Entomology Commons^™

Efficacy Of Neem Chippings For Mosquito Larval Control Under Field Conditions, Susan S. Imbahale, Wolfgang R. Mukabana

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Background: An in depth understanding of mosquito breeding biology and factors regulating population sizes is fundamental for vector population control. This paper presents results from a survey of mosquito breeding habitats and the efficacy of neem chippings as a potential larvicide that can be integrated in mosquito control on Nyabondo Plateau in western Kenya.Results: Six main mosquito habitat types namely artificial ponds, abandoned fish ponds, active fish ponds, open drains, temporary pools and swamps were found in Nyabondo. Early anopheline instars were mainly recovered from temporary pools, artificial ponds and abandoned fish ponds. The mosquitoes collected wereAnopheles gambiaesensu lato (35%), …

Environmental Impacts On Life History In Container Breeding Mosquitoes, Kathleen May Westby

Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation I explore different ways that the environment impacts life history in mosquitoes in ways that may alter vectorial capacity. In chapter I, I tested if short-term sugar deprivation experienced after exposure to La Crosse virus altered infection rates in Aedes albopictus and if sugar treatment and virus infection status altered blood feeding behavior and fecundity. I found no evidence that sugar deprivation impacted infection rates or fecundity. Sugar deprivation did increase blood feeding. There was no effect of infection status on blood feeding or fecundity. In chapter II, I tested for effects of seasonal cues (temperature and …

Nebline, March 2015

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: 4-H Ag Literacy Teaches Youth Where Their Food and Fiber Comes From

Food & Health

Family Living

Farm & Acreage

Horticulture

Pests & Wildlife

4-H & Youth

Extension Calendar

and other extension news and events

Effect Of Chemical Cues On The Foraging And Tunneling Behavior Of Formosan Subterranean Termites (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae), M. L. Cornelius, W. L. Osbrink

Midsouth Entomologist

Wood rot fungi can cause directional tunneling, aggregation behavior and increased wood consumption by subterranean termites. Because vanillin and guaiacol are byproducts of lignin degradation, these chemicals were tested as potential attractants to Formosan subterranean termites, Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae). In tunneling tests, termites tunneled faster in sand treated with vanillin, but not guaiacol, compared with control sand. Termite responses to vanillin were compared to two other chemicals that had been previously shown to affect bait discovery in field tests, Summon Preferred Food Source™ and a sports drink. When discovery of bait tubes was monitored in a foraging arena, …

Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Of The Big Thicket Region Of Texas, J. G. Hill

Midsouth Entomologist

Based on literature records and recent collections, a list of 65 species of ants in the Big Thicket region of Texas is presented. Three new state records for Texas were documented during this survey including Aphaenogaster miamiana Wheeler, Dolichoderus pustulatus Mayr, and Strumigenys angulata Smith. Nine exotic species of ants were documented in the region with three species (Brachymyrmex patagonicus Mayr, Solenopsis invicta Buren, and Pheidole moerens Wheeler) being pervasive.

Laboratory Assays With Various Insecticides Against Bed Bugs Taken From A Poultry House In Mississippi, J. Goddard, K. Maschek

Midsouth Entomologist

Bed bugs may be severe pests in poultry houses, especially broiler breeder houses, leading to stress, anemia, and lowered egg production in the birds. Insecticides are important tools in managing these pests; however, efficacy data for many commercially available products is lacking. This laboratory study evaluated 8 insecticides (5 traditional residual products and 3 natural or “green” products) against bed bugs collected from a poultry house in Mississippi during August 2014. Invader® (propoxur), Ravap® (rabon and vapona), and Cimexa® (silica gel) killed 100% of bed bugs when exposed to ceramic tiles sprayed with the products 24 hours earlier. Interestingly, Ravap®(rabon/vapona …

Description Of The Queen Caste Of Pheidole Obscurithorax (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), J. A. Macgown

