Entomological Research

This paper reviews the common edible insects and their use in China. One‐hundred and seventy‐eight insect species from 96 genera, 53 families and 11 orders are commonly eaten in China. Preparation of edible insects includes frying, braising, stewing, stewing after frying, boiling and roasting. The insect forms eaten range from eggs to adults; however, in restaurants most are larvae and pupae. More than 50 species have been analyzed for their nutritive elements and nutritional value and these data are reviewed here. Insect health foods sold in the Chinese market are also briefly discussed.

Cecropins are basic antibacterial peptides that have potent antimicrobial activities. We induced and purified a novel antimicrobial peptide exhibiting activity against Gram‐negative bacteria from the immunized hemolymph of Hermetia illucens larvae. The immunized hemolymph was extracted, and the novel cecropin‐like peptide 1 (CLP1) was purified using solid‐phase extraction and reverse‐phase chromatography. The purified CLP1 demonstrated a molecular weight of 4,840 Da, as determined by matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization‐time‐of‐flight (MALDI‐TOF). From analysis of CLP1 by N‐terminal amino acid sequencing using Edman degradation, combined with MALDI‐TOF and rapid amplification of cDNA ends‐polymerase chain reaction (RACE‐PCR), the amino acid sequence of the mature peptide was determined to be GWRKRVFKPVEKFGQRVRDAGVQGIAIAQQGANVLATARGGP PQQG. In NCBI BLAST, the amino acid sequence of CLP1 was found to be 60 % identical to the Drosophila melanogaster cecropin C. In silico analysis revealed that CLP1 was suggested to be part of the cecropin superfamily of AMPs characterized as cationic, linear, α‐helical, and amphipathic polypeptides. Analysis of the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) showed that CLP1 exerted antibacterial effects against Gram‐negative bacteria. The expression of CLP1 transcripts in several tissues after bacterial challenge was measured by quantitative real‐time PCR. CLP1 expression was negligible throughout the body before immunization, and was mostly evident in the fat body after immunization.

The number of social hymenoptera have decreased due to accelerated urbanization in Seoul, Korea, during the 1970s–1990s. However, recent changes in environmental conditions have brought distinct re‐growth of their colonies. In this study, we analyzed the re‐colonization trend of social hymenoptera in Seoul with moving‐out reports submitted to 119 rescue services from 2000 to 2009. A total of 14 253 social hymenoptera findings and treatment cases were reported during that time, and the reported numbers increased continuously every year. Among them, 87% of the cases were related to social wasps and 13% were for honeybees. Social wasps peaked from July to September, when the colonies matured, whereas honeybees peaked from April to July when colonies divided. As observed by geographical information system (GIS), moving‐out cases formed hotspots in low‐story buildings around green areas such as nearby forests or city green parks in Eunpyeong‐gu and Gwanak‐gu in Seoul. Among the social wasps, the most frequent species that caused a nuisance and direct stinging was Polistes rothneyi koreanus, the majority of which nested under eaves (63%). Among the honeybees, Apis mellifera was a nuisance while attaching to buildings and walls in the city (60%) during hive splitting. We present herein the situation of the return of social hymenoptera to Seoul and discuss the possible reasons for the recent increase in social wasps in urban areas, including enlarging the green space in urban areas and stable nesting places, which benefited colony development due to the relatively higher urban temperature and the few natural predators and parasitoids.

Aging and longevity is a dynamic, chronological process assumed to originate from several hallmarks causing archetypal and beguiling cycles with incredible natural diversity. This phenomenon is widely observed in different animals, and the estimated age of Drosophila melanogaster, Caenorhabditis elegans, Daphnia longispina are a few days to weeks. Reproductive termites live for 30 years, although the root cause of longevity in termite castes is still debated for molecular and cellular changes. Insulin and insulin signaling pathway‐related (IIS) genes are important metabolic factors (glucose) highly conserved in lower to higher organisms. Therefore, in this study, we pooled Reticulitermes chinensis castes as primary king (PK), primary queen (PQ), ergatoid king “SWRK” and queen “SWRQ”, male (WM), and female (WF) workers. We determined transcriptome sequencing of R. chinensis castes as a model organism for longevity to investigate the insulin signaling pathway and longevity genes. Through RNA‐sequencing, we identified 35 IIS‐pathway‐related genes out of 343 to the KEGG pathway in ergatoid king and queen, PK, PQ, WM, and WF. Among these genes, Tsc2, akt2‐a, mTOR, EIF4E, Pdk1, and RPS expressed highly in ergatoid king and queen, PK, and PQ. However, a significant cornerstone tradeoff between reproductive and non‐reproductive efforts for early life is essential for evolutionary longevity. The present study concludes that a highly conserved IIS‐pathway is evidence for the prolonged termite reproductive life span. We recommended devoting insulin signaling pathway genes to their biological function for termite survival and new insights into the maintenance and relationships between biomolecular homeostasis and remarkable longevity.

Aging and longevity is a dynamic, chronological process assumed to originate from several hallmarks causing archetypal and beguiling cycles with incredible natural diversity. This phenomenon is widely observed in different animals, and the estimated age of Drosophila melanogaster, Caenorhabditis elegans, Daphnia longispina are a few days to weeks. Reproductive termites live for 30 years, although the root cause of longevity in termite castes is still debated for molecular and cellular changes. Insulin and insulin signaling pathway‐related (IIS) genes are important metabolic factors (glucose) highly conserved in lower to higher organisms. Therefore, in this study, we pooled Reticulitermes chinensis castes as primary king (PK), primary queen (PQ), ergatoid king “SWRK” and queen “SWRQ”, male (WM), and female (WF) workers. We determined transcriptome sequencing of R. chinensis castes as a model organism for longevity to investigate the insulin signaling pathway and longevity genes. Through RNA‐sequencing, we identified 35 IIS‐pathway‐related genes out of 343 to the KEGG pathway in ergatoid king and queen, PK, PQ, WM, and WF. Among these genes, Tsc2, akt2‐a, mTOR, EIF4E, Pdk1, and RPS expressed highly in ergatoid king and queen, PK, and PQ. However, a significant cornerstone tradeoff between reproductive and non‐reproductive efforts for early life is essential for evolutionary longevity. The present study concludes that a highly conserved IIS‐pathway is evidence for the prolonged termite reproductive life span. We recommended devoting insulin signaling pathway genes to their biological function for termite survival and new insights into the maintenance and relationships between biomolecular homeostasis and remarkable longevity.