Extracts from the sex pheromone gland of Dendrolimus spectabilis (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae) were analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) using polar and nonpolar capillary columns. Apart from the identified sex pheromone, (Z,E)-5,7-dodecadien-1-ol Z5, E7-12∶OH), the compounds (Z,E)-5,7-dodecadien-1-yl acetate (Z5,E7-12∶Oac) and (Z,E)-5,7-dodecadienal (Z5,E7-12∶Ald) were also found, the ratio of the three compounds being 100∶5.6±5.4∶3.2±1.8. Small amounts of Z5,E7-12∶Oac, Z5,E7-12∶Ald and trace amounts of Z5,E7-12∶Opr were also detected by gas chromatography analyses coupled with mass spectrometer (GC-MS) analysis in selected ion monitoring mode (SIM). Analyses of the gland extracts by means of GC with simultaneous flame ionization and electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD) showed that only Z5,E7-12∶OH elicited the antennal response. However, analyses of relatively higher doses of standard compounds by GC-EAD demonstrated that male antennae responded to Z5,E7-12∶OH, Z5,E7-12∶Oac and Z5,E7-12∶Opr, but not to Z5,E7-12∶Ald. Study of the relationship between dosage and electroantennographic (EAG) response showed that for dosages between 0.01 and 1 μg male antennae were most sensitive to Z5,E7-12∶OH followed by Z5,E7-12∶Oac and Z5,E7-12∶Opr. Field trials showed that a triple blend of Z5,E7-12∶OH, Z5,E7-12∶Oac and Z5,E7-12∶Opr attracted significantly more male moths than a single blend with alcohol, or a binary blend of alcohol and acetate or propionate. A blend of Z5,E7-12∶OH, Z5,E7-12∶Oac and Z5,E7-12∶Opr at a ratio of 100∶3∶25 was found to be the best attractant for capturing male moths. Addition of a certain amount of Z5,E7-12∶Ald had a repellent effect. These results suggest that Z,E7-12∶Oac and Z5,E7-12∶Opr are minor components of the sex pheromone of D. spectabilis while Z5,E7-12∶Ald is an antagonist to male D. spectabilis.

Electroantennograms (EAGs) were recorded for male and female moths of the cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera Hünber. Lures impregnated with the sex pheromones (Z-11-16Ald∶Z-9-16Ald=97∶3) elicited greater EAGs from the antenna than the controls. EAG levels of females and males were 1.067mV and 4.32mV for the sex lures, and 0.67 mV and 0.66 mV for the control lures, respectively. There were significant differences between the sex lures and controls (female: t＝25.020, P≤0.01; male: t＝44.269, P≤0.01). The average EAGs of female moths increased with the concentration of the sex pheromones in the lures. Males that had their antennae removed were incapable of mating with normal females, while females that had their antennae removed had a mating success of 40% compared to 70% in normal females. In wind-tunnel trials male moths flew toward the sex lure at a rate of 81.8% and no moths flew away from the sex lure.

The anti-herbivore effects of major secondary substances of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), including tannic acid, total phenolic compound and coumarin, on the grain aphid, Sitobion avenae, were investigated by adding them to a chemically defined diet. The impact of these secondary chemicals on the activity of amylase, invertase, trehalase, esterase (CarE) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) in grain aphids was measured in vitro. The results show that tannic acid, total phenolic compound and coumarin significantly decreased nymphal survival, development and weight gain, with their resistant threshold concentrations being 0.06%, 0.08% and 0.065%, respectively. At these concentrations, tannic acid strongly inhibited the activity of invertase, trehalase, CarE and GST and gallic acid (total phenolic chemicals) greatly decreased the activity of invertase, CarE and GST. However, coumarin only strongly inhibited GST activity.

Bacillus thuringiensis strain Ly30, isolated from Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province, was highly toxic to several kinds of insect pests. Results of CAPS (cleaved amplified polymorphic sequences) analysis indicated that Ly30 contained the cry1Aa gene. According to the 5' and 3' end nucletiode sequence of the known cry1Aa gene, one pair of primers was designed and the full-length cry1Aa gene (3.5 kb) was thereby obtained by PCR amplification from strain Ly30. Sequencing analysis showed that this cry1Aa gene contained one open reading frame of 3 531 bp, and encoded 1 176 amino acid residues deduced from its nucletiode sequence with molecular mass of 133.2 kD. This gene was registered in GenBank (Accession number is AF384211) and designated as cry1Aa12, a novel cry gene, by the international Nomenclature Committee of Bt δ-endotoxin genes. Expression of cry1Aa12 had been performed by inserted it into E. coli expression vector Pkk233.2, and a 133.2 kD protein band could be easily detected by SDS-PAGE. Results of bioassays proved that the expression products of cry1Aa12 gene had high toxicity against two Plutella xylostella colonies,with LC₅₀ of 0.203 μg/mL，0.554 μg/mL respectively.

