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Population control of the yellow-spined bamboo locust, Ceracris kiangsu, using urine-borne chemical baits in bamboo forest
Abstract
The yellow-spined bamboo locust, Ceracris kiangsu Tsai (Orthoptera: Oedipodidae), is a notorious defoliator of bamboos in China. In commercial bamboo forests, spraying insecticides to control C. kiangsu is neither convenient nor economic, therefore environmentally acceptable and cost-effective methods are needed. Ceracris kiangsu adults are known to aggregate and gnaw at human urine-contaminated materials; NaCl is a strong phagostimulant and NH4HCO3 is an attractant/arrestant. In the present paper, we found that foam plastic containers containing a blend of 0.03% bisultap, 3% NaCl, 3% NH4HCO3, and 0.1% Triton X-100 (tetrad bait) had a powerful attracticidal effect and could kill a great number of especially female C. kiangsu adults, comparable to those containing a mixture of 0.03% bisultap and 5-day-incubated urine. In a field trial, the tetrad bait killed approximately 80% of females and about 9% of males in the treated plots after daily application for five consecutive days. The corrected average reduction rate was 48.2%. Moreover, the sex ratio was decreased from 1.18 before the trial to 0.25 after the experiment in the treated plots. These results indicated that there is the potential to develop a trap using NaCl as a phagostimulant and NH4HCO3 as an attractant that can be used for C. kiangsu control.
... Thus, our results showed that starved mated males increased dispersal and preferred ammonia that originated from protein.Similarly, Becher et al. (2010)have reported that flies exhibit different orientation and flight to fruit-derived odorants depending on their mating status (virgin or mated) or nutritional state (starved or satiated). Moreover, ammonia is highly attractive to many insect species in Diptera, Lepidoptera, Hymenoptera, Coleoptera, Hemiptera, Neuroptera, and Orthoptera (Thomas 2003;Shen et al. 2009;Leblanc et al. 2010;Yu et al. 2011). These insects may associate ammonia, through olfactory receptors, with high-protein foods, animal hosts, or other nutritional resources (Mazor et al. 1987;Kendra et al. 2005;Manrakhan and Lux 2008;Shen et al. 2009;Yu et al. 2011). ...
... Moreover, ammonia is highly attractive to many insect species in Diptera, Lepidoptera, Hymenoptera, Coleoptera, Hemiptera, Neuroptera, and Orthoptera (Thomas 2003;Shen et al. 2009;Leblanc et al. 2010;Yu et al. 2011). These insects may associate ammonia, through olfactory receptors, with high-protein foods, animal hosts, or other nutritional resources (Mazor et al. 1987;Kendra et al. 2005;Manrakhan and Lux 2008;Shen et al. 2009;Yu et al. 2011). Moreover, the movement of flies is also affected by various fruit-derived odorants. ...
Rotting fruits offer all of the known resources required for the livelihood of Drosophila melano-gaster Meigen (Diptera: Drosophilidae). During fruit fermentation, carbohydrates and proteins are decomposed to produce volatile alcohols and amines, respectively. It is hypothesized that D. melanogaster adults can detect these chemical cues at a distance to identify and locate the decaying fruits. In the present paper, we compared the olfactory responses and movement of male flies varying in mating status and nutritional state to methanol, ethanol, and ammonia sources using a glass Y-tube olfactometer. In general, ethanol vapor at low to moderate concentrations repelled more hungry mated males than satiated ones. In contrast, methanol showed little difference in the attractiveness to males at different nutritional states and mating status. Moreover, ammonia attracted more hungry mated males. The attractiveness increased almost linearly with ammonia concentration from lowest to highest. When ammonia and artificial diet were put together in the odor arm, the responses of male flies to mixed odor mimicked the response to ammonia. Furthermore , odorant concentration, mating status, and nutritional state affected the flies' dispersal. Mated and starved males dispersed at a higher rate than virgin and satiated ones. Thus, our results showed that starved, mated males increased dispersal and preferred ammonia that originated from protein.
