Search Results (17)

Trachypteris picta (Pallas, 1773) is a significant pest that can cause serious damage to poplars and willows. To assess the impact of climate change on the suitable habitats of T. picta, this study conducted a comparative analysis of its global suitable habitats using climatic factors, global land use type, and global vegetation from different periods, in combination with the maximum entropy (MaxEnt) model. The results indicate that the annual mean temperature (Bio01), mean temperature of the coldest quarter (Bio11), precipitation of the coldest quarter (Bio19), and isothermality (Bio03) are the four most important climate variables determining the distribution of T. picta. Under the current climate conditions, the highly suitable areas are primarily located in southern Europe, covering an area of 2.22 × 10⁶ km². Under future climate scenarios, the suitable habitat for T. picta is expected to expand and shift towards higher latitudes. In the 2050s, the SSP5-8.5 scenario has the largest suitable area compared to other scenarios, while the SSP2-4.5 scenario has the largest suitable area in the 2090s. In addition, the centroids of the total suitable areas are expected to shift toward higher latitudes under future climate conditions. The results of this study provide valuable data for the monitoring, control, and management of this pest. Full article

Background: The family Buprestidae is one of the largest families in Coleoptera; however, the number of reported mitochondrial genomes for this family is limited. Methods: In this study, mitogenomes of Chrysobothris violacea, C. shirakii, Buprestis fairmairei, and Phaenops yin were sequenced, assembled, and annotated. The mitogenomes of Chrysobothris, Phaenops, and Buprestis are reported for the first time. Results: The mitogenomes of Chrysobothris violacea, C. shirakii, and Phaenops yin are complete, while the mitogenome of Buprestis fairmairei is partial, lacking trnV and 12S genes. The AT-skew of these four mitogenomes is positive (0.02–0.09). Among the protein-coding genes, the Ka/Ks ratio for cox1 is the lowest (0.05), and the nucleotide diversity for nd6 is the highest. Conclusions: The phylogenetic trees based on mitogenome sequences suggest that the target genus Chrysobothris is sister to Phaenops, and the target genus Buprestis is sister to (Melanophila + (Chrysobothris + Phaenops)) clade. The results of this study will provide mitogenomic data for further research on the mitogenome and phylogeny of Buprestidae. Full article

Jewel beetles of the genus Sternocera are widely distributed across tropical regions, including Thailand and Lao PDR, where the green-legged S. aequisignata Saunders, 1866, and red-legged S. ruficornis Saunders, 1866, are commonly found. These jewel beetles have significant economic importance, as they are edible, and their iridescent wings are used to create jewelry, leading to high market demand and intensive harvesting. Additionally, their habitats are being rapidly destroyed, resulting in population decline. However, genetic information on these species remains limited. This study aims to investigate the genetic diversity of S. aequisignata and S. ruficornis from various localities in Thailand and Lao PDR using mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (CO1) and 16S ribosomal DNA (16S rDNA) sequences. High genetic diversity was observed, with 45 and 62 CO1 haplotypes and 35 and 28 16S rDNA haplotypes identified in S. aequisignata and S. ruficornis populations, respectively. Haplotype network and phylogenetic analyses clearly distinguish S. aequisignata from S. ruficornis. Based on CO1 sequences, S. aequisignata was divided into three distinct haplogroups (GG1–GG3). Haplogroup GG1 was the most widespread, occurring in both Thailand and Lao PDR, while haplogroups GG2 and GG3 were restricted to some localities in northern, western, and northeastern Thailand, as well as Lao PDR. These findings suggest the presence of cryptic diversity within S. aequisignata, with at least three genetically distinct groups. Further comprehensive studies on the biology, ecology, and genetic diversity of these jewel beetles across their distribution range are essential to better understand their evolutionary dynamics. Full article

