much better value for …

Studies of water loss during metamorphosis of insects have usually been confined to the pupal stage where both cuticular and respiratory control of transpiration have been reported. In Manduca sexta and other lepidopterans, preparation for pupation actually begins several days before pupation when the animals stop feeding and begin searching for an appropriate pupation site, a burrow for M. sexta. This study examines some aspects of water balance maintenance from the initial period of searching to the final time of eclosion. Behavior is important for reducing water loss, as animals which fail to find an appropriate pupation site continue to lose water at twice the rate of animals which are burrowed (10 vs. 5 mg H2O/g·h). Part of this is explained by exposure to light as unburrowed animals in constant dark are intermediate in water loss. The epicuticle during the pupal stage reduces water loss rate eight to tenfold, removal causing animals to lose water at 4 mg (g·h)−1. M. sexta does appear to be capable of storing water in preparation for metamorphosis, since individually raised animals consistently have water contents higher than animals reared in large groups. A drop in water loss during the larva-pupal development is correlated with increased hemolymph ecdysone titer, although how is unknown. Pupal water loss can be divided into cuticular and respiratory pathways, with cuticular loss accounting for two-thirds of 0.7 mg H2O (g·h)−1 loss rate. Finally, an increase in hemolymph osmotic pressure just prior to ecdysis may aid in reclamation of molting fluid.

A number of N,N-dialkyl-3-phenylpropyn-2-amines 7 have been prepared and tested for their biological action. Certain analogues show tryptamine-like behavior effects in mice. The tryptamine-like activity of these compounds appears to be controlled by their lipophilicity. These compounds show only weak inhibition of rat liver monoamine oxidase. Although these compounds exhibit tryptamine-like action, experiments seem to indicate that there is no interaction with the tryptamine receptors.

The velocity of the retrograde transport of optically detectable particles was studied in isolated myelinated axons from Xenopus laevis at room temperature and with varying temperature. At room temperature (22–23.1 °C) the mean particle velocity was significantly different in some axons of the same animal. Results pooled from a number of axons did not indicate any significant difference in the average particle velocity in different animals. At room temperature, even though the mean particle velocity might differ between axons, the coefficient of variation of particle velocity in separate fibers tended to remain constant.The temperature dependence of mean particle velocity (V) could be adequately described by the relationship V = 0.26 exp 0.073T – 0.33, where V is in micrometres per second and T is degrees Celsius. Throughout the temperature range at which transport took place (approximately 5–35 °C) the coefficient of variation of particle velocity remained approximately constant at 0.40. All particles ceased their motion abruptly, and to some extent reversibly, at 37 °C. On morphological evidence, none of the effects of temperature appeared to be related to microtubule depolymerization.The results indicate that retrogradely transported particles with a wide range of velocities respond homogeneously to temperature changes. This supports the view that a common mechanism may underlie the motion of all the particles. No evidence was obtained that the differences between axons at room temperature could be attributed to the presence in separate axons of dissimilar proportions of faster and slower particles. Nor was the velocity–temperature characteristic in the region of room temperature sufficiently steep to explain the differences between axons. It is suggested that axons may differ in general mechanical or chemical properties so that the motion of all particles is affected uniformly.