Life Sciences Commons^™

Enhancing The Efficacy And Thermotolerance Of Selected Beauveria Bassiana Isolates For Management Of Sunn Pest, Eurygaster Integriceps, Using Electrofusion Techniques, Agrin Davari

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Sunn Pest, Eurygaster integriceps Puton (Heteroptera: Scutelleridae), is a major pest of wheat and barley in West and Central Asia and East Europe. The insect causes a significant reduction in yield and quality of grains. Entomopathogenic fungi, especially Beauveria bassiana are among the most dominant microbial agents that have been used against Sunn Pest. However, there are concerns related to their efficacy and thermotolerance particularly in countries with high temperature regimes.

Nine B. bassiana isolates were tested against Sunn Pest to estimate their virulence and speed of infection under laboratory conditions. The isolates were also exposed to 25, 36, 38 …

Distribution, Dna Barcoding And Phylogenetics Of Caribbean Calliphoridae Flies: Tools For Forensic Studies, Sohath Zamira Yusseff

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Blow flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) are among the most dominant and conspicuous insects in the decomposition process. They are important in forensic entomology to determine time of death and, in certain situations, cause of death or relocation of a body. Insects are now included as standard operating procedures in crime scene investigations in many countries, however, this is not standard procedure in the Caribbean area due to lack of knowledge of insects involved in cadaveric decomposition. Successful application of forensic entomology depends on solid underlying data. Our main goal is to advance the knowledge of Calliphoridae in the Caribbean to enable …

Investigating The Effects Of Ant-Hemipteran Mutualisms On The Invertebrate Community Structure And Their Host Plant, Honey Mesquite (Prosopis Glandulosa), Nabil Nasseri

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Ants are ubiquitous in most communities and many form opportunistic mutualisms with honeydew-producing hemipterans (e.g. treehoppers). Hemipterans excrete honeydew, a carbohydrate rich substance, that ants harvest and, in return, ants protect their honeydew-producing partners from parasitoids, predators, and competitors. Given the efficacy of tending ants in removing hemipteran antagonists, and the strong roles that ants play within their communities as predators, competitors, and seed dispersers, surprisingly little is known of the effects of ant-hemipteran mutualisms (AHM) on the invertebrate communities in which they are embedded or on the plants that host AHM. Using observational and manipulative field experiments, I examined …