Entomology Commons^™

Co-Occurrence Patterns Of Bat Flies On Neotropical Chiroptera, Mitchell Louis Schooler

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Parasite-host systems provide excellent opportunities to explore ecological dynamics such as competition, competitive exclusion, and co-occurrence. The distribution of streblid bat flies on their host bats were examined for patterns of species co-occurrence and to understand mechanisms driving these patterns. The purpose of this study was to determine patterns of co-occurrence among individuals of different Neotropical bat fly species. After establishing patterns of co-occurrence, tests on whether variation in fly morphology was linked to observed patterns of co-occurrence were performed. Co-occurrence patterns were determined using null model analyses, and a predominant pattern of aggregation was detected. To examine the relationship …

An Improved Regional Honey Production Model For The United States, Anthony B. Trimboli

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Currently three systems are used to categorize honey production regions in the United States, one from the United States Department of Agriculture, one from the American Bee Journal used for its monthly U.S. Honey Crop and Markets report, and one from Bee Culture’s monthly regional honey price report. These systems follow political state boundaries and are based upon climate, bee forage, and regional beekeeping practices. While these systems are popular with the general beekeeping community, to our knowledge, their accuracy has not been studied.

Although differing geographic regions can vary in bee forage species availability, states with similar geography and …

Nebline, April 2017

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: Emerald Ash Borer — Next Steps

Food & Health

Farm & Acreage

Pests & Wildlife

Horticulture

Early Childhood

4-H & Youth

and other extension news and events

Special Pullout Section: Weed Awareness

An Entomological Survey Of Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, Comparing Species Richness Between Different Areas And Degrees Of Human Use, Ronald Hirzel

Department of Entomology: Distance Master of Science Projects

The insect fauna of Camp Arifjan, Kuwait was sampled to determine species richness and how it was impacted by human development and activities. Insects were sampled at twelve sites representing three each of work, public use, residential and vacant brownfield areas. Sampling was conducted using net, sticky trap and pit traps for 60 days. Sticky traps were discarded as unworkable. The first of each species captured from each site was retained as a voucher specimen. Specimens were determined to lowest level possible using a dissecting microscope, available literature and the internet. Collecting and trapping obtained 355 specimens representing 170 species. …

Abiotic Conditions Of Rare Pitcher's Thistle Attract Selection By An Invasive Weevil, Monica Paniagua Montoya

Lawrence University Honors Projects

Plant associations occur when host selection of a focal plant is reduced or increased by the presence of another plant species. Larinus planus is an invasive weevil whose larvae feed in the flower heads of native and federally threatened Pitcher’s thistle (Cirsium pitcheri). Studies have linked the presence of neighboring plants to increased host selection of Pitcher’s thistle by the weevil, but the factors contributing to host selection remain unknown. In our study, we determined if there were differences among abiotic factors, host selection and weevil behavior at Pitcher’s thistles surrounded by beach grass, sand and at high …

Black Bugbane & The Blues: Interactions Between Our Wildflower Of The Year And The Insect World, W. John Hayden

Biology Faculty Publications

No, this article has nothing to do with American Roots music. Black Bugbane is one of several common names for the 2017 VNPS Wildflower of the Year, Actaea racemosa. And Blues refers to a subfamily of lycaenid butterflies, commonly referred to as Blues or Azures. The interactions between Black Bugbane, a.k.a., Black Cohosh, Appalachian Azure butterflies (Celastrina neglectamajor), and ants was recently summarized by VNPS charter member and past president Nicky Staunton (2015). In brief, Black Bugbane is the sole food source for caterpillars of Appalachian Azure butterflies, a situation that, superficially, might seem like any other caterpillar and host …

Social Buffering In A Eusocial Invertebrate: Termite Soldiers Reduce The Lethal Impact Of Competitor Cues On Workers, Li Tian, Evan L. Preisser, Kenneth F. Haynes, Xuguo Zhou

