Diversity and Abundance of Drosophilid Fruit Flies and Other Insects in Compost Piles

Abstract. Compost heaps house a species‐rich fauna of arthropods. This survey reviews changes in the composition of the beetle fauna in compost heaps in the Nordic countries during the 20th century. A total of 34 alien beetle species have established in compost heaps; 12 of these are also established in natural habitats. A combination of long‐distance human transport and short‐distance natural spread are proposed as dominant factors, explaining the dispersal of the species. An eastern route of immigration is proposed for Baeocrara japonica, Lithocharis nigriceps, Bohemiella paradoxa, Acrotona pseudotenera and Oxytelus migrator, while a southern route of immigration is proposed for Perigona nigriceps, Acrotona parens, Falagrioma concinna, Trichiusa immigrata, Cartodere nodifer, Ahasverus advena, Oryctes nasicornis and Atheta triangulum. There is no relationship between the types of compost preferred by the different species and the dominant way of dispersal. Among the trophic guilds that species belong to, the predators are more dependent on human transport than natural dispersal. The trophic guild to which a species belongs has no effect on whether or not the species is established away from compost heaps. The generalized compost fauna and species associated with bark compost naturalize away from compost heaps more successfully than expected. It is hypothesized that the successful establishment of alien species in compost habitats results from increased frequency of introductions and warm, thermal stability in large compost heaps during the Nordic winter. The establishment of new species in compost habitats probably has a minor impact on native inhabitants.

CEASA / PE produces 900 t / month of solid waste, 90% is organic waste and are disposed in a landfill. This study aims to evaluate quantitatively the process of production and processing of waste and the quality of compost produced. Composting is an aerobic biological process controlled treatment and stabilization of organic wastes for the production of compound fertilizer. The experiment was conducted in open court, each cell with 4.5 m³, using scraps of fruits and vegetables. The experimental design was randomized with three treatments and three repetitions. It was found that composting promoted heating cycles that allow the decomposition of organic matter, reducing the volume, producing a compound with potential for use in agriculture, without harming the environment. The study reaffirms the importance of environmental and economic recycling of composted organic matter contained in solid waste in this and other supply centers. Keys words - supply centers, composting, solid waste.

Mangoes and orange fruits need important consideration if fruit production is to be successful and sustainable. Insect pests and diseases threaten the profitability of mango and orange farming. In particular, fruit flies have become an increasingly prevalent insect in Nigeria, owing to the damage incidence and economic losses, especially to the mango and orange value chains. This study was conducted to determine the species composition, abundance and prevalence of fruit flies on mango and orange fruits from Akwa Ibom State. Two (2) varieties of mango fruits comprising German and cherries types were gotten from 2 markets (Etinan urban and Itam markets) while oranges were obtained from 3 markets (Akpan Andem, Itam and Mbiopkoro markets). Fruits were kept in the laboratory in cups and covered in such a way as to keep them away from any other pests and prevent emerging fruit flies from escaping. The samples were studied at ambient conditions and were incubated for up to 4 weeks until all the fruit flies emerged as adults. Three species of fruit fly were identified from the different types of mango namely: Drosophila melanogaster, Bactrocera dorsalis and Bactrocera papayae. Mango fruits from Etinan urban had the highest abundance of fruit flies infestation than those from Itam market (81.7% and 18.3%) respectively. Among the fruit flies encountered during the study, Drosophilia melanogaster had the highest prevalence (95.4%) and the least was Bactrocera papayae (1.42%). Two species of fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster and Bactrocera dorsalis) were identified on oranges. Drosophila melanogaster was higher in abundance (79.38%) than Bactrocera dorsalis (20.62%). Oranges from Mbiokporo were the most affected. Species diversity and evenness were slightly different amongst the 3 markets. The current study has shown Mango and orange fruit flies infestation to be a serious threat to fruit production in Akwa Ibom State. Since the population of these pests are detrimental to the economic values of mango and orange fruits, control measures should be put in place.

In this article, we aimed to investigate the anti-aging activity of Lantana camara ethanolic leaves-extract in Drosophila melanogaster: survival and longevity (life span). L. camara leaves were collected and washed thoroughly of sand particles, air-dried, ground, and extracted by the maceration method using ethanol as a solvent. Phytochemical screening was carried out. 168-hour LC50 was determined by exposing fruit flies to concentrations ranging from 5 to 5000mg/10g diet for 7-days. Twenty-eight-day survival and longevity studies were carried out by administering L. camara ethanolic leaves extract at 5, 10, and 20mg/10g diet to 1-3days old fruit flies. Each concentration was replicated four times with 50 fruit flies each. The emergence rate of young fruit flies from eggs laid by fruit flies administered L. camara leaves-extracts were also carried out. The total yield of the extraction was determined to be 18%. Phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of alkaloids, Flavonoids, Phenol, steroids, cardiac glycosides, and carbohydrates. 168-hour LC50 of L. camara was also determined to be 1135mg/10g diet. L. camara significantly prolonged (P<0.05) survival rate and extended (P<0.05) D. melanogaster life span compared with control. L. camara significantly increased (P<0.05) emergence rate of young fruit flies from eggs laid by fruit flies administered L. camara ethanolic leaves extracts. From the experimental results, it can be concluded that the ethanol extract of L. camara leaves extended the life span of D. melanogaster at these concentrations. Due to similarities of conserved genes between humans and fruit flies, the use of L. camara ethanolic leaves extract at these concentrations is safe and may be recommended as herbal medicine in humans.

