Systematic investigations were carried out on the effect of transgenic Bt cotton on the population dynamics of non-target pests and natural enemies of pests in Hubei province in 2000-2001.This experiment included three treatments. The first was a transgenic Bt cotton field that utilized pesticides to control pests (FPC), the second was a transgenic Bt cotton field that used natural enemies to control pests (FNEC), and the third was a normal cotton field that adopted IPM (integrated pest management) to control pests (FIPM). The results showed that the population densities of non-target pests in transgenic Bt cotton fields were obviously increased. The cumulative and peak numbers of aphids in FPC and FNEC increased by 37.9% and 71.4%, respectively, than those recorded in FIPM in 2000 and by 92.5% and 134.9% than those recorded in FIPM in 2001. Cumulative and peak numbers of red spider mites in FPC and FNEC increased by 181.1% and 298.3%,respectively, than those recorded in FIPM in 2000 and by 69.9% and 105.0% than those recorded in FIPM in 2001. Transgenic Bt cotton had no obvious resistance to Prodenia infecta and tobacco whitefly, which have become more serious pests of cotton in recent years. Populations of natural enemies was also significantly higher in transgenic Bt cotton fields. Cumulative and peak values of spiders in FPC and FNEC increased by 66.3% and 112.1%,respectively, than those recorded in FIPM in 2000 and by 95.1% and 111.7% than those recorded in FIPM in 2001. Cumulative and peak values of Propylaea japonica in FPC and FNEC increased by 140.8% and 135.4%,respectively, than those recorded in FIPM in 2000 and by 67.2% and 109.5% than those recorded in FIPM in 2001. An important natural enemy in transgenic Bt cotton fields, Geocoris pallidipennis was almost absent in normal cotton fields. These results suggest that optimizing the utilization of natural enemies in transgenic Bt cotton would be a valuable addition to the existing IPM techniques.

A bacteriophage, GP-1 of Bacillus thuringiensis, with unique morphology and structure was isolated from the lytic fermentation liquor of Bacillus thuringiensis at Wuhan Microbial Pesticides Factory. Examination by JEM-100C electron microscope revealed that each phage has a long, six-sided head with short tails and a platelike collar structure with 8-10 appendages attached to the base of the head．The 8-10 appendages can greatly enhance the adsorption of the phage to the surface of the host and provide structural evidence for the further study of the relationships between this phage and its host． SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis indicated that this phage has one major protein band，MW=58 892 D，one sub-major protein band and seven minor protein bands. These results indicate that nine kinds of proteins comprise the protein content of phage GP-1.

Culex quinquefasciatus, the major vector of the disease filariasis in China, is resistant to organophosphorus insecticides with an 8.12-fold resistance ratio at the LC₅₀ for parathion, and a high heterogeneity factor in wild populations. The main mechanism of resistance in this species is amplification of nonspecific esterases. Most resistant Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes have co-amplified est α2 and est β2 genes. Southern and dot blot analysis can be used to roughly quantify the est gene copy number in mosquitoes using probe hybridization and auoradiography. In addition, we measured gene and mRNA copy numbers using realtime PCRs. This accurate quantitative approach (fluorescent microvolume PCR) was performed to assess the specific expression profiles of est α and est β genes. The cDNA product of thePCR reaction was 500 base pairs long for the esterase α gene and 418 base pairsfor the β gene. The predicted protein alignment for the esterase β fragment had high homology with Culex pipiens esterase β1 (98%), Culex quinquefasciatus β2 (100%) and Culex tarsalis esterase β3 (90%). The gene copy number differed between individuals for the α and β genes, as well as between populations of Shanghai and PellRR mosquitoes from Sri Lanka, in which both the esterase α2 and β2 are involved in insecticide resistance.

