Entomology Commons^™

The Effects Of Age And Lifetime Flight Behavior On Flight Capacity In Drosophila Melanogaster, Steven J. Lane, W. Anthony Frankino, Michelle M. Elekonich, Stephen P. Roberts

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

The Effects of Flight Behavior on Physiology and Senescence May Be Profound in Insects Because of the Extremely High Metabolic Costs of Flight. Flight Capacity in Insects Decreases with Age; in Contrast, Limiting Flight Behavior Extends Lifespan and Slows the Age-Related Loss of Antioxidant Capacity and Accumulation of Oxidative Damage in Flight Muscles. in This Study, We Tested the Effects of Age and Lifetime Flight Behavior on Flight Capacity by Measuring Wingbeat Frequency, the Ability to Fly in a Hypo-Dense Gas Mixture, and Metabolic Rate in Drosophila Melanogaster. Specifically, 5-Day-Old Adult Flies Were Separated into Three Life-Long Treatments: (1) Those …

Nebline, May 2014

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: The Cost of Invasive Species

Food & Health

Family Living

Farm & Acreage

Home & Family Living

Horticulture

Pests & Wildlife

4-H & Youth

Extension Calendar

and other extension news and events

Influence Of Wildfire Disturbance And Post-Fire Seeding On Vegetation And Insects In Sagebrush Habitats, Ashley T. Rohde

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Disturbance events alter community composition and structure because of differences in resistance and resilience of individual taxa, changes in habitat resulting in colonization by new taxa and alteration of biotic interaction patterns. Recent changes in disturbance types, frequencies and intensities caused by anthropogenic activities may further alter community composition and structure if these disturbances exceed the tolerances or adaptations of some taxa. In sagebrush steppe habitats of the western United States, wildfire is the current dominant disturbance type, burning millions of hectares annually. Further, up to 90% of sagebrush-steppe ecosystems are affected by anthropogenic influences such as invasive species. Post-fire …

A Male Spider’S Ornamentation Polymorphism Maintained By Opposing Selection With Two Niches, Bo Deng, Alex Estes, Brett Grieb, Douglas Richard, Brittney Hinds, Eileen Hebets

Eileen Hebets Publications

The Levene mechanism to maintain genotypic polymorphism by opposing selection on genotypes in multiple niches was proposed 60 years ago, and yet no systems were found to satisfy the mechanisms rather restrictive conditions. Reported here is such an example that a wolf spider population lives in a habitat of mixed rocks and leafy litter for which the females are phenotypically indistinguishable and the males have two distinct phenotypes subject to opposing selection with respect to the substrates. Census data is best-fitted to a population genetics model of the Levene type. A majority of the best fit support polymorphism, with many …

Diversity And Ecology Of Host-Seeking Mosquitoes In Irrigated Agro-Ecosystems Of Clay County, Nebraska, Alister K. Bryson

Department of Entomology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In the United States, Nebraska has the third highest incidence of human West Nile virus (WNV). Since WNV was first detected in the state in 2002, 3,422 confirmed cases and 57 deaths have been reported. Irrigated agro-ecosystems, which have been associated with elevated WNV incidences in other states, are prevalent in Nebraska. The objectives of this investigation were to 1) characterize mosquito abundance and diversity in irrigated agro-ecosystems, and 2) evaluate associations of two primary vectors of WNV, Culex tarsalis and Culex pipiens, with irrigation methods (sprinkler vs. surface) and crop type (corn vs. soybean). Investigations were conducted …

Mechanisms Of Differential Toxicity Between Honey Bee (Apis Mellifera L.) Castes With An Emphasis On Coumaphos, Lizette Dahlgren

Department of Entomology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Acaricides are used to treat honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) colonies to control the parasitic Varroa mite (Varroa destructor Anderson & Trueman), a worldwide threat to honey bee health. As such, these compounds act as drugs to mitigate bee losses but may also stress the bees. This dissertation quantifies differences between queen and worker tolerance of five acaricides and clarifies the honey bee mechanism of tolerance for coumaphos. Selected acaricides were topically applied to adult queen and worker bees to generate dose-response curves and LD₅₀s. Twenty-four hours after treatment, queens were 3-times more tolerant of tau-fluvalinate …

