Entomology Commons^™

Nebline, August/September 2024

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Preserving the Harvest: Canning, Freezing and Drying Tips, Kayla Colgrove

How Savvy are YOU with Home Canning?

Recipe of the Month: Freezing Onions, Kayla Colgrove

Deep, Infrequent Irrigation Makes Lawns and Trees Healthier, Sarah Browning

Garden Guide: Things to Do This Month, Mary Jane Frogge

Get the Jump on Jumping Worms, Kait Jumpman

Preparing Water for Use in an Emergency, Becky Schuerman

Heart of 4-H Volunteer Award: Nicole Miller and Cole Meador

4-H Teen Council Invites New Members

4-H Announcements

Lancaster County Super Fair, August 1-10, 2024

4-H Premiere Communication Event Top Results

4-H Clover College: 55 Hands-on Workshops

4-H …

Analysis And Tritrophic Associations Of Bats, Bat Flies, And Laboulbeniales Microfungi In Kenya, Ally Willis

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Bats (Chiroptera) are host to diverse lineages of ectoparasitic arthropods including ticks, mites, fleas, bat bugs, and bat flies (Arthropoda). Streblidae and Nycteribiidae are families in the dipteran superfamily Hippoboscoidea, and these hematophagous ectoparasites and their host associations are relatively well studied in the American tropics but not as well in east Africa. One of the main properties of host-parasite systems is host specificity, with some Eastern Hemisphere species (Nycteribiidae) appearing to display a lower level. The morphology of bat flies may drive (or be the result of) niche partitioning on the landscape of the host. Streblid bat flies in …

The Evolution Of A Response To Smoke Within The Arthropoda, Adam Miles

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Many animals have a survival instinct to flee in response to fire, but do they respond to smoke alone? Many arthropods respond to fire or smoke by moving in the opposite direction (a negative taxis) to obtain shelter. At the species level, taxa that have adapted a behavioral response to fire increase their fitness. This response behavior has been observed in many terrestrial arthropods. Still, the behavior is currently unknown for marine, aquatic, or cave arthropods, which are atypically exposed to smoke or fire. This project assesses how often behavioral adaptation to smoke avoidance may have evolved within Arthropoda. Twenty-two …

Interactive Effects Between Bluetongue Virus Infection And Insecticide Exposures In Culicoides Sonorensis, Parker Mullins

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Culicoides biting midges are common pests around the world of humans, livestock, and wildlife. In addition to nuisance blood feeding, they are also able to transmit pathogens to their hosts like bluetongue virus (BTV) and African horse sickness virus, which can be damaging in terms of both production economics and animal welfare. In order to protect humans and livestock from biting pests like Culicoides, a wide array of interventions is recommended, but chemical insecticides and repellent use are ubiquitous. For a multitude of reasons ranging from natural weathering of applied insecticides to the increase in resistance-associated mutations and behaviors in …

Assessing The Impacts Of Soil Arthropods On Geochemical Transformations., Thomas Blake Hudson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis contains four individual chapters, two of which highlight studies assessing how arthropods contribute and drive geochemical transformations by directly and indirectly manipulating the availability of anoxic conditions. The first chapter serves as an introduction to the literature on the subject to contextualize the work carried out in later chapters. The second chapter is a field study conducted throughout the summer of 2023 in a lowland tropical rainforest in Costa Rica, where I characterized the temporal and environmental variation impacting greenhouse gas emissions from the nests of leaf-cutting ants (Atta cephalotes). From flux measurements taken across 29 …

Abstracts Of The 12th Annual Mississippi Association Of Entomologists, Nematologists, And Plant Pathologists Meeting, October 30 And 31, 2023, Mississippi Association Of Entomologists, Nematologists, And Plant Pathologists

Midsouth Entomologist

No abstract provided.