... Similarly, Becher et al. (2010) have reported that flies exhibit different orientation and flight to fruit-derived odorants depending on their mating status (virgin or mated) or nutritional state (starved or satiated). Moreover, ammonia is highly attractive to many insect species in Diptera, Lepidoptera, Hymenoptera, Coleoptera, Hemiptera, Neuroptera, and Orthoptera (Thomas 2003;Shen et al. 2009;Leblanc et al. 2010;Yu et al. 2011). These insects may associate ammonia, through olfactory receptors, with high-protein foods, animal hosts, or other nutritional resources (Mazor et al. 1987;Kendra et al. 2005;Manrakhan and Lux 2008;Shen et al. 2009;Yu et al. 2011). ...
... Moreover, ammonia is highly attractive to many insect species in Diptera, Lepidoptera, Hymenoptera, Coleoptera, Hemiptera, Neuroptera, and Orthoptera (Thomas 2003;Shen et al. 2009;Leblanc et al. 2010;Yu et al. 2011). These insects may associate ammonia, through olfactory receptors, with high-protein foods, animal hosts, or other nutritional resources (Mazor et al. 1987;Kendra et al. 2005;Manrakhan and Lux 2008;Shen et al. 2009;Yu et al. 2011). ...
Rotting fruits offer all of the known resources required for the livelihood of Drosophila melanogaster Meigen (Diptera: Drosophilidae). During fruit fermentation, carbohydrates and proteins are decomposed to produce volatile alcohols and amines, respectively. It is hypothesized that D. melanogaster adults can detect these chemical cues at a distance to identify and locate the decaying fruits. In the present paper, we compared the olfactory responses and movement of male flies varying in mating status and nutritional state to methanol, ethanol, and ammonia sources using a glass Y-tube olfactometer. In general, ethanol vapor at low to moderate concentrations repelled more hungry mated males than satiated ones. In contrast, methanol showed little difference in the attractiveness to males at different nutritional states and mating status. Moreover, ammonia attracted more hungry mated males. The attractiveness increased almost linearly with ammonia concentration from lowest to highest. When ammonia and artificial diet were put together in the odor arm, the responses of male flies to mixed odor mimicked the response to ammonia. Furthermore, odorant concentration, mating status, and nutritional state affected the flies' dispersal. Mated and starved males dispersed at a higher rate than virgin and satiated ones. Thus, our results showed that starved, mated males increased dispersal and preferred ammonia that originated from protein.
... Because of this feeding habit, their distribution range is more restricted than L. migratoria [20] and O. hyla intricate [10]. Scholars have long explored the morphological taxonomy, pesticide toxicology, physiology and development of C. kiangsu [24][25][26][27][28][29]. However, to our knowledge, there is only one published report of genetic studies on bamboo locust [30]. ...
Geographic distance and geographical barriers likely play a considerable role in structuring genetic variation in species, although some migratory species may have less phylogeographic structure on a smaller spatial scale. Here, genetic diversity and the phylogenetic structure among geographical populations of the yellow-spined bamboo locust, Ceracris kiangsu, were examined with 16S rDNA and amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs). In this study, no conspicuous phylogeographical structure was discovered from either Maximum parsimony (MP) and Neighbor-joining (NJ) phylogenetic analyses. The effect of geographical isolation was not conspicuous on a large spatial scale.At smaller spatial scales local diversity of some populations within mountainous areas were detected using Nei's genetic distance and AMOVA. There is a high level of genetic diversity and a low genetic differentiation among populations in the C. kiangsu of South and Southeast China. Our analyses indicate that C. kiangsu is a monophyletic group. Our results also support the hypothesis that the C. kiangsu population is in a primary differentiation stage. Given the mismatch distribution, it is likely that a population expansion in C. kiangsu occurred about 0.242 Ma during the Quaternary interglaciation. Based on historical reports, we conjecture that human activities had significant impacts on the C. kiangsu gene flow.