Arousal Mechanisms: Speedy Flies Don’t Sleep at Night

During the last millennium, urbanization has considerably changed natural ecosystems and formed new artificial habitats. Habitat loss and changes in the abiotic environment are seriously affecting urban biodiversity. We investigated the vegetation composition of three urban habitat types, vacant lots, urban parks, and peri-urban grasslands, which are characterised by species typical to semi-natural grasslands and ruderal assemblages in the city of Debrecen (East-Hungary). We used five spatial replicates of each habitat type and five random plots (5 m × 5 m) in every site for our analyses. We tested the following hypotheses: (1) lower species numbers and Shannon diversity, and a higher proportion of weeds and disturbance-tolerant species are present in the city centre (i.e. urban parks) compared to more peripheral habitats (vacant lots and peri-urban grasslands), (2) the proportion of warm- and nitrogen-demanding species increases, while the proportion of moisture-demanding species decreases in habitats typical to city centres (3) we also tested the increase in cosmopolitan and alien species and the decrease in species of the natural flora in habitats typical to city centres as predicted by the urban homogenisation hypothesis. We found that species composition of urban habitat types is considerably affected by the specific disturbances and site histories associated with the certain habitats. The most urbanised habitats, the urban parks harboured the lowest number of species and the lowest Shannon diversity. The ratio of weeds and disturbance-tolerants was the highest in the city centre likely due to the high-intensity trampling and soil disturbances. Plant species of city centre were more drought-tolerant compared to periurban grasslands, which is likely due to the increased level of drainage. The ratio of nitrogendemanding species was lower in urban parks and peri-urban grasslands than in vacant lots, likely due to the high level of recent soil disturbance in this habitat type. The proportion of alien species was high both in vacant lots and peri-urban grasslands, even though their disturbance regimes differed considerably. The proportion of cosmopolitan species was significantly higher in urban parks compared to vacant lots and peri-urban grasslands. The large proportion of alien and cosmopolitan species together with the continuous human disturbance put native species at a competitive disadvantage, and accordingly the proportion of these species was lowest in the city centre. Even though the studied urban habitat patches did not contribute considerably to the preservation of rare or endangered plant species, they have an essential role in preserving the last remnants of grasslands in intensively used landscapes, and can be a good basis for urban greening projects.

<i>Bactrocera zonata</i>

Let's face it, if you choose to make your home in a piece of rotting fruit, it might not be around for long, so the pressure is on for fruit flies – Drosophila melanogaster – to live their short lives fast. Pankaj Yadav and Vijay Sharma from the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, India, are intrigued by the trade-offs that fast-developing fruit flies, which emerge as pre-adults in just ~216h (29h faster than normal flies), make to accelerate their development. So, they investigated the impact of shortened pre-adult development on the fitness of these specially bred populations of fruit flies to find out what compromises they have made (p.580).Testing the flies' ability to survive pre-adult development, their adult lifespan, mass at emergence as adults, fecundity, size and ability to withstand starvation and desiccation, the duo found out that the flies had made significant compromises to reduce the time it took them to emerge as fully formed adults. Although the fast developers survived their period of development as well as regular flies, their adult fitness was significantly compromised: they were smaller and weighed less at emergence than regular flies, they lived shorter adult lives, they were less resistant to starvation and desiccation and the females produced fewer eggs. However, when the duo reanalysed the flies' fecundity relative to their body mass, they found that the smaller, fast-developing flies produced more eggs for their body mass than the larger, regular flies.So, the faster developing flies had traded-off their fitness against their accelerated development, and – as they run on a faster body clock than their regular cousins – Yadav and Sharma say, ‘our results can be taken to suggest that pre-adult development time and circadian clock period are correlated with various adult life history traits in D. melanogaster, implying that circadian clocks may have adaptive significance.’