2023 Soybean Insect Losses In The United States, Fred R. Musser, Emily Bick, Sebe A. Brown, Whitney D. Crow, Jeffrey A. Davis, Christina Difonzo, Chase Floyd, Scott H. Graham, Jeremy K. Greene, Kelly A. Hamby, David Kerns, Sean Malone, David Owens, Dominic D. Reisig, Phillip M. Roberts, Nicholas J. Seiter, Adam J. Sisson, Benjamin C. Thrash, Kelley J. Tilmon, Raul T. Villanueva

Midsouth Entomologist

Estimated insect management costs and losses due to insects and other invertebrates in soybean during the 2023 growing season were collected and compiled from 19 states to provide a record of insect pressure and management practices for the year. These annual estimates provide a historical record of pest pressure and insect management and have been compiled in some states since 2004. Participating states represented 58% of soybean acreage grown in the United States, with near 100% participation in southern states. Overall, the stink bug complex was the costliest insect pest in soybean followed by corn earworm and soybean looper. Total …

Button Grass And Its Management, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Grains and other field crops factsheets

Button grass (Dactyloctenium radulans) is a native species found throughout Australia. It is a common summer weed species that depletes soil moisture and nutrients, reducing the yield potential of the subsequent crop. It also acts as a green bridge for crop pests and disease.

The rapid emergence and growth of button grass after rainfall makes it important for the Australian plague locust.

It can be a valuable pasture species in arid areas, although overgrazing of button grass can result in toxicity for sheep and cattle.

The Role Of Forest Disturbance And Habitat Characteristics In Shaping Arthropod Ecology., Kane Alec Lawhorn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Disturbances in forests often generate dead wood, which is an important resource for a variety of arthropods. In tropical wet forests where fire is rare, lightning and branchfalls are common disturbances that create canopy gaps with associated large amounts of localized dead wood. By contrast, prescribed fire is a common disturbance in temperate forest that creates habitat heterogeneity and widely dispersed dead wood resources. The ecological effects of these disturbances on arthropod communities are largely unknown. This dissertation investigates how disturbance and habitat associations in both tropical and temperate forest shape arthropod ecology. Throughout, I primarily focus on beetles, ants, …

The Development Of Environmental Dna (Edna) Sampling For Arbovirus Vector Surveillance In Southern Nevada, Katharine Brooke Major

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Vector-borne diseases account for 17% of all infectious diseases worldwide and are responsible for more than 700,000 deaths annually. Two-thirds of the global population are at risk of arthropod-borne RNA viruses (arboviruses), spread by mosquitoes, ticks, and sandflies, with these pathogens accounting for 37% of all emerging human diseases. Arboviruses are becoming increasingly important causes of neurological disease in the United States, presenting a significant public health problem. In the absence of available vaccines and efficacious treatment options, accurate, rapid, and cost-effective surveillance of arbovirus vectors is critical for monitoring species distribution and mitigating disease transmission risk. Currently, mosquito vector …

Using Wasp Specimens In Taxonomic, Biogeographic, Evolution, And Informal Education Studies, Brenna Lynn Decker

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Entomology collections hold an untapped wealth of information, from insect morphology, genetics, locality and association data, and potential for use in education. Especially with insects that generate initial fears, such as wasps, seeing insect specimens provides a safe environment to learn about their behaviors. Wasps are insects in the order Hymenoptera, along with ants and bees. The public may hold fears against wasps, due to their negative portrayal in various media, but they serve as integral components of a functional ecosystem. Even with their importance, many groups of wasps are still highly understudies. This dissertation aims to tackle this fear …

Effects Of Land Cover And Land Change On Monarch Butterfly Presence Across The Conus, Chris R. Burkhart

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The decline of monarch butterfly populations (Danaus plexippus L.) over the past four decades, particularly in their overwintering habitats, has raised concerns about the species' conservation. Habitat loss and modification, particularly within the contiguous United States, are attributed as one of the key drivers of this decline. However, the specific impact of land use and land cover (LULC) changes on monarch distributions remains inadequately documented. This study integrates monarch observations from multiple sources spanning 2008 to 2019 with LULC data to analyze the relationship between habitat configuration and monarch presence. Using a randomized grid sampling approach, habitat configuration metrics were …

Aposematic-Habitat Correlation In Nearctic Species Of Episyron Schiødte (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae: Pompilinae: Pompilini), Frank E. Kurczewski