Entomology Faculty Publications

While the impact of predator‐induced stress on prey has received considerable attention, there has been far less research into the effect of competitors. Cues from aggressive competitors should be particularly likely to evoke behavioral and/or physiological responses, since they may be indicative of both direct (interference) and indirect (exploitative) threats. The danger posed by such competitors, and the “fear” they evoke, should be reduced at lower competitor densities and by the presence of individual conspecifics specialized for defense. We assessed how Reticulitermes flavipes termite workers and soldiers were affected by cues from conspecific nestmates, conspecific non‐nestmates, and the heterospecific competitor …

Genetic Hitchhiking And Resistance Evolution To Transgenic Bt Toxins: Insights From The African Stalk Borer Busseola Fusca (Noctuidae), P. Campagne, C. Capdevielle-Dulac, R. Pasquet, S. J. Cornell, M. Kruger, J. F. Silvain, B. Lerü, J. Van Den Berg

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Since transgenic crops expressing Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxins were first released, resistance evolution leading to failure in control of pests populations has been observed in a number of species. Field resistance of the moth Busseola fusca was acknowledged 8 years after Bt maize was introduced in South Africa. Since then, field resistance of this corn borer has been observed at several locations, raising questions about the nature, distribution and dynamics of the resistance trait. Using genetic markers, our study identified four outlier loci clearly associated with resistance. In addition, genetic structure at neutral loci reflected extensive gene flow among populations. …

Strawberries (Frag X Anan) Are Bigger When Native Mason Bees (Osmia Lignaria) Are Experimentally Added To Small Farms, Laura A. Campbell

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Agriculture is the cornerstone of our economy, and pollination plays a vital role in nearly all non-wind pollinated crops. Declining honey bee populations have caused a more diligent investigation into using solitary bees for crop pollination. The native, solitary Orchard Mason Bee has shown to successfully pollinate almonds and apples, but there has been little work conducted on their effectiveness as a low fruit crop pollinator. This study assesses their effectiveness as a small strawberry farm pollinator, and preferences for nesting materials. Mason bee cocoons and nest homes made with different materials (bamboo, Phragmites, or wood) were supplemented on …

Foraging Behavior Of Spring Bees And Their Agricultural Implications, Michael D. Gregory

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Colony Collapse Disorder has greatly reduced honey bee populations in the last decade. Native bees have been largely neglected in research, and their floral preferences may have agricultural implications because native bees ameliorate the demand to rely solely on non-native bees. In this work, pollinator visitation to flowers with manipulated ultraviolet floral patterns was monitored. Populations of wild showy golden-eye in Colorado, plus cultivar populations of black-eyed Susan and lawn populations of buttercups in Virginia were monitored for pollinator landings to compare preference for unmanipulated ultraviolet-absorptive floral guide preferences. Another number, a proxy for pollen load, was manipulated on strawberry …

New Neotropical Rhinotragini And A New Country Record For Nicaragua (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Cerambycinae), James E. Wappes, Antonio Santos-Silva

Insecta Mundi

Nine new species of Rhinotragini (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Cerambycinae) are described from the Neotropical region: Odontocera galileoae (Mexico); Odontocera mthomasi (Guatemala); Ecliptoides vandenberghei (Nicaragua); Eclipta ricei and Odontocera skelleyi (Costa Rica); Eclipta nearnsi (Panama); Odontocera stangei (Venezuela); Chariergodes lingafelteri and Ischasia martinsi (Costa Rica and Panama). Ischasia rufina Thomson, 1864 is formally excluded from the fauna of Costa Rica and Panama, and Nicaragua is added as a new country record for Eclipta ficta Bezark, Martins and Santos-Silva, 2013. Notes on Ecliptoides monostigma (Bates, 1869) are provided in the “Diagnosis” of E. vandenberghei.

High resolution version attached as a Supplementary file (below).

