The amounts and diversity of insects make them significant contributors to ecosystems stability. Human activities are associated with rapid changes in the lighting conditions of ecosystems. These changes produce diverse alterations to behavior, physiology and, ultimately, population sizes of insects. The present review addresses the changes in insects that occurre upon anthropogenic light pollution. The insects that are active in nighttime are subject to direct negative impacts of light at night primarily because it shortens the foraging and proliferation periods and thus diminishes insect populations, whereas daytime species may benefit somehow due to the lengthening of the periods of their activity. The physiological state that allows insects to survive during winter, the diapause, critically depends on daytime duration; therefore, longer periods of illumination may result in a delayed or incomplete diapause in both daytime and nighttime insects. Migratory insects are subject to changes in focal light sources, because such changes may interfere with migration routes and thus lead to massive losses of insects. Indirect light pollution cases are associated with the use of light polarizing materials, such as asphalts pavements and polymeric films, which distort insects’ abilities to use light polarization for detecting of water surfaces. Although the almost ubiquitous light pollution is a relatively recent phenomenon, some insect species have already developed adaptations to it. However, the impact of light pollution on insects is still poorly studied not only because of their enormous diversity but also because of rapidly changing characteristics of artificial light sources, such as their luminosity and spectra. Proper choices of illumination parameters may not only ameliorate the negative impact of light at night on insects but also may help to develop illumination means of control of pests and synanthropic insects.

The characteristics of a structure-functional organization of leg apparatus were examined in the dragonfly Aeshna grandis: larvae of the final stadium, which legs perform a locomotion function and adults (imago) rising on a wing, which legs lose a locomotion function and are used mainly for catching a prey in the air. It has been demonstrated that legs of the imago practically do not differ from those of the larva either in shape or in proportion of segments of the leg and all changes in the functional role of legs of the imago are implemented due to modifications of mechanisms of limb muscle control and an appropriate reorganization or coordinating interactions. As it is proved by the obtained data, this reorganization concerns mechanisms of the generation of motor commands as well as close coordination of the activity of wing and leg apparatus and some others. The abovementioned mechanisms are discussed.

Electron microscopic investigation of neuronal elements in the cerebellar cortex of rats revealed the existence of septal reticulum in axonal collaterals of Purkinje cells, in axons of basket cells and in mossy fibers. It was shown that this reticulum acts as a calcium depot. The presence in neuroplasm of the developed system of evenly distributed reticulum, which forms relatively isolated compartments and acts as the calcium depot may account for local regulation of rearrangements in the cytoskeleton. Wide presentation of the septal reticulum in the nervous cells of both invertebrates and vertebrates indicates functional determination of this structure.