Entomology Commons^™

A New Species Of Dinonigidius De Lisle From Sri Lanka (Coleoptera: Lucanidae), M. J. Paulsen

Insecta Mundi

Dinonigidius bartolozzii Paulsen, new species, (Coleoptera: Lucanidae) is described from Sri Lanka, and compared with the only other species of the genus, D. ahenobarbus de Lisle from India.

Nocturnal Foraging Enhanced By Enlarged Secondary Eyes In A Net-Casting Spider, Jay A. Stafstrom, Eileen A. Hebets

Eileen Hebets Publications

Animals that possess extreme sensory structures are predicted to have a related extreme behavioral function. This study focuses on one such extreme sensory structure—the posterior median eyes of the net-casting spider Deinopis spinosa. Although past research has implicated the importance of vision in the nocturnal foraging habits of Deinopis, no direct link between vision in the enlarged eyes and nocturnal foraging has yet been made. To directly test the hypothesis that the enlarged posterior median eyes facilitate visually based nocturnal prey capture, we conducted repeated-measures, visual occlusion trials in both natural and laboratory settings. Our results indicate that D. …

Hexapod Herald - Vol. 28, No. 2, May 2016

Hexapod Herald and Other Entomology Department Newsletters

Contents: Welcome - Congratulations - Publications - Faculty News - Grants - Student News - Travel

Nebline, May 2016

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: Emerald Ash Borer is Getting Closer

Food & Health

Family Living

Farm & Acreage

Horticulture

Pests & Wildlife

4-H & Youth

Extension Calendar

and other extension news and events

Managing Drought Stress In California Agricultural Systems, Gregory D. Brittain Jr.

Doctor of Plant Health Program: Dissertations and Student Research

California is currently facing a historic drought, and this has led many farmers in the state to severely cut back on irrigation. Optimal use of water for irrigation requires a comprehensive understanding of how plants respond physiologically to water stress (Chapter 1). By monitoring water requirements in crops and managing irrigation to meet those requirements, growers can significantly reduce water use (Chapter 2). This can be done through improving application efficiency of irrigation technology as well as increasing the water use efficiency of the crops themselves. Deficit irrigation practices can be used to manipulate the physiology of water use in …

Ecological Risks Of The Conventional Insecticide/Fungicide Seed Treatment Mixture Of Thiamethoxam And Mefenoxam In Soybean On Beneficial Insects, Carolina Camargo

Department of Entomology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The impact of neonicotinoid seed treatments on beneficial insects has been a controversial topic during the last years. While neonicotinoids are usually used as mixtures with systemic fungicides, few studies have examined the impact of the mixtures on beneficial insects. Pesticide mixtures can have synergistic, additive, or antagonistic effects on the toxicity of neonicotinoids on non-target species.

Thiamethoxam with mefenoxam is the most used neonicotinoid insecticide/fungicide mixture applied to soybean. Based on the systemic nature of thiamethoxam and mefenoxam, residues of this insecticide/fungicide mixture can be present in soybean vegetative and floral tissue with potential impacts to beneficial insects. This …

Export Of Insect Ecosystem Services From Hayed Native Prairie, Wayne J. Ohnesorg

Department of Entomology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Natural areas, such as prairie, have the potential to provide the benefits of pest suppression and pollination for agricultural production. In Nebraska, prairie is often used for hay production. The impact of prairie hay production management practices on beneficial arthropods is not well understood. Four prairie hay meadows adjacent to row crop fields were selected in northeast Nebraska. The goal was to assess the impact of haying them on beneficial arthropods and the movement of natural enemies into adjacent crop fields. Three management practices were evaluated for hay harvested from prairie meadows one cut per growing season, two cuts per …

Arthropods Infesting Small Mammals (Insectivora And Rodentia) Near Cedar Point Biological Station In Southwestern Nebraska, Lindsey Howell, Katelyn Jelden, S. Elizabeth Rácz, Scott L. Gardner, Donald D. Gettinger

