Entomology Commons^™

Carbon Dioxide Sensitivity In Two Disjunct Populations Of The Pitcher-Plant Mosquito, Wyeomyia Smithii, Daniel L. Allen Jr.

Honors College Theses

The pitcher-plant mosquito, Wyeomyia smithii, utilizes carbon dioxide receptors primarily on their maxillary palps to seek potential hosts for blood meals. Two disjunct populations of W. smithii were analyzed to test for differences in carbon dioxide sensitivity that would correlate to varying levels of autogeny, ranging from the autogenous Northern populations (from North Carolina through Canada) to the anautonenous Southern populations (Florida – Louisiana), with the Georgia population exhibiting a shift from autogeny to anautogeny over the past two decades. I compared Georgia (Tattnall Co.) and Florida populations using blood feeding assays and olfactometry assays. Willingness to blood feed …

A Comprehensive Selection Of Reference Genes For Rt-Qpcr Analysis In A Predatory Lady Beetle, Hippodamia Convergens (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), Huipeng Pan, Xiaowei Yang, Blair D. Siegfried, Xuguo Zhou

Entomology Faculty Publications

Reverse transcriptase-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) is a reliable, rapid, and reproducible technique for measuring and evaluating changes in gene expression. To facilitate gene expression studies and obtain more accurate RT-qPCR data, normalization relative to stable reference genes is required. In this study, expression profiles of seven candidate reference genes, including β-actin (Actin), elongation factor 1 α (EF1A), glyceralde hyde-3-phosphate dehydro-genase (GAPDH), cyclophilins A (CypA), vacuolar-type H+-ATPase (ATPase), 28S ribosomal RNA (28S), and 18S ribosomal RNA (18S) from Hippodamia convergens were investigated. H. …

Producing Quality Barley For The Malting Industry, Haley H. Oser Dph

Doctor of Plant Health Program: Dissertations and Student Research

The University of Nebraska – Lincoln Doctor of Plant Health program requires each student to fulfill a professional internship over the last summer of the program. For my internship, I worked as a Barley Scientist Intern for MillerCoors and Golden Malting in Golden, Colorado. During this internship I gained a fundamental understanding of malting barley production with a significant emphasis on grain quality. Barley produced for malting must fulfill strict industry quality standards before it is accepted by the head maltsters. These quality standards include: a high germination rate, low moisture content, protein content within an acceptable range and the …

Mapk Signaling Pathway Alters Expression Of Midgut Alp And Abcc Genes And Causes Resistance To Bacillus Thuringiensis Cry1ac Toxin In Diamondback Moth, Zhaojiang Guo, Shi Kang, Defeng Chen, Qingjun Wu, Shaoli Wang, Wen Xie, Xun Zhu, Simon W. Baxter, Xuguo Zhou, Juan Luis Jurat-Fuentes, Youjun Zhang

Entomology Faculty Publications

Insecticidal crystal toxins derived from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) are widely used as biopesticide sprays or expressed in transgenic crops to control insect pests. However, large-scale use of Bt has led to field-evolved resistance in several lepidopteran pests. Resistance to Bt Cry1Ac toxin in the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.), was previously mapped to a multigenic resistance locus (BtR-1). Here, we assembled the 3.15 Mb BtR-1 locus and found high-level resistance to Cry1Ac and Bt biopesticide in four independent P. xylostella strains were all associated with differential expression of a midgut membrane-bound alkaline phosphatase (ALP …

Water Vapor Uptake Across The Cocoon Wall Of The Introduced Pine Sawfly Diprion Similis (Hartig) (Hymenoptera: Diprionidae, Elizabeth Henderson

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

For many Holarctic insect species, overwintering in a tightly spun cocoon provides protection against predators and pathogens, physical damage, and extreme fluctuations in environmental conditions. Research with insect cocoons has shown that the physical properties of the cocoon wall play an important role in regulating the diffusion of water vapor and respiratory gases. In an attempt to better understand properties of water vapor diffusion across the cocoon wall, we measured relative amounts of water uptake or loss in overwintering cocoons of the Introduced Pine Sawfly (Diprion similis (Hartig)) in Maine. We also characterized the relative density of silk fibers arranged …

Nebline, April 2015

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: 4-H Clubs of Excellence Award Recognizes Successful Clubs

Food & Health

Family Living

Farm & Acreage

Horticulture

Pests & Wildlife

4-H & Youth

Extension Calendar

and other extension news and events

Special Pullout Section: Weed Awareness

Monarch Butterfly, Sam Baker

Sustainability

No abstract provided.

