# behav: pheromones to bamboozle bark beetles

<< While the trees are suffering due to the heat and the drought, the pests are proliferating rampantly in the warm weather: A pair of European spruce bark beetles, for example, can produce up to 30,000 offspring. >>

<< The method involves treating raw wood, i.e. harvested wood, with substances that were originally extracted from the bark beetles' pheromones. These messenger substances are not only used as a means of communication between the bark beetles themselves, they also attract predators, for example the ant beetle. >>

<< The foreign messenger substances are therefore selective: The enemies of the bark beetles are attracted by these substances, but other bark beetles are not. In the best-case scenario, the foreign substance acts as a deterrent. As larvae, the ant beetles eat the early stages of the bark beetle that burrow into the wood. These predatory beetles also patrol the bark, where they catch and eat approaching bark beetles. In this way, they can prevent or reduce the infestation. >>

<< The forest owners will no longer be buying insecticides in specialist shops, but natural substances that they can attach to stacks of raw wood, >> Michael Muller. 

Bamboozling the bark beetles. Dresden University of Technology. Aug 31, 2020.

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-bamboozling-bark-beetles.html

Also

keyword 'beetle' in FonT

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/search?q=beetle

# evol: an ultra-rare survivor, the Malagasy striped whirligig beetle H. milloti

<< a whirligig beetle species, Heterogyrus milloti, inhabiting forest streams in southeastern Madagascar is the last survivor of a once dominant and widespread Mesozoic group. With a Late Triassic to Early Jurassic origin (226–187 Ma) it is the hitherto oldest dated endemic lineage of animal or plant on Madagascar >>

Grey T. Gustafson, Alexander A. Prokin, et al. Tip-dated phylogeny of whirligig beetles reveals ancient lineage surviving on Madagascar. Scientific Reports 2017; 7 (8619) doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-08403-1

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-08403-1

<< Even today, the ageless striped whirligig beetle keeps its own company, preferring to skitter atop the surface of out-of-the-way forest streams in southeastern Madagascar—not mixing with latecomers of the subfamily Gyrininae who have become the dominant whirligig beetles on Madagascar and abroad >>

Meet Madagascar's oldest animal lineage, a whirligig beetle with 206-million-year-old origins. Oct 4, 2017

https://m.phys.org/news/2017-10-madagascar-oldest-animal-lineage-whirligig.html

# life: the fate of humans and insects intertwine

<< The fate of humans and insects intertwine, especially through the medium of plants. >>

Michael J.Samways, Philip S.Barton, et al. Solutions for humanity on how to conserve insects. Biological Conservation. Volume 242, 108427,  Review. Feb 9, 2020.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320719317793

Damian Carrington. Fates of humans and insects intertwined, warn scientists. Experts call for solutions to be enforced immediately to halt global population collapses. Feb 20, 2020.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/feb/20/fates-humans-insects-intertwined-scientists-population-collapse

Also

the beetle Carabaeus lamarcki, dancer and sky analyzer.  May 14, 2016.

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/2016/05/s-behav-beetle-carabaeus-lamarcki.html

# behav: cockroaches, more about

AA have found << that not only do cockroaches have unique individual personalities, but their differences can also have an impact on group dynamics >>

AA << suggests that varying degrees of personality differences in individuals is likely part of what allows cockroaches to adapt to new surroundings so easily. Brave individuals may forge a new path, while those that are shy remain behind, safe, should a nasty fate await those who venture out >>

Bob Yirka. Study shows cockroaches have individual personalities that impact group dynamics. Feb 4, 2015.

https://m.phys.org/news/2015-02-roaches-individual-personalities-impact-group.html

<< Many studies on collective behaviour underestimate the role of individual personality and, as a result, personality is rarely analysed in the context of collective dynamics. Here, [AA] show evidence of sheltering behaviour personality in a gregarious insect (Periplaneta americana), which is characterized by a collective personality at the group level >>

