Letter From Division Of Agriculture Communications,
2020
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
Letter From Division Of Agriculture Communications, Fred Miller
Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences
No abstract provided.
The Influence Of Land Use On The Pollen Diet Of Honey Bee (Apis Mellifera) Colonies In Ellis County, Kansas,
2020
Fort Hays State University
The Influence Of Land Use On The Pollen Diet Of Honey Bee (Apis Mellifera) Colonies In Ellis County, Kansas, Ryan Engel
Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice
Pollinators are integral to plant ecology as well as to worldwide food availability and security. Understanding how human-driven land use change impacts the nutrition of managed honey bees is important in pollinator conservation efforts and can contribute towards combating recent pollinator declines. The objective of this study was to determine sources of forage for honey bees across different land use types in Ellis County, Kansas, through pollen analysis and taxonomic identification. Replicate study colonies were placed in three separate land use types: Urban, Cropland, or Native/Semi-native prairie. Pollen was sampled every 7 to 14 days throughout a growing season (April …
Dynamic Balancing Of Foraging And Defensive Effort Contribute To The Optimality Of The Honey Bee Robbing Strategy,
2020
University of Kentucky
Dynamic Balancing Of Foraging And Defensive Effort Contribute To The Optimality Of The Honey Bee Robbing Strategy, Grayson James Grume
Theses and Dissertations--Entomology
The optimality of a foraging strategy shifts in response to dynamic ecological conditions and the need to devote effort to other tasks. Nest defense and foraging effort in the honey bee may trade off as both tasks are performed by a shared workforce of physiologically-specialized individuals in exclusive roles. Honey robbing is a foraging strategy predicted to benefit from simultaneous increases in foraging and defensive effort, but may be constrained by workforce specialization. We developed a methodology to induce robbing behaviors with uninhabited bait hives. We used this methodology to evaluate foraging and defensive effort before and during robbing by …
Predicting Patterns Of Gene Family Evolution In Taxa With Similar Ecological Niches,
2020
University of Kentucky
Predicting Patterns Of Gene Family Evolution In Taxa With Similar Ecological Niches, Kim Vertacnik
Theses and Dissertations--Biology
To fully understand the genetic basis of adaptation, we need to know its predictability—the extent to which specific selective pressures and contexts can yield corresponding genetic changes. In particular, the repeated colonization of similar, specialized environments by different taxa is ideal for assessing the frequency of reoccurring changes in the same genes or functions. But compared to a growing body of literature on the convergent evolution of individual genes, far less is known about the repeatability of gene family evolution, where families (defined here as groups of genes that share sequence and functional similarity from common ancestry) can expand (gain …
Aggregation Behavior In The Bed Bug, Cimex Lectularius L.,
2020
University of Kentucky
Aggregation Behavior In The Bed Bug, Cimex Lectularius L., Paul D. Baker
Theses and Dissertations--Entomology
The bed bug, Cimex lectularius L., is a common household pest that feeds on the blood of its human hosts. Unlike many other hematophagic arthropods, bed bugs have not demonstrated the ability to vector disease; yet its presence in a household often leads to fear and anxiety amongst its human host victims. Bed bugs spend the majority of their time aggregating in enclosed and hidden locations, making it difficult to detect and eradicate them. One of the significant mediators of aggregation behavior is an aggregation pheromone. The pheromone has been identified to be six chemical compounds, five volatile compounds that …
Management Of Sugarcane Aphid (Melanaphis Sacchari) Using Biological And Cultural Tactics In Kentucky,
2020
University of Kentucky
Management Of Sugarcane Aphid (Melanaphis Sacchari) Using Biological And Cultural Tactics In Kentucky, Nathan Harriman Mercer
Theses and Dissertations--Entomology
In 2013, a new aphid pest of sorghum, the sugarcane aphid Melanaphis sacchari Zehntner (Hemiptera: Aphididae), was found in the southern US, and caused significant yield loss in sorghum. Since then, M. sacchari has spread to most of the sorghum growing regions. Unmanaged populations can cause complete crop loss in grain, forage and sweet sorghum. M. sacchari cannot survive winters without a live plant tissue and must recolonize much of its pest range annually. Sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) is an important crop for many growers in Kentucky, producing $16-25 million a year from its syrup. Biological control of …