Midsouth Entomologist

Pheidole obscurithorax, the South-American big-headed ant, is native to South America, but now common along the United States Gulf Coast region. Although the major and minor workers castes have been described, reproductive castes have not. The spread of exotic and potentially invasive ant species that disperse by flight can be monitored in part through the use of various aerial and light traps. However, due to a paucity of descriptions of reproductive castes of ants in general, identifications of these castes from traps are difficult at best. To better facilitate the identification of P. obscurithorax and its spread in the Gulf …

Program And Abstracts Of The 61st Annual Conference Of The Mississippi Entomological Association, October 20-21, 2014, Mississippi Entomological Association

Midsouth Entomologist

No abstract provided.

The Mayfly Newsletter, Peter M. Grant

The Mayfly Newsletter

The Mayfly Newsletter is the official newsletter of the Permanent Committee of the International Conferences on Ephemeroptera.

Development Of A Screening Program For Identification Of The Neoplastic Pod Gene (Np) In Syngenta Snap Peas, Emily Kniep

Department of Entomology: Distance Master of Science Projects

Project Objective The purpose of this project was to design a method for screening Syngenta snap pea varieties for the neoplastic podded gene (np). Pea varieties will be characterized phenotypically using weevil extracts to produce a neoplasm response of the np gene. Screening for neoplasms will enable the breeding team to understand if the gene is present how it might or might not be affecting pod quality reductions.

Project Outcomes and Significance The most important outcome was discovered during the proof of concept phase of protocol creation when it was established that the np gene is likely not …

Optimizing Western Flower Thrips Management On French Beans By Combined Use Of Beneficials And Imidacloprid, Johnson O. Nyasani, Sevgan Subramanian, Hans Michael Poehling, Nguya K. Maniania, Sunday Ekesi, Rainer Meyhöfer

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Western flower thrips (WFT), Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande), is an important pest of vegetable crops worldwide and has developed resistance to many insecticides. The predatory mites Neoseiulus (=Amblyseius) cucumeris (Oudemans), the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae (Metsch.), and an insecticide (imidacloprid) were tested for their efficacy to reduce WFT population density and damage to French bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) pods under field conditions in two planting periods. Metarhizium anisopliae was applied as a foliar spray weekly at a rate of one litre spray volume per plot while imidacloprid was applied as a soil drench every two weeks at a rate of two …

First Record Of A Spotted Fever Group Rickettsia Sp. And Theileria Annulata In Hyalomma Dromedarii (Acari: Ixodidae) Ticks In The United Arab Emirates, Mohammad Ali Al-Deeb, Sabir Bin Muzaffar, Yousif Ali Abu-Zeid, Mohamed Rizk Enan, Shahid Karim

Faculty Publications

Rickettsiosis and theileriosis can cause mortalities in camel populations. This study was conducted to achieve 2 objectives: (1) to detect the presence of SFG Rickettsia sp. and Theileria sp. in Hyalomma dromedarii Koch, 1844 (Acari: Ixodidae) ticks and (2) to determine their prevalence in the tick population on the sampled camel farms in Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Camel ticks (H. dromedarii) were collected from a total of 625 one-humped camels (Camelus dromedarius) in 22 sampling locations in Al-Ain, UAE. Tick samples were analyzed by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). An SFG Rickettsia sp., which was 99% …

2014 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 2014 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 4 years and since 2004 in Mississippi. The 2014 survey represents more than 11 million soybean acres across the southern United States. Overall, the 2014 survey showed corn earworm to be the most costly insect pest in the region for the fourth consecutive year, but stink bug was the most expensive insect pest in five of the seven surveyed states. …

Temporal Patterns Of Nutrition Dependence In Secondary Sexual Traits And Their Varying Impacts On Male Mating Success, Malcolm F. Rosenthal, Eileen A. Hebets

