Entomology Commons^™

Behavior And Control Of The Bed Bug, Cimex Lectularius L. (Hemiptera: Cimicidae), Margaret Lehnert

All Dissertations

The recent resurgence of bed bugs has led to an explosion of bed bug research influenced by the applied needs of pest management professionals. I assessed the needs of pest management professionals who deal with bed bugs in South Carolina. Bed bugs were reported in 28 of 46 counties in South Carolina. Previous samples of bed bug populations have displayed a 1:1 sex-ratio suggesting females do not use aggregations and harborages to hide from males and traumatic insemination, which can be harmful to females. Aggregations are biased in composition, suggesting that females are able to hide from males within harborages. …

Abiotic And Biotic Factors Affecting The Japanese Beetle In Arkansas, Bryan Mathew Petty

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Japanese beetles are a relatively new pest to Arkansas. During my Ph.D. research I investigated the pathogens and environmental factors influencing Japanese beetle populations in the state. The prevalence of various pathogens and parasitoids attacking Popillia japonica were recorded annually from wild populations. Of specific interest was the microsporidian pathogen Ovavesicula popilliae, which I introduced as a biological control agent in the state. Details of the relationship between this pathogen and the Japanese beetle were investigated, including dose response, host range, and spore production. Additionally, annual abundance of the beetle in the region was recorded and tracked over the course …

Gene Expression-Based Biomarkers For Anopheles Gambiae Age Grading, Mei Hui Wang, Osvaldo Marinotti, Daibin Zhong, Anthony A. James, Edward Walker, Tom Guda, Eliningaya J. Kweka, John Githure, Guiyun Yan

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Information on population age structure of mosquitoes under natural conditions is fundamental to the understanding of vectorial capacity and crucial for assessing the impact of vector control measures on malaria transmission. Transcriptional profiling has been proposed as a method for predicting mosquito age for Aedes and Anopheles mosquitoes, however, whether this new method is adequate for natural conditions is unknown. This study tests the applicability of transcriptional profiling for age-grading of Anopheles gambiae, the most important malaria vector in Africa. The transcript abundance of two An. gambiae genes, AGAP009551 and AGAP011615, was measured during aging under laboratory and field conditions …

Exploring Valid Reference Genes For Quantitative Real-Time Pcr Analysis In Plutella Xylostella (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae), Wei Fu, Wen Xie, Zhuo Zhang, Shaoli Wang, Qingjun Wu, Yong Liu, Xiaomao Zhou, Xuguo Zhou, Youjun Zhang

Entomology Faculty Publications

Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), a primary tool in gene expression analysis, requires an appropriate normalization strategy to control for variation among samples. The best option is to compare the mRNA level of a target gene with that of reference gene(s) whose expression level is stable across various experimental conditions. In this study, expression profiles of eight candidate reference genes from the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella, were evaluated under diverse experimental conditions. RefFinder, a web-based analysis tool, integrates four major computational programs including geNorm, Normfinder, BestKeeper, and the comparative ΔCt method to comprehensively rank the tested candidate …

Dominant Inheritance Of Field-Evolved Resistance To Bt Corn In Busseola Fusca, Pascal Campagne, Marlene Kruger, Rémy Pasquet, Bruno Le Ru, Johnnie Van Den Berg

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Transgenic crops expressing Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxins have been adopted worldwide, notably in developing countries. In spite of their success in controlling target pests while allowing a substantial reduction of insecticide use, the sustainable control of these pest populations is threatened by the evolution of resistance. The implementation of the "high dose/refuge" strategy for managing insect resistance in transgenic crops aims at delaying the evolution of resistance to Bt crops in pest populations by promoting survival of susceptible insects. However, a crucial condition for the "high dose/refuge" strategy to be efficient is that the inheritance of resistance should be functionally …

Nebline, July 2013

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: Integrated Pest Management in Nebraska Schools: Solving Pest Problems Effectively with Fewer Pesticides

Farm Views

Urban Agriculture

Food & Fitness

Home & Family Living

Horticulture

Environmental Focus

4-H & Youth

Community Focus

Extension Calendar

Nutrition Education Program

Family and Community Education (FCE) Clubs

and other extension news and events

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.

