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PubMed1997

Change in reductase activity is responsible for senescent decline in sex pheromone titre in the lightbrown apple moth, Epiphyas postvittana (Walker).

Sex pheromone titre in the tortricid moth Epiphyas postvittana follows a pattern commonly observed in other species of moths: an increase to a peak some time after eclosion (2-3days), and then a slow decline as the female ages. Previous work has shown that this decline is not regulated by the pheromone biosynthesis activating neuropeptide PBAN. Using in vivo and in vitro enzyme assays, and fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) analyses of pheromone precursors in the gland, we have investigated this senescent decline in pheromone titre. The enzyme assays have shown that in older females the fatty acid reductase and fatty acid synthesis enzyme systems decrease in activity (relative to younger females), whereas other enzyme systems involved in pheromone biosynthesis, including limited beta-oxidation (2-carbon chain-shortening), (E)-11-desaturation, and acetylation (by an acetyl transferase) remain unchanged in their activity. Of the two enzymatic processes involved, the more important one contributing to the decline appears to be the fatty acid reductase. This is consistent with FAME analyses of pheromone glands in old and young females, which show little difference in levels of saturated FAME, but a significant increase in the level of the putative precursor, (E)-11-tetradecenoate, of the sex pheromone component (E)-11-tetradecenyl acetate. Thus, this decline in fatty acid reductase activity results in a buildup of the precursor as the female ages. The near ubiquity of fatty acid reductases in moth sex pheromone systems suggests that this may be a common mechanism for the senescent decline of sex pheromone titre in moths.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2003

Fat body expressed yolk protein genes in Hyphantria cunea are related to the YP4 follicular epithelium yolk protein subunit gene of pyralid moths.

cDNA clones for two of the yolk proteins, YP1 and YP2, produced by the fat body of the moth, Hyphantria cunea, were sequenced and found to be homologous to the follicular epithelium yolk proteins of pyralid moths. Both cDNA clones coded for polypeptides of 290 residues and the deduced amino acid sequence identity between YP1 and YP2 was very high (79.0%). Analysis of the secondary structure of the predicted polypeptides suggests that YP1 and YP2 do not form heteromeric proteins because of differences in secondary structure due to the lack of alpha helices in YP1. Northern blot analysis showed that the transcripts for YP1 (1.2 kb) and YP2 (1.1 kb) were present primarily in the female fat body with only trace levels detectable in the ovary of the adult female. In a developmental study, the YP1 and YP2 transcripts were first detectable in 10-day-old pupae and increased into the adult stage. These results suggest that the YP1 and YP2 genes in H. cunea have been recruited to replace the vitellogenin gene as the primary source of yolk proteins. During this process they have acquired a modified pattern of expression that is different from homologous genes reported in pyralid moths. The assessment of the evolution of proteinaceous yolk in these moths should serve as an excellent model for the evolution of gene recruitment.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1990

Discovery of Entomophaga maimaiga in North American gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar.

An entomopathogenic fungus, Entomophaga maimaiga, was found causing an extensive epizootic in outbreak populations of the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar, throughout many forested and residential areas of the northeastern United States. This is the first recognized occurrence of this or any entomophthoralean fungus in North American gypsy moths, and its appearance was coincident with an abnormally wet spring. Most fungal-infected gypsy moth larvae were killed in mass during the fourth and fifth stadium and were characteristically found clinging to the trunks of trees with their heads pointed downward. The fungus produces thick-walled resistant resting spores within dried gypsy moth cadavers and infectious conidia when freshly killed larvae are held in a wet environment. The morphology and development of the fungus are described. The fungus appears to have had its origin in Japan, and the current epizootic may have resulted from the survival and inapparent spread of an early introduction in 1910-1911.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2001

The generalization of an olfactory-based conditioned response reveals unique but overlapping odour representations in the moth Manduca sexta.

