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Most of all insect species respond to odor messages they exchange consciously. This is due to the existence of thousands of olfactory sensilla covering the antennal branches and thousands of nerve cells that will transmit the odor signal towards specific parts of the insect brain. Pheromones, pheromone regulatory pathways, pheromone-sensitive nerve cells, pheromone receptors and pheromone-binding proteins appear on this volume 2 as a prerequisite not only for fundamental knowledge in olfactory processes but also for applied research and insect control. The pheromone or olfactory concepts, exposed here in nocturnal species of moths, mainly deal with the phenomenal expansion of some specific insects, invasive pest species that have severe impacts on agriculture and/or human health. However, the olfactory concepts exposed on the whole book must be brought further, before the shrinkage of some other more beneficial species such as the honeybees. Like many other species (butterflies, crickets, ladybugs and other flying insects), the bees are disappearing or show signs of a fast and significant decline in hive population, as an example of the serious decline of flora and fauna due to our industrialized agriculture. In this no-choice situation, new concepts of pest control alternative to insecticides are required to stop the serious general disappearing of insects that are pollinators of flowers but also important ecological factors (e.g. as food sources or material converters). The present situation is very alarming for a nature at risk of losing a biodiversity and the ecological equilibrium that it has taken so long to build. We belong to the Quaternary (fourth) geological era, the "Age of Mammals", the Cenozoic era of evolution that describes 60 My, from the birth of the flower and the bee to the modern days. In a close future, Men of the current time period, i.e the 21st century, may soon enter a new historical era, which may lead to its own extinction. Would this be the price to pay to preserve or rebuild those interactions so crucial for the life on earth?
Auteur
Edited by Jean-François Picimbon
School of Bioengineering
QILU University of Technology
Jinan, Shandong, China
Texte du rabat
Evolution gave rise to a prominent insect diversity at every level of ecological niche. Since then, hordes of insects have threatened human and cattle health as well as most of all green lands and agricultural crops. Now, the insect problem expands from many mutant forms of yellow dengue fever mosquitoes to highly-resistant larvae of most all various phytophageous species. The tremendous expansion of insects is due not only to an increasing resistance capacity to insecticides, but also to a strong capacity for adapting to different climate and environmental changes, including global warming. Obviously insects display a number of rudimentary systems to build an extremely efficient organism to survive in a changing world. In many species, one pheromone molecule is enough to trigger mating behavior. Therefore, insects have become crucial models not only for evolutionary studies, but also for understanding specific mechanisms underlying sensory-based behaviors. Most of insect species such as ants, beetles, cockroaches, locusts, moths and mosquitoes largely rely on olfactory cues to explore the environment and find con-specifics or food sources. A conglomerate of renowned international scientific experts is gathered to expose the insect problem on the various continents of the planet and propose an alternative to the use of toxic insecticides. Sex pheromones, specific chemical signals necessary for reproduction, and pheromone detection in insects are described with full details of the olfactory mechanisms in the antennae and higher centers in the brain. Thus, new synthetic pheromones and/or plant odors with specific molecular target sites in the insect olfactory system are proposed for sustainable development in agricultural and entomological industries. Disrupting insect pheromone channels and plant odor detection mechanisms is solemnly envisioned as a unique way to control invasive insect pest species while preserving human and environment safety.
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