【Aim】 This study aims to investigate the expression of the odor binding protein gene MmedOBP19 in the sensilla in legs of the braconid wasp Microplitis mediator and the ligand binding characteristics of recombinant MmedOBP19. 【Methods】 The ultrastructure of sensilla on the legs of female and male adults of M. mediator was observed by using scanning electron microscope. The in situ hybridization assays were conducted to explore the expression of MmedOBP19 in the forelegs of female adults of M. mediator. The fluorescence-based competitive binding assays were performed to measure the binding abilities of the recombinant MmedOBP19 to 86 candidate ligand compounds. 【Results】 There are three kinds of morphological sensilla on the legs of adult wasps, including sensilla trichodea, sensilla chaetica and sensilla basiconica, amongst which sensilla basiconica with two pores on the tip belong to taste sensilla. The in situ hybridization analysis showed that the expression of MmedOBP19 was concentrated at the base of the sensilla in tarsi of the foreleg. The results of fluorescence-based competitive binding assays revealed that the recombinant MmedOBP19 had strong affinities with non-volatile plant secondary metabolites, such as gossypol (Ki=2.32±0.17 μmol/L), berberine sulphate (Ki=4.86±1.81 μmol/L), quercetin (Ki=4.93±0.21 μmol/L), tannin (Ki=5.23±0.38 μmol/L), rutin (Ki=5.91±0.26 μmol/L) and quinine (Ki=6.05±0.51 μmol/L). In addition, MmedOBP19 could bind to octadecenoic acid (Ki=4.32±1.73 μmol/L) and linoleic acid (Ki=3.55±0.44 μmol/L), but had a weak binding ability with limonene (Ki=12.65±2.55 μmol/L). 【Conclusion】 Legs of M. mediator wasps might be involved in chemical communication behavior, and MmedOBP19 in the legs of M. mediator wasps may play major roles in taste perception.

【Aim】 The objective of this study is to characterize eight digestive carboxypeptidase genes in Anopheles sinensis, and to analyze their expression patterns before and post blood meal feeding. 【Methods】 The characteristics of eight digestive carboxypeptidase genes of An. sinensis were analyzed using bioinformatics methods, and their expression levels in different tissues at different developmental stages and in the midguts of female adults at different time points post blood meal feeding (PBM) were compared by semi-quantitative reverse transcription PCR and quantitative realtime PCR (qRT-PCR), respectively. 【Results】 Bioinformatics analysis indicated that of the eight carboxypeptidase genes, six genes encode carboxypeptidases A (AsCPA-I-AsCPA-VI) and two encode carboxypeptidases B (AsCPB-I and AsCPB-II). The expression of AsCPA-V was only detected in midguts and carcasses (whole mosquitoes minus midgut) of the 4th instar larvae, suggesting that it might have specific expression in larvae, while the other seven genes were simultaneously expressed in the 4th instar larvae and adults. After blood meal feeding, the expression levels of AsCPA-I, AsCPA-II, AsCPA-III, AsCPA-IV, AsCPA-VI, AsCPB-I and AsCPB-II in the midguts of female adults significantly changed, but their expression patterns were completely different, suggesting that the blood protein digestion is a complex process involving the coordinative expressions of multiple genes. The expression levels of AsCPA-I, AsCPA-III, AsCPA-IV, AsCPA-VI and AsCPB-II were all up-regulated and peaked at 24 h PBM. Especially, the expression level of AsCPA-VI rapidly increased at 3 h PBM, and peaked at 24 h PBM with~418fold induction, and that of AsCPB-II also increased by more than 40-fold at 24 h PBM, suggesting that they might be involved in blood protein digestion. However, the expression levels of AsCPA-II and AsCPB-I in midguts of female adults were significantly down-regulated after blood meal feeding. 【Conclusion】 Eight carboxypeptidase genes from An. sinensis were characterized. Among them, AsCPA-I, AsCPA-III, AsCPA-IV, AsCPA-VI and AsCPB-II are putatively involved in blood protein digestion； in particular, AsCPA-VI and AsCPB-II might play more important roles. Our results provide a basis for further study on the molecular mechanism of blood protein digestion in mosquitos as well as in An. sinensis.