Isaac Planas-Sitja, Jean-Louis Deneubourg, et al.  Group personality during collective decision-making: a multi-level approach. Proc. R. Soc. B 2015; 282 20142515. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2014.2515. Feb 4, 2015.

http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/282/1802/20142515

Also

# s-behav: the beetle Carabaeus lamarcki, dancer and sky analyzer. May 14, 2016.

http://flashontrack.blogspot.it/2016/05/s-behav-beetle-carabaeus-lamarcki.html

Also

http://flashontrack.blogspot.it/search?q=cockroach

# life: to eat each other's wings within mating pairs (among wood-feeding cockroaches Salganea taiwanensis)

 << The behavior of eating their mates or a part of their mate's body has been studied in sexual cannibalism or nuptial feeding. In these behaviors, only one sex eats the other unilaterally. Within mating pairs of a wood‐feeding cockroach (Salganea taiwanensis), males and females eat the mate's wings each other, which is the first “mutual” case in these behaviors. Because the evolution of sexual cannibalism and nuptial feeding has been explained based on unilaterality, this mutual eating should have a new significance of reproduction. >> 

Haruka Osaki, Eiiti Kasuya. Mutual wing-eating between female and male within mating pairs in wood‐feeding cockroach. doi: 10.1111/eth.13133. Jan 25, 2021.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/eth.13133

Bob Yirka. Wood-eating cockroach couples take turns eating each other's wings after mating. Feb 15, 2021.

https://phys.org/news/2021-02-wood-eating-cockroach-couples-wings.html  

Also

the beetle Carabaeus lamarcki, dancer and sky analyzer. May 14, 2016.

http://flashontrack.blogspot.it/2016/05/s-behav-beetle-carabaeus-lamarcki.html

2022 - si risvegliano stercorari. Notes. June 17, 2006. (quasi-stochastic poetry)

https://inkpi.blogspot.com/2006/06/2022-si-risvegliano-stercorari.html

keyword 'cockroach' in FonT

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/search?q=cockroach

# gene: the generation of color pattern in ladybird beetle (H. axyridis aka harlequin ladybird).

<< Many ladybirds have attractive color patterns consisting of black and red. This prominent color pattern is thought to function as a warning that indicates to predators that they are very bitter and unpalatable. >>

AA << focused on the multicolored Asian ladybird beetle Harmonia axyridis (also known as the harlequin ladybird), which lives mainly in Siberia and East Asia, and shows >200 color patterns within a species. The team has identified a single gene that regulates such highly diverse ladybird color patterns. >>

A mechanism of color pattern formation in ladybird beetles. National Institutes of Natural Sciences, Japan. Sep 26, 2018.

https://m.phys.org/news/2018-09-mechanism-pattern-formation-ladybird-beetles.html

Toshiya Ando, Takeshi M Matsuda, et al. Repeated inversions within a pannier intron drive diversification of intraspecific colour patterns of ladybird beetles. Nature Communications 9, 3843. Sep 21, 2018.  doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-06116-1.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-06116-1 

# gene: knockdown of a single gene, the generation of a third eye (in scarabaeid beetles)

<< The creation of three-eyed beetles through a new technique (..) provides scientists a new way to investigate the genetic mechanisms responsible for the evolutionary emergence of new physical traits >>

Kevin Fryling. Biologists create beetle with functional extra eye. Nov 13, 2017

https://m.phys.org/news/2017-11-biologists-beetle-functional-extra-eye.html

AA << report the ectopic induction of complex and functional organs, compound eyes, by down-regulation of a single transcription factor through RNAi, a technique known to work well across a broad taxonomic range >>

AA << results show that knockdown of a single gene is sufficient for the middorsal head to acquire the competence to ectopically generate a functional compound eye-like structure >>

Eduardo E. Zattara, Anna L. M. Macagno, et al. Development of functional ectopic compound eyes in scarabaeid beetles by knockdown of orthodenticle. PNAS. 2017; 114 (45): 12021–6

http://m.pnas.org/content/114/45/12021

# s-behav: the beetle Carabaeus lamarcki, dancer and sky analyzer

<< beetles  use  the  light  of  the  Milky  Way  to  navigate  in  the  world >>

