Entomology Commons^™

Gene Expression Modulation System For Use In Plants And Method For Modulating Gene Expression In Plants, Subba Reddy Palli, Ajay Kumar Singh

Entomology Faculty Patents

An EcR-based gene expression modulation system for use in plants includes an EcR gene expression cassette, a modified RXR gene expression cassette, and a gene-of-interest expression cassette, which can be expressed in a host plant cell.

Rna Interference Of Nadph-Cytochrome P450 Reductase Results In Reduced Insecticide Resistance In The Bed Bug, Cimex Lectularius, Fang Zhu, Sarah Sams, Tim Moural, Kenneth F. Haynes, Michael F. Potter, Subba R. Palli

Entomology Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase (CPR) plays a central role in cytochrome P450 action. The genes coding for P450s are not yet fully identified in the bed bug, Cimex lectularius. Hence, we decided to clone cDNA and knockdown the expression of the gene coding for CPR which is suggested to be required for the function of all P450s to determine whether or not P450s are involved in resistance of bed bugs to insecticides.

METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The full length Cimex lectularius CPR (ClCPR) cDNA was isolated from a deltamethrin resistant bed bug population (CIN-1) using a combined PCR strategy. Bioinformatics and in …

Bark Beetles And Fire: Two Forces Of Nature Transforming Western Forests, Gail Wells

Joint Fire Science Program Digests

Bark beetles are chewing a wide swath through forests across North America. Over the past few years, infestations have become epidemic in lodgepole and spruce-fir forests of the Intermountain West. The resulting extensive acreages of dead trees are alarming the public and raising concern about risk of severe fire. Researchers supported by the Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP) are examining the complicated relationship between bark beetles and wildfire, the two most influential natural disturbance agents in these forests. Are the beetles setting the stage for larger, more severe wildfires? And are fires bringing on beetle epidemics? Contrary to popular opinion, …

Midgut And Fat Body Bacteriocytes In Neotropical Cerambycid Beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), Olga Calderon, Amy Berkov

Publications and Research

Xylophagous insects derive nutrients from intractable substrates by producing or ingesting cellulolytic enzymes, or by maintaining associations with symbiotic microbes. Wood-boring cerambycid beetle larvae sometimes house maternally-transmitted endosymbiotic yeasts that are presumed to provide their hosts with nutritional beneÞts. These are thought to be absent from species in the large subfamily Lamiinae; nevertheless yeasts have been repeatedly isolated from the guts of neotropical lamiines. The objective of this study was to conduct transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies of cerambycid larval midgut tissues to determine if gut yeasts were intracellular, or simply present in the gut lumen. Nine cerambycid larvae were …

Hexapod Herald - Vol. 24, No. 1, February 2012

Hexapod Herald and Other Entomology Department Newsletters

Grants

Meet and Off-Campus Student

Travel

Faculty News

Student News

Calendar of Events

Nebline, February 2012

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: 4-H Diamond Clover Program Helps Youth Plan and Achieve Goals

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

Effect Of Temperature And Relative Humidity On The Development And Fecundity Of Chilo Partellus (Swinhoe) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), A. Tamiru, E. Getu, B. Jembere, T. Bruce

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

The spotted stemborer, Chilo partellus (Swinhoe) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), is one of the most important insect pests attacking maize and sorghum in Ethiopia. Recent studies have indicated that the pest is spreading to new locations where it was not reported before. In the current study, laboratory investigations were carried out to determine the combined effect of different levels of relative humidity and temperature regimes on the development and fecundity of C. partellus, as these physical factors are known to play an important role in the life cycle of insects and adaptability to local climate. Developmental time, longevity, potential fecundity and realized …

The Complete Mitochondrial Genome And Novel Gene Arrangement Of The Unique-Headed Bug Stenopirates Sp. (Hemiptera: Enicocephalidae), Hu Li, Hui Liu, Aimin Shi, Pavel Stys, Xuguo Zhou, Wanzhi Cai

Entomology Faculty Publications

Many of true bugs are important insect pests to cultivated crops and some are important vectors of human diseases, but few cladistic analyses have addressed relationships among the seven infraorders of Heteroptera. The Enicocephalomorpha and Nepomorpha are consider the basal groups of Heteroptera, but the basal-most lineage remains unresolved. Here we report the mitochondrial genome of the unique-headed bug Stenopirates sp., the first mitochondrial genome sequenced from Enicocephalomorpha. The Stenopirates sp. mitochondrial genome is a typical circular DNA molecule of 15, 384 bp in length, and contains 37 genes and a large non-coding fragment. The gene order differs substantially from …

Observations Of Oviposition Behavior Among North American Tiger Beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Cicindelinae) Species And Notes On Mass Rearing, Mathew L. Brust, C. Barry Knisley, Stephen M. Spomer, Kentaro Miwa

University of Nebraska State Museum: Entomology Papers

Although the larvae of a large number of North American tiger beetle species have been described, little information exists on the oviposition behavior of female tiger beetles at the species level. In this study, we found that the oviposition behavior varied widely among species, with some species utilizing more than one method. We found that, contrary to many references, several tiger beetle species did not oviposit from above the soil surface by inserting the ovipositor into the soil. Instead, several species oviposited by tunneling over 20 mm below the soil surface. In addition, we outline recently used successful protocols for …

The Pentatomidae, Or Stink Bugs, Of Kansas With A Key To Species (Hemiptera: Heteroptera), Richard J. Packauskas Ph.D.

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Forty eight species of Pentatomidae are listed as occurring in the state of Kansas, nine of these are new state records. A key to all species known from the state of Kansas is given, along with some notes on new state records.

Breeding Biology And Incremental Benefits Of Outcrossing For The Restoration Wildflower, Hedysarum Boreale Nutt. (Fabaceae), Katharine A. Swoboda-Bhattarai, James H. Cane

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Northern sweetvetch (Hedysarum boreale Nutt.) is an herbaceous perennial legume of the Rocky Mountains, USA, whose seed is desired for rehabilitating degraded plant communities. Through experimental pollinations, the necessity of pollinators was shown by the failure of autogamy, despite stigmas first becoming receptive in the bud in close proximity to the dehiscing anthers. Nonetheless, the species proved to be self-fertile, initiating as many fruits through selfing as outcrossing. Incremental benefits of outcrossing only later manifested in superior fruit development, seed maturation and seed germination. Farming of H. boreale can yield abundant viable seed if adequately visited by pollinating bees.

Economic Impact Of Stable Flies (Diptera: Muscidae) On Dairy And Beef Cattle Production, David B. Taylor, Roger D. Moon, Darrell R. Mark

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

Stable flies, Stomoxys calcitrans (L.), are among the most damaging arthropod pests of cattle worldwide. The last estimate of their economic impact on United States cattle production was published 20 yr ago and placed losses at $608 million. Subsequently, several studies of effects of stable flies on beef cattle weight gain and feed efficiency have been published, and stable flies have become increasingly recognized as pests of cattle on pasture and range. We analyzed published studies and developed yield-loss functions to relate stable fly infestation levels to cattle productivity, and then estimated the economic impact of stable flies on cattle …

Seed Reduction In Prairie Cordgrass, Spartina Pectinata Link., By The Floret-Feeding Caterpillar Aethes Spartinana (Barnes And Mcdunnough), Jarrad R. Prasifka, D. K. Lee, Jeffrey Bradshaw, Allen S. Parrish, Michael E. Gray

Panhandle Research and Extension Center

Insect damage to prairie cordgrass, Spartina pectinata Link., is conspicuously high in Illinois, where attempts to collect native seed show the majority of spikelets damaged with small holes. Dissection of spikes during summer reveals minute caterpillars boring though glumes and feeding on florets inside. In 2009–2010, panicles of prairie cordgrass from across its native range were used to estimate the percentage of insect-related damage and losses to seed production. Collections of caterpillars from panicles and stems were used to identify one floret-feeding species, estimate its distribution in the central USA, and assess its feeding patterns within spikes. Insect feeding damaged …

Notes On Notonectidae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) From Southeastern Asia, Mostly From Brunei And The Philippines, Hendrik Freitag, Herbert Zettel, David J.W Lane, Clister V. Pangantihon

Biology Faculty Publications

Updated distribution data are presented for the following species of Notonectidae (Heteroptera) in southeastern Asia: Anisops breddini Kirkaldy, 1901, A. kuroiwae Matsumura, 1915, A. nasutus Fieber, 1851, A. nigrolineatus Lundblad, 1933, A. occipitalis Breddin, 1905, A. rhomboides Nieser & Chen, 1999, A. stali Kirkaldy, 1904, Aphelonecta philippina Zettel, 1995, Enithares bakeri Brooks, 1948, E. freyi Brooks, 1948, E. intha Paiva, 1918, E. mandalayensis Distant, 1910, E. martini martini Kirkaldy, 1898, E. quadrispinosa Lansbury, 1967, E. sinica (Stål, 1854), E. subparallela Lansbury, 1968, E. uncata Lundblad, 1933, E. cf. vicintricata Lansbury, 1968, and Nychia sappho Kirkaldy, 1901. There are six fi …

Digital Microscopic Imaging Of Important Taxonomic Characters Of Philippine Hydraena (Hydraenopsis) Species, Hendrik Freitag

Biology Faculty Publications

Biodiversity surveys have revealed several new aquatic beetle species of minute size (0.9 mm to 1.8 mm body length). Following modern standards of morphological taxonomy, internal and external microstructures such as aedeagus, ovipositor, spermatheca, gonocoxite as well as the distribution pattern and shape of certain hair structures were used to illustrate the distinguishing characters of new species. As even the smallest diaphragm opening of light microscopes fails to retrieve images of sufficient depth of the field, light microscope images under ZEISS Primo Vert inverted microscope, equipped with ZEISS LD Plan-ACHROMAT 20X objective lens, and an OLYMPUS SZ 61 stereomicroscope, were …

On-Plant Movement And Feeding Of Western Bean Cutworm (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Early Instars On Corn, Silvana L. Vieira De Paula Moraes, Thomas E. Hunt, Robert J. Wright, Gary L. Hein, Erin E. Blankenship

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Western bean cutworm, Striacosta albicosta (Smith), has undergone a recent eastward expansion from the western United States Corn Belt to Pennsylvania and parts of Canada. Little is known about its ecology and behavior, particularly during the early instars, on corn (Zea mays L.). There is a narrow treatment window for larvae, and early detection of the pest in the field is essential. An understanding of western bean cutworm larval feeding and early-instar dispersal is essential to understand larval survival and establishment in corn. Studies were conducted in 2009 through 2011 in Nebraska to determine the feeding and dispersal of …

Splendid Hybrids: The Effects Of A Tiger Beetle Hybrid Zone On Apparent Species Diversity, Mathew L. Brust, W. Wyatt Hoback, Stephen M. Spomer

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Nonexpert citizen groups are being used to monitor species to track ecosystem changes; however, challenges remain for proper identification, especially among diverse groups such as beetles. Tiger beetles, Cicindela spp., have been used for biological diversity monitoring because of their diversity and the ease of recognition. The finding of an apparent hybrid zone among Cicindela denverensis Casey, Cicindela limbalis Klug, and Cicindela splendida Hentz in central Nebraska prompted a detailed study of the biogeography of this species group within Nebraska, a test of characteristics that could be used by citizen scientists, and limited breeding experiments. This study suggests that while …

Externally-Expressed Fluorescence Across Sexes, Life Stages, And Species Of Spiders, Erin Brandt

Dissertations and Theses

Although all spiders possess fluorophores in their hemolymph, the expression of external fluorescence is much more restricted. The purpose of this study was to evaluate differences in externally-expressed fluorescence between sexes, life stages, and species of spiders. To approach this question, we developed novel instrumentation to capture fluorescence with photographs of our specimens. We paired these fluorescence measurements with spectrometer measurements to attempt to determine the role that fluorescence plays in the overall coloration in spiders. The study was divided into four sections. First, we examined how fluorescence varies in sexes and life stages in Misumena vatia, an ambush predator …

Population Structuring And Transmission Dynamics Of A Laboratory Colony Of Gromphadorholaelaps Schaeferi: A Symbiotic Mite Of The Madagascar Hissing Cockroach Gromphadorhina Portentosa, D. J. Richardson

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Gromphadorholaelaps schaeferi is a symbiotic mite associated with the Madagascar hissing cockroach Gromphdorhina portentosa. The population structuring of G. schaeferi is described based on examination of 19,421 mites collected from 1,915 individuals of G. portentosa taken from a large laboratory colony. The mites exhibited an overall prevalence of 50.7% and mean intensity (+SE) of 20.0 (+0.6) with an infestation intensity range of 1-116, and relative abundance (+SE) of 10.1 (+0.4). Both prevalence and mean intensity of infestation exhibited a dramatic increase with increasing cockroach size/age. By the time cockroaches reach 40 mm the prevalence is nearly 100%. Mean intensity increases …

New Geographic Distribution Records For Horsehair Worms (Nematomorpha: Gordiida) In Arkansas, Including New State Records For Chordodes Morgani And Paragordius Varius, H. W. Robison, C. T. Mcallister, B. Hanelt

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.