Grapevine ( Parthenolecanium persicae (F.)) and frosted ( Parthenolecanium pruinosum (Coq.)) scale insects may cause long‐term physiological damage to grapevines. Although they persist in major grape‐growing regions of Australia, the reproductive and population growth potential of these insect pests is poorly understood. The reproductive output of gravid adult females of grapevine and frosted scales was studied under lab and field conditions on Riesling, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc cultivars of European grapevine Vitis vinifera L. The intrinsic rate of increase of grapevine and frosted scales was also studied on Riesling and Chardonnay cultivars, respectively. Gravid adult females of grapevine scale have a larger body length and body mass and higher fecundity than those of frosted scale. Egg and first instar sizes were smaller for grapevine scale than for frosted scale. Egg incubation period, post‐oviposition by adult females, was affected by grapevine cultivars, being 20 days on Chardonnay and 19 days on Riesling for grapevine scale and 18 days on Chardonnay and Riesling and 22 days on Sauvignon Blanc for frosted scale. Neither fertility nor fecundity was affected by grapevine cultivar. The intrinsic rate of increase ( r m ) was 0.28 per month for grapevine scale on Riesling and 0.29 per month for frosted scale on Chardonnay. The finite rate of increase ( λ ) for grapevine and frosted scales was 1.28 and 1.33 months, respectively, and the population doubling time (DT) was 2.5 and 2.40 months for grapevine and frosted scales, respectively. Based on these observations, the population of grapevine and frosted scales is likely to persist in vineyards and may rise to outbreak levels that require management.

Two threatened species of Tympanocryptis (T. lineata and T. osbornei) (the grassland earless dragon clade) are compared for population structure, growth and reproduction from sites around the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and near Cooma in New South Wales (NSW). Both species showed similar proportions of adults, intermediates and juveniles, as well as similar proportions of adult males and females. Growth patterns had a rapid increase in snout–vent length (SVL) in juveniles. Predicted adult SVL was the same in both species, and females in both species had greater SVL than males. In one year, the appearance of juveniles in the populations was later in T. osbornei than in T. lineata, but that may have been a result of cooler temperatures in the austral summer. Body condition was slightly better in adults of T. osbornei than T. lineata as the former were heavier and shorter. Longevity in the field was similar for both species, being slightly greater than two years, but reproduction may have occurred only once during their lifetime. Colouration associated with reproduction appeared to be the same for both species. Future work can use this information to determine how populations of Tympanocryptis sp. vary in response to environmental changes.

Larvae of the genus Megalopyge (Lepidoptera: Zygaenoidea: Megalopygidae), known as asp or puss caterpillars, produce defensive venoms that cause severe pain. Here, we present the anatomy, chemistry, and mode of action of the venom systems of caterpillars of two megalopygid species, the Southern flannel moth Megalopyge opercularis and the black-waved flannel moth Megalopyge crispata . We show that megalopygid venom is produced in secretory cells that lie beneath the cuticle and are connected to the venom spines by canals. Megalopygid venoms consist of large aerolysin-like pore-forming toxins, which we have named megalysins, and a small number of peptides. The venom system differs markedly from those of previously studied venomous zygaenoids of the family Limacodidae, suggestive of an independent origin. Megalopygid venom potently activates mammalian sensory neurons via membrane permeabilization and induces sustained spontaneous pain behavior and paw swelling in mice. These bioactivities are ablated by treatment with heat, organic solvents, or proteases, indicating that they are mediated by larger proteins such as the megalysins. We show that the megalysins were recruited as venom toxins in the Megalopygidae following horizontal transfer of genes from bacteria to the ancestors of ditrysian Lepidoptera. Megalopygids have recruited aerolysin-like proteins as venom toxins convergently with centipedes, cnidarians, and fish. This study highlights the role of horizontal gene transfer in venom evolution.

