【Aim】 This study aims to analyze the expression and function of a new long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) and its co-expression gene in the domesticated silkworm, Bombyx mori, so as to further clarify the molecular mechanism of lncRNA in regulating the metamorphosis and development of B. mori. 【Methods】 Based on the transcriptome sequencing data of the fat body of B. mori, we found that the expression of lncRNA63 was significantly up-regulated in the fat body of the early 5th instar larvae treated with 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E)(2 μg/μL) and the hormone receptor gene Hr3 of B. mori was co-expressed with lncRNA63. qRT-PCR was used to analyze the expression profiles of lncRNA63 and Hr3 in different developmental stages (4th-5th instar larva, pupa and adult), different tissues (head, integument, hemolymph, midgut, Malpighian tubules, fat body, silk gland, testis and ovary) of the 5th instar larvae and the fat body of the 5th instar larvae of B. mori treated with 20E (2 μg/μL) for 2, 6, 12 and 24 h. The localization of lncRNA63 in BmN cells of B. mori was detected by nucleocytoplasmic separation and in situ hybridization. The expression of lncRNA63 in the 5th instar larvae of B. mori was interfered by dsRNA, and the effects of RNA interference of lncRNA63 on the expression of Hr3 in the head, silk gland, fat body and integument were detected using qRT-PCR. 【Results】 The qRT-PCR results showed that there was an expression peak of lncRNA63 and Hr3 at the end of pupal stage before eclosion, and both are highly expressed in the head, integument and silk gland of the 5th instar larvae of B. mori. The expression of lncRNA63 and Hr3 in the fat body of the 5th instar larvae of B. mori treated with 2 μg/μL 20E for 2, 6 and 12 h was significantly up-regulated as compared to the control group (ethanol treatment group) and decreased to the level of the control group at 24 h after treatment, with their expression trend being completely consistent. LncRNA63 was mainly localized in the nucleus of BmN cells, but 20E induced the nucleocytoplasmic translocation of lncRNA63. After interference of the expression of lncRNA63 with dsRNA, the expression of Hr3 was significantly down-regulated. 【Conclusion】 20E can not only regulate the expression of lncRNA63, but also induce the nucleocytoplasmic translocation of lncRNA63. LncRNA63 may participate in the metamorphosis and development of B. mori by regulating the expression of its co-expressed gene Hr3.

 【Aim】 The phytophagous piercing-sucking insect saliva protein participates in the regulation of plant defense response against insects and affects insect adaptability to host plants. The aim of the present study is to clone the important salivary protein gene Nl15 in the brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens, and to investigate its temporal and spatial expression patterns, so as to clarify its roles in virulence of N. lugens. 【Methods】 Based on the transcriptome data of IR56 population of N. lugens, the cDNA sequence of Nl15 was cloned from N. lugens by RT-PCR, and subjected to bioinformatics analysis. The expression profiles of Nl15 in different developmental stages (egg, 1st-5th instar nymph, and female and male adult) and female adult tissues (head, thorax, abdomen and leg) of TN1 and IR56 populations of N. lugens were determined by qPCR. The RNAi of Nl15 was carried out by dsRNA microinjection into the 4th instar nymphs of TN1 and IR56 populations of N. lugens. The relative expression levels of Nl15 in N. lugens nymphs after RNAi of Nl15 and defense-related genes OsLecRK4, OsMPK10, OsWRKY24, OsLox, OsNPR1, and OsGns5 in rice plants fed by N. lugens nymphs for 3 d following RNAi of Nl15 were detected by qPCR. The survival rate and the honeydew amount and body weight gain of N. lugens adults after RNAi of Nl15 were determined by bioassay. 【Results】 The cDNA sequence of Nl15 (GenBank accession no.: OK181113) of N. lugens was cloned. It has an open reading frame of 1 008 bp in length, encoding 335 amino acids with the predicted isoelectric point of 7.54 and the molecular weight of 38.7 kD. The Nl15 protein contains a signal peptide sequence of 23 aa and a predicted glycosylation modification site, whereas has no transmembrane domain and other known functional domains. Nl15 shares 45% amino acid sequence identity with the homologous protein from Laodelphax striatellus. Developmental expression profile revealed that Nl15 was expressed in various developmental stages of N. lugens, with the highest expression level in the 3rd-4th instar nymphs. Tissue expression profile showed that Nl15 exhibited the highest expression level in the head of female adults of N. lugens, with a higher expression level in the head of IR56 population than in the head of TN1 population. RNAi results showed that the expression level of Nl15 in dsNl15 injection group was significantly down-regulated by 89.5%, the survival rate and the honeydew amount and body weight gain of adults of N. lugens were significantly decreased, and the expression levels of the above six rice defense-related genes were significantly up-regulated as compared to those in the control group (dsGFP injection group). 【Conclusion】 Nl15 in IR56 population of N. lugens is involved in the interaction of defense and counter defense between N. lugens and rice. This study provides insights into the mechanisms by which N. lugens overcomes resistance genes and the molecular network of interactions between insects and plants.

