Entomology Commons^™

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

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 …

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 …

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. …

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. …

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 …

Crop Residue Disappearance And Macrofauna Activity In Sub-Humid Western Kenya, J. Kihara, C. Martius, A. Bationo

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Rapid disappearance of crop residue used as soil surface cover in conservation tillage systems reduces the envisaged soil cover benefits. This study was conducted in a conservation tillage experiment, established in 2003 in Nyabeda, western Kenya, to (1) characterize crop residue disappearance during crop growth, and (2) assess termite activity and characteristics of soil (carbon concentration and aggregate stability) in termite-molded sheetings and mound soil. Loss of surface-placed residue in the presence of macrofauna (defined as >1 mm) was up to 83 % in 3.5 months, compared to 33 % in the absence of macrofauna. Overall, residue loss was up …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Phylogenetic Molecular Species Delimitations Unravel Potential New Species In The Pest Genus Spodoptera Guenée, 1852 (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae), Pascaline Dumas, Jérôme Barbut, Bruno Le Ru, Jean François Silvain, Anne Laure Clamens, Emmanuelle D'Alençon, Gael J. Kergoat

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Nowadays molecular species delimitation methods promote the identification of species boundaries within complex taxonomic groups by adopting innovative species concepts and theories (e.g. branching patterns, coalescence). As some of them can efficiently deal with large single-locus datasets, they could speed up the process of species discovery compared to more time consuming molecular methods, and benefit from the existence of large public datasets; these methods can also particularly favour scientific research and actions dealing with threatened or economically important taxa. In this study we aim to investigate and clarify the status of economically important moths species belonging to the genus Spodoptera …

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 …