Impacts of dietary nickel （1-40 mg/kg） on the development and the energy reserves in the hemolymph of the 5th and 6th instar larvae of Spodoptera litura Fabricius were investigated by feeding S. litura larvae with the artificial diets amended with different doses of nickel （1, 5, 10, 20 and 40 mg/kg） for 3 generations. The results indicated that the contents of total sugars in the hemolymph of larvae of 48 h and 96 h in the 1st and 2nd generation were all lower than that in the control. However, the contents of total sugars in the hemolymph of larvae at other treatments in the successive 3 generations increased at low-level nickel exposure （1-5 mg/kg）, while decreased at high-level nickel exposure （20-40 mg/kg）. Exposure to nickel for three successive generations significantly lowered the content of proteins in comparison with that in the control. The contents of proteins in the hemolymph of 72-120 h larvae in the successive 3 generations were higher than that in the control after low-level nickel exposure. However, high-level nickel exposure only decreased the content of proteins in the larvae of 72-120 h in the 1st generation and 72 h in the 2nd generation. Higher contents of lipids were observed in the hemolymph of larvae of 0, 48-72 h and 120 h in the 1st generation after 20-40 mg/kg nickel exposure in comparison with that in the control. The contents of lipids in the larvae of 24 and 96 h were lower than that in the control. Caloric values in the hemolymph of larvae of 0-48 h decreased with the increasing nickel levels in the successive 3 generations. However, caloric values in the hemolymph of larvae of 72-120 h in the 2nd and 3rd generation increased after low-level nickel exposure （1-5 mg/kg）, while decreased after high-level nickel exposure （20-40 mg/kg）. Moreover, the weights of the 5th and 6th instar larvae increased at low-level nickel exposure, but decreased at high-level nickel exposure. Therefore, it is inferred that the effects of nickel on the energy reserves of S. litura larvae are related with the type of energy substances in their bodies, their developmental stage and the number of successive generations exposed to nickel.

Testis is the generative gland in silkworm Bombyx mori that produces spermatozoa. A complete understanding of proteins expressed in the testis will provide biological information on development and reproduction in males of the silkworm. We investigated the testis proteins of 5th instar day 5 larvae of the silkworm using two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and silver staining, followed by computer-assisted analysis. Then, the matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry was applied to identify the major protein spots of the 2D map with peptide mass fingerprinting data. The results showed that over 1 000 spots were obtained by silver staining. The profiles of silkworm tissue proteins were established in a pI range of 3.5-9 and a molecular mass range of 15 kD to 90 kD. Among them, 60 proteins were identified successfully, which were divided into 8 groups according to their known or putative functions, including cytoskeleton and cell structure （cell differentiation）, membrane protein receptors or cell signaling related, stress response （chaperones）, mitochondrial and energy production related, translational and transcriptional regulation or DNA/RNA binding related, enzymes and blood components. Many proteins play important roles in flagellar formation, energy metabolism and meiosis. These results may provide valuable biological information for investigating spermiogenesis in the silkworm.

Metallothioneins （MTs） are low molecular weight, metal-binding and cysteine rich proteins found in a variety of living organisms. In this study, a 408 bp cDNA encoding for a metallothionein was cloned from housefly （Musca domestica） by RACE based on EST information and named as MdMtn （GenBank accession no. GU289398）. Sequence analysis showed that MdMtn contains a 123 bp open reading frame （ORF） encoding a protein of 40 amino acid residues. The MdMtn peptide sequence includes 10 cysteine residues with a distribution pattern of -C-X-C-.The predicted molecular weight of encoding protein is 3.8 kD with the isoelectric point （pI） of 8.78. In order to detect the MdMtn activity in binding heavy metals, the target gene was cloned into a prokaryotic expression vector pET-DsbA, and then a fusion protein was expressed in Escherichia coli BL21（DE3）. It was found that in the presence of CdCl2, the expression of MdMtn significantly increased the bacteria tolerance to Cd²⁺, suggesting that MdMtn may play an active role in housefly adaption to the environment with heavy metals.

