Entomology Commons^™

Development And Optimization Of The Suna Trap As A Tool For Mosquito Monitoring And Control, Alexandra Hiscox, Bruno Otieno, Anthony Kibet, Collins K. Mweresa, Philemon Omusula, Martin Geier, Andreas Rose, Wolfgang R. Mukabana, Willem Takken

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Background: Monitoring of malaria vector populations provides information about disease transmission risk, as well as measures of the effectiveness of vector control. The Suna trap is introduced and evaluated with regard to its potential as a new, standardized, odour-baited tool for mosquito monitoring and control. Methods. Dual-choice experiments with female Anopheles gambiae sensu lato in a laboratory room and semi-field enclosure, were used to compare catch rates of odour-baited Suna traps and MM-X traps. The relative performance of the Suna trap, CDC light trap and MM-X trap as monitoring tools was assessed inside a human-occupied experimental hut in a semi-field …

Effects Of Plant Virus And Its Insect Vector On Encarsia Formosa, A Biocontrol Agent Of Whiteflies, Xiaoyuan Liu, Wensheng Xiang, Xiaoguo Jiao, Youjun Zhang, Wen Xie, Qingjun Wu, Xuguo Zhou, Shaoli Wang

Entomology Faculty Publications

In this study, we investigated the tritrophic interactions among a persistently transmitted plant virus, Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV), its insect vector, the sweetpotato whitefly Bemisia tabaci, and a parasitoid, Encarsia formosa Gahan, one of the most extensively used biological control agents. As an emerging invasive pest worldwide, the two most damaging whiteflies are B. tabaci B and Q cryptic species. On healthy tomato plants, parasitoid-induced mortality was significantly higher in B. tabaci B than in Q. In contrast, similar mortality levels of B and Q were observed on TYLCV-infected plants. A higher rate of parasitism was consistently observed …

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.

Nebline, July 2014

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: 4-H Table Setting Contest is a Fun Way to Learn Nutrition, Setting a Table, Presenting and More!

Food & Health

Family Living

Farm & Acreage

Home & Family Living

Horticulture

Pests & Wildlife

4-H & Youth

Extension Calendar

and other extension news and events

Transcriptome Of The Female Synganglion Of The Black-Legged Tick Ixodes Scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae) With Comparison Between Illumina And 454 Systems, Noble Egekwu, Daniel E. Sonenshine, Brooke W. Bissinger, R. Michael Roe

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Illumina and 454 pyrosequencing were used to characterize genes from the synganglion of female Ixodes scapularis. GO term searching success for biological processes was similar for samples sequenced by both methods. However, for molecular processes, it was more successful for the Illumina samples than for 454 samples. Functional assignments of transcripts predicting neuropeptides, neuropeptide receptors, neurotransmitter receptors and other genes of interest was done, supported by strong e-values (<-6), and high consensus sequence alignments. Transcripts predicting 15 putative neuropeptide prepropeptides ((allatostatin, allatotropin, bursicon α, corticotropin releasing factor (CRF), CRF-binding protein, eclosion hormone, FMRFamide, glycoprotein A, insulin-like peptide, ion transport peptide, myoinhibitory peptide, inotocin ( = neurophysin-oxytocin), Neuropeptide F, sulfakinin and SIFamide)) and transcripts predicting receptors for 14 neuropeptides (allatostatin, calcitonin, cardioacceleratory peptide, corazonin, CRF, eclosion hormone, gonadotropin-releasing hormone/AKH-like, insulin-like peptide, neuropeptide F, proctolin, pyrokinin, SIFamide, sulfakinin and tachykinin) are reported. Similar to Dermacentor variabilis, we found transcripts matching pro-protein convertase, essential for converting neuropeptide hormones to their mature form. Additionally, transcripts predicting 6 neurotransmitter/neuromodulator receptors (acetylcholine, GABA, dopamine, glutamate, octopamine and …

Use Of Macroinvertebrates In Bioassessment Of Land Use And Water Quality In Northern Mongolia, Oyunchuluun Yadamsuren

All Dissertations

Land-use practices in Mongolia lead to habitat degradation and consequently affect the structure and function of biological communities. There is no accepted bioassessment technique for determining the ecological consequences of habitat degradation on biological communities and water quality in Mongolia, such that a monitoring and management program suitable for Mongolia is sorely needed. Both a trait-based approach and the North American Rapid Bioassessment Protocol (RBP) metrics were tested with macroinvertebrates to determine the performance and applicability of these approaches for predicting general ecological responses of freshwater and terrestrial communities to habitat variation due to overgrazing and mining in northern Mongolian …

Pyriproxyfen For Mosquito Control: Female Sterilization Or Horizontal Transfer To Oviposition Substrates By Anopheles Gambiae Sensu Stricto And Culex Quinquefasciatus, Oscar Mbare, Steven W. Lindsay, Ulrike Fillinger

