Host-plant green-leaf volatiles synergize the synthetic sex pheromones of the corn earworm and codling moth (Lepidoptera)

Summary The capture of adult male moths in female sex pheromone traps of two key agricultural pests, the corn earworm (Helicoverpa zea) and the codling moth (Cydia pomonella), is enhanced or synergized by a certain group of host-plant volatiles, the green-leaf volatiles (GLVs). Since female adults of both species call and release their sex pheromones while perched upon the leaves of their host-plants, the volatile constituents from the leaves of a number of host-plants were compared. Sex pheromone traps containing one of the prominent leaf volatiles of certainH. zea hosts, (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate, not only significantly increased the capture ofH. zea males but were preferred over traps baited only with sex pheromone. Similarly, traps baited with synthetic sex pheromome ofC. pomonella plus a blend of GLVs captured significantly more males than traps baited only with sex pheromone. Since male moths are not captured in traps baited only with these GLVs, it appears that these GLVs act as pheromone synergists which increase or enhance the attraction or arrestment of male moths in pheromone traps.     

Sexual contact influences orientation to plant attractant in Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata Say (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

Chemical signals emitted by insects and their hosts are important for sexual communication and host selection. Plant volatiles facilitate the location of suitable hosts for feeding and oviposition, and may moderate responses to sex and aggregation pheromones. While mating has been shown to moderate behavioral responses to pheromones in a number of insects, little is known about the effects of mating on behavioral responses of insects to plant attractants, and even less is known about the mechanisms involved. In this study, mating was shown to decrease behavioral responses of the Colorado potato beetle to a host kairomone within 24 h, and attraction to the kairomone recovers only after 72 h. This decrease in responsiveness also occurs when only contact with the opposite sex is allowed; the effect is not observed with contact among individuals of the same sex. Peripheral olfactory responses to a component of the kairomone correlate with the observed behavioral responses and suggest involvement of antennal receptors in the behavioral change.     

Tax-free Financing of Pollution Control Facilities

Recent proposed Internal Revenue Service regulations, published on June 5, 1971 and implementing Section 103 (c) of the Internal Revenue Service Code, provide additional methods for financing pollution control equipment in unlimited amounts through the use of tax-exempt industrial development revenue bonds. Interest income on the bonds is exempt to the recipient from federal income tax under existing statutes and court decisions, except that such exemption is not generally available with respect to any bonds for any period during which the bond is held by a person who is a substantial user of a project financed with the proceeds of the bonds or a related person within the meaning of Section 103 (c) (7) of the Code. These proposed regulations implement the 1968 amendments to the Internal Revenue Code which authorize the issuance of tax-exempt bonds by local governmental agencies for pollution control improvements. The Legislature of Florida has recently enacted the Florida Industrial Development Financing Act, which creates the local governmental agencies contemplated by the federal legislation and significantly enlarges the power of local governmental agencies to issue industrial development bonds for pollution control.     

Gustatory receptor neuron responds to DEET and other insect repellents in the yellow-fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti

Three gustatory receptor neurons were characterized for contact chemoreceptive sensilla on the labella of female yellow-fever mosquitoes, Aedes aegypti. The neuron with the smallest amplitude spike responded to the feeding deterrent, quinine, as well as N,N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide and other insect repellents. Two other neurons with differing spikes responded to salt (NaCl) and sucrose. This is the first report of a gustatory receptor neuron specific for insect repellents in mosquitoes and may provide a tool for screening chemicals to discover novel or improved feeding deterrents and repellents for use in the management of arthropod disease vectors.     

Book reviews

Deregulation in the European Union: environmental perspectives. U. Collier (Ed.), 1998, London, Routledge, ISBN 0 415 15694 7, £47.50 (hbk)

Protecting the European Environment: enforcing EC environmental law. H. Somsen (Ed.), 1996, London, Blackstone Press, ISBN 185 431 6044, £19.95

Green Parties and Politics in the European Union. Elizabeth Bomberg, 1998, London, Routledge, ISBN 0 415102 650, £15.99 (pbk)

British Environmental Policy and Europe. Philip Lowe & Stephen Ward (Eds), 1998, London, Routledge, ISBN 0 415155 010, £16.99 (pbk)

Wolf in the Garden: the land rights movement and the new environmental debate. Philip D. Brick & R. McGreggor Cawley (Eds), 1996, Lanham, MD, Rowman & Littlefield, ISBN 08476 8184 X, US$67.50 (hbk) ISBN 08476 8185 8, US$24.95 (pbk)

Fresh Water. E. C. Pielou, 1998, Chicago, IL, University of Chicago Press, ISBN 0 226 66815 0, US$24/£19.25 (hbk)

Environment and Politics. Timothy Doyle & Doug McEachern, 1998, London, Routledge, ISBN 0415 14776, £10.99

Eat Your Genes: how genetically modified food is entering our diet. S. Nottingham, 1998, London, Zed Books, ISBN 1 85649 577 9, £32.95 (hbk) ISBN 1 85649 578 7, £11.95 (pbk)

Working for Better Environmental Performance in SMEs. PACTE programme of the European Commission, 1997, Project of Berlin, Bristol, Copenhagen and Vienna¹ (no charge)

Love Canal, the Story Continues. Lois Marie Gibbs, 1998, Gabriola Island, BC, New Society Publishers, ISBN 0 86571 382 0, US$16.95/Can$19.95 (pbk)     

Jettability of reactive nylon materials for additive manufacturing applications

An inkjet printing process has been suggested for producing nylon 6 in an additive manufacturing approach and this paper reports on the jettability of molten reactive materials made by caprolactam with activator and catalyst to study the feasibility of the approach in an inkjet system. The materials physical properties which are important for jetting were characterized and then the melt supply behaviour in the system was studied and finally jetting trials were monitored to investigate the effect of parameter settings on the stability of the jet array. It was found that the surface tension and viscosity of all materials were within the suitable range. However, with the catalyst mixtures, microcrystals of the undissolved salt of the catalyst complex were found to influence the melt supply behaviour considerably. The mixtures had a narrower range of parameters where stability occurred compared with caprolactam. Monitoring the jet stability recommended a suitable range of jetting parameters for the deposition stage of researching the new approach. A higher level of instability was observed with the catalyst mixture especially when jetting with multiple nozzles due to the microcrystals.     

Modular separation-based fiber-optic sensors for remote in situ monitoring

A modular separation-based fiber-optic sensor (SBFOS) with an integrated electronically controlled injection device is described for potential use in remote environmental monitoring. An SBFOS is a chemical monitor that integrates the separation selectivity and versatility afforded by capillary electrophoresis with the remote and high sensitivity capabilities of fiber-optic-based laser-induced fluorescence sensing. The detection module of the SBFOS accommodates all essential sensing components for dual-optical fiber, on-capillary fluorescence detection. An injection module, similar to injection platforms on micro-analysis chips, is also integrated to the SBFOS. The injection module allows for electronically controlled injection of the sample onto the separation capillary. The design and operational characteristics of the modular SBFOS are discussed in this paper. A micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography mode of separation is employed to evaluate the potential of the sensor for in situ monitoring of neutral toxins (aflatoxins). The analytical figures of merit for the modular SBFOS include analysis times of between 5 and 10 min, separation efficiencies of approximately 10(4) theoretical plates, detection limits for aflatoxins in the mid-to-low nanomolar range, and controllable operation that results in sensor performance that is largely immune to sample matrix effects.