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Hexapod Herald - Vol. 25, No. 1, February 2013

Hexapod Herald and Other Entomology Department Newsletters

Content: Welcome - Congratulations - Faculty News - Grants - Publications - Meeting an Off-Campus Student - Student News - Travel - This 'n that - Lawrence Bruner Entomology Club - Blasts from the past - Calendar of Events

Nebline, February 2013

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: Attracting Pollinators to Your Landscape

Farm Views

Urban Agriculture

Food & Fitness

Home & Family Living

Horticulture

Environmental Focus

4-H & Youth

Community Focus

Extension Calendar

Nutrition Education Program

Family and Community Education (FCE) Clubs

and other extension news and events

Effect Of Fluctuating Temperatures On The Development Of A Forensically Important Blow Fly, Protophormia Terraenovae (Diptera: Calliphoridae), Jodie-A. Warren, Gail S. Anderson

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Experiments were conducted to compare the immature development of Protophormia terraenovae (Robineau-Desvoidy) at fluctuating temperatures of 4-28 and 9-23°C to their mean constant temperature, 16°C. Overall development was fastest at the greater fluctuation and slowest at the constant temperature but showed similar percentages of development time in each stage. The rate summation effect is suspected to have caused this difference in development rate because fluctuations above the mean increase the rate relatively more than temperatures below the mean can lower the rate.

Diversity Of Stem Borer Parasitoids And Their Associated Wild Host Plants In South Africa And Mozambique, H. J. Moolman, J. Van Den Berg, D. Conlong, D. Cugala, S. J. Siebert, B. P. Le Ru

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

The diversity of lepidopterous stem borers, their parasitoids and their associated wild host plants was studied in South Africa between 2006 and 2009 and in Mozambique between 2005 and 2010. In South Africa, 20 species of parasitoids were recovered from 17 stem borer species collected on 16 wild host plant species. From Mozambique, 14 parasitoid species were recorded from 16 stem borer species collected on 14 wild host plant species. The highest diversity of parasitoids was recorded on stem borers that attacked the host plants Phragmites australis (7 spp.) and Panicum maximum (6 spp.), in South Africa and Mozambique, respectively. …

Two Sugar Isomers Influence Host Plant Acceptance By A Cereal Caterpillar Pest, G. Juma, M. Thiongo, L. Dutaur, K. Rharrabe, F. Marion-Poll, B. Le Ru, G. Magoma, J. F. Silvain, P. A. Calatayud

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Abstract Plant sugars are often considered as primary feeding stimuli, conditioning host plant acceptance by herbivorous insects. Of the nine sugars identified from methanolic extracts of seven grass species, only turanose, a sucrose isomer, was negatively correlated with the survival and growth of the noctuid larva of cereal stemborer, Busseola fusca. Sucrose was the most abundant sugar, although it did not vary significantly in concentration among the plant species studied. Using Styrofoam™ cylinders impregnated with increasing concentrations of turanose or sucrose, the two sugars had opposing effects: turanose appeared phagodeterrent while sucrose was phagostimulatory. Electrophysiological studies indicated that B. fusca …

Climate Change Or Urbanization? Impacts On A Traditional Coffee Production System In East Africa Over The Last 80 Years, Juliana Jaramillo, Mamoudou Setamou, Eric Muchugu, Adenirin Chabi-Olaye, Alvaro Jaramillo, Joseph Mukabana, Johnson Maina, Simon Gathara, Christian Borgemeister

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Global environmental changes (GEC) such as climate change (CC) and climate variability have serious impacts in the tropics, particularly in Africa. These are compounded by changes in land use/land cover, which in turn are driven mainly by economic and population growth, and urbanization. These factors create a feedback loop, which affects ecosystems and particularly ecosystem services, for example plant-insect interactions, and by consequence agricultural productivity. We studied effects of GEC at a local level, using a traditional coffee production area in greater Nairobi, Kenya. We chose coffee, the most valuable agricultural commodity worldwide, as it generates income for 100 million …

Reference Gene Selection For Qrt-Pcr Analysis In The Sweetpotato Whitefly, Bemisia Tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), Rumei Li, Wen Xie, Shaoli Wang, Qingjun Wu, Nina Yang, Xin Yang, Huipeng Pan, Xiaomao Zhou, Lianyang Bai, Baoyun Xu, Xuguo Zhou, Youjun Zhang

Entomology Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Accurate evaluation of gene expression requires normalization relative to the expression of reliable reference genes. Expression levels of "classical" reference genes can differ, however, across experimental conditions. Although quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) has been used extensively to decipher gene function in the sweetpotato whitefly Bemisia tabaci, a world-wide pest in many agricultural systems, the stability of its reference genes has rarely been validated.

