The present research aimed to evaluate the antibacterial activity of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) produced by octocoral-associated bacteria Bacillus sp. BO53 and Pseudoalteromonas sp. GA327. The volatilome bioactivity of both bacteria species was evaluated against human pathogenic antibiotic-resistant bacteria, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Acinetobacter baumanni, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In this regard, the in vitro tests showed that Bacillus sp. BO53 VOCs inhibited the growth of P. aeruginosa and reduced the growth of S. aureus and A. baumanni. Furthermore, Pseudoalteromonas sp. GA327 strongly inhibited the growth of A. baumanni, and P. aeruginosa. VOCs were analyzed by headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) joined to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) methodology. Nineteen VOCs were identified, where 5-acetyl-2-methylpyridine, 2-butanone, and 2-nonanone were the major compounds identified on Bacillus sp. BO53 VOCs; while 1-pentanol, 2-butanone, and butyl formate were the primary volatile compounds detected in Pseudoalteromonas sp. GA327. We proposed that the observed bioactivity is mainly due to the efficient inhibitory biochemical mechanisms of alcohols and ketones upon antibiotic-resistant bacteria. This is the first report which describes the antibacterial activity of VOCs emitted by octocoral-associated bacteria.

In order to identify new ways to prevent transmission of vector-borne diseases such as malaria, efforts have been made to understand how insects are attracted to humans. Vector-host interaction studies have shown that several volatile compounds play an important role in attracting mosquitoes to human targets. A headspace solid-phase micro-extraction/gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HSPME GC-MS) analysis of the volatile organic composition of extracellular vesicles (EVs) and supernatants of ultracentrifugation (SNUs) was carried out in Plasmodium falciparum-infected cultures with high and low parasitemias. A list of 18 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) was obtained from the EVs of both infected and uninfected RBCs with 1,2,3-Propanetriol, diacetate (diacetin) increased in the infected EVs, regardless of the parasitemia of the culture. The supernatant analysis, however, gave off 56 VOCs, with pentane 2,2,4-trimethyl being present in all the SNUs of uninfected erythrocytes but absent from the parasite-infected ones. Standing out in this study was hexanal, a reported insect attractant, which was the only VOC present in all samples from SNUs from infected erythrocytes and absent from uninfected ones, suggesting that it originates during parasite infection. The hexanal compound, reportedly a low-level component found in healthy human samples such as breath and plasma, had not been found in previous analyses of P. falciparum-infected patients or cultures. This compound has been reported as an Anopheles gambiae attractant in plants. While the compound could be produced during infection by the malaria parasite in human erythrocytes, the A. gambiae attraction could be used by the parasite as a strategy for transmission.

Body mass is an important morphological trait, which is associated with the physiology and ecology of insects. In the past, estimates of body mass were often based on general mathematical equations in which body mass was related to linear measurements of anatomical structures. For example, in female bees, estimates of dry body mass are expected to follow a non-linear relationship (power function) with the distance between the tegulae on their thorax, also known as the intertegular distance (ITD). Nonetheless, a major group of bees not included in previous studies are the Neotropical orchid bees of which mostly males are collected. We investigated whether a similar non-linear relationship is also the case for male orchid bees and we found positive evidence as the relationship can be represented by a power function providing reliable estimate of dry body mass. This is particularly important for estimating dry body mass of individuals stored in collections.

Islands provide valuable opportunities to study how isolation affects phenotypic variation. Even though orchid bees are highly mobile, their movement can still be restricted by marine barriers. In this study, we assessed whether insular isolation impacts wing shape in the orchid bee Euglossa mixta across the Coiba archipelago and a nearby mainland site in Western Panama. Our study analyzed 271 individuals using geometric morphometrics, focusing on forewing venation landmarks, and evaluated the variation using multivariate analyses of shape variation and quantifying the shape of Mahalanobis distances. Additionally, we conducted a Mantel test to explore the relationship between geographic distance and morphological divergence. Our findings reveal that wing shape variation in E. mixta is largely conserved but shows fine-scale structuring consistent with spatial patterns expected in insular systems. These results suggest that even highly mobile pollinators may experience enough isolation for subtle phenotypic shifts to occur, highlighting the sensitivity of geometric morphometrics for detecting early stages of morphological differentiation.

Habitat fragmentation and urbanization are having a dramatic impact on insect communities. The fast expansion of urban areas and the intensification of agriculture has caused the loss and splitting of natural habitats, which results in ecosystem fragmentation, this process is generating significant consequences to insects. The research reviewed show that habitat fragmentation and urbanization are associated with decline in both diversity and abundance of insect communities. These works highlight that habitat fragmentation and urbanization influence the behavior, insect populations dynamics, migrations patterns, morphometric changes, dispersion, and reproduction of insects, which could have long term consequences in the composition and structure of insect communities. La fragmentación del hábitat y la urbanización están teniendo un impacto dramático en las comunidades de insectos. La rápida expansión de las áreas urbanas y la intensificación de la agricultura han llevado a la pérdida y división de los hábitats naturales, lo que resulta en la fragmentación de los ecosistemas, este proceso está generando consecuencias significativas para los insectos. Los estudios revisados demuestran que la fragmentación del hábitat y la urbanización están asociadas con una disminución tanto en la diversidad como en la abundancia de las comunidades de insectos. Estos destacan que la fragmentación del hábitat y la urbanización influyen en el comportamiento, la dinámica de las poblaciones de insectos, los patrones de migración, cambios morfométricos, dispersión y reproducción de los insectos, lo que podría tener consecuencias a largo plazo en la composición y estructura de las comunidades de insectos.

Las arañas cangrejo (Araneae: Thomisidae), son depredadores naturales de insectos en áreas próximas a cultivos, siendo los thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), plagas de importancia para varias hortalizas. Entre septiembre y noviembre de 2022, se observó tanto en parcelas de cebolla como en flores de margaritas en Cerro Punta, Tierras Altas – Chiriquí, Panamá (8°51’13” N 82°34’16” O, 1949 msnm), la presencia de arañas cangrejo de color amarillo y blanco; por lo que el objetivo fue identificar dicha especie. Se colectó un espécimen, el cual fue preservado en etanol al 70% para ser revisado en el laboratorio de la Estación Experimental de Cerro Punta – Instituto de Innovación Agropecuaria de Panamá y en el Museo de Invertebrados G. B. Fairchild – Universidad de Panamá, consultándose además literatura especializada. Los caracteres morfológicos observados, principalmente el epigíneo, se aproximan a la especie Misumena vatia (Clerck, 1757), siendo este, hasta donde se conoce, un nuevo registro para Panamá.