Papers by Marzia Cristiana Rosi
Environmental Science and Pollution Research
The increasing demand for food has required intensive use of pesticides which are hazardous to th... more The increasing demand for food has required intensive use of pesticides which are hazardous to the ecosystem. A valid alternative is represented by biopesticides; however, these molecules are often insoluble in water, and poorly bioavailable. Nanopesticides can be engineered to reach a selected target with controlled release of the active principle. In this work, capsaicin, an irritant alkaloid from hot chili peppers, and hydroxytyrosol, a phenolic compound obtained from extra-virgin olive oil by-products, were loaded into innovative nanocarriers. These were designed ad hoc combining exopolysaccharides from the cyanobacteria Neocyanospira capsulata, and a lipid component, i.e., egg phosphatidylcholine. The polysaccharide was chosen for chemical affinity with the chitin of insect exoskeleton, while the lipids were introduced to modulate the carrier rigidity. The newly formed nanosystems were characterized by physico-chemical techniques and tested for their possible use in pest contro...
European Journal of Entomology, 2001
Telenomus busseolae Gahan (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) is an egg parasitoid, which is under evaluat... more Telenomus busseolae Gahan (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) is an egg parasitoid, which is under evaluation for possible intro duction into Italy as a biological control agent of the Corn Stalk Borer, Sesamia nonagrioides (Lefebvre) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Two strains are being considered, one from Africa and the other from Turkey. In a series of laboratory experiments we compared their reproductive capacities, walking behaviour, and host selection behaviour mediated by the sex pheromone and body scales of the host. As reciprocal crosses between the two strains yielded female offspring, they are not reproductively isolated. The two strains were similar in both their reproductive capacity and female longevity. Females of both produced 75-90 eggs and lived on average for 6-7 days. There were differences between the two strains in walking behaviour, searching pattern and in the host location behav iour. The African strain walked faster then the Turkish strain, and showed a slower angular speed and lower turning rate. The African strain showed a significant increase in its speed of movement in response to the host's sex pheromone and a more intense local search after encountering host body scales. These results on of T. busseolae for corn borer management in Italy.
Agricultural Systems, Feb 29, 2024
9th IOBC-WPRS meeting on Integrated Protection of Olive Crops, 2021
Before the <em>Xylella fastidiosa</em> outbreak in Europe and the identification of s... more Before the <em>Xylella fastidiosa</em> outbreak in Europe and the identification of spittlebugs as the main vectors of this xylem-inhabiting bacterium, little was known about this insect group. The need of effective control tools has highlighted the lack of knowledge on several aspects of spittlebugs' ecology, such as their response to olfactory stimuli and the potential role of different volatile compounds as semiochemicals. Recently, the antennal sensilla fine structure and the response to several volatile organic compounds were investigated in <em>Philaenus spumarius</em>. Although its antennal chemoreceptors are limited, the meadow spittlebug seems to be able to recognize and react to some substances. While the study of <em>P. spumarius</em> chemical ecology is ongoing, for <em>Neophilaenus campestris</em> this topic is still uninvestigated.<br> In order to evaluate the response of <em>P. spumarius</em> and &l...
9th IOBC-WPRS meeting on Integrated Protection of Olive Crops, 2021
The staff exchange event provides an effective knowledge transfer among Clim4Vitis partners. The ... more The staff exchange event provides an effective knowledge transfer among Clim4Vitis partners. The speakers address viticulture topics from different points of view, providing a general focus on the state of art and current research activities in this sector. This event promotes exchanges of methodologies and best practices among partners.
Journal of Experimental Biology, 2008
SUMMARYWe have studied the courtship behaviour of Trichopria drosophilaePerkins (Hymenoptera: Dia... more SUMMARYWe have studied the courtship behaviour of Trichopria drosophilaePerkins (Hymenoptera: Diapriidae), a pupal parasitoid of the common fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster Meigen (Diptera: Drosophilidae), to understand the role of the antennae. Virgin pairs of the parasitoid perform an intense and stereotyped antennal courtship, which leads to copulation. During antennation, the two male fourth antennomeres come into contact with the two apical female antennomeres, and thus the secretion produced by the sex pheromone gland is spread onto the female receptors. By preventing the transfer of the courtship pheromone from male to female antennae, mating was inhibited. Moreover, selective ablation of single antennae demonstrated that the courtship pheromone acts on contact. When antennae of both sexes were partially removed (ablation at the same side, i.e. right or left) courtship was successful and copulation occurred. In contrast, in the case of antennal ablation at opposite sides, co...
Journal of Insect Physiology, 2001
After oviposition, Trissolcus basalis females always mark the host's surface, depositing host mar... more After oviposition, Trissolcus basalis females always mark the host's surface, depositing host marking substances for herself and to warn other ovipositing females. The perception of these host marking substances, probably through the antennae, can induce the female to leave and seek healthy hosts. Parasitoid females exposed to conspecific parasitized egg masses left the host egg masses significantly more often than when exposed to non-parasitized egg masses. More egg mass leaving behavior also was observed when the egg masses were treated with Dufour's gland secretion but not when treated with secretion from the common oviducts. The common oviduct has a secretory epithelium that produces electron-dense vesicles, probably containing proteinaceous substances. The secretory cells of the accessory gland, Dufour's gland, contain electron-lucid vesicles, whose secretion appears to be a lipid similarly to that found in pheromone secreting glands. Ultrastructural and behavioral evidence suggests that Dufour's gland is the host marking pheromone source.
Journal of Chemical Ecology, 1995
Many terrestrial Heteroptera have small, but functional, dorsal abdominal glands as adults. The c... more Many terrestrial Heteroptera have small, but functional, dorsal abdominal glands as adults. The chemistry, and associated intra-and interspecific behavior, for dorsal abdominal gland secretions from IO species representing four genera of Pentatomidae was investigated. Eighteen volatile compounds were identified in species-specific blends from the dorsal abdominal gland secretions of Euschistus, Acrosternum, and Euryden~a adults, including aliphatic, aromatic, and terpenoid constituents. Evidence from bioassays is presented that parasitic Tachinidae (Diptera) and Scelionidae (Hymenoptera) use these secretions as kairomones. A field experiment was performed to test the hypothesis that minor volatiles increase the specificity of the main pheromone component from Nearctic Eusdtistus species, methyl (2E,4Z)-decadienoate. However, significantly fewer individuals of E. tristigmus were captured in traps baited with the complete blend for this species than in traps baited with methyl (2E,4Z)-decadienoate alone. Thus, at the concentrations tested, these kinds of dorsal abdominal gland secretions may be epideictic, promoting spacing in the natural habitat.
Journal of Chemical Ecology, 1997
The olfactory cues involved in the host-finding behavior of Telenomus busseolae Gahan, a solitary... more The olfactory cues involved in the host-finding behavior of Telenomus busseolae Gahan, a solitary egg parasitoid of the corn stalk borer, Sesamia nonagrioides (Lefebvre), were studied. The female wasp was attracted to odors from calling virgin females of S. nonagrioides in a Y-tube olfactometer. No response was elicited by noncalling virgin female moths and/or mated female moths. A four-component commercially available sex pheromone of the corn borer was also tested, as were the individual components of the mixture. T. busseolae respond to the whole blend [(Z)-ll-hexadecenyl acetate, (Z)-ll-hexadecenol, (Z)-l 1-hexadecenal, and dodecyl acetate in the ratio of 8.5: 1: 1:2]. Z11-16:OH was the only compound that elicited no significant activity. These results suggest that the sex pheromone released by the host female S. nonagrioides is used by T. busseolae as an indirect cue to locate egg masses of this host.
Journal of Animal Ecology, 1999
The intra!patch experience acquired by foraging parasitoid females has often been considered to h... more The intra!patch experience acquired by foraging parasitoid females has often been considered to have a strong in~uence on their tendency to leave a patch\ and thus on their total patch residence time[ Most studies that have been performed on this subject suggest that the patch!leaving rules observed are adaptive because they enable the females to adjust their patch residence time to local environmental conditions[ 1[ Considering a behavioural rule as being adaptive supposes that it has been pro! gressively settled by natural selection\ and thus that there is\ in the population\ genetic variation on which the natural selection could act[ 2[ Therefore\ this study aimed to discover whether there was indeed genetic variability in the patch!leaving decision rules in a population of the egg parasitoid species Telenomus busseolae\ which attacks patches of its hosts\ the eggs of Sesamia nonag! rioides[ Di}erent wasp families were compared using the isofemale lines method\ and the behavioural records were analysed by means of a modi_ed version of the Cox|s proportional hazards model proposed by Haccou et al[ "0880# and Hemerik\ Driessen + Haccou "0882#[ 3[ The results obtained show that T[ busseolae females increase their tendency to leave the patch after each successful oviposition[ Each host rejection also led to an increase in the tendency to leave the patch\ but this e}ect was smaller when host rejections were observed between two ovipositions occurring in rapid succession[ Subsequent visits to the patch also increased the patch!leaving tendency[ 4[ Genetic variability was found in both the global patch!leaving tendency and in the e}ect that successful ovipositions and host rejections have on this tendency[ 5[ The adaptive and evolutionary consequences of these results are discussed[ Key!words] Cox|s regression model\ genetic variability\ parasitoids\ patch time allo! cation\ Telenomus busseolae[ Journal of Animal Ecology "0888# 57\ 010Ð022 011 Genetic variation in patch time allocation
Biological Control, 2012
h i g h l i g h t s " Coptera occidentalis females use larval trails to locate the host. " Rearin... more h i g h l i g h t s " Coptera occidentalis females use larval trails to locate the host. " Rearing on factitious host does not bias the host location process. " C. occidentalis females also follow trails of Tephritid washed larvae.
IOBC-WPRS, 2019
Diachasmimorpha longicaudata is a solitary larval-pupal endoparasitoid of several fruit flies tha... more Diachasmimorpha longicaudata is a solitary larval-pupal endoparasitoid of several fruit flies that has been introduced to many countries as biocontrol agent of tephritid pests. The species has been reared in Italy under quarantine conditions to test its reliability in biological control programmes against fruit flies. Laboratory bioassays aimed at evaluating the behavioural response of D. longicaudata toward Bactrocera oleae infested or non infested olives have been carried out in the last two years. Data obtained through two different behavioural experiments demonstrated that the parasitoid can perceive olfactory and visual cues coming from fruits, especially from infested ones. In bioassays performed in arenas, naïve and experienced females were able to discriminate infested and non infested fruits showing also a noticeable ability in recognizing different fruit size by visual stimuli. Experiments conducted in Y-tube olfactometer revealed a remarkable response of naïve females to infested olives while experienced females preferred the pure air, showing a probable bias by the factitious host. Further research has to be planned in order to study other possible stimuli coming from the insect pest as well as from olive leaves and fruits. Moreover, additional bioassays should be performed on non-frugivorous tephritid flies before field releasing attempts, in order to avoid possible negative side effects.
Informatore Fitopatologico, 2006
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Papers by Marzia Cristiana Rosi