Vibratory Communication in Dung Beetles (Scarabaeidae, Coleoptera)

Wood pastures are home to a variety of species, including the dung beetle. Dung beetles are an important functional group in decomposition. Specifically, in terms of livestock manure, they not only contribute to nutrient cycling but are key players in supporting human and animal health. Dung beetles, however, are declining in population, and urgent recommendations are needed to reverse this trend. Recommendations need to be based on solid evidence and specific habitats. Herein, we aimed to investigate the role of an intermediate habitat type between forests and pastures. Wood pastures are key areas for dung beetle conservation. For this reason, we compared dung beetle assemblages among forests, wood pastures, and grasslands. We complemented this with studies on the effects of dung type and season at three Hungarian locations. Pitfall traps baited with cattle, sheep, or horse dung were used in forests, wood pastures, and pasture habitats in spring, summer, and autumn. Dung beetle assemblages of wood pastures showed transient characteristics between forests and pastures regarding their abundance, species richness, Shannon diversity, assemblage composition, and indicator species. We identified a strong effect of season and a weak of dung type. Assemblage composition proved to be the most sensitive measure of differences among habitats. The conservation of dung beetles, and the decomposition services they provide, need continuous livestock grazing to provide fresh dung, as well as the maintenance of wood pastures where dung beetle assemblages typical of forests and pastures can both survive.

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Inhibitory Copulation Effect of Vibrational Rival Female Signals of Three Stink Bug Species as a Tool for Mating Disruption

Insects ◽

10.3390/insects12020177 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (2) ◽

pp. 177

Author(s):

Aline Moreira Dias ◽

Miguel Borges ◽

Maria Carolina Blassioli Moraes ◽

Matheus Lorran Figueira Coelho ◽

Andrej Čokl ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Pest Management ◽

Mating Behavior ◽

Mating Disruption ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Stink Bug ◽

Stink Bugs ◽

Vibratory Communication ◽

Communication Signals ◽

Long Duration ◽

Bean Plants

Stink bugs are major pests in diverse crops around the world. Pest management strategies based on insect behavioral manipulation could help to develop biorational management strategies of stink bugs. Insect mating disruption using vibratory signals is an approach with high potential for pest management. The objective of this work was to investigate the effect of conspecific female rival signals on the mating behavior and copulation of three stink bug species to establish their potential for mating disruption. Previously recorded female rival signals were played back to bean plants where pairs of the Neotropical brown stink bug, Euschistus heros, and two green stink bugs, Chinavia ubica and Chinavia impicticornis were placed. Vibratory communication and mating behavior were recorded for each pair throughout the experimental time (20 min). Female rival signals show a disrupting effect on the reproductive behavior of three conspecific investigated stink bug species. This effect was more clearly expressed in E. heros and C. ubica than in C. impicticornis. The likelihood of copulating in pairs placed on control plants, without rival signals, increased 29.41 times in E. heros, 4.6 times in C. ubica and 1.71 times in C. impicticornis. However, in the last case, the effect of female rivalry signals in copulation was not significant. The effect of mating disruption of female rival signals of the three stink bug species may originate from the observed reduction in specific vibratory communication signals emitted, which influences the duet formation and further development of different phases of mating behavior. Our results suggest that female rival signals have potential for application in manipulation and disruption of mating behavior of stink bugs. Further work needs to focus on the effects of female rival signals used in long duration experiments and also their interactions with chemical communication of stink bugs.

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Bioethanolic yeasts from dung beetles: tapping the potential of extremophilic yeasts for improvement of lignocellulolytic feedstock fermentation

Biotechnology for Biofuels ◽

10.1186/s13068-021-01940-y ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Anita Ejiro Nwaefuna ◽

Karl Rumbold ◽

Teun Boekhout ◽

Nerve Zhou

Keyword(s):

Treatment Process ◽

Dung Beetles ◽

Production Costs ◽

Industrial Wastes ◽

Major Drawback ◽

Renewable Fuel ◽

Extreme Stress ◽

Pre Treatment ◽

The Cost ◽

Simultaneous Saccharification

AbstractBioethanol from abundant and inexpensive agricultural and industrial wastes possesses the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Bioethanol as renewable fuel addresses elevated production costs, as well as food security concerns. Although technical advancements in simultaneous saccharification and fermentation have reduced the cost of production, one major drawback of this technology is that the pre-treatment process creates environmental stressors inhibitory to fermentative yeasts subsequently reducing bioethanol productivity. Robust fermentative yeasts with extreme stress tolerance remain limited. This review presents the potential of dung beetles from pristine and unexplored environments as an attractive source of extremophilic bioethanolic yeasts. Dung beetles survive on a recalcitrant lignocellulose-rich diet suggesting the presence of symbiotic yeasts with a cellulolytic potential. Dung beetles inhabiting extreme stress environments have the potential to harbour yeasts with the ability to withstand inhibitory environmental stresses typically associated with bioethanol production. The review further discusses established methods used to isolate bioethanolic yeasts, from dung beetles.

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