Physiological Ecology Of Overwintering And Cold-Adapted Arthropods,
2020
University of Kentucky
Physiological Ecology Of Overwintering And Cold-Adapted Arthropods, Leslie Jean Potts
Theses and Dissertations--Entomology
Given their abundance and diversity, arthropods are an excellent system to investigate biological responses to winter. Winter conditions are being majorly impacted by climate change, and therefore understanding the overwintering biology of arthropods is critical for predicting ecological responses to climate change. In Chapters 2 and 3, I investigate the winter biology of a winter-active wolf spider. I show that winter-active spiders can take advantage of periodic prey resources and grown in the winter, which may allow them to get a jumpstart on spring reproduction. I also investigate spiders’ ability to track changes in their environment by quantifying low temperature …
Emerald Ash Borer Development Across A Latitudinal Gradient: Implications For Biocontrol,
2020
University of Kentucky
Emerald Ash Borer Development Across A Latitudinal Gradient: Implications For Biocontrol, Sarah Pellecchia
Theses and Dissertations--Entomology
Emerald ash borer, EAB, (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire) is an invasive beetle that kills ash trees. It was accidentally introduced from China, and has rapidly expanded across North America, now occupying much of the eastern US. Four classical biocontrol parasitoids have been released to help mitigate its spread and impact: Tetrastichus planipennisi Yang, Spathius agrili Yang, S. galinae Belokobylskij and Strazanac, and Oobius agrili Zhang and Huang. These parasitoids have been deployed throughout EAB’s invaded range, but there has been limited recovery of the parasitoids from their release sites in southern states. I evaluated whether this lack of establishment might …
Identification And Characterization Of Epigenetic Regulators In The Yellow Fever Mosquito, Aedes Aegypti,
2020
University of Kentucky
Identification And Characterization Of Epigenetic Regulators In The Yellow Fever Mosquito, Aedes Aegypti, Shankar C. R. R. Chereddy
Theses and Dissertations--Entomology
Due to the increased interactions between the sylvatic and urban cycles of Aedes aegypti life cycle, there has been an increase in the incidence of vector-borne diseases. The risk involved through the transmission of viruses like Dengue, Zika, Yellow-fever and Chikungunya calls for an effective control method for the deadly vector. The possibility of pesticide resistance and the costs involved in producing new pesticides have pushed Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) into prominence. However, current methods used to sterize insects for SIT are not highly efficient. This study tackles current issues in mosquito control by identifying and characterizing epigenetic regulators that …
A Tangled Web: The Dynamics Of Endosymbiotic Infections In A Linyphiid Spider,
2020
University of Kentucky
A Tangled Web: The Dynamics Of Endosymbiotic Infections In A Linyphiid Spider, Laura Cecilia Rosenwald
Theses and Dissertations--Entomology
Many arthropods are infected with bacterial endosymbionts that manipulate host reproduction, but few bacterial taxa have been shown to cause such manipulations. Mermessus fradeorum (Linyphiidae) is a sheet-weaving spider that displays both feminization and cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI). To correlate reproductive manipulations to endosymbionts, I surveyed the bacterial community of M. fradeorum using high throughput sequencing and found that individuals can be infected with up to five different strains of bacteria from the genera Wolbachia, Rickettsia, and Rickettsiella. Rickettsiella was found in all 23 tested spider matrilines. I used antibiotic curing to generate uninfected matrilines that I reciprocally crossed with …
Developing Alternative Practices For Management Of Flea Beetles Attacking Eggplant And Leafy Brassicaceous Greens,
2020
University of Kentucky
Developing Alternative Practices For Management Of Flea Beetles Attacking Eggplant And Leafy Brassicaceous Greens, Robert Brockman
Theses and Dissertations--Entomology
Flea beetles are a challenging pest for many producers of vegetable crops in Kentucky. Chewing numerous small holes in the leaves of their host plants, high flea beetle populations can quickly overwhelm unestablished crops. I tested the efficacy of several alternatives to insecticides within brassicaceous leafy greens and eggplant. Four field trials in 2019 and 2020 compared essential oil sprays, the woven-mesh row cover ProtekNet, the spunbonded row cover Agribon, and reflective silver mulch to an untreated control, a conventional insecticide rotation of dinotefuran and pyrethroids, and an organic insecticide rotation of spinosad and pyrethrins. The silver reflective mulch was …
