Entomology Commons^™

Current Topics In Medical, Urban, And Veterinary Entomology (Muve): Results Of A Roundtable Discussion, K. T. Edwards

Midsouth Entomologist

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Coccidiodomycosis In Livestock, Robert Wood

Midsouth Entomologist

Coccidioidomycosis, also known as Valley Fever, is a fungal infection that affects most mammals. It is found throughout the semi-arid parts of the Americas. Valley Fever was first described in 1892 as a parasitic disease with high mortality and morbidity, but is now considered to be a low morbidity and mortality fungal disease. Although the disease could have long lasting effects that ultimately lead to death, likelihood of mortality is low. Additionally, morbidity is reduced with appropriate treatment.

Chikungunya: An Imminent Threat To The United States, Breanna Lyle

Midsouth Entomologist

Recent years have seen a drastic increase in the number of cases of Chikungunya, a mosquito-vectored disease spread by day-feeding mosquitoes in the genus Aedes (Diptera: Culicidae). Cases of this disease have been on the rise in the Caribbean Islands as well as in many South American countries. The presence of the vector in many parts of the United States, as well as the proximity to these cases make Chikungunya a looming threat to the United States. While this disease is rarely considered a lethal one, the lasting impacts of an outbreak would be significantly detrimental to the infrastructure of …

Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis (Pam) - Deadly Waters, Morgan Hommel

Midsouth Entomologist

Naegleria fowleri Carter, is a protozoan that causes Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis (PAM). Naegleria fowleri is also referred to as the "brain-eating amoeba", due to the fact that it destroys the brain when in contact. PAM is an extremely rare, yet fatal disease. Fewer than 5 percent of people that have had PAM have survived. PAM is in the United States as well as in underdeveloped countries, most recently Pakistan. PAM is avoidable, as long as the contaminated water does not enter the nostrils.

2015 Soybean Insect Losses In The Southern Us, F. R. Musser, A. L. Catchot Jr., J. A. Davis, D. A. Herbert Jr., G. M. Lorenz, T. Reed, D. D. Reisig, S. D. Stewart

Midsouth Entomologist

Survey-based soybean insect losses were collected following the 2015 growing season to provide a record of insect pressure and soybean management practices for the year. This survey has been done annually in all participating states for at least the last 5 years and since 2004 in Mississippi. The 2015 survey represents 11.7 million soybean acres across the southern United States. Overall, stink bugs re-emerged as the most expensive pest in soybean followed closely by corn earworm and soybean looper. The proportion of fields planted with insecticide seed treatments decreased slightly for the second consecutive year to 60% of all acreage. …

Dengue Fever: Should We Be Concerned As Americans?, Shikinah D. Washington

Midsouth Entomologist

Dengue fever is a virus transmitted through mosquito bites. There are cases in many countries throughout the world that occur every few years. The disease does not kill many people, however, it can make the quality of life very poor and cause people to die who have underlying disease. There is no vaccine to prevent it, and it is a disease that we Americans should not take lightly. It is very possible for there to be an outbreak in the United States, therefore we need to all take precautions against it. An outbreak here or anywhere else in the world …

Nebline, March 2016

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: It’s Easier Than Ever to Connect with Extension — Mobile Device and Social Media are Changing the Way People Learn

Food & Health

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Extension Calendar

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Program And Abstracts Of The 62nd Annual Conference Of The Mississippi Entomological Association, October 19-20, 2015, Mississippi Entomological Association

Midsouth Entomologist

No abstract provided.

One Health: Students' Perspective, Kristine T. Edwards

Midsouth Entomologist

No abstract provided.

Ross River Virus Runs Rampant On The Gold Coast Of Australia, Brandon Gerhart

Midsouth Entomologist

The first outbreak of Ross River Virus (RRV) occurred in 1928 in South Wales, Australia. I reviewed RRV literature published between 2001 and 2015. The virus is carried by a mosquito and transmitted through a wallaby as its most common intermediate host. Researchers arrived at their findings by conducting extensive lab work on both mosquitos and humans. Signs and symptoms of RRV include joint inflammation, pain, fatigue, and muscle aches. It takes 3-21 days for symptoms to appear, with an average of 9 days. There is no cure to RRV, and there is no vaccine currently being developed. The best …

Investigating Physiological Collaborations Between A Lower Termite And Its Symbionts, Brittany F. Peterson

Open Access Dissertations

This project was completed in an effort to better understand the contributions of symbiotic microbes to the biology of Reticulitermes flavipes, the eastern subterranean termite. Lower-termites, like R. flavipes, house symbionts from all three domains of life within their hindgut paunch. This intimate association is reflected in nearly every aspect of termite biology. Here, I investigate these physiological collaborations as they relate to digestion and immunity. My efforts focused on 1) quantifying the role of bacteria in wood digestion within the termite gut, 2) evaluating the role of symbionts in protection against pathogens, and 3) identifying gene products that bacterial …

Antibody Titers To Bed Bug Salivary Proteins In Chickens From An Infested Broiler Breeder House, J. Goddard, J. S. Portugal, K. Maschek

Midsouth Entomologist

Bed bugs (Hemiptera: Cimicidae) might be significant pests in poultry operations, especially in broiler breeder houses. In this study, chickens in breeder houses, known to be infested with bed bugs, demonstrated antibodies to bed bug salivary gland extract, while those not exposed to bed bugs, did not. Antibody titers ranged from 1:160 to 1:640. These results document for the first time that chickens in commercial production, when exposed to bed bug biting, produce antibody responses to proteins contained in bed bug saliva.