Most highly derived olfactory systems, such as the insect antennal lobe, discriminate among a wide array of monomolecular odourants and blends of odourants. Given the relatively limited number of neurons used to code these odours, this ability implies that neural representations for odours overlap in a cross-fiber coding scheme. Here we use the generalization of a conditioned feeding response in the sphinx moth, Manduca sexta, to quantify three geometry-based dimensions of odour space in which monomolecular odours may be assessed. In a series of experiments we show that generalization of a conditioned response from one monomolecular odour to another is a function of differences in length and shape of the carbon chain as well as the functional group on the molecule. When moths were conditioned to 2-hexanone or 1-decanol and tested with a number of alcohols and ketones, we found that the generalization of the conditioned response decreased as a function of the chain length and functional group. In contrast, when conditioned to 1-hexanol, moths failed to distinguish alcohols from ketones of the same chain length. In all of these cases, chain length did not interact with functional group, thus indicating the independence of these dimensions. Differential conditioning of alcohols and of alcohols and ketones revealed interaction of excitatory and inhibitory generalization gradients within an odour 'dimension'. When odourants were sufficiently distinct, the peak of the generalization gradient was shifted away from the conditioning odour and in an opposite direction from the unreinforced odour. Altogether, these data substantiate the claim that these molecular characteristics are relevant coding dimensions in the moth olfactory system. These data are consistent with a cross-fiber coding scheme in which odours are coded by spatio-temporally overlapping sets of neurons, both in the periphery and in the antennal lobes.

Alcohols↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Microsporidiosis in the wax moth Galleria mellonella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) caused by Vairimorpha ephestiae (Microsporidia: Burenellidae)].

An experimental microsporidiosis of the wax moth caterpillars from laboratory population had been caused by oral infecting of early stages larvae and by intracavity injections of the spores of the microsporidian species Vairimorpha ephestiae. Peculiarities of microsporidiosis proceeding, manifestations of host defence reactions, and also an effect of the temperature of caterpillars cultivation and conditions of spores keeping on liability of the insects to the infection were studied. The effect of the microsporidia on the host organism was the early death or the delay of larvae development, but in several cases external manifestations of the effect of the parasite on the host were absent. The development of the parasites from the moment of infecting to the appearing of the mature spores congestions in the host organism proceeded 6 days. Microsporidia invaded insect fat body and caused its hypertrophy and disappearance of lipid granules. In the intestine and salivary glands microsporidia were not observed in the period from 6 to 16 day of the development. On the final stage of microsporidiosis the all contents of fatty tissue cells were replaced by spores of microsporidia. Under microscope only diplocaryotic spores of the Nozema type had been found in infected and died specimens, but not octospores. The spores threw out polar tubes under the change of pH in incubating solution from neutral to alkaline. The effects of microsporidiosis on the wax moth haemolymph were the increased rate of prohaemocytes, appearing of multinuclear free-circulating cells at 6 day after infection, and suppression of the reaction of haemolymph melanization with the mass sporogenesis of the parasite. The characteristic symptom of the wax moth microsporidiosis had been revealed, accumulation of black points and small spots of irregular form under cuticle ("reaction of attretization"). Increase of the temperature of insect cultivation up to 32 degrees C during 3 days after infection contributed to the full deliverance of the insects from the infection in first and second generations. It can be considered as a method of treatment of wax moth laboratory colonies from microsporidiosis. Oral infection of III and IV stage caterpillars by the spores being kept during 3-6 months under 4 degrees C in form of water suspension caused the death of 63.0-61.5 and 91% of caterpillars being cultivated under 25 and 21 degrees C respectively. Under the temperature of cultivation equal 30 degrees C the mortality did not differ from the control sample (8-10%). The spores extracted from dried bodies of caterpillars lost their vitality. It was demonstrated by the test on infectious ability in vivo and by acridine orange staining. This host-parasite system appears to be perspective in investigations of resistance mechanisms in insects and immunosuppressive features of entomopathogen microsporidia.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

[The brown-tail moth of Bombyx Euproctis chrysorrhoea L. (Lepidoptera) responsible for lepidopterism in France: biological interpretation].