... After Dec, there was a gradual increase in the number of these individuals until the end of the trials in Mar 2005) (Fig. 1). Insects belonging to this family are important and should be closely monitored because they have high potential to cause defoliation in different crops (Yu et al. 2011). ...
Despite the expansion of floriculture, little is known about insects associated to this crop in northern Brazil. The objective was to identify the main species of defoliator grasshoppers, associated to crops of Heliconia spp. in the northeastern region of State of Pará, Brazil , in the municipalities of Castanhal, Belém and Benevides, from Aug 2004 to Mar 2005. Representatives with higher abundances in these municipalities were the orders Coleoptera, Thysanoptera, Hemiptera and Orthoptera. The collected species of Orthoptera were Cornops frenatum frenatum (Marshall) and Eutropidacris cristata L. (Orthoptera: Acrididae), Prionolopha serrata L. and Chromacris speciosa Thunberg (Orthoptera: Romaleidae), which present a substantial potential to damage heliconias crop in northeastern Pará, Brazil.
Connections between locusts and people date back millennia and locusts remain a major food security challenge today throughout the world. Locust biology is often linked to abiotic conditions like temperature and/or precipitation, fueling the perception that aside from active control, humans are not key players in the interaction locusts have with their environment. However, several studies have shown that land management practices like grazing heavily influences locust-human linkages. In this review we synthesize published research and reports on connections between locust outbreaks and ranching. For this, we conducted an extensive literature search using Google Scholar on the 19 species of grasshoppers that are currently considered to be locusts or non-model locusts. Species were sorted according to their feeding guilds: (1) forb- and/or tree-feeding locusts; (2) mix-feeding locusts (grasses, forbs, and/or trees); (3) grass-feeding locusts. We review their pest status, ecology, and relationship with grazing. We then discuss the overall data and draw general patterns on how locusts and locust control affect livestock grazing through various mechanisms (competition, nutritional preferences, pesticide use, nutrient cycling). We draw attention to “telecoupling” a process in which land management practices like grazing have ecological feedbacks on locust populations, which in turn affects food security in distant regions due to the migratory capacity of locusts. Finally, we present new perspectives for sustainable management practices that integrate understanding of land management.
The general applications of bamboo, in recent years, cuts across the fields of engineering, as well as non-engineering fields. This chapter offers a thorough review of some traditional and non-traditional uses of bamboo to demonstrate that it is indeed a multipurpose plant. For many centuries, it has been primarily the construction industry that has benefited from using bamboo. In recent times, however, the trend has evolved to one in which other fields such as the textile, pulp and paper, medical, arts and design, aerospace, and food and beverage industries are researching and utilising all facets of the bamboo plant. Its widespread use has led to many research opportunities and projects that are critically investigating all properties and extractives useful and applicable to even more recently emerging fields, such as nanotechnology. The review shows that all parts of the bamboo plant can be harnessed and utilised. The economic importance of this plant to most developing countries in Africa, Asia, and South America will continue to grow.
This chapter examines the basic techniques available for regenerating seedlings to be used in plantations or on the farm. The three most important methods used in producing young seedlings for plantation are discussed in detail, as well as the processes for its cultivation. The chapter places emphasis on the regeneration of seedlings by seeds, culm cuttings, and rhizomes. The selection of land sites and the preparation for plantation of young seedlings is also looked at in this chapter, with a description of land selection, pre-planting operations, propagation methods, post-planting operations, harvesting, and handling. The effects of fungal infections and attacks by insects on the bamboo before and after harvesting are dealt with and also post-harvest treatment and preservation methods. The effects of these infections and attacks on the bamboo culms, when not treated or prevented in time, will result in the deterioration of the physical features of the culm. Various scientific forms of preservation and the types of preservatives used in its treatment are discussed. Sustainable techniques for bamboo plants are examined.