As the growing area of Bacillus thuringiensis （Bt) transgenic cotton has been extending increasingly, the development of resistance to Bt in the cotton bollworm （CBW), Helicoverpa armigera （Hübner), has become a decisive problem that should not be overlooked. To develop polygenic genetically modified plants is the most effective measure for delaying the resistance of insect pest to Bt transgenic plants and Bt insecticide. In this study, a resistant strain of CBW which had been selected for more than 100 generations and had more than 2 000-fold resistance to Bt insecticide （a product of B. thuringiensis subspecies kurstaki （Btk) including a variety of toxin proteins) was used to test the inheritance mode by bioassays and various hybridizations. The objective of this study is to provide the theoretical basis for the resistance management strategy of Bt commercial formulation, and provide the reference for establishing the resistance management strategy of CBW to the polygenic genetically modified plants. The two progenies of reciprocal parental crosses between the resistant and the susceptible strains responded alike in bioassays. The resistance ratios for FSR and FRS reached 22.2 and 24.6-fold, respectively; the degrees of dominance for FSR and FRS were less than 0 （from -0.20 to -0.17), and the resistance was autosomal and incompletely recessive inheritance. Analysis of progenies from four backcrosses of F1 with the susceptible strain and two F1 by F1 crosses showed that significant deviation occurred between the observed and the expected mortality, suggesting that the resistance is controlled by more than one locus.

In order to ascertain the insecticidal activity and probe into the insecticidal mechanism about bullatacin, we studied the biological activity against Spodoptera litura larvae by bullatacin with leaf feeding method, and observed the cytotoxicity to S. litura ovary cells （SL cells） using MTT method. Meanwhile, we detected cell apoptosis and the change of mitochondrial membrane potential of SL cells by flow cytometer. The results indicated that bullatacin had the antifeedant activity against the 2nd and 3rd instar larvae of S. litura. The AFC₅₀ values were 60.25 μg/mL and 86.73 μg/mL, respectively. This compound also had strong inhibitive activity on the growth of S. litura larvae. The IC₅₀ values on SL cells at 24 and 48 h post treatment were 22.32 μg/mL and 10.03 μg/mL, respectively. Observations by flow cytometer showed that bullatacin induced apoptosis and the decrease of mitochondrial membrane potential in SL cells. The results suggest that bullatacin possesses the antifeedant activity and has strong inhibitive activity on the growth of S. litura larvae. In addition, it can inhibit the proliferation, induce the cell apoptosis and decrease the mitochondrial membrane potential in SL cells. Therefore, bullatacin has a good research and application prospect.

To explore the insecticidal active constituents, toxic effects and toxicological mechanisms of Vitex negundo L. from Taishan Mountain, we investigated the insecticidal components of V. negundo weed seed extract utilizing silica gel column chromatography, GC-MS technology and biological activity tracking, and the toxicity and action mechanism of β-caryophyllene and α-pinene, isolated from V. negundo weed seed extract, against cotton aphid Aphis gossypii using bioassay and biochemical analysis. The results showed that β-caryophyllene and α-pinene with high toxic effect against A. gossypii were isolated from V. negundo weed seed extract by silica gel column chromatography repeatedly, with their contents as high as 7.68% and 5.45%, respectively. The contact toxicities of β-caryophyllene and α-pinene against A. gossypii were all obvious, and the higher one was β-caryophyllene whose LD₅₀ reached 0.65×10^-1 μg per individual. We also found strong repellent effect of β-caryophyllene and α-pinene against A. gossypii, with their AFC₅₀ values being 0.80×10³ and 0.89×10³ mg/L, respectively, 24 h after treatment. At the sublethal dose, they had significant adverse effects on the fertility, honeydew excretion frequency and honeydew production of the aphid. In vitro and in vivo conditions, β-caryophyllene and α-pinene distinctly inhibited the activities of acetylcholine esterase, polyphenol oxidase, carboxylesterase and glutathione S-tramsferases in A. gossypii. The results suggest that β-caryophyllene and α-pinene are important insecticidal compounds of V. negundo, and their action mechanisms show the characteristics of diversity. Therefore, they are worthy of further exploitation and application.