【Aim】 To analyze and compare the structure of the bacterial communities in the midgut and hindgut of Protaetia brevitarsis larvae fed on Zea mays stalk, and to further explore the function of these gut bacteria in stalk digestion of this insect. 【Methods】 The total DNA was extracted from 10 samples of healthy gut bacteria (5 midgut contents and 5 hindgut contents) of the 3rd instar larvae of P. brevitarsis. The V4 region of 16S rDNA of the bacterial communities in the midgut and hindgut of P. brevitarsis was sequenced by Illumina HiSeq techniques, and the number of operational taxonomic units (OTUs), species composition abundance, alpha diversity and beta diversity were analyzed. The gut bacteria community data were mapped to KEGG genome database for further bacterial community function discovery. 【Results】 Totally, 1 062 897 high quality reads of gut bacteria of the 3rd instar larvae of P. brevitarsis were produced and clustered to 2 441 OTUs, which were annotated into 27 phylums, 51 classes, 77 orders, 168 families and 326 genera. At the genus level, Pseudomonas and Desulfovibrio were the most dominant genus in the midgut and hindgut, respectively. Alpha diversity data showed that the bacterial communities in the hindgut were more abundant than those in the midgut, and the beta diversity analysis indicated that the bacterial communities in the hindgut were more stable than those in the midgut. Function analysis of bacterial communities showed that both the bacterial communities in the midgut and hindgut contained stalk degradation enzymes, and the lignin degradation pathways were more abundant in the midgut while the cellulose degradation enzymes more abundant in hindgut. 【Conclusion】 The structure and characteristics of the bacterial communities in the midgut and hindgut of P. brevitarsis larvae fed on corn stalk were clarified, and their functions in helping P. brevitarsis digest stalk were discovered. These results will provide references for the further study on stalk digestion mechanism of this insect, and offer a new idea for utilization of crop straw resources in China.

【Aim】 This study aims to explore the sublethal effects of carbendazim on the growth and development and detoxifying enzyme activities of the larvae of the Italian honeybee, Apis mellifera ligustica. 【Methods】 Larvae in two treatment groups were fed with diets containing 0.25 and 0.75 mg/g a.i. carbendazim (relative mortality rate<5%), respectively, while those in the control group with the normal diets. All larvae were reared with different diets until eclosion, and their growth indexes (pupal weight, pupation rate and eclosion rate), total protein concentration, and T-SOD and detoxifying enzyme activities were assayed. 【Results】 There were no significant differences in the pupal weight, pupation rate and eclosion rate of A. m. ligustica among all groups (P>0.05). The total protein concentration in pupae decreased in the treatment group fed with diets containing 0.75 mg/g a.i. carbendazim (P<0.05). The total superoxide dismutase activities in the treatment groups fed with diets containing 0.25 and 0.75 mg/g a.i. carbendazim tended to be significantly higher than that in the control group, being 1.35- and 1.28.fold as high as the control group, respectively. The juvenile hormone titer in the treatment groups fed with diets containing 0.25 and 0.75 mg/g a.i. carbendazim were significantly higher than that in the control group, being 1.57- and 1.75-fold as high as the control group, respectively. Ecdysone titers in the treatment groups fed with diets containing 0.25 and 0.75 mg/g a.i. carbendazim were only 62% and 65% of the control group, respectively (P<0.05). The cytochrome P450 (CYP450) and carboxylesterase (CarE) activities were increased in the low-dose (0.25 mg/g a.i.) treatment group (P<0.05), and then returned to the normal level in the high-dose (0.75 mg/g a.i.) treatment group, but no inhibitory effect on the activities of the two enzymes was found (P>0.05). There was no significant difference in glutathione-S-transferase (GST) activity between treatment groups and the control group (P>0.05). 【Conclusion】 These results demonstrate that sublethal doses of carbendazim restrain the growth and development of A. m. ligustica larvae, but do not cause their acute death, and may cause potential harm to the stability and development of the colony.