RESULTS: In this study, 15 candidate reference genes from B. tabaci were evaluated using two Excel-based algorithms geNorm and Normfinder under a diverse set of biotic and abiotic conditions. At least two reference genes were …

Floral Associations Of Cyclocephaline Scarab Beetles, Matthew Robert Moore, Mary Liz Jameson

University of Nebraska State Museum: Entomology Papers

The scarab beetle tribe Cyclocephalini (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Dynastinae) is the second largest tribe of rhinoceros beetles, with nearly 500 described species. This diverse group is most closely associated with early diverging angiosperm groups (the family Nymphaeaceae, magnoliid clade, and monocots), where they feed, mate, and receive the benefit of thermal rewards from the host plant. Cyclocephaline floral association data have never been synthesized, and a comprehensive review of this ecological interaction was necessary to promote research by updating nomenclature, identifying inconsistencies in the data, and reporting previously unpublished data. Based on the most specific data, at least 97 cyclocephaline beetle …

Evaluating Karner Blue Butterfly (Lycaeides Melissa Samuelis Nabokov) Habitat Selection In The State Of Wisconsin, Usa, Anna Nahuel Hess

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

The federally endangered Karner blue butterfly (Lycaeides melissa samuelis Nabokov) persists in rare oak/pine grassland communities spanning across the Great Lakes region, relying on host plant wild blue lupine (Lupinus perennis). Conservation efforts since 1992 have led to the development of several programs that restore and monitor habitat. This study aims to evaluate Karner blue habitat selection in the state of Wisconsin and develop high-resolution tools for use in conservation efforts. Spatial predictive models developed during this study accurately predicted potential habitat across state properties based on soils and canopy cover, and identified ~51-100% of Karner blue occurrences based on …

Forest Development And Carbon Dynamics After Mountain Pine Beetle Outbreaks, E. Matthew Hansen

The Bark Beetles, Fuels, and Fire Bibliography

Mountain pine beetles periodically infest pine forests in western North America, killing many or most overstory pine stems. The surviving secondary stand structure, along with recruited seedlings, will form the future canopy. Thus, even-aged pine stands become multiaged and multistoried. The species composition of affected stands will depend on the presence of nonpines and outbreak severity, among other factors, and can range from continued dominance by pines to hastened conversion to more shade-tolerant species. The loss of mature host trees results in reductions of ecosystem carbon productivity. The surviving and recruited stems, however, grow more quickly in response to the …

Mobilization Of Lipids And Fortification Of Cell Wall And Cuticle Are Important In Host Defense Against Hessian Fly, Chitvan Khajuria, Haiyan Wang, Xuming Liu, Shanda Wheeler, John C. Reese, Mustapha El Bouhssini, R. Jeff Whitworth, Ming-Shun Chen

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Background: Wheat – Hessian fly interaction follows a typical gene-for-gene model. Hessian fly larvae die in wheat plants carrying an effective resistance gene, or thrive in susceptible plants that carry no effective resistance gene.

Results: Gene sets affected by Hessian fly attack in resistant plants were found to be very different from those in susceptible plants. Differential expression of gene sets was associated with differential accumulation of intermediates in defense pathways. Our results indicated that resources were rapidly mobilized in resistant plants for defense, including extensive membrane remodeling and release of lipids, sugar catabolism, and amino acid transport …

Examining The Causes Of Rarity For The Odonata Of Illinois, Miranda R. White, Paul V. Switzer

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) play an important role in habitat management and conservation, but our understanding of the causes of commonness versus rarity in this group is limited. In this study we examined the causes of rarity for the Odonata of Illinois. Using S-ratings for conservation status and published habitat classifications for Illinois odonates, we investigated whether habitat type (lotic versus lentic) or habitat specificity (whether they were limited to a specific type of aquatic habitat) was related to commonness. We found that lotic species and habitat specialists were more likely to be rare than lentic and generalist species. More …

Examining The Causes Of Rarity For The Odonata Of Illinois, Miranda White, Paul Switzer

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) play an important role in habitat management and conservation, but our understanding of the causes of commonness versus rarity in this group is limited. In this study we examined the causes of rarity for the Odonata of Illinois. Using S-ratings for conservation status and published habitat classifications for Illinois odonates, we investigated whether habitat type (lotic versus lentic) or habitat specificity (whether they were limited to a specific type of aquatic habitat) was related to commonness. We found that lotic species and habitat specialists were more likely to be rare than lentic and generalist species. More …

Nebline, January 2013

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: 4-H School Enrichment Programs Bring Hands-On Learning to Local Classrooms

