Entomology Commons^™

Common Crane Fly In Turf, Ricardo Ramirez, Kelly Kopp

All Current Publications

Crane flies belong to one of the most specious families of flies. The adult flies, also known as “mosquito hawks”, are not giant mosquitoes and do not bite, and though the name suggests it, they do not feed on mosquitoes. In general, the larvae are associated with aquatic and semi-aquatic habitats. The majority of crane flies are not pests.

Comparative Analysis Of Pesticide Effects On Natural Enemies In Western Orchards: A Synthesis Of Laboratory Bioassay Data, Nicholas J. Mills, Elizabeth H. Beers, Peter W. Shearer, Thomas R. Unruh, Kaushalya G. Amarasekare

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Faculty Research

Pesticides are commonly used for pest management in apple, pear and walnut orchards in the western U.S. and may disrupt biological control of secondary pests in these crops. A comparative analysis was made of results obtained from a series of laboratory bioassays of acute mortality and life table response experiments to estimate lethal and sublethal effects of eight pesticides on seven natural enemy species through use of stage-structured population models. Even though a number of the pesticides tested were reduced-risk products, all of them with the exception of copper plus mancozeb and chlorantraniliprole, caused more than 80% acute mortality of …

Effects Of Ibuprofen And Caffeine Concentrations On The Common Bed Bug (Cimex Lectularius L.) Feeding And Fecundity, Ralph B. Narain, Shripat T. Kamble

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Bed bugs are ectoparasites of humans and require a blood meal for their growth and reproduction. Since humans consume Ibuprofen as pain medication and drink coffee (caffeine), bed bugs are likely to acquire these drugs through blood feeding. In this study, we determined the biological effects of Ibuprofen and caffeine on bed bug feeding, fecundity and egg hatch. Five concentrations of Ibuprofen and caffeine were incorporated into reconstituted human blood (RHB). Control treatment had no Ibuprofen or caffeine. Each treatment had six replications. Groups of 20 adult bed bugs (10 males: 10 females)/treatment/replication were pre-weighed, allowed to feed for 45 …

Bacterial Symbionts, Buchnera, And Starvation On Wing Dimorphism In English Grain Aphid, Sitobion Avenae (F.) (Homoptera: Aphididae), Fangmei Zhang, Xiangrui Li, Yunhui Zhang, Brad Coates, Xuguo Joe Zhou, Dengfa Cheng

Entomology Faculty Publications

Wing dimorphism in aphids can be affected by multiple cues, including both biotic (nutrition, crowding, interspecific interactions, the presence of natural enemies, maternal and transgenerational effects, and alarm pheromone) and abiotic factors (temperature, humidity, and photoperiod). The majority of the phloem-feeding aphids carry Buchnera, an obligate symbiotic proteobacteria. Buchnera has a highly reduced genome size, but encode key enzymes in the tryptophan biosynthetic pathway and is crucial for nutritional balance, development and reproduction in aphids. In this study, we investigated the impact of two nutritional-based biotic factors, symbionts and starvation, on the wing dimorphism in the English grain aphid, …

Flow Cytometry And K-Mer Analysis Estimates Of The Genome Sizes Of Bemisia Tabaci B And Q (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), Li T. Guo, Shao L. Wang, Qing J. Wu, Xuguo Zhou, Wen Xie, You J. Zhang

Entomology Faculty Publications

The genome sizes of the B- and Q-types of the whitefly Bemisia tabaci (Gennnadius) were estimated using flow cytometry (Drosophila melanogaster as the DNA reference standard and propidium iodide (PI) as the fluorochrome) and k-mer analysis. For flow cytometry, the mean nuclear DNA content was 0.686 pg for B-type males, 1.392 pg for B-type females, 0.680 pg for Q-type males, and 1.306 pg for Q-type females. Based on the relationship between DNA content and genome size (1 pg DNA = 980 Mbp), the haploid genome size of B. tabaci ranged from 640 to 682 Mbp. For k-mer analysis, genome …

The Floral Hosts And Distribution Of A Supposed Creosote Bush Specialist, Colletes Stehpeni Timberlake (Hymenoptera: Colletidae), Rebekah Andrus Nelson, Terry Griswold

An

Colletes stehpani Timberlake is thought to be a narrow oligolege of creosote bush, Larrea tridentata (DC.) Coville (Zygophyllaceae) with limited distribution in the Sonoran desert of the Western United States. Based on appraisal of a museum specimens and fieldsurveys from 1999 to 2001 on 21 sand dunes, we foundd C. stephani to be a much more widely distributed psammophile of theSonoran, Mojave, and Great Basin Deserts that utilizes two unrelated plant pollen scources,Larrea Cav. and Psorothamnus Rydb. (Fabaceae). The geologic history of the region suggests a potential host shift from the more ancient occupant, Psorothamnus, to the Neogene colonizer, Larrea.