Insecta Mundi

Three Nearctic species of Episyron Schiødte (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae: Pompilinae: Pompilini) were examined morphologically, geographically, and ecologically with intent to infer an aposematic correlation with habitat type, protarsal digging rake morphology, and host spider association. Episyron quinquenotatus quinquenotatus (Say) and E. conterminus cressoni (Dewitz), two subspecies with extensive aposematic markings and more and longer protarsal comb spines, were associated with bare or sparsely vegetated sandy soils near water courses. Episyron biguttatus biguttatus (Fabricius), with few aposematic markings and less and shorter protarsal comb spines, was associated with more densely vegetated terrain and gravelly and loamy soils. Three subspecies of Anoplius …

An Analysis Of The Genus Aleyrodes Latreille (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Aleyrodidae) In California, With Three Synonymies, Natalia Von Ellenrieder, Raymond J. Gill

Insecta Mundi

Abstract

Based on the examination of an extensive series of specimens and available type material, three out of the six species of Aleyrodes Latreille (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Aleyrodidae) described from California, A. diasemus Bemis, 1904, A. essigi Penny, 1922, and A. osmaroniae Sampson, 1945, are newly synonymized under A. spiraeoides Quaintance, 1900. The species of Aleyrodes reported from California are keyed and diagnosed based on characters from puparia and male genitalia, and character variability is documented and illustrated.

Resumen

Basado en el examen de una extensa serie de especímenes y material tipo disponible, tres de las seis …

Revision Of Trachyderines Related To Sphaenothecus From North America With Description Of Three New Genera, And New Species Of Lophalia Casey, 1912, Mannophorus Leconte, 1854, And Ischnocnemis Thomson, 1864 (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Cerambycinae: Trachyderini), Bryan K. Eya

Insecta Mundi

The genera Lophalia Casey, 1912, Mannophorus LeConte, 1854 and Ischnocnemis Thomas, 1864 (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Cerambycinae: Trachyderini) are recharacterized by providing additional morphological features to enhance the delineation of these genera. Two species, Lophalia cribricollis Bates, 1892 and Ischnocnemis luteicollis (Bates, 1885), are transferred to a new genus Lophaliamorpha Eya with Lophaliamorpha luteicollis (Bates) new combination as the type species. Ischnocnemis skillmani Chemsak and Hovore, 2010 is transferred to a new genus Paramannophorus Eya with Paramannophorus skillmani (Chemsak and Hovore) new combination as the type species. A new genus Microteroschema is created to accommodate two additional species from Mexico: Microteroschema parvum …

A New Species Of Gaindaphodius Král And Mencl From Nepal (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Aphodiinae), Stefano Ziani

Insecta Mundi

A new species from Nepal, Gaindaphodius marigold (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Aphodiinae), is described, illustrated and compared with G. gainda Král and Mencl, 2024, the only other species in the genus Gaindaphodius Král and Mencl, 2024.

Antimicrobials Produced By Ants: Chemical Properties And Microbe Specificity, Katy Chon

Master's Theses

Antibiotic resistance is a growing public health concern worldwide, and for over a decade, we have been witnessing the growth of difficult to treat infectious diseases caused by bacteria that are becoming resistant to antibiotics. This resistance can be mostly related to the misusing and improper use of antibiotics in both humans and animals. To restore this problem, humans have turned to new sources for the production of antibiotics. In this study, we focused on using ants. Social insects, including ants and bees, have faced strong disease pressures during their evolution and have developed a range of methods to fight …

Lure Specificity, Phenology, And Damage Caused By Epiphyas Moths (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) In Western Australian Apple Orchards, Maryam Yazdani, Elliot T. Howse, Wee Tek Tay, Helen Spafford, Rieks Van Klinken

Horticulture Research Articles

Multiple Epiphyas species inhabit southwestern Western Australia, including Light Brown Apple Moth (LBAM) Epiphyas postvittana (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), a globally significant, polyphagous pest. This study evaluated the efficacy and specificity of lures designed for 3 Epiphyas species: E. postvittana, Epiphyas pulla (Turner), and the undescribed Epiphyas sp. (1) (Common). Additionally, the study sought to determine the presence and distribution of Epiphyas species in 3 significant apple-growing localities. Trapping, together with partial sequencing of the mitochondrial COI gene, found LBAM to be restricted to the Perth Hills and E. pulla, to apple orchards near Manjimup and Pemberton. This geographic …

Susceptibility Of Spodoptera Frugiperda And Helicoverpa Zea Populations In The Southern Region Of The United States To Common Chemical Insecticides, Bhavana Patla