Cadmium-enrichment of farmland soil greatly threatens the sustainable use of soil resources and the safe cultivation of grain. This review paper briefly introduces the status of farmland soil as well as grain, which are both often polluted by cadmium (Cd) in China, and illustrates the major sources of Cd contaminants in farmland soil. In order to meet soil environmental quality standards and farmland environmental quality evaluation standards for edible agricultural products, Cd-enriched farmland soil is frequently remediated with the following prevailing techniques: dig and fill, electro-kinetic remediation, chemical elution, stabilisation and solidification, phytoremediation, field management and combined remediation. Most remediation techniques are still at the stage of small-scale trial experiments in China and few techniques are assessed in field trials. After comparing the technical and economical applicability among different Cd-enriched farmland soil remediation techniques, a novel ecological and hydraulic remediation technique has been proposed, which integrated the advantages of chemical elution, solidification and stabilisation, phytoremediation and field management. The ecological and hydraulic remediation concept is based on existing irrigation and drainage facilities, ecological ditches (ponds) and agronomic measures, which mainly detoxify the Cd-enriched soil during the interim period of crop cultivation, and guarantee the grain safety during its growth period. This technique may shift the challenge from soil to water treatment, and thus greatly enhances the remediation efficiency and shortens the remediation duration. Moreover, the proposed ecological and hydraulic remediation method matches well with the practical choice of cultivation while remediation for Cd-enriched soil in China, which has negligible impacts on the normal crop cultivation process, and thus shows great potential for large area applications.
This chapter assesses the diversity and characteristics of bamboo insect pests and diseases and their control. Based on available data, the number of insects that feed on bamboos is estimated to be more than 1,200 and that of fungi and saprophytes to be more than 400, while there are less than 100 insect pests and ten diseases that cause heavy damage to bamboos. In addition, this chapter describes the characteristics and status of main groups of bamboo insects including bamboo shoot and culm borers, defoliators, branch and culm pests, bamboo seed pests, and postharvest pests. Finally, this chapter discusses the control methods including cultural, physical, biological, and chemical control against bamboo insect pests and diseases, and it is necessary to develop the IPM programs for bamboo pests in the future.
Yellow-spined bamboo locust Ceracris kiangsu (Orthoptera: Oedipodidae) is an important bamboo pest in southern China. To better understand the mechanisms of the urine-puddling behavior of C. kiangsu, this paper examined the behavioral responses of C. kiangsu adults to the human urine fermented for different days. The behavioral responses of C. kiangsu adults to the human urine were significantly affected by the fermentation duration of human urine, and the fermentation could enhance the attractiveness of C. kiangsu adults to human urine. As compared with the human urine fermented for 1, 4, 7, 15, and 60 days, the human urine fermented for 30 days was more preferred by the C. kiangsu adults. The filter paper treated with the human urine fermented for 30 days was consumed significantly larger areas (3494. 9±345. 4 mm2), visited markedly more amounts (43. 7±5. 2), and settled notably more time (360. 5±39. 8 s) by the C. kiangsu adults, and the bait of 30-day-fermented human urine mixed with 18% bisultap could attract and kill C. kiangsu adults 507±139 per day, which was much more than the other urine baits in the field. The results of the bait-trapping and feeding record indicated that the urine-puddling behavior only occurred in female C. kiangsu adults.
The amounts of volatile substances responsible for the malodor of human waste (feces and urine) obtained from the storage tank of a community waste-water treatment plant were determined. Thus far, there has been little systematic research on malodor-causing substances of human waste. These substances were collected using Tenax-TA, and their concentrations were determined by the usual thermal-desorption cold-trap injector/gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (TCT/GC/MS). About 90% of the malodor-causing substances were fatty acids: acetic acid, propionic acid and butyric acid. The proportion of ammonia was 6.5%. Other malodor-causing and minor substances detected were indole, skatole, pyridine, pyrrole, hydro-gen sulfide, and methyl mercaptan. In addition, a small amount of paradichlorobenzene used as a deodorizer in household toilets was also recognized.
