Entomology Commons^™

Arthropod Resistant Tomatoes: Screening Tools, Yield And Nutritional Quality Of Interspecific Hybrids, Mohammad Hasan Salman Ali Dawood

Theses and Dissertations--Plant and Soil Sciences

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is one of the most economically important vegetable crops grown around globe but is a host for numerous pests and pathogens. In the future, tomato breeders will have to focus on increasing fruit quantity and on enhancing pest resistance. Many accessions of the wild relative of tomato, S. habrochaites display high levels of resistance towards arthropods such as spider mites. The presence of the sesquiterpene hydrocarbon, 7-epi-zingiberene, found in S. habrochaites type IV trichomes has been associated with arthropod resistance. However, the presence of other compounds in its trichome secretions may also be related …

Proceedings Of The 2019 American Bee Research Conference, Michael Simone-Finstrom, Elina L. Niño, Michelle L. Flenniken, Hanna Arrowsmith, Judy Wu-Smart

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

The 2019 American Bee Research Conference (ABRC) was held January 10–12, 2019 in conjunction with the annual convention of the American Honey Producers Association in Tempe, AZ. Over the three-day conference, a total of 45 oral presentations and 13 poster presentations were given, representing work done from over 27 institutions and 34 different research groups from throughout the United States and Canada. This proceedings contains and overview of the conference and the submitted abstracts for presentations given at the 2018 American Bee Research Conference.

Catalogo Ilustrado De Los Cetoniinae Y Trichiinae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) De Nicaragua., Jean-Michel Maes, Brett Ratcliffe

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Este catálogo presenta las 34 especies de Cetoniinae and 8 de Trichiinae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) reportadas de Nicaragua hasta la fecha.

This catalogue reports the 34 species of Cetoniinae and 8 of Trichiinae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) reported from Nicaragua.

Los Cetoniinae y los Trichiinae forman un grupo relativamente pequeño de escarabajos, 34 y 8 especies respetivamente han sido reportadas de Nicaragua. Los primeros Cetoniinae reportados de Nicaragua fueron descritos como nuevos, 1 especie por Bates (1869), otra por Westwood (1874), otras dos por Janson (1876). Janson en 1877 describe dos especies y reporta otra. En Biología Centrali-Americana, Bates (1889) describe 4 especies …

Control Of Western Corn Rootworm Via Rnai Traits In Maize: Lethal And Sublethal Effects Of Sec23 Dsrna, Ana Maria Vélez, Elane Fishilevich, Murugesan Rangasamy, Chitvan Khajuria, David Mccaskill, Adriano E. Pereira, Premchand Gandra, Meghan L.F. Frey, Sarah Worden, Shannon Whitlock, Wendy Lo, Karl D. Schnelle, Jamie R, Lutz, Kenneth E. Narva, Blair Siegfried

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Background: RNA interference (RNAi) triggered by maize plants expressing RNA hairpins against specific western corn rootworm ( WCR) transcripts have proven to be effective at controlling this pest. To provide robust crop protection, mRNA transcripts targeted by double-stranded RNA must be sensitive to knockdown and encode essential proteins.

Results: Using WCR adult feeding assays, we identified Sec23 as a highly lethal RNAi target. Sec23 encodes a coatomer protein, a component of the coat protein

(COPII) complex that mediates ER-Golgi transport. The lethality detected in WCR adults was also observed in early instar larvae, the life stage causing most …

Posters As An Effective Assessment Tool For A Capstone Course, David Gosselin, Doug Golick

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

A rubric was developed to assess student posters as a mechanism to evaluate learning outcomes for a senior capstone course. The analytic rubric allows for the efficient and systematic collection of data from posters by students who worked across a variety of disciplines including the physical, biological, Earth sciences, social science, and the humanities. The rubric effectively addressed a fundamental assumption and requirement put forth during rubric development, that is, it needs to be relatively easy to use without training while at the same time producing consistent results across evaluators. The overall Chronbach’s alpha of 0.80 across semesters indicates acceptable …

Integrated Crop–Livestock Systems In Paddy Fields: New Strategies For Flooded Rice Nutrition, Luiz Gustavo De O. Denardin, Amanda P. Martins, Felipe De C. Carmona, Murilo G. Veloso, Gabriela I. Carmona, Paulo César De F. Carvalho, Ibanor Anghinoni

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Integrated crop–livestock systems (ICLSs) appear as a good alternative to increase nutrient use efficiency (NUE) in rice (Oryza sativa L.) through the improvement in nutrient cycling and soil chemical attributes in paddy fields. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of an ICLS on soil chemical attributes and on the fertilization requirement of N, P, and K by flooded rice in the Brazilian subtropical region. Nutritional status, yield, and NUE of flooded rice were evaluated by fertilization trials through rice response to different fertilization rates of N, P, and K. Soil chemical attributes were evaluated at …

