The tachinid fly Drino inconspicuoides (Diptera: Tachinidae) is an ovolarviparous endoparasitoid whose larvae develop in the host haemocoel and avoids the host immune system. In this study, we investigated the immune evasion mechanisms of this species during infestation in the host Mythimna separata (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). We discovered a unique ‘cloak’ that surrounded D. inconspicuoides larvae that penetrated into the host and determined through genomic polymerase chain reaction analysis that this structure originated from the host rather than the tachinid. The ‘cloak’ contained both haemocytes and fat body cells from the host, with the haemocytes assembling around the larvae first and the fat body cells then covering the haemocyte layer, following which the two mixed. Living D. inconspicuoides larvae that were wrapped in the ‘cloak’ were not melanized whereas encapsulated dead larvae were melanized, suggesting that this structure contributes to the avoidance of host immune reactions.

Abstract. Geometric structures for II-VI diluted magnetic semiconductor iodine-doped Zn 1-x Cr x Te films (x = 0.05) grown by molecular-beam epitaxy with high-temperature ferromagnetism were investigated by using fluorescence x-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) measurement in order to elucidate the relationship between the geometric structure and the magnetic properties. The XAFS analysis has revealed that the local structures around Cr atoms are dependent on the growth temperature. For the samples grown at 360 and 390 °C, the majority of Cr atoms are tetrahedrally coordinated to Te atoms, indicating the formation of substitutional Cr on Zn-site in ZnTe lattice and/or zinc-blende (ZB) CrTe. On the contrary, for the samples grown at 300 and 330 °C the additional formation of secondary phases such as CrTe compounds was suggested. Therefore, it is deduced that the formation of secondary phase such as Cr-Te compounds are related to the increase of Curie temperature. The XAFS analysis has also revealed that the local structures do not depend on the I concentration. For the samples with different I concentrations, the Cr atoms form substitutional Cr on Zn-site in ZnTe lattice and/or ZB CrTe, corresponding to the result of TEM measurement.