Performance of Spodoptera litura (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in responses to different amplitudes of alternating temperatures across permissive warm temperature regimes.

Climate change involves changes in the pattern of temperature fluctuations and the frequency and magnitude of thermal extremes. It is essential to investigate how insects respond to increased temperature variations, especially for species that usually experience diel temperature variations extending to thermal performance limits. To explicitly elucidate the effects of sizes of amplitudes of temperature variations, we used daily alternating temperatures with an equivalent mean of 28 °C to investigate the impact of different fluctuation amplitudes (±â€…0 °C,  ±â€…2 °C,  ±â€…4 °C, and  ±â€…6 °C) across permissive temperature regimes on the performance of Spodoptera litura FabriciusFabricius, a highly destructive polyphagous pest of crops and vegetables in tropical and temperate climates. Amplitudes of temperature fluctuations significantly affected developmental durations, adult life spans, pupal weights, fecundity, and fertility of S. litura. The survival rates from the egg stage to the adult eclosion did not differ significantly across different temperature treatments. The developmental durations of individual life cycles significantly increased with larger amplitudes in 3 fluctuating temperature treatments. The pupal weight was significantly lower and the adult life span was significantly shorter in the ±â€…6 °C treatment in all treatments. Fecundity and fertility were significantly reduced in the ±â€…6 °C treatment, making the continuation of generations nearly impossible. The results should provide critical information for understanding the ecology of this widespread pest under diel, seasonal, and global climate changes.

Pleomorphic Dematiomelanommayunnanense gen. et sp. nov. (Ascomycota, Melanommataceae) from grassland vegetation in Yunnan, China.

During a survey of microfungi associated with grasslands and related vegetation types from Yunnan Province in China, various ascomycetous and coelomycetous fungi were isolated. This study reports the discovery of four strains of ascomycetous and coelomycetous fungi from dead stalks of Hypericummonogynum L. (Hypericaceae) and Rubusparvifolius L. (Rosaceae) in the Zhaotong region of Yunnan Province, China. The isolates were characterized using multi-locus phylogenetic analyses and were found to represent a new monophyletic lineage in Melanommataceae (Pleosporales, Dothideomycetes). This new clade was named as Dematiomelanommayunnanense gen. et sp. nov. which consists of both sexual and asexual morphs. The sexual morph is characterized by globose to subglobose ascomata with a central ostiole, cylindrical asci with a pedicel and ocular chamber, and muriform, ellipsoidal to fusiform ascospores. The asexual morph has synanamorphs including both brown, muriform macroconidia and hyaline, round to oblong or ellipsoidal microconidia. These findings contribute to the understanding of fungal diversity in grasslands and related vegetation types in Yunnan Province, China.