We experimentally investigated the attraction of adult butterflies to moist soil and dirt places (a behavior termed `mud-puddling')
in two species-rich tropical communities on the island of Borneo. At a rain forest site, 227 individuals (46 species) were
attracted to the baits, compared to 534 individuals (54 species) at a farmland site. With one single exception, all attracted
butterflies were males. Of various salt and amino acid solutions, only sodium was accepted, but overall, albumin solutions
turned out to be the most attractive puddling resource. Butterfly families differed consistently in their resource preferences.
Representatives of the families Papilionidae and Pieridae more often visited NaCl solutions, but still accepted albumin, whereas
representatives of the Nymphalidae, Hesperiidae and, in particular, Lycaenidae preferred the protein resource. In experiments
using decoys prepared from pinned butterfly specimens, representatives of the Papilionidae and Pieridae were more strongly
attracted to baits provided with decoys made from conspicuous, medium-sized yellow Eurema species (Pieridae), whereas dummies made from small, cryptically colored lycaenids (Prosotas and Caleta species) were ineffective. Decoys did not influence the attraction of lycaenid butterflies towards baits. Hence, visual cues
play an important role in locating puddling resources for papilionids and pierids, while for lycaenid butterflies searching
for nitrogen sources, olfactory cues emitted by decaying organic matter are more likely to be important. The strong attraction
of male butterflies to nitrogen-rich resources suggests that, as in the case of sodium, these nutrients may increase reproductive
success.
Sodium is an essential nutrient whose deposition in rainfall decreases with distance inland. The herbivores and microbial decomposers that feed on sodium-poor vegetation should be particularly constrained along gradients of decreasing sodium. We studied the use of sucrose and NaCl baits in 17 New World ant communities located 4–2757 km inland. Sodium use was higher in genera and subfamilies characterized as omnivores/herbivores compared with those classified as carnivores and was lower in communities embedded in forest litter than in those embedded in abundant vegetation. Sodium use was increased in ant communities further inland, as was preference for the baits with the highest sodium concentration. Sucrose use, a measure of ant activity, peaked in communities 10–100 km inland. We suggest that the geography of ant activity is shaped by sodium toxicity near the shore and by sodium deficit farther inland. Given the importance of ants in terrestrial ecosystems, changing patterns of rainfall with global change may ramify through inland food webs.
• ants
• biogeochemistry
• geography
• limitation
• sodium
Swarming and mass migration are spectacular and sometimes devastating features of the biology of various animal species. These phenomena are typically associated with actual or anticipated depletion of food resources after an increase in population density, but the mechanisms driving such collective movements are poorly understood. Here we reveal that insects in large, coordinated migratory bands consisting of millions of Mormon crickets in western North America were deprived of two essential nutritional resources: protein and salt. The insects themselves provided a major source of these nutrients, and cannibalism was rife. We show that protein and salt satiation reduced cannibalism and that protein satiation inhibited walking. Additionally, experimentally reducing the motility or mobility of crickets substantially increased their risk of being cannibalized by other band members. As a result, the availability of protein and salt in the habitat will influence the extent to which bands march, both through the direct effect of nutrient state on locomotion and indirectly through the threat of cannibalism by resource-deprived crickets approaching from the rear. The crickets are, in effect, on a forced march. Migratory band formation and subsequent mass movement, therefore, are manifestations of specific tradeoffs between the costs and benefits of group living. Bands afford antipredator benefits to individual group members. Group movement then mitigates the resulting costs of intraspecific competition, namely local depletion of nutritional resources and the associated increased risk of cannibalism.