A scanning electron microscope study has enabled an explanation as to why the brown-tail moth provokes Lepidopterism. The brown-tail moth only provokes Lepidopterism via a transmission of the urticating hairs of its caterpillar. Urticating moths (genus Hylesia and Anaphae) protect their eggs and young caterpillars with urticating hairs, thus it is very ambiguous to label erucism as the contact dermatitis produced by caterpillar production or Lepidopterism as the contact dermatitis caused by moth urticating hairs.

Animals↗
PubMed1954

The behavior of isolated hearts of the grasshopper, Chortophaga viridifasciata, and the moth, Samia walkeri, in solutions with different concentrations of sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium.

1. The blood of Chortophaga viridifasciata was analyzed. The average concentrations of inorganic cations expressed as milligrams per cent are: sodium, 250.66; potassium, 13.52; calcium, 11.40; and magnesium, 51.15. The osmotic pressure of the blood at 0 degrees C. is 10.7 atmospheres. Protein and non-protein nitrogen, expressed as milligrams per cent, are 253.4 and 140.0, respectively. 2. The blood of Samia walkeri has an osmotic pressure of 13.36 atmospheres at 0 degrees C. Its protein nitrogen is 628.58, and its non-protein nitrogen, 441.20 milligrams per cent. 3. The effects of isotonic chloride solutions of sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium and of distilled water on the heart beat of these two species were determined. The heart of the grasshopper failed to beat in isotonic solutions of KCl, MgCl(2), or in distilled water. For both insects, sodium was found to be the least toxic ion. In the case of the grasshopper, calcium ranks next in order. In the case of the moth, potassium ranks next after sodium and is followed by calcium and magnesium. 4. The ratio of sodium to potassium in milligrams per cent, necessary for maintaining the normal heart beat of Chortophaga viridifasciata is 3 to 1, but it may be increased to at least 34 to 1 without any appreciable effects. The ratio of potassium to calcium necessary for maintaining the normal heart beat of this insect is 1 to 1, and may be increased to as much as 3 to 1. 5. The ratio of sodium to potassium, in milligrams per cent, necessary for maintaining the normal heart beat of Samia walkeri was found to be equal to or to exceed 1 to 13.8. The sodium content may be increased so that the ratio of sodium to potassium is 34 to 1 without any toxic effects. The ratios of potassium to calcium required for normal heart beat in this insect may be 1 to 1, 2 to 1, or 3 to 1. 6. The hearts of the grasshoppers beat normally in isotonic solutions having an osmotic pressure of 10.7 atmospheres. They beat equally well in solutions having an osmotic pressure of 13.4 atmospheres. The hearts of the cynthia pupae beat normally in isotonic solutions having an osmotic pressure of 13.36 atmospheres. However, they also beat normally in solutions having an osmotic pressure of 10.02 atmospheres. Therefore, although the blood of the cynthia moth and of the grasshopper have different osmotic pressures, their hearts are tolerant to solutions having the same tonicity. Because of this, and since the ratios of potassium to calcium necessary for maintaining normal heart beats of both insects are the same, solutions favorable to the grasshopper may also be favorable to the cynthia moth.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Purification and characterization of a phosphoric triester hydrolase from the tufted apple bud moth, Platynota idaeusalis (Walker).

Whole body homogenates from azinphosmethyl-resistant fifth instars of the tufted apple bud moth demonstrated 11.8-fold elevated phosphoric triester hydrolase (methyl paraoxonase) activity as compared to susceptible insects of the same species. Elevated phosphoric triester hydrolase (PTEH) activity associated with resistance was also found in the Colorado potato beetle but not in the German cockroach or tobacco budworm. Phosphoric triester hydrolase activity in the tufted apple bud moth was minimal in resistant and susceptible third instars and in adult males and females and was highest in whole body homogenates and in the alimentary canal of resistant fifth instars. A microtiterplate assay was developed, which successfully diagnosed resistance in individual fifth instars based on increased phosphoric triester hydrolase (methyl paraoxonase) activity. Phosphoric triester hydrolase was purified 289-fold from fifth instars of resistant bud moths, but any additional resolution resulted in the loss of enzyme activity. Phosphoric triester hydrolase demonstrated an apparent molecular weight of 41,000 with an isoelectric point of 5.28. Methyl paraoxonase activity was increased by calcium, cobalt, manganese, and octylthio-1,1,1-trifluoro-2-propanone and decreased by mercury, phosphate ions, tin, and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid. Iron, potassium chloride, lithium, magnesium, sodium chloride, and lead had no effect.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Endogenous control of circadian rhythms of pheromone production in the turnip moth, Agrotis segetum.

