Revealing the larval anatomy of the hoverfly Sphaerophoria rueppellii (Wiedemann, 1820) (Diptera, Syrphidae) using micro-computed tomography.

Micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) is an X-ray-based technique that allows visualisation of the internal anatomy of insects in situ and does not require dissections. Traditionally, the study of insect anatomy has been mainly based on dissection techniques and microtome sections. However, micro-CT is becoming an increasingly widespread study technique.

Resolving the Taxonomy of Mountain Syrphidae (Diptera) in the Iberian Peninsula: The Species Group of Becker, 1894.

The largest genus of Palaearctic Syrphidae, Meigen, 1822 (Syrphidae: Rhingiini), is currently under revision in the Ibero-Balearic region (Iberian Peninsula + Balearic Islands). Prior to this study, various species groups with putative phylogenetic support were defined for this genus of complex taxonomy. The group of Becker, 1894 includes species distributed all over Europe, with some of these species being similar each other in both morphology and genetics.

Unveiling the Mainland vs. Insular Variability of the Species Group (Diptera: Syrphidae) in the Western Mediterranean Basin.

Comprising nearly 300 described species, Meigen, 1822, is one of the most speciose syrphid genera worldwide, and its taxonomic diversity is remarkable in the Mediterranean basin. The (Coquebert, 1804) group consists of four species in the western Mediterranean. Although the phenotypic variability of this species group has been commented on in previous studies, it has never been contrasted with molecular data.

First Morpho-Functional Assessment of Immature Stages of Species (Diptera: Syrphidae) Feeding on False Truffles.

With 14 species, Meigen, 1822 is a scarce and small genus of hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae: Rhingiini) from the Holarctic Region. Apart from the finding of larvae of () (Shiraki, 1956) in fungi in Japan, the larval biology of these hoverflies is virtually unknown. The early stages of all species are undescribed.

On the immature stages of some Merodontini hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae) from Europe and Africa.

The genera Eumerus and Merodon (Syrphidae: Merodontini) form together the most speciose grouping of hoverflies in the Palaearctic Region. However, little is known about the morphology and biology of their larvae. The few larvae of Eumerus and Merodon that have been uncovered are phytophagous in underground organs of plants (some Eumerus and all Merodon) or saprophagous in a variety of plants' parts (the reminder of Eumerus).

Essential Oils from Selected Mediterranean Aromatic Plants-Characterization and Biological Activity as Aphid Biopesticides.

The need for alternatives to synthetic pesticides is a priority today, especially when these pesticides are directed against aphids, one of the more challenging pests facing modern agriculture. Essential oils may be one of these alternatives. We assayed the insecticidal potential of essential oils from , var.

Are Appearances Deceiving? Morpho-Genetic Complexity of the Group (Diptera: Syrphidae) in Europe, with a Focus on the Iberian Peninsula.

Meigen, 1822 is one of the largest Syrphidae genera in the Palaearctic Region, with the highest levels of taxonomic diversity found in the species group. Despite its high diversity, the interspecific levels of morphological variability can be low. Additionally, some species may show certain levels of intraspecific variability.

Combined stereomicroscope and SEM disentangle the fine morphology of the undescribed larva and puparium of the hoverfly Milesia crabroniformis (Fabricius, 1775) (Diptera: Syrphidae).

With over 80 species, Milesia Latreille, 1804 is a hoverfly genus (Diptera: Syrphidae) found in all continents except for Australia and the Antarctica. However, little is known about its life cycle and biology. The three Milesia species for which early stages are known have saproxylic larvae, suggesting that the larvae of all other Milesia species are also saproxylic.

Assessing the Diversity and Systematics of Brachyopini Hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae) in the Iberian Peninsula, Including the Descriptions of Two New Species.

Five genera of Brachyopini, Meigen, 1800, Rondani, 1857, Rondani, 1857, Macquart, 1829 and Maibach et al. 1994a are here revised from the Iberian region. Two new species, Ricarte and Nedeljković, sp.