Development Modeling Of Lucilia Sericata And Phormia Regina (Diptera: Calliphoridae), Amanda L. Roe

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The relationship between insect development and temperature has been well established and has a wide range of uses, including using blow flies for postmortem (PMI) interval estimations in death investigations. To use insects in estimating PMI, we must be able to determine the insect age at the time of discovery and backtrack to time of oviposition. Unfortunately, existing development models of forensically important insects are only linear approximations and do not take into account the curvilinear properties experienced at extreme temperatures. A series of experiments were conducted with two species of forensically important blow flies (Lucilia sericata and Phormia …

Pelargonium (Geraniaceae) And The Long-Tongued Fly Pollination Guild: Coevolution And Polymorphism In A Specialized Pollination System, Emily M. Blank

Honors Scholar Theses

In South Africa, a group of long-tongued flies and the flowering plants they pollinate form a unique and diverse pollination guild system almost entirely endemic to the Greater Cape Floristic Region. This system makes up only a small portion of the biodiversity of the Region, but it is likely a key to understanding the evolutionary processes that have lead to the observed biodiversity. Aside from its unusual pollinators, this guild system is of particular interest due to the extremely labile morphology of both the fly species and the associated flowering plant species, which geographically vary significantly in proboscis lengths and …

Tactical Adjustment Of Signaling Leads To Increased Mating Success And Survival, Laura Sullivan-Beckers, Eileen A. Hebets

Eileen Hebets Publications

Most sexually reproducing animals overcome the challenge of searching for and attracting mates by utilizing signals that are broadcast through a spatially and temporally varying environment. A diverse suite of behavioral solutions exist for overcoming such environmental variability, including the adjustment of signaling behavior based upon receiver feedback. Few studies have directly examined the relationship between such tactical signaling adjustments and proxies of male fitness; the few that have, failed to find a relationship. Using the wolf spider, Schizocosa rovneri, we set out to first quantify among-male variation in the form and degree of responsiveness to female feedback. Following …

Investigations Into Sensory Ecology And Gene Evolution Of The Pea Aphid (Acyrthosiphon Pisum), Swapna R. Purandare

School of Biological Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Organisms use environmental cues to gather information required to perform activities that are essential for their survival and reproduction, such as searching for food, avoiding danger, and finding mates. They respond to the acquired information by changing their behavior or physiology, which may result in increased fitness. Due to the fundamental importance of information in an organism’s life, it is important to understand its acquisition, processing, and the organism’s response to it. In the work presented here, we used the pea aphid (Acyrthosiphon pisum), an insect that produces multiple phenotypes, or morphs, that are genetically identical, but differ …

Impact And Management Of Megacopta Cribraria (Hemiptera: Plataspidae), Nicholas Seiter

All Dissertations

Megacopta cribraria (F.) (Hemiptera: Plataspidae), known informally as the kudzu bug or bean plataspid, was found in Georgia in 2009 and has since spread rapidly throughout the southeastern United States. A known feeder on soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merrill, in its native Asian range, M. cribraria has been commonly encountered in soybean fields in the southeastern United States since its first detection in the crop in Georgia and South Carolina during 2010. In addition, its overwintering behavior sometimes results in nuisance infestations in homes. The primary objectives of this research were to determine the potential impacts of M. cribraria on …

Adaptive Strategies For Foraging And Their Implications For Flower Constancy, Or: Do Honey Bees Multitask?, Ashley E. Wagner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Classical experiments on honey bee time-memory showed that foragers trained to collect food at a fixed time of day return the following day with remarkable time-accuracy. Previous field experiments revealed that not all foragers return to a food source on unrewarded test days. Rather, there exist 2 subgroups: “persistent” foragers reconnoiter the source; “reticent” foragers wait in the hive for confirmation of source availability. To examine how these foragers contribute to a colony’s ability to reallocate foragers across sources with rapidly changing availabilities, foragers were trained to collect sucrose during a restricted window for several days and observed over 3 …