The salivary gland of the black field cricket, Teleogryllus commodus Walker changed size between being starved and fed. Crickets without access to food for 72 h showed a reduction in both wet and dry mass of the glands compared with the glands from continuously fed animals at 72 h. Glands returned to size following ingestion within 10 min. Salivary glands of starved crickets (72 h) were incubated in saline containing either serotonin (5-HT) or dopamine (DA). Glands increased to pre-starvation size after 1 h incubation in situ with either 10-4 moles L-1 5-HT or 10-4 moles L-1 DA, although lower concentrations (10-5 moles L-1) did not affect gland size. From immunohistochemistry, amines appeared to shift from zymogen cells during starvation to parietal cells following feeding. High-performance liquid chromatography showed that serotonin concentration is higher than dopamine in the salivary gland removed from starved and fed crickets, but the quantity of these compounds was not dependent upon feeding state; the amine quantities increased as gland size increased. Further work is necessary to determine what might be the stimulus for gland growth and if dopamine and serotonin play a role in the stimulation of salivary gland growth after a period of starvation.

Plants can respond to insects that feed with stylet mouthparts using various processes that are initiated via the salicylic acid metabolic pathway. In Australia, scale insects of the genus Parthenolecanium can cause economic damage to grapevines as they feed on the vines and produce honeydew as a waste by-product, which supports the growth of black sooty mould on fruit and leaves, potentially affecting the plant growth and yield. Using rootlings of Sauvignon Blanc (SB, resistant) and Chardonnay (Char, susceptible), the growth and production of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) following exposure to scale insect infestations were measured under controlled greenhouse conditions. At harvest, the numbers of scale insects per five leaves were higher on plants infested at the start of the study compared with the control plants. Infested SB had increased dry root and shoot mass compared with the SB control, which was also the case with Char (control and infested). Leaf volatiles differed between cultivars in response to scale infestation. Benzyl alcohol decreased among infested SB plants compared with the other treatments. A change in the salicylic acid pathway as indicated by the change in benzyl alcohol may cause the increased growth in SB associated with the increased scale insect infestation.

Secondary production connects primary producers with higher-order consumers. The response of secondary production to seasonal variation in primary producers can influence trophic flows that underpin key ecosystem functions and services. Within the canopy-forming macroalgal meadows of Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia, we quantified the secondary production generated by Sargassum-associated epifauna across seasons and seascapes. We found a strong positive correlation between overall epifaunal production and Sargassum canopy size. Variation in epifaunal production was predominantly driven by seasonal changes in Sargassum canopy size. However, these seasonal effects were not uniform across the seascape. Key predictors of spatial and temporal variation in epifaunal production were the presence of invertivorous fish families, as well as daily and monthly fluctuations in sea temperature. Areal estimates of epifaunal productivity were much higher in summer than in winter, due to higher Sargassum canopy size and percent cover in summer. Epifaunal production was estimated to be more sensitive to Sargassum percentage cover than to canopy height. Modeling a 45% reduction in canopy height and percent cover of Sargassum associated with a marine heatwave event revealed a potential 81% drop in the areal rate of secondary production by Sargassum epifauna in this tropical fringing reef ecosystem. Disturbances to Sargassum canopy structure driven by global change can therefore significantly alter the productivity of these tropical macroalgal meadows and their ability to support higher level consumers within the food web, including important fisheries species. Our results highlight the importance of including epifaunal production estimates in predictive modeling when managing macroalgal-dominated marine ecosystems.

The role of the foregut (crop and proventriculus) in mechanical processing of food has received little attention in insects. Using the Australian plague locust (Chortoicetes terminifera) and the black field cricket (Teleogryllus commodus) as models, the role of the crop in processing of wheat or rye grass was examined. Interior cuticular structures (spines) of the foregut were described using light and scanning electron microscopy, with locusts having sclerotised structures and crops of crickets being unsclerotised internally. Muscular bands on the exterior surface of the crop part of the foregut are similar in males of both species, but contractions and movements are more forceful in locusts. Passage rate from the foregut is much faster in locusts (<3 h) than in crickets (>3 h). Water within the crop is reduced compared with the water content of fresh grass within the foregut of locusts, but water is increased in cricket crops. Spines within the crops are small relative to the size of food particles in both species. Some spines of locusts contain metals. The slower passage rate from the crop of crickets may be limited by the proventriculus. Foregut structure and food processing facilitates the generalist diet of crickets, but may restrict locusts to consuming softer grasses.