The circadian variation of pheromone production in the turnip moth, Agrotis segetum, was characterized by quantifying (Z)-7-dodecenyl acetate (Z7-12:OAc), the most abundant pheromone component produced by female turnip moth, at different times of day. Under 17:7 h light-dark cycle (LD), the peak of Z7-12:OAc production occurred around 4 h into the scotophase, while there was very little pheromone production during the photophase. When females were maintained under constant darkness (DD), the periodicity of pheromone production was sustained for 3 consecutive days. Furthermore, the rhythm in pheromone production could be entrained to a shifted LD. These results demonstrate that the pheromone production in the turnip moth is regulated endogenously by a circadian clock. To understand how the circadian rhythm of pheromone production is generated, circadian variation of pheromone- biosynthesis-activating neuropeptide (PBAN)-like activity in the brain-suboesophageal ganglion complexes (Br-SOG), hemolymph, and ventral nerve cord (VNC) was also examined. Under both LD and DD, only the VNC displayed a circadian variation in the PBAN-like activity, which was significantly higher during the late-photophase than that in the scotophase. In addition, the present study showed that removal of VNC in isolated abdomen did not affect PBAN stimulation of pheromone production, while severing the VNC impaired normal pheromone production. The role of Br-SOG, VNC, and hemolymph in the regulation of the periodicity of pheromone production is discussed.

Acetates↗
PubMed2007

Toxicity of azinphos-methyl to various development stages of the codling moth Cydia pomonella (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae).

The response to azinphos-methyl of different life-stages of the codling moth Cydia pomonella (L.) was studied. A similarity in response to azinphos-methyl (LC(50), LC(90)) was observed in neonate larvae obtained from the first and second generations of field populations. Mortality rates for neonate larvae of a field population cross-bred with a laboratory colony were lower (by a factor of 1.2-2.2) in comparison with field neonate larvae. The mortality rate of larvae from a laboratory colony exposed to artificial diet containing azinphos-methyl gradually decreased at older instars. The mortality rates of fifth-instar larvae were remarkably low when exposed to artificial diet mixed with azinphos-methyl or when topically treated with the insecticide. One- to three-day-old females were more sensitive than males of the same age, whereas the opposite was observed in 14-to 17-day-old adults. Mortality rates of 14- to 17-day-old adults were higher than those under 10 days old. No significant difference in sensitivity to the organophosphorus compound was noticed between the sexes of 7- to 10-day-old adults. Neonate larvae of the codling moth can serve as a target life-stage for various groups of pesticides, and the importance of using such a stage as a standardized methodology for monitoring resistance in the codling moth is discussed.

Age Factors↗
PubMed2001

Sex-related response to organophosphorus and carbamate insecticides in adult Oriental fruit moth, Grapholita molesta.

During the development of a resistance-monitoring bioassay that uses males as the life-stage tested, the relationship of adult female and male susceptibility of Grapholita molesta to different classes of insecticides was investigated. Preliminary results indicated that more males survived diagnostic doses of azinphos-methyl than females. Additional research revealed that, although the body mass of adult male G molesta was only 69% of that of female moths (5.67 and 8.20 mg, respectively), their LC50 values were 2.6, 4.1 and 10.3 times higher than those of females for azinphosmethyl, malathion and parathion-methyl, respectively. However, female G molesta moths were more tolerant to methomyl than were male moths. There was no indication that this sex-related response occurred in G molesta larvae. The results presented here raise concerns regarding the use of pheromone traps for determining whether insecticide treatments are required and as part of resistance monitoring programs.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Evolution of chorion gene families in lepidoptera: characterization of 15 cDNAs from the gypsy moth.