Nanochitin was developed to effectively utilize crab shells, a food waste product, and there is ongoing research into its applications. Short nanowhiskers were produced by sonicating partially deacetylated nanochitin in water, resulting in a significant decrease in viscosity due to reduced entanglement of the nanowhiskers. These nanowhiskers self-assembled into a multilayered film through an evaporation technique. The macro- and nanoscale structures within the film manipulate light, producing vibrant and durable structural colors. The dried cast film exhibited green and purple stripes extending from the center to the edge formed by interference effects from the multilayer structure and thickness variations. Preserving structural colors requires maintaining a low ionic strength in the dispersion, as a higher ionic strength reduces electrostatic repulsion between nanofibers, increasing viscosity and potentially leading to the fading of color. This material’s sensitivity to environmental changes, combined with chitin’s biocompatibility, makes it well-suited for food sensors, wherein it can visually indicate freshness or spoilage. Furthermore, chitin’s stable and non-toxic properties offer a sustainable alternative to traditional dyes in cosmetics, delivering vivid and long-lasting color. Full article

Three mitochondrial genomes of Chrysochroinae (Buprestidae) were sequenced and analyzed. The mitogenomes of the genera Catoxantha and Nipponobuprestis are first reportedand Chrysochroa opulenta is a first record for China. The complete mitogenomes of Catoxantha luodiana, Nipponobuprestis guangxiensis and Chrysochroa opulenta exhibit striking similarities in their lengths and composition. Specifically, their lengths are 15,594 bp, 15,775 bp and 15,587 bp, respectively. Each of these genomes encodes 37 typical mitochondrial genes. The overwhelming majority of protein-coding genes (PCGs) have the typical ATN (ATT, ATA, ATG or ATC) as the start codon and terminate with TAR (TAA or TAG) as the stop codon or an incomplete stop codon T-. Among the three mitogenomes, Leu2, Ser2 and Phe were the most frequently encoded amino acids. In the PCGs, the Ka/Ks ratio of cox1 is the lowest, whereas atp6 has the highest value. This suggests that cox1 can be used as a molecular barcode for species delimitation and phylogeny in Chrysochroinae. The phylogenetic results showed that C. luodiana and two Chrysochroa species formed a clade. Based on the topology of the phylogenetic tree, the genus Catoxantha should be reassigned as a subgenus of Chrysochroa. Full article

The apple jewel beetle (AJB), Agrilus mali Matsumura (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), is a dangerous pest of commercial apple orchards across China, the largest apple production country in the world, and has recently become invasive in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR) of northwestern China, where wild apple forests also occur. This pest poses a serious threat to apple production and wild apple forests throughout the world. Global warming is expected to change the geographical distribution of A. mali in China, but the extent of this is unknown. Based on empirical data from 1951 to 2000, a MaxEnt model was used to forecast the ecological distribution of A. mali under three different climate scenarios projected in the fifth report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The results showed that the most important variables were the maximum temperature of November, precipitation in January, and minimum temperatures in April. Under all climate scenarios, the forecasted suitable regions for A. mali in China will expand northward in the 2050s and 2070s. The forecasted highly suitable regions will be 1.11–1.34 times larger than they are currently, and their central distributions will be 61.57–167.59 km further north. These findings suggest that the range and damage caused by A. mali in China will increase dramatically in the future. Monitoring and management measures should be implemented urgently to protect both the commercial apple industry and wild apple resources. Full article

BACKGROUND: Two jewel beetle species native to Europe, the cypress jewel beetle, Lamprodila (Palmar, Ovalisia) festiva L. (Buprestidae, Coleoptera), and the sinuate pear tree borer, Agrilus sinuatus Olivier (Buprestidae, Coleoptera), are key pests of ornamental thuja and junipers and of orchard and ornamental rosaceous trees, respectively. Although chemical control measures are available, due to the beetles’ small size, agility, and cryptic lifestyle at the larval stage, efficient tools for their detection and monitoring are missing. Consequently, by the time emerging jewel beetle adults are noticed, the trees are typically significantly damaged. METHODS: Thus, the aim of this study was to initiate the development of monitoring traps. Transparent, light green, and purple sticky sheets and multifunnel traps were compared in field experiments in Hungary. RESULTS: Light green and transparent sticky traps caught more L. festiva and A. sinuatus jewel beetles than non-sticky multifunnel traps, regardless of the larger size of the colored surface of the funnel traps. CONCLUSIONS: Although light green sticky sheets turned out to be optimal for both species, using transparent sheets can reduce catches of non-target insects. The key to the effectiveness of sticky traps, despite their reduced suitability for quantitative comparisons, may lie in the behavioral responses of the beetles to the optical features of the traps. Full article