After artificial selection for resistance to 0.2% celangulin EC for 20 generations, resistance of the diamond back moth, Plutella xylostella (L.) fourth instar larvae to this pesticide increased 21.6-fold. The development of resistance was slow initially, faster in the mid-stage, and stable in the later stage.The celangulin-resistant strain had positive cross-resistance to dimehypo, cartap and isoprocarb (R/S was 4.63, 4.11 and 3.71 respectively), and negative cross-resistance to deltamethrin, cypermethrin and permecthrin (R/S was 0.22, 0.26 and 0.01 respectively). The cartap-, dimehypo- and deltamethrin-resistant strains had 1.06-, 1.76- and 3.61-fold resistance to 0.2% celangulin EC, respectively.

Preliminary effects of α-terthienyl (α-T), a typical photo-activated insecticide, on active oxygen radicals and endogenous enzyme activity in the protective enzyme system of 4th instar Culex pipiens pallens larvae were studied by ESR analysis. The results indicated that both near ultraviolet radiation and α-T could enhance the amount of active oxygen radicals in 4th instar larvae of C. pipiens pallens, and the effect of α-T could also be increased by exposure to near ultraviolet radiation. The activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT) in vivo could be inhibited by α-T, maximal inhibition occurring after larvae had been exposed to near ultraviolet radiation for 3 hours, although the effects of such radiation and α-T on endogenous enzyme activity in the protective enzyme system varied between different enzymes.

Ficus semicordata Buch.-Ham. ex J. E. Sm. is a common species of Ficus. It is also a pioneer species in the tropical rainforest eco-system. After tropical rainforest has been disturbed this species will establish and grow rapidly in valleys and on roadsides. It is, therefore, an important species in the preliminary stages of forestry ecosystem rehabilitation in the tropics and semi-tropics. This paper describes the pollination behavior and propagation of fig wasps. Individual sample trees were observed at regular intervals at different sites and syconia were dissected and examined at different phases of development. The results indicate that F. semicordata is dioecious and bears 2-3 crops year round in Xishuangbanna. Florets of the syconia on female trees are pollinated by pollinating fig wasps, and develop into seeds afterwards. Female trees only produce staminate flowers and intermediate flowers, the latter are specially provided to pollinating fig wasps for their oviposition and proliferation. Ceratosolen gravelyi Grandi is the only insect pollinator of F. semicordata. Its males emerge from pupae 30-60 min before the females. Some males crawl over the layer of gall flowers searching for those that contain a female. After finding one they then bite a hole in it and copulate with the female inside. Other males will chew a hole in the pulp; after copulation females will crawl out of the mating hole, collect pollen in the staminate area, then fly out to look for receptive young syconia to enter and pollinate or oviposit. Females that pollinate female trees can fly for 300-500 m; the time interval of pollination in the fig cavity is as long as 5-14 h. After 3-5 h of pollination females die; females that search for male trees to reproduce typically fly 20-100 m. After finding a tree they will enter into the fig cavity and oviposit; each female can lay more than 400 eggs if undisturbed. Non-pollinating fig wasp species include phytophagous fig wasps, gall-makers, inquilines, etc.; these have a great impact on the propagation of pollinating fig wasps, often reducing the population of the latter by 25%-70%. The number of pollinating fig wasps that enter into fig cavities affects both the propagation of F. emicordata and themselves, the optimum is 3, more or less will reduce the reproductive success of both the pollinating fig wasps and their host fig trees.

As an insect pollinator of Ficus pumila, Blastophaga pumilae lives in the syconia of this fig. Female wasps of B. pumilae enter syconia of this fig either to oviposit or pollinate. The average time for B. pumilae to enter syconia was 69.48 min (SD 13.26 min). Although the injury rate of the wasps that enter syconia was quite high, they can nonetheless complete egg-laying or pollination. The tail fibers of eggs cause females to avoid laying eggs again in the same ovary. Once the wasps have entered female syconia, they try but are unable to escape. Typically, one female wasp can lay 528 eggs or pollinate 1 072.4 flowers.

