Insects, Volume 13, Issue 5

Organisms are commonly infected by a diverse array of pathogens and mount functionally distinct responses to each of these varied immune challenges. Host immune responses are characterized by the induction of gene expression, however, the extent to w...

The taxonomy of Aculus mosoniensis appears to be an unresolved question and its clarification is required, owing to the potential relevance of this mite species as a biological control agent of the tree of heaven. This paper is aimed at giving accura...

It is now more than 100 years since the coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB: Oryctes rhinoceros L.) was first detected in the Pacific Island state of Samoa. The exotic pest from Asia became the principal pest of coconut palms in Samoa and, from this first...

The molecular oscillator is the core of the biological clock and is formed by genes and proteins whose cyclic expression is regulated in the transcriptional-translational feedback loops (TTFLs). Proteins of the TTFLs are regulators of both their own...

Honey bees, rather than rear queens with eggs and larvae from worker cells, prefer to rear new queens with eggs form queen cells, if available. This may be a result of long-term evolutionary process for honey bