Augusto Patetta

Some aspects of the carbohydrate composition of callaphidid honeydew

SummaryThe carbohydrate composition of the honeydews produced by Myzocallis castanicola, Tuberculatus (Tubercu-loides) borealis, Betulaphis helvetica and B. quadrituberculata was examined by means of thin-layer chromatography (TLC), gas-liquid chromatography (GLC) and acid and enzymic hydrolysis. Fructose, glucose, sucrose, maltose, turanose, trehalose, melibiose, raffinose, melezitose and oligosaccharides with DP ⩾ 4 were detected. Melezitose is the main component of the trisaccharide fraction of M. castanicola and B. quadrituberculata honeydews.

Specific identification of some female Empoascini (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), using morphological characters of the ovipositor and isozyme and mtCOI sequence analyses

Abstract We identified females of six species of leafhoppers (tribe Empoascini), Asymmetrasca decedens (Paoli), Empoasca affinis Nast, E. decipiens Paoli, E. pteridis (Dahlbom), E. vitis Göthe, and Jacobiasca lybica (Bergevin and Zanon), using morphological characters of the ovipositor and isozyme and mitochondrial COI sequence analyses. Useful traits of the ovipositor are tooth morphology, length of the toothed area, form of sculpturing, and number and position of sensilla on the first and second pair of valves. Among the set of enzyme systems assayed, four putative loci, sod, hk-2, est-3, and est-2, together provided reliable diagnostic characters for single species, pairs of species, and groups of species. Analysis of mtCOI sequences revealed differences between the six species of Empoascini, and the neighbour-joining tree separated them into three distinct groups. Phenetic trees elaborated using Neis index and the Kimura two-parameter model clustered the six Empoascini species in similar groups.

Survey of the Health Status of Some Honey Bee Queens in Italy

Abstract While observing: non-acceptance, frequent replacements, and reduced performance in honey bee (Apis mellifera ligustica) queens, we were induced to analyse a certain number of queens to detect the causes. For this purpose, 99 newly mated queens were bought from 20 Italian queen breeders. In addition, 109 older or at-the-end-of-their-career queens, that showed poor productivity, were collected from honey production hives throughout Italy. All the queens were dissected to check the status of their reproductive system and/or the presence of various anomalies and diseases. Anatomical and functional anomalies, pertaining to ovaries and spermatheca, also in association with tissue alterations and microorganisms like Nosema spp. and protozoa, were common in both newly mated and older queens, but they were more prevalent in the latter. Observed differences permitted us to highlight the causes of the reduced performance of the queens and of the colonies they originated from. The obtained information could prove useful when it comes to improving queen breeding techniques.