Cryptosporidium Parvum: Is It Invincible?, Caitlin Wonnacott

Midsouth Entomologist

Cryptosporidium is a coccidian protozoan parasite that can affect mammals, reptiles, and birds. A coccidian is a single-celled protozoan that affects the epithelial lining of the intestinal walls of hosts it parasitizes. This parasite has a unique life cycle and can withstand common measures of sterilization. The infective oocyte stage is resistant and hardy. It takes on two forms where each goes to different places within the host. Contamination of water sources has led to large outbreaks of cryptosporidiosis, even though the water met and passed the standards for drinking water. Conclusions from previous studies will help lead the way …

What Is Leishmaniasis?, Kimberly Wilson

Midsouth Entomologist

Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease that can cause painful sores to cover one's body. It is found in parts of the tropics, subtropics, and southern Europe. Leishmaniasis is caused by infection with a complex of protozoan organisms, Leishmania spp, which are spread by the bite of infected phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae). There are several different forms of leishmaniasis in people. The most common are cutaneous and visceral. The cutaneous type causes skin sores. The visceral type affects internal organs like the spleen, liver, and sometimes bone marrow.

Choreography Of Silk Spinning By Webspinners (Insecta: Embioptera) Reflects Lifestyle And Hints At Phylogeny, David Mcmillan, Kyle Hohu, Janice Edgerly-Rooks

Biology

Silk spinning defines the morphologically constrained embiopterans. All individuals spin for protection, including immatures, adult males and the wingless females. Enlarged front tarsi are packed with silk glands and clothed with ejectors. They spin by stepping with their front feet and releasing silk against substrates and onto preexisting silk, often cloth-like. Spinning is stereotypical and appears to differ between species in frequency and probability of transition between two spin-step positions. This spinning choreography was assessed using thousands of spin-steps scored in the laboratory for 22 species to test: (1) the body size hypothesis predicting that spinning would be more complex …

A Specialist Herbivore Pest Adaptation To Xenobiotics Through Up-Regulation Of Multiple Cytochrome P450s, Fang Zhu, Timothy W. Moural, David R. Nelson, Subba R. Palli

Entomology Faculty Publications

The adaptation of herbivorous insects to their host plants is hypothesized to be intimately associated with their ubiquitous development of resistance to synthetic pesticides. However, not much is known about the mechanisms underlying the relationship between detoxification of plant toxins and synthetic pesticides. To address this knowledge gap, we used specialist pest Colorado potato beetle (CPB) and its host plant, potato, as a model system. Next-generation sequencing (454 pyrosequencing) was performed to reveal the CPB transcriptome. Differential expression patterns of cytochrome P450 complement (CYPome) were analyzed between the susceptible (S) and imidacloprid resistant (R) beetles. We also evaluated the global …

Unique Features Of A Global Human Ectoparasite Identified Through Sequencing Of The Bed Bug Genome, Joshua B. Benoit, Zach N. Adelman, Klaus Reinhardt, Amanda Dolan, Monica Poelchau, Emily C. Jennings, Elise M. Szuter, Richard W. Hagan, Hemant Gujar, Jayendra Nath Shukla, Fang Zhu, M. Mohan, David R. Nelson, Andrew J. Rosendale, Christian Derst, Valentina Resnik, Sebastian Wernig, Pamela Menegazzi, Christian Wegener, Nicolai Peschel, Jacob M. Hendershot, Wolfgang Blenau, Reinhard Predel, Paul R. Johnston, Panagiotis Ioannidis, Robert M. Waterhouse, Ralf Nauen, Corinna Schorn, Mark-Christoph Ott, Frank Maiwald, Subba R. Palli

Entomology Faculty Publications

The bed bug, Cimex lectularius, has re-established itself as a ubiquitous human ectoparasite throughout much of the world during the past two decades. This global resurgence is likely linked to increased international travel and commerce in addition to widespread insecticide resistance. Analyses of the C. lectularius sequenced genome (650 Mb) and 14,220 predicted protein-coding genes provide a comprehensive representation of genes that are linked to traumatic insemination, a reduced chemosensory repertoire of genes related to obligate hematophagy, host-symbiont interactions, and several mechanisms of insecticide resistance. In addition, we document the presence of multiple putative lateral gene transfer events. Genome …

Nebline, February 2016

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: Tips to Keep Your Heart Healthy — February is Heart Health Month

Food & Health

Family Living

Farm & Acreage

Horticulture

Pests & Wildlife

4-H & Youth

Extension Calendar

and other extension news and events

Insect Bronzes Of George Foster, Stéphane Le Tirant, Brett C. Ratcliffe

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

The artist’s fabulous bronze insect sculptures, including magnificent scarabs, have been exhibited at the Montréal Insectarium, the Canadian Museum of Nature, the Museum of the University of Nebraska, and many art galleries. Others are in permanent exhibition at the Insectarium of Hong Kong and elsewhere in Asia. George Foster appeared in the episode “Living Art” of the Insectia TV series in 1999. Some sculptures are part of the personal collection of Stéphane Le Tirant, Brett C. Ratcliffe, and the late Henry F. Howden and Roger-Paul Dechambre. We want to acquaint the readers of Scarabs about this artist.

Effect Of Cry1f Maize On The Behavior Of Susceptible And Resistant Spodoptera Frugiperda And Ostrinia Nubilalis, Ana María Vélez, Analiza P. Alves, Erin E. Blankenship, Blair Siegfried

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Understanding the behavior of pests targeted with Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner (Bt) crops is important to define resistance management strategies. Particularly the study of larval movement between plants is important to determine the feasibility of refuge configurations. Exposure to Bt maize, Zea mays L. (Poaceae), has been suggested to increase larval movement in lepidopteran species but few studies have examined the potential for resistance to interact with behavioral responses to Bt toxins. Choice and no-choice experiments were conducted with Spodoptera frugiperda (JE Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) and Ostrinia nubilalis (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) to determine whether Cry1F resistance influences neonate movement. Leaf discs …