<< when  the  beetles  dance  on  top  of  a  ball  of dung,  they  simultaneously  take  a  photograph  -  a  snapshot  -  of  how  celestial  bodies  are  positioned. Then  they  know  where  they  are  going  and  roll  off  with  their  ball  of  dung  in  a  straight  line  across  the savannah >>

When dung beetles dance, they photograph the firmament. Lund  University, 12 May 2016.

http://www.alphagalileo.org/ViewItem.aspx?ItemId=164092&CultureCode=en

<< This is a dung beetle (Carabaeus lamarcki) dancing on top of its ball while reading the sky >> image, caption.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/05/160512125422.htm

Basil el Jundi, James J. Foster, et al. A  Snapshot-Based  Mechanism  for Celestial  Orientation. Current  Biology, 2016, in press.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2016.03.030

FonT: l'immagine della blatta sulla sua pallina di sterco che danza e contemporaneamente, attraverso la danza, fotografa la volta celeste per orientarsi e' davvero suggestiva, poetica; mi ricorda un'altra immagine:

<< ... trasformati in uno scarabeo stercorario gigante >>

di Salman Rushdie ("I romanzi e la vita [..] Il mito di Proteo". La Rep., 16/06/2006, pp. 48-9) dalla quale avevo composto una breve rima (quasistocastica):

2022 - si risvegliano stercorari
Saturday, June 17, 2006

http://inkpi.blogspot.it/2006/06/2022-si-risvegliano-stercorari.html

# behav: how to gain a competitive advantage over larger rivals by teaming up with another species (among the beetles Nicrophorus vespilloides)

AA << report that conflict within burying beetles Nicrophorus vespilloides influences the fitness that can be gained from interacting with the mite Poecilochirus carabi. Beetles transport these mites to carrion, upon which both species breed.  >>

Syuan‐Jyun Sun, Nicholas P.C. Horrocks,  Rebecca M. Kilner. Conflict within species determines the value of a mutualism between species. Evolution Letters. Mar 6, 2019. doi: 10.1002/evl3.109.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/evl3.109

<< In a study featuring a miniature 'gym' for beetles (complete with beetle treadmills), [AA] found that beetles who consistently lose out to members of their own species have the most to gain by forming a mutually-beneficial cross-species partnership. >>

Mighty mites give scrawny beetles the edge over bigger rivals. University of Cambridge. Mar 5, 2019.

https://m.phys.org/news/2019-03-mighty-mites-scrawny-beetles-edge.html

# zoo: the rehabilitation of insects: not all of them are pests

<< Insects are important wildlife often overlooked in urban habitats. What we do notice are the cockroaches, ants and mosquitoes in and around our homes. All too often we reach for the insect spray. >>

Lizzy Lowe, Cameron Webb, Manu Saunders, Tanya Latty. The battle against bugs: it’s time to end chemical warfare. Feb 17, 2019

https://theconversation.com/the-battle-against-bugs-its-time-to-end-chemical-warfare-111629

Also

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/search?q=beetle

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/search?q=cockroaches

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/search?q=bug

# s-brain: only a fraction to keep alive ...

<< We're all living in a 'conceptual prison': our brains perceive a fraction of reality to keep us alive. To help us survive, our perception of truth is limited, says scientist Donald Hoffman >>

<< For millions of years the Australian jewel beetle's reproductive strategy proceeded very effectively. Then, Homo sapiens - and its habit of dumping used beer bottles - entered the picture. Unable to distinguish between these brown glass containers and the shell of a potential mate, the male beetles began attempting to copulate with discarded vessels. "They nearly went extinct" ... >>

Kathryn Nave. We're  all  living  in  a 'conceptual  prison'. 01 Sep 2016.

http://www.wired.co.uk/article/the-reality-of-survival