【Aim】 Culicoides punctatus, an important vector midge, is the main transmission vector of Schmallenberg virus (SBV). The histological structure of the internal organs and systems of adult C. punctatus was observed by paraffin section and hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining. 【Methods】 C. punctatus adults were collected by net and light trap. With legs and wings removed, C. punctatus adults were fixed in Duboscq-Brasil fixation solution at the room temperature. Then glass slides were made after step-by-step dehydration, xylene transparency, paraffin embedding, continuous section and hematoxylin-eosin staining, and observed and photographed under light microscope. 【Results】 There is no gender difference in the digestive system of C. punctatus adults, which is composed of the digestive tract and salivary glands. The central nervous system is composed of the brain and the ventral nerve cord. The brain can be divided into three functional areas, i.e. protocerebrum, deutocerebrum and tritocerebrum. The compound eyes and antennae are the main sensory organs. The ventral nerve cord is divided into subpharyngeal ganglion, thoracic ganglion and ventral ganglion. The respiratory system mainly consists of tracheas, which are distributed all over the body and have no lung tissue. The thorax has two pairs of valves, which are located in the mesothorax and metathorax. The air sac tissue is vesicular and not obviously stained. The reproductive system includes internal and external reproductive organs, the female internal reproductive organs mainly include ovary, fallopian tube, seminal vesicle and accessory glands, and the male internal reproductive organs mainly include testis, vas deferens, ejaculatory duct and accessory glands. 【Conclusion】 This study ascertained the structural characteristics of the digestive system, nervous system, respiratory system, reproductive system and sensory organs of C. punctatus adults, providing more direct and accurate evidence for the study on the development of Culicoides and being helpful to improve the comprehensiveness and accuracy of monitoring, forecast and control of biting midges.

【Aim】 Cladiucha huangbki is a newly identified sawfly of Cladiucha of Tenthredinidae. Its larvae feed on leaves of Manglietia yuyuanensis with large population density and cause serious damage. This study aims to clarify the biological characteristics 
of C. huangbki and screen out the high pathogenicity strains of Metarhizium anisopliae against this sawfly, so as to provide theoretical basis and strain resources for the biological control of this insect pest. 【Methods】 The morphological and biological characteristics of various developmental stages of C. huangbki including host plants, distribution, and life history were observed in both the laboratory and field. High pathogenic strains of M. anisopliae against this insect pest were screened by using spraying spore suspension. 【Results】 The results of field and laboratory observations showed that C. huangbki larvae feed on Manglietia plants of Magnoliaceae. C. huangbki has only one generation each year in Yong′an City, Fujian Province. Mature larvae (prepupae) oversummer and overwinter in the soil chamber and start to pupate in early March of the next year. Adults begin to emerge in late March, and female adults reach the oviposition peak in early April. Larvae are hatched in mid-April and cause enormous damage in late April to early May. Mature larvae burrow into soil in the depth of 30-150 mm to make soil chambers in mid-May. The results of pathogenicity test showed that the corrected mortality rates of C. huangbki caused by the suspension of all the tested strains of M. anisopliae at 
the concentration of 1×10⁷ spores/mL were over 85% at 11 d post inoculation, and the strains MaQZ-01, MaYTTR-04-05, Ma3 and MaFZ-13 caused the larval corrected mortality rates of 100%. The strain MaFZ-08 caused the highest cadaver rate of C. huangbki (60%), followed by MaYTTR-04-05, causing the cadaver rate of 50%. The median lethal time (LT₅₀) values of various strains of M. anisopliae to C. huangbki larvae were about 6 d, showing little difference between different strains, while the LT₅₀ value of MaYTTR-04-05 to C. huangbki larvae was the shortest, being 5.090 d.【Conclusion】 C. huangbki has only one generation each year in Yong′an, Fujian, and mature larvae burrow into soil to make soil chambers for oversummering and overwintering of prepupae after early-May. The strain MaYTTR-04-05 screened out in this study shows high pathogenicity to C. huangbki larvae, and has a good application value in the control of this insect pest.