Hearing On The Fly: The Effects Of Wing Position On Noctuid Moth Hearing, Shira D. Gordon, Elizabeth Klenschi, James F. C. Windmill

Dartmouth Scholarship

The ear of the noctuid moth has only two auditory neurons, A1 and A2, which function in detecting predatory bats. However, the noctuid's ears are located on the thorax behind the wings. Therefore, as these moths need to hear during flight, it was hypothesized that wing position may affect their hearing. The wing was fixed in three different positions: up, flat and down. An additional subset of animals was measured with freely moving wings. In order to negate any possible acoustic shadowing or diffractive effects, all wings were snipped, leaving the proximal-most portion and the wing hinge intact. Results revealed …

Spectral Signatures Of Immature Lucilia Sericata (Meigen) (Diptera: Calliphoridae), Jodie-A. Warren, T. D. Pulindu Ratnasekera, David A. Campbell, Gail S. Anderson

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Hyperspectral remote sensing is an innovative technology with applications in many sciences and is a non-destructive method that may offer more precise aging within development stages. Hyperspectral reflectance measurements from the anterior, midsection, and posterior of Lucilia sericata (Meigen) larvae and pupae were conducted daily from samples of the developing insects beginning at second instar. Only midsection measurements were conducted on second instar larvae due to their size, to ensure that the measurement was not of reflective surroundings. Once measured, all insects were washed with deionized water, blotted with filter paper, and re-measured. Daily age prediction during the post-feeding stage …

Odor, Not Performance, Dictates Bemisia Tabaci'S Selection Between Healthy And Virus Infected Plants, Gong Chen, Qi Su, Xiaobin Shi, Xin Liu, Zhengke Peng, Huixin Zheng, Wen Xie, Baoyun Xu, Shaoli Wang, Qingjun Wu, Xuguo Zhou, Youjun Zhang

Entomology Faculty Publications

Although, insect herbivores are generally thought to select hosts that favor the fitness of their progeny, this “mother-knows-best” hypothesis may be challenged by the presence of a plant virus. Our previous study showed that the whitefly, Bemisia tabaci, the obligate vector for transmitting Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV), preferred to settle and oviposit on TYLCV-infected rather than healthy host plant, Datura stramonium. The performances of B. tabaci larvae and adults were indeed improved on virus-infected D. stramonium, which is consistent with “mother-knows-best” hypothesis. In this study, B. tabaci Q displayed the same preference to settle and …

Photosynthetic Bacterium Rhodopseudomonas Palustris Gj-22 Induces Systemic Resistance Against Viruses, Pin Su, Xinqiu Tan, Chenggang Li, Deyong Zhang, Ju’E Cheng, Songbai Zhang, Xuguo Zhou, Qingpin Yan, Jing Peng, Zhuo Zhang, Yong Liu, Xiangyang Lu

Entomology Faculty Publications

Photosynthetic bacteria (PSB) have been extensively used in agriculture to promote plant growth and to improve crop quality. Their potential application in plant disease management, however, is largely overlooked. In this study, the PSB strain Rhodopseudomonas palustris GJ-22 was investigated for its ability to induce resistance against a plant virus while promoting plant growth. In the field, a foliar spray of GJ-22 suspension protected tobacco plants against tobacco mosaic virus (TMV). Under axenic conditions, GJ-22 colonized the plant phyllosphere and induced resistance against TMV. Additionally, GJ-22 produced two phytohormones, indole-3-acetic acid and 5-aminolevulinic acid, which promote growth and germination in …

Development Of Near-Isogenic Lines In A Parthenogenetically Reproduced Thrips Species, Frankliniella Occidentalis, Guangdi Yuan, Yanran Wan, Xiaoyu Li, Bingqing He, Youjun Zhang, Baoyun Xu, Shaoli Wang, Wen Xie, Xuguo Zhou, Qingjun Wu