【Aim】 Apolygus lucorum (Meyer-Dür) (Hemiptera: Miridae) is a serious piercing sucking pest of Bt cotton in China. Currently, spraying organophosphates and pyrethroids has been widely accepted for A. lucorum management, while spraying neonicotinoids is not recommended due to their low contact toxicity. However, neonicotinoid insecticidal seed treatments effectively protect cotton from A. lucorum infestation until blooming stage. Therefore, an appropriate bioassay method needs to be developed to re-evaluate the toxicity of these insecticides to A. lucorum. 【Methods】 Two different types of bioassays, i.e., glass-vial and artificial diet toxicity bioassay, were used to assess the toxicities of 16 insecticides belonging to five chemical categories to the 3rd instar nymphs and adults of A. lucorum. 【Results】 The LC₅₀ values of neonicotinoid insecticides to the adults and nymphs of A. lucorum ranged from 337.97 to 496.03 μg/mL in the glassvial toxicity test, which were significantly higher than those of other classes of insecticides (0.28-207.26 μg/mL). However, the LC₅₀ values of the neonicotinoids to both adults and nymphs ranged from 0.01-1.08 μg/g in the artificial diet bioassay, which were equal to or lower than those of other classes of insecticides. 【Conclusion】 The results indicated that the ingestion toxicity of neonicotinoids is stronger than the contact toxicity to A. lucorum and these insecticides should be recommended to fight against this pest. The artificial diet test can be used as an alternative resistance monitoring method for neonicotinoids in the future.

【Aim】 This study aims to investigate the effects of humidity on the survival rate and boring rate of the oriental fruit moth Grapholitha molesta (Busck), and the critical stage of humidity affecting its final survival rate. 【Methods】 At five relative humidity (25%, 40%, 55%, 70% and 85%) indoor, the number of eggs laid per female, egg hatching rate, larval boring rate, pupation rate, pupal eclosion rate and the time of oviposition, pupation and eclosion of G. molesta were recorded and analyzed.【Results】 Humidity had no effect on pupation rate of G. molesta, which stayed 100% at all the five relative humidity. Humidity had a significant influence on the number of eggs laid per female, egg hatching rate, larval boring rate, pupal eclosion rate and generation survival rate, all of which increased with the humidity. The most critical life stage that the humidity had a significant influence on the survival rate was the larval boring stage, followed by adult, egg, pupal and the last instar larval stages. Humidity had significant influences on the generation survival rate in the egg hatching stage, adult stage and larval boring stage. Meanwhile, higher humidity was beneficial for oviposition, pupation and eclosion of this insect, while the development was delayed under drier conditions. 【Conclusion】 Humidity has significant effects on the survival rate, larval boring rate and fecundity of G. molesta. Adult, egg and larval boring stages of G. molesta are the critical stages when its population and boring rate are impacted by humidity.

【Aim】 The cotton aphid, Aphis gossypii Glover (Hemiptera: Aphididae), is an important widely dispersed agricultural pest with a wide host plant range. In recent years, it was found that Chinese wolfberry (Lycium barbarum L.) is heavily damaged by A. gossypii as a new host plant. L. barbarum mostly cultivated in the west of China is a rare traditional medicine and food, and the life cycle of A. gossypii on L. barbarum is still unclear. In this study, the biology and bionomics of A. gossypii on cultivated L. barbarum were studied in order to provide data for forecasting and managing A. gossypii on L. barbarum. 【Methods】 The morphological characteristics, developmental duration, life cycle, host plants, habits, population dynamics and natural enemy species of A. gossypii on cultivated L. barbarum plants were investigated under the field conditions in Qinghai Province. 【Results】 Both the nymphs and adults of A. gossypii directly damage Lycium host by sucking the cell sap from shoots, leaves, flowers and fruits. Population outbreaks of this pest lead to huge yield losses and dramatic quality decline of L. barbarum fruits. A. gossypii on L. barbarum host has six aphid types, i.e., virginoparae (apterous and alate parthenogenetic viviparous females), winged gynoparae, sexuparae (alate male and oviparous apterous female) and fundatrix, with significantly different external morphological characteristics which can be used to distinguish different life stages of this aphid. The original host for the aphid is Lycium vegetation. This aphid is polyvolitine (10-16 generations/year) in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The diapause eggs overwinter on trunk and twig of Lycium plants, and the fundatrix emerge from eggs in the next April. Apterous parthenogenesis aphids were often observed in early May, whereas winged aphids occur in June and migrate in Lycium fields. The viviparous stage ranges from May to September, and virginopara begin to produce sexual winged female aphids, alate males and apterous oviparous females. Mating and copulating, and oviposition on trunk and twig of Lycium plants were often observed in October. A. gossypii has four nymphal instars on Lycium plants. The average nymphal durations last 10.22±3.32 and 9.55±2.53 d, the average adult longevities are 10.10±1.07 and 8.97±1.34 d, the average entire life spans 20.32±6.31 and 18.52±4.51 d, and the average fecundities 17.86±5.66 and 15.33±3.76 nymphs per female for apterous and alate virginoparae, respectively. The main predators and natural enemies for A. gossypii include Hippodamia variegata (Goeze), Coccinella septempunctata L., Chrysopa formosa Brauer and Aphidius sp. in Lycium fields. 【Conclusion】 A. gossypii has a holocyclic life cycle on Lycium host. Its body size on Lycium host is bigger than that on other host plants, total developmental duration longer and fecundity less. Its population quantity on Lycium host has two peaks in August and September, respectively, instead of one peak on other hosts in May to June as found in the previous research. These differences may be related to the ecological adaptability of A. gossypii to Lycium host and the Qinghai-Tibet plateau environments. However, the adaptive mechanisms need further exploration.

