Entomological Review 

About: Entomological Review is an academic journal published by Pleiades Publishing. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Genus & Fauna. It has an ISSN identifier of 0013-8738. Over the lifetime, 2098 publications have been published receiving 8990 citations. The journal is also known as: Entomological review.

First records of the brown marmorated stink bug Halyomorpha halys (Stål, 1855) (Heteroptera, Pentatomidae) in Russia, Abkhazia, and Georgia

Abstract: The brown marmorated stink bug Halyomorpha halys (Stal, 1855) is recorded for the first time from Russia (Khosta and Adler districts of the city of Sochi), Abkhazia (Pitsunda), and Georgia (Khobi Municipality). Outbreaks of H. halys populations were detected in all of these regions in October 2016. More than a hundred specimens congregated for overwintering were collected in Sochi during two days. According to the personal communications of the local people, the species appeared in Sochi not later than in 2013, and in Georgia not later than in 2015. It must have been brought to Sochi from Europe (from Italy) with planting material of ornamental plants for landscaping the XXII Olympic Winter Games. Thereafter it spread to Abkhazia and Georgia. Additional steps to identification of H. halys are provided for the keys to the true bugs of the European part of the former USSR (Kerzhner and Jaczewski, 1964).

Long life cycles in insects

Abstract: Long life cycles covering more than one year are known for all orders of insects. There are different mechanisms of prolongation of the life cycle: (1) slow larval development; (2) prolongation of the adult stage with several reproduction periods; (3) prolongation of diapause; (4) combination of these mechanisms in one life cycle. Lasting suboptimal conditions (such as low temperature, low quality of food or instability of food resources, natural enemies, etc.) tend to prolong life cycles of all individuals in a population. In this case, the larvae feed and develop for longer than a year, and the active periods are interrupted by dormancy periods. The nature of this dormancy is unknown: in some cases it appears to be simple quiescence, in others it has been experimentally shown to be a true diapause. Induction and termination of these repeated dormancy states are controlled by different environmental cues, the day-length being the principal one as in the case of the annual diapause. The long life cycles resulting from prolonged adult lifespan were experimentally studied mainly in beetles and true bugs. The possibility of repeated diapause and several periods of reproductive activity is related to the fact that the adults remain sensitive to day length, which is the main environmental cue controlling their alternative physiological states (reproduction vs. diapause). Habitats with unpredictable environmental changes stimulate some individuals in a population to extend their life cycles by prolonged diapause. The properties of this diapause are poorly understood, but results of studies of a few species suggest that this physiological state differs from the true annual diapause in deeper suppression of metabolism. Induction and intensity of prolonged diapause in some species appear to be genetically controlled, so that the duration of prolonged diapause varies among individuals in a group, even that of sibles reared under identical conditions. Thus, long life cycles are realized due to the ability of insects to interrupt activity repeatedly and enter dormancy. This provides high resistance to various environmental factors. Regardless of the nature of this dormancy (quiescence, annual or prolonged diapause, or other forms) and the life cycle duration, the adults always appear synchronously after dormancy in the nature. The only feasible explanation of this is the presence of a special synchronizing mechanism, most likely both exo- and endogenous, since the adults appear not only synchronously but also in the period best suited for reproduction. As a whole, the long life cycles resulting from various structural modifications of the annual life cycle, are typical of the species living under stable suboptimal conditions when the pressure of individual environmental factors is close to the tolerance limits of the species, even though it represents its norm of existence. Such life cycles are also typical of the insects living in unstable environments with unpredictable variability of conditions, those developing in cones and galls, feeding on flowers, seeds, or fruits with limited periods of availability, those associated with the plant species with irregular patterns of blossoming and fruiting, and those consuming low-quality food or depending on unpredictable food sources (e.g., predators or parasites). Long cycles are more common in: (1) insect species at high latitudes and mountain landscapes where the vegetation season is short and unstable; (2) species living in deserts or arid areas where precipitation is unstable and often insufficient for survival of food plants; (3) inhabitants of cold and temporary water bodies that are not filled with water every year. At the same time, long life cycles sometimes occur in insects from other climatic zones as well. It is also important to note that while there is a large body of literature dealing with the long life cycles in insects, it mostly focuses on external aspects of the phenomenon. Experimental studies are needed to understand this phenomenon, first of all the nature of dormancy and mechanisms of synchronization of adult emergence.