Schistosomiasis is a neglected tropical disease caused by blood flukes of the genus Schistosoma. In silico screenings of compounds for the identification of novel anti-parasitic drug candidates have received considerable attention in recent years, including the screening of natural compounds. For the first time, we investigated molecules from insects, a rather neglected source in drug discovery, in an in silico screening approach to find novel antischistosomal compounds. Based on the Dictionary of Natural Products (DNP), we created a library of 1327 insect compounds suitable for molecular docking. A structure-based virtual screening against the crystal structure of a known druggable target in Schistosoma mansoni, the thioredoxin glutathione reductase (SmTGR), was performed. The top ten compounds predominantly originated from beetles and were predicted to interact particularly with amino acids in the doorstop pocket of SmTGR. For one compound from a jewel beetle, buprestin H, we tested and confirmed antischistosomal activity against adult and juvenile parasites in vitro. At concentrations with anti-parasitic activity, we could also exclude any unspecific cytotoxic activity against human HepG2 cells. This study highlights the potential of insect molecules for the identification of novel antischistosomal compounds. Our library of insect-derived molecules could serve not only as basis for future in silico screenings against additional target proteins of schistosomes, but also of other parasites. Full article

Emerald ash borer Agrilus planipennis (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) is one of 20 priority quarantine pests of the European Union. It is native to Asia and is established in the USA, Canada, European Russia, and Ukraine. We made the first prognosis of the potential range of A. planipennis in Europe based on heat availability. Mean annual growing degree days base 10 °C (AGDD₁₀) was calculated for each grid square (0.25° × 0.25° latitude x longitude degrees) on the Earth’s surface. Minimal AGDD₁₀ recorded in the grid squares currently occupied by A. planipennis was 714° in Asia, 705° in North America, and 711° in European Russia. Agrilus planipennis has never been recorded in localities with AGDD₁₀ below 700°. If the phenotypic plasticity would not allow this species to overcome this threshold, cold regions of Europe would probably not be invaded by A. planipennis. Thus, Fraxinus excelsior could potentially escape from A. planipennis in some regions of Norway, Sweden, Finland, Ireland, and Great Britain. Full article

The main aim of this work was to identify semiochemicals from the jewel beetle Coraebus undatus (F.) (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) that may aid in the improvement of current monitoring tools. First, HS-SPME collections revealed that individually sampled adults (>7 days old) of both sexes release the spiroacetal 1,7-dioxaspiro[5.5]undecane (olean). Electroantennographic recordings from both sexes exposed to increasing amounts of olean followed a dose-dependent pattern, with females being more responsive than males to the highest amount of the compound (100 µg). In double-choice assays, adults older than seven days were significantly attracted to olean, whereas this attraction was not detected in insects aged less than seven days. Indeed, a repellent effect was observed in young females. Subsequent field trials employing sticky purple prism traps revealed that there were no differences among the number of insects caught in control and olean-baited traps at two different release rates (0.75 and 3.75 mg/day). Interestingly, all the trapped specimens were determined as mated females, regardless of the presence of olean. Overall, these findings provide a basis for unraveling the chemical ecology of the species, although further research is still needed to determine the specific role of this compound within the chemical communication of the species. Full article

