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There are only limited experimental or observational data on vertical and horizontal flight capacity of Coccotrypes dactyliperda Fabricius, 1801 (Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Scolytinae), a major pest in date palm plantations throughout the Mediterranean and Middle East. This paper provides a set of proxy data, using actual observations of colonisation rates of Phoenix canariensis (Chabaud, 1882) (Arecales, Arecaceae) seeds in a linear planting array at Alma Park (NSW, Australia). The majority of dispersal movements occurs between adjacent or near adjacent seeds, followed by palms in close proximity with movements less than 4–5 m. While the maximum observed dispersal distance is 350 m, data suggest that a 36 m gap between two groups of palms is beyond the flight/dispersal range of most C. dactyliperda individuals and that colonisation over such distances would be a rare event. Since seed location is aided by temperature-sensitive alcohol-mediated kairomones, the chances of a beetle finding a new seed to colonise over longer distances are increasingly diminished during the summer months, thereby reducing reproductive success.

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Seed bank is a central topic for plant community restoration. We determined the potential and regeneration capacity of soil seed banks of woody plant patches in conservation of the vegetation in an alpine habitat, since vegetation has completely disappeared in some sites by intensive grazing in the habitat. The study was done in mountainous area of Alborz in Iran. A total of 20 individual shrubby patches were selected and two quadrats were established in and out of each patch. Soil samples were then collected from each quadrat in spring, 2011. Above-ground vegetation was estimated in each quadrat in the growing season. The soil seed bank was determined by Seedling Emergence method in the greenhouse. The results showed that the soil seed bank density inside the shrub patches was much higher than outside the patches. This differentiation was more pronounced for forbs. However, seed density of the between-patches was strongly correlated to seed density of the within-patches, indicating the so-called patch effect. Similarity between the soil seed bank and aboveground vegetation was lower inside the patches than outside. This study revealed that the limited woody patches that have remained in the study area could play an important role in conservation of herbaceous and palatable species by their positive effects on the aboveground vegetation and the soil seed bank. 

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Population density and dispersion pattern of Sesamia cretica Led. was determined in maize fields in Varamin (Ahmadabad and Khaveh) and Rey (Aminabad and Talebabad) areas (Tehran, Iran) during two agricultural seasons, 2017 and 2018. A whole plant of maize was selected as a sampling unit to estimate the number of S. cretica larvae. The highest population density of S. cretica larvae per plant was recorded on the 4^th and 8^th October in Aminabad, 17^th and 20^th September in Talebabad, 6^th and 17^th September in Ahmadabad and Khaveh, in 2017 and 2018, respectively. Mean densities of the larvae per plant were 52.62±12.53, 10.50±2.85, 17.45±3.48, 7.57±1.55 in 2017 and 12.00±5.29, 1.00±0.30, 11.05±2.36, 12.00±3.41 in 2018 in Aminabad, Talebabad, Ahmadabad, and Khaveh, respectively. The population of captured male adults in all fields in the second year was less than the first one. Peak numbers of male moths had a difference of 10-22 days between the two studied years. Based on the index of dispersion, the spatial distribution of S. cretica larvae in all fields in both areas was aggregated during the two years of study, except for Aminabad in 2018. According to Taylor’s power law, S. cretica in Ahmadabad and Aminabad in 2017 had a random pattern, while in all fields of the other regions it had an aggregated spatial distribution during 2017 and 2018. In Iwao's model, the regression between the mean crowding and the density was not significant in Aminabad and Khaveh in 2017 and Talebabad in 2018, while in the other fields indicated the aggregated spatial distribution. The lowest estimate of the sample size was computed by using Taylor’s power law. The results revealed that population fluctuation of S. cretica was affected by the region, but in spatial distribution pattern, the oviposition behavior of the pest was a much more determining factor than the region. The coefficients of the spatial pattern can be used for improving the sampling program to calculate the population density of S. cretica precisely.