Insecta Mundi

Cedar Point Biological Station (CPBS) is located in the mixed grass prairie of the central Great Plains, at the transition between the subregions known as the “tall grass” and “short grass” prairies. Adding to the habitat diversity, there are wetlands and riparian habitats associated with the North Platte River and the edge of the Sandhills region of north central Nebraska. This concurrence of habitats supports a diverse small mammal community. The purpose of this paper is to assemble all published information on ectoparasites associated with small mammals (Insectivora, Rodentia) of southwestern Nebraska, and to report the results of an intensive …

Nebline, April 2016

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: Climate Impacts on Cropping Systems in Eastern Nebraska

Food & Health

Family Living

Farm & Acreage

Horticulture

Pests & Wildlife

4-H & Youth

Extension Calendar

and other extension news and events

Special Pullout Section: Weed Awareness

Dispersal And Sampling Of The Wheat Stem Sawfly, Cephus Cintus Norton, (Hymenoptera: Cephidae), Christopher Mccullough

Department of Entomology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The wheat stem sawfly, Cephus cinctus Norton (Hymenoptera: Cephidae), is a serious insect pest of wheat, Triticum aestivum L., in the northern central Great Plains. The sawfly has been a pest of wheat in Montana, North Dakota, and Canada since the early 20^th century. It was first detected in Nebraska winter wheat in the early 1990s, in Scotts Bluff County. The sawfly has since spread throughout the Nebraska Panhandle region and become a pest of serious concern. To gain a better understanding of the sawfly in Nebraska, investigations on the emergence, dispersal, and sampling of the sawfly were conducted. …

Cry1f Resistance Among Lepidopteran Pests: A Model For Improved Resistance Management?, Ana María Vélez, Neetha Nanoth Vellichirammal, Juan Luis Jurat-Fuentes, Blair Siegfried

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

The Cry1Fa protein from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is known for its potential to control lepidopteran pests, especially through transgenic expression in maize and cotton. The maize event TC1507 expressing the cry1Fa toxin gene became commercially available in the United States in 2003 for the management of key lepidopteran pests including the European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis, and the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda. A high-dose/refuge strategy has been widely adopted to delay evolution of resistance to event TC1507 and other transgenic Bt crops. Efficacy of this strategy depends on the crops expressing a high dose of the …

The Military And Infectious Disease: Rickettsial Disease, Isa Hakima

Department of Entomology: Distance Master of Science Projects

Since the founding of the United States Army on the fourteenth day of June in the year 1775, the United States Military has had millions of noncombat-related casualties due to preventable illnesses and diseases transmitted through an arthropod vector. U.S. Military operations have been affected from the effects of the smallpox and malaria outbreaks as early as the Continental Army around 1775, as well as the Civil War period in the mid-1860s. In 1898, the U.S. Military was devastated with outbreaks of typhoid fever, yellow fever, and dengue fever during the months of the Spanish-American War (Artenstein et al., 2005). …

Hexapod Herald - Vol. 28, No. 1, March 2016

Hexapod Herald and Other Entomology Department Newsletters

Content: Welcome - Congratulations - Publications - Strategic Pest Control Theme Runs Strong at UPM Conference - Grants - Faculty News - Meet an Off-Campus Student - Travel - Student News - Students Swarm to UNL Entomologist for Class Project - Bruner Club's International Dinner

Nebline, March 2016

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: It’s Easier Than Ever to Connect with Extension — Mobile Device and Social Media are Changing the Way People Learn

Food & Health

Family Living

Farm & Acreage

Horticulture

Pests & Wildlife

4-H & Youth

Extension Calendar

and other extension news and events

Nebline, February 2016

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: Tips to Keep Your Heart Healthy — February is Heart Health Month

Food & Health

Family Living

Farm & Acreage

Horticulture

Pests & Wildlife

4-H & Youth

Extension Calendar

and other extension news and events

Insect Bronzes Of George Foster, Stéphane Le Tirant, Brett C. Ratcliffe

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

The artist’s fabulous bronze insect sculptures, including magnificent scarabs, have been exhibited at the Montréal Insectarium, the Canadian Museum of Nature, the Museum of the University of Nebraska, and many art galleries. Others are in permanent exhibition at the Insectarium of Hong Kong and elsewhere in Asia. George Foster appeared in the episode “Living Art” of the Insectia TV series in 1999. Some sculptures are part of the personal collection of Stéphane Le Tirant, Brett C. Ratcliffe, and the late Henry F. Howden and Roger-Paul Dechambre. We want to acquaint the readers of Scarabs about this artist.

