Entomology Commons^™

Determining Heat Production Of Black Solderi Fly Larvae, Hermetia Illucens, To Design Rearing Structures At Livestock Facilities, Travis Mceachern

Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

Due to their small size and ectothermic biology, the heat production of insects and insect larvae is hard to quantify. However, knowing the amount of heat production, as well as ammonia production of insects may be beneficial for commercial production of valuable insect species. Black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) are of interest in the agricultural industry because they quickly consume organic waste and have high amounts of protein and fat in their bodies. It has been proposed that BSFL be used to manage livestock waste, while serving as a high-protein feed source for livestock animals. To efficiently rear BSFL, it …

Diet Composition Explains Reductions In Stream Salamander Occupancy And Abundance Along A Conductivity Gradient, Jacob Matthew Hutton

Theses and Dissertations--Forestry and Natural Resources

Changes in land use such as mountaintop removal mining with valley fills (MTR/VF) affect chemical, physical, and hydrological properties of headwater streams. Although numerous stream taxa have experienced significant declines from MTR/VF, stream salamanders appear to be particularly sensitive. Yet, the specific mechanism(s) responsible for the population declines has eluded researchers. We sampled salamander assemblages across a continuous specific conductivity (SC) gradient in southeastern Kentucky and estimated occupancy rates and abundance estimates along this gradient. We also examined the diet of larval and adult salamanders to determine if autochthony (A/T prey), total prey volume, and body condition is influenced by …

Identifying Mechanisms Of Host Plant Specialization In Aphis Craccivora And Its Bacterial Symbionts, Thorsten Hansen

Theses and Dissertations--Entomology

Many insects form close relationships with microbial symbionts. Insect symbionts can provide novel phenotypes to their hosts, including influencing dietary breadth. In the polyphagous cowpea aphid, Aphis craccivora, the facultative symbiont Arsenophonus improves aphid performance on one host plant (locust), but decreases performance on other plants. The goal of my thesis was to investigate the mechanism by which Arsenophonus facilitates use of locust. First, I assembled an Aphis craccivora-Arsenophonus-Buchnera reference transcriptome to conduct RNAseq analysis, comparing gene expression in aphids feeding on locust and fava, with and without Arsenophonus infection. Overall, few transcripts were differentially …

Impact Of Selected Integrated Pest Management Techniques On Arthropods In Cucurbit Production Systems, Amanda R. Skidmore

Theses and Dissertations--Entomology

Cucurbits (i.e. squash, melons, pumpkins, gourds) are high value crops of global importance. Insect pests in these systems are often controlled by chemical insecticides, which are not always effective and can be damaging to the environment. Many integrated pest management (IPM) techniques have been developed for the control of pests in these systems, with a goal of improving system stability and reducing chemical inputs. The overarching goal of my research was to investigate the impact of select IPM techniques on arthropod populations and yield in organic and conventional cucurbit systems.

This dissertation can be divided into three major projects which …

The Mechanism Of Rna Interference In Arthropods, June-Sun Yoon

Theses and Dissertations--Entomology

RNA interference (RNAi) is a useful reverse genetics tool for investigation of gene function as well as for practical applications in many fields including medicine and agriculture. Due to the variability in RNAi efficiency, RNAi-based methods are currently being developed for controlling only coleopteran insects which are known to be amenable to RNAi. The first chapter of my thesis includes findings from research to investigate what are the factors that make coleopteran insects relatively more efficient in RNAi. I used Colorado potato beetle (CPB), Leptinotarsa decemlineata and its cell line (Lepd-SL1) as study models to identify genes that play key …

Bee Conservation In Urban Landscapes: Assessing Bee Assemblages, Bee–Attractiveness, And Nutritritional Value Of Woody Landscape Plants And Mitigating Potential Bee Hazard From Neonicotinoid Insecticides, Bernadette Maria Mach

Theses and Dissertations--Entomology

Public awareness of declining pollinator populations has increased interest in creating “bee–friendly” urban landscapes. I quantified bee visitation and assemblages of 72 species of flowering woody plants common in urban landscapes. I found strong plant species effects and variation in seasonal activity of particular bee taxa but no overall differences in bee visitation or genus diversity between native versus nonnative species or trees versus shrubs. Analysis of pollen from a subset of these plants revealed small but statistically significant differences in total and essential amino acids between native and nonnative species and trees and shrubs, although each group had species …

Letter From The Dean, Deacue Fields

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

No abstract provided.