• cannibalism
• migration
• Mormon cricket
• swarming
A method was developed to construct cDNA library of pathogenic fungus in the blood of the infected insect for cloning the fungal genes expressed in the host. This method is designed to take advantage of the obvious difference between the cell structures and components of the pathogen cells and that of the host cells. The host blood cells only have cell membrane, which can be disrupted by using SDS/proteinase K (PK). The fungal cells grown in the animal blood have cell wall, which can protect the fungal cell from the disruption of SDS/proteinase K (PK). By this method, the blood cells were disrupted by SDS/proteinase K (PK) and then the released animal RNA and DNA were digested completely with RNase and DNase. Therefore, the fungi grown in the blood were harvested without any contamination of host RNA and DNA. The pure fungi harvested from the infected blood can be used for mRNA extraction and cDNA library construction. The purity of the fungal mRNA was confirmed by PCR and RT-PCR with specific primer pairs for the host and specific primer pairs for the fungus, respectively, and the clones of cDNA library constructed by using the fungal mRNA was also analyzed. The results showed that there was no detectable contaminated insect DNA or RNA existing in the fungal mRNA. Randomly selected cDNA clones from cDNA library were sequenced and analyzed against GenBank using Blastx; no selected sequences had significant similarity with insects' genes in comparison with the data of GenBank. The results further confirmed that the method to purify the pathogenic fungus from the host animal is reliable and the mRNA extracted from the fungus is eligible for cDNA library construction, and other molecular analysis including RT-PCR. This method may be applied to other pathogenic fungi and their host animals.
This study is the first to demonstrate that Na budgets of male and female Lepidoptera differ. At the time of emergence, male imported cabbage butterflies, Pieris rapae L., have significantly more total body Na than females. Older males collected from the field show a significantly lower level of body Na than freshly emerged males, whereas freshly emerged females and older, field-collected females show no difference. It is suggested that feeding from soil may help restore losses of Na in males. A single female, through oviposition, may lose nearly 75% of the total body Na with which it emerged. The lepidopteran mating system involving transfer of spermatophores is postulated as one causative factor for sexual differences in body Na levels.
An apparent sexual difference in adult feeding behaviour in many species of Lepidoptera relates to puddling on mud, dung and carrion. In most butterfly species, puddling is exclusively a male behaviour. A possible explanation for this division in feeding behaviour is that nutrients derived from puddling are transferred to the female in the spermatophore during mating as a nuptial gift. Sodium derived from puddling has been shown to act as a nuptial gift in a few Lepidoptera species. It can also be used for neuromuscular activity in both males and females and may therefore correlate with flight morphology. In this study, we examine the generality of these two hypotheses in comparative work on a community of African fruit-feeding butterflies. We investigated puddling behaviour of males and females on carrion and dung together with sodium preferences, polyandry, relative wing-size, sexual size dimorphism and sodium concentrations in the bodies and spermatophores of several species. The results show that sodium as a nuptial gift can explain the sexual division in puddling in some species, but not in all. Species in which both sexes puddle transfer little sodium in the nuptial gift, which is consistent with the nuptial gift theory. Wing loading and puddling are not significantly correlated, but the trend followed the direction predicted by the activity hypothesis. However, the sodium concentration in the species with the smallest wing area to thoracic volume (WA/TV) ratio (the largest Charaxes spp.), was relatively low. Moreover, in all investigated species, the sodium concentration was higher in the abdomen than in the thorax. The results are discussed in the light of differences between the sexes in foraging behaviour in both larvae and adults, and with respect to alternative explanations for puddling. © 2005 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2005, 86, 345–361.
