Antennal sensilla of the ground beetle Platynus dorsalis (Pontoppidan, 1763) (Coleoptera, Carabidae)

The typology, number, and distribution pattern of antennal sensilla of the ground beetle Platynus dorsalis (Pontoppidan) (Coleoptera, Carabidae) were studied using scanning electron microscopy. The 4.3-4.6-mm-long filiform antennae of the beetles consist of the scape, pedicel, and nine flagellomeres. In both sexes, four subtypes of sensilla chaetica, five subtypes of sensilla basiconica, sensilla trichodea, two subtypes of sensilla campaniformia, sensilla auricillica, and sensilla coeloconica were distinguished. The possible function of the sensilla was discussed and three types of sensilla were considered as olfactory, sensilla trichodea and sensilla basiconica types 1 and 2. Olfactory sensilla form two separate, dorsal and ventral, fields of sensilla on the flagellomeres, which seems to be common in ground beetles. The total numbers of olfactory trichoid (approximately 1,000 hairs) and basiconic sensilla type 1 (1,700-1,800 pegs) on the antennae of P. dorsalis are 5-7 times higher than on the antennae of the ground beetle Bembidion lampros, suggesting that nocturnally active P. dorsalis is much more sensitive to odours perceived by these sensilla than B. lampros with diurnal activity and hunting predominantly by sight. No remarkable sexual differences in the types, numbers, and distribution of antennal sensilla were found in P. dorsalis.

Temperature Regulation of Supercooling and Gut Nucleation in Relation to Diapause of Pyrrhocoris apterus (L.) (Heteroptera)

The heteropteran Pyrrhocoris apterus (L.) does not survive freezing of its body fluids; there is a good correlation between values of survival at subzero temperatures and the supercooling point (SCP), i.e., the temperature at which body fluids start to freeze. The decrease of the SCP and thus the increase in cold hardiness is regulated by photoperiod and temperature. The relative importance of these factors depends on the physiological state of the insect. The SCP is about -7°C at the onset of prediapause and a decrease of about 4-5°C is associated with the development of the diapause syndrome in adults; these processes both are induced by a short-day photoperiod with temperature playing a secondary role. The induction of the diapause syndrome is a prerequisite for the subsequent decrease of the SCP by about 5-6°C during cold acclimation. An intermediate temperature of 15°C, or fluctuating outdoor temperatures and short-day photoperiods, are more suitable for the decrease of SCP than 5°C in continuous darkness. The sensitivity to photoperiod gradually disappears during the development of diapause; after the termination of diapause around the winter solstice the SCP irreversibly increases at a high temperature of 26°C even if exposed to a short-day photoperiod. The SCPs of hemolymph, gut, fat body, and gonads were compared to whole-body SCP. The gut was identified as the primary site of ice nucleation because its SCP value was very similar to the value for the whole body in both short-day and long-day insects. The SCPs of other organs, including the hemolymph, were always lower than the whole body SCP. Food was not a source of ice nucleating agents because the SCP of freshly ecdysed adults remained high after 2 weeks of starvation. In contrast, feeding was a prerequisite for the decrease of the SCP during prediapause. In postdiapause insects, the SCP increased at high temperatures in spite of the absence of food.