Understanding How Honey Bee Flight And Senescence Are Connected Through Oxidative Stress., Joseph Margotta

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The goal of this dissertation was to exploit the tractability of the honey bee (Apis mellifera) to understand how the physiological and cellular mechanisms that determine the onset and duration of senescence are shaped by behavioral development and behavioral intensity. These data reveal how behavior can damage cells and consequently limit lifespan. The honey bee represents the ideal model to address these factors because age, behavior, functional senescence, and lifespan are easily manipulated independently of each other while in its natural environment. I determined if there was a cause-effect relationship between honey bee flight and oxidative stress by comparing damage …

Efficacy Of Rice Insecticide Seed Treatments At Selected Nitrogen Rates For Control Of The Rice Water Weevil, Lissorhoptrus Oryzophilus Kuschel, Mallory Elise Everett

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Seed-applied insecticides are the standard control method used to prevent rice water weevil (Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus Kuschel) injury to rice (Oryza sativa L.) roots, and often results in greater yields than rice that receives no seed-applied insecticide. Yield increases from seed-applied insecticides often occur even when insect pressure is low and should not cause yield loss. The research objective was to evaluate the effect of urea-nitrogen rate and seed-applied insecticide on number of rice water weevil larvae, nitrogen uptake and rice grain yield. Six trials were conducted at the Pine Tree Research Station (PTRS) and the Rice Research Extension Center (RREC) …

Impact Of Early Infestation Of Two-Spotted Spider Mites (Tetranychus Urticae) On Cotton Growth And Yield, Luis Orellana Jimenez

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Two-spotted spider mites (Tetranychus urticae Koch, 1836) are pests of vegetables, ornamentals, and row crops around the world. Two-spotted spider mites have become an important long-season pests of cotton, causing injury to cotton from an early vegetative stage. In the past eight years, Arkansas cotton acreage treated for spider mites has more than doubled and most of the increase has been attributed to early season infestations. Yield losses of up to 30% have been observed in other studies where spider mite infestation started at third true leaf. Because of the apparent change in this pest's population dynamics, particularly at …

Overview Of The Integrated Pest Management (Ipm) Terrain And Activities In Furtherance Of The Walmart Initiative To Purchase Fresh Vegetables From Local Growers In Alabama, Franklin Quarcoo, Conrad Bonsi

Professional Agricultural Workers Journal

Tuskegee University has been providing various types of technical expertise to limited resource farmers who have been supplying Walmart with collard greens, watermelons and purple hull peas. A number of pests bedevil the cultivation of these crops; cost-effective management methods for these pests are needed. The objectives of this paper are to document the IPM activities associated with supplying produce to Walmart; summarize pest problems encountered on the afore-stated crops; recommend IPM methods suitable for limited resource farmers; and suggest other activities that ensure that farmers incur even less pest-related crop losses. Anthracnose was the major pest encountered on watermelons. …

A Review Of New World Laemophloeus Dejean (Coleoptera: Laemophloeidae): 2. Neotropical Species With Antennal Club Of Three Antennomeres, Michael C. Thomas

Insecta Mundi

Eleven Neotropical species of Laemophloeus Dejean with antennal clubs composed of three antennomeres are reviewed, diagnosed, and illustrated. Six of the species are described as new: L. capitesculptus Thomas, n. sp., L. corporeflavus Thomas, n. sp., L. dozieri Thomas, n. sp., L. insulatestudinorum Thomas, n. sp., L. planaclavatus Thomas, n. sp., and L. taurus Thomas, n. sp. Four new synonymies are proposed: L. catharinensis Kessel (=L. incisus Sharp), new synonym; L. similans Kessel (=L. incisus Sharp), new synonym; L. distinguendus Sharp (=L. megacephalus Grouvelle), new synonym, and L. chevrolati …

Evaluation Of The Distribution And Impacts Of Parasites, Pathogens, And Pesticides On Honey Bee (Apis Mellifera) Populations In East Africa, Elliud Muli, Harland Patch, Maryann Frazier, James Frazier, Baldwyn Torto, Tracey Baumgarten, Joseph Kilonzo, James Ng Ang A. Kimani, Fiona Mumoki, Daniel Masiga, James Tumlinson, Christina Grozinger