Effects of the optically-active pyrethroids, alpha-cypermethrin and thetacypermethrin upon the voltage dependent sodium channels of central neurons of larval Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) were studied using the whole-cell patch clamp technique. Results show that the sodium currents (I_Na) of central neurons increased quickly after the application of alpha-cypermethrin. At the same time, the activation voltage of the sodium channel shifted about 10 mV in the direction of hyperpolarization, which indicated that alpha-cypermethrin caused sodium channels of larval H. armigera to be more easily activated. After treatment with alphacypermethrin for 10－15 min, I_Na decreased quickly, which revealed that alphacypermethrin also had an effect on opening sodium channels. The latency to peak current was shortened after the application of alpha-cypermethrin, while the time constants of decay did not change. The activation voltage of the sodium channel also shifted towards more negative potentials (around 10 mV) after the application of theta-cypermethrin. I_Na decreased slowly during the action of thetacypermethrin and more time was required to depress it. In conclusion, these data indicate that alpha cypermethrin and theta-cypermethrin have effects on both closed and open states of sodium channels in the central neurons of larval H. armigera and that alpha-cypermethrin is the more effective of these two pyrethroids.

Bioassay showed that the rice stem borer, Chilo suppressalis (Walker), collected from Cixi City, Zhejiang Province, possessed 37.7 and 52.7-fold resistance against monosultap and methamidophos respectively compared with a susceptible population collected from Taihu County, Anhui Province. The activities of microsomal O-demethylase and N-demethylase in the resistant population were 3.3 and 1.34fold higher than those in the susceptible population. There was, however, little difference in the activities of esterase and glutathione S-transferase between the resistant and susceptible population. These findings suggest that the increased activities of microsomal O-demethylase and N-demethylase may be important mechanisms involved in the resistance of the rice stem borer to methamidophos and monosultap. In order to find the hypothesized monosultap-resistant related point mutation, cDNA fragments encoding Chilo suppressalis nAChR α1 (Csα1)subunit were amplified using the RT-PCR technique from susceptible and resistant individuals. Though no unique mutation was found in resistant individuals, the pattern of single nucleotide polymorphisms was described and discussed. There were a total of 33 single nucleotides polymorphisms, of which 14 resulted in amino acid polymorphisms. An insertion was also found in two of the nine cDNAs.

The whitebacked planthopper, Sogatella furcifera(Horvth) is a major pest of rice crops in China. Its spatial distribution in rice fields is very complex. In this study, we applied semivariogram and ordinary kriging, the most important geostatistical techniques, to analyze the spatial structure of whitebacked planthopper nymphs in rice fields during different growing seasons of rice. Over the rice growing season, the average density of nymphs was very low, and their clumped range was less in the early rice season than in the late rice season. After immigration into rice fields, the nymph population showed a clumped distribution at low density, and the distance between dependent samples became larger as the growing season progressed. At low density, planthoppers had good spatial dependence over short distances ranging from 17.3 m to 60 m or more. Both density and range were less in the early than in the late rice season. The application of geostatistics to these data provided more detailed information on the spatial dependence and spatial structure of the whitebacked planthopper population during different rice growing stages.

The fluorescent substance tracing method was used to quantitatively measure and analyze the damage to rice plants by the white-backed planthopper Sogatella furcifera and the ability of the lycosid spider Pirata subpiraticus to control Sogatella furcifera during the two rice growth stages (the tasseling and maturing stage).The results show that the fluorescent substance content of the rice plant, Sogatella furcifera and Pirata subpiraticus obviously increased with increasing concentration of fluorescent substance from 20 mg/L to 50 mg/L to 100 mg/L respectively. During the tasseling stage, rice consumption by Sogatella furcifera was 0.0636 g per insect every 24 h, and the consumption of Sogatella furcifera by Pirata subpiraticus was 0.0336 g per spider every 24 h, equaling 6-7 planthoppers per day. During the maturing stage, rice consumption of Sogatella furcifera was 0.0115 g per insect every 24 h, and the consumption of Sogatella furcifera by Pirata subpiraticus was 0.0416 g per spider every 24 h, equaling 16 planthoppers per day. Comparing the two growth stages, the per gram fluorescent substance content of Sogatella furcifera and Pirata subpiraticus was significantly higher at the maturing stage than at the tasseling stage.