(1) The dynamics of vegetative reproduction in the giant bamboo, Phyllostachys pubescens, at the Nature Reserve of Jinyun Mountain, Chongqing, Subtropical China, are described for a period of 20 years. (2) Production of new bamboo shoots fluctuated significantly among years. In ''good'' years, the number and size of new shoots emerging and surviving in the bamboo groves significantly exceeded those in ''poor'' years. Moreover, good and poor years often alternated, forming a regular biennial cycle. (3) The biennial cycle resulted from the year-to-year variation in the number of adult shoots carrying new leaves. This is based on the fact that the leaf life span of the bamboo is two years, and all leaves on a shoot have been formed simultaneously. Mean number of new shoots emerging and surviving per plot was positively correlated with the proportion of adult shoots carrying new (one year old) leaves. The annual production of new shoots of Phyllostachys pubescens was not significantly correlated with the annual values of logging intensity of bamboo poles, rainfall or temperature. The survival rate of new shoots was constant over years. (4) Severe pests (e.g., plague of locusts), extreme drought or heavy overlogging of adult shoots with new leaves can be triggers of poor production of new shoots during the following spring.
Stored human urine had pH values of 8.9 and was composed of eight main ionic species (> 0.1 meq L–1), the cations Na, K, NH4, Ca and the anions, Cl, SO4, PO4 and HCO3. Nitrogen was mainly (> 90%) present as ammoniacal N, with ammonium bicarbonate being the dominant compound. Urea and urate decomposed during storage. Heavy metal concentrations in urine samples were low compared with other organic fertilizers, but copper, mercury, nickel and zinc were 10–500 times higher in urine than in precipitation and surface waters. In a pot experiment with15N labelled human urine, higher gaseous losses and lower crop uptake (barley) of urine N than of labelled ammonium nitrate were found. Phosphorus present in urine was utilized at a higher rate than soluble phosphate, showing that urine P is at least as available to crops as soluble P fertilizers.
The term‘puddling’ includes feeding on (dried)mud and various excrements and secretions of vertebrates, and carrion. It is thought to be a form of supplementary feeding, not targeted at obtaining energy. Although the natural history of the puddling phenomenon in herbivorous arthropods becomes better known, it is still largely unclear how puddling (in particular for sodium) affects fitness despite the growing knowledge of insect physiology at the cellular level. If we follow the definition used for puddling in Lepidoptera, representatives of a wide range of herbivorous and detrivorous terrestrial arthropods (Lepidoptera, Orthoptera, Blattodea, Hymenoptera, Hemiptera, Diptera, and Diplopoda) have been observed to puddle. It appears that those species with diets low in sodium (e.g., folivorous larvae) puddle for sodium whereas those with diets low in nitrogen (e.g., detritivores) puddle for nitrogen. Sex differentials in puddling behavior can usually be explained by transfers of nutrients from males to females during mating. Puddling is rare or absent in immature stages and there is some evidence that nutrients from puddles increase female reproductive success. Strong evidence for the widely cited hypothesis that sodium from puddles is used to enhance neuromuscular activity is still lacking. High mobility and long life spans could be associated with puddling behavior, whereas insects that are concealed or well defended are less likely to puddle (e.g., beetles). The role
that risks of pathogen and parasite infection as well as predation at puddling substrates may play in the evolution of puddling remains virtually unexplored.