Entomology Faculty Publications

Although near-isogenic lines (NILs) can standardize genetic backgrounds among individuals, it has never been applied in parthenogenetically reproduced animals. Here, through multiple rounds of backcrossing and spinosad screening, we generated spinosad resistant NILs in the western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), with a haplo-diploid reproduction system. The resultant F. occidentalis NIL-R strain maintained a resistance ratio over 30,000-fold, which was comparable to its parental resistant strain, Spin-R. More importantly, F. occidentalis NIL-R shared 98.90% genetic similarity with its susceptible parental strain Ivf03. By developing this toolset, we are able to segregate individual resistance and facilitate the mechanistic study …

Ten New Genera Of Agathidini (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Agathidinae) From Southeast Asia, Michael J. Sharkey, Eric G. Chapman

Entomology Faculty Publications

The Agathidini (Braconidae: Agathidinae) genera of Southeast Asia are revised based on a phylogenetic analysis of COI and 28S. Ten new genera are proposed, i.e., Agathigma, Asperagathis, Chimaeragathis, Cymagathis, Liragathis, Leuroagathis, Scabagathis, Trochantagathis, Xanthagathis, and Zosteragathis. An illustrated key to the Southeast Asian genera of this tribe is presented. Species from Thailand are keyed and described for all genera of Agathidini except Bassus and Zosteragathis which have too many species for this publication and will be dealt with separately. The phylogenetic analyses indicate that Bassus s.s. is polyphyletic. However, there …

Genome Sequencing Of The Sweetpotato Whitefly Bemisia Tabaci Med/Q, Wen Xie, Chunhai Chen, Zezhong Yang, Litao Guo, Xin Yang, Dan Wang, Ming Chen, Jinqun Huang, Yanan Wen, Yang Zeng, Yating Liu, Jixing Xia, Lixia Tian, Hongying Cui, Qingjun Wu, Shaoli Wang, Baoyun Xu, Xianchun Li, Xinqiu Tan, Murad Ghanim, Baoli Qiu, Huipeng Pan, Dong Chu, Helene Delatte, M. N. Maruthi, Feng Ge, Xueping Zhou, Xiaowei Wang, Fanghao Wan, Yuzhou Du, Xuguo Joe Zhou

Entomology Faculty Publications

The sweetpotato whitefly Bemisia tabaci is a highly destructive agricultural and ornamental crop pest. It damages host plants through both phloem feeding and vectoring plant pathogens. Introductions of B. tabaci are difficult to quarantine and eradicate because of its high reproductive rates, broad host plant range, and insecticide resistance. A total of 791 Gb of raw DNA sequence from whole genome shotgun sequencing, and 13 BAC pooling libraries were generated by Illumina sequencing using different combinations of mate-pair and pair-end libraries. Assembly gave a final genome with a scaffold N50 of 437 kb, and a total length of 658 Mb. …

Recruitment Of Reviewers Is Becoming Harder At Some Journals: A Test Of The Influence Of Reviewer Fatigue At Six Journals In Ecology And Evolution, Charles W. Fox, Arianne Y. K. Albert, Timothy H. Vines

Entomology Faculty Publications

Background: It is commonly reported by editors that it has become harder to recruit reviewers for peer review and that this is because individuals are being asked to review too often and are experiencing reviewer fatigue. However, evidence supporting these arguments is largely anecdotal.

Main body: We examine responses of individuals to review invitations for six journals in ecology and evolution. The proportion of invitations that lead to a submitted review has been decreasing steadily over 13 years (2003–2015) for four of the six journals examined, with a cumulative effect that has been quite substantial (average decline from 56% of …

Effects Of Temperature And Diet In Stable Fly (Diptera: Muscidae) Development, Melina Florez-Cuadros

Department of Entomology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Stable flies are among the most important blood feeding ectoparasites of cattle worldwide. The livestock industry is losing more than $2 billion dollar annually in the United States alone. Moist decaying vegetative material with bacteria supports larval development. Temperature and diet quality are important factors for stable fly development, affecting development rates, adult survival, and size, but how temperature affects adult size and interacts with nutrition is unknown. This study characterizes the relationship of temperature and diet quality in the development of stable flies. Two statistical models were used to analyze the effect of temperature alone (Lysyk, 1998) and temperature-diet …