An Assessment Of Inheritance Patterns In Two Mutant Eye-Color Traits Of Drosophila Melanogaster, Jedidiah Heiser, Seth B. Yates

A with Honors Projects

This experiment was a two generation test cross (from F0 to F1 and F1 to F2) to check the patterns of inheritance and their chi-square significance. Wild-type males and females were paired with the opposite sex of the two mutant groups -- Sepia eyes and White eyes. The pairing thus resulted in 4 tube conditions. Generations were counted and identified by sex and phenotype -- Wild-type or Mutant. The next generation was seeded with approximately 6 - 8 individuals from each sex and released once the next generation reached their pupal phase. Fresh tubes were seeded between F1 and F2. …

A New Colombian Pest Species Of The Genus Poecilocloeus Bruner (Orthoptera: Acrididae: Proctolabinae) On Coffee, With A Key To The Neotropical Species, Luis Miguel Constantino, Oscar J. Cadena-Castañeda, Juan Manuel Cardona Granda, Pablo Benavides M., Carmenza Góngora B.

Insecta Mundi

A remarkable new species of Poecilocloeus (Orthoptera: Acrididae: Proctolabinae) found damaging coffee plantations in the Western Andes of Colombia is described and named P. coffeaphilus n. sp. This new species is part of a distinct and colorful group of Proctolabinae grasshoppers, with most species found at low altitudes in the rainforest of the Amazon basin. In contrast, the new species is found at elevations of 1600 to 1800 m in the canopy of dense cloud forests, in the southwestern part of the department of Antioquia (Western Cordillera, Colombian Andes). Information about the natural history, behavior, natural enemies and control strategies …

Seven New Taxa From The Butterfly Subtribe Euptychiina (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Satyrinae) With Revisional Notes On Harjesia Forster, 1964 And Pseudeuptychia Forster, 1964, Shinichi Nakahara, Keith R. Willmott, Olaf H. H. Mielke, Johanna Schwartz, Thamara Zacca, Marianne Espeland, Gerardo Lamas

Insecta Mundi

Seven new euptychiine (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Satyrinae) taxa are described and named herein, namely Harjesia argentata Nakahara, Zacca and Lamas, n. sp., Orotaygetis Nakahara and Zacca, n. gen., O. surui Nakahara, Zacca and Lamas, n. sp., Euptychoides sanmarcos Nakahara and Lamas, n. sp., Pseudeuptychia cuzquenya Nakahara and Lamas, n. sp., P. languida austrina Nakahara and Lamas, n. ssp., and Godartiana astronesthes Lamas and Nakahara, n. sp. A revisional note is provided for Harjesia Forster, 1964 and Pseudeuptychia Forster, 1964, and as a result, Taygetis vrazi Kheil, 1896 is removed from Harjesia and a new …

Nueva Especie De Aleuropleurocelus Drews Y Sampson (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) Y Clave Para Especies Del Grupo De Forma Oval, Oscar Ángel Sánchez-Flores, Vicente Emilio Carapia-Ruiz

Insecta Mundi

En este estudio se describe una nueva especie de mosca blanca Aleuropleurocelus chamaedoreaelegans Sánchez-Flores y Carapia-Ruiz sp. nov. (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) encontrada en el envés de las hojas de Chamaedorea elegans Mart. en el Estado de Puebla (México). Se proporcionan microfotografías de estructuras morfológicas de puparios, se discute la separación con otras especies cercanas de Aleuropleurocelus Drews y Sampson, y se propone una clave para especies del grupo de forma oval.

A Preliminary Checklist Of The Stoneflies (Arthropoda: Insecta: Plecoptera) Of Arkansas, Henry W. Robison, Chris T. Mcallister

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Seventy-seven species of stoneflies representing 8 families and 24 genera are herein reported from Arkansas. The most diverse families of state stoneflies were Perlidae (26 species), Capniidae (14 species), and Perlodidae (12 species) while Pteronarcyidae had only a single representative species. Additional taxa will surely be added to the list with future taxonomic studies incorporating molecular analyses.