【Aim】 Endoclita davidi is the primary host of the entomogenous fungus Ophiocordyceps xuefengensis. In order to identify the host species in different developmental stages and its caterpillar infected by the Cordyceps fungi, the gene sequence of mtDNA cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) of E. davidi was analyzed for DNA barcoding. 【Methods】 The partial fragments (about 658 bp) of the mtDNA COI gene were amplified from 21 samples of tissues of adults (thoracic legs, pectorals, wing base), egg, larva (thoracic legs), pupa (body wall), caterpillar fungus (thoracic legs, body wall) of E. davidi by PCR, and the obtained COI gene fragments were sequenced and aligned. The intra-and inter-species genetic distances were calculated with MEGA version 6.0 software using the Kimura 2-parameter model. The phylogenetic trees were constructed among the closely-related species with neighbor-joining (NJ) and maximum parsimony (MP) methods. 【Results】 The identification results based on the phylogenetic tree were consistent with those based on the morphological analysis of the 20 samples, which were all verified to be originated from the same host species. The bootstrap values of the original divergence among different haplotypes within the same species were over 99%. The average inter-species genetic distance between  E. davidi and other six hepialid species was 19.39 times as high as the average intra-species genetic distance of the 20 samples of E. davidi (10.47% vs 0.54%). There was no overlap between intra-and inter-species genetic distances. 【Conclusion】 The results indicate that DNA barcoding based on the partial sequence of mtDNA COI gene provides rapid and accurate identification of E. davidi. The technology has important significance for molecular phylogenetic studies of Hepialidae.

【Aim】 This study aims to study the influences of storage time and conditions on the DNA detection rates of the common aphid species Sitobion avenae (Fabricius) and Schizaphis graminum (Rondani), the primary parasitoid Aphidius gifuensis (Ashmead) and the hyperparasitoid Pachyneuron aphidis (Bouché). 【Methods】 The empty aphid mummies were stored for different periods (4, 8, 12, 16, 20 and 24 d after parasitoid emergence), soaked in water for 4 h or unsoaked and kept at different temperature (16, 24 and 32℃) and humidity (RH 40% and 80%) combinations. The samples were collected at different time and stored for DNA extraction. The extracted DNA from the empty aphid mummies were detected using the species-specific primers. 【Results】 The results showed that the DNA detection rates of both parasitoid species decreased gradually with the storage time. In the empty mummies collected 24 d after parasitoid emergence, the A. gifuensis DNA was detected from 66.7% of S. avenae mummies and 86.7% of S. graminum mummies, respectively， and the P. aphidis DNA was detected from 66.7% of both aphid mummies. The DNA detection rates of S. avenae and S. graminum aphids and A. gifuensis wasps among soaked/unsoaked treatments or other different temperature and relative humidity combination treatments were 76.7%-100% from the empty aphid mummies collected 24 d after parasitoid emergence. 【Conclusion】 The results verified the stability of parasitoid DNA residues in wheat aphid mummy shells and the feasibility of DNA detection technique for empty aphid mummies. This offers a more convenient method to explore the aphid-parasitoid interactions.

