Entomology Commons^™

Cave-Dwelling Heleomyzid Flies (Diptera: Heleomyzidae) From The Polish Caves. Historical Overview And New Data, Joanna Kocot-Zalewska, Andrzej J. Woźnica

International Journal of Speleology

This article details the analysed results of the recent study on heleomyzid flies (Diptera: Heleomyzidae) that occurred in the caves of Kraków-Częstochowa Upland. Additionally, all accessible information about those flies from the Polish caves has been compiled. In effect, 23 species from seven genera were identified. Among these determined species, one was considered as troglobiont, eleven as eutroglophiles, nine as subtroglophiles, and two as trogloxenes. Dominant species were Scoliocentra brachypterna, Heleomyza captiosa and Eccoptomera pallescens. The highest number of species has currently been found in the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland.

Evaluating Toxicity Of Varroa Mite (Varroa Destructor)-Active Dsrna To Monarch Butterfly (Danaus Plexippus) Larvae, Niranjana Krishnan, Maura J. Hall, Richard L. Hellmich, Joel R. Coats, Steven P. Bradbury

Entomology Publications

Varroa mites (Varroa destructor) are parasitic mites that, combined with other factors, are contributing to high levels of honey bee (Apis mellifera) colony losses. A Varroa-active dsRNA was recently developed to control Varroa mites within honey bee brood cells. This dsRNA has 372 base pairs that are homologous to a sequence region within the Varroa mite calmodulin gene (cam). The Varroa-active dsRNA also shares a 21-base pair match with monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) calmodulin mRNA, raising the possibility of non-target effects if there is environmental exposure. We chronically exposed the entire monarch larval stage to common (Asclepias syriaca) and tropical ...

Nebline, June 2021

The NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from UNL Extension in Lancaster County

Choosing Quality Child Care: Guidance For Parents

Eastern Carpenter Bees

Eating for Brain Health

Recipe of the Month

Naturally Occurring Contaminants, Part 4 of a Series — Arsenic

Efficiency Is Key To Profit On Stocker Cattle

Common Grub Control Questions

Garden Guide: Things to do This Month

Heart of 4-H Volunteer Award: Jen & Jesse Metcalf

4th Graders Learn About “Farm to Fork” During Virtual Ag Festival

Statewide 4-H Companion Animal Challenge Results

Extension News

Extension Calendar

STEM Zoom Workshops in June

Seeking Lancaster County Fair Historic Memorabilia and Stories

Survivorship Of Soybean Aphid Biotypes (Hemiptera: Aphididae) On Winter Hosts, Common And Glossy Buckthorn, Doris M. Lagos-Kutz, Glen L. Hartman

Insecta Mundi

The soybean aphid, Aphis glycines Matsumura (Hemiptera: Aphididae), is a major pest of soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merr., both in Asia where it is native, and in the USA where it is adventive. The rapid spread and establishment of the soybean aphid in the USA since its discovery in 2000 was successful because of extensive soybean production in the Midwest and the wide distribution of common buckthorn, Rhamnus cathartica (L.), its preferred primary winter host. The survivorship of four soybean aphid biotypes on com­mon and glossy buckthorn, Frangula alnus Mill., were compared. Our study showed that nymph oviparae of ...

New Adult Host Records For Three Buprestidae (Coleoptera) Rarely Encountered In The United States And Significant Extension Of The Known Geographic Range Of Agrilus Pilosicollis Fisher, Jason A. Hansen, Christine A. Nalepa

Insecta Mundi

New adult host records of Agrilus langei Obenberger, A. pilosicollis Fisher, and Dicerca mutica LeConte (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) are reported. The known geographic range of A. pilosicollis is expanded from the type location in Kansas south to Texas and east to North Carolina. Images with key characters of each of the three species are included.

Among the nearly 800 species of buprestids in North America (north of Mexico) are those known from very few specimens. Distribution and plant host information for such species is understandably limited and, in many cases, completely unknown (Nelson et al. 2008). A knowledge of host utilization ...

Chlamydastis Meyrick Of Costa Rica: Barcodes, Biology, And Descriptions Of 36 New Species (Lepidoptera: Depressariidae), Eugenie Phillips-Rodríguez, John W. Brown, Winnie Hallwachs, Daniel H. Janzen

Insecta Mundi

We recognize and review 40 species of Chlamydastis Meyrick, 1916 (Lepidoptera: Depressari­idae) from Costa Rica, including four previously described (i.e., C. vividella (Busck, 1914), revived status; C. phytoptera (Busck, 1914); C. orion Busck, 1920; and C. ungulifera (Meyrick, 1929)) and 36 new species: C. abelulatei Phillips and Brown, new species; C. carolinagodoyae Phillips and Brown, new species; C. angelsolisi Phillips and Brown, new species; C. lindapitkinae Phillips and Brown, new species; C. iangauldi Phillips and Brown, new species; C. anniapicadoae Phillips and Brown, new species; C. antonioazofeifai Phillips and Brown, new species; C. mignondavisae Phillips and Brown, new ...