To study the acaricidal mechanism of the fraction L1-2, the main acaricidal component in the extracts of Arctium lappa L.【Methods】The female Panonychus citri （McGregor） adults were treated by the fraction L1-2 with contact application. The activities of carboxylesterase （CarE）, acetylcholine esterase （AChE） and glutathione S-transferases （GSTs） in mites were determined at all poisoning stages.【Results】The CarE activity was inhibited at the stillness stage and the recovery stage, but was induced at the other stages. The activities of AChE and GSTs were induced at all poisoning stages but the stillness stage, and strongly enhanced at the convulsion stage and the paralysis stage, then gradually recovered at the paralysis stage and the recovery stage. 【Conclusions】The CarE activity is related with toxicity of the fraction L1-2 against the female P. citri adults, but the recovery of poisoned mites is probably due to the GSTs and AChE activities induced. L1-2 fraction can affect not only the nerve transition but also the digestive and reproductive system of mites in a long time, so it has potential value in acaricidal research and development.

To understand the relationship between rice plant resistance and the uptake of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium by roots under Nilaparvata lugens infestation, we examined the rice plant resistance （average injury scale）, functional plant loss index (FPLI) and uptake of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium by roots of rice varieties under N. lugens infestation. The results showed that the FPLI of TN1 was the greatest, followed by Xieyou 63 and super-high yield rice Peiai 64S/E32, and that of Xieyou 963 was the lowest （0.661） under the infestation of 30 nymphs per plantThe percent reduction of K uptake in hydroponic solution under the infestation of 40, 60 and 80 nymphs per plant was the highest, followed by P and the last was N. The uptake of N, P and K by roots significantly declined with the increase of N. lugens feeding duration （6 and 9 d）. Percent reduction of K uptake by roots after infestation by 60 nymphs was 164.11% on TN1, 74.61% on Xieyou 63, 55.16% on Xieyou 963 and 46.60% on super-high yield rice Peiai 64S/E32, respectively. It is so concluded that the level of uptake by roots decreased dramatically with the rice plant resistance decreasing. The present findings may have significance for understanding the relationship between rice resistant level and uptake levels of rice roots.

The development of new experimental design and analysis methods that can provide satisfactory formula through conducting as few experiments as possible is extremely important for complex multi-factor and multi-level optimization problem, such as animal and plant nutrition, and fermentation engineering. Based on uniform design and support vector regression, a novel experimental design and analysis method named as UD-SVR for the prescription optimization was proposed. It was applied to optimize the complicated artificial diet including six factors for the cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera （Hübner）. The optimization results showed that the mean pupal weight increased from 0.2436 g in the initial benchmark formulation to 0.3044 g in the optimal prescription after carrying out only 22 schemes. UD-SVR is more efficient than the reference models and has the potential to be widely used for experimental design and analysis of the prescription optimization.

In order to mointor the occurrence of the pine sawyer, Monochamus alternatus Hope, and to prevent the incursion of Bursaphelonchus xylophilus, the effects of meteorological factors and environmental factors on population dynamics of M. alternatus was investigated in 10 locations of Wuyishan Scenic Spot from April to September during 2005-2007. The results showed that meteorological factors and environmental factors composed the main factors that caused quantitative changes of trapped adults and emergence holes of M. alternatus by factor analysis of vectorial progression. The importance of environmental factors influencing the amounts of trapped adults and emergence holes of M. alternatus was in the descending order as follows: the monthly mean temperature, the temperature difference, total precipitation, air pressure and the average humidity. When the data of environmental factors and meteorological factors only were analyzed separately, the importance of environmental factors were in the descending order as follows: slope location, canopy density, coverage degree of ground, elevation, stand age, height of trees and slope aspect; the importance of meteorological factors was in the descending order as follows: atmospheric pressure, average temperature, the temperature difference, total precipitation, and average humidity. It is concluded that environmental factors and meteorological factors may influence distinctly on the population dynamics of M. alternatus.

