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•Male abundance in presence of female can enhance the puddling in male P. polytes.•The onset of puddling is directly regulated by variation in the temperature.•The fecundity and ...longevity of imago are completely unaffected by puddling.•The outcomes of present study elucidate the behavioral significance of puddling.•The results provide the empirical evidences for preexisting hypotheses on puddling.
Puddling in butterflies is an essential physiological phenomenon, by which they gain mineral nutrients required for their reproductive success and flight. The preference given to the puddling by butterflies has been analysed by two hypotheses: butterflies puddle when there is a scarcity of nutritional resource in one hypothesis and competition with other males to increase their probability of mating in the other. In the present investigation, an attempt has been made to verify these hypotheses through experimental evidences in the butterfly Papilio polytes, in which only males are known to puddle. Our investigation revealed the significance of puddling as an alternative source of nutrition in the absence of nectar. However, increase in the number of males in a given vicinity with constant number of females enhances the puddling activity in males. This shows the importance of puddling as a distinct competitive behaviour by which male improves their chances of mating. Additionally, in both cases the puddling is drastically regulated by the environmental temperature. Males prefer to puddle at a temperature ranging from 26 °C to 28 °C, which is considered as optimum for puddling activity. Further, the fecundity and longevity of imago are completely unaffected by puddling activity. All these results are in good agreement with the existing hypotheses and show the behavioural significance of puddling in butterflies.
Worldwide spread in the incidence of diabetes justified the need of extensive research in an appropriate model system to develop an effective treatment strategy for diabetology. In recent years, ...because of animal ethical issues and limitations, the silkworm (Bombyx mori) has emerged as a perfect invertebrate model for various biomedical experiments. However, there are several issues related to induce hyperglycaemia in the mammalian system that have not been studied in the silkworms. In the present study, we investigated the consequences of induced hyperglycaemia by oral and intravascular administration of streptozotocin (STZ) and glucose in the silkworms. Interestingly, results confirmed the competence of STZ to induce hyperglycaemia when administered through intravascular route, but suppress the glucose concentration if administrated orally in the silkworms. Comparatively, the severity of induced hyperglycaemia in the silkworms remained nearly the same in response to the oral and intravascular administration of glucose. Furthermore, prolonged administration of STZ has recorded negative effect on the growth rate of the silkworms, whereas a drastic decline in the same was reported in the silkworms administered with glucose. Notably, these results confirm that the response shown by the silkworms to STZ is very similar to that of mammals, making it an excellent model to study diabetic complications and consequences associated with STZ in diabetology.
Prolonged and immediate intravenous administration of glucose and streptozotocin (STZ) can successfully induce hyperglycaemia in silkworms, confirming the ability of STZ in the regulation of blood glucose as reported in mammals.
Prolonged administration of STZ has a negative impact on the growth rate of the silkworms.
Prolonged oral administration of STZ can decrease the haemolymph glucose level in the silkworms, indicating that the STZ‐induced hyperglycaemia is regulated by the mode of administration.
The maternally inherited obligate bacteria Wolbachia is known to infect various lepidopteran insects. However, so far only a few butterfly species harbouring this bacterium have been thoroughly ...studied. The current study aims to identify the infection status of these bacteria in some of the commonly found butterfly species in India. A total of nine butterfly species belonging to four different families were screened using PCR with Wolbachia-specific wsp and ftsZ primers. The presence of the Wolbachia super group ‘B’ in the butterflies Red Pierrot, Talicada nyseus (Guerin) (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) and Blue Mormon, Papilio polymnestor Cramer (Papilionidae), is documented for the first time in India. The study also gives an account on the lifetime fecundity and female-biased sex ratio in T. nyseus, suggesting a putative role for Wolbachia in the observed female-biased sex ratio distortion.
Health education is a process of transmission of knowledge and skills necessary for improvement in quality of life. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the oral hygiene related knowledge ...and plaque scores of 12-year-old school children in Belgaum city before and after health education.
Three schools of Belgaum city were randomly selected and assigned into one of three health educational groups - group I (audiovisual aids), group II (chalk and blackboard) and group III (no health education). Oral health related knowledge and plaque scores were assessed in all the groups before and after health education.
The mean knowledge score before intervention in group I was 7.94, in group II was 7.86 and in group III was 7.74 (P=0.86). After intervention, the mean knowledge score was 14.42 in group I, 12.7 in group II and 9.58 in group III (P<0.001). Plaque scores in the three groups were similar and statistically nonsignificant at baseline. After the oral health education, the mean plaque scores were 0.627 in group I, 0.8826 in group II and 1.0156 in group III. Within the group comparisons revealed a statistically improved oral hygiene with decreased plaque scores in all the three groups.
Health education by audiovisual aids could be an effective preventive measure against plaque-related oral diseases.
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