The Backyard Garden - Tomato Pests, Nick Volesky, Mair Murray

All Current Publications

This fact sheet contains information about pests and diseases that affect tomatoes. It includes general information and guidance on severity, other hosts, symptoms, and management.

Phenotypic Plasticity And Parental Effect On Rearing Of Two Diverse Habitat Environment For Laboratory Reared Sympetrum Meridionale, Imane Halassi, Ali Elafri, Ismahan Halassi, Hichem Amari, Moussa Houhamdi

Journal of Bioresource Management

Laboratory observations on rearing experiment of Odonata serve to answer many evolutionary and ecological questions. In order to evidences the role of species parental habitat provenience in the development behaviour of their offspring, we surveyed several life history traits of two rearing populations of Sympetrum meridionale (Anisoptera: Sympetrinae), coming from two different habitats across north-eastern Algeria. The first one is a RAMSAR wetland called ‘Mekhada’ (a perennial water body), and the second one is a temporary pond located at “Maouna” Mountain (1400 m altitude). Overall, the development patterns of the two populations of dragonflies vary with the type of habitat ...

Beginner's Guide To Common Native Bees, Cody Zesiger, Elizabeth Cohen, Hannah Jarvis, Lori R. Spears, Ricardo Ramirez

All Current Publications

Utah is a superb place for beginning bee enthusiasts. Over 1,000 species of native bees exist in Utah (Cane, 2015). Southern Utah alone has approximately the same number of bee species as the entire eastern U.S. coast. There are many reasons for appreciating bees and encouraging their presence in the landscape. Specifically, bees are key to a sustainable environment as they are essential pollinators of food and fiber crops. Bees can also be appreciated for their striking diversity in color and size. This fact sheet highlights the different bee species that you may see in Utah.

Soil Macroinvertebrates Responses To Wildfires In The Blue Ridge Mountains, Usa, Madeline Olliff

Biology Theses

Fire has been a prevalent disturbance on Earth for millions of years. Around the globe there are several regions that have become fire adapted, including the Southeastern United States. There have been few studies examining the effects of wildland fires on soil macroinvertebrates in the Blue Ridge Mountains, in spite of the importance of these animals to soil processes and their contributions to the biodiversity of these ecosystems. During the fall of 2016, the Southeastern USA experienced numerous, large wildfires. These fires offered an opportunity to study the effects of wildland fire on soil macroinvertebrates. We sampled sites from three ...

Development Of A Rapid Drug Detection Method For Insects Using Paper Spray Ionization Mass Spectrometry (Psi-Ms), Alexandria Plyler

Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Symposium

Insects have the ability to reflect the chemical environment that they have developed in. Thus, necrogenous insects can reflect the chemical environment of cadavers they have fed on. Forensic scientists can potentially utilize insect larvae as an alternate biological matrix to detect drugs in cadavers that are skeletonized, burned, or otherwise badly damaged. Analysis of insects using paper spray ionization mass spectrometry (PSI-MS), an analytical method requiring little to no sample preparation, could prove a rapid, cost-effective, and non-destructive alternative form of toxicological analysis. Traditional tissue analysis via GC and LC-MS often require lengthy sample preparation, use expensive reagents, and ...

Characterizing The Susceptibility And Biological Fitness Of Nebraska Western Corn Rootworm Populations To Pyramided Plant-Incorporated Protectants, Jordan D. Reinders

Dissertations and Student Research in Entomology

The western corn rootworm (WCR), Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte, is a pest of field corn, Zea mays L., across the United States (U.S.) Corn Belt. Transgenic corn expressing two or more insecticidal proteins (‘pyramid’) derived from Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner (Bt) is a common management strategy employed in areas of continuous corn production. The newest rootworm-Bt pyramid registered in the U.S. is SmartStax^® PRO, which contains two rootworm-Bt proteins (Cry3Bb1, Cry34/35Ab1) and DvSnf7 dsRNA. With the pending commercialization of SmartStax^® PRO, understanding the current susceptibility of Nebraska WCR populations to the Cry3Bb1 + Cry34/35Ab1 pyramid (SmartStax^®) and characterizing ...

Investigating The Role Of Spiders In Integrated Pest Management For Biological Control Of Nebraska Crop Pests, Samantha Daniel

Dissertations and Student Research in Entomology

As generalist predators, spiders are capable of fulfilling a wide variety of ecological niches allowing them to intercept and prey upon an array of insect species. This characteristic could be particularly advantageous within agricultural ecosystems. This project sought to reveal the composition and abundance of spider communities within cornfields in western Nebraska and the impact of agronomic practices on those communities as well as determine the potential for spider predation upon two key pests of corn. Spiders were collected from eight corn fields from May to August 2017 and four corn fields from May to August 2018. Additionally, the populations ...

