| defensive use of a "fecal shield" by a beetle larva. | the larva of cassida rubiginosa carries a tight packet of cast skins and feces on a fork held over its back. the packet is a maneuverable shield used by the larva to protect itself against attack. it is highly effective in blocking the bite of ants. | 1967 | 6058687 |
| Differential effects of foliar endophytic fungi on insect herbivores attacking a herbaceous plant. | Foliar endophytic fungi appear to be ubiquitous in nature, occurring in a very wide range of herbaceous plants. However, their ecological role within forbs is very poorly known and interactions with foliar-feeding insects virtually unexplored. In this study, leaves of Cirsium arvense were infected with different combinations of endophyte fungi that had been previously isolated from this plant species. Two months later, leaf material was fed to larvae of a generalist insect, Mamestra brassicae, a ... | 2011 | 21989607 |
| evolution of specialization of cassida rubiginosa on cirsium arvense (compositae, cardueae). | the majority of herbivorous insects are specialized feeders restricted to a plant family, genus, or species. the evolution of specialized insect-plant interactions is generally considered to be a result of trade-offs in fitness between possible hosts. through the course of natural selection, host plants that maximize insect fitness should result in optimal, specialized, insect-plant associations. however, the extent to which insects are tracking plant phylogeny or key plant traits that act as he ... | 2016 | 27602042 |
| insects as vectors of plant pathogens: mutualistic and antagonistic interactions. | interactions between plants and their herbivores and pathogens are mostly analysed separately, thereby neglecting mutualistic or antagonistic interactions between these antagonists and possible joint effects on the host. we studied interactions between the weed cirsium arvense, the rust fungus puccinia punctiformis and three herbivorous insects, the aphids aphis fabae ssp. cirsiiacanthoidis and uroleucon cirsii, and the beetle cassida rubiginosa. all three insect species mechanically transported ... | 2002 | 28547306 |
| indirect interaction between a fungal plant pathogen and a herbivorous beetle of the weed cirsium arvense. | interactions between plants and their natural enemies are well studied, but investigations on the indirect interactions between plant enemies that simultaneously exploit a host plant are rare. yet these plant-mediated interactions are important because they may affect not only the impact of plant antagonists on plant survival but may also influence the performance of the other plant exploiters. this study focused on the indirect effects of a systemic infection of creeping thistle, [irsium arvens ... | 2002 | 28547258 |
| drastic genome reduction in an herbivore's pectinolytic symbiont. | pectin, an integral component of the plant cell wall, is a recalcitrant substrate against enzymatic challenges by most animals. in characterizing the source of a leaf beetle's (cassida rubiginosa) pectin-degrading phenotype, we demonstrate its dependency on an extracellular bacterium housed in specialized organs connected to the foregut. despite possessing the smallest genome (0.27 mb) of any organism not subsisting within a host cell, the symbiont nonetheless retained a functional pectinolytic ... | 2017 | 29153832 |
| male penile propulsion into spiraled spermathecal ducts of female chrysomelid beetles: a numerical simulation approach. | genital diversification in animals is an interesting evolutionary phenomenon. sexual selection is the main driving force behind the diversification. however, evolutionary mechanisms that have established and maintained variations in genitalia shape parameters observed in related species are not well understood. here, for the first time, we used numerical simulations to test the hypothesis that variations in female spermathecal duct shapes among related beetle species mechanically interfere with ... | 2015 | 26341386 |
| description of larvae of two closely related species cassida palaestina reiche, 1858 and cassida rubiginosa müller, 1776 (coleoptera: chrysomelidae: cassidinae). | larvae of two closely related species cassida palaestina reiche, 1858 and cassida rubiginosa müller, 1776 are described in detail including sem microstructures. first instars are extremely similar with no clear diagnostic characters, larvae of cassida palaestina are slightly more contrastingly coloured than larvae of c. rubiginosa, the latter having darker scoli, basal part of supra-anal processes and legs. last instars differ in very subtle but constant characters: lateral scoli of c. palaestin ... | 2013 | 25113004 |
| stochastic modelling of prey depletion processes. | the modelling of prey-predator interactions is of major importance for the understanding of population dynamics. classically, these interactions are modelled using ordinary differential equations, but this approach has the drawbacks of assuming continuous population variables and of being deterministic. we propose a general approach to stochastic modelling based on the concept of functional response for a prey depletion process with a constant number of predators. our model could involve any kin ... | 2009 | 19409907 |
| functional responses: a question of alternative prey and predator density. | throughout the study of ecology, there has been a growing realization that indirect effects among species cause complexity in food webs. understanding and predicting the behavior of ecosystems consequently depends on our ability to identify indirect effects and their mechanisms. the present study experimentally investigates indirect interactions arising between two prey species that share a common predator. in a natural field experiment, we introduced different densities of mealworms (tenebrio m ... | 2007 | 17536415 |