Ferroptosis is a specific form of non-apoptotic cell death that is driven by iron-dependent phospholipid peroxidation. Research over the past decade has contributed to our understanding of how this important cell death process is regulated in mammalian systems, especially with regard to the distinct modes of induction, the role of metabolic signals, the organelles involved, implications of ferroptosis for development and aging, and how our improved understanding of the process can be exploited for therapeutic purposes. Other studies have described variants of this ancient cell death process in cyanobacteria, plants and protozoans. Emerging evidence indicates that a ferroptosis-like form of cell death exists in fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster). Due to the extensive homology of genes in Drosophila melanogaster and Drosophila suzukii, unique aspects of ferroptosis in Drosophila melanogaster may be of particular relevance for developing targeted pesticides against Drosophila suzukii—a major invasive agricultural pest of the berry and wine industry in Southeast Asia, Europe and America. Further, aspects of ferroptosis in Drosophila melanogaster that are conserved in insects in general may provide the basis for identifying new insecticides for controlling the spread of vector-borne diseases such as malaria. In this perspective, we highlight some of the studies in Drosophila melanogaster that have sought to improve our understanding of the ferroptosis-like form of cell death that operates in this organism and conclude with a discussion of the opportunities and challenges for studying this phenomenon in fruit flies.

D-galactose causes aging acceleration in different animal models but the mechanism is unclear. In the present study, we investigated the effects of D-galactose on lifespan and oxidative stress biomarkers in the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) and housefly (Musca domestica). D-galactose was added to drinking water (20 mg/ml) for housefly and to culture medium (6.5%) for fruit fly from 24 h after emergence. Oxidative stress was estimated by measuring the activity of Cu-Zn-superoxide dismutase (SOD) and the levels of lipid peroxidation products, namely malondialdehyde (MDA) and lipofuscin in housefly brain (male) and in fruit fly (male and female). D-galactose caused a significant decrease in mean lifespan (by 12.6% of male and 15.9% of female) and maximum lifespan (by 12.9% of male and 17.1% of female) in fruit fly, and also a significant decrease in mean lifespan (by 27.1% of male, 19.8% of female) and maximum lifespan (by 27.1% of male, 21.9% of female) in housefly. MDA and lipofuscin increased with age in fruit fly and in housefly brains while change of the SOD activity showed a biphasic shape with age. D-galactose caused a significant increase in MDA and lipofuscin and decrease in SOD activity in the age-matched fruit flies and houseflies. These data indicate that D-galactose shortens the lifespan of the two different fly species and that the life shortening effect is associated with an increase in oxidative stress.

The concentration of Pb, Cd, Zn and Cu, δ-aminulevulinic acid dehydratase activity (ALA-D; EC. 4.2.1.24) hemoglobin and protein amount have been determined in three different populations of fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) caught at two urban sites (Mitrovica town, which is situated close to smelter of Trepca down closed and Prishtina the capital of Kosova) and in Luki village as uncontaminated area. The results show that in the fruit fly of Mitrovica the concentration of Pb, Cd and Zn was significantly higher (P<0.001) in comparison with that on the fruit fly of Prishtina and Luki. The concentration of Pb of fruit fly from Mitrovica was 3. 1 times higher in comparison with that on fruit fly of Prishtina and 4.9 times higher in comparison with uncontaminated group of fruit fly. The ALA-D activity was significantly inhibited in the homogenate of fruit fly from Mitrovica in comparison with Prishtina and Luki localities (P<0.001). ALA-I) activity was also inhibited in the homogenate of Prishtina fruit fly in comparison with Luki group (P<0.001). The amount of proteins was significantly lower in Mitrovica fruit fly in comparison with that in control and Prishtina group. The hemoglobin value was relatively unchanged.

Chemical Signalling: Laser on the Fly Reveals a New Male-Specific Pheromone

Objective To investigate the influence of illumination changes on the drosophila circadian rhythm and 24 h sleep time.Methods We collect the unmated fruit flies (a total of 128,single-sex) under CO2 anesthesia within 8 hours of eclosion.And put them into the group of normal light group,day and night reversed group,24 h light group and 24 h dark group with the simple random sampling method,male and female with 4 single-sex groups(n=32).Change the illumination conditions of the living environment of the fruit flies and use Drosophila Activity Monitoring System (DAMS) and Data Acquisition System (DAS),to observe and compare the changes of drosophila circadian rhythm and 24 h sleep time between the different illumination conditions.Results Compared with the normal light group,drosophila circadian rhythm of the day and night reversed group was significantly reversed,the number of fruit flies' activities of 24 h light group was increased,and circadian rhythm was decline,drosophila circadian rhythm of the 24 h dark group is still there,but frequent activity appears during the day,and the 19 : 00 activity peak disappears.Conclusion The drosophila circadian rhythm and 24 h sleep time changes with illumination conditions change. Key words: Drosophila; Circadian Rhythm; Biological Clock; LED

Altered pheromone biosynthesis is associated with sex-specific changes in life span and behavior in Drosophila melanogaster

Ethylparaben affects lifespan, fecundity, and the expression levels of ERR, EcR and YPR in Drosophila melanogaster