The pine sawyer beetle, Monochamus galloprovincialis, is a pest of pine trees in Europe and North Africa. Previously considered a secondary pest of stressed and dying trees, it is now receiving considerable attention as a vector of the pine wood nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, the causal agent of a lethal wilting disease in susceptible species of pines. Adult beetles are attracted to traps baited with a kairomone blend consisting of a host volatile, alpha-pinene, and two bark beetle pheromone components, ipsenol and 2-methyl-3-buten-2-ol. More recently it has been shown that mature male M. galloprovincialis produce a pheromone that attracts mature females in a laboratory bioassay. Here, volatiles were collected from mature male and female M. galloprovincialis, and a compound produced specifically by mature males was identified as 2-undecyloxy-1-ethanol from its gas chromatographic retention times, its mass spectrum, and by comparison with synthetic standards. The naturally-derived and synthetic compounds elicited electroantennographic responses from both females and males. Sealed polyethylene vials and polyethylene sachets were shown to be effective dispensers with zero-order release, the latter giving a higher release rate than the former. In two field tests, multiple-funnel traps baited with synthetic 2-undecyloxy-1-ethanol caught both female and male M. galloprovincialis, with higher catches at the higher release rate. This compound also synergized the attractiveness of the kairomone blend, the combined mixture catching 80-140% more beetles than the sum of the catches to each bait separately and luring up to two beetles/trap/d in a moderate-density population. We conclude that 2-undecyloxy-1-ethanol is a male-produced aggregation pheromone of M. galloprovincialis. This is the first example of a sex-specific compound in the cerambycid subfamily Lamiinae with significant behavioral activity in the field at a range sufficient to make it a useful trap bait. The possible roles of this pheromone in the chemical ecology of M. galloprovincialis and its potential use in pine wilt disease management are discussed.

In 1995, the first Venezuelan equine encephalitis (VEE) outbreak in Colombia in 22 years caused an estimated 75,000 human cases, 3000 with neurologic complications and 300 fatal, in La Guajira State. Of the state's estimated 50,000 equines, 8% may have died. An epizootic IC virus, probably introduced from Venezuela, was rapidly amplified among unvaccinated equines. Record high rainfall, producing high densities of vector Aedes taeniorhynchus, led to extensive epidemic transmission (30% attack rate) in the four affected municipalities. Native Wayuu Indians, constituting 24% of the state's population, were at increased risk of infection (risk ratio, 3.3; 95% confidence interval, 2.2-5.3). Epidemiologic studies found no evidence of human-to-human transmission. A higher-than-expected number of abortions during the outbreak confirmed a previously suspected abortifacient role of VEE infection. Pesticide applications and a mass equine vaccination program contributed to preventing the outbreak's spread south of La Guajira.

Electrophoretically detectable genetic variability of the Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis Lmk. was examined at 15 allozyme loci in 21 populations ranging from Santander (northern Spain) to Livorno (northwestern Italy). A major genetic break between Almeria and Alicante (southeastern Spain), as evidenced by 11 of 13 polymorphic loci examined, delimits 2 groups of populations with a high internal homogeneity. Roughly 75% of the total genetic differentiation was attributable to the divergence between these 2 groups of populations that displayed a genetic distance between them (D = 0.03) in the range of conspecific populations. This genetic break in M. galloprovincialis contrasts with earlier reports of genetic homogeneity among conspecific populations of the genus Mytilus over vast geographical distances, and represents an uncommon result in manne organisms with larval dispersal. The Zone of genetic divergence in M. galloprovincialis corresponds to a discontinuity in the distribution of this mussel, and to tbe position of the well-defined Almeria-Oran oceanographic front, with a distributional boundary between Atlantic and Mediterranean communities. In this region, other manne species exhibit similar patterns of intraspecific divergence, suggesting the action of common biogeographic processes. It is proposed that contemporary influences on gene flow related to an ecological barrier, perhaps in combination with selective pressures associated to water mass differences, maintain the abrupt change in southeastern Spain.

SUMMARYA descriptive study was carried out in 104 patients with Plasmodium vivax malaria, from the region of Turbo (Antioquia, Colombia). Clinical features and levels of hemoglobin, glycemia, serum bilirubin, alanine-aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate-aminotransferase (AST), creatinine and complete blood cell profile were established. 65% of the studied individuals were men and their mean age was 23. Of all individuals 59% had lived in the region for > 1 year and 91% were resident in the rural area. 42% were farmers and 35% had a history of malaria. The mean parasitaemia was 5865 parasites/mm 3 . The evolution of the disease was short (average of 4.0 days). Fever, headache and chills were observed simultaneously in 91% of the cases while the most frequent signs were palmar pallor (46%), jaundice (15%), hepatomegaly (17%), and spleen enlargement (12%). Anemia was found in 39% of the women and in 51% of the men, 8% of individuals had thrombocytopaenia and 41% had hypoglycemia.

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The identification and description of the chemical signals involved in the aggregation of bark beetles may lead to the development of integrated pest management strategies using synthetic pheromones. Ips sexdentatus Boern. (Col.: Scolytinae) colonizes trees of the Pinus genus across Europe, causing severe damage in occasions. The effect of cis‐verbenol, ipsenol, 2‐methyl‐3‐buten‐2‐ol (MB) and myrtenol in relation to the major pheromonal compound ipsdienol on the aggregation behaviour of I. sexdentatus was studied on four field bioassays. The ternary blend of racemic ipsdienol, cis‐verbenol and racemic ipsenol consistently caught the highest number of bark beetles, resulting in large standardized mean differences (dunbiased > 0.8). The binary blends between ipsdienol and ipsenol, and ipsdienol and cis‐verbenol also improved the performance of ipsdienol, although only ipsenol did it significantly. On the other hand, catches were reduced (dunbiased = −0.96) when MB was released along ipsdienol, although the effect was found to be non‐significant. On a third bioassay, the relative release rates between ipsdienol, ipsenol and cis‐verbenol were studied. Although no differences were found between the ternary blends, a ratio of 1 : 0.25 : 0.5 for ipsdienol, ipsenol and cis‐verbenol, respectively, scored the strongest effect size (dunbiased = 1.17). A fourth bioassay studied the behavioural effects of myrtenol and found no significant modifications to previously established findings. Myrtenol on its own attracted almost no individuals of I. sexdentatus. High numbers of bark beetle predators Thanasimus formicarius L. and Temnochila caerulea Olivier were trapped during the trials. The binary blend between ipsdienol and ipsdienol was shown to catch the highest significant amount of T. formicarius, whereas numbers of T. caerulea caught were highest on the binary blend between cis‐verbenol and ipsdienol. Presented results establish the ternary blend between ipsdienol, ipsenol and cis‐verbenol as a reference functional aggregative lure ready to be used on the management of I. sexdentatus.

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