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Amber contains numerous well-preserved adult aquatic insects (e.g., aquatic beetles — Coleoptera, water bugs — Heteroptera, dragonflies — Odonata, caddisflies — Trichoptera, mayflies — Ephemeroptera, stone flies — Plecoptera). Since amber is fossilised resin of terrestrial conifer trees, it is an enigma how aquatic insects have ended up in the resin. Based on field studies in a Hungarian forest along a freshwater creek we suggest that tree resin traps water-seeking flying polarotactic aquatic insects because of its property to polarise reflected light. The sticky tree resin was modelled by a water-proof, transparent, colourless insect-monitoring glue laid on vertical and horizontal fallen tree trunks next to the creek. Adults of various polarotactic aquatic insect species were trapped only by the horizontal sticky trunk. In earlier field experiments we showed that these insects find water by means of the horizontal polarisation of water-reflected light, and therefore are attracted to and land on all surfaces which reflect horizontally polarised light. Using imaging polarimetry, we revealed the criterion of polarisation-based trapping by resiny tree trunks. According to our observations, flying aquatic insects can be trapped by sticky (resiny) regions of fallen tree trunks that reflect horizontally polarised light and thus attract polarotactic species. The resin continues to flow out of the trees even when fallen over or fractured in a storm. Our findings support and complement an earlier hypothesis, according to which amber-preserved adult aquatic insects have been trapped by resiny bark when they dispersed over land.

Suicide data for this study were available for the period of March 1988 to June 2011, and involved 2111 male and 494 female victims from the Finnish province of Oulu. Data for lunar phases during that period were categorised into three groups: new moon (75% visible) and other times with values in between. Seasonal effects were controlled with definitions for winter (Nov, Dec, Jan), spring (Feb, Mar, Apr), summer (May, June, July), and autumn (Aug, Sep, Oct). Suicide occurrences during different lunar phases were compared with their expected distribution using multinomial tests with all tests being two-tailed. Statistical significance was set at p

Edible insects have been considered as either nutritious food itemsper se, or as wholesome ingredients to various dishes and components of traditional subsistence. Protein, fat, mineral and vitamin contents in insects generally satisfy the requirements of healthy food, although there is considerable variation associated with insect species, collection site, processing method, insect life stage, rearing technology and insect feed. A comparison of available data(based on dry weight) showed that processing can improve the nutrient content, taste, flavour, appearance and palatability of insects, but that there are additional factors, which can impact the content and composition of insect species that have been recommended for consumption by humans. This review focuses on factors that have received little attention in connection with the task to improve acceptability or choice of edible insects and suggests ways to guarantee food security in countries where deficiencies in protein and minerals are an acute and perpetual problem. This review is meant to assist the food industry to select the most suitable species as well as processing methods for insect-based food products.

Aging Antarctic icefish is difficult because of their lack of scales and poorly calcified bones. Icefish ages must therefore be estimated from otoliths. We describe a method of reading daily micro-increments in connection with shape, size and mass analyses of the otoliths of the South Georgia icefish Pseudochaenichthys georgianus. Changes in otolith morphology and mass correlate with fish size and age group. The otolith micro-increment analysis is capable of establishing the age of an icefish by relating the daily micro-increment count to the life history of the fish. Micro-increment measurements and analyses are relatively simple to do by light and scanning electron microscopy and by using micro-densitometer and digitizing equipment. Drastic changes in the life history of an individual are reflected by measurable changes in its otolith micro-increment data as seen in our analyses of age groups 0-VI. The initial drastic change in daily micro-increment shapes and periodicities occur in connection with the hatching period of the icefish. The next drastic change in otolith shape and daily micro-increments occurs when ~7 cm long fish shift from pelagic to benthic habitats. As the fish age beyond group III, individual otolith variability lessens until they begin spawning. Our results indicate a single population of P. georgianus between the Antarctic Peninsula and South Georgia.