Internship In The Entomological Collections In The Smithsonian Institution (Si), National Museum Of Natural History (Nmnh): A Species-Level Inventory Of The Superfamily Gelechioidea (Insecta: Lepidoptera)., Sherry V. Spriggs

Department of Entomology: Distance Master of Science Projects

The internship was completed in the Department of Entomology at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History located in Washington, DC. The internship started November 2014 and ended April 2015 and consisted of working in the collection room one day per week, usually on Tuesdays. One of the goals of the Department of Entomology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution is to compile a comprehensive inventory all of the species in its collections. As a component of this over-arching goal, the primary project of the internship was to compile a species-level inventory of the superfamily Gelechioidea (Insecta: Lepidoptera).

Comparison Of The Genome Profiles Between Head And Body Lice, Jae Soon Kang, Yong-Ho Cho, Ju Hyeon Kim, Sang Hyeon Kim, Seungil Yoo, Seung-Jae Noh, Junhyung Park, Kyong-Sup Yoon, J. Marshall Clark, Barry R. Pittendrigh, Jongsik Chun, Si Hyeock Lee

Biological Sciences Faculty Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity

The body louse (Pediculus humanus humanus) is known to have diverged from the head louse (P. humanus capitis) but genomic differences between these two subspecies still remain unexplored. To compare genomic profiles between head and body lice, whole genome sequences of head lice were determined by next generation sequencing methods based on both Illumina Genome analyzer and Roche GS FLX pyrosequencing and compared with the reference genome sequences of the body louse. Total consensuses generated by mapping to the body louse genome in conjunction with de novo assembly of head louse genome sequences revealed a head louse genome size of …

Non-Target Effects Of Clothianidin On Monarch Butterflies, Jacob R. Pecenka, Jonathan G. Lundgren

Natural Resource Management Faculty Publications

Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) frequently consume milkweed in and near agroecosystems and consequently may be exposed to pesticides like neonicotinoids. We conducted a dose response study to determine lethal and sublethal doses of clothianidin using a 36-h exposure scenario. We then quantified clothianidin levels found in milkweed leaves adjacent to maize fields. Toxicity assays revealed LC₁₀, LC₅₀, and LC₉₀ values of 7.72, 15.63, and 30.70 ppb, respectively. Sublethal effects (larval size) were observed at 1 ppb. Contaminated milkweed plants had an average of 1.14 ±0.10 ppb clothianidin, with a maximum of 4 ppb in a …

Eco-Evolutionary Factors Drive Herbivore-Induced Plant Volatiles, Which Intercept Plant Defense, Elizabeth K. Rowen

Open Access Theses

Herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) mediate a wide variety of interactions in ecosystems. However, many volatile compounds are found across plant taxa, and some are exploited to attract natural enemies for biological control. Subtle changes in HIPV blends can produce profound changes in the behavior of predators, parasitoids and herbivores, and may also alter the defensive processes of neighboring plants. I investigated different ecological and evolutionary factors to understand how plant volatile emissions are affected by feeding guild, herbivore diet breadth and domestication. I meta-analyzed 109 studies and found that specialists induce more total volatiles than generalists. Domesticated species have stronger …

Potential Of Ozone Technology For German Cockroach (Bblattella Germanica (L.)) Management, Yanlin Tian

Open Access Theses

German cockroaches (Blattella germanica (L.)) are important urban pests that adversely impact human health. Previous studies indicated that ozone technology (ozone gas) can be used as a management tool to control insect pests in grain storage facilities, stored foods and some finished products. The goal of my study was to broaden the applicability of ozone from traditional stored grain pests to B. germanica. The first part of my study determined the concentration-time (CT) relationship of ozone required to achieve 100% mortality in various life stages (adults, nymphs and eggs) ofB. germanica. Results showed that eggs were the most ozone-tolerant …

Characterization Of Hessian Fly From Israel, Alisha J Johnson

Open Access Dissertations

Mayetiola destructor Say, the Hessian fly, is a gall midge and a member of the Dipteran family Cecidomyiidae. It is a common pest of wheat found throughout all of the major wheat growing areas of the world and poses a serious economic threat to the United States (US), particularly in the Southeast winter wheat region. Damage to wheat is done solely by feeding first and second in-star larvae. Hessian fly (Hf) infestations result in a loss in grain yield by the stunting and/or killing of seedling wheat plants in the winter and by causing breakage at the nodes of the …

Investigation Of Dried Distillers Grains With Solubles (Ddgs) Susceptibility To Red Flour Beetle (Tribolium Castaneum (Herbst)) Infestation, Mahsa Fardisi