Management Of Stink Bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) On Soybean In Kentucky,
2020
University of Kentucky
Management Of Stink Bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) On Soybean In Kentucky, Yaziri Gonzalez
Theses and Dissertations--Entomology
Phytophagous stink bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) are pests of significant importance to soybean, Glycine max (L.), because they can cause severe losses in seed quality, ultimately affecting yield. Damage to soybean is caused through a process called extra-oral digestion. This occurs when the adults and nymphs of stink bugs pierce plant tissues with their mandibular and maxillary stylets, insert digestive enzymes, break down tissue, and extract the digested plant fluid. Three endemic stink bug species of North America are present in Kentucky: green stink bug (Chinavia hilaris), brown stink bugs (Euschistus species complex), and red-shouldered stink bug (Thyanta custator) …
Epigenetic Regulation Of Hormone Action In The Red Flour Beetle, Tribolium Castaneum (Herbst),
2020
University of Kentucky
Epigenetic Regulation Of Hormone Action In The Red Flour Beetle, Tribolium Castaneum (Herbst), Smitha George
Theses and Dissertations--Entomology
Hormones are the chemical communication signaling molecules released into the body fluid to stimulate target cells of multicellular organisms. Two major hormones, ecdysteroids (20-hydroxyecdysone, 20E) and juvenile hormones (JH), regulate a wide variety of physiological and developmental processes in insects. Therefore, hormones have been extensively studied and are attractive targets for the development of target-specific insect control methods. Recent studies suggest that epigenetics adds another layer of regulation to explain multiple functions of the same circulating hormone in different tissues and at various time points. In my dissertation, I focused on a major post-translational modification, ‘acetylation,’ to elucidate the epigenetic …
A Tale Of Winglets: Evolution Of Flight Morphology In Stick Insects,
2020
University of California, Berkeley
A Tale Of Winglets: Evolution Of Flight Morphology In Stick Insects, Yu Zeng, Connor O'Malley, Sonal Singhal, Faszly Rahim, Sehoon Park, Xin Chen, Robert Dudley
Publications and Research
The evolutionary transition between winglessness and a full-winged morphology requires selective advantage for intermediate forms. Conversely, repeated secondary wing reductions among the pterygotes indicates relaxation of such selection. However, evolutionary trajectories of such transitions are not well-characterized. The stick insects (Phasmatodea) exhibit diverse wing sizes at both interspecific and intersexual levels, and thus provide a system for examining how selection on flight capability, along with other selective forces, drives the evolution of flight-related morphology. Here, we examine variation in relevant morphology for stick insects using data from 1,100+ individuals representing 765 species. Although wing size varies along a continuous spectrum, …
Developing An Odonate-Based Index For Monitoring Freshwater Ecosystems In Rwanda: Towards Linking Policy To Practice Through Integrated And Adaptive Management,
2020
Antioch New England Graduate School
Developing An Odonate-Based Index For Monitoring Freshwater Ecosystems In Rwanda: Towards Linking Policy To Practice Through Integrated And Adaptive Management, Erasme Uyizeye
Antioch University Dissertations & Theses
Worldwide, the decline of biodiversity in freshwater ecosystems is occurring at an alarming rate, due to anthropogenic threats, which directly impact humans in a variety of ways. Freshwater ecosystems occupy an integral part of political, socio-economic and ecological spheres. Integrated Watershed Management (IWM) and Adaptive Management (AM) conceptual frameworks provide an underpinning holistic platform from which to evaluate the performance of policies and actions on the ground in relation to freshwater ecosystem management. I investigate the extent to which environmental policies and practices embrace IWM and AM frameworks in Rwanda. Furthermore, this dissertation develops an odonate-based ecological monitoring tool, referred …
The Backyard Orchardist – Fruit Pests: Peach And Nectarine,
2020
Utah State University
The Backyard Orchardist – Fruit Pests: Peach And Nectarine, Marion Murray, Diane G. Alston
All Current Publications
Shothole is a common fungal disease in Utah. It attacks dormant leaf buds, blossom buds, leaves, fruit, and twigs. The first visible lesions occur on young leaves as small, round, tan spots that eventually fall out, leaving round holes.