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

In East Africa, honey bees (Apis mellifera) provide critical pollination services and income for small-holder farmers and rural families. While honey bee populations in North America and Europe are in decline, little is known about the status of honey bee populations in Africa. We initiated a nationwide survey encompassing 24 locations across Kenya in 2010 to evaluate the numbers and sizes of honey bee colonies, assess the presence of parasites (Varroa mites and Nosema microsporidia) and viruses, identify and quantify pesticide contaminants in hives, and assay for levels of hygienic behavior. Varroa mites were present throughout Kenya, except in the …

Effects Of Landscape Complexity And Habitat Management On Stemborer Colonization, Parasitism And Damage To Maize, Charles A.O. Midega, Mattias Jonsson, Zeyaur R. Khan, Barbara Ekbom

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Lepidopteran stemborers are a serious constraint to efficient production of maize in sub-Saharan Africa. One of the most effective ways of managing these pests is through a habitat management system called push-pull. Landscape complexity has been shown to enhance biological control of insect pests, and therefore may influence effectiveness of habitat management systems designed to control pests. We studied the relative importance of the push-pull cropping system as a local effect and proportional cover of grassland as a landscape effect on (i) stemborer population density and damage to maize, and (ii) parasitism and mortality of stemborer life stages in western …

A Morphological And Genetic Analysis Of Forensically Important Blow Flies, From Georgia: The Genus Lucilia, Katie S. Googe

Honors College Theses

Identification of Blow flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) to species is important for estimating postmortem intervals, because insect species develop at different rates. Three Blow fly species in Georgia; Lucilia coeruleiviridis, L. cuprina, and L. sericata are similar morphologically, making identification difficult. Furthermore, the status of L. cuprina is in doubt; this species may be a complex of true L. cuprina, and L. cuprina x L. sericata hybrids. The objective of this study was to survey the Georgia Blow fly community and validate the statuses of L. coeruleiviridis, L. cuprina, and L. sericata, through morphological and …

Transcriptional Activation Of Antioxidants May Compensate For Selenoprotein Deficiences In Amblyomma Maculatum (Acari: Ixodidae) Injected With Selk- Or Selm- Dsrna, S. Adamson, R. Browning, P. Singh, S. Nobles, A. Villareal, Shahid Karim

Faculty Publications

The Gulf‐Coast tick, Amblyomma maculatum, possesses an elaborate set of selenoproteins, which prevent the deleterious effects from oxidative stress that would otherwise occur during feeding. In the current work, we examined the role of selenoprotein K (SelK) and selenoprotein M (SelM) in feeding A. maculatum by bioinformatics, transcriptional gene expression, RNA interference and antioxidant assays. The transcriptional expression of SelK did not vary significantly in salivary glands or midguts throughout the bloodmeal. However, there was a 58‐fold increase in transcript levels of SelM in tick midguts. Ticks injected with selK‐dsRNA or selM‐dsRNA did not reveal any observable …

Influencias Antropogénicas En El Mantenimiento De Los Senderos En El Género De Hormigas Corta Hojas Atta, Glen Zinck

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Leaf-cutter ants have been shown to rigorously maintain their trunk trails throughout the year and regardless of if they have traffic. The behaviors of this clearing mechanism of the ants has been well-documented with different natural obstacles such as leaves and twigs, yet the comparative energy and time used by the ants with anthropogenic obstacles still remains unknown. In order to determine the differences in time and energy for moving these obstacles, both natural and artificial obstacles were tested in tandem during these trials. I used different sizes of blockers to see if the surface area and weight factored into …

Nebline, April 2014

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: Backyard Farmer -- Six Decades of Growing Gardeners and Protecting the Environment

Food & Health

Family Living

Farm & Acreage

Home & Family Living

Horticulture

Pests & Wildlife

4-H & Youth

Extension Calendar

and other extension news and events

Special Pullout Section: Weed Awareness

Hexapod Herald - Vol. 26, No. 2, April 2014

Hexapod Herald and Other Entomology Department Newsletters

Contents: Welcome - Congratulations - Grants - Publications - Faculty News - Meet an Off-Campus Student - Student News - Bruner Club News - Meeting/Workshop News - Buzzing along - Calendar of Events