Recruitment, Survival, And Parasitism Of Monarchs In Residential Gardens And Conservation Areas, Emily A. Geest

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) are suffering from declining populations due to habitat loss. To help offset this habitat loss conservationists have encouraged planting milkweed gardens to increase the availability of host plants for larvae. A tachinid fly (Lespesia archippivora) that causes mortality parasitizes monarchs. Understanding the influence these gardens can have on parasitism rates and monarch recruitment is vital to evaluating their effectiveness. I am quantifying egg/larval abundance and demography at conservation areas and residential gardens. Additionally, I am collecting and rearing monarch larvae to compare parasitism rates in both areas. My preliminary results suggest that …

Sequential Social Experiences Interact To Modulate Aggression But Not Brain Gene Expression In The Honey Bee (Apis Mellifera), Clare C. Rittschof

Entomology Faculty Publications

Background: In highly structured societies, individuals behave flexibly and cooperatively in order to achieve a particular group-level outcome. However, even in social species, environmental inputs can have long lasting effects on individual behavior, and variable experiences can even result in consistent individual differences and constrained behavioral flexibility. Despite the fact that such constraints on behavior could have implications for behavioral optimization at the social group level, few studies have explored how social experiences accumulate over time, and the mechanistic basis of these effects. In the current study, I evaluate how sequential social experiences affect individual and group level aggressive phenotypes, …

Unity In Defence: Honeybee Workers Exhibit Conserved Molecular Responses To Diverse Pathogens, Vincent Doublet, Yvonne Poeschl, Andreas Gogol-Döring, Cédric Alaux, Desiderato Annoscia, Christian Aurori, Seth M. Barribeau, Oscar C. Bedoya-Reina, Mark J.F. Brown, James C. Bull, Michelle L. Flenniken, David A. Galbraith, Elke Genersch, Sebastian Gisder, Ivo Grosse, Holly L. Holt, Dan Hultmark, H. Michael G. Lattorff, Yves Le Conte, Fabio Manfredini, Dino P. Mcmahon, Robin F.A. Moritz, Francesco Nazzi, Elina L. Niño, Katja Nowick, Ronald P. Van Rij, Robert J. Paxton, Christina M. Grozinger

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Background: Organisms typically face infection by diverse pathogens, and hosts are thought to have developed specific responses to each type of pathogen they encounter. The advent of transcriptomics now makes it possible to test this hypothesis and compare host gene expression responses to multiple pathogens at a genome-wide scale. Here, we performed a meta-analysis of multiple published and new transcriptomes using a newly developed bioinformatics approach that filters genes based on their expression profile across datasets. Thereby, we identified common and unique molecular responses of a model host species, the honey bee (Apis mellifera), to its major pathogens and parasites: …

Hexapod Herald - Vol. 29, No. 2, March 2017

Hexapod Herald and Other Entomology Department Newsletters

Contents: Congratulations - Publications - Blasts from the Past - Grants - Faculty News - This 'n That - Meet an Online Student

Preliminary Study Of Pan Trapping In Longleaf Pine Flatwoods In Central Florida, Usa, A. B. Orfinger, T. B. Cogen, G. R. Irons, K. V. Kabilan, B. Molligoda, A. L. Moody, J. F. Wisdo, K. F. Phillips

Midsouth Entomologist

It is well documented that pan trap color greatly influences arthropod catch composition. Additionally, it has been demonstrated that pan trapping catch varies with habitat. The goal of this study is to present preliminary data on pan trap yield from an imperiled ecosystem marked by high rates of endemicity, longleaf pine flatwoods. Yellow, blue, and white pan traps were evaluated in a section of longleaf pine flatwoods in June 2017 in central Florida, USA. A total of 360 arthropod specimens representing nine taxonomic orders were recovered, with 117 individuals from yellow traps, 125 from blue, and 118 from white. Contrary …

