Animal personality, defined by behavioral variations among individuals consistent over contexts or time, is shaped by genetic and environmental factors. Among these factors, nutrition can play an important role. The Geometric Framework of Nutrition has promoted a better understanding of the role of the macronutrient proportion in animal development, survival, reproduction, and behavior, and can help to disentangle its modulatory effect on animal personality. In this study, we investigated the effects of protein to carbohydrate (P:C) ratio in the personality of the cockroach Blaptica dubia. Newly emerged adults were fed over a period of eight weeks on five different diets varying in their P:C ratio and their diet consumption, mass variation, survival, exploratory behavior, and mobility were assessed. We found that females, unlike males, were able to regulate their nutrient intake and preferred carbohydrate-rich diets. Females also gained more body mass and lived longer compared to males. In addition, their behavior and mobility were not affected by the diet. In males, however, high-protein diets induced a bolder personality. We suggest that the sex-specific effects observed on both survival and behavior are related to the nutrient intake regulation capacity and might improve the species’ fitness in adverse nutritional conditions.
Reliable distribution maps are in the basis of insect conservation, but detailed chorological information is lacking for many insects of conservation concern (the Wallacean shortfall). Museum collections, entomological publications and citizen science projects can contribute to solve this Wallacean shortfall. Their relative contribution to the knowledge on the distribution of threatened insects has been scarcely explored, but it is important given that each of these three sources of information has its own biases and costs. Here we explore the contribution of museum data, entomological publications and citizen science in delineating the distribution of the European stag beetle in Spain. Citizen science contributed the highest number of records and grid cells occupied, as well as the highest number of grid cells not contributed by any other information source (unique grid cells). Nevertheless, both museum data and publications contributed almost 25% of all unique grid cells. Furthermore, the relative contribution of each source of information differed in importance among Spanish provinces. Given the pros and cons of museum data, publications and citizen science, we advise their combined use in cases, such as the European stag beetle in Spain, in which a broad, heterogeneous, sparsely populated territory has to be prospected.
Shrikes from the genus Lanius are generalists in terms of diet, even consuming highly toxic species, as blister beetles (Coleoptera, Meloidae). Despite the fact that regular predation on these coleopterans have never been described both in recent and historical literature, birds stand out as one of the groups to most often prey upon these insects. In the Old World, records of shrikes preying on oil-beetles -most of them treated as anecdotal -have been published since the 19th century. However, despite being repetitive, no review or in-depth study of this behavior has been conducted. After a literature study and new data collected in the Iberian Peninsula, it seems an extended behaviour within the clade. As could be observed in a high number of cases, birds even apply a specific technique, selecting specific body parts to kill the beetle, more sclerotic and presumably less toxic. In some cases, strict predation has been demonstrated. To date, at least six different shrike species -Red-backed Shrike Lanius collurio, Great Grey Shrike L. excubitor, Iberian Grey Shrike L. meridionalis, Loggerhead Shrike L. ludovicianus, Lesser Grey Shrike L. minor, and Woodchat Shrike L. senator -have been found to show signs of preying on at least nine Meloidae species throughout Europe, North Africa and North America, constituting a line of research that should be studied in greater detail.
Here we present the case of a male Chilean rose tarantula Grammostola rosea (Walckenaer, 1837) (Araneae: Theraphosidae) reared in captivity, whose life expectancy has been dated at 8.5 years. The specimen spent the last three as an adult. Both records are outside the average range of lifespan expected for an adult male. The specimen was kept under natural conditions in a Mediterranean climate, without photoperiod or temperature control. Diet was composed of Tenebrio molitor larvae and Gryllus sp./Acheta sp. nymphs and adults. The feeding regime was 1-2 prey per week in the early stages and later 1 prey every 20 days since the individual exceeded 15 mm body length approximately, to his death. The specimen spent most of its adult life without eating, actively refusing prey. The maximum time without eating was 22 months. At the time of death, the specimen measured 35 mm in body length and 130 with leg expanded. Previous research reported lower life expectancies in male tarantulas. More research on understudied lifecycle aspects of the Theraphosidae is needed.
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).
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