Life tables of laboratory population of Spodoptera exigua at five different temperatures were constructed. The results showed that the developmental rate increased with the increasing temperature from 20℃ to 32℃, and the relationship between them could be simulated by the Logistic model. The developmental temperature thresholds and sum of effective temperature required for egg, larva, pupa, preoviposition stages and generation were 13.73℃, 15.68℃, 15.09℃, 12.83℃, 15.06℃, and 37.9, 126.3, 73.8, 29.2, 265.6 degree-day respectively. Both survival rate of immature stage and population trend index were the highest at 26℃. 20℃ was unfit for growth of the population. Mean egg productions at 26℃ and 29℃ were 604.7 and 611.4 respectively. 26℃ was the most suitable for adult mating with mating rate of 84.85% and 2.64 spermatophora accepted per female. Adult longevity, reoviposition and ovipositon periods declined at high temperature. Relationship between generation survival rate (S), population trend index (I) and temperature (t) could be descried by the equations: S=-0.5056 t²+27.652 t-326.02, I=-3.2532 t²+178.45 t-2270.40.

Numerical dynamics of adult rice water weevils, Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus Kuschel, during harvesting and subsequent storage of the first season rice crop, as well as relationships between adult survival duration, temperature and humidity, were examined. During harvesting, only 3%-13% of weevil adults were transferred to stored grain, and less than 1% of these could survive 2 days exposure to the sun; however, the number of adults transferred to rice straw was 5.1-12.3 times more than that transferred to grain. One month after harvesting, no adult weevils survived in stored grain, compared to 250 and 17 adults per 50 kg surviving in stored shrunken grain and straw, respectively. Survival duration of adults at ≥90% RH and in glass tubes was significantly longer than those at 35%-75% RH and in rice grain. Survival duration was not evidently affected by temperature for adults in stored grain; however, survival duration at 20℃ (constant temperature) was significantly longer than at 27.0-33.2℃ (room temperature) for adults in glass tubes. Analyses of relationships between survival and humidity, temperature and substrate using the exponential model of survival analysis revealed that the risk of death increased significantly as humidity decreased in the range 75%-98% RH, and that the risk of mortality was also higher under high temperatures (27.0-33.2℃) and in stored grain. These results provide a basis for the quarantine of L. oryzophilus in stored rice grain.

The social behaviors of the carpenter ant Componotus tonkinus were studied in a semi-natural condition, by observing individual activity. Thirty four workers from a small colony were individually marked. In a total of seven-days observation, the types and frequency of the behaviors displayed by individual ants were recorded. Hierarchical cluster analysis of behavioral frequency data was carried out to determine the labor divisions in the colony. At least 12 behavior types were identified. The colony members were organized around five functional groups：the reproductive group (the queen)，foraging group (10 workers), nest caring group (16 workers), defence group (3 workers) and inactive group (includeing 5 workers).

Statistical analyses of 11 math morphological features (MMF) (such as area, perimeter, etc.) from images of 23 species of insects from the Lepidopter a and Coleoptera families Noctuoidea, Bombycoidea, Papilionoidea, Scarabaeoidea and Chrysomeloidea indicates that the ranked reliability of MMF in the identification of insect superfamilies is, from high to low: circularity＞(area, perimeter, X-length, sphericity, roundness, eccentricity)＞(Ylength, lobation)＞(form factor, hole number). From the perspective of mathematical morphology, the kinship of three superfamilies can be ranked as follows: Noctuoidea & Papilionoidea＞Bombycoidea & Papilionoidea＞Noctuoidea & Bombycoidea.

The D2 variable region of 28S ribosomal RNA was sequenced from ethanol preserved specimens or obtained from the literature to provide the first molecular phylogenetic reconstruction of this subfamily. Evolutionary relationships were investigated by comparing the results using three different analysis methods (distance-based neighbor-joining, NJ; maximum parsimony, MP; and maximum likelihood, ML) and three different outgroups. The monophyly of the Rogadinae s.s. is well supported by all trees generated from molecular data. The morphologically defined tribes and the relationships within the subfamily are partially resolved. We found no evidence for a monophyletic Rogadini lineage, neither for the morphological subtribe division within the tribe, but we did find some evidence for three other tribes. Among the genera of Rogadini our results show strong support for the paraphyly of this group. It can be divided into two clades, one consisting of Aleiodes+Arcaleiodes, the other of Canalirogas+Conspinaria+Spinaria+Rogas. The clade Aleiodes+Arcaleiodes was constantly resolved using different outgroups with all Aleiodes species forming a monophyletic group. Two distinct clades are found within Aleiodes, strongly corresponding to the morphologically defined subgeneric divisions of the genus. For the clade Canalirogas+Conspinaria+Spinaria+Rogas, we found only limited support for this clade to be a monophyletic group. We did not find any support for the genus Spinaria to receive subtribe rank. The tribe Clinocentrini is well supported in our analyses, and probably occupy a basal position in the phylogeny of the subfamily. We also found two well-supported clades containing the genera Yelicones and Stiropius, corresponding to the tribes Yeliconini and Stiropiini, respectively, which were well defined by morphological data, but the placement of these two clades within the phylogeny of the subfamily is poorly resolved in this study.