Field Efficacy Of Soil Insecticides On Pyrethroid-Resistant Western Corn Rootworms (Diabrotica Virgifera Virgifera Leconte),
2020
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Field Efficacy Of Soil Insecticides On Pyrethroid-Resistant Western Corn Rootworms (Diabrotica Virgifera Virgifera Leconte), Dariane Souza, Julie A. Peterson, Robert Wright, Lance Meinke
Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications
Background: Field-evolved pyrethroid resistance has been confirmed in western corn rootworm (WCR) populations collected from the United States (US) western Corn Belt. Resistance levels of WCR adults estimated in lab bioassays were confirmed to significantly reduce the efficacy of foliar-applied bifenthrin. The objective of the present study was to investigate the impact of WCR pyrethroid resistance levels on the performance of common soil-applied insecticide formulations (23.4% tefluthrin, 17.15% bifenthrin, and 0.1% cyfluthrin+2.0% tebupirimphos). Field trials were conducted in 2016 and 2017 in three Nebraska, US, counties (Saunders, Clay, and Keith) where distinct levels of WCR susceptibility topyrethroids (susceptible, moderately resistant, …
Description Of The Immature Stages Of Stenocrates Agricola Dechambre & Hardy (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Dynastinae: Cyclocephalini) With Redescription Of The Adult And Discussion Of Its Tribal Position,
2020
Universidad Nacional del Nordeste, Argentina
Description Of The Immature Stages Of Stenocrates Agricola Dechambre & Hardy (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Dynastinae: Cyclocephalini) With Redescription Of The Adult And Discussion Of Its Tribal Position, Mario G, Ibarra-Polesel, Jhon C. Neita-Moreno, Brett Ratcliffe
Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications
The enigmatic genus Stenocrates Burmeister has 52 species that are widely distributed from Mexico to Argentina, but mainly in South America. In the present study, the larva of the third instar and pupa of Stenocrates agricola Dechambre & Hardy, 2004 are described and illustrated based on specimens from Argentina, this being the first description of immatures for the genus. The adult is also redescribed, significantly expanding the number of characters and providing information on the natural history of this species. In addition, 28 species of Cyclocephalini and 20 species of Pentodontini are morphologically compared, emphasizing the most useful larval characters …
Methods For Surveying Stable Fly Populations,
2020
USDA-ARS
Methods For Surveying Stable Fly Populations, David B. Taylor, Kyle Harrison, Junwei J. Zhu
Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications
Stable flies are among the most important pests of livestock throughout much of the world. Their painful bites induce costly behavioral and physiological stress responses and reduce productivity. Stable flies are anthropogenic and their population dynamics vary depending on agricultural and animal husbandry practices. Standardized sampling methods are needed to better identify the factors controlling stable fly populations, test novel control technologies, and determine optimal management strategies. The current study reviewed methods used for a long-term study of stable fly population dynamics in the central Great Plains. An additional study compared the relative size of flies sampled from the general …
Terpenoid-Induced Feeding Deterrence And Antennal Response Of Honey Bees,
2020
Virginia Tech
Terpenoid-Induced Feeding Deterrence And Antennal Response Of Honey Bees, Nicholas R. Larson, Scott T. O'Neal, Ulrich R. Bernier, Jeffrey R. Bloomquist, Troy D. Anderson
Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications
Multiple interacting stressors negatively affect the survival and productivity of managed honey bee colonies. Pesticides remain a primary concern for beekeepers, as even sublethal exposures can reduce bee immunocompetence, impair navigation, and reduce social communication. Pollinator protection focuses on pesticide application guidelines; however, a more active protection strategy is needed. One possible approach is the use of feeding deterrents that can be delivered as an additive during pesticide application. The goal of this study was to validate a laboratory assay designed to rapidly screen compounds for behavioral changes related to feeding or feeding deterrence. The results of this investigation demonstrated …