【Aim】 Neochrysocharis formosa is a dominant parasitoid against agromyzid leafminers. Both arrhenotoky and thelytoky exist in N. formosa. Thelytokous individuals can quickly establish populations at a low density without the need of raising drones, and the 
thelytokous strain show more important potential in terms of breeding cost and biological control application. This study aims to analyze the effects of ambient temperature on the biocontrol potential of thelytokous N. formosa so as to provide reference for its 
large-scale breeding and field release. 【Methods】 The late 2nd to the early 3rd instar larvae of Liriomyza sativae were used as hosts. The life history traits and biocontrol parameters including the numbers of host-feeding events, parasitism events, and host-stinging events, total number of host-killing events, daily number of host-killing events and longevity of the thelytokous female adults of N. formosa at four temperature conditions (22, 26, 30 and 34℃) were assessed in the laboratory. 【Results】 The numbers 
of host-feeding events, parasitism events and host-stinging events, total number of host-killing events, and daily total number of host-killing events of thelytokous female adults of N. formosa increased generally and then decreased with the temperature increasing. The numbers of host-feeding events, parasitism events, and host-stinging events reached the peak at 30℃, which were 236.1, 69.2, and 49.7, respectively, and were the lowest at 34℃, which were 115.2, 19.8 and 21.6, respectively. The total numbers of host-killing events at 26℃ (282.4) and 30℃ (355.0) were significantly higher than those at 22℃ (194.5) and 34℃ (156.5), and the daily total number of host-killing events reached the peak at 30℃ (25.5). In addition, the longevity of thelytokous female adults of 
N. formosa was the longest at 22℃ and the lowest at 34℃, which were 16.9 and 7.2 d, respectively, indicating that the life span of this parasitoid gradually decreased with the increase of temperature. 【Conclusion】 Although high temperatures shorten the longevity of the thelytokous adults of N. formosa, they show the pronounced ability to kill the host at 30℃, suggesting that the thelytokous adults of N. formosa can exert their biocontrol potential at 30℃ against such agromyzid leafminers with high heat tolerance as L. sativae.

【Aim】 The objective of this study is to predict and analyze the potential geographical distribution of the soybean aphid, Aphis glycines, in the world, and to study the relationship between its potential geographical distribution and environmental variables. 【Methods】 Maximum entropy niche-based modeling (MaxEnt) was combined with the geographic information system ArcGIS to predict the potential geographical distribution of A. glycines in the world and to infer the influence of environmental variables on its 
distribution based on the distribution records of A. glycines and a set of environmental variables. 【Results】 The results showed that the suitable distribution areas of A. glycines are mainly in the low altitude areas, and the high suitable distribution areas are China, Japan, South Korea, North Korea, Canada, the United States, Italy, and Georgia at 25°-50°N. The dominant environmental variables affecting the potential geographical distribution of A. glycines are the precipitation of warmest quarter, mean temperature of warmest quarter, mean temperature of wettest quarter, precipitation of driest month, mean diurnal range ［mean of monthly (max temp-min temp)］, and temperature seasonality (stardard deviation×100). 【Conclusion】 The potential geographical distribution of A. glycines is wide. To prevent A. glycines from further spreading, inspection and quarantine should be done properly in the global trade of soybean agricultural products.

