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Insects
Special Issues
Insects Ecological, Physiological, and Genetic Adaptation to the Environment
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Insects Ecological, Physiological, and Genetic Adaptation to the Environment

A special issue of Insects (ISSN 2075-4450).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 July 2023) | Viewed by 5520

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Mohammed Bakkali

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Departamento de Genética, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
Interests: genetics; molecular biology; behaviour; evolution; population biology; adaptation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues, 

Insects are ubiquitous. They live both on and in lands, waters, air and even other living beings—including other insects. They thus show a tremendous spectrum of adaptations to all possible habitats. Furthermore, some have to cope with significant and even extreme changes in living conditions (temperature, humidity, population size, etc.).

Behind such adaptations are DNA, gene expression, physiological, developmental, morphological and behavioural changes, which improve the insect’s chances of survival and reproduction.

This Special Issue aims to gather original research articles as well as minireviews on molecular and non-molecular aspects relating to cases of insect adaptations to the environment.

Prof. Dr. Mohammed Bakkali
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Insects is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • adaptation
  • insect
  • physiology
  • morphology
  • behaviour
  • molecular
  • transcriptome
  • genome
  • proteome
  • metabolome
  • genetic

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 2766 KiB  
Article
The Multivariate Regression Models Suggested as Standardising Tools for Categorising Solitarious and Gregarious Groups of the Main Pest Locust, Schistocerca gregaria, Produce Reproducible Results
by Somia Saadi, Noureddine Bakkali, Rubén Martín-Blázquez, Abdelmounim Badih and Mohammed Bakkali
Insects 2024, 15(2), 102; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects15020102 - 1 Feb 2024
Viewed by 1677
Abstract
Outbreaks of the desert locust Schistocerca gregaria affect some of the poorest parts of Africa, with devastating outcomes. The key to understanding and dealing with this problematic adaptation to environmental changes is comparing gregarious and solitarious locusts, either in nature or in laboratories. [...] Read more.
Outbreaks of the desert locust Schistocerca gregaria affect some of the poorest parts of Africa, with devastating outcomes. The key to understanding and dealing with this problematic adaptation to environmental changes is comparing gregarious and solitarious locusts, either in nature or in laboratories. Categorising locusts and detecting changes in their phase status is key to such comparisons, which have been hitherto based on applying mathematical models that use behavioural parameters and that each laboratory has to build anew for each experiment. All the models used thus far are different from one another. This implies differences in the tools used for the different experiments and by the different laboratories and, thus, potential noise in the results and interpretations. Standardising the way locusts are categorised is necessary if we want to reduce noise and errors. It is crucial if we seek to make the results and interpretations transferable and comparable between experiments and laboratories for such an important research area. To tackle this problem, we suggested two models as possible standardising tools. However, the problem of a lack of standardised tools re-emerged due to the doubts cast on the validity of those models. Here, we use samples from independent S. gregaria populations in order to test and validate those models. We discuss how successful the two models were at categorising solitarious, intermediate (transient), and gregarious nymph and adult S. gregaria samples. We highlight shortcomings and make more specific recommendations on the use of those models based on the precision differences they show when categorising solitarious and gregarious S. gregaria nymph and adult samples. Overall, both models have proven to be valid since their results were largely replicated and seem reproducible. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Insects Ecological, Physiological, and Genetic Adaptation to the Environment)
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15 pages, 3032 KiB  
Article
European Corn Borer (Ostrinia nubilalis Hbn.) Bioecology in Eastern Romania
by Paula Lucelia Pintilie, Elena Trotuș, Nela Tălmaciu, Liviu Mihai Irimia, Monica Herea, Ionela Mocanu, Roxana Georgiana Amarghioalei, Lorena Diana Popa and Mihai Tălmaciu
Insects 2023, 14(9), 738; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects14090738 - 31 Aug 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1708
Abstract
Between 2020 and 2021, we conducted research in eastern Romania to monitor the bioecology of the European corn borer (Ostrinia nubilalis Hbn.), an important pest of corn. The bioecology research established the pest stage duration (egg, larva, pupa, and moth), the flight [...] Read more.
Between 2020 and 2021, we conducted research in eastern Romania to monitor the bioecology of the European corn borer (Ostrinia nubilalis Hbn.), an important pest of corn. The bioecology research established the pest stage duration (egg, larva, pupa, and moth), the flight curve, and the flight peak. The bioecological study occurred in the experimental corn field and a field cage. According to our findings, the insect has one generation per year. The European corn borer hibernates as a mature larva in corn residues and continues developing in the spring, when the weather warms. It pupates from May to July over 37 days. Analyzing the data recorded during the winters of 2020 and 2021, we observed that the warming trend favored the high survival of hibernating larvae (60.7%). Due to the large number of mature larvae that had favorable conditions during the winter, there is an intense flight, starting in June and ending in September. When the first moth was caught in the light trap, the ∑(tn-10) °C (sum of degree days) was 245.6 °C. In 2020, the flight was recorded for 94 days. In 2021, the European corn borer flight lasted 104 days. The initial egg masses were detected when the total of ∑(tn-10) °C reached 351.5 °C. Moths laid the eggs for 25 days, mostly during peak flight in late June and early July. The first larvae hatched when ∑(tn-10) °C totaled 438.4 °C, and stages III–V were recorded in the harvested crop. Understanding the bioecology of the European corn borer can offer valuable insights into managing population levels and identifying optimal timing for addressing infestations in corn crops. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Insects Ecological, Physiological, and Genetic Adaptation to the Environment)
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10 pages, 833 KiB  
Article
Mild Winter Causes Increased Mortality in the Fall Webworm Hyphantria cunea (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae)
by Takahiro Matsuura, Rohit Bangay and Nobuko Tuno
Insects 2023, 14(6), 534; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects14060534 - 7 Jun 2023
Viewed by 1314
Abstract
The fall webworm Hyphantria cunea (Drury) is native to North America and Mexico and has currently expanded its distribution to the temperate areas of the Northern Hemisphere including Japan. According to the data on seasonal fluctuations of this moth for 18 years collected [...] Read more.
The fall webworm Hyphantria cunea (Drury) is native to North America and Mexico and has currently expanded its distribution to the temperate areas of the Northern Hemisphere including Japan. According to the data on seasonal fluctuations of this moth for 18 years collected in western-central Japan, the abundance of adults of the overwintered generation showed a negative correlation with winter temperature. We investigated survival, weight loss, and fungal infection of diapausing pupae at 3.0 (an approximate temperature of cold winter) and 7.4 °C (a temperature of mild winter). In the results, mortality was higher and weight loss was larger in pupae exposed to 7.4 °C than in those exposed to 3.0 °C. In addition, pupae that were heavier at the start of cold exposure survived longer than lighter ones. Furthermore, almost all pupae that died at 7.4 °C were infected by fungi. It has been reported that the distribution range of this moth shifts to higher latitudes. According to the experiments conducted, it has been observed that warm winters can lead to a decrease in pupae weight and an increase in fungal deaths; however, the impact of warm winters on populations in the field can be more complicated and multifaceted. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Insects Ecological, Physiological, and Genetic Adaptation to the Environment)
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