This paper compiles and summarizes a great deal of extremely pertinent Russian language literature (most of which has remained little known and inaccessible to western scientists) covering virtually all of the basic early reports of the Russian wheat aphid, Diuruphis noxia (Kurdjumov, 1913), and traces the evolution of this insect into one of the world's most damaging pests of small grains. A longstanding error in the authorship of D. noxia is corrected. An original taxonomic key to the apterous vivipara of species of Diuraphis is proposed. Various old-world parasitoid, predator, and native host plant associations with Diuraphis species are described from the literature, and a number of potentially useful aphidophagous insects are identified and collection sites recommended.

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A biological phenomenon consisting in the propagation of an ordered solitary wave has been observed in insects introduced into southern USSR. It is assumed that the same process also occurred during the establishment of beneficial organisms released for the biological control of weeds in Australia and North America (cf. Clark & Clark, 1952) for instance.In recent years, attempts were made to substantiate mathematically the phenomenon of solitary waves in natural populations (Ivanov, 1984), but this approach has remained purely theoretical. Over the last 20 years, "solitonics" was developed in the physics of non-linear processes, and solitary waves (solitons and autowaves) that move without changing shape were studied in physical, chemical, and biological media.During the establishment of Zygogramma suturalis Forster, a chrysomelid introduced from Canada for the biological control of ragweed (Ambrosia artemesiifolia L.), a spherical wave 1.5 km long and 10 m wide comprising some 10 million beetles was observed to move across a field of esparcet (Onobrychis viciifolia Scopoli) in USSR.The wave kept its shape and a velocity of about 3 m/day. This process calIed solitary population wave (SPW) was described by a mathematical model by Kovalev & Veehernin (1986). According to this model, the SPW holds an intermediate position between autowaves and solitons. The SPW has a high efficiency, the weed being totally destroyed in a short period. This movement was similar to the propagation of a steppe fire (autowave of burning). An insect SPW was initiated in an area where insects reached the critical density of 5 000 individuals/m front. The SPW differs from aggregations that occur during outbreaks and has only been observed in phytophagous species this far.SPW are probably common in nature and have been found in introduced arthropods and fungi. Optimal conditions for their formation are met during the establishment phase of an organism in a new ecological niche and SPW may be of great importance in terms of biological pest control. The study of SPW requires a special census technique based on mobile and stationary transects across the wave front. The transects were (l) Under this heading ENTOMOPHAGA publishes short contributions on those aspects of IPM and biological pest control that are of increasing importance but have not yet been seriously considered.

The introduction of the ragweed leaf beetle in the South of Russia in 1978-1989 was accompanied by a number of spectacular phenomena that determined the general success of the ragweed control and further dispersal and acclimatization of the beetles: (i) formation of solitary population waves (SPW), characterized by an extremely high density of the phytophage population at the narrow band of the front of a moving wave defoliating nearly all ragweed plants, and (ii) rapid, within 5-6 generations, development of flight in the leaf beetle species that in its homeland lost the ability to fly. We present here a demogenetic model capable of reproducing both these phenomena, assuming that the flight ability of a phytophage population is governed by a single diallelic locus with flight and flightless alleles that determine three genotypes of the ragweed leaf beetle. Simulation results agree well with the practical recommendation of retaining a high density of common ragweed in the release area in order to provide the necessary conditions for the initial increase of the leaf beetle population and the formation of the wave. The model confirms the earlier hypothesis that the SPW is the key factor that determines efficiency of weed biocontrol program. We demonstrate also that the formation of the wave has crucially accelerated the development of the beetles' ability to fly.

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Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are crucial cells of the tumor microenvironment (TME), which belong to the innate immune system and regulate primary tumor growth, immunosuppression, angiogenesis, extracellular matrix remodeling and metastasis. The review discusses current knowledge of essential cell-cell interactions of TAMs within the TME of solid tumors. It summarizes the mechanisms of stromal cell (including cancer-associated fibroblasts and endothelial cells)-mediated monocyte recruitment and regulation of differentiation, as well as pro-tumor and antitumor polarization of TAMs. Additionally, it focuses on the perivascular TAM subpopulations that regulate angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis. It describes the possible mechanisms of reciprocal interactions of TAMs with other immune cells responsible for immunosuppression. Finally, it highlights the perspectives for novel therapeutic approaches to use combined cellular targets that include TAMs and other stromal and immune cells in the TME. The collected data demonstrated the importance of understanding cell-cell interactions in the TME to prevent distant metastasis and reduce the risk of tumor recurrence.

The genus Dilyta, and the known species of this genus present in the Holarctic, D. subclavata Förster from Europe and D. rathmanae Menke and Evenhuis from USA, are redescribed. Four new species of Dilyta are described from the eastern Palaearctic region: D. aleevae sp. n. from Kazakhstan, D. japonica sp. n. from Japan, and D. longinqua sp. n. and D. sinica sp. n. from China. All six species have an ∩ -shaped carina on the apex of the scutellum; this character differentiates these species from the Afrotropical species, which instead have two small symmetrical and parallel carinae. A key to the species of Dilyta in the Holarctic is provided. Apocharips talitzkii (Belizin) is synonymyzed with D. subclavata.

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