The chemical defence of the millipede Pachyiulus hungaricus is reported in the present paper, in which a chemical characterization is given and antimicrobial activity is determined. In total, independently of sex, 44 compounds were identified. All compounds belong to two groups: quinones and pentyl and hexyl esters of long-chain fatty acids. The relative abundances of quinones and non-quinones were 94.7% vs. 5.3% (males) and 87.3% vs. 12.7% (females), respectively. The two dominant quinones in both sexes were 2-methyl-1,4,-benzoquinone and 2-methoxy-3-methyl-1,4-benzoquinone. Antibacterial and antifungal activity of the defensive secretion was evaluated in vitro against seven bacterial strains and eight fungal species. With the aid of a dilution technique, the antimicrobial potential of the secretion and high sensitivity of all tested strains were confirmed. The lowest minimum concentrations of these compounds (0.20–0.25 mg/mL) were sufficient for inhibition of Aeromonas hydrophila, Listeria monocytogenes and Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The growth of eight tested fungal species was inhibited by slightly lower concentrations of the secretion, with Fusarium equiseti as the most sensitive fungus and Aspergillus flavus as the most resistant. Values of MIC and MFC in the employed microdilution assay ranged from 0.10 to above 0.35 mg/mL. The given extract contains antimicrobial components potentially useful as therapeutic agents in the pharmaceutical and agricultural industries.

Body size is one of the most investigated traits in studies of sexual selection in fruit flies of the genus Drosophila. In D. melanogaster, size has often been correlated with male mating success, i.e. larger males were more successful in achieving copulations both in laboratory and field conditions. In the present paper, we investigated if male body size is a sexually selected trait in competitive conditions, when full-sibs that developed at two different temperatures (18 and 25?C) competed for females. Males developed at a lower temperature were significantly larger than those reared at a higher temperature, but they were not more successful in mating. We conclude that when body size is significantly induced by temperature variability, it is not correlated with male mating success.

Branchipus schaefferi Fischer, 1834, is a common and one of the most abundant large branchiopods widely distributed in Europe. In this work, for the first time, we describe and classify some of the most frequently observed morphological anomalies in this species. These are deformities in the head structures as well as in cercopods. Possible causes of such anomalities are discussed in detail.

Two important components of mating behavior, mating latency and duration of copulation, were examined during first and second mating in D. melanogasterfemales. Our results confirm the published...