Farm Views

Urban Agriculture

Food & Fitness

Home & Family Living

Horticulture

Environmental Focus

4-H & Youth

Community Focus

Extension Calendar

Nutrition Education Program

Family and Community Education (FCE) Clubs

and other extension news and events

2012 Annual Report Special Pullout Section

Social Aggregation In Pea Aphids: Experiment And Random Walk Modeling, Christa Nilsen, John Paige, Olivia Warner, Benjamin Mayhew, Ryan Sutley, Matthew Lam '15, Andrew J. Bernoff, Chad M. Topaz

All HMC Faculty Publications and Research

From bird flocks to fish schools and ungulate herds to insect swarms, social biological aggregations are found across the natural world. An ongoing challenge in the mathematical modeling of aggregations is to strengthen the connection between models and biological data by quantifying the rules that individuals follow. We model aggregation of the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum. Specifically, we conduct experiments to track the motion of aphids walking in a featureless circular arena in order to deduce individual-level rules. We observe that each aphid transitions stochastically between a moving and a stationary state. Moving aphids follow a correlated random walk. …

Contents, Discovery Editors

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

Discovery: The Student Journal Of Dale Bumpers College Of Agricultural, Food And Life Sciences - Volume 14 2013, Several Authors

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

Letter From The Dean, Michael Vayda

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

Instructions For Authors, Discovery Editors

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

Ixodid Ticks Associated With Feral Swine In Texas, David M. Sanders, Anthony L. Schuster, P. Wesley Mccardle, Otto F. Strey, Terry L. Blankenship, Pete D. Teel

United States Army: Publications

Ixodid ticks were collected from feral swine in eight Texas ecoregions from 2008-2011. Sixty-two percent of 806 feral swine were infested with one or more of the following species: Amblyomma americanum, A. cajennense, A. maculatum, Dermacentor albipictus, D. halli, D. variabilis, and Ixodes scapularis. Juvenile and adult feral swine of both sexes were found to serve as host to ixodid ticks. Longitudinal surveys of feral swine at four geographic locations show persistent year-round tick infestations of all gender-age classes for tick species common to their respective geographic locations and …

Progress Towards A Phylogeny Of World Tachinidae. Year 1, John O. Stireman Iii, James E. O'Hara, Michael C. Moulton, Pierfilippo Cerretti, Isaac S. Winkler

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

D eveloping a structural phylogenetic framework for the family Tachinidae has been an interest of mine since I first started working on tachinids as a graduate student. It was then that I developed a new phylogenetic perspective with which to view the world, and many of the questions I wanted to ask of tachinids depended on some level of phylogenetic knowledge of them. I was surprised at the time that no one had attempted a broad quantitative phylogenetic analysis of the family, and a publication from my thesis work on the Exoristinae (Stireman 2002) became the first such study that …

Metabolic Engineering Of Raffinose-Family Oligosaccharides In The Phloem Reveals Alterations In Carbon Partitioning And Enhances Resistance To Green Peach Aphid, Te Cao, Ipsita Lahiri, Vijay Singh, Joe Louis, Jyoti Shah, Brian G. Ayre

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Many plants employ energized loading strategies to accumulate osmotically-active solutes into the phloem of source organs to accentuate the hydrostatic pressure gradients that drive the flow of water, nutrients and signals from source to sinks. Proton-coupled symport of sugars from the apoplasm into the phloem symplasm is the best studied phloem-loading mechanism. As an alternative, numerous species use a polymer trapping mechanism to load through symplasm: sucrose enters the phloem through specialized plasmodesmata and is converted to raffinose-family oligosaccharides (RFOs) which accumulate because of their larger size. In this study, metabolic engineering was used to generate RFOs at the inception …

Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism Used To Investigate Genetic Variability Of The Stable Fly (Diptera: Muscidae) Across North America, K. M. Kneeland, S. R. Skoda, John E. Foster

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

The stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans (L.), is a cosmopolitan pest of livestock and humans. The pestiferous nature and painful bite cause stress to cattle and other animals. The stress and resulting avoidance behaviors manifest as reductions in weight gain or milk production in cattle; estimated annual economic loss in the United States exceeds US$2 billion. Understanding the population genetics of stable flies could provide information on their population dynamics, origins of outbreaks, and geographical patterns of insecticide resistance, resulting in a tactical advantage for developing management strategies. Previous studies, mostly on a local scale, reported a high level of gene …

Western Bean Cutworm Survival And The Development Of Economic Injury Levels And Economic Thresholds In Field Corn, Silvana L. Vieira De Paula Moraes, Thomas E. Hunt, Robert J. Wright, Gary L. Hein, Erin E. Blankenship