Waveform Library For Chinch Bugs (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Blissidae): Characterization Of Electrical Penetration Graph Waveforms At Multiple Input Impedances, Elaine A. Backus, Murugesan Rangasamy, Mitchell Stamm, Heather J. Mcauslane, Ron Cherry

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Electrical penetration graph (EPG) monitoring has been used extensively to elucidate mechanisms of resistance in plants to insect herbivores with piercing-sucking mouthparts. Characterization of waveforms produced by insects during stylet probing is essential to the application of this technology. In the studies described herein, a four-channel Backus and Bennett AC-DC monitor was used to characterize EPG waveforms produced by adults of two economically important chinch bug species: southern chinch bug, Blissus insularis Barber, feeding on St. Augustinegrass, and western chinch bug, Blissus occiduus Barber, feeding on buffalograss. This is only the third time a heteropterans species has been recorded by …

Candidate Chemosensory Genes In The Stemborer Sesamia Nonagrioides, Nicolas Glaser, Aurore Gallot, Fabrice Legeai, Nicolas Montagné, Erwan Poivet, Myriam Harry, Paul André Calatayud, Emmanuelle Jacquin-Joly

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

The stemborer Sesamia nonagrioides is an important pest of maize in the Mediterranean Basin. Like other moths, this noctuid uses its chemosensory system to efficiently interact with its environment. However, very little is known on the molecular mechanisms that underlie chemosensation in this species. Here, we used next-generation sequencing (454 and Illumina) on different tissues from adult and larvae, including chemosensory organs and female ovipositors, to describe the chemosensory transcriptome of S. nonagrioides and identify key molecular components of the pheromone production and detection systems. We identified a total of 68 candidate chemosensory genes in this species, including 31 candidate …

Systematics And Distributions Of The Genera Cyrtusa Erichson, Ecarinosphaerula Hatch, Isoplastus Horn, Liocyrtusa Daffner, Lionothus Brown, And Zeadolopus Broun Of The United States And Canada (Coleoptera: Leiodidae: Leiodinae: Leiodini), Stewart B. Peck, Joyce Cook

Insecta Mundi

The following genera of Leiodini (Coleoptera: Leiodidae: Leiodinae) of the continental United States and Canada are reviewed: Cyrtusa Erichson, with two species; Isoplastus Horn, with two species (one new); Liocyrtusa Daffner, with three species; Lionothus Brown, with five species (three new), and Zeadolopus Broun, with four species (all genera are in the “Cyrtusa genus group”) and Ecarinosphaerula Hatch, with one named species (in the “Leiodes genus group”). The new species are Isoplastus floridanus Peck and Cook of Florida; Lionothus bidentatus Peck and Cook of Texas and Oklahoma, Lionothus exiguus Peck and Cook of Florida and Texas, and Lionothus …

Effects Of Flight On Gene Expression And Aging In The Honey Bee Brain And Flight Muscle, Joseph W. Margotta, Georgina E. Mancinelli, Azucena A. Benito, Andrew Ammons, Stephen P. Roberts, Michelle M. Elekonich

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Honeybees Move through a Series of In-Hive Tasks (E.g., "Nursing") to Outside Tasks (E.g., "Foraging") that Are Coincident with Physiological Changes and Higher Levels of Metabolic Activity. Social Context Can Cause Worker Bees to Speed Up or Slow Down This Process, and Foragers May Revert Back to their Earlier In-Hive Tasks Accompanied by Reversion to Earlier Physiological States. to Investigate the Effects of Flight, Behavioral State and Age on Gene Expression, We Used Whole-Genome Microarrays and Real-Time PCR. Brain Tissue and Flight Muscle Exhibited Different Patterns of Expression during Behavioral Transitions, with Expression Patterns in the Brain Reflecting Both Age …

Assessing Insecticide Hazard To Bumble Bees Foraging On Flowering Weeds In Treated Lawns, Jonathan L. Larson, Carl T. Redmond, Daniel A. Potter

Entomology Faculty Publications

Maintaining bee-friendly habitats in cities and suburbs can help conserve the vital pollination services of declining bee populations. Despite label precautions not to apply them to blooming plants, neonicotinoids and other residual systemic insecticides may be applied for preventive control of lawn insect pests when spring-flowering weeds are present. Dietary exposure to neonicotinoids adversely affects bees, but the extent of hazard from field usage is controversial. We exposed colonies of the bumble bee Bombus impatiens to turf with blooming white clover that had been treated with clothianidin, a neonicotinoid, or with chlorantraniliprole, the first anthranilic diamide labeled for use on …

Horizontal Transmission Of Metarhizium Anisopliae In Fruit Flies And Effect Of Fungal Infection On Egg Laying And Fertility, Susan Dimbi, Nguya K. Maniania, Sunday Ekesi

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Fly-to-fly transmission of conidia of the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae and the effect of fungal infection on the reproductive potential of females surviving infection were investigated in three fruit fly species, Ceratitis cosyra, C. fasciventris, and C. capitata. The number of conidia picked up by a single fruit fly was determined in C. cosyra. The initial uptake (Day 0) of conidia by a single fly was approx. 1.1 × 106 conidia after exposure to the treated substrate. However, the number of conidia dropped from 7.2 × 105 to 4.1 × 105 conidia after 2 and 8 h post-exposure, respectively. The …

Ectoparasites Of The Virginia Opossum (Didelphis Virginiana), Raccoon (Procyon Lotor), And Striped Skunk (Mephitis Mephitis) From Keith County, Nebraska, Lance A. Durden, Dennis J. Richardson

