Episyrphus balteatus DeGeer (Diptera, Syrphidae) is an abundant and efficient aphid-specific predator. We tested the electroantennographic (EAG) response of this syrphid fly to the common aphid alarm pheromone, (E)-β-farnesene (EβF), and to several plant volatiles, including terpenoids (mono-and sesquiterpenes) and green leaf volatiles (C6 and C9 alcohols and aldehydes). Monoterpenes evoked significant EAG responses, whereas sesquiterpenes were inactive, except for the aphid alarm pheromone (EβF). The most pronounced antennal responses were elicited by six and nine carbon green leaf alcohols and aldehydes [i.e., (Z)-3-hexenol, (E)-2-hexenol, (E)-2-hexenal, and hexanal]. To investigate the behavioral activity of some of these EAGactive compounds, E. balteatus females were exposed to R-(+)-limonene (monoterpene), (Z)-3-hexenol (green leaf alcohol), and EβF (sesquiterpene, common aphid alarm pheromone). A single E. balteatus gravid female was exposed for 10 min to an aphid-free Vicia faba plant that was co-located with a semiochemical dispenser. Without additional semiochemical, hoverfly females were not attracted to this plant, and no oviposition was observed.The monoterpene R-(+)-limonene did not affect the females' foraging behavior, whereas (Z)-3-hexenol and EβF increased the time of flight and acceptance of the host plant. Moreover, these two chemicals induced oviposition on aphid-free plants, suggesting that selection of the oviposition site by predatory hoverflies relies on the perception of a volatile blend composed of prey pheromone and typical plant green leaf volatiles.

We investigate multipartite entanglement for composite quantum systems in a pure state. Using the generalized Bloch representation for n-qubit states, we express the condition that all k-qubit reductions of the whole system are maximally mixed, reflecting maximum bipartite entanglement across all k vs. n-k bipartitions. As a special case, we examine the class of balanced pure states, which are constructed from a subset of the Pauli group P_n that is isomorphic to Z_2^n. This makes a connection with the theory of quantum error-correcting codes and provides bounds on the largest allowed k for fixed n. In particular, the ratio k/n can be lower and upper bounded in the asymptotic regime, implying that there must exist multipartite entangled states with at least k=0.189 n when $n\to \infty$. We also analyze symmetric states as another natural class of states with high multipartite entanglement and prove that, surprisingly, they cannot have all maximally mixed k-qubit reductions with k>1. Thus, measured through bipartite entanglement across all bipartitions, symmetric states cannot exhibit large entanglement. However, we show that the permutation symmetry only constrains some components of the generalized Bloch vector, so that very specific patterns in this vector may be allowed even though k>1 is forbidden. This is illustrated numerically for a few symmetric states that maximize geometric entanglement, revealing some interesting structures.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figure

Several previous studies have addressed pheromone communication in various flour beetles (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), including the confused flour beetle, Tribolium confusum (du Val). Different stereoisomers of 4,8-dimethyldecanal (DMD) were reported as the only components of an aggregation pheromone, but the behavioral activity of DMD is low. In the present study, additional previously reported secondary metabolites (benzoquinones and hydrocarbons) were tested for electrophysiological activity (EAG) with both sexes of T. confusum. Two benzoquinones and three monoenic hydrocarbons elicited significant EAG activity from both male and female antennae. There was an elevated male EAG response (vs. the females) to two out of the three hydrocarbons and for both quinones. The EAG-active compounds were subsequently investigated for behavioral activity in a walking bioassay. Benzoquinones are considered toxic and have been assigned a function as alarm substances in flour beetles, but we found that methyl-1, 4-benzoquinone in intermediate concentrations was attractive to both male and female beetles and could therefore act as an aggregation pheromone component. Males were also attracted to ethyl-1,4-benzoquinone. The corresponding hydroquinones, presumed precursors of the benzoquinones, did not elicit any electrophysiological response and were not tested for behavioral activity. The unsaturated hydrocarbons (1-tetradecene, 1-pentadecene, and 1-hexadecene) elicited significant EAG responses from both male and female antennae and were also attractive in the behavioral assay. Our results show that several beetle-produced compounds, in addition to 4,8-dimethyldecanal, may be part of a complex pheromone system in flour beetles and play a role in mediating aggregation in T. confusum.

Malathion resistance in the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum (Herbst), is a worldwide problem and is very stable once it becomes widespread in natural populations. In the absence of insecticide the proportion of resistant phenotypes may rapidly decline but the development of resistance does not always involve reduced fitness. Malathion-specific resistance in T. castaneum seems not to involve any loss of fitness in laboratory or field conditions. Susceptible beetles were in competition with resistant beetles at different initial frequencies and modifications of susceptible gene frequency were estimated in these laboratory populations over 10 generations. A significant decrease in susceptible gene frequency was observed in Tribolium populations over time. The selection coefficient of the susceptible allele was estimated and the fitness of susceptible alleles in all tests was observed to range from 0.89 to 0.93 compared with the fitness of resistant genotypes, which was assumed to be 1. Data provided evidence that the resistant strains exhibited fitness advantages in the absence of malathion. We also compared the biotic potential (fecundity and developmental time) of the susceptible strain, the homozygous malathion-specific resistant strain, and their hybrids. Malathion-specific resistant strains showed an 8-23% increase in biotic potential relative to the susceptible strain. These findings are consistent with those of malathion-specific resistance in T. castaneum; the fitness of the insects seems independent of the genetic background and the fitness of the resistant insects is not affected by this resistance mechanism.KEYWORDS : Tribolium castaneum, Coleoptera, insecticide, malathion resistance, fitness, selection Because of the intensive use of malathion in grain storage and on stored grain since the late 1950s, mal-athionresistance in red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum (Herbst), is widespread. The first case of resistance was reported in 1961 (Parkin et al. 1962), and by 1974 this phenomenon was regarded as a common attribute of this species (Champ and Dyte 1976). Although malathion use has declined or even been abandoned in some countries from the early 1970s because of the widespread occurrence of malathion resistance in red flour beetle populations (Champ 1984), malathion-specific resistance is very stable in T. castaneum wild populations. Moreover, the malathion-specific resistant phenotype in T. castaneum populations has almost completely replaced the susceptible one throughout most of the world (Beeman and Nanis 1986). To explain this stability, it was assumed that there were no pleiotropic effects of the mutation and no or few reproductive disadvantages between malathion-specific resistant and susceptible strains.Because resistant insects were not present at high frequency before the use of insecticides, it is not surprising that resistant and susceptible strains should differ in properties other than their adaptation to insecticides, such as developmental time, fecundity, and fertility. D...