Diurnal and geographic variations of pollinator importance for Duchesne.

Despite growing awareness of the importance of monitoring wild crop pollinators worldwide, there are still few reports, especially in East Asia. Considering ongoing global warming may change the distribution range and diurnal activity of pollinators, it is necessary to describe current geographic and diurnal patterns. We clarified pollinators of Duchesne (Cucurbitales: Cucurbitaceae) in three geographically distinct (>350 km, minimum) areas in Japan, focusing on diurnal variation.

Acute toxicity data of common agricultural insecticides to Japanese wild bees.

Although numerous ecotoxicological assessments of European honeybee ( L.) have been performed, Japanese wild bees are less well studied in this regard. To address this knowledge gap, we assessed the mortality and acute toxicity (LD) of 3 common agricultural insecticides (clothianidin, fipronil, and diazinon) on as many as 6 species of Japanese wild bees ( Perez Radoszkowski Perez Tkalcu Perez and spp.

The ontogenetic dietary shift from non-dangerous to dangerous prey in predator-eating predators under capture risk.

Evaluating the patterns and generality of ontogenetic dietary shifts (ODSs) contributes to understanding prey-predator interactions and food web dynamics. Numerous studies have focused on predators that target distinctively lower trophic-level organisms. However, the ODS of predators that routinely prey on organisms at similar trophic levels (i.

Environmentally triggered variability in the genetic variance-covariance of herbivory resistance of an exotic plant .

The variability in the genetic variance-covariance (G-matrix) in plant resistance and its role in the evolution of invasive plants have been long overlooked. We conducted an additional analysis of the data of a reciprocal transplant experiment with tall goldenrod, , in multiple garden sites within its native range (USA) and introduced range (Japan). We explored the differences in G-matrix of resistance to two types of foliar herbivores: (a) a lace bug that is native to the USA and recently introduced to Japan, (b) and other herbivorous insects in response to plant origins and environments.

Microbial communities on flower surfaces act as signatures of pollinator visitation.

Microbes are easily dispersed from one place to another, and immigrant microbes might contain information about the environments from which they came. We hypothesized that part of the microbial community on a flower's surface is transferred there from insect body surfaces and that this community can provide information to identify potential pollinator insects of that plant. We collected insect samples from the field, and found that an insect individual harbored an average of 12.