Open Access Dissertations

Protecting livestock feed from insect infestation is a common challenge that feed facility managers and farmers have to deal with. It becomes an issue of importance because insect infestation degrades feed quality and quantity. Dried Distillers Grains with Solubles (DDGS) is added to livestock feed because of its high protein content. As DDGS usage in animal feed increases, understanding the susceptibility of DDGS, when mixed with livestock feed, to insect infestation is necessary for safe feed storage. This research addressed four questions. The first looked at the susceptibility of DDGS, when stored as a raw ingredient, to Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) …

The Role Of Entomology In Environmental And Science Education: Comparing Outreach Methods For Their Impact On Student And Teacher Content Knowledge And Motivation, Faith J. Weeks

Open Access Dissertations

Outreach programming can be an important way for local students and teachers to be exposed to new fields while enhancing classroom learning. University-based outreach programs are offered throughout the country, including most entomology departments as few individuals learn about insects in school and these programs can be excellent sources of entomological education, as well as models to teach environmental and science education. Each department utilizes different instructional delivery methods for teaching about insects, which may impact the way in which students and teachers understand the insect concepts presented. To determine the impact of using entomology to enhance science and environmental …

Undercover Predators: Vegetation Mediates Foraging, Trophic Cascades, And Biological Control By Omnivorous Weed Seed Predators, Carmen K Blubaugh

Open Access Dissertations

Weed pressure is the most costly challenge that vegetable growers face, requiring more labor investment than other production inputs. Vertebrate and invertebrate seed predators destroy a large percentage of weed propagules on the soil surface, and their ecosystem services may ease labor requirements for farmers in herbicide-free systems. Cover provided by living vegetation is an important predictor of seed predator activity, and my dissertation takes a comprehensive approach to understanding the behavior, predator, and environment-mediated mechanisms by which cover impacts weed seed predation in crop environments. ^ First, I performed a meta-analysis of 27 studies to quantitatively evaluate what is …

Carrion-Associated Arthropods In Rural And Urban Environments, Serena Daye Gross

Open Access Dissertations

Preferences of arthropods are important in forensic entomology, as the species collected can help determine the postmortem interval or if remains have been moved. This study looked at arthropods that are attracted to pig carcasses in rural and urban habitats in Northwest Indiana. The species and number of carrion-associated arthropods that are found at a carcass vary with habitat type, month, and stage of decomposition. Lucilia sericata (Diptera: Calliphoridae) is a synanthropic species that was found in higher numbers in urban locations for both adults and larvae. Though L. sericata had higher numbers in urban habitats, caution must be exercised …

Flea Beetles On Vegetables, Bonnie Bunn, Diane Alston, Marion Murray

All Current Publications

Flea beetles are common and problematic in Utah. They are present in late spring and early summer on many vegetable crops and ornamental plants. Adult flea beetles are small, shiny insects that have enlarged hind legs, allowing them to jump great distances when disturbed.

Pyrosequencing Reveals A Shift In Symbiotic Bacteria Populations Across Life Stages Of Bactrocera Dorsalis, Awawing A. Andongma, Lun Wan, Yong-Cheng Dong, Ping Li, Nicolas Desneux, Jennifer A. White, Chang-Ying Niu

Entomology Faculty Publications

Bactrocera dorsalis is one of the most economically important fruit flies around the world. In this study, 454 pyrosequencing was used to identify the bacteria associated with different developmental stages of B. dorsalis. At ≥ 97% nucleotide similarity, total reads could be assigned to 172 Operational Taxonomic Units belonging to six phyla. Proteobacteria dominated in immature stages while Firmicutes dominated in adult stages. The most abundant families were Enterococcaceae and Comamondaceae. The genus Comamonas was most abundant in pupae whereas completely absent in adults. Some identified species had low sequence similarity to reported species indicating the possibility of …

Stably Expressed Housekeeping Genes Across Developmental Stages In The Two-Spotted Spider Mite, Tetranychus Urticae, Chunxiao Yang, Huipeng Pan, Yong Liu, Xuguo Zhou

Entomology Faculty Publications

Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) is a reliable and reproducible technique for measuring mRNA expression. To facilitate gene expression studies and obtain more accurate qRT-PCR analysis, normalization relative to stable housekeeping genes is mandatory. In this study, ten housekeeping genes, including beta-actin (Actin), elongation factor 1 α (EF1A), glyceralde hyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), ribosomal protein L13 (RPL13), ribosomal protein 49 (RP49), α-tubulin (Tubulin), vacuolar-type H+-ATPase (v-ATPase), succinate dehydrogenase subunit A (SDHA) , 28S ribosomal RNA (28S), and 18S ribosomal RNA (18S) from …