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

Six Virginia opossums (Didelphis virginiana), nine raccoons (Procyon lotor) and one striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis) collected from Keith County Nebraska were examined for ectoparasites. All three host species were parasitized by adults of the American dog tick, Dermacentor variabilis. Opossums were also parasitized by the flea Pulex simulans and the tiny fur mite Didelphilichus serri­fer; the latter species represents a new state record for Nebraska. Raccoons were also parasitized by P. simulans and by the lago­morph-associated flea Euhoplopsyllus glacialis affinis, whereas the skunk was also parasitized by the chewing louse Neotrichodectes …

Juvenile Hormone And Insulin Regulate Trehalose Homeostasis In The Red Flour Beetle, Tribolium Castaneum, Jingjing Xu, Zhentao Sheng, Subba R. Palli

Entomology Faculty Publications

Insulin/IGF-1 signaling (IIS) has been well studied for its role in the control of life span extension and resistance to a variety of stresses. The Drosophila melanogaster insulin-like receptor (InR) mutant showed extended life span due to reduced juvenile hormone (JH) levels. However, little is known about the mechanism of cross talk between IIS and JH in regulation of life span extension and resistance to starvation. In the current study, we investigated the role of IIS and JH signaling in regulation of resistance to starvation. Reduction in JH biosynthesis, JH action, or insulin-like peptide 2 (ILP2) syntheses by RNA interference …

Preharvest Quarantine Treatments Of Chlorantraniliprole, Clothianidin, And Imidacloprid-Based Insecticides For Control Of Japanese Beetle (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) And Other Scarab Larvae In The Root Zone Of Field-Grown Nursery Trees, Jason B. Oliver, Christopher M. Ranger, Michael E. Reding, James J. Moyseenko, Nadeer N. Youssef, Alicia M. Bray

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Faculty Research

Japanese beetle, Popillia japonica Newman (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), is an important quarantine pest of nurseries. Nursery plant movement from P. japonica-infested regions is regulated by the U.S. Domestic Japanese Beetle Harmonization Plan (DJHP), which classifies states by risk categories. Treatments for category 2 states include preharvest soil surface treatment of nursery plants grown in field soil using Discus SC, Marathon (1G or 60 WP), or Flagship (0.22G or 25 WG). In this study, Discus, Marathon 60 WP, or Flagship 0.22G DJHP standards were compared with labeled rates of non–DJHP-approved insecticides, including neonicotinoids clothianidin (Arena 50WDG), generic imidacloprid (Quali-Pro Imidacloprid 2 F …

Comparing Effects Of Insecticides On Two Green Lacewings Species, Chrysoperla Johnsoni And Chrysoperla Carnea (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae), K. G. Amarasekare, P. W. Shearer

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Faculty Research

This study compared lethal and sublethal effects of five insecticides, chlorantraniliprole, cyantraniliprole, spinetoram, novaluron, and lambda-cyhalothrin, on adult and second instars of two green lacewing species, Chrysoperla carnea (Stephens) and Chrysoperla johnsoni Henry, Wells and Pupedis (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) in the laboratory. Formulated pesticides were tested using concentrations equivalent to the high label rate dissolved in 378.5 liters of water. Novaluron and lambda-cyhalothrin were toxic to larvae and no treated larvae survived to the adult stage. Larva to adult survival was reduced in chlorantraniliprole, cyantraniliprole, and spinetoram treatments. Larva to adult developmental time and sex ratio were not different among the …

Nebline, June 2013

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: Smart Family Finances

Farm Views

Urban Agriculture

Food & Fitness

Home & Family Living

Horticulture

Environmental Focus

4-H & Youth

Community Focus

Extension Calendar

Nutrition Education Program

Family and Community Education (FCE) Clubs

and other extension news and events

Overwintering In New Zealand Stick Insects, Alice B. Dennis, Luke T. Dunning, Christopher J. Dennis, Brent J. Sinclair, Thomas R. Buckley

Biology Publications

Stick insects are found in a variety of habitats throughout New Zealand, including at least four species that occur at high altitudes. Here they face physiological challenges that differ from their typically warmer lowland habitats, but their strategies to deal with harsh winter conditions are not known. Autumn and winter field surveys, coupled with caging experiments, were conducted to determine which life stages are overwintering in montane and lowland habitats. Data loggers were placed for approximately one year at each site to measure the leaf litter and canopy microhabitat temperatures. From this, we have found that alpine and lowland stick …

Hexapod Herald - Vol. 25, No. 3, June 2013

Hexapod Herald and Other Entomology Department Newsletters

Contents: Welcome - Grants - North Central Branch News - Publications - Congratulations - Student News - Meeting an Off-Campus Student - This 'n That - Workshop News - Calendar of Events