			Home About us Contact

White Butterfly (white + butterfly)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Chemistry	75%

Selected Abstracts

Combined effects of climate and biotic interactions on the elevational range of a phytophagous insect

JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY, Issue 1 2008
Richard M. Merrill
Summary 1The ranges of many species have expanded in cool regions but contracted at warm margins in response to recent climate warming, but the mechanisms behind such changes remain unclear. Particular debate concerns the roles of direct climatic limitation vs. the effects of interacting species in explaining the location of low latitude or low elevation range margins. 2The mountains of the Sierra de Guadarrama (central Spain) include both cool and warm range margins for the black-veined white butterfly, Aporia crataegi, which has disappeared from low elevations since the 1970s without colonizing the highest elevations. 3We found that the current upper elevation limit to A. crataegi's distribution coincided closely with that of its host plants, but that the species was absent from elevations below 900 m, even where host plants were present. The density of A. crataegi per host plant increased with elevation, but overall abundance of the species declined at high elevations where host plants were rare. 4The flight period of A. crataegi was later at higher elevations, meaning that butterflies in higher populations flew at hotter times of year; nevertheless, daytime temperatures for the month of peak flight decreased by 6·2 °C per 1 km increase in elevation. 5At higher elevations A. crataegi eggs were laid on the south side of host plants (expected to correspond to hotter microclimates), whereas at lower sites the (cooler) north side of plants was selected. Field transplant experiments showed that egg survival increased with elevation. 6Climatic limitation is the most likely explanation for the low elevation range margin of A. crataegi, whereas the absence of host plants from high elevations sets the upper limit. This contrasts with the frequent assumption that biotic interactions typically determine warm range margins, and thermal limitation cool margins. 7Studies that have modelled distribution changes in response to climate change may have underestimated declines for many specialist species, because range contractions will be exacerbated by mismatch between the future distribution of suitable climate space and the availability of resources such as host plants. [source]

Comparative analysis of two biliproteins, BP1 and BP2, from haemolymph of cabbage white butterfly, Pieris rapae

ARCHIVES OF INSECT BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY (ELECTRONIC), Issue 4 2006
Chi Won Choi
Abstract Two blue-pigment binding proteins, BP1 and BP2, are present in larval and pupal haemolymph of cabbage white butterfly, Pieris rapae, and fluctuate in expression during development. Both BP1 and BP2 are found in pupal haemolymph in varying proportions as well as in adult haemolymph, while only small amounts of BP2 are found in larval haemolymph. BPs are separated by 75% ammonium sulfate, and then purified effectively by ion exchange column chromatography and preparative gel electrophoresis. It was shown that BP1 and BP2 have molecular masses of 20,244 and 19,878 Da, and isoelectric points of 7.0 and 6.8, respectively. Considering their amino acid compositions and N-terminal amino acid sequences, the two proteins are almost identical except the first N-terminal amino acid. The first amino acid of BP1 is asparagine, whereas the initial residue of BP2 is aspartic acid. Anti-BP1 cross-reacts with BP2, indicating that they have immunological homogeneity. Western blotting analyses revealed that only BP1 was present in the larval tissues such as fat body, integument, muscle, and hindgut. However, BP1 was not found in midgut, Malphigian tubules, and silk gland. BP1 was also present in the protein bodies, and both cuticle and hemocoel sides of larval epidermis cells by the transmission electron microscopic observation. The information in this report will facilitate studies on the molecular biology and biological significance of insect BPs. Arch. Insect Biochem. Physiol. 61:220,230, 2006. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

Synthesis and Bio-activities of Pyrazolyl or Pyridinyl Substituted Tonghaosu Analogs

CHINESE JOURNAL OF CHEMISTRY, Issue 6 2007
Biao-Lin Yin
Abstract 11 pyrazolyl or pyridinyl substituted tonghaosu analogs were synthesized. Structures of all the new compounds were confirmed by 1H NMR, IR, MS, HREIMS or elemental analysis. Their antifeedant activity against larvae of large white butterfly (Pieris brassicae L.), larvicidal activity toward mosquito (Culex quinquefasciatus Say) and growth control activity toward larvae of Spodoptera litura Fab were examined. Some of them exhibited antifeeding activities comparable to or stronger than tonghaosu Z-1. Based on the activity data, the preliminary structure-activity relationship was also discussed, which might be instructive for finding out lead compounds with better bioactivities in the future. [source]