Additional County Records Of Invertebrates From Arkansas, Chris T. Mcallister, Henry W. Robison, Renn Tumlison

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Comparison Of Three Benthic Macroinvertebrate Passive Sampling Devices For Non-Wadeable Streams, Kelsey A. Laymon

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Rivers and streams provide essential ecosystem services to the degree that the monitoring and maintenance of these systems becomes imperative. Biomonitoring provides managers and policymakers with the tools to make informed decisions, and macroinvertebrates are often the object of biomonitoring because they are ubiquitous in most systems and are known to be good indicators of water quality. However, methods for sampling macroinvertebrates in non-wadeable streams (i.e., large rivers) have not been standardized across states and regions and an established method for macroinvertebrate biomonitoring in large rivers of Georgia is not currently available. My study compared macroinvertebrates collected with three types …

The Encyclopedia Of North American Drosophilids Volume 1: Drosophilids Of The Midwest And Northeast, Thomas Werner, Tessa Steenwinkel, John Jaenike

Open Access Books

The Encyclopedia of North American Drosophilids: Volume 1: Drosophilids of the Midwest and Northeast provides an introduction to the flies of the family Drosophilidae of the Midwest and Northeast of the United States, as well as nearby regions in Canada. The book strives to facilitate identification of most of the drosophilid species in this region and provides remarks on interesting aspects of their biology and suggestions for future research on them. The book is intended for researchers, teachers, and students wishing to discover the diversity of these flies.

Version 4 is a major update that covers new species and includes …

U.S. National Collection Of Scarabs At Unsm, Brett Ratcliffe

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

The Department of Entomology of the Smithsonian Institution (SI) National Museum of Natural History granted an Offsite Collection Enhancement Pogram (OEP) to the State Museum at the University of Nebraska (UNSM). TheOEP consists of the renewable ten-year loan of a large collection which is bound to a detailed, 19 point Memorandum of Understanding between both parties and signed off institutionally by Museum Directors. The basic idea is that if part of the U.S. National Collection has no ongoing resident active research and there exists a center of expertise at another institution, it is most prudent to allow this off-site center …

Comparing The Effects Of Two Tillage Operations On Beneficial Epigeal Arthropod Communities And Their Associated Ecosystem Services In Sugar Beets, Rudolph J. Pretorius, Gary L. Hein, Erin E. Blankenship, Foster F. Purrington, Robert G. Wilson, Jeff D. Bradshaw

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Beneficial arthropods provide important ecosystem services in terms of arthropod pest and weed management, but these services can be adversely affected by farming practices such as tillage. This study investigated the impact of two tillage operations (zone tillage and moldboard plow) on the activity density of several beneficial, epigeal arthropod taxa, and postdispersal weed seed and prey removal in sugar beet agroecosystems. In addition, four omnivorous ground beetle species were selected for a weed-seed choice feeding assay, whereas a single species was selected for a weed-seed age preference assay. Ground beetles were the most commonly collected taxon (via pitfall sampling), …

Evaluation Of Seed Treatments And At-Plant Soil Insecticides For The Control Of Wireworms (Coleoptera: Elateridae) In Field Corn, 2015, Kayla A. Mollet, Jonas Victor De Macedo, Grace E. Hirzel, C. Oliveira-Hofman, Julie A. Peterson

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Wireworms are an important pest of corn, other field crop seedlings, and vegetables and can cause significant damage if not controlled. This field trial was established to evaluate the efficacy of neonicotinoid seed treatments and in-furrow soil insecticides to protect seedling field corn under a heavy wireworm pressure scenario. The trial was conducted on a commercial production field in Perkins County near Madrid, NE (40.781993° N, −101.463666° W). The field was selected for its likelihood to have heavy wireworm pressure due to the following: 1) past farmer observations of crop damage when planted to field corn in 2012; 2) sandy …

Spatial Variation In Western Corn Rootworm (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) Susceptibility To Cry3 Toxins In Nebraska, Jordan D. Reinders, Brianna D. Hitt, Walter W. Stroup, B. Wade French, Lance J. Meinke

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Repeated use of field corn (Zea mays L.) hybrids expressing the Cry3Bb1 and mCry3A traits in Nebraska has selected for field-evolved resistance in some western corn rootworm (WCR; Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte) populations. Therefore, this study was conducted to characterize spatial variation in local WCR susceptibility to Cry3Bb1 and mCry3A traits in Keith and Buffalo counties, Nebraska, and determine the relationship between past management practices and current WCR susceptibility. Adult WCR populations were collected from sampling grids during 2015 and 2016 and single-plant larval bioassays conducted with F₁ progeny documented significant variation in WCR susceptibility to Cry3Bb1 and …