A Role For Intercept Traps In The Ambrosia Beetle (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) Ipm Strategy At Ornamental Nurseries, C. T. Werle, B. J. Sampson, M. E. Reding

Midsouth Entomologist

Invasive ambrosia beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) cause significant damage to ornamental nursery tree crops throughout the eastern United States. Depending on surrounding habitat, some nurseries can undergo large influxes of ambrosia beetles from the forest to susceptible nursery stock. Ethanol-baited intercept traps are highly effective as monitoring tools that can capture large numbers of dispersing ambrosia beetles. Beetle trap captures at varying distances within nursery interiors were determined across replicated transects that either included or lacked a row of edge intercept traps. Although nearly 90% of ambrosia beetle captures were from the edge intercept traps, there was no significant difference …

Nebline, March 2017

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: Extension’s Agricultural Apps Put Management Tools in Producers’ Hands

Food & Health

Farm & Acreage

Pests & Wildlife

Horticulture

Early Childhood

4-H & Youth

and other extension news and events

2016 Soybean Insect Losses In The Southern Us, F. R. Musser, A. L. Catchot Jr., J. A. Davis, G. M. Lorenz, T. Reed, D. D. Reisig, S. D. Stewart, S. Taylor

Midsouth Entomologist

Estimated soybean insect costs and losses experienced during 2016 were collected and compiled following the 2016 growing season to provide a record of insect pressure and management practices for the year. This survey has been done annually in all participating states since at least 2011, with Mississippi having data back to 2004. The 2016 survey represents 10.8 million soybean acres across the southern United States. Overall, corn earworm was the most expensive pest in soybean followed closely by soybean looper and stink bugs. Total insect management costs rose slightly to $26.03 per acre during 2016. Estimated crop losses to insects …

Temperature-Dependent Phenology Of Plutella Xylostella (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae): Simulation And Visualization Of Current And Future Distributions Along The Eastern Afromontane, Benignus V. Ngowi, Henri E.Z. Tonnang, Evans M. Mwangi, Tino Johansson, Janet Ambale, Paul N. Ndegwa, Sevgan Subramanian

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

There is a scarcity of laboratory and field-based results showing the movement of the diamondback moth (DBM) Plutella xylostella (L.) across a spatial scale. We studied the population growth of the diamondback moth (DBM) Plutella xylostella (L.) under six constant temperatures, to understand and predict population changes along altitudinal gradients and under climate change scenarios. Non-linear functions were fitted to continuously model DBM development, mortality, longevity and oviposition. We compiled the best-fitted functions for each life stage to yield a phenology model, which we stochastically simulated to estimate the life table parameters. Three temperature-dependent indices (establishment, generation and activity) were …

Green Tea Proanthocyanidins Cause Impairment Of Hormone-Regulated Larval Development And Reproductive Fitness Via Repression Of Juvenile Hormone Acid Methyltransferase, Insulin-Like Peptide And Cytochrome P450 Genes In Anopheles Gambiae Sensu Stricto, Jackson M. Muema, Steven G. Nyanjom, James M. Mutunga, Sospeter N. Njeru, Joel L. Bargul

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Successful optimization of plant-derived compounds into control of nuisance insects would benefit from scientifically validated targets. However, the close association between the genotypic responses and physiological toxicity effects mediated by these compounds remains underexplored. In this study, we evaluated the sublethal dose effects of proanthocyanidins (PAs) sourced from green tea (Camellia sinensis) on life history traits of Anopheles gambiae (sensu stricto) mosquitoes with an aim to unravel the probable molecular targets. Based on the induced phenotypic effects, genes selected for study targeted juvenile hormone (JH) biosynthesis, signal transduction, oxidative stress response and xenobiotic detoxification in addition to vitellogenesis in females. …