Towards The Development Of Ash Varieties Resistant To Emerald Ash Borer, Lindsay Ann Kolich

Open Access Theses

The emerald ash borer (EAB; Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire) (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) is a destructive invasive beetle from Asia which has killed millions of ash trees (Fraxinus spp.) throughout North America. This phloem-feeding borer is capable of killing otherwise healthy trees and colonizes trees as small as saplings - most affected trees die within four years of colonization. Asian ash species (i.e., Manchurian and Chinese) appear to be more resistant to EAB than those native to North America (e.g., green, white, and black ash). In this project we use reciprocal and conspecific grafts of these five ash species to determine the …

A Novel Three Degree-Of-Freedoms Oscillation System Of Insect Flapping Wings, Yi Qin

Open Access Theses

We propose an oscillation system to replicate the dynamic behavior of flapping wings, inspired by insect flight muscles. In particular, we study the flight of the fruit fly Drosophila virilis . We model the wing as a rigid body with three degree-of-freedom, described by three Euler angles: the stroke angle, the rotation angle and the deviation angle. Insect flight muscles are separated into two types: power muscles and control muscles. One actuator and one torsional spring at the stroke angle act as the power muscles. Two torsional springs at the rotation angle and the deviation angle mimic the control muscles. …

Costs Of Female Mating Behavior In The Variable Field Cricket, Gryllus Lineaticeps, Cassandra M. Martin

School of Biological Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Female animals may risk predation by associating with males that have conspicuous mate attraction traits. The mate attraction song of male field crickets also attracts lethal parasitoid flies. Female crickets, which do not sing, may risk parasitism when associating with singing males. If parasitism risk is sufficiently high, it may affect the evolution of female mating behaviors. In this dissertation, I explore the interaction between the female variable field cricket, Gryllus lineaticeps, and the parasitoid fly, Ormia ochracea. To begin, I investigated whether female parasitism risk resulted from being near singing males. I found that females can become …

Using Insects To Teach Stats: Creating Flipped Classroom Materials That Support Student Learning Of The Statistical Analysis Skills Requisite Within The International Baccalaureate Higher Level Biology Course Syllabus, John C. Gasparini

Department of Entomology: Distance Master of Science Projects

I work as a science teacher at a school in Germany. While I have enjoyed taking all of my classes within the UNL Masters in Entomology Program, I am not, and will not be a practicing entomologist in my career. That is why I would like my thesis project to focus on using the lessons that I have learned in completing this distance education program to improve my teaching.

I feel as if I learned a great deal about insects in this program, but in addition I also learned quite a bit about what works and what does not work …

Human African Trypanosomiasis Research Gets A Boost: Unraveling The Tsetse Genome, Serap Aksoy, Geoffrey Attardo, Matt Berriman, Alan Christoffels, Mike Lehane, Dan Masiga, Yeya Toure

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), also known as sleeping sickness, is a neglected disease that impacts 70 million people distributed over 1.55 million km2 in sub-Saharan Africa [1]. Trypanosoma brucei gambiense accounts for almost 90% of the infections in central and western Africa, the remaining infections being from T. b. rhodesiense in eastern Africa [1]. Furthermore, the animal diseases caused by related parasites inflict major economic losses to countries already strained [2]. The parasites are transmitted to the mammalian hosts through the bite of an infected tsetse fly.

Influence Of Temperature On The Tensile Strength Of Spider Silk (Araneus Gemmoides), Victoria Lekson

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

Temperature ranges between day and night in southern California can be as great as 30°C and may influence vital functioning of ectothermic organisms. Arachnids produce silks from a pair of spinnerets in their abdomen and rely on variance in protein composition to make different types of silks. Temperature may influence tensile strength of filaments. We tested the effects of temperature on tensile strength of dragline silk of five specimens of Araneus gemmoides (orb-weaver) which were collected from Malibu Creek State Park in the Santa Monica Mountains of southern California, under five temperature conditions. Each specimen was placed in a 0.0283 …