The Spinning Apparatus Of Webspinners – Functional-Morphology, Morphometrics And Spinning Behaviour, Sebastian Büsse, Thomas Hörnschemeyer, Kyle Hohu, David Mcmillan, Janice Edgerly-Rooks

Biology

Webspinners (Insecta: Embioptera) have a distinctly unique behaviour with related morphological characteristics. Producing silk with the basitarsomeres of their forelegs plays a crucial role in the lives of these insects – providing shelter and protection. The correlation between body size, morphology and morphometrics of the spinning apparatus and the spinning behaviour of Embioptera was investigated for seven species using state-of-the-art methodology for behavioural as well as for morphological approaches. Independent contrast analysis revealed correlations between morphometric characters and body size. Larger webspinners in this study have glands with greater reservoir volume, but in proportionally smaller tarsi relative to body size …

Short Germ Insects Utilize Both The Ancestral And Derived Mode Of Polycomb Group-Mediated Epigenetic Silencing Of Hox Genes, Yuji Matsuoka, Tetsuya Bando, Takahito Watanabe, Yoshiyasu Ishimaru, Sumihare Noji, Aleksander Popadic, Taro Mito

Biological Sciences Faculty Research Publications

In insect species that undergo long germ segmentation, such as Drosophila, all segments are specified simultaneously at the early blastoderm stage. As embryogenesis progresses, the expression boundaries of Hox genes are established by repression of gap genes, which is subsequently replaced by Polycomb group (PcG) silencing. At present, however, it is not known whether patterning occurs this way in a more ancestral (short germ) mode of embryogenesis, where segments are added gradually during posterior elongation. In this study, two members of the PcG family, Enhancer of zeste (E(z)) and Suppressor of zeste 12 (Su(z)12), were analyzed in the …

Hexapod Herald - Vol. 27, No. 2, May 2015

Hexapod Herald and Other Entomology Department Newsletters

Content: Welcome - Congratulations - Student News - Publications - Travel - Meet an Off-Campus Student - Faculty News - First Ever Alumni Dinner

Nebline, May 2015

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: It is Important for Youth to Keep Learning and Stay Active During Summer

Food & Health

Family Living

Farm & Acreage

Horticulture

Pests & Wildlife

4-H & Youth

Extension Calendar

and other extension news and events

Genetic Variability And Geographic Diversity Of The Common Bed Bug (Hemiptera: Cimicidae) Populations From The Midwest Using Microsatellite Markers, Ralph B. Narain, Sreedevi Madhusoodhanan Lalithambika, Shripat T. Kamble

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

With the recent global resurgence of the bed bugs (Cimex lectularius L.), there is a need to better understand its biology, ecology, and ability to establish populations. Bed bugs are domestic pests that feed mainly on mammalian blood. Although bed bugs have not been implicated as vectors of pathogens, their biting activity inflicts severe insomnia and allergic reactions. Moreover, they have recently developed resistance to various insecticides, which requires further molecular research to determine genetic variation and appropriate interventions. Population dynamics, including genetic differentiation and genetic distance of 10 populations from the Midwest were analyzed in this study. …

Life History And Natural Enemies Of Parthenolecanium Spp. In Four Southeastern States, Ernesto Robayo Camacho

All Dissertations

Soft scales (Hemiptera: Coccidae) are some of the most prevalent and difficult to control arthropod pests in urban landscapes of the southern United States. European fruit lecanium, Parthenolecanium corni (Bouche), and oak lecanium, Parthenolecanium quercifex (Fitch), are commonly found in mixed populations as pests of oak trees (Quercus spp.) in the region. The phenology and natural enemies of the two species are poorly understood, which in turn hinders pest managers' ability to develop an integrated management program against these species. This research project aims to fill the information gaps concerning the life history and natural enemies of P. corni and …

Phylogeny And Diversity Of Entamoeba In Cockroaches, With An Emphasis On Periplaneta Americana, Mustafa Husain Fakhri

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

While the parasitic Amoebozoan Entamoeba histolytica has been well-studied for its role in human pathogenesis, the biodiversity of invertebrate-inhabiting Entamoeba has scarcely been investigated. Using molecular methods, I searched for Entamoeba in the guts of cockroaches from four of the six Blattodean families. Entamoeba small-subunit rRNA genes were recovered from all eight species of cockroaches tested, five of which represent newly discovered hosts. Phylogenetic analysis of over 190 sequences revealed a novel and highly diverse clade of cockroach-inhabiting Entamoeba, separate from the clade predominated by vertebrate-inhabitants. These results double the known genetic diversity of Entamoeba and suggest that they may …

The Relationship Between Manuscript Title Structure And Success: Editorial Decisions And Citation Performance For An Ecological Journal, Charles W. Fox, C. Sean Burns