Effect of Abiotic Climatic Factors on the Gonadal Maturation of the Biocontrol Agent (Wiedemann, 1830) (Diptera: Syrphidae).

The hoverfly is currently one of the most effective predators commercially available for aphid pest control. However, knowledge of the reproductive system of males and females of this syrphid is limited. The present article aims to report how changes in the temperature and photoperiod may affect development of the gonads (ovaries and testes), oviposition, and fecundity during the lifespan of Four environmental conditions (14L:10D, T: 20 ± 1 °C; 12L:12D, T: 20 ± 1 °C; 14L:10D, T: 25 ± 1 °C; and 12L:12D, T: 25 ± 1 °C) were used to determine oviposition, hatching percentage, and lifespan during a period of 30 days after the adult emergence.

A new Eumerus hoverfly (Diptera: Syrphidae) from Namibia and South Africa, with notes on similar species.

Within the pollinator family Syrphidae, Eumerus Meigen, 1822 is a diverse genus with over 70 species recorded in the Afrotropical Region. A new species is described here from Namibia and South Africa. Adults are small to medium size flies, with spur-like expansions in the metatarsomeres 2 and 3.

Effect of UV-Absorbing Nets on the Performance of the Aphid Predator Sphaerophoria Rueppellii (Diptera: Syrphidae).

Photoselective nets have proven to be effective for aphid pest control as they limit their dispersal ability. However, little is known on the impact of such nets on natural enemies of aphids. In this work, we study the effect of UV-absorbing nets on the syrphid fly Wiedemann (Diptera: Syrphidae), a commercially available aphid biocontrol agent in Mediterranean horticultural crops.

Increasing crop heterogeneity enhances multitrophic diversity across agricultural regions.

Agricultural landscape homogenization has detrimental effects on biodiversity and key ecosystem services. Increasing agricultural landscape heterogeneity by increasing seminatural cover can help to mitigate biodiversity loss. However, the amount of seminatural cover is generally low and difficult to increase in many intensively managed agricultural landscapes.

Modulation of plant-mediated interactions between herbivores of different feeding guilds: Effects of parasitism and belowground interactions.

Herbivory affects subsequent herbivores, mainly regulated by the phytohormones jasmonic (JA) and salicylic acid (SA). Additionally, organisms such as soil microbes belowground or parasitoids that develop inside their herbivorous hosts aboveground, can change plant responses to herbivory. However, it is not yet well known how organisms of trophic levels other than herbivores, below- and above-ground, alter the interactions between insect species sharing a host plant.

Unraveling Saproxylic Insect Interactions in Tree Hollows from Iberian Mediterranean Forest.

Tree hollows are complex microhabitats in which a variety of abiotic and biotic factors shape the community assembly of saproxylic insects. Detecting non-random species co-occurrence patterns is a fundamental goal in ecology in order to understand the assembly mechanisms of communities. We study association patterns of species of Coleoptera and Diptera (Syrphidae), belonging to different trophic guilds, on 72 tree hollows at a local and regional scale in three protected areas in Mediterranean forests using a fixed-fixed null model.

Landscape configurational heterogeneity by small-scale agriculture, not crop diversity, maintains pollinators and plant reproduction in western Europe.

Agricultural intensification is one of the main causes for the current biodiversity crisis. While reversing habitat loss on agricultural land is challenging, increasing the farmland configurational heterogeneity (higher field border density) and farmland compositional heterogeneity (higher crop diversity) has been proposed to counteract some habitat loss. Here, we tested whether increased farmland configurational and compositional heterogeneity promote wild pollinators and plant reproduction in 229 landscapes located in four major western European agricultural regions.

A review of the early stages and host plants of the genera Eumerus and Merodon (Diptera: Syrphidae), with new data on four species.