The introduction to this special issue of the Journal on Bat Research in Australasia (Part 2) provides an overview of the papers in the issue.

AbstractWe describe a pair of labial gland lobes on either side of the retrocerebral complex in the head of the Australian black field cricket, Teleogryllus commodus Walker. As the retrocerebral complex includes the corpora cardiaca and corpora allata, hormones secreted by these glands can be absorbed by these lobes. These lobes of the labial gland are connected to the thoracic lobes via a relatively long duct that enters the main duct draining the thoracic lobes. Measurement of the flow rate of dye from head to thorax in the ducts is rapid, suggesting that these glands may serve as a transport system into the thoracic region. Both serotonin and adipokinetic hormone are shown to be present in the lobes near the retrocerebral complex and the ducts of the thoracic lobes, but whether this connection between the head and thorax acts as a hormone transporter is still unclear.

Tropical seascapes are comprised of a range of patch habitat types, yet we have only a partial understanding of how local patch condition and seascape position may influence patterns of marine biodiversity, particularly for invertebrate taxa. We investigated how the epifaunal abundance and biomass of tropical Sargassum varied with canopy size (volume, total length and dry weight), local patch conditions (macroalgal composition, canopy structure and invertivorous fish biomass) and seascape setting (nearshore, lagoon and back reef) within the Ningaloo fringing reef ecosystem, Australia. A total of 49431 epifauna, dominated by crustaceans and molluscs, were extracted from the thalli of 81 tropical Sargassum polycystum individuals. Epifaunal abundance and biomass were most strongly correlated with host Sargassum canopy volume and dry weight, respectively. Epifaunal abundance and biomass also varied significantly among separate Sargassum meadow patches, with a significant interaction between canopy size and seascape position. Considerable site-level variations in epifaunal biomass density (mg per g Sargassum dry weight) were best predicted by either seascape context or local invertivorous fish biomass. Sargassum within meadows furthest from the back reef tended to have the highest epifaunal biomass (dominated by molluscs), while meadows closest to the back reef were dominated by crustacea. Sargassum within meadows with a high local abundance of invertivorous labrids and serranids tended to have the lowest epifaunal biomass. Strong Sargassum canopy size-epifauna relationships indicate that even small differences in canopy extent have major flow-on effects for the trophic function of tropical marine ecosystems by affecting the epifaunal secondary productivity available to higher-order consumers, such as fishes.

Scales of the genus Parthenolecanium have become pests in some grapevine growing regions of Australia but not in the wine region in and around Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia. Previous work suggests that population size of scales on certain cultivars varied, with one potential reason for observed differences being the number of scales surviving winter. Parthenolecanium persicae (Fabricius, 1776) overwinters as a third-instar nymph under the bark of grapevines. We investigated whether differences in bark thickness and thermal insulation contributed to survivorship and the extent to which the scales could tolerate cold temperatures. The thickness of bark and the temperature difference across the bark varied among cultivars studied (Shiraz, Chardonnay, Tempranillo, Riesling, Viognier), but these parameters were not correlated among cultivars. Third-instar scales could survive -15 degrees C in dry conditions but froze and were killed when wet and temperatures were cooled to -10 degrees C. Neither the differences in bark thickness nor scale cold tolerance could explain differences in infestations among cultivars observed previously. Grapevine scale outbreaks in various Australian grape-growing regions may coincide with changes in climate as a result of increased winter survival.

Plant secondary metabolites can affect insect feeding but responses are species-specific. Sideroxylonal-A (a formylated phloroglucinol) has been shown to inhibit feeding in several vertebrate and invertebrate herbivores. To investigate whether sideroxylonal-A affected feeding in sawfly larvae, Perga affinis affinis, we fed larvae eucalypt leaves containing various concentrations of sideroxylonal-A, and measured frass production as an indicator of consumption. We found that: (1) at least 80% of the sideroxylonal-A ingested by larvae was stored in the diverticulum; (2) less than 1% was excreted in frass; (3) feeding was unaffected by the concentration of sideroxylonal-A; and (4) larvae produced more frass on natal host leaves than on non-natal host leaves.