Effect Of Cry1f Maize On The Behavior Of Susceptible And Resistant Spodoptera Frugiperda And Ostrinia Nubilalis, Ana María Vélez, Analiza P. Alves, Erin E. Blankenship, Blair Siegfried

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Understanding the behavior of pests targeted with Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner (Bt) crops is important to define resistance management strategies. Particularly the study of larval movement between plants is important to determine the feasibility of refuge configurations. Exposure to Bt maize, Zea mays L. (Poaceae), has been suggested to increase larval movement in lepidopteran species but few studies have examined the potential for resistance to interact with behavioral responses to Bt toxins. Choice and no-choice experiments were conducted with Spodoptera frugiperda (JE Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) and Ostrinia nubilalis (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) to determine whether Cry1F resistance influences neonate movement. Leaf discs …

Benefits Of Size Dimorphism And Copulatory Silk Wrapping In The Sexually Cannibalistic Nursery Web Spider, Pisaurina Mira, Alissa G. Anderson, Eileen Hebets

Eileen Hebets Publications

In sexually cannibalistic animals, male fitness is influenced not only by successful mate acquisition and egg fertilization, but also by avoiding being eaten. In the cannibalistic nursery web spider, Pisaurina mira, the legs of mature males are longer in relation to their body size than those of females, and males use these legs to aid in wrapping a female’s legs with silk prior to and during copulation. We hypothesized that elongated male legs and silk wrapping provide benefits to males, in part through a reduced likelihood of sexual cannibalism. To test this, we paired females of random size with …

Evidence For The Fixation Of Gene Duplications By Positive Selection In Drosophila, Margarida Cardoso-Moreira, J. Roman Arguello, Srikanth Gottipati, Lawrence G. Harshman, Jennifer K. Grenier, Andrew G. Clark

Lawrence G. Harshman Publications

Gene duplications play a key role in the emergence of novel traits and in adaptation. But despite their centrality to evolutionary processes, it is still largely unknown how new gene duplicates are initially fixed within populations and later maintained in genomes. Long-standing debates on the evolution of gene duplications could be settled by determining the relative importance of genetic drift vs. positive selection in the fixation of new gene duplicates. Using the Drosophila Global Diversity Lines (GDL), we have combined genome-wide SNP polymorphism data with a novel set of copy number variant calls and gene expression profiles to characterize the …

Suscetibilidade De Adultos De Bemisia Tabaci Biótipo B A Inseticidas, Danilo A.S. Esashika, Miguel Michereff-Filho, Cristina S. Bastos, Alice K. Inoue-Nagata, Antônio M. Dias, Matheus G.P.M. Ribeiro

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

A associação de alguns vírus fitopatogênicos com seus vetores pode ou não alterar a ação do controle químico. Este trabalho objetivou avaliar a suscetibilidade de moscas-brancas virulíferas (com aquisição do begomovírus Tomato severe rugose virus, ToSRV) e avirulíferas (sem aquisição do ToSRV) aos principais inseticidas registrados para o seu controle na cultura do tomateiro. Foram realizados ensaios com plantas de tomateiro e discos foliares de feijão- -de-porco. Os tratamentos foram arranjados em esquema fatorial de 7 (seis inseticidas + controle) e de 5 (quatro inseticidas + controle) x 2 [mosca-branca (MB) virulífera (V) ou avirulífera (AV)] e dispostos no delineamento …