Composition, and chemical, physical, and concentrative properties of human urine
C. kiangsu adults were observed visiting human urine, especially on hot summer days. The main chemicals in fresh human urine include inorganic salts and CO(NH(2))(2.) When human urine was incubated, NH(4)HCO(3) became the richest nitrogenous compound. The phagostimulants, repellents and attractants in urine were identified here. On the filter papers treated with fresh or incubated urine samples, the 5th instar nymphs and the adults started and continued gnawing around the edges, in contrast to the 3rd and the 4th instar nymphs. The consumed areas were dramatically greater on the filters treated with the urine samples incubated for 3-6 days. The feedings of both male and female adults were also stimulated by several urine-borne components such as NaCl, NaH(2)PO(4), Na(2)SO(4), KCl, NH(4)Cl and NH(4)HCO(3) but not by CO(NH(2))(2). Among them NaCl was the most powerful phagostimulant. The repelling, or attractive/arresting effects of CO(NH(2))(2) and NH(4)HCO(3) were also evaluated by a two-choice test. When exposed to water- and CO(NH(2))(2) solution-immersed filters simultaneously, the adults prefer to stay on water-immersed filter. In contrast, when provided water- and NH(4)HCO(3) solution-treated filters, the adults prefer to stay on NH(4)HCO(3) solution-treated filter. This demonstrated that CO(NH(2))(2) acted as a repellent and NH(4)HCO(3) as an attractant/arrestant. In the bamboo forest, similar feeding behavior was also elicited by NaCl, NH(4)HCO(3) but not by CO(NH(2))(2). Comparing to NaCl solution, a mixed solution of NaCl and CO(NH(2))(2) (1:1) significantly decreased the consumed area of the treated filters whereas a mixed solution of NaCl and NH(4)HCO(3) (1:1) dramatically increased the consumed area. These results demonstrated that the phagostimulatory effect by NaCl was reduced by CO(NH(2))(2) in fresh urine and was enhanced by NH(4)HCO(3) in incubated urine.
A multipurpose sampler (Gerstel MPS), designed for liquid large volume, gaseous and headspace samples was used for the GC-MS analysis of organic volatiles in human urine. Headspace sampling with a volume-, temperature- and speed-controlled gas-tight syringe was combined with a temperature-controlled cold injection system (CIS) for cold trapping, enrichment and focusing of analytes. Regular 2-ml GC vials filled with 1 ml acidified urine were used as headspace sampling vials. A 100-vial autosampler tray was equipped with an additional temperature and heating time controlled "preheating station" for five vials. Profiles of organic volatiles in human urine were determined and 34 components identified. Trimethylamine (TMA) and 4-heptanone as two metabolites of medical interest were quantified. Calibration curves and intra assay imprecision for 4-heptanone concentrations in the range of 40 to 800 ng/ml showed a correlation coefficient of r = 0.9980 and a relative standard deviation (RSD) between 3.0 and 3.4%. Calibration curves and intra-assay imprecision for TMA concentrations in the range of medical interest from 0.5 to 20 micrograms/ml showed a correlation coefficient of r = 0.9968 and a RSD between 4.1 and 6.8%. The high practicability of the multipurpose sampler for both gaseous and liquid samples together with the here shown good reproducibility and sensitivity make this single CIS-GC-MS system very attractive for routine clinical use in metabolic profiling of organic volatiles (headspace) and non-volatiles (liquid).
Volatile compounds contribute substantially to the metabolic pool in man. Their analysis in body fluids is problematic. We investigated headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) with Carboxen-polydimethylsiloxane fibres and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for profiling urinary volatile components. These fibres were more sensitive for very volatile and sulfur compounds than three other phases tested. We detected a wide range of compounds in normal urine at acid and alkaline pH. Profiles presented for five individuals with metabolic disturbances demonstrate abnormal accumulation of sulfur compounds, fatty acids and plasticisers. HS-SPME can complement profiling of non-volatile compounds in metabolic investigations and could be a useful extension of the diagnostic repertoire.
Nocturnal occurrences of leafhoppers (Homoptera: Cicadellidae) at soil
- Adler
Adler P (1982a) Nocturnal occurrences of leafhoppers (Homo-ptera: Cicadellidae) at soil. Journal of the Kansas Entomologi-cal Society 55: 73–74.
Composition and Concentrative Properties of Human Urine. NASA contractor report National Aeronautics and Space Administration [distributed by National Technical Information Service Analysis of malodorous volatile substances of human waste: feces and urine
- Putnam
Putnam D (1971) Composition and Concentrative Properties of Human Urine. NASA contractor report National Aeronautics and Space Administration [distributed by National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA]. Washington DC, USA. Sato H, Hirose T, Kimura T, Moriyama Y & Nakashima Y (2001) Analysis of malodorous volatile substances of human waste: feces and urine. Journal of Health Science 47: 483–490.