Fifteen unique chorion protein-encoding cDNAs from gypsy moth have been completely sequenced. These sequences are encoded by a family of genes, based on pairwise similarity values of 78-100% within a 225-nt region. Pairwise comparisons and maximum parsimony analysis strongly support the existence of two clusters of 11 and four sequences each, called noc1 and noc2. While noc2 consists of two subclusters, there is little character support for subclusters within noc1. The highly localized character-state distribution on the parsimony tree in gypsy moth is reminiscent of that in Bombyx mori, specifically for those chorion families that have been shown to undergo gene conversion. Gene conversion thus becomes a reasonable explanation for the homogeneity of noc1 sequences and for their distinctness from noc2. The relationship between the two major clusters of chorion sequences in gypsy moth (noc1, noc2) and Bombyx mori (Bm alpha, Bm beta) has been addressed through mixed-species tree construction. All four groups cluster separately, thus providing no direct evidence of orthologous sequences. However, the occurrence of gene conversion could have eliminated such evidence. The relationship between the chorion gene tree and the species cladogenic event is discussed, as are biases in codon usage, base composition, and nucleotide transformations.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Arctiid moth clicks can degrade the accuracy of range difference discrimination in echolocating big brown bats, Eptesicus fuscus.

Four big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) born and raised in captivity were trained using the Yes/No psychophysical method to report whether a virtual sonar target was at a standard distance or not. At threshold bats were able to detect a minimum range difference of 6 mm (a delta t of 36 microseconds). Following threshold determinations, a click burst 1.8 ms long containing 5 pulses from the ruby tiger moth, Phragmatobia fuliginosa (Arctiidae), was presented randomly after each phantom echo. The sound energy of the click burst was -4 dB relative to that of the phantom echo. Clicks presented for the very first time could startle naive bats to different degrees depending on the individual. The bats' performance deteriorated by as much as 4000% when the click burst started within a window of about 1.5 ms before the phantom echo. Even when one of ten phantom echoes was preceded by a click burst, the range difference discrimination worsened by 200%. Hence, clicks falling within the 1.5 ms time window seem to interfere with the bat's neural timing mechanism. The clicks of arctiid moths appear to serve 3 functions: they can startle naive bats, interfere with range difference determinations, or they can signal the moth's distastefulness, as shown in earlier studies.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Where to find a mate? Resource-based sexual communication of webbing clothes moth.

Mate location in moths typically entails long-range attraction of males to female-produced pheromone. Here, we show that male and female webbing clothes moths, Tineola bisselliella, seek larval habitats (dry carrion, animal lairs, etc) to encounter mates. With males seeking, and arriving at, larval habitat earlier at night than females, male-produced pheromonal and sonic signals enhance the habitat's attractiveness to females. This resource-based mating strategy of T bisselliella differs from that known for most other moths. It may have evolved in response to larval habitats that are patchy and temporary, but that disseminate attractive semiochemicals so abundantly that T bisselliella encounter them more readily than their own pheromones.

Animal Communication↗
PubMed2006

Essential host plant cues in the grapevine moth.

Host plant odours attract gravid insect females for oviposition. The identification of these plant volatile compounds is essential for our understanding of plant-insect relationships and contributes to plant breeding for improved resistance against insects. Chemical analysis of grape headspace and subsequent behavioural studies in the wind tunnel show that host finding in grapevine moth Lobesia botrana is encoded by a ratio-specific blend of three ubiquitous plant volatiles. The odour signal that attracts mated females to grape consists of the terpenoids (E)-beta-caryophyllene, (E)-beta-farnesene and (E)-4,8-dimethyl-1,3,7-nonatriene. These compounds represent only a fraction of the volatiles released by grapes, and they are widespread compounds known throughout the plant kingdom. Specificity may be achieved by the blend ratio, which was 100:78:9 in grape headspace. This blend elicited anemotactic behaviour in moths at remarkably small amounts. Females were attracted at release rates of only a few nanograms per minute, at levels nearly as low as those known for the attraction of male moths to the female sex pheromones.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Disulfide connectivity and reduction in pheromone-binding proteins of the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar.