Eileen Hebets Publications

Variation in the quantity of nutrients ingested over an individual’s lifetime is likely to differentially affect distinct male secondary sexual traits and courtship signals, potentially providing females with information about a male’s past and present foraging history. We hypothesize that female choice is thus influenced by a male’s lifetime foraging history. To test this, we manipulated the quantity of nutrients (i.e. prey items) available to male wolf spiders, Schizocosa stridulans, using a fully crossed 2 × 2 design with low versus high prey quantity across juvenile and adult life stages, and assessed the impact of these diet treatments on male …

A Revision Of The Genus Conicofrontia Hampson (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae, Apameini, Sesamiina), With Description Of A New Species: New Insights From Morphological, Ecological And Molecular Data, Bruno Le Ru, Claire Capdevielle-Dulac, Desmond Conlong, Beatrice Pallangyo, Johnnie Van Den Berg, George Ong'amo, Gael J. Kergoat

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

The aim of this study was to review the species of Conicofrontia Hampson, a small genus of noctuid stem borers (Noctuidae, Apameini) that is distributed in East and Southeastern Africa. We review the morphology of species in this group and provide new diagnoses and ecological data for five species. The following taxonomic changes are proposed: Hygrostola dallolmoi (Berio, 1973) (= Conicofrontia dallolmoi Berio, 1973) comb. n. and Conicofrontia bipartita (Hampson, 1910) (= Phragmatiphila bipartita Hampson, 1910) comb. n., stat. rev. One new species is also described: C. lilomwa, sp. n. from Tanzania. Wing patterns as well as male and female …

Butterfly Biology, Joshua Feingold

Quadrivium: A Journal of Multidisciplinary Scholarship

A photographic exploration of butterflies from larvae to adults in Davie, Florida.

Cold Truths: How Winter Drives Responses Of Terrestrial Organisms To Climate Change, Caroline M. Williams, Hugh A.L. Henry, Brent J. Sinclair

Biology Publications

Winter is a key driver of individual performance, community composition, and ecological interactions in terrestrial habitats. Although climate change research tends to focus on performance in the growing season, climate change is also modifying winter conditions rapidly. Changes to winter temperatures, the variability of winter conditions, and winter snow cover can interact to induce cold injury, alter energy and water balance, advance or retard phenology, and modify community interactions. Species vary in their susceptibility to these winter drivers, hampering efforts to predict biological responses to climate change. Existing frameworks for predicting the impacts of climate change do not incorporate the …

Nebline, February 2015

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: Extension Salutes Our Dedicated Volunteers, Worth Half a Million Dollars Annually

Food & Health

Family Living

Farm & Acreage

Horticulture

Pests & Wildlife

4-H & Youth

Extension Calendar

and other extension news and events

Hexapod Herald - Vol. 27, No. 1, February 2015

Hexapod Herald and Other Entomology Department Newsletters

Content: Welcome - Congratulations - Publications - Alumni Invitation to First Ever Entomology Department Alumni Dinner - Grants - Meet an Off-Campus Student - Faculty News - This 'n That - Meeting News - Calendar of Events - Department Holiday Party

Effects Of Fungal Infection On Feeding And Survival Of Anopheles Gambiae (Diptera: Culicidae) On Plant Sugars, Sopher N. Ondiaka, Elizabeth W. Masinde, Constantianus Jm Koenraadt, Willem Takken, Wolfgang R. Mukabana

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Background: The entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae shows great promise for the control of adult malaria vectors. A promising strategy for infection of mosquitoes is supplying the fungus at plant feeding sites. Methods: We evaluated the survival of fungus-exposed Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes (males and females) fed on 6% glucose and on sugars of Ricinus communis (Castor oil plant) and Parthenium hysterophorus (Santa Maria feverfew weed). Further, we determined the feeding propensity, quantity of sugar ingested and its digestion rate in the mosquitoes when fed on R. communis for 12 hours, one and three days post-exposure to fungus. The anthrone test was …