Diabrotica Undecimpunctata Virus 2, A Novel Small Rna Virus Discovered From Southern Corn Rootworm, Diabrotica Undecimpunctata Howardi Barber (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), Sijun Liu, Arnubio Valencia-Jiménez, Molly Darlington, Ana M. Vélez, Bryony C. Bonning

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

The genome of Diabrotica undecimpunctata virus 2 (DuV2), a positive-sense, single-stranded RNA virus identified from the southern corn root- worm transcriptome, comprises 5,313 nucleotides, including a short poly(A) tail. The two open reading frames encode a nonstructural polyprotein (p156) and a putative capsid protein (p25).

An Updated Genetic Marker For Detection Of Lake Sinai Virus And Metagenetic Applications, Deborah D. Iwanowicz, Judy Wu-Smart, Tugce Olgun, Autumn H. Smart, Clint R.V. Otto, Dawn Lopez, Jay D. Evans, Robert Cornman

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Background. Lake Sinai Viruses (LSV) are common RNA viruses of honey bees (Apis mellifera) that frequently reach high abundance but are not linked to overt disease. LSVs are genetically heterogeneous and collectively widespread, but despite frequent detection in surveys, the ecological and geographic factors structuring their distribution in A. mellifera are not understood. Even less is known about their distribution in other species. Better understanding of LSV prevalence and ecology have been hampered by high sequence diversity within the LSV clade.

Methods. Here we report a new polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay that is compatible with currently known lineages with …

Enhanced Metabolism And Selection Of Pyrethroid-Resistant Western Corn Rootworms (Diabrotica Virgifera Virgifera Leconte), Dariane Souza, Arnubio V. Jiménez, Gautam Sarath, Lance J. Meinke, Nicholas J. Miller, Blair D. Siegfried

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Western corn rootworm (WCR) pyrethroid resistance has been previously reported in the United States (US) western Corn Belt, and cross-resistance and synergism studies suggested that both target site insensitivity and enhanced metabolism may be conferring WCR resistance to pyrethroids. The present study aimed to investigate the potential mechanisms of WCR pyrethroid resistance and to estimate the heritability of the resistance trait. Biochemical assays using model substrates and spectrophotometry revealed 2–4-fold higher activity of P450s and esterases in pyrethroid-resistant WCR populations, whereas the biological activity of glutathione S-trans- ferase was similar between populations tested. No mutation in the voltage-gated sodium channel …

Differential Defense Responses Of Upland And Lowland Switchgrass Cultivars To A Cereal Aphid Pest, Lise Pingault, Nathan A. Palmer, Kyle G. Koch, Tiffany Heng-Moss, Jeff Bradshaw, Javier Seravalli, Paul G. Twigg, Joe Louis, Gautam Sarath

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Yellow sugarcane aphid (YSA) (Sipha flava, Forbes) is a damaging pest on many grasses. Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.), a perennial C4 grass, has been selected as a bioenergy feedstock because of its perceived resilience to abiotic and biotic stresses. Aphid infestation on switchgrass has the potential to reduce the yields and biomass quantity. Here, the global defense response of switchgrass cultivars Summer and Kanlow to YSA feeding was analyzed by RNA-seq and metabolite analysis at 5, 10, and 15 days after infestation. Genes upregulated by infestation were more common in both cultivars compared to downregulated genes. In total, a higher …

A Perspective On Changes Across The U.S. Corn Belt, Eric D. Hunt, Hannah E. Birge, Christopher R. Laingen, Mark A. Licht, William J. Baule, Tom Connor

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Corn (Zea mays L.) has long been a staple crop of the Corn Belt of the U.S., which today extends latitudinally from central Nebraska to central Ohio and longitudinally from northeast Kansas to the eastern Dakotas and western Minnesota. However, the production of corn in the Corn Belt has been transformed in both magnitude and spatial extent since the 1960s. Previous research has shown that there has been an overall increase in the number of acres planted to corn across the Corn Belt (e.g. Johnston 2014, Lark et al 2015), with a pronounced increase in the eastern Dakotas and …

Molecular Gut-Content Analysis Of Adult Ground Beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) Provides No Evidence Of Predation Of Western Corn Rootworm (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) In A Nebraska Corn Agroecosystem, Camila Oliveira-Hofman, Vinícius S. Victor, Lance Meinke, Julie A. Peterson

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

This study was conducted to characterize the ground beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) community in Nebraska continuous cornfields and investigate the potential for predation of the western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte, a key rootfeeding insect pest that is an annual management challenge in this system. Seven collection dates were conducted at five commercial cornfields in west central Nebraska during the growing season of 2014. In each field, carabids were sampled using five 24-h pitfall traps. Carabid specimens were placed in 95% ethanol in the field and stored at –20 °C to preserve DNA. After identification to the species level, DNA …

