Rose Chafer Beetles Research Articles

Metabolic cost of flight and aerobic efficiency in the rose chafer, Protaetia cuprea (Cetoniinae).

Rose chafer beetles (Protetia cuprea) are pollinators as well as agricultural pests, flying between flowers and trees while foraging for pollen and fruits. Calculating the energy they expend on flying during foraging activity faces the challenge of measuring the metabolic rate (MR) of free-flying insects in an open space. We overcame this challenge by using the bolus injection of 13 C Na-bicarbonate technique to measure their metabolic energy expenditure while flying in a large flight arena. Concurrently, we tracked the insects with high-speed cameras to extract their flight trajectory, from which we calculated the mechanical power invested in flying for each flight bout. We found that the chemical (metabolic) energy input converted to mechanical flight energy output at a mean efficiency of 10.4%±5.2%, with a trend of increased efficiency in larger conspecifics (efficiency scaled with body mass to the power of 1.4). The transition in the summer from a diet of pollen to that of fruits may affect the energy budget available for foraging. Starved P. cuprea, feeding on apples ad libitum, increased their body mass by an average of 6% in 2h. According to our calculations, such a meal can power a 630-m flight (assuming a carbohydrate assimilation efficiency of 90%). Pollen, with a low water and carbohydrate content but rich in proteins and lipids, has a higher caloric content and should assimilate differently when converting food to flight fuel. The high cost of aerial locomotion is inherent to the foraging behavior of rose chafers, explaining their short flight bouts followed by prolonged feeding activity.

Elastic wing deformations mitigate flapping asymmetry during manoeuvres in rose chafers (Protaetia cuprea).

ABSTRACTTo manoeuvre in air, flying animals produce asymmetric flapping between contralateral wings. Unlike the adjustable vertebrate wings, insect wings lack intrinsic musculature, preventing active control over wing shape during flight. However, the wings elastically deform as a result of aerodynamic and inertial forces generated by the flapping motions. How these elastic deformations vary with flapping kinematics and flight performance in free-flying insects is poorly understood. Using high-speed videography, we measured how contralateral wings elastically deform during free-flight manoeuvring in rose chafer beetles (Protaetia cuprea). We found that asymmetric flapping during aerial turns was associated with contralateral differences in chord-wise wing deformations. The highest instantaneous difference in deformation occurred during stroke reversals, resulting from differences in wing rotation timing. Elastic deformation asymmetry was also evident during mid-strokes, where wing compliance increased the angle of attack of both wings, but reduced the asymmetry in the angle of attack between contralateral wings. A biomechanical model revealed that wing compliance can increase the torques generated by each wing, providing higher potential for manoeuvrability, while concomitantly contributing to flight stability by attenuating steering asymmetry. Such stability may be adaptive for insects such as flower chafers that need to perform delicate low-speed landing manoeuvres among vegetation.

Raspberry Variety Performance in Southern Michigan

Seven primocane-fruiting and 15 floricane-fruiting raspberry varieties (Rubus idaeus) were compared for three fruiting seasons on a loamy sand soil in southwest Michigan. The earliest primocane-fruiting varieties (`Autumn Bliss', `Autumn Britten', `Polana') began ripening 3 weeks before the standard variety, `Heritage'. `Autumn Bliss' was the most productive early primocane-fruiting variety. `Caroline' and `Dinkum' ripened about 1 week earlier than `Heritage', and `Ruby' was 2 days later. `Caroline' was the most productive of this group and also had large fruit that were somewhat resistant to rot caused by Botrytis cinerea. `Caroline' also received the greatest leaf feeding from rosechafer beetles (Macrodactylus subspinosus). Most primocane-fruiting varieties were fairly resistant to leaf spot (Sphaerulina rubi), while `Dinkum' was highly susceptible to spur blight (Didymella applanata). Floricane-fruiting varieties were evaluated based on fruit production and quality as well as winter injury to canes, disease resistance, and feeding injury from two-spotted spider mites (Tetranychus urticae). The floricane-fruiting varieties showing minimal winter injury were `Boyne', `Killarney', `Latham', `Nova', and `Prelude'. `Canby', `Encore', `Glen Ample,', `Qualicum', `Reveille', `Titan', and `K 81-6' were moderately hardy; while `Tulameen', `Malahat', and `Lauren' were not hardy enough for this location. `Reveille', `Killarney', `Boyne', and `Prelude' were the most productive floricane-fruiting varieties. `Nova' and `Qualicum' had low levels of botrytis rot. `Nova' was most resistant to leaf spot and also had resistance to spur blight. Injury from mites was greatest on `Glen Ample' and lowest on `Malahat', `Prelude', `Qualicum', and `Tulameen'. `Caroline' (primocane-fruiting), `Prelude', and `Nova' (floricane-fruiting) were promising newer varieties.

On the structure and mechanical properties of beetle shells

Rose chafer beetle shells are composites of chitin fibres and proteinaceous matrix in an orthogonal plywood-like laminate. Fibre layers are connected by unique inter and intra-ply cross-links that afford a novel solution to shear and crack-propagation resistance.

The paramyosin of insect flight muscle

Paramyosin has been extracted and purified from the flight muscle of the insects Lethocerus cordofanus, Lethocerus maximus (water bugs), Heliocopris japetus (dung beetle) and Pachnoda ephippiata (rosechafer beetle). The subunit molecular weight, estimated by sodium dodecyl sulphate electrophoresis, is 107,000 ± 6000. The intrinsic sedimentation constant is 3.17 S and circular dichroism measurements give about 87 % helix, showing that the molecule is likely to be a two-chain rod. The amino acid composition of insect paramyosins resembles that of molluscan and annelid paramyosins except that the Glu/Asp ratio is higher. The amino acid analysis of insect tropomyosin is also given. Electron microscopy of tactoids shows an axial periodicity of 732 ± 8 Å or 146 Å with fine structure differing from that of molluscan tactoids. The proportion of paramyosin in the myofibrils, estimated by densitometry of stained gels, is 6.3% in L. cordofanus and 9.5% in rosechafer, and the ratio of myosin to paramyosin in L. cordofanus is 8.2. The possibility that paramyosin is a core protein of the myosin filaments is discussed.