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Background: The use of gravid mosquitoes as vehicles to auto-disseminate larvicides was recently demonstrated for the transfer of pyriproxyfen (PPF) by container-breeding Aedes mosquitoes and presents an appealing idea to explore for other disease vectors. The success of this approach depends on the female's behaviour, the time of exposure and the amount of PPF that can be carried by an individual. We explore the effect of PPF exposure at seven time points around blood feeding on individual Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto and Culex quinquefasciatus fecundity and ability to transfer in laboratory assays. Method. Mosquitoes were exposed to 2.6 mg PPF …

Evaluation Of The Influence Of Electric Nets On The Behaviour Of Oviposition Site Seeking Anopheles Gambiae S.S, Sisay Dugassa, Jenny M. Lindh, Steve J. Torr, Steven W. Lindsay, Ulrike Fillinger

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Background: Electric nets (e-nets) are used to analyse the flight behaviour of insects and have been used extensively to study the host-oriented flight of tsetse flies. Recently we adapted this tool to analyse the oviposition behaviour of gravid malaria vectors, Anopheles gambiae s.s., orienting towards aquatic habitats and traps by surrounding an artificial pond with e-nets and collecting electrocuted mosquitoes on sticky boards on the ground next to the nets. Here we study whether e-nets themselves affect the responses of gravid An. gambiae s.s. Methods. Dual-choice experiments were carried out in 80 m2 screened semi-field systems where 200 gravid An. …

Cercyonis Pegala Agawamensis (Satyridae): A New Butterfly Subspecies From The Coastal Salt Marshes Of The Northeastern United States Of America, Matthew D. Arey, Alex Grkovich

The Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey

A new subspecies of the Common Wood Nymph (Cercyonis pegala) from the New England coastline in the northeastern region of the United States is described on the basis of phenotype, behavior, habitat, seasonality, flight period, and phenology. Agawamensis is univoltine as in all pegala. The newly described subspecies occurs almost entirely in coastal salt marshes and estuarine meadows, quite atypical as understood for Cercyonis pegala. The newly described subspecies agawamensis predominately prefers and occurs within large open salt marshes but can also be found in similar habitat along smaller tidal rivers, coastal inlets and streams

A Case Of Sympatric Celastrina Ladon (Cramer), Celastrina Lucia (W. Kirby) And Celastrina Neglecta (Edwards) (Lycaenidae: Polyommatinae) In Northern Virginia, With Additional Records Of C. Lucia In Virginia, Harry Pavulaan

The Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey

A case of fully sympatric Celastrina ladon, C. lucia, and early spring brood C. neglecta is documented at a site in northern Virginia. Observations indicate that all three species occupy the same habitat, fly during the same flight period and utilize the same hostplant with no evidence of hybridization. C. ladon and C. lucia are obligate univoltines while C. neglecta is multivoltine. A later flight (second brood) of Celastrina neglecta at the same site utilizes eriophyid mite-induced leaf galls on the very same host tree species. Additional Virginia records of C. lucia are documented.

Larval Host Plants Of Enodia Anthedon, Satyrodes Appalachia And S. Eurydice In Vermont, Usa, David J. Hoag

The Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey

Field observation and captive rearing was used to clarify larval host plant use in Enodia anthedon, Satyrodes appalachia, and S. eurydice in Vermont, USA. In nature S. appalachia larvae were found on Carex lacustris, C. lupulina, C. gracillima, and C. tuckermanii. Enodia anthedon in nature was found to oviposit on grass and on Carex lacustris. Larvae of E. anthedon were found on C. lacustris and C. lupulina. In captivity, all but two E. anthedon larvae chose Carex over grass. Both E. appalachia and E. anthedon …

Wonders Of Wisconsin: A Study On Insect Macrophotography, Brenna L. Decker

Lawrence University Honors Projects

This past year I have been honing my skills as an entomologist and as a photographer. My solo exhibition “Wonders of Wisconsin: A Study on Insect Macrophotography” not only presents my personal progress, but also represents an overarching theme of a liberal arts education: connectivity. Everything we see or learn on campus and throughout life is connected. This audience-engaging exhibition has provided a visual for the connections between the fields of science and studio art, the art movements of New Objectivity and Relational Aesthetics, and between human and insect life.