Effect Of A Near-Zero Magnetic Field On Development And Flight Of Oriental Armyworm (Mythimna Separata), Meng-Meng Yan, Lei Zhang, Yun-Xia Cheng, Thomas W. Sappington, Wei-Dong Pan, Xing-Fu Jiang

Entomology Publications

The geomagnetic field affects all living organisms on the Earth. In this study we investigated the developmental and behavioral effects of rearing Mythimna separata in a near-zero magnetic field (<500 nT) compared to the local geomagnetic field (approximately 50 µT). The near-zero magnetic field produced by a Helmholtz coil system significantly lengthened larval and pupal development durations, increased male longevity, and reduced pupal weight, female reproduction, and the relative expression level of the vitellogenin (Vg) gene in newly emerged females. Moreover, the near-zero magnetic field had a considerable negative effect on the mating ratio of M. separata adults. In addition, the moths in the near-zero magnetic field displayed less flight activity late in the night than those in the Earth's normal geomagnetic field, indicating that the flight rhythm of M. separata may be affected by the near-zero magnetic field. Reduction in magnetic field intensity may have negative effects on the development and flight of oriental armyworm, with consequent additional effects on its migration.

Perspectives On Insecticide Resistance Management: Past, Present, And Future, Jacob Nikodym

Doctoral Documents from Doctor of Plant Health Program

The use of chemical products to control arthropod pests has occurred for thousands of years, beginning with the use of inorganic products in ancient cultures, and progressing to the development of synthetic insecticides beginning in the early 20^th century. As these chemicals have imposed selection pressure on insects, the insects have adapted to this pressure, leading to the development of insecticide resistance. Since it was first reported in 1914, insecticide resistance has grown to be a major concern facing agricultural production, as each insecticide chemistry introduced is impacted by the evolution of resistance.

In the latter half of the ...

Nebline, May 2021

The NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from UNL Extension in Lancaster County

Building Health Equity in Lincoln: Extension Launches Health Equity Coalition

Recipe of the Month

Intensive Gardening Techniques

Garden Guide Things to Do This Month

Naturally Occurring Elements in Groundwater--Part 3 of a Series — Fluoride

Cash Rent Survey

Preparing for the Inevitable: Japanese Beetles

Challenge Accepted! Children Thrive Outside

Heart of 4-H Volunteer Award: Rusty & Heidi Hanley

4-H Announcements for 4-H'ers and Volunteers

Clover College: June 15–18, 2021

EXTENSION CALENDAR

4-H’ers Qualify for State Speech & PSA Contest

4-H Horse Stampede Results

Analysis Of Conifer Terpenes And Their Effect On The Feeding Habits Of Browntail Moth (Euproctis Chrysorrhoea) Larvae, Hunter Merchant

Honors College

The browntail moth (BTM; Euproctis chrysorrhoea)is a non-native, invasive species that has recently become a serious human health and environmental concern in Maine. BTM caterpillars possess microscopic toxic hairs that cause a poison-ivy-like rash on the skin and have been known to cause respiratory discomfort when inhaled. This invasive species is an herbivorous insect that causes harm to its host tree through defoliation during its larval life stage. BTM larvae weave overwintering webs on branch tips, generally at the tops of hardwood trees. Due to their toxic hairs and where they establish their overwintering webs, the species population is ...

Design, Simulation And Testing Of Biomimetic Directional Acoustic Sensors, Brendan Francis

Thinking Matters Symposium

The Ormia ochracea, a species of parasitic fly, has become the focal point in sound localization research because of its finely tuned hearing abilities. The female of this species uses its super highly directional hearing to pinpoint the call of a host cricket, with hypersensitivity of frequency and phase difference, to reach and dispose of its eggs on the host. The goal of this study was to further the research of a previous Project in Professor Guvench’s group which implemented MEMS (Micro Electro-Mechanical System) technology on a chip to replicate these abilities. In this iteration, however, some commercially available ...

Mems Directional Acoustic Sensors, Colby Damren

Thinking Matters Symposium

The purpose of my project is to test and verify two Micro-Electro-Mechanical-System (MEMS) microphones. The two MEMS devices are biomimetic microphones that imitate the eardrums of the Ormia Ochracea, a parasitic fly that listens for host crickets to lay their eggs. The MEMS microphones mimic the eardrum spacing of the Ormia Ochracea with a spacing of 1000um. This is roughly twice the opening of the Ormia Ochracea. The microphones will be tested for directionality inside a wooden box. This box will be lined with beveled foam to prevent any echo or outside noise from interfering with the results. These results ...

First Record Of Phaenops Obtusa (Horn) (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) In Massachusetts, Lawrence Barringer

Insecta Mundi

Phaenops obtusa (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) is reported from Massachusetts for the first time. Eco­logical and trapping information is also provided.

The genus Phaenops Dejean, 1833 (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), sometimes treated as a subgenus of Melanophila Eschscholtz (e.g. Bright 1987), contains 15 species in North America, five which occur in the northeast (Nelson et al. 2008; Paiero et al. 2012). Phaenops obtusa (Horn) is primarily distributed in southeastern United States from Louisiana to Florida and South Carolina, with a disjunct occurrence reported from New York (Nelson et al. 2008). Presented here is the first record of P. obtusa from Massachusetts, extending ...