Diapause in the seasonal cycle of stink bugs (Heteroptera, Pentatomidae) from the Temperate Zone

Abstract: The paper reviews the data on diapause and related phenomena in stink bugs (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae). Using stink bugs as examples, the consecutive stages of the complex dynamic process of diapause (such as diapause preparation, induction, initiation, maintenance, termination, post-diapause quiescence, and resumption of direct development) are described and discussed. Out of 43 pentatomid species studied in relation to diapause in the Temperate Zone up to date, the majority (38 species) overwinter as adults, two species—as eggs, and another two species—as nymphs. Pentatoma rufipes is believed to be able to overwinter at different stages of its life cycle. Less than 5 % of pentatomid species are probably able to overwinter twice. Only five species have obligate diapause, others have the facultative one. Day-length and temperature are the main diapause inducing factors in the majority of species. The role of food in the control of seasonal development is essential in the pentatomid species feeding on plant seeds. In different species, different stages are sensitive to day-length. Some pentatomids retain sensitivity to photoperiod even after diapause, others lose it and become photo-refractory (temporarily or permanently). In Pentatomidae, such seasonal adaptations as photoperiodic control of nymphal growth rates, seasonal body colour change, migrations, and summer diapause (aestivation) are widely represented, whereas wing and/or wing muscle polymorphism has not been reported yet. In the subfamily Podopinae, induction of facultative reproductive winter diapause is under the control of photoperiod and temperature. All species feed on seeds and their seasonal development to a great extent reflects availability of food. However, the same food preferences and pattern of seasonal development are also characteristic to many species from the subfamily Pentatominae. All species of the subfamily Asopinae are predators. Among them, Picromerus bidens and Apateticus cynicus have obligate embryonic winter diapause, which is rear among true bugs. At the same time, A. cynicus and Podisus maculiventris belong to the same tribe but have different types of diapause: obligate embryonic diapause in A. cynicus and facultative adult diapause in P. maculiventris. Other Asopinae species studied up to date have facultative adult diapause controlled by photoperiod and temperature with probably only one exception: in Andrallus spinidens, adult diapause is controlled by temperature, and photoperiod plays only a secondary role. Thus, in spite of the similar habits and feeding types among Asopinae, the species of this subfamily have different types of diapause and the latter is controlled by different factors. In the subfamily Pentatominae, most species overwinter as adults and induction of their diapause is controlled by the long-day type photoperiodic response, in spite of the differences in their feeding preferences (within phytophagy). However, there are some exceptions in this subfamily, too: Palomena prasina, P. angulosa and Menida scotti have obligate diapause, which conditions univoltinism in these pentatomids. In M. scotti, only females have obligate adult diapause, whereas males remain physiologically active through the whole winter, this pattern being unusual for Heteroptera. The univoltine seasonal cycle of this species with summer diapause (aestivation) and apparent migrations is similar to that of shield bugs (Scutelleridae). According to the analysis of seasonal development, the evolution of seasonal adaptations in Pentatomidae does not directly reflect their phylogeny. However, individual genera, small tribes or even subfamilies have similar complexes of seasonal adaptations. At the same time, Pentatominae is a large and apparently collected taxon, but most of species in this subfamily have the same facultative adult diapause.

Modern classification and distribution of the family Issidae Spinola (Homoptera, Auchenorrhyncha: Fulgoroidea)

Abstract: The modern classification of the family Issidae s. str. is presented according to which the family consists of 3 tribes: Issini, Hemisphaeriini, and Parahiraciini and comprises a total of 994 species and subspecies in 159 genera. The largest tribe, Issini, is distributed worldwide and comprises 129 genera with 755 species and subspecies. The tribes Hemisphaeriini and Parahiraciini are much smaller and mostly distributed in the Indo-Malayan Realm with some taxa also present in the Eastern Palaearctic and the Oceania. The tribe Hemisphaeriini consists of 15 genera with 187 species and subspecies while Parahiraciini includes 14 genera with 38 species. The Palaearctic and Indo-Malayan Realms have the richest faunas of Issidae. In contrast, Equatorial Africa has a very poor fauna of the family, whereas the Australian fauna is still almost undescribed. Chimetopon camerunensis Schmidt is recorded for the first time from Central African Republic and Gabon, and Sarima erythrocyclos Fennah, from Taveuni Island (Fiji).

Anatomy of the smallest coleoptera, featherwing beetles of the tribe nanosellini (Coleoptera, Ptiliidae), and limits of insect miniaturization

Abstract: The internal structure of Nanosella sp., Primorskella sp., and Porophila sp. was described from serial sections and total preparations using light and transmission electron microscopy. The most important structural features related to miniaturization are the absence of midgut muscles, abortion of two Malpighian tubes, a decrease in the number of abdominal spiracles, strong reduction of the tracheal system, the absence of the heart, reduction of the circulatory system and its substitution by the fat body, strong oligomerization and concentration of the nervous system, a decrease in the size and number of neurons, and reduction of the left testis and left ovary. The internal structure of featherwing beetles was analyzed for the first time using 3D computer models, which allowed us to demonstrate changes in the relative volume of organs accompanying the body diminution. The excretory and digestive systems change isometrically, while others change allometrically. The relative volume of the musculature decreases, and that of the nervous and reproductive systems increases. The skeleton mass also increases. The possible factors limiting further diminution in Ptiliidae (egg size, the volume of the reproductive and nervous systems, and the skeleton mass) are discussed.