Males of the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar, are attracted by a pheromone released by females. Pheromones are detected by olfactory neurons housed in specialized sensory hairs located on the antennae of the male moth. Once pheromone molecules enter the sensilla lymph, a highly abundant pheromone-binding protein (PBP) transports the molecule to the sensory neuron. The PBPs are members of the insect odorant-binding protein family, with six conserved cysteine residues. In this study, the disulfide bond connectivities of the pheromone-binding proteins PBP1 and PBP2 from the gypsy moth were found to be cysteines 19-54, 50-109, and 97-118 for PBP1, and cysteines 19-54, 50-110, and 97-119 for PBP2, as determined by cyanylation reactions and cyanogen bromide chemical cleavage. We have discovered that the second disulfide linkage is the most easily reduced of the three, and this same linkage is missing among four cysteine-containing insect odorant-binding proteins (OBPs). We are the first to identify the unique steric and electronic properties of this second disulfide linkage.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2006

Distribution of neuropeptides in the primary olfactory center of the heliothine moth Heliothis virescens.

Neuropeptides are a diverse widespread class of signaling substances in the nervous system. As a basis for the analysis of peptidergic neurotransmission in the insect olfactory system, we have studied the distribution of neuropeptides in the antennal lobe of the moth Heliothis virescens. Immunocytochemical experiments with antisera recognizing A-type allatostatins (AST-As), Manduca sexta allatotropin (Mas-AT), FMRFamide-related peptides (FaRPs), and tachykinin-related peptides (TKRPs) have shown that members of all four peptide families are present in local interneurons of the antennal lobe. Whereas antisera against AST-As, Mas-AT, and FaRPs give similar staining patterns characterized by dense meshworks of processes confined to the core of all antennal-lobe glomeruli, TKRPs are present only in neurons with blebby processes distributed throughout each glomerulus. In addition to local neurons, a pair of centrifugal neurons with cell bodies in the lateral subesophageal ganglion, arborizations in the antennal lobe, and projections in the inner antenno-cerebral tracts exhibits tachykinin immunostaining. Double-label immunofluorescence has detected the co-localization of AST-As, Mas-AT, and FaRPs in certain local interneurons, whereas TKRPs occurs in a distinct population. MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry has revealed nearly 50 mass peaks in the antennal lobe. Seven of these masses (four AST-As, two N-terminally extended FLRFamides, and Mas-AT) match known moth neuropeptides. The data thus show that local interneurons of the moth antennal lobe are highly differentiated with respect to their neuropeptide content. The antennal lobe therefore represents an ideal preparation for the future analysis of peptide signaling in insect brain.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Use of forest corridors by boreal Xestia moths.

We studied movements of the noctuid moths Xestia speciosa and X. fennica in a fragmented forest landscape including old-growth spruce forest corridors in eastern Finland. We individually marked and released 1,796 adults of the habitat generalist X. speciosa and 683 individuals of X. fennica, which prefers old-growth spruce forests. Moths were recaptured with 60 sugar-bait traps that were placed within habitat corridors, in the non-habitat matrix and in surrounding old-growth forest patches. Both species favoured the corridors during their movements and tended to avoid entering the matrix. We analysed recapture rates and movements of the recaptured moths. Results suggest that X. speciosa moves longer distances than X. fennica. Though corridors clearly canalized movements by both species, the impact of old-growth forest corridors at the larger landscape scale was less clear in X. fennica. Movement behaviour of the two sexes differed more than that of the two species.

Animals↗