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Hexapod Herald - Vol. 25, No. 1, February 2013

Hexapod Herald and Other Entomology Department Newsletters

Content: Welcome - Congratulations - Faculty News - Grants - Publications - Meeting an Off-Campus Student - Student News - Travel - This 'n that - Lawrence Bruner Entomology Club - Blasts from the past - Calendar of Events

Nebline, February 2013

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: Attracting Pollinators to Your Landscape

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

Diversity Of Stem Borer Parasitoids And Their Associated Wild Host Plants In South Africa And Mozambique, H. J. Moolman, J. Van Den Berg, D. Conlong, D. Cugala, S. J. Siebert, B. P. Le Ru

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

The diversity of lepidopterous stem borers, their parasitoids and their associated wild host plants was studied in South Africa between 2006 and 2009 and in Mozambique between 2005 and 2010. In South Africa, 20 species of parasitoids were recovered from 17 stem borer species collected on 16 wild host plant species. From Mozambique, 14 parasitoid species were recorded from 16 stem borer species collected on 14 wild host plant species. The highest diversity of parasitoids was recorded on stem borers that attacked the host plants Phragmites australis (7 spp.) and Panicum maximum (6 spp.), in South Africa and Mozambique, respectively. …

Effect Of Fluctuating Temperatures On The Development Of A Forensically Important Blow Fly, Protophormia Terraenovae (Diptera: Calliphoridae), Jodie-A. Warren, Gail S. Anderson

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Experiments were conducted to compare the immature development of Protophormia terraenovae (Robineau-Desvoidy) at fluctuating temperatures of 4-28 and 9-23°C to their mean constant temperature, 16°C. Overall development was fastest at the greater fluctuation and slowest at the constant temperature but showed similar percentages of development time in each stage. The rate summation effect is suspected to have caused this difference in development rate because fluctuations above the mean increase the rate relatively more than temperatures below the mean can lower the rate.

Two Sugar Isomers Influence Host Plant Acceptance By A Cereal Caterpillar Pest, G. Juma, M. Thiongo, L. Dutaur, K. Rharrabe, F. Marion-Poll, B. Le Ru, G. Magoma, J. F. Silvain, P. A. Calatayud

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Abstract Plant sugars are often considered as primary feeding stimuli, conditioning host plant acceptance by herbivorous insects. Of the nine sugars identified from methanolic extracts of seven grass species, only turanose, a sucrose isomer, was negatively correlated with the survival and growth of the noctuid larva of cereal stemborer, Busseola fusca. Sucrose was the most abundant sugar, although it did not vary significantly in concentration among the plant species studied. Using Styrofoam™ cylinders impregnated with increasing concentrations of turanose or sucrose, the two sugars had opposing effects: turanose appeared phagodeterrent while sucrose was phagostimulatory. Electrophysiological studies indicated that B. fusca …

Climate Change Or Urbanization? Impacts On A Traditional Coffee Production System In East Africa Over The Last 80 Years, Juliana Jaramillo, Mamoudou Setamou, Eric Muchugu, Adenirin Chabi-Olaye, Alvaro Jaramillo, Joseph Mukabana, Johnson Maina, Simon Gathara, Christian Borgemeister

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Global environmental changes (GEC) such as climate change (CC) and climate variability have serious impacts in the tropics, particularly in Africa. These are compounded by changes in land use/land cover, which in turn are driven mainly by economic and population growth, and urbanization. These factors create a feedback loop, which affects ecosystems and particularly ecosystem services, for example plant-insect interactions, and by consequence agricultural productivity. We studied effects of GEC at a local level, using a traditional coffee production area in greater Nairobi, Kenya. We chose coffee, the most valuable agricultural commodity worldwide, as it generates income for 100 million …

Reference Gene Selection For Qrt-Pcr Analysis In The Sweetpotato Whitefly, Bemisia Tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), Rumei Li, Wen Xie, Shaoli Wang, Qingjun Wu, Nina Yang, Xin Yang, Huipeng Pan, Xiaomao Zhou, Lianyang Bai, Baoyun Xu, Xuguo Zhou, Youjun Zhang

Entomology Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Accurate evaluation of gene expression requires normalization relative to the expression of reliable reference genes. Expression levels of "classical" reference genes can differ, however, across experimental conditions. Although quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) has been used extensively to decipher gene function in the sweetpotato whitefly Bemisia tabaci, a world-wide pest in many agricultural systems, the stability of its reference genes has rarely been validated.

