Journal of Applied Entomology最新文献

Beetle pollination is considered an ancestral trait in angiosperms, retained in a few specialised families engaging in longstanding interactions with ancient groups of beetles. While beetles represent some of the earliest angiosperm pollinators, there is also increasing evidence that some beetle-pollinated plants represent a derived condition. Characterising and describing these interactions is critical to understanding the evolution of beetle pollination and specialised brood pollination (i.e., pollinators that also breed on host plants). Here we focus on the holoparasitic plant Lophophytum pyramidale (Balanophoraceae). This family is one of the most intriguing groups of terrestrial plants characterised by extreme reproductive and vegetative morphology modifications. Still, little is known about most species' reproductive biology and ecological interactions. We investigated the flowering events and floral visitors of a population of L. pyramidale in the Atlantic Rainforest in Brazil. The flowering season lasts about 2 months, and plants are monoecious. Female flowers mature before the male ones, suggesting L. pyramidale is a protogynous species. Three arthropod orders (Coleoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera) were observed visiting the flowers of L. pyramidale. Beetles, including Oxycorynus melanocerus, Oxycorynus nigripes (Belidae: Oxycorynini), Mystrops sp. (Nitidulidae: Mystropini) and other small species of Nitidulidae, Hydrophilidae and Tenebrionidae were commonly observed visiting both male and female flowers and, therefore, are considered the main pollinators. The presence of larvae of Oxycorynini and Nitidulidae beetles developing within the reproductive structures evidences that some pollinators use this plant species as a breeding site, specifically Oxycorynus spp. and the Nitidulidae. Using DNA barcoding, we find further that the two species of Oxycorynus do not have niche partitioning and essentially share the same breeding sites within plants. Overall, we demonstrate that this Balanophoraceae species represents a case of brood-site pollination by beetles, a condition likely derived within the family.

Pest management in horticultural crops must become more efficient, capitalising on non-chemical means of pest reduction. In mango (Mangifera Indica), the development of highly productive orchard and canopy management systems offers a potential means to reduce pressure and damage from economically important pests such as mango scale (Aulacaspis tubercularis Newstead), but these effects have not previously been examined. High-density narrow hedge and espalier canopy management systems were compared with Australian industry standard low-density wide open-vase canopies. Initially, female scale populations on infested foliage were assessed in three commercial mango varieties for the three canopy systems over three years. Scale fruit damage in the three canopy systems was then assessed in Calypso variety for two following harvests. Narrow canopy management systems had significantly fewer female scale present on foliage, and significantly less fruit damage from scale (64%–84% reduction), resulting in fewer fruit downgrades (58%–89% reduction). This effect may result from changes in the canopy microclimate, with a potential contribution from greater spray penetration in narrow canopies. We suggest that the adoption of highly productive mango canopy designs will provide additional benefit to farmers and consumers by improving pest control and potentially reducing pesticide use.

Wasps, members of over 90 hymenopteran families, exhibit diverse behaviours, including pollination, predation and parasitism. While wasps are known pollinators in specialised systems, such as the intricate mutualism of fig trees and the deceptive pollination of certain orchids, they have historically been considered ineffective pollinators, with their role often overlooked. Despite frequent visits to flowers, especially in neotropical savannas like the Cerrado, the wasp and floral traits associated with wasp visitation and their influence on plant–pollinator networks are still poorly understood. This study consolidates data on flower–wasp interactions in the Cerrado, Brazilian biodiversity hotspot to explore how floral and wasp traits shape interaction networks. We constructed a mutualistic interaction network comprising 185 wasp species and 144 plant species, performing 728 interactions, and calculated centrality indices. We assessed whether wasp traits (e.g., sociality, life form) and floral traits (e.g., symmetry, anthesis time, inflorescence type) predict network centrality. Social Vespidae wasps, particularly Brachygastra and Polybia species, were frequent floral visitors. Most plants had small, actinomorphic, nectar-rewarding flowers, with crepuscular anthesis and inflorescence architecture increasing plant centrality. Sociality increased wasp centrality, indicating that behavioural traits enhance their role in network cohesion. This study underscores that wasps may play a significant yet underappreciated role in pollination, particularly in generalist flowers. By identifying the floral traits most associated with wasp visitation, this study advances our understanding of wasps as potential pollinators in diverse plant communities. These findings suggest the need for further research on wasp pollination behaviour, especially to evaluate their effectiveness as pollinators. Understanding the contributions of wasps could provide critical insights for the pollination of endemic and endangered species, supporting conservation efforts in the Cerrado's biodiverse and threatened ecosystems.

Although Diptera is one of the most diverse insect orders with a high potential for pollinating plants, it remains poorly studied and neglected. This is partly due to limited taxonomic efforts in species identification. For instance, despite being primary pollinators of trap flowers, species-level identification in these systems remains scarce. To highlight this taxonomic impediment, we reviewed the diversity of Diptera pollinators found on trap flowers of Aristolochia (Aristolochiaceae), a genus exclusively pollinated by flies. We recorded the number of morphospecies identified at the order, family, genus, and species levels across Aristolochia populations and calculated the percentage of species-level identification for each population. To propose a solution to the taxonomic impediment, we used data from an Aristolochia esperanzae population, comparing the taxonomic refinement without and with taxonomist collaboration. Our review yielded 531 Diptera records from 40 populations across 23 Aristolochia species. Of these, 1.9% were identified at the order, 41% at the family, 35.8% at the genus, and only 21.3% at the species levels. The mean percentage of species-level identification for the populations was 34.11%, with 40% of populations showing < 5% of species identified. Overall, 43 families, 109 genera, and 61 species of Diptera were recorded as potential pollinators of Aristolochia. Our case study demonstrated that collaboration with taxonomists improved taxonomic refinement, particularly at the genus and species levels, with this latter rising from 0% to 38.8%. This collaboration also enabled the identification of main pollinators of A. esperanzae, which belong to Ulidiidae, a little-known pollinator family. This study highlights a substantial taxonomic impediment in Diptera pollinators of Aristolochia, which may limit our understanding of their role in plant pollination. Additionally, we demonstrate the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration with insect taxonomists to improve our comprehension of biological and ecological patterns involving the highly diverse yet less-known dipteran pollinators.

Beetles (Coleoptera) are one of the most diverse insect groups, playing vital roles in ecosystem functions such as decomposition and pollination. Despite their ecological importance, their immense diversity is often under-sampled due to inconsistent and non-standardised sampling methodologies. We assessed the sampling efficiency of flight interception traps using six trap designs that differed in shape and panel material in a hemiboreal, mixed deciduous forest. We compared the designs in terms of overall coleopteran species richness, abundance, and diversity, as well as saproxylic coleopteran species richness. Trap efficiency was evaluated using species accumulation curves. We collected a total of 457 beetle species (8552 individuals) from 51 families, including 272 saproxylic species. Although species accumulation curves showed signs of flattening, significant differences were observed among trap designs. Panels made of soft plastic (polyethylene) outperformed those made of hard plastic (polycarbonate) in terms of species diversity and the proportion of red-listed species captured. No differences in body size were detected among the trap catches. Our results highlight an overlooked yet significant effect of panel material in sampling beetle communities. The combination of soft plastic panels with a triangular trap design significantly improved trap efficiency. This improvement not only enhanced the capture of common beetle species but also resulted in a higher sampling rate of those of conservation concern. These findings underscore the importance of selecting appropriate trap designs to increase the accuracy of biodiversity assessments to make better-informed conservation decisions. A standardised trap design would enhance comparability across studies, improving ecological inferences.