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Western bean cutworm, Striacosta albicosta (Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is a native pest of dry beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) and corn (Zea mays L.). Historically, the western bean cutworm was distributed in the western United States, but since 1999 eastward expansion has been observed. In corn, economic impact is caused by larval ear feeding. Information on western bean cutworm biology, ecology, and economic impact is relatively limited, and the development of economic injury levels (EILs) and economic thresholds (ETs) is required for more effective management. Studies during 2008-2011, across three ecoregions of Nebraska, sought to characterize western bean cutworm …

Estimating The Frequency Of Cry1f Resistance In Field Populations Of The European Corn Borer (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), Blair D. Siegfried, Murugesan Rangasamy, Haichuan Wang, Terence Spencer, Chirakkal V. Haridas, Brigitte Tenhumberg, Douglas V. Sumerford, Nicholas P. Storer

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Transgenic corn hybrids that express toxins from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) have suppressed European corn borer populations and reduced the pest status of this insect throughout much of the US corn belt. A major assumption of the high-dose/refuge strategy proposed for insect resistancemanagement and Bt corn is that the frequency of resistance alleles is low so that resistant pests surviving exposure to Bt corn will be rare.

RESULTS: The frequency of resistance to the Cry1F Bt toxin was estimated using twodifferent screening tools andcompared with annual susceptibility monitoring based on diagnostic bioassays and LC₅₀ and EC₅₀ determinations. An …

Odonata Species Of Special Concern For Oklahoma, Usa, Michael A. Patten, Brenda D. Smith-Patten

Entomology Papers from Other Sources

Assessment of conservation status is a necessary step before management plans can be formulated. Historically such assessments have a strong bias toward vertebrates, particularly endothermic terrestrial vertebrates (i.e. birds and mammals). Invertebrates, by contrast, tend to be ignored, and many insect groups, despite being species rich and reasonably well studied, such as the Odonata (damselflies and dragonflies), have not been assessed or have been assessed only at a broad geographic level (e.g. internationally or continentally). Assessment at a state level recognizes that states often are at the front of regional and local conservation and management planning and implementation. On the …

Elevational Distribution And Conservation Biogeography Of Phanaeine Dung Beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeinae) In Bolivia, Sebastian K. Herzog, A. Caroli Hamel-Leigue, Trond H. Larsen, Darren J. Mann, Rodrigo W. Soria- Auza, Bruce D. Gill, William D. Edmonds, Sacha Spector

Entomology Papers from Other Sources

Insect macroecology and conservation biogeography studies are disproportionately scarce, especially in the Neotropics. Dung beetles are an ideal focal taxon for biodiversity research and conservation. Using distribution and body size data on the ecologically important Phanaeini, the best-known Neotropical dung beetle tribe, we determined elevational patterns of species richness, endemism, body size, and elevational range in Bolivia, specifically testing Bergmann’s and Rapoport’s rule. Richness of all 39 species and of 15 ecoregional endemics showed a hump-shaped pattern peaking at 400 m, but overall declined strongly with elevation up to 4000 m. The relationship between endemic and total species richness appeared …

Millipeds (Arthropoda: Diplopoda) Of The Ark - La - Tex. Vi. New Geographic Distributional Records From Select Counties Of Arkansas, C. T. Mcallister, H. W. Robison, L. C. Thompson, M. B. Connior

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

We continue to report, in the sixth of a series of papers, new geographic records for millipeds of the state, including noteworthy records for some taxa collected from Crowley’s Ridge in eastern Arkansas. This contribution documents 47 new co. records and includes records for 19 species within 9 families and 5 orders. More uncommon millipeds found included Okliulus carpenteri (Parajulidae), Eurymerodesmus newtonus (Eurymerodesmidae), Pseudopolydesmus minor (Polydesmidae) and undescribed species of Ethojulus (Parajulidae) and Nannaria (Xystodesmidae). Undoubtedly, additional records will be reported in the future as several gaps in the distribution of Arkansas millipeds remain.

Scarab Beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) In The Dung Of Native Arkansas Mammals, J. B. Kelley, J. L. Hunt, M. B. Connior

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Dung beetles are important ecological components of natural ecosystems. One primary activity is the fragmentation and recycling of animal dung. Little is known about the ecological impact of beetles associated with the dung of mammals native to Arkansas. We surveyed the dung of native mammals within Arkansas to determine the species and distributional patterns associated with dung. We searched and collected beetles in situ from the dung or nests of native mammalian species within Arkansas. We also set simple pitfall traps using dung of various native Arkansas mammals as bait. Most of the beetles collected were common dung beetles. However, …

Observations Of The Behavior Of The Giant Prairie Robberfly, Microstylum Morosum Loew (Diptera: Asilidae) At Terre Noire Natural Area, Clark County, Arkansas, R. Tumlison, K. Benjamin

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.