Codariocalyx motorius (Houtt.) Ohashi grows as a common perennial pioneer plant in areas of slash and burn cultivation in the tropical and subtropical mountains of Yunnan Province, China. There is mutualism between the ant, Pheidole yeensis and C. motorius. The plant provides the ant with food, and the ant carries and disperses the seeds of the C. motorius. The structure and distribution of Pheidole yeensis nests in Yunnan Province was investigated in 2000.The results show that P. yeensis mainly builds nests in soil at an altitude of 1 000-1 200 m. Nests can extend down to a depth of 50 cm with the usual depth being 20-40 cm. The number of the ants per nest ranged from 2 000 to 3 000, with the maximum being more than 10 thousand. In fields that had been abandoned for 2-3 years at an altitude of 1 000-1 200m, most nests were found on western slopes, southern slopes having the next highest nest density, and northern slopes the least. The number of nests was highest in fields that had been abandoned for 2-3 years with the next highest abundance recorded in corn and peanut fields and the lowest in forest. The spatial istribution of P. yeensis nests was regular, but ant colonies repelled one another.

This paper evaluates the feasibility and reliability of assigning insects to orders according to math-morphological features (MMF) and describes kinship among the insects of various categories within the same taxonomic level from the perspective of mathematical morphology. Statistical analyses of 7 MMF (such as form factor, lobation, etc.) from images of 34 species of insects of the Hemiptera, Lepidoptera and Coleoptera were used in this evaluation. The results indicate that the ranked reliability of MMF for assigning insects to orders is, from high to low: roundness, eccentricity, hole number＞lobation, sphericity, circularity＞form factor. According to variation in each MMF, the kinship of the three orders examined could be ranked as follows: Hemiptera & Coleoptera＞Hemiptera & Lepidoptera＞Lepidoptera & Coleoptera.

Mitochondrial cytochrome b sequences (432 bp) were sequenced in 33 individuals of Oxya intricata from 9 different parts of China, homologous sequences compared, nucleotide composition calculated and the molecular phylogenetic tree was constructed with the Neighbor-Joining method using Gesonula punctifrons and Pseudomorphacris hollisi as outgroup species. In the sequences obtained, A%+T% was about 70.3% and 30 nucleotide sites were substituted (about 6.9%), among which only 5 substitutions resulted in the variation of amino acids. In the case of every amino acid code, A%+T% in the third site was much higher than the other two sites, reaching about 90.4%. The NJ tree suggests that different individuals from the 9 areas in China were distributed in different clusters, but no clear relationships between haplotypes and geographic regions could be inferred. Since the branches of clusters are parallel, there is no evident difference between different areas.

This paper revises the taxonomy of Chinese members of the genus Gibbotettix Zheng. Seven species are reported, in which two are described as new to science:G. circinihumerus sp.nov.and G. hupingshanensis sp.nov. One new combination is proposed: Gibbotettix cristata (Liang,1995), comb. Nov. For Austrochancockia cristata Liang, 1995. A key is provided for identifying species of Gibbotettix Zheng. Type specimens are kept in the institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and College of Life Sciences, Hunan Normal University.

This paper reports the genus Pleurota Hübner for the first time from China, with one species (P. dentata Wang et Li, sp. Nov.) described as new to science and two species (P. kostjuki Lvovsky and P. obtusella Robel) newly recorded in this country. The genital structure of the new species is illustrated and a key to the known Chinese species is given.

This paper treats 11 Chinese species of the genus Ripeacma. Among them, four species, viz. R. trigonia Wang et Li, sp. Nov., R. bicruris Wang et Li, sp. Nov., R. verruculosa Wang et Li, sp. Nov. and R. latizona Wang et Li, sp. Nov. are described as new to science. The genital structures of the new species are illustrated and a key to the known Chinese species is given.