【Aim】 This study aims to study the population genetic diversity and adaptive evolution of Apis cerana samples from the eastern and southeastern edges of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and adjacent areas, so as to provide references for further revealing their genetic resource diversity, population diffusion rules and molecular evolutionary mechanisms of adapting to plateau habitats. 【Methods】 The whole-genomes of 77 colonies of A. cerana samples collected from the eastern and southeastern edges of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and adjacent areas were resequenced. The whole-genome reseqeuncing data of the 77 colonies of A. cerana and the reseqeuncing raw data of 90 colonies of A. cerana downloaded from GenBank database were analyzed using population genetic method based on the population structure, principal component analysis, phylogenetic tree, genetic differentiation index, mitochondrial genome haplotype and selective signal analysis. 【Results】 The 167 colonies of A. cerana were separated into four plateau colonies including colonies from Western Sichuan Plateau, Southern Tibet Plateau, Northern Yunnan Plateau and Northern Sichuan Plateau, which clustered into two clades. The average genetic differentiation index of A. cerana colonies in the plateau region (Fst=0.1178) was higher than that in the non-plateau region (Fst=0.0411). The analysis of the minimum genetic distance among populations showed that the colonies of Southern Tibet Plateau, Northern Yunnan Plateau and South Yunnan on the southeastern edge had closer genetic relationships. The colonies of Western Sichuan Plateau and Northern Sichuan Plateau on the eastern edge had closer genetic relationship with those of the Western Sichuan Mountain and Qinba, respectively. Combined with the haplotype analysis of the mitochondrial genome, the ancestral haplotype and origin of the plateau populations on the eastern and southeastern edges of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau were preliminarily inferred. Through selective analysis, potential selected genes involved in signaling pathways of fatty acid metabolism, phototransduction, temperature adaptation, and ovarian development were identified. Two co-selected genes, ISL-1 and FOXO, were found in the populations of Southern Tibet Plateau and Northern Yunnan Plateau to be mainly involved in insulin secretion in response to cellular stress, suggesting that they play important roles in the adaption of A. cerana to the habitat of the southeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. 【Conclusion】 The genetic diversity of A. cerana in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is highly abundant, and the colonies of Southern Tibet Plateau and Northern Yunnan Plateau on the southeastern edge and Western Sichuan Plateau and Northern Sichuan Plateau on the eastern edge can be obviously distinguished. The four plateau colonies are geographically isolated after the diffusion of non-plateau populations in adjacent areas, resulting in population differentiation. The 
potential genes of plateau environmental adaptability of A. cerana were identified by preliminary screening. This study lays a basis for further exploring the molecular evolutionary mechanism of the adaptation of A. cerana to plateau habitat.

【Aim】 The aim of this study is to quantitatively analyze the cell structures of the dwarf honeybee, Apis florea, distributed in Honghe and Baoshan regions, Yunnan, southwestern China with significantly different natural environmental conditions, so as to reveal the structural differences of A. florea cells between these two regions. 【Methods】 The thickness of the comb and the width of 10 successive worker cells of A. florea were measured. The cell was filled with epoxy resin to make a cell model. Based on the cell 
model, we measured the differences in the cell diameter, side length on the mouth, edge length, depth, volume and inclination angle of single worker and drone cell of A. florea between the two regions. 【Results】 The thickness of brood comb of worker and drone of A. florea in Honghe was significantly smaller than that in Baoshan. The width of 10 successive worker cells in the direction of 0° was significantly greater than those in the 60° and 120° directions in the two regions, and there was no significant difference in the width 
of 10 successive worker cells between the 60° and 120° directions. The diameter of a single worker cell also showed significant difference in three directions between the two regions, while there was no significant difference in the diameter of a single drone cell 
in three directions between the two regions. The diameter of worker cell in each corresponding direction in Honghe was significantly smaller than that in Baoshan, while the diameter of drone cell in each corresponding direction had no significant difference between the two regions. The side length on the mouth, edge length, depth and volume of single worker and drone cell in Honghe were extremely significantly smaller than those in Baoshan, and there was no significant difference in the inclination angle of worker cells 
between the two regions. 【Conclusion】 There are regional differences in the structure of A. florea cells, and the cell size in high altitude and low temperature region is obviously larger than that in low altitude and high temperature region. The results of this study not only enrich the biology knowledge of A. florea, but also provide ideas for further studying the correlation between cell structure indexes and morphological indexes of A. florea.