Use Of Chromatin Remodeling Atpases As Rnai Targets For Parental Control Of Western Corn Rootworm (Diabrotica Virgifera Virgifera) And Neotropical Brown Stink Bug (Euschistus Heros), Elane Fishilevich, Ana María Vélez, Chitvan Khajuria, Meghan L.F. Frey, Ronda L. Hamm, Haichuan Wang, Greg A. Schulenberg, Andrew J. Bowling, Heather E. Pence, Premchand Gandra, Kanika Arora, Nicholas P. Storer, Kenneth E. Narva, Blair D. Siegfried

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

RNA interference (RNAi) is a gene silencing mechanism that is present in animals and plants and is triggered by double stranded RNA (dsRNA) or small interfering RNA (siRNA), depending on the organism. In the western corn rootworm (WCR), Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), RNAi can be achieved by feeding rootworms dsRNA added to artificial diet or plant tissues transformed to express dsRNA. The effect of RNAi depends on the targeted gene function and can range from an absence of phenotypic response to readily apparent responses, including lethality. Furthermore, RNAi can directly affect individuals that consume dsRNA or the effect …

The Biology, Ecology, And Management Of The Migratory Grasshopper, Melanoplus Sanguinipes (Fab.), Dewey W. Murray

Department of Entomology: Distance Master of Science Projects

Grasshoppers have caused significant damage to crops of farmers and rangeland forage of ranchers throughout history. Populations of grasshoppers can build and explode with exponential growth under the right climatic factors and habitat. Melanoplus sanguinipes is the most economic species of grasshopper in the United States. The migratory flight capabilities are very similar to true locusts. This species has been known to travel distances of over 500 miles. Millions of dollars in damage occurs to crops and rangeland annually in the United States due to this species and other economic grasshopper species. The life history of this species and timing …

Insect Pest Introduction Into Florida: Surveillance And Detection Efforts By Government Agencies, Gangadai Azore

Department of Entomology: Distance Master of Science Projects

Today, Florida’s most important crops such as corn, peppers, and snow beans owe their existence to constant vigilance by the Florida Department of Agriculture (FDACS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and Customs & Border Protection Agricultural Specialists (CBP); all three agencies work together to keep many dangerous pests out of the state. Diligent inspectors working alongside the Customs officers, meet all arriving vessels that arrive by land, sea, or air. The officers inspect cargo and passengers’ baggage, the holds of vessels, cabins, crew’s quarters, and storerooms of vessels themselves to keep out potential insects hitch-hiking on commodities or on …

Investigation Into The Sex Pheromone Of The Adult Female Odd Beetle, Thylodrias Contractus Motschulsky, 1839, Patrick J. Kelley

Department of Entomology: Distance Master of Science Projects

Insects of many species depend on the chemical cues in sex pheromones to identify potential reproductive partners. Previous studies have shown that odd beetle, Thylodrias contractus utilize sex pheromones at the onset of reproductive physiology that leads to mating behavior. This is a study to make strides to identify the sex pheromone(s) for the odd beetle, T. contractus. In this study, efforts to isolate the sex pheromone of this pest insect began with observations of the mating behavior of this insect. This was followed by dissections of adult virgin females in an attempt to reveal which parts of the anatomy …

Defensible Space And Mitigating Mountain Pine Beetle (Dendroctonus Ponderosae Hopkins) Damage, Natalie L. Greynolds

Department of Entomology: Distance Master of Science Projects

Mountain pine beetles (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) are an endemic insect of western North American forests. The beetle’s range extends north to British Columbia in western Canada, south along the western United States and into northern Mexico. It has moved east into the states of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming. Live specimens of lodgepole (Pinus contorta var. latifolia), ponderosa (Pinus ponderosae), and white bark (Pinus albicaulis) Pines are preferred hosts. Climate conditions such as drought create outbreak conditions that last for only a few growing seasons or several years if these drought conditions continue. Mountain pine …

Pyrosequencing The Midgut Transcriptome Of The Banana Weevil Cosmopolites Sordidus (Germar) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) Reveals Multiple Protease-Like Transcripts, Arnubio Valencia, Haichuan Wang, Alberto Sotomayor, Manuel Aristizabal, Jorge W. Arboleda, Seong-Il Eyun, Daniel D. Noriega, Blair D. Siegfried