Four new species of the genus Helina from Heilongjiang Province, China, are described: H. antilodactyla sp. Nov., H. circinanicauda sp. Nov., H. langxiangi sp. Nov. and H. septentrionalis sp. Nov. All materials are deposited in the Institute of Entomology, Shenyang Normal University.

This paper describes three new species of the genus Pegomya from Yunnan province, China: P. acisophalla sp. Nov., P. cricophalla sp. Nov. and P. lageniforceps sp. Nov. All type specimens are deposited in the Institute of Entomology, Shenyang Normal University, Shenyang.

The present paper describes the larval morphology of Ceratophyllus wui Wang et Liu, 1996. Specimens were collected from a swiftlet Collocalia brevirostris innominata nest in the Shennongjia forest region (31°15'N, 109°56'E, about 2 300 m elevation) in the northwest of Hubei Province on Aug. 27, 1998. Diagnosis of larvae: C. wui Wang et Liu, 1996 is similar to C. eneifdei tianschani Kunitskaya, 1968, C. chutsaensis Liu et Wu, 1962 and C. gallinae tribulis Jordan, 1926, but differs from the latter three species in: 1) the spine process on the egg burster of 1st instar larva does not extend beyond the anterior margin of the egg burster; 2) there are two pairs of preantennal setae in 3rd instar larva; 3) the outside setae of the occipital region are longer than the middle setae. Description: In 3rd instar larvae,maxillary palp in 2 segments. Antenna stick shaped, with 1 short apical seta. Intraantennal setae thin and short. Front with 2 long, 2 short and 2 minute setae. Occipital setae in one row of 6 long setae, with one pair of minute setae efore and after the sub-middle occipital setae. One minute seta before the outermost occipital setae and at the occipital margin. There are 7-8 teeth on the mandibules of which the basal part is small and sharp and the tooth tip large and thumbshaped. Main setae numbers of the first thoracic segment to ninth abdominal segment: 7-8(2),8(2), 7-8(2),10(2),8-10(2),9-10(2),10(2),8-10(2),9-10(2),9-10(2),10,12; assistant setae numbers of anterior row: 10,10,10,11-12,11-12,12,10-12,12,10-12,11-12,12,9-10 respectively. Anal comb 2 rows, anterior row with 6-9 and posterior row 13-18 setae.Egg burster of 1st instar larvae similar to a shoe sole in shape, anterior part slightly wider than posterior part, spine process not extending beyond anterior margin of egg burster.

For the future of the systematic entomology in China in the new century, a series of suggestions are made with emphasis on capacity building, species inventories, theoretical research, technological innovation, and international cooperation. With regard to capacity building, both government and scientists should place importance on assessing national needs in the areas of taxonomy, infrastructure building, and partnerships among the collections including collecting, managements, research, knowledge sharing and exchange of material. Regarding to species inventories, governments and related organizations should continually fund collecting and initiate well-organized field explorations in order to improve our knowledge of insect diversity and biology. It is necessary to revise the past taxonomic research both regionally and globally. With respect to theoretical research, the focus should be on species concepts, evolutionary theories, comparative biology and the systematics of higher taxa. With respect to technological innovation, those working in systematics need to be aware of modern computer based methods and techniques, such as databases, the Internet, image processing, interactive identification, character analysis, molecular biology, phylogenetic analysis software, information management and knowledge dissemination. As for international cooperation, the Chinese systematics organizations should be promoted to join the international taxonomic initiatives and organizations, to establish a national system of species information management and to boost the global information sharing by making great efforts to internationalize the taxonomic research projects.

Female sex-pheromonal synthesis and male sex-pheromonal reception are two aspects of the sex-pheromonal communication system of Heliothis/Helicoverpa species. Coordinated biological activity at the molecular, cellular, and system levels are involved in the system. The interaction between PBAN and its receptor triggers signal transduction and activates sex-pheromone synthesizing enzymes resulting in the synthesis of sex pheromone. Some sex-pheromone components that attract male moths had been identified by chemical and bioassays. The interaction between the pheromone PBP complex and its receptor triggers signal transduction and induces nervous impulses which finally result in a sequence of sexual behaviors. Many different internal and external factors affect these processes.