 From the point of view of natural history, both the concepts and characteristics of the monophyletic group, phylogenetic systematics and natural classification system have been clarified. Natural classification system is a taxonomic system and natural evolution process of all members in the monophyletic group and their phylogenetic relationships. Only a monophyletic group including all extinct and extant members can be called a natural taxonomic system. At present, systematic biology mainly uses the cladistic principles and methods to reconstruct an evolutionary tree. During the preparation and application of a variety of system programming languages, researchers often focus on the morphological and molecular data acquisition, and the operating and calculating process, but largely ignore the hypotheses and associated weakness of the parsimony principle and the maximum likelihood or Bayesian inference. There are two common misunderstandings in the process of phylogenetic reconstruction: (1) a monophyletic group is claimed as a natural system due to incomplete selection of ingroup members; (2) a parsimony or likelihood phylogenetic relationship through mathematics and program operations is claimed as a natural evolutionary system. A natural monophyletic group often has a long evolutionary history and cannot be directly observed in nature or repeated in the laboratory. The systematical relationship among a monophyletic group established by cladistics principles is only the maximum parsimony or the likelihood speculation, thus, cannot truly reflect the development process of natural history. Fossils can provide better spatiotemporal framework information, but the number and accuracy of the available features are not sufficient. Living organisms have various abundant characteristic and genetic data. However, due to their long evolutionary history and the lack of a large number of important extinct members, the most deduced phylogenies are paraphyletic group or polyphyletic group and cannot constitute a natural system. It is impossible to construct a natural system of the whole monophyletic group by using only macro and microinformation of extant organisms. With the help of various techniques and research methods, the optimal approach to study a natural system is to combine the morphological and molecular data and integrate the whole ancient and modern members. In this process, six principles can be used to test whether the classification system is consistent with the development of natural history.

Insects, the largest group of multicellular organisms on the Earth, are notable for their numerous species and varied morphology, generally harboring abundant microbes in their digestive tract. These microorganisms help the host in digestion, nutrition absorption, pheromone synthesis, as well as playing a role in the defense of harmful invaders, which strengthen the host immune activity. Lepidoptera is the second largest order in Insecta, with many common pest and beneficial insect species. Many methods and techniques have been developed for the research on the gut microbiota, which becomes a hot research topic in recent years. This review outlines the research of gut microbiota in lepidopteran insects (e.g., Bombyx mori, Spodoptera littoralis and Plutella xylostella), including gut environment, microbial diversity and research methods. Furthermore, the community structure of several lepidopteran model insects and the roles of gut microbes in host’s detoxification and immune system are summarized. The findings we review here should be valuable for the further research on the gut microbiota in lepidopteran insects, and pave the way for developing novel strategies to control pests and protect beneficial insects.

【Aim】 To clarify whether the population explosion of mango thrips is influenced by their migration between hosts in the flowering and fruiting stages of mango. 【Methods】 The population dynamics of thrips in open and netted fields with and without weeds, and different orientations (east, south, west, north and central positions) of open fields of mango orchards were regularly monitored by using sticky traps and direct investigation. 【Results】 In the flowering and fruiting stages, the number of thrips increased significantly with the coming of flowering stage in open fields with and without weeds. In netted fields, the number of thrips increased from the flower-fading stage to the fruit setting stage and kept constant in other stages. The number of thrips trapped in open fields was always significantly higher than that in netted fields. The population of mango thrips reached a peak from the flower-fading stage to the fruit-setting stage. The number of thrips in mango trees was positively correlated with the number of thrips trapped by sticky traps. From inflorescence emergence to the initial flowering stage and the flowerfading stage to the small fruit stage, the numbers of thrips in the south position of mango orchards were significantly higher than those in the central position. 【Conclusion】 The population explosion of mango thrips in the flowering stage of mango is mainly due to the migration of thrips from other plants.

After reexamining the specimens identified by WANG Lin-Yao (1998) as Lemonia taraxaci (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775) in his paper titled “Lemoniidae-New to China” and deposited in Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, we found that it is a misidentification of Rotunda rotundapex (Miyata & Kishida, 1990) (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae), so the record of the family Lemoniidae in China by WANG (1998) should be canceled. We redescribed the morphological characteristics of the misidentified specimens, provided the photos of the adults, wing venation and genitalia, and compared the diagnostic characteristics of this bombycid species and the true Lemonia taraxaci.