Evolutionary history of phasms and phyllies

by Benoit GILLES The Order of Phasmatodea (phasms and phyllies), composed of more than 3,100 species and 500 genegenes, is one of the oldest groups of insects. They are popular for their ability to camouflage themselves in vegetation. Their morphology, sometimes displaying extravagant shapes, makes them look like twigs, leaves or bark in order to…

Read More

Stomoxes: biting flies harmful to breeding

By Gérard Duvallet Among the ectoparasites that are a nuisance to livestock and livestock in general, there are, alongside ticks (Mites), several families of Dipterans (Insects). Horn stomoxes and flies (Diptera, Muscidae) and taons (Diptera, Tabanidae) are certainly the most important (photos 1, 2 and 3), due to the nuisance spawned and the possible transmission…

Read More

Insect disappearance: Causes and consequences

by Benoit GILLES With their presence on Earth for more than 400 million years, their diversity, their adaptability and their abundance, insects are an unprecedented biological success and an essential component to life on our planet. Today, one organism living on two and three out of four animals belong to their order. The ecological functions…

Read More

Scale insects: Poorly-know vectors of plant virus

by Etienne Herrbach Exciting study models The scales from the vast superfamily of Coccoidea, rich of over 8,000 species and 33 families (and 16 fossils) (link). Like their sternorrhynchan cousins (aphids, whiteflies, and psyllids), they feed on plant saps using a piercing-sucking mouth apparatus.  Their very diverse and sometimes astonishing biological and morphological peculiarities foster numerous studies.…

Read More

DNA & Taxonomy Barcode

by Philippe GARCELON This article is based on the work done by the researchers David Porco, and Louis Deharveng (National Museum of natural history) who exploit the genetic tool and were kind enough to send me documents related to their research on Springtails.   Introduction Despite the emergence of genetic identification techniques, on the basis of the DNA…

Read More

The Entomofauna of the French subantarctic islands

by Maurice Hulle The Subantarctic islands, among the most isolated in the world, harbour a small number of native terrestrial invertebrates which, in the course of their evolution, have developed specific biological adaptations, the most notable of which is the loss of The flight function in insects. Since their recent discovery and, above all, since…

Read More

1 2 3 7