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

The banana weevil Cosmopolites sordidus is an important and serious insect pest in most banana and plantain-growing areas of the world. In spite of the economic importance of this insect pest very little genomic and transcriptomic information exists for this species. In the present study, we characterized the midgut transcriptome of C. sordidus using massive 454-pyrosequencing. We generated over 590,000 sequencing reads that assembled into 30,840 contigs with more than 400 bp, representing a significant expansion of existing sequences available for this insect pest. Among them, 16,427 contigs contained one or more GO terms. In addition, 15,263 contigs were assigned …

Environmental Parameters Associated With Stable Fly (Diptera: Muscidae) Development At Hay Feeding Sites, Kristina Friesen, Dennis R. Berkebile, Brian Wienhold, Lisa Durso, Jerry Zhu, David B. Taylor

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Substrates composed of hay residues, dung, and urine accumulate around winter hay feeding sites in cattle pastures, providing developmental habitats for stable flies. The objective of this study was to relate physiochemical and microbial properties of these substrates to the presence or absence of stable fly larvae. Properties included pH, temperature, moisture, ammonium concentration, electrical conductivity, and numbers of coliform, fecal coliform, Escherichia coli, and Enterococcus bacteria. Each physiochemical sample was classified as a function of belonging to one of the three 2-m concentric zones radiating from the feeder as well as presence or absence of larvae. In total, …

Rnai As A Management Tool For The Western Corn Rootworm, Diabrotica Virgifera Virgifera, Elane Fishilevich, Ana Maria Vélez, Nicholas P. Storer, Huarong Li, Andrew J. Bowling, Murugesan Rangasamy, Sarah E. Worden, Kenneth E. Narva, Blair D. Siegfried

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

The western corn rootworm (WCR), Diabrotica virgifera virgifera, is the most important pest of corn in the US Corn Belt. Economic estimates indicate that costs of control and yield loss associated with WCR damage exceed $US 1 billion annually. Historically, corn rootworm management has been extremely difficult because of its ability to evolve resistance to both chemical insecticides and cultural control practices. Since 2003, the only novel commercialized developments in rootworm management have been transgenic plants expressing Bt insecticidal proteins. Four transgenic insecticidal proteins are currently registered for rootworm management, and field resistance to proteins from the Cry3 family …

Reproductive Potential Of Spodoptera Eridania (Stoll) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) In The Laboratory: Effect Of Multiple Couples And The Size, Alexandre Specht, Débora Goulart Montezano, Daniel Ricardo Sosa-Gómez, Silvana L. Vieira De Paula Moraes, Vânia F. Roque-Specht, Neiva M. Barros

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of keeping three couples in the same cage, and the size of adults emerged from small, medium-sized and large pupae (278.67 mg; 333.20 mg and 381.58 mg, respectively), on the reproductive potential of Spodoptera eridania (Stoll, 1782) adults, under controlled conditions (25 ± 1 °C, 70% RH and 14 hour photophase). We evaluated the survival, number of copulations, fecundity and fertility of the adult females. The survival of females from these different pupal sizes did not differ statistically, but the survival of males from large pupae was statistically shorter than from small pupae. …

Fourteen New Species Of Sonoma Casey (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Pselaphinae) With A Key To Species From Western North America, Michael L. Ferro

Insecta Mundi

Fourteen new species of faronine pselaphines in the genus Sonoma Casey are described: S. agitator (California); S. cardiac (Oregon); S. carltoni (Oregon); S. cataloochee (North Carolina); S. caterinoi (California); S. chandleri (California); S. cobra (California); S. colberti (California); S. maryae (Oregon); S. quellazaire (Oregon); S. rossellinae (California); S. stewarti (California); S. twaini (California); and S. virgo (California, Oregon). Thirteen are from western North America and one from the eastern U.S. These species bring the total diversity of the genus to 57 species—40 from western North America and 17 from the eastern U.S. A key to, and updated distributions for, all …