The endangered grassland earless dragon, Tympanocryptis pinguicolla, is present in two geographic locations in Australia: the Australian Capital Territory and adjacent New South Wales (NSW) near Canberra (~580 m above sea level) and Monaro Plains, NSW, near Cooma (~950 m above sea level). The lizards live in native grassland, an endangered ecological community, and although the population ecology of the animal has been examined, the importance of habitat for thermoregulatory patterns is unknown. We studied whether lizards from the two locations differ in their seasonal patterns of thermoregulation by measuring skin and chest temperatures using both radio-telemetry and temperature measurement in the field, as well as thermal preferences in a laboratory thermal gradient. These results are compared with the operative temperatures (Te) in various microhabitats in the two regions to determine to what extent lizards are thermoregulating. We demonstrate that these lizards do not maintain a constant body temperature, but allow Tb to vary between 13 and 39°C when active in the field, although the grand mean for 50% basking temperatures ranged between 32 and 36°C in the laboratory gradient. Temperatures in the various microhabitats can exceed 40°C, but lizards appeared to avoid those temperatures by seeking shelter in either burrows or the base of grass tussocks. Lizards could choose microhabitats that would permit maintenance of body temperatures above 30°C in most seasons, but did not do so. As high body temperature is not selected in field conditions for either population, other processes (e.g. predation) may be more important for determining Tb maintenance.

Background and Aims: Frosted scale is a sap-sucking insect pest that feeds on several commercial Vitis vinifera cultivars across several wine regions of Australia. The ability to develop and the impact of its feeding activity on grapevines have not been documented. We have closed this knowledge gap through a study that examined the development and feeding effect of frosted scale on Pinot Noir, Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc.Methods and Results: A replicated glasshouse experiment was established by allocating the potted rootlings of the three cultivars into two treatment regimes, control (uninfested) and treated (infested with frosted scale) grapevines in the summer months between November 2011 and March 2012. Frosted scale population was relatively high on Riesling, moderate on Pinot Noir and least on Sauvignon Blanc. The presence of frosted scale significantly reduced leaf chlorophyll concentration and the number of internodes per vine. An increasing number of scales did not significantly affect the chlorophyll concentration in any cultivar. An increasing number of scales did significantly decrease the number of internodes per vine. The proportion of dropped leaves in all cultivars exposed to frosted scale was higher than that of control plants. Riesling dropped more leaves than Pinot Noir or Sauvignon Blanc.Conclusions: An increase in first and second instar populations of frosted scale feeding mainly on grapevine leaves was observed. This feeding may reduce leaf chlorophyll and the number of internodes per vine. Pinot Noir, Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc were all susceptible to frosted scale feeding under glasshouse conditions, but individual cultivar performance varied.Significance of the Study: Grapegrowers could expect frosted scale population and loss of vine vigour to increase on highly susceptible cultivars, such as Riesling. Further studies regarding cultivar differences in response to frosted scale feeding are necessary to clarify these results.

Yellow-winged grasshoppers (Gastrimargus musicus) were captured in the field to examine the morphology and amine immunohistochemistry of their salivary glands. Fifty-eight grasshoppers were collected, with only five being males. Eight of 53 female grasshoppers had food in their crop, and the salivary glands of those insects were significantly heavier than those of grasshoppers without food in their crops. The salivary gland of the yellow-winged grasshopper was an acinar-type gland, similar to gland descriptions for other Orthoptera. The primary secretory part of acini of each gland is composed of zymogen and parietal cells. Staining patterns indicated that serotonin and dopamine could act as neurotransmitters and/or neurohormones to stimulate the glands. The pattern of staining of serotonin in the salivary gland suggested that serotonin stimulates both zymogen and parietal cells. Only the parietal cells were positively stained with dopamine. Comparing staining of glands of grasshoppers with food in their crop with the glands of grasshoppers with empty crops suggested a reduction in staining for serotonin in the latter. The differential staining pattern suggests that these amines have different roles in the salivary gland of G. musicus. The lack of difference in structure but increased mass with feeding suggests that all glands were active, but that secretion was actively occurring only in animals with the heavier glands.