Entomology Faculty Publications

A poorly chosen article title may make a paper difficult to discover or discourage readership when discovered, reducing an article's impact. Yet, it is unclear how the structure of a manuscript's title influences readership and impact. We used manuscript tracking data for all manuscripts submitted to the journal Functional Ecology from 2004 to 2013 and citation data for papers published in this journal from 1987 to 2011 to examine how title features changed and whether a manuscript's title structure was predictive of success during the manuscript review process and/or impact (citation) after publication. Titles of manuscripts submitted to Functional Ecology …

Seasonal Activity And Sampling Methods For The Dectes Stem Borer, Dectes Texanus Leconte, In Nebraska Soybeans, Zachary D. Rystrom

Department of Entomology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The Dectes stem borer, Dectes texanus Leconte, has caused significant economic damage to soybean fields in south central Nebraska during recent years. Most economic injury occurs when soybean plants become susceptible to late season lodging due to larval girdling. Developing a comprehensive management plan for Dectes stem borer in Nebraska is limited by lack of knowledge of seasonal activity and effective sampling plans to monitor adult populations. Field studies were conducted in 2013 and 2014 to describe Dectes stem borer adult emergence patterns, female ovipositional period and adult densities in soybean fields. Calendar date predictions for adult emergence varied, while …

Assessment Of Variation In Susceptibility Of The Fall Armyworm, Spodoptera Frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), To Bacillus Thuringiensis Toxins, Karen Ferreira Da Silva

Department of Entomology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda, is a polyphagous insect pest affecting multiple crops. Fall armyworm is managed with insecticides and corn hybrids expressing insecticidal proteins derived from Bacillus thuringiensis. The early detection of insect resistance is important for making appropriate management decisions informs IPM and IRM recommendations.

The objective of the first study was to establish baseline susceptibility of fall armyworm populations to the Cry1F Bt insecticidal protein, emphasizing collections from locations where fall armyworm overwinters in the U.S. Fall armyworm neonates were exposed to artificial diet treated with increasing Cry1F concentrations, and mortality and growth inhibition were …

Monographic Revision Of The Genus Hoplopyga Thomson, 1880 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae: Gymnetini), Jennifer M. Shaughney

Department of Entomology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

A comprehensive revision of the genus Hoplopyga Thomson, 1880 is presented. Eighteen species are redescribed and two new species are described. A key for identification, distribution maps, and images of the 20 species are provided. Hoplopyga ruteri Antoine is removed from the genus and placed in junior synonymy with Macrocranius similis Schürhoff. Lectotypes are designated for Hoplopyga brasiliensis (Gory and Percheron), Hoplopyga corumbana Schürhoff, and Hoplopyga multipunctata (Gory and Percheron). The following new synonyms are established: Hoplopyga lucidiventris (Thomson) is Hoplopyga foeda (Schaum); Hoplopyga spurca (Janson) is Hoplopyga liturata (Olivier); Hoplopyga monacha (Gory and Percheron) and Hoplopyga rubida …

Soil Preferences Of Nicrophorus Beetles And The Effects Of Compaction On Burying Behavior, Kelly A. Willemssens

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The American burying beetle, Nicrophorus americanus Olivier was declared federally endangered in 1989 and many efforts to prevent this species from going extinct are ongoing. The Nicrophorus beetles bury small carcasses for reproductive purposes. They also reside in the soil during times of daily and seasonal inactivity. To better understand why N. americanus is in decline, the importance of soil texture, moisture, vegetation, gravel, the burial depth, and the effect of compaction on their burying behavior was examined.

All tested species preferred moist soils with N. orbicollis having a significant preference for wet (pN. marginatus had a significant preference for …

Evaluation Of Foraging Patterns Of Linepithema Humile (Mayr), The Argentine Ant, To Improve Bait Placement In Natural Park Habitats, Jinbo Song

All Dissertations

Linepithema humile (Mayr), the Argentine ant, is an invasive ant species and a significant pest in natural and managed habitats of the southeastern United States. In the natural sites of Lake Greenwood State Park (LGSP) in the Piedmont region of South Carolina, L. humile has invaded. Although park personnel treat problem areas with liquid insecticides, control of L. humile through the park areas is minimal. The primary objectives of this study were to determine the optimal foraging distance of L. humile, evaluate over-wintering nest temperatures and foraging activity of L. humile, and evaluate liquid bait placement to control L. humile. …

Monitoring Abundance Of Ips Bark Beetles And Determining Related Tree Mortality In Arkansas And Texas, Chandler Stefan Barton

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The abundance of the southern pine engraver beetles, Ips avulsus (Eichhoff), I. grandicollis (Eichhoff), and I. calligraphus (Germar), was monitored with pheromone-baited traps in 2012 and 2013 in Arkansas and eastern Texas. Additionally, vehicle-based and comprehensive ground-based surveys were used to estimate and confirm the amount of dead and fading trees in each trapping site. Pine engraver beetles have historically been recognized as secondary invaders of healthy trees, but observations of pine mortality in Texas and Arkansas appeared to correspond with high population densities of Ips spp. Forest sites exhibiting subjectively high or low incidence of Ips-associated mortality in Arkansas …