LSU Master's Theses

Abstract

The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda and corn earworm/bollworm, Helicoverpa zea, are two polyphagous pests prevalent in the U.S. In recent years, there were increased infestations of the two pests in the U.S., especially in its southern region. Information on the susceptibility/resistance status of the two pests in the region to chemical insecticides, especially to some new chemistries, is very limited or has not been updated for many years. In this study, susceptibility of 17 S. frugiperda and six H. zea field collected populations from the southern U.S. during 2021-23 to common insecticides was investigated in the laboratory. Dose-responses with …

Can The Necrophagous Blow Fly Calliphora Vicina (Diptera: Calliphoridae) Be Reared On Plant-Based Meal?, David F. Cook, Muhammad Shoaib Tufail, Sasha C. Voss

Horticulture Research Articles

The use of the blow fly Calliphora vicina as a potential pollination species to augment the current reliance on honeybees (Apis mellifera) in Australian horticulture requires knowledge of how best to mass-rear this fly species. Calliphora vicina lays eggs onto carrion soon after death, and the resultant larvae that hatch are necrophagous and feed on the decomposing tissues of the dead animal. Newly hatched larvae of this fly were provided with plant-based meals (soya bean and canola) and compared with larvae provided with livestock-derived meatmeal to determine if plant-based meal could be used to mass-rear this blow fly species. Both …

Elevational Gradients Shape Bee Network Structure And Community Composition Across Tropical Lowland To Montane Forests In Costa Rica, Jenny Hsu

Online Theses and Dissertations

Mutualistic networks, such as those between plants and pollinators, play a crucial role in ecosystem stability and resilience. Previous theoretical work has posited that mutualistic networks with higher diversity, connectance, nestedness, interaction diversity and more generalist species are more resilient and stable. However, in some ecosystems, specialized interactions and specialists may promote network stability. Drivers of network properties in the neotropics, especially low and mid-elevations, remain relatively unknown, and thus this area should receive special attention. Replicated empirical networks comparing properties along environmental gradients in these regions can help contribute to resolving this debate. A total of 28 networks, replicated …

Revisionary Taxonomy Within The Acmaeoderini, Joel Dubois

LSU Master's Theses

The jewel beetles (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) are the 8th largest family of beetles and fill various important ecological roles including decomposers, pollinators, and leaf miners. The cosmopolitan buprestid tribe Acmaeoderini is extremely diverse, with more than 700 species across 14 genera. Historically, the acmaederines from Afro-Eurasia have received thorough morphological treatment and nearly all species from these areas have been separated into various genus and subgenus groupings. Contrastingly, past studies in the Americas have been mostly restricted to alpha-level taxonomic descriptions, and only a very small percentage of species are placed into any formal group. The aim of this study was …

Phylogenomics Recovers Multiple Origins Of Portable Case Making In Caddisflies (Insecta: Trichoptera), Nature's Underwater Architects, Paul B. Frandsen, Ralph W. Holzenthal, Marianne Espeland, Jesse Breinholt, Jessica A. Thomas Thorpe, Sabrina Simon, Akito Y. Kawahara, David Plotkin, Scott Hotaling, Yiyuan Li, C. Riley Nelson, Oliver Niehuis, Christoph Mayer, Lars Podsiadlowski, Alexander Donath, Bernhard Misof, Emily Moriarty Lemmon, Alan Lemmon, John C. Morse, Shanlin Liu, Steffen U. Pauls, Xin Zhou

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

Caddisflies (Trichoptera) are among the most diverse groups of freshwater animals with more than 16 000 describes species. They play a fundamental role in freshwater ecology and environmental engineering in streams, rivers and lakes. Because of this, they are frequently used as indicator organisms in biomonitoring programmes. Despite their importance, key questions concerning the evolutionary history of caddisflies, such as the timing and origin of larval case making, remain unanswered owing to the lack of a well-resolved phylogeny. Here, we estimated a phylogenetic tree using a combination of transcriptomes and targeted enrichment data for 207 species, representing 48 of 52 …

A Two-Part Project, Phil Warburton

Department of Entomology: Distance Master of Science Projects

1) an analysis of the constraints to the use of entomological observations collected by citizen scientists for research

The online database, iNaturalist, is transforming observational entomology with a massive and valuable database of photographed insect sightings in their environment. Increasingly, iNaturalist is becoming a rich source of scientific data for research purposes. However, iNaturalist faces a hidden but potentially serious crisis-in-the making. The phenomenal growth threatens to outstrip the capacity of expert insect identifiers.