The ability to repair injuries among reptiles, i.e., ectothermic amniotes, is similar to that of mammals with some noteworthy exceptions. While large wounds in turtles and crocodilians are repaired through scarring, the reparative capacity involving the tail derives from a combined process of wound healing and somatic growth, the latter being continuous in reptiles. When the tail is injured in juvenile crocodilians, turtles and tortoises as well as the tuatara (Rhynchocephalia: Sphenodon punctatus, Gray 1842), the wound is repaired in these reptiles and some muscle and connective tissue and large amounts of cartilage are regenerated during normal growth. This process, here indicated as “regengrow”, can take years to produce tails with similar lengths of the originals and results in only apparently regenerated replacements. These new tails contain a cartilaginous axis and very small (turtle and crocodilians) to substantial (e.g., in tuatara) muscle mass, while most of the tail is formed by an irregular dense connective tissue containing numerous fat cells and sparse nerves. Tail regengrow in the tuatara is a long process that initially resembles that of lizards (the latter being part of the sister group Squamata within the Lepidosauria) with the formation of an axial ependymal tube isolated within a cartilaginous cylinder and surrounded by an irregular fat-rich connective tissue, some muscle bundles, and neogenic scales. Cell proliferation is active in the apical regenerative blastema, but much reduced cell proliferation continues in older regenerated tails, where it occurs mostly in the axial cartilage and scale epidermis of the new tail, but less commonly in the regenerated spinal cord, muscles, and connective tissues. The higher tissue regeneration of Sphenodon and other lepidosaurians provides useful information for attempts to improve organ regeneration in endothermic amniotes.

Aquatica leii Fu and Ballantyne is a species of rare aquatic firefly and endemic in China. It is considered good material to study the molecular mechanism of sexual flash communication systems. To improve conservation and behavioral research strategies, large-scale genetic studies involving gene-expression analysis are required and reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) is the most commonly used method. However, there have been very few reports on appropriate reference genes in any species of firefly. Here, we evaluated eight widely utilized reference genes including 18S, Actin, Reep5, Odc1, Tub, Gapdh, Ef1a and S27Ae for their expression stabilities in A. leii under three different conditions, i.e., life stage, tissue and dsRNA injection. Based on the gene stability ranking calculated by RefFinder, which integrates four algorithms (geNorm, delta Ct method, NormFinder, and BestKeeper), we recommend S27Ae and Reep5 as the most appropriate reference genes for molecular studies in different life stages; Ef1a and Odc1 for different tissues; Tub and Odc1 for RNAi studies. The most appropriate reference genes in all treatments are S27Ae and Tub. The results of this study will help improve accuracy and reliability to normalize RT-qPCR data in A. leii for further molecular analysis.

We genetically identified three different species of hornets and analyzed the nutrient compositions of their edible brood. Samples were collected from a commercial production unit in Shizong province of China and from forests near Andong City in Korea. The species were identified as Vespa velutina, V. mandarinia, and V. basalis from China and V. velutina from Korea. Farmed V. velutina and V. mandarinia were found to have similar protein contents, i.e., total amino acids, whereas V. basalis contained less protein. The V. velutina brood collected from the forest contained the highest amount of amino acids. Altogether 17 proteinogenic amino acids were detected and quantified with similar patterns of distribution in all three species: leucine followed by tyrosine and lysine being predominant among the essential and glutamic acid among the non-essential amino acids. A different pattern was found for fatty acids: The polyunsaturated fatty acid proportion was highest in V. mandarinia and V. basalis, but saturated fatty acids dominated in the case of V. velutina from two different sources. The high amounts of unsaturated fatty acids in the lipids of the hornets could be expected to exhibit nutritional benefits, including reducing cardiovascular disorders and inflammations. High minerals contents, especially micro minerals such as iron, zinc, and a high K/Na ratio in hornets could help mitigate mineral deficiencies among those of the population with inadequate nutrition.

The larvae, pupae and adult of the world’s largest hornet Vespa mandarinia are a nutritious food popular among the different ethnic communities of Nagaland. The traditional method of collecting, rearing and consuming V. mandarinia still persists among the tribal people. Semi-domestication of V. mandarinia practiced in the region has been found to facilitate the production of hornets for socio-economic purposes; thereby contributing to conservation and a sustainable utilisation of the hornets. Eight to nine combs measuring 30–45 cm in diameter are usually harvested, each of which fetching an amount of Rs. 10,000–50,000. The present investigation provides data on the crude protein content of the larvae and pupae which amounts to 52.82 and 60.99%, respectively, suggesting that hornet grubs represent an important source of nutrition. While V. mandarinia are considered as pest in western countries and most of East Asia, the present study suggests hornets as a promising alternative food item rich in protein and that hornet rearing can improve the state of health and economic situation of Nagaland’s poorer section of the society.