Maternal effects in insects have been the subject of considerable interest among evolutionary ecologists for a long time. In recent years, intensive research, especially with the introduction of quantitative genetics, has allowed considerable progress in this field. In this review, we survey the growing literature on maternal effects with emphasis on the following aspects. 1. Dependence of certain characters, such as diapause, polymorphisms, polyphenisms and offspring quality on maternal effects. 2. Inducement of maternal effects by environmental factors, particularly photoperiod and temperature. 3. Sensitive stages in the maternal generation to the inducing factors, with adults being the most sensitive in many species. 4. Developmental stages in offspring controlled by maternal effects, the egg stage in most cases. 5. The possible biochemical mechanisms involved in maternal control of offspring development. 6. Genetic variation of maternal effects within and among populations. We also briefly discuss the adaptive significance of maternal effects and their relation to evolution of insect life history.

The thanatin gene was obtained and inserted into expression vector pGEX-3X by a DNA recombinant method which was checked by nucleotide sequencing. The fusion protein of GST-thanatin was produced by IPTG induction in Escherichia coli (BL21). The expression level was about 20%. The fusion protein was purified by GST affinity hromatography and digested by enterokinase. Partly purified with Sephadex G-25, the final product, thanatin exhibited antimicrobial activity.

A previously unknown microsporidian pathogen Nosema sp. in Helicoverpa armigera（Hübner）is described. It invaded H. armigera larvae and could be transmitted vertically to their offspring. This study investigates ultrastructural changes of infected host cells using electron microscopy. The results indicate that the pathogen occurs in the midgut, fat bodies, malpighian tubules and nerve cells of the host. After invading the host, it causes the micro-villi of the midgut to fall off, the nucleus to become smaller and the shape of the nucleus to change. The malpighian tubules become swollen and the nucleus of nerve cells becomes elongated and their boundaries indistinct. The mitochondria become smaller and the cristae become aligned parallel or at an angle to the long axis of the mitochondria. The endoplasmic reticulum is disordered, however, the pathogen did not invade the nucleus.

The effects of seven alkaloids from Sophora alopecuroids, a leguminous plant, on metabolic esterases of the larvae of the diamondback moth Plutella xylostella (L.) were studied. The results indicate that cytisine and aloperine could inhibit carboxylesterase activity through non-competitive inhibition. Sophoramine, sophoradine, matrine, oxymatrine and cytisine could inhibit the activity of acid phosphoresterase, and cytisine could also weakly inhibit the activity of alkaline phosphoresterase. In addition, three alkaloids, cytisine, sophramine and sophocarpine could inhibit the activity of glutathione-stransferase in diamondback moth larvae.

The major component of the sex pheromone of S. litura (F.) female, Z9, E11-14∶Ac(A), elicited all steps of the male behavioral sequence, i. e., searching for the odor, oriented upwind flight, approaching the source and displaying hairpencils. No males showed oriented flight when Z9, E12-14∶Ac (B), Z9-14∶Ac©, E11-14∶Ac (D) were assayed individually. Component B was able to enhance the activity of A, but larger amount of B in mixture strongly inhibited males from approaching the source and displaying hairpencils. The components of C and D had no effect on male behavior, but larger amount of C in a mixture of A and B inhibited males approaching the source and displaying hairpencils. There was a significant difference between the ratio of A to B in the filter paper lure and that in volatile from the filter paper lure. The ratio of A to B in volatile from the most effective lure in the wind tunnel was approximate to the natural ratio of A to B in the sex pheromone gland. In the field, the attractiveness of trap for male moths changed with the ratio of the components with most males being caught in traps baited with a ratio of 9∶1(A∶B). The attractiveness of traps with ratios of 1∶1(A∶B) was lower than the attractiveness of traps baited with single component A.