The final exhibition opening on May 1^st at 5:30pm …

Biomechanical Properties Of Hemlocks: A Novel Approach To Evaluating Physical Barriers Of The Plant-Insect Interface And Resistance To A Phloem-Feeding Herbivore, Paul Ayayee, Fuqian Yang, Lynne K. Rieske

Entomology Faculty Publications

Micromechanical properties that help mediate herbivore access may be particularly important when considering herbivorous insects that feed with piercing-sucking stylets. We used microindentation to quantify the micromechanical properties of hemlock, Tsuga spp., to quantify the hardness of the feeding site of the invasive hemlock woolly adelgid, Adelges tsugae. We measured hardness of the hemlock leaf cushion, the stylet insertion point of the adelgid, across four seasons in a 1 y period for four hemlock species growing in a common garden, including eastern, western, mountain, and northern Japanese hemlocks. Leaf cushion hardness was highest in the fall and winter and …

Hexapod Herald - Vol. 26, No. 3, June 2014

Hexapod Herald and Other Entomology Department Newsletters

Content: Welcome - Congratulations - Faculty News - Grants - Publications - Meet an Off-Campus Student - Student News

Divergent Transcriptional Responses To Low Temperature Among Populations Of Alpine And Lowland Species Of New Zealand Stick Insects (Micrarchus)., Luke T Dunning, Alice B Dennis, Brent J Sinclair, Richard D Newcomb, Thomas R Buckley

Biology Publications

In widespread and genetically structured populations, temperature variation may lead to among-population differentiation of thermal biology. The New Zealand stick insect genus Micrarchus contains four species that inhabit different thermal environments, two of which are geographically widespread. RNA-Seq and quantitative PCR were used to investigate the transcriptional responses to cold shock among lowland and alpine species to identify cold-responsive transcripts that differ between the species and to determine whether there is intraspecific geographical variation in gene expression. We also used mitochondrial DNA, nuclear 28S ribosomal DNA and transcriptome-wide SNPs to determine phylogeographic structure and the potential for differences in genetic …

Obligate Male Death And Sexual Cannibalism In Dark Fishing Spiders, Steven Schwartz, William E. Wagner, Eileen A. Hebets

Eileen Hebets Publications

Male dark fishing spiders (Dolomedes tenebrosus Araneae, Pisauridae) always die during their first and only copulation, making all males monogynous. Such obligate male death can be adaptive if it facilitates sexual cannibalism, and if sexual cannibalism results in male reproductive benefits, such as an advantage in sperm competition through reduced female remating. We first conducted an experiment to determine the extent to which D. tenebrosus (1) males are cannibalized by females and (2) females engage in remating, both of which are prerequisites for several adaptive hypotheses of male self-sacrifice. We then conducted an experiment to test the hypothesis that …

Monarch Butterfly (Danaus Plexippus) Tree Preference And Intersite Movement At California Overwintering Sites, Jessica Lynn Griffiths

Master's Theses

Managing Monarch butterfly overwintering groves: making room among the eucalyptus

Proper management and conservation of the coastal California overwintering sites used by western Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus L.) is critical for continued use of these sites by monarchs. Many management efforts are currently concentrating on eucalyptus-only sites because of the prevailing notion that monarchs prefer eucalyptus over native tree species. Yet, whether a preference exists or not has never been tested. Herein, we test the “eucalyptus preference” hypothesis with data from five overwintering sites comprised of blue gum eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus) and at least one other native tree …

Nebline, June 2014

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: Nurturing Unmarried Parents and Their Children

Food & Health

Family Living

Farm & Acreage

Home & Family Living

Horticulture

Pests & Wildlife

4-H & Youth

Extension Calendar

and other extension news and events

Exploiting Phytochemicals For Developing Sustainable Crop Protection Strategies To Withstand Climate Change: Example From Africa, Zeyaur R. Khan, Charles A.O. Midega, Jimmy O. Pittchar, John A. Pickett

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Africa suffers chronic food insecurity resulting from ravaging effects of insect pests, weeds and poor soil fertility, with rising poverty and increasingly dry and hot weather conditions associated with climate change further aggravating this situation. Scientists at the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe) together with national and international partners have developed a platform technology, 'push-pull', based on locally available companion plants for integrated management of these constraints by exploiting innate plant defence systems including secondary metabolism. This involves intercropping cereal crops, the main staple and cash crops for millions of smallholder farmers in the continent, with forage …

Bemisia Tabaci Q Carrying Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Virus Strongly Suppresses Host Plant Defenses, Xiaobin Shi, Huipeng Pan, Hongyi Zhang, Xiaoguo Jiao, Wen Xie, Qingjun Wu, Shaoli Wang, Yong Fang, Gong Chen, Xuguo Zhou, Youjun Zhang

Entomology Faculty Publications

The concurrence of tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) with the spread of its vector Bemisia tabaci Q rather than B in China suggests a more mutualistic relationship between TYLCV and Q. Here, we investigated the hypothesis that viruliferous B and Q have different effects on plant defenses. We found the fecundity of nonviruliferous B, nonviruliferous Q, viruliferous Q and viruliferous B was 11.080, 12.060, 10.760, and 11.220 respectively on plants previously attacked by the other biotype, however, on their respective noninfested control leaves fecundity was 12.000, 10.880, 9.760, and 8.020 respectively. Only viruliferous B had higher fecundity on viruliferous …