The genera Eumerus and Merodon (Diptera: Syrphidae) have a high taxonomic diversity (300+ species altogether), but life histories of most species are unknown. In addition, these hoverfly genera are recognised to be pests (ornamental plants and vegetable crops). In this paper, early stages of four hoverfly species are described, Eumerus hungaricus Szilády, 1940, Eumerus nudus Loew, 1848 and Merodon geniculatus Strobl, 1909, from Spain, and Eumerus strigatus Walker, 1859, from California, USA.

Olfactory Response of the Predatory Bug Orius laevigatus (Hemiptera:Anthocoridae) to the Aggregation Pheromone of Its Prey, Frankliniella occidentalis (Thysanoptera: Thripidae).

Herbivore natural enemies base their foraging decision on information cues from different trophic levels but mainly from plant odors. However, the second trophic level (i.e.

Mesorhizobium helmanticense sp. nov., isolated from Lotus corniculatus nodules.

In this study, three strains belonging to the genus Mesorhizobium, CSLC115NT, CSLC19N and CSLC37N, isolated from Lotus corniculatus nodules in Spain, were characterized. Their 16S rRNA gene sequences were closely related to those of Mesorhizobium metallidurans STM 2683T, Mesorhizobium tianshanense A-1BST, Mesorhizobium tarimense CCBAU 83306T, Mesorhizobium gobiense CCBAU 83330T and Mesorhizobium caraganae CCBAU 11299T with similarity values higher than 99.7 %.

Mesorhizobium bacterial strains isolated from the legume Lotus corniculatus are an alternative source for the production of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) to obtain bioplastics.

Polyhydroxyalkanoic acids (PHAs) are natural polyesters that can be used to produce bioplastics which are biodegradable. Numerous microorganisms accumulate PHAs as energy reserves. Combinations of different PHAs monomers lead to the production of bioplastics with very different properties.

Bacteria and Hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae) in Tree Hollows From the Iberian Mediterranean Forest.

Saproxylic insect communities inhabiting tree hollows in Mediterranean forests depend on a combination of physical characteristics and interactions occurring between community member species. Despite the need to preserve these organisms, little is known about their interrelationships, in particular those relationships between saproxylic insects and microbiota occurring in these microhabitats. In tree hollows of Quercus rotundifolia Lamark that hold water and contain dead leaves, abundant microbial populations can be found.

Unravelling Darwin's entangled bank: architecture and robustness of mutualistic networks with multiple interaction types.

Trying to unravel Darwin's entangled bank further, we describe the architecture of a network involving multiple forms of mutualism (pollination by animals, seed dispersal by birds and plant protection by ants) and evaluate whether this multi-network shows evidence of a structure that promotes robustness. We found that species differed strongly in their contributions to the organization of the multi-interaction network, and that only a few species contributed to the structuring of these patterns. Moreover, we observed that the multi-interaction networks did not enhance community robustness compared with each of the three independent mutualistic networks when analysed across a range of simulated scenarios of species extinction.

Neotropical Copestylum Macquart (Diptera: Syrphidae) Breeding in Fruits and Flowers, Including 7 New Species.

Ten species of Copestylum (Diptera: Syrphidae) were reared from fruits and flowers in Costa Rica, Ecuador and Trinidad. Seven were new and in this paper, we describe them, their development sites and the third stage larva and/or the puparium of all ten species. One new synonym is proposed, Copestylum pinkusi (Curran) [= Copestylum cinctiventre (Curran)].

A Differential Role of Volatiles from Conspecific and Heterospecific Competitors in the Selection of Oviposition Sites by the Aphidophagous Hoverfly Sphaerophoria rueppellii.

The selection of oviposition sites by syrphids and other aphidophagous insects is influenced by the presence of con- and heterospecific competitors. Chemical cues play a role in this selection process, some of them being volatile semiochemicals. Yet, little is known about the identity and specificity of chemical signals that are involved in the searching behavior of these predators.