Vertical‑Surface Navigation In The Neotropical Whip Spider Paraphrynus Laevifrons (Arachnida: Amblypygi), Patrick Casto, Daniel D. Wiegmann, Vincent J. Coppola, Daniele Nardi, Eileen A. Hebets, Verner P. Bingman

Eileen Hebets Publications

Studies on whip spider navigation have focused on their ability to locate goal locations in the horizontal plane (e.g., when moving along the ground). However, many species of tropical whip spiders reside and move along surfaces in the vertical plane (e.g., trees). Under controlled laboratory conditions, the current study investigated the ability of the tropical whip spider, Paraphrynus laevifrons, to return to a home shelter on a vertical surface in the presence of numerous, similar, and competing refuge sites, as well as the distribution of navigational errors in the vertical, horizontal, and diagonal plane. We also assessed the relative …

Contents, Discovery Editors

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

No abstract provided.

Instructions For Authors, Discovery Editors

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

No abstract provided.

Plant-Pollinator Associations In An Eastern Serpentine Savannah And The Effects Of Overbrowsing, Allyson Richins

Theses and Dissertations

Chapter 1: Native plant response to deer overbrowsing in a serpentine savannah

Plants are particularly vulnerable to physical disturbance in low productivity areas, due to a high cost of replacing lost plant tissue. In the eastern United States, serpentine grasslands are fragmented ecosystems with high concentrations of rare endemic plant species, low concentrations of soil nutrients, and uncontrolled deer overpopulation. This study assessed functional responses of native angiosperms in a rare eastern serpentine savannah to selective deer browsing. Plant count, flower count, floral area, vegetative area, and plant height of 10 serpentine plant species were compared inside and outside of …

Post-Eclosion Temperature Effects On Insect Cuticular Hydrocarbon Profiles, Subhash Rajpurohit, Vladimír Vrkoslav, Robert Hanus, Allen G. Gibbs, Josef Cvačka, Paul S. Schmidt

Life Sciences Faculty Research

© 2020 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. The insect cuticle is the interface between internal homeostasis and the often harsh external environment. Cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) are key constituents of this hard cuticle and are associated with a variety of functions including stress response and communication. CHC production and deposition on the insect cuticle vary among natural populations and are affected by developmental temperature; however, little is known about CHC plasticity in response to the environment experienced following eclosion, during which time the insect cuticle undergoes several crucial changes. We targeted this crucial to …

More Than Meets The Eye: A Taxonomic Revision Of The Nearctic Species In The Eye-Gnat Genus Amiota Loew (Diptera: Drosophilidae), Lance E. Jones

Dissertations and Theses

Thorough biotic inventories are still needed even in families as seemingly well-studied as fruit flies (Diptera: Drosophilidae). Drosophilidae have had an outsize effect on the history of biology because of their pivotal role in the study of genetics, development, and evolution. Even with more than a century of intensive study, large gaps remain in our understanding of diversity in this fly family, including well-studied areas such as North America. This thesis presents a taxonomic revision of the Nearctic species of the genus Amiota Loew. Twenty-three species are identified as being new to science for publication at a later date. This …

Stone-Stacking As A Looming Threat To Rock-Dwelling Biodiversity, Ricardo Rocha, Paulo A. V. Borges, Pedro Cardoso, Mirza Dikari Kusrini, José Luis Martín-Esquivel, Dília Menezes, Mário Mota-Ferreira, Sara F. Nunes, Inês Órfão, Catarina Serra-Gonçalves, Manuela Sim-Sim, Pedro Sepúlveda, Dinarte Teixeira, Anna Traveset

Human–Wildlife Interactions

This letter to the editor describes the surge of “photo-friendly” stacks of stones as an emerging tourism-associated threat to rock-dwelling biodiversity.

The Heat Is On: Comparison Of Thermoregulatory Behavior In Parasitised Versus Unparasitized Caterpillars Of The Tobacco Hornworm, Manduca Sexta (L.) [Lepidoptera: Sphingidae], Jessica M. Johnston

Theses and Dissertations

Insect thermoregulatory research has demonstrated evidence of variation occurring within and among species with respect to infection, pathogens, and parasitism, but few studies have examined differences in thermoregulatory behavior in a host-parasite system with a coevolved symbiotic virus. I investigated the role of parasitism by Cotesia congregata (Say) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) on the thermoregulatory behavior of Manduca sexta (L.) (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) using an experimental design in a thermal gradient chamber and a complementary observational field study on wild M. sexta collected from tobacco farms. Parasitism and larval age were not found to have a significant effect on the preferred body temperature …