Better Than Deet Repellent Compounds Derived From Coconut Oil, Junwei J. Zhu, Steven C. Cermak, James A. Kenar, Gary Brewer, Kenneth F. Haynes, David J. Boxler, Paul D. Baker, Desen Wang, Changlu Wang, Andrew Y. Li, Rui-De Xue, Yuan Shen, Fei Wang, Natasha M. Agramonte, Ulrich R. Bernier, Jaires G. De Oliveira Filho, Ligia M.F. Borges, Kristina Friesen, David B. Taylor

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Hematophagous arthropods are capable of transmitting human and animal pathogens worldwide. Vector-borne diseases account for 17% of all infectious diseases resulting in 700,000 human deaths annually. Repellents are a primary tool for reducing the impact of biting arthropods on humans and animals. N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET), the most effective and long-lasting repellent currently available commercially, has long been considered the gold standard in insect repellents, but with reported human health issues, particularly for infants and pregnant women. In the present study, we report fatty acids derived from coconut oil which are novel, inexpensive and highly efficacious repellant compounds. These coconut fatty acids …

Seasonality Of Colaspis Crinicornis (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) And Its Injury Potential To Corn In Southeastern Nebraska, Kentaro Miwa, Lance Meinke

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Colaspis crinicornis Schaeffer (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) primarily occurs in the Great Plains, United States. Although C. crinicornis has historically been considered a non-pest and is rarely found in agricultural systems, population densities of this species have been increasing in corn, Zea mays L., and soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merrill, over the last decade in southeastern Nebraska. As part of a comprehensive project to understand the life history and pest potential of C. crinicornis, a field study was conducted to: understand adult seasonality of C. crinicornis using emergence cages and whole-plant-count sampling in cornfields and sweep-net sampling in soybean fields; confirm …

Interactions Between Pesticides And Pathogen Susceptibility In Honey Bees, Scott T. O'Neal, Troy D. Anderson, Judy Wu-Smart

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

There exist a variety of factors that negatively impact the health and survival of managed honey bee colonies, including the spread of parasites and pathogens, loss of habitat, reduced availability or quality of food resources, climate change, poor queen quality, changing cultural and commercial beekeeping practices, as well as exposure to agricultural and apicultural pesticides both in the field and in the hive. These factors are often closely intertwined, and it is unlikely that a single stressor is driving colony losses. There is a growing consensus, however, that increasing prevalence of parasites and pathogens are among the most significant threats …

Novel Multiplex Pcr Reveals Multiple Trypanosomatid Species Infecting North American Bumble Bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Bombus), Allen Szalanski

Entomology and Plant Pathology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Crithidia bombi and Crithidia expoeki (Trypanosomatidae) are common parasites of bumble bees (Bombus spp.). Crithidia bombi was described in the 1980s, and C. expoeki was recently discovered using molecular tools. Both species have cosmopolitan distributions among their bumble bee hosts, but there have been few bumble bee studies that have identified infections to species since the original description of C. expoeki in 2010. Morphological identification of species is difficult due to variability within each stage of their complex lifecycles, although they can be easily differentiated through DNA sequencing. However, DNA sequencing can be expensive, particularly with many samples to diagnose. …

Arabidopsis Actin-Depolymerizing Factor3 Is Required For Controlling Aphid Feeding From The Phloem, Hossain A. Mondal, Joe Louis, Lani Archer, Monika Patel, Vamsi J. Nalam, Sujon Sarowar, Vishala Sivapalan, Douglas D. Root, Jyoti Shah

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

The actin cytoskeleton network has an important role in plant cell growth, division, and stress response. Actin-depolymerizing factors (ADFs) are a group of actin-binding proteins that contribute to reorganization of the actin network. Here, we show that the Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) ADF3 is required in the phloem for controlling infestation by Myzus persicae Sülzer, commonly known as the green peach aphid (GPA), which is an important phloem sap-consuming pest of more than fifty plant families. In agreement with a role for the actin-depolymerizing function of ADF3 in defense against the GPA, we show that resistance in adf3 was …

Knockdown Of The Chromatin Remodeling Gene Brahma By Rna Interference Reduces Reproductive Fitness And Lifespan In Common Bed Bug (Hemiptera: Cimicidae), Sanjay Basnet, Shripat T. Kamble

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

The common bed bug, Cimex lectularius L. (Hemiptera: Cimicidae) is a nuisance household pest causing significant medical and economic impacts. RNA interference (RNAi) of genes that are involved in vital physiological processes can serve as potential RNAi targets for insect control. Brahma is an ATPase subunit of a chromatin-remodeling complex involved in transcription of several genes for cellular processes, most importantly the homeotic genes. In this study, we used a microinjection technique to deliver double stranded RNA into female bed bugs. Delivery of 0.05 and 0.5 μg/insect of brahma dsRNA directly into hemocele resulted substantial reduction in oviposition. Eggs laid …