As the database grows rapidly, the rate of identification of insect observations to the “Research Grade” standard is in decline. Furthermore, the number of expert identifiers …

Archaeoentomology: Arthropods And Humans, Current Works In Archaeoentomology, Paz Vigil

Department of Entomology: Distance Master of Science Projects

This paper presents a brief literature review, exploring human and insect interaction, and how such research aids the ongoing construction of the archaeological and entomological record. This field, a combined subset of both entomology and archaeology, is both complex and rich as well as young and still growing. This literature review is not meant to be an exhaustive or comprehensive exploration of this subject, but it will serve as part of a foundation for those interested in the topic or wanting to conduct further exploratory study in this field. The intent is to highlight the practical applications of Archaeoentomology, using …

Towards Accurate Spatial Prediction Of Glossina Pallidipes Relative Densities At Country-Scale In Kenya, Stella Gachoki, Thomas A. Groen, Anton Vrieling, Andrew Skidmore, Daniel Masiga

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Vector-borne diseases, like those transmitted by tsetse flies, pose a significant global public health threat. Reducing vector populations is a promising strategy for disease control, especially in the case of tsetse-transmitted African trypanosomiasis. However, the cost-effective implementation of large-scale vector surveillance and control measures face challenges due to the lack of spatially explicit and reliable maps identifying vector hotspots. In this study, we assessed the accuracy of predicting Glossina pallidipes relative densities across Kenya by linking constrained in-situ tsetse catch data from 660 traps across three Kenyan regions with readily available gridded satellite information (human population, land cover, soil properties, …

Plum Curculio (Conotrachelus Nenuphar), Kate V. Richardson, Marion Murray

All Current Publications

Plum curculio is a brown weevil (beetle with a snout) native to eastern North America, where it is a major pest of pome and stone fruits. It was detected in Box Elder County, Utah, in the early 1980s, and this population remains the only known infestation in western North America, where it is occasionally found in residential and wild fruit trees. Plum curculio is a quarantine pest in western North America (U.S. and Canada), and fruit grown in infested counties is restricted from being exported. Thus, it is a threat to Utah’s fruit industry and requires ongoing monitoring and management …

Using Dna Barcoding To Identify High-Priority Taxa (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) From Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Emerie Landers, Brandon Claridge, Will Kuhn, Victoria Seymour, Hettie Peek, Scout Fluet, Jake Ramgren, Jake Phelps, Brayden Paulk, Lydia Cordner, Jeremy Blaschke

Biology Student Research

The All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI) in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP) seeks to document every species of living thing in the park. The ATBI is decades in progress, yet some taxa remain virtually untouched by taxonomists. Such "high priority" taxa include the hyper-diverse parasitoid wasp family Ichneumonidae. Despite the positive and multifaceted effects ichneumonids have on their environment, only a small percentage of those collected in the park have been identified as species, mostly to their complex morphology and overwhelming diversity. Recently, DNA barcoding has transformed biodiversity inventories, streamlining the process to be more rapid and efficient. To …

Nebline, June/July 2024

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Facts Related to Drinking Water by Becky Schuerman

Tar Spot is an Emerging Corn Disease in Eastern Nebraska by John Nelson

Nutrition Education for Refugee and Immigrant Families in Lincoln by Emily Gratopp

Recipe of the Month: Biryani by Emily Gratopp

Garden Guide: Things to Do This Month

Sudden Wilt and Death in Tomatoes by Sarah Browning

Sun's Out, Fun's Out: Keeping Your Little One Safe This Summer by Hayley Perez

Protect Yourself from Bed Bugs by Kait Chapman

Heart of 4-H Volunteer Award: Netsy Barent and Jessica Marsh

Nebraska 4-H Foundation Scholarship Winners

Learn …

The Mayfly Newsletter, Donna Giberson

The Mayfly Newsletter

The Mayfly Newsletter is the official newsletter of the Permanent Committee of the International Conferences on Ephemeroptera.