Insect seed predation and its relationships with seed rain of Quercus aliena were investigated in Tianchi Mountain National Forest Park of Funiu Mountain in Luoyang, a warm temperate forest, from August to September in 2008 and 2009. The results indicated that the duration of seed rain of Q. aliena lasted from middle August to late September. The seed amount at the peak acounted for 78.13% and 75.91% of all seeds in 2008 and 2009, respectively. The seed rain density of Q. aliena was 31.75±16.65 and 51.92±29.26 nuts/m² in 2008 and 2009, respectively. Seed size in 2009 (1.94±0.61 cm³) was significantly smaller than that in 2008 (2.46±0.57 cm³）. The proportion of intact seeds in 2008 and 2009 was 59.05% and 36.12% respectively, and the proportion of the insect-infested seeds was increased significantly in 2009. We also found that the number of weevil eggs and larvae in each insect-infested acorn was significantly correlated with acorn size, and the infested acorns （2.29±0.42 cm³ in size） were much larger than the sound ones （1.59±0.32 cm³ in size）, indicating the preference of weevils to larger acorns for oviposition. The results suggest that weevils prefer larger acorns for oviposition, and the higher proportion of weevil-infested acorns may be one of the main causes of decline in seedling establishment of Q. aliena.

【Aim】 To investigate the nesting structure and the daily activity of a gregarious solitary bee, Dasypoda hirtipes （Fabricius）, in Mu Us sandland, Inner Mongolia. 【Methods】We have excavated total twenty-two nests from 2008 to 2009 and measured some main data of cells and tumulus of nests. 【Results】D. hirtipes nest has more than one lateral tunnel where only one cell is constructed, and the number of lateral tunnels in one nest ranges from 4 to 14. Depth of the main tunnels ranges from 84 to 112 cm; the internal faces of cell are smooth and wax-free layer; there are three evenly sized projections holding the pollen sphere at the bottom in cell. The daily foraging trips of the female bees are from 6 to 8 in normal sunny days; the female bees usually do not carry pollen in the last trip. 【Conclusions】This species has only one generation annually, and the foraging time of D. hirtipes is consistent with daily flowering time of Ixeris sonchifolia, and the main foraging plants are Compositae and Tribulus plants in Mu Us sandland.

In 2006, daily and seasonal outing activities of the worker ants and nuptial flights of alates in the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren, were investigated in Guangzhou area （113°45′E, 22°43′N） of Southern China. The results indicated that daily outing activity of worker ants differed greatly among different seasons or months. Number of worker ants peaked around the midday from December to February but in the morning and afternoon from April to November. Annually, the number of outing worker ants encountered peaked in June and October and reached the lowest in January and February. Period of worker ants encountered outside the nests from April to November was significantly longer than that from December to March. The outing activity of worker ants was greatly enhanced by showers in comparison with that in fine day. However, activity of worker ants was held back during raining. Number of worker ants encountered increased greatly and reached the highest at 30 s after their nests were disturbed. Moreover, the number of worker ants encountered was positively correlated to the degree of nest disturbed. Nuptial flights of alates took place in the experimental area all the year round, but occurred mainly from March to May. Nuptial flights of alates were enhanced before or after raining. Those results provide a reference value for understanding of the occurrence of red imported fire ant in China and enhancing its monitoring skills.