This paper provides a new taxonomic system for the Eurasian Pamphagidae, in whichh the 47 known genera are divided into 6 subfamilies including 4 new subfamilies: Prionotropisinae nov., Thrinchinae, Pamphaginae, Tropidaucheninae nov., Nocarodesinae nov., Orchaminae nov.

This paper deals with the 10 species of the genus Micromelalopha Nagano, 1916 that are found in China, including two new species: M. variata Wu et Fang sp. Nov. and M. ralla Wu et Fang sp. Nov. M. flavomaculata Tshistjakov is treated as a subspecies of M. vicina Kiriakoff. M. haemorrhoidalis cinereibasis Kiriakoff is synonymized with M. haemorrhoidalis haemorrhoidalis Kiriakoff. The male and female genitalia of the new species are illustrated. A key to the Chinese species is provided.

The present paper reviews the concepts, processes, adaptive value and relevant influencing factors of learning by hymenopterous parasitoids in the process of host foraging. Learning is a general feature in parasitoids that usually occurs in the adult stage of these insects. Learning is often characterized by associative learning. Two effects can result from learning: priming and preference learning, which play a significant role in all steps of host foraging, enabling these parasitoids to effectively recognize and utilize profitable cues in a complex and dynamic environment and thus increase their foraging efficiency. The potential and effects of learning vary with the degree of dietary specialization of the parasitoids and their hosts, the host stages attacked physiological status of the parasitoids and the features of the stimuli in the environment. Understanding learning by parasitoids can help the development of techniques for manipulating parasitoid behavior, and thereby increase the efficacy of parasitoids as biological control agents in insect pest management.

Apparent competition is a new type of indirect interaction between species that is different from resource-mediated competition. It is a phenomenon In which two species that share a natural enemy negatively affect each other’s abundance. It is now known that apparent competition is as important as resource-mediated competition, especially for phytophagous insects. There has been great progress in theoretical and experimental aspects of apparent competition over the last 10 years. This paper reviews recent studies on different aspects of apparent competition in insects, including the underlying concepts, experiments, theoretical models, mechanisms of interaction and coexistence etc. The application of apparent competition in pest control is discussed.

This paper reviews the effect of recombinant baculovirus insecticides on the predatory and parasitic natural enemies of insect pests, the recombination between recombinant baculovirus and the genome of other organisms and the ecological effect of recombinant baculovirus. So far studies have shown that compared with wild-type baculoviruses，the ecological fitness of recombinant baculoviruses is reduced，thereby reducing the risks to ecosystems and non-target organisms such as predators and parasites. However，the use of the recombinant baculoviruses as biocontrol agents is not risk-free. The long term biosafety of recombinant baculoviruses needs to be profoundly and completely studied.

Malathion resistance of brown planthopper (Nilaparvata lugens Stal) was selected in laboratory and the successive changes in carboxylesterase (CarE) and AChE were also analyzed. The results showed that the speed of resistance selection varied with generations. The biggest change of LD₅₀ occurred between the 3rd－5th generations. The rise of carboxylesterase activity was correlated with the change in malathion resistance for the first 5 generations, while change in AChE sensitivity between 6th－8th generations had a higher correlation with the resistance development. Therefore, it was concluded that carboxylesterase activity increase play important role in the early stage of the resistance development and the AChE insensitivity at the late stage.

Two cDNA fragments encoding prepromelittin were amplified by RT-PCR from the total RNA from the venom glands of the worker honeybees, Apis cerana cerana and A. mellifera. The PCR products were ligated into pGEM-Teasy vector. The results of sequencing showed that the ORFs coding for prepromelittin were all 213 bp in length. The amino acid sequence of A. cerana cerana prepromelittin shared 97% homologies with that of A. mellifera prepromelittin and A. cerana indica prepromelittin. The nucleotide sequence reported here was submitted to GenBank with accession no. AF487907.