A positive correlation between the species richness and morphological diversity of some organisms has been found in almost all studies at the local community scale. However, this documented relationship has not always been consistent because of diverse niches and the status of an organism in an ecosystem. Global taxon sampling, new morphological approaches, and consideration of more taxonomic categories other than species level are possible methods to further investigate this contradiction. In this study, we proposed a new paradigm for higher taxa biodiversity analysis based on a cosmopolitan dataset. A total of 1106 species from around the world representing all subfamilies and 33% genera of Buprestidae (jewel beetles) were selected to test the correlation between morphological diversity (MD) and genus/species richness (GR/SR) among subfamilies. The MD was quantified by the contours of the pronotum and elytron in dorsal view based on a geometric morphometric approach. The positive correlation between MD and GR was found in all test combinations, but was irrelevant in the species-level test. Interestingly, the correlation between MD and GR was higher than MD and SR in both pronotum and elytron measurements. Additionally, the MD of the pronotum is obviously higher than the MD of the elytron. Our results demonstrate that the geometric morphometric approach could quite accurately reveal diversity patterns of the family Buprestidae. Future studies on different groups, using more characters, more analyses and detailed biological interpretations, are required to fully understand the relationship between MD and SR. Full article

The Cypress jewel beetle, Lamprodila (Palmar) festiva festiva (Linnaeus, 1767), is a serious invasive pest of ornamental Cupressaceae, which has recently expanded its range from the Mediterranean region northwards to central and eastern Europe, and to the Russian Black Sea coast. In this study, we conducted a scanning electron microscopy study of the micromorphology of the male and female antennae of L. festiva to examine the morphology, numbers, distribution, and possible functions of antennal sensilla. Most sensilla are located in the sensory fields within the apical depressions on antennomeres IV–XI. We identified four main types of antennal sensilla in L. festiva: sensilla chaetica (seven subtypes, of which two occur only in females), sensilla basiconica (five subtypes), multiporous grooved pegs (two subtypes), and Böhm sensilla. Females have relatively more sensilla chaetica and multiporous grooved pegs, whereas males have more sensilla basiconica. We discuss possible functions of all examined sensilla and compare them with those in other Buprestidae or other insects. Our study should serve as background information for advanced electrophysiological and behavioral experiments to better understand the functions of different sensilla and mechanisms related to semiochemically based pest control strategies. Full article

Traps baited with attractive lures are increasingly used at entry-points and surrounding natural areas to intercept exotic wood-boring beetles accidentally introduced via international trade. Several trapping variables can affect the efficacy of this activity, including trap color. In this study, we tested whether species richness and abundance of jewel beetles (Buprestidae), bark and ambrosia beetles (Scolytinae), and their common predators (i.e., checkered beetles, Cleridae) can be modified using trap colors different to those currently used for surveillance of jewel beetles and bark and ambrosia beetles (i.e., green or black). We show that green and black traps are generally efficient, but also that many flower-visiting or dark-metallic colored jewel beetles and certain bark beetles are more attracted by other colors. In addition, we show that checkered beetles have color preferences similar to those of their Scolytinae preys, which limits using trap color to minimize their inadvertent removal. Overall, this study confirmed that understanding the color perception mechanisms in wood-boring beetles can lead to important improvements in trapping techniques and thereby increase the efficacy of surveillance programs. Full article

Our goal is to analyze the known geographical ranges and diagnostic features of two potentially invasive Asian buprestid species: the quarantine apple tree pest, Agrilus mali Matsumura, and the poplar pest A. fleischeri Obenberger. Based on the examination of museum collections and literature sources, we compiled comprehensive databases of records of the exact collecting sites for both species and generated detailed maps of their ranges. There are 51 documented localities for A. mali in the Russian Far East and East Siberia, Mongolia, China, and the Korean peninsula, and there are 53 documented localities for A. fleischeri in the Far East and Siberia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, China, and Japan. No evidence of the presence of A. mali in Japan was found. Outbreak sites of A. mali in Xinjiang in the 2000s most likely represent the newly forming invasion areas; their proximity to the wild apple stands in the Kazakh part of the Tien Shan is a direct threat to Kazakhstan and adjacent countries. Sites damaged by A. fleischeri in Liaoning are situated within its native range; the outbreaks were likely triggered by the switch from indigenous to introduced poplars. This situation is similar to the early stages of emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire) invasion. Full article