Nebraska Growers’ And Crop Consultants’ Knowledge And Implementation Of Integrated Pest Management Of Western Bean Cutworm, Westen Ray Archibald, Jeff D. Bradshaw, Douglas A. Golick, Robert J. Wright, Julie A. Peterson

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Western bean cutworm (WBC), Striacosta albicosta (Smith; Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is a native noctuid pest of corn and dry beans in North America. While this pest has expanded its range greatly in recent years, historically it has consistently caused high yield losses in western Nebraska. A survey was distributed to growers, crop consultants and other agricultural professionals to obtain information about current management practices used for WBC. Questions covered multiple topics including: demographics, scouting practices, degree-day model use, confidence in management knowledge, Bt corn use, insecticide use, and considerations for biological control. There were 95 completed responses received by email. Respondents …

The First Record Of Ooencyrtus Nezarae (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) On Kudzu Bug (Hemiptera: Plataspidae) In North America, Blessing Ademokoya, Rammohan Balusu, Charles Ray, Jason Mottern, Henry Fadamiro

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

The kudzu bug, Megacopta cribraria (F.) (Heteroptera: Plataspidae), is an invasive insect pest introduced from Asia in 2009 that poses a threat to soybeans (Glycine max [L.] Merr. [Fabales: Fabaceae]) and other legume crops in the United States. Initially discovered in Georgia, M. cribraria rapidly expanded across the southeast until 2014 when a significant decline in its population was observed across many locations. This notable decline in M. cribraria populations is attributed to the emergence of new parasitoids and pathogens in its new invasive range. So far, only a single egg parasitoid, Paratelenomus saccharalis (Dodd) (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae), is known …

Morphological And Genetic Analysis Of Four Color Morphs Of Bean Leaf Beetle, Bamphitlhi Tiroesele, Steven R. Skoda, Thomas Hunt, Donald Lee, Muhammad I. Ullah, Jaime Molina-Ochoa, John E. Foster

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Bean leaf beetle (BLB), Cerotoma trifurcata (Forster; Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), exhibits considerable color variation but little is known about the underlying genetic structure and gene flow among color phenotypes. Genetic and morphological variation among four color phenotypes—green with spots (G+S), green without spots (G-S), red with spots (R+S) and red without spots (R-S)—were analyzed using amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLP) and morphometrics, respectively. AFLP generated 175 markers that showed ≥80% polymorphism. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) indicated that genetic variation was greatest within phenotypes (82.6–84.0%); gene flow among the four phenotypes was relatively high (N_m = 3.82). The dendrogram and …

The Interface Between Wheat And The Wheat Curl Mite, Aceria Tosichella, The Primary Vector Of Globally Important Viral Diseases, Anna Skoracka, Brian G. Rector, Gary L. Hein

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Wheat production and sustainability are steadily threatened by pests and pathogens in both wealthy and developing countries. This review is focused on the wheat curl mite (WCM), Aceria tosichella, and its relationship with wheat. WCM is a major pest of wheat and other cereals and a vector of at least four damaging plant viruses (Wheat streak mosaic virus, High plains wheat mosaic virus, Brome streak mosaic virus, and Triticum mosaic virus). The WCM–virus pathosystem causes considerable yield losses worldwide and its severity increases significantly when mixed-virus infections occur. Chemical control strategies are largely ineffective because WCM occupies …

Evaluation Of Greenbug And Yellow Sugarcane Aphid Feeding Behavior On Resistant And Susceptible Switchgrass Cultivars, Kyle G. Koch, Teresa Donze-Reiner, Lisa M. Baird, Joe Louis, Keenan L. Amundsen, Gautam Sarath, Jeff Bradshaw, Tiffany Heng-Moss

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) is an emerging biofuel crop that serves as host for aphids. To discern the effects of plant age and possible resistance mechanisms, the feeding behavior of greenbugs (Schizaphis graminum Rondani.) and the yellow sugarcane aphid (Sipha flava Forbes.) was monitored on three diverse switchgrasses by the electrical penetration graph (EPG) technique. Callose deposition and genes associated with callose metabolism were also analyzed to discern their association with plant resistance. There was a strong host effect on greenbugs feeding on lowland cultivar Kanlow at the V3 stage of development, as compared to the greenbug-susceptible …