RESULTS: In this study, 15 candidate reference genes from B. tabaci were evaluated using two Excel-based algorithms geNorm and Normfinder under a diverse set of biotic and abiotic conditions. At least two reference genes were …

Floral Associations Of Cyclocephaline Scarab Beetles, Matthew Robert Moore, Mary Liz Jameson

University of Nebraska State Museum: Entomology Papers

The scarab beetle tribe Cyclocephalini (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Dynastinae) is the second largest tribe of rhinoceros beetles, with nearly 500 described species. This diverse group is most closely associated with early diverging angiosperm groups (the family Nymphaeaceae, magnoliid clade, and monocots), where they feed, mate, and receive the benefit of thermal rewards from the host plant. Cyclocephaline floral association data have never been synthesized, and a comprehensive review of this ecological interaction was necessary to promote research by updating nomenclature, identifying inconsistencies in the data, and reporting previously unpublished data. Based on the most specific data, at least 97 cyclocephaline beetle …

Evaluating Karner Blue Butterfly (Lycaeides Melissa Samuelis Nabokov) Habitat Selection In The State Of Wisconsin, Usa, Anna Nahuel Hess

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

The federally endangered Karner blue butterfly (Lycaeides melissa samuelis Nabokov) persists in rare oak/pine grassland communities spanning across the Great Lakes region, relying on host plant wild blue lupine (Lupinus perennis). Conservation efforts since 1992 have led to the development of several programs that restore and monitor habitat. This study aims to evaluate Karner blue habitat selection in the state of Wisconsin and develop high-resolution tools for use in conservation efforts. Spatial predictive models developed during this study accurately predicted potential habitat across state properties based on soils and canopy cover, and identified ~51-100% of Karner blue occurrences based on …

Forest Development And Carbon Dynamics After Mountain Pine Beetle Outbreaks, E. Matthew Hansen

The Bark Beetles, Fuels, and Fire Bibliography

Mountain pine beetles periodically infest pine forests in western North America, killing many or most overstory pine stems. The surviving secondary stand structure, along with recruited seedlings, will form the future canopy. Thus, even-aged pine stands become multiaged and multistoried. The species composition of affected stands will depend on the presence of nonpines and outbreak severity, among other factors, and can range from continued dominance by pines to hastened conversion to more shade-tolerant species. The loss of mature host trees results in reductions of ecosystem carbon productivity. The surviving and recruited stems, however, grow more quickly in response to the …

Mobilization Of Lipids And Fortification Of Cell Wall And Cuticle Are Important In Host Defense Against Hessian Fly, Chitvan Khajuria, Haiyan Wang, Xuming Liu, Shanda Wheeler, John C. Reese, Mustapha El Bouhssini, R. Jeff Whitworth, Ming-Shun Chen

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Background: Wheat – Hessian fly interaction follows a typical gene-for-gene model. Hessian fly larvae die in wheat plants carrying an effective resistance gene, or thrive in susceptible plants that carry no effective resistance gene.

Results: Gene sets affected by Hessian fly attack in resistant plants were found to be very different from those in susceptible plants. Differential expression of gene sets was associated with differential accumulation of intermediates in defense pathways. Our results indicated that resources were rapidly mobilized in resistant plants for defense, including extensive membrane remodeling and release of lipids, sugar catabolism, and amino acid transport …

Examining The Causes Of Rarity For The Odonata Of Illinois, Miranda R. White, Paul V. Switzer

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) play an important role in habitat management and conservation, but our understanding of the causes of commonness versus rarity in this group is limited. In this study we examined the causes of rarity for the Odonata of Illinois. Using S-ratings for conservation status and published habitat classifications for Illinois odonates, we investigated whether habitat type (lotic versus lentic) or habitat specificity (whether they were limited to a specific type of aquatic habitat) was related to commonness. We found that lotic species and habitat specialists were more likely to be rare than lentic and generalist species. More …

Examining The Causes Of Rarity For The Odonata Of Illinois, Miranda White, Paul Switzer

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) play an important role in habitat management and conservation, but our understanding of the causes of commonness versus rarity in this group is limited. In this study we examined the causes of rarity for the Odonata of Illinois. Using S-ratings for conservation status and published habitat classifications for Illinois odonates, we investigated whether habitat type (lotic versus lentic) or habitat specificity (whether they were limited to a specific type of aquatic habitat) was related to commonness. We found that lotic species and habitat specialists were more likely to be rare than lentic and generalist species. More …

Nebline, January 2013

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: 4-H School Enrichment Programs Bring Hands-On Learning to Local Classrooms

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

2012 Annual Report Special Pullout Section

Social Aggregation In Pea Aphids: Experiment And Random Walk Modeling, Christa Nilsen, John Paige, Olivia Warner, Benjamin Mayhew, Ryan Sutley, Matthew Lam '15, Andrew J. Bernoff, Chad M. Topaz

All HMC Faculty Publications and Research

From bird flocks to fish schools and ungulate herds to insect swarms, social biological aggregations are found across the natural world. An ongoing challenge in the mathematical modeling of aggregations is to strengthen the connection between models and biological data by quantifying the rules that individuals follow. We model aggregation of the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum. Specifically, we conduct experiments to track the motion of aphids walking in a featureless circular arena in order to deduce individual-level rules. We observe that each aphid transitions stochastically between a moving and a stationary state. Moving aphids follow a correlated random walk. …

Ixodid Ticks Associated With Feral Swine In Texas, David M. Sanders, Anthony L. Schuster, P. Wesley Mccardle, Otto F. Strey, Terry L. Blankenship, Pete D. Teel

United States Army: Publications

Ixodid ticks were collected from feral swine in eight Texas ecoregions from 2008-2011. Sixty-two percent of 806 feral swine were infested with one or more of the following species: Amblyomma americanum, A. cajennense, A. maculatum, Dermacentor albipictus, D. halli, D. variabilis, and Ixodes scapularis. Juvenile and adult feral swine of both sexes were found to serve as host to ixodid ticks. Longitudinal surveys of feral swine at four geographic locations show persistent year-round tick infestations of all gender-age classes for tick species common to their respective geographic locations and …

Progress Towards A Phylogeny Of World Tachinidae. Year 1, John O. Stireman Iii, James E. O'Hara, Michael C. Moulton, Pierfilippo Cerretti, Isaac S. Winkler

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

D eveloping a structural phylogenetic framework for the family Tachinidae has been an interest of mine since I first started working on tachinids as a graduate student. It was then that I developed a new phylogenetic perspective with which to view the world, and many of the questions I wanted to ask of tachinids depended on some level of phylogenetic knowledge of them. I was surprised at the time that no one had attempted a broad quantitative phylogenetic analysis of the family, and a publication from my thesis work on the Exoristinae (Stireman 2002) became the first such study that …

Female Mate Choice For Multimodal Courtship And The Importance Of The Signaling Background For Selection On Male Ornamentation, Jay A. Stafstrom, Eileen A. Hebets

Eileen Hebets Publications

Conspicuous visual ornaments are frequently incorporated into complex courtship displays that integrate signal components from multiple sensory modalities. Mature male Schizocosa crassipes (Walckenaer, 1837) wolf spiders wave, arch, and tap their ornamented forelegs in a visual courtship display that simultaneously incorporates seismic components. To determine the importance of modality-specific signal components in female mate choice, we used a signal ablation design and compared the mating frequency of female-male pairs across signaling environments with manipulated modality-specific transmission properties. We found that the successful transmission of isolated visual or seismic signaling was sufficient for mating success; neither signaling modality was necessary. Additionally, …

Diversification Under Sexual Selection: The Relative Roles Of Mate Preference Strength And The Degree Of Divergence In Mate Preferences, Rafael L. Rodríguez, Janette W. Boughman, David A. Gray, Eileen A. Hebets, Gerlinde Höbel, Laurel B. Symes

Eileen Hebets Publications

The contribution of sexual selection to diversification remains poorly understood after decades of research. This may be in part because studies have focused predominantly on the strength of sexual selection, which offers an incomplete view of selection regimes. By contrast, students of natural selection focus on environmental differences that help compare selection regimes across populations. To ask how this disparity in focus may affect the conclusions of evolutionary research, we relate the amount of diversification in mating displays to quantitative descriptions of the strength and the amount of divergence in mate preferences across a diverse set of case studies of …

Metabolic Engineering Of Raffinose-Family Oligosaccharides In The Phloem Reveals Alterations In Carbon Partitioning And Enhances Resistance To Green Peach Aphid, Te Cao, Ipsita Lahiri, Vijay Singh, Joe Louis, Jyoti Shah, Brian G. Ayre

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Many plants employ energized loading strategies to accumulate osmotically-active solutes into the phloem of source organs to accentuate the hydrostatic pressure gradients that drive the flow of water, nutrients and signals from source to sinks. Proton-coupled symport of sugars from the apoplasm into the phloem symplasm is the best studied phloem-loading mechanism. As an alternative, numerous species use a polymer trapping mechanism to load through symplasm: sucrose enters the phloem through specialized plasmodesmata and is converted to raffinose-family oligosaccharides (RFOs) which accumulate because of their larger size. In this study, metabolic engineering was used to generate RFOs at the inception …