There are more than 1 500 species of Platypodid beetles （Coleoptera：Platypodidae） known around the world. The taxonomy of this group is disputable. The phylogenetic relationships of Platypodid beetles is explored based on molecular gene information in this study. The mtDNA COⅠgene sequences （549 bp） of ten Platypodid species ［Euplatypus parallelus （Fabricius）, Euplatypus hintzi Schaufuss, Euplatypus solutus Schedl, Dinoplatypus cupulatus Chapuis, Dinoplatypus cupulatulus Schedl, Dinoplatypus calamus Blandford, Diapus quinquespinatus Chapuis, Treptoplatypus solidus Walk, Platypus quercivorus Murayama and Platypus lewisi Blandford ］ were sequenced. Software MEGA3.1 was used to analyze the sequence composition and genetic distances. Three molecular phylogenetic trees of Platypodidae were reconstructed using PAUP4.0 according to distance/neighbor-joining, maximum parsimony and maximum likelihood methods. The molecular results were compared with the morphological taxonomy. Furthermore, the phylogenetic relationship among the species and genera to which each species belongs was discussed. The results show that the genetic distances between Platypodid species and the outgroup Orthotomicus erosus Wollaston of Scolytidae （0.288-0.338） are higher than those within Platypodid species （0-0.226）. Genus Diapus is diverged the earliest from the phylogeny tree, and then the genus Euplatypus. Genera Treptohlatypus, Dinoplatypus and Platypus are closely related and diverged last. The result of molecular phylogeny of the Platypodidae is basically the same as that based on morphology revised by Wood （1993）. This indicates that the taxonomy system of Platypodidae has become more reasonable.

The effects of drugs and poisons on the growth and development of necrophagous flies is an important research direction in the field of forensic entomotoxicology. The results of these researches can correct the time of death in cases associated with drugs and poisons. With the global abuse of drugs in recent years increasing, death caused by drugs and poisons becomes more frequent. It often requires application of necrophagous flies to estimate the postmortem interval （PMI） in such cases. In order to illustrate the research advances, future focuses and difficulties of this field, this paper defined and characterized forensic entomotoxicology, and then reviewed the international research progress in recent years according to different drug and poison classification. These studies indicate that some drugs and poisons have a certain impact on the growth and development of necrophagous flies, and this impact has differences among species. At present, the research of this field is still at the stage of macro-observation. This research field is continually widening, and the existing researches are deepening. However, there are many more issues which need to be further studied and discussed.

The focus of this study is to examine the trend in the number and types of hemocytes in all the developmental stages of Zonocerus variegates. The types and number of hemocyte cells present in Z. variegatus during post-embryonic development was evaluated with the aid of hemacytometer. Six hemocyte cells were observed in all the developmental stages from the 1st instar larva to the adult stage, namely: prohaemocytes （PRS）, plasmatocytes （PLS）, granulocytes （GRS）, sherulocytes （SPS）, oenocytes （OES） and adipohaemocytes （ADS）. However, OES was not found in the haemolyph of 1st instar larval stage.PLS had the highest total mean count while OES had the least total mean count of all the six hemocytes. The adult stage had significantly （P<0.05） higher hemocyte count relative to other developmental stages, however, no significant difference （P>0.05） existed between the hemocyte count of the 1st and the 2nd instar larval stages. This study shows that the adult stage is immununilogically able to adapt to the environment better than other lower  developmental stages.

The common pistachio psylla, Agonoscena pistaciae Burckhardt and Lauterer （Hemiptera: Psylloidea）, is considered as the most destructive pests of cultivated pistachio trees in Iran. The predatory bug, Anthocoris minki pistaciae Wagner was found as a biocontrol agent for A. pistaciae in pistachio plantation areas of Iran. The influence of temperature on development of this predatory bug was studied at eight constant temperatures ranging from 17.5 to 35℃ and under controlled condition (55%±5% R.H. and 16L∶8D), while rearing on nymphs of A. pistaciae. The results showed that the predator develops successfully within a wide range of temperature 17.5-32℃, however the eggs almost failed to hatch at 35℃ and only 10% of bug’s nymphs reached to adulthood at 35℃ too. The shortest developmental time was obtained at 30℃ from egg to adult emergence. The thermal constants for development of egg, nymph and total development （egg to adult） for this predatory bug were estimated to be 77, 200 and 263 degree-days, respectively. The lower thresholds for egg, nymph and overall development were found to be 8.53, 9.2 and 9.47℃, respectively. These results provide valuable information to develop an integrated pest management program for the common pistachio psylla.