İnci Şahin Negiş

Late third-instar larvae of the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae), leave host fruit and pupate in soil; consequently, soil physical conditions and moisture can influence successful adult emergence. We examined the effects of compost, farmyard manure, biochar, and elemental sulfur under three moisture treatments referenced to 100%, 50%, and 25% of the initial field capacity of each unamended soil in two independent factorial pot experiments conducted under controlled laboratory conditions with a clay soil and a sandy loam soil. Each amendment × moisture combination had five independent replicate pots (n = 5), each receiving 20 late third-instar larvae, and adult emergence was recorded for 15 days. In clay soil, moisture and the amendment × moisture interaction significantly affected adult emergence, whereas the amendment main effect was not significant. In the unamended clay soil, adult emergence declined to 50% at 50% field capacity but remained 98% and 93% at 100% and 25% field capacity, respectively. In sandy loam, amendment and moisture main effects were significant, but their interaction was not. Biochar and farmyard manure had the highest mean adult emergence, with no significant difference between them. Across amendments, adult emergence was lower at 25% than at 100% field capacity. These results show that soil amendments do not consistently reduce adult emergence of C. capitata; the observed responses to amendment and moisture treatments may have implications for integrated pest management.

Türkiye ranks first globally in both the cultivated area and production of apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.), which is also a major export commodity for the country. The province of Isparta is among the important apricot-producing regions, contributing approximately 4.5% to the national production according to TÜİK data for 2023. In this study, the polyphagous pest Perotis lugubris Fabricius, 1777 (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) was recorded for the first time in Isparta and identified as a potential threat to apricot orchards in the region. Morphological identification was performed on specimens collected from apricot trees in Isparta. Adults were characterized by a metallic sheen and elongated oval bodies, causing damage by boring galleries into tree trunks and branches. Such damage negatively affects tree health and can lead to significant economic losses. This study presents the first record of P. lugubris in Isparta and outlines possible strategies within the framework of integrated pest management.

Acknowledgement The authors extend their sincere gratitude to Prof. Dr. Rainer Willmann from the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen for his invaluable support and guidance throughout this research endeavor. References [1] Wang, J. S. & Hua, B. Z. (2021). Morphological phylogeny of Panorpidae (Mecoptera: Panorpoidea). Systematic Entomology, 46(3), 526-557. https://doi:10.1111/syen.12474. [2] Tezcan, S. (2020). Analysis of the insect fauna of Turkey and suggestions for future studies. Munis Entomology & Zoology, 15(2), 690-710. [3] Willmann, R. (1977). Bemerkungen zu anatolischen Mecopteren. Annalen des Naturhistorischen Museums in Wien, 517-523. [4] Bicha, W., Schiff, N., Lancaster, A., Suttiprapan, P., Dokjan, T., & Scheffler, B. (2022). A Key to Species of the Scorpionflies of Thailand with the Description of New Species of Panorpa and Neopanorpa (Mecoptera: Panorpidae) Based on Morphology and DNA Barcodes. Transactions of the American Entomological Society, 148(2), 201-228. https://doi:10.3157/061.148.0202. [5] Byers, G. W. & Thornhill, R. (1983). Biology of the Mecoptera. Annual review of entomology, 28(1), 203-228. [6] Jacquemart, A.-L., Gillet, C., & Cawoy, V. (2007). Floral visitors and the importance of honeybee on buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench) in central Belgium. Journal of Horticultural Science and Biotechnology, 82(1), 104-108. https://doi:10.1080/14620316.2007.11512205. [7] Libor, D. & Yu, Z. E. (2023). Distribution of species from the genus Panorpa (Mecoptera, Panorpidae) in European Russia except the Caucasus. Nature Conservation Research. Заповедная наука, 8 (1), 24-33. https://doi:10.24189/ncr.2023.001. [8] Palmer, C. (2010). Diversity of feeding strategies in adult Mecoptera. Terrestrial Arthropod Reviews, 3(2), 111-128. https://doi:10.1163/187498310x519716. [9] Thornhill, R. & Sauer, K. P. (1991). The notal organ of the scorpionfly (Panorpa vulgaris): an adaptation to coerce mating duration. Behavioral Ecology, 2(2), 156-164. https://doi:10.1093/beheco/2.2.156. [10] Zhong, W. & Hua, B. (2013). Mating behaviour and copulatory mechanism in the scorpionfly Neopanorpa longiprocessa (Mecoptera: Panorpidae). PLoS One, 8(9), e74781. https://doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0074781 [11] Zhong, W., Ding, G., & Hua, B. (2015). The role of male's anal horns in copulation of a scorpionfly. Journal of Zoology, 295(3), 170-177. https://doi:10.1111/jzo.12194. [12] Engels, S. & Sauer, K. P. (2006). Love for sale and its fitness benefits: nuptial gifts in the scorpionfly Panorpa vulgaris represent paternal investment. Behaviour, 143(7), 825-837. https://doi:10.1163/156853906778017962 [13] Willmann, R. (1976). Eine neue europaische Panorpa (Mecoptera, Panorpidae). Entomologische Zeitschrift, (86), 60-64. [14] Willmann, R. (1975). Die Gattung Panorpa (Insecta, Mecoptera) in der Türkei. Annalen des Naturhistorischen Museums in Wien, 543-564.

The classification of bee breeds is significant for breeding, maintaining genetic diversity, increasing productivity and protecting the health of the bee colonies. Therefore, this study aims to classify different honeybee breeds based on their morphological traits using data mining techniques, which are cost-effective and straightforward. It were used a total of 35 colonies from a private bee farm for morphometric analysis in the study, which included seven different bee breeds and 404 bee samples. A range of data mining techniques (Support Vector Machines (SVM), Random Forest (RF), Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), Naive Bayes (NB) and k-Nearest Neighbors (k-NN)), and model fit criteria were used for the classification of bee breeds. Overall, the study shows significant differences in the morphological traits of different bee breeds, highlighting the diversity and different traits of each bee breed. In addition, the study shows that the RF model is superior in all criteria and therefore the most effective for classifying honeybee breeds. In contrast, the NB model consistently performs the worst, as evidenced by the consistently minimum values of all metrics. In conclusion, RF model exhibiting a 99.8% success rate, stands out as highly effective in the classification of bee breeds based on the morphological traits, supporting its applicability in future classification research.

Hygienic behavior (HB) is a crucial biological mechanism in honeybees that is associated with disease resistance. This study aimed to investigate the effect of the SNP18 sequence and environmental factors on the HB of honey bees, using a total of 14 colonies and 148 bee samples from seven different bee breeds. Association analysis revealed that colonies with Italian hybrids (IH) or young queens statistically (p < 0.01) exhibited high hygienic behavior (HHB). HB increased by 71.6% when the number of frames in the colony, representing colony power (CP), increased by one (p < 0.05). In restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis, novel mutations in the MlyI polymorphism of the SNP18 sequence were firstly found in Apis mellifera. In addition, the restriction fragments of the novel variants of the SNP18 HHB and SNP18 low hygienic behavior (LHB) lines were determined by sequencing. In this study, several important findings emerged: Due to one‐base differences in the restriction fragment, this sequence could not be genotyped by RFLP. Honeybees could be homozygous (HHB or LHB) or heterozygous (HHB and LHB) for the SNP18. SNP18 sequence could be located in different regions of the chromosome and could only be determined by genome sequencing. Finally, since genotypes cannot be clearly determined, no specific allele or genotype can be recommended for HB selection in beekeeping. Therefore, additional research is required to assess discovered novel variants for genetic selection of HHB for ecological beekeeping, healthy products and sustainability.

Drosophilidae, a diverse and widespread fly family, has recently received increasing attention due to the proliferation of its agricultural pest species, especially in fruit-growing regions. This study aimed to assess the diversity of Drosophilidae in strawberry fields within the Konya province from April to December 2022. A total of 10 species belonging to 4 genera (Drosophila Fallén, Hirtodrosophila Duda, Zaprionus Coquillett, Phortica Schiner) were identified in the Drosophilidae family. This study reported the presence of Drosophila busckii Coquillett, Drosophila hydei (Sturtevant), Drosophila obscura (Fallén), Drosophila subobscura (Collin), Drosophila simulans (Sturtevant), Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura), Hirtodrosophila cameraria (Haliday), Phortica variegata (Fallén) and Zaprionus indianus (Gupta) in Konya (Türkiye) for the first time. Additionally, Drosophila hydei, Drosophila obscura, Drosophila subobscura, Drosophila simulans, Hirtodrosophila cameraria, Phortica variegata and Zaprionus indianus were determined for the first time in Türkiye’s strawberry fields.

Catalogues of the insect Order Thysanoptera, including ThripsWiki (2023), often include a number of names, at genus and at species level, that cannot be associated with any known organism. During some studies of the species listed under the European genus Limothrips Haliday, which is associated with Poaceae, it became clear that two species epithets attributed to this genus refer to taxa that are effectively unrecognisable. For neither of these species is any information available on how many specimens were used for the descriptions, nor if the specimens were preserved in any collection. The following note is therefore to clarify the nomenclatural situation, by synonymising one species with a well-known pest species, and to formally consider the other as a nomen dubium. We are grateful to our colleagues, Bert Vierbergen and Manfred Ulitzka for their comments on an earlier draft.

The search for the neighboring sequence of the query for the construction of the phylogenetic tree above led to the use of MOLE-BLAST. The construction of the phylogenetic tree was demonstrated using Tenothrips species from Muğla, Konya and Antalya in 2023. The Tenothrips species were found to show some degree of relationships based on the tree diagram in all regions. The study aimed to draw the phylogenetic tree of Tenothrips species using MOLE-BLAST, a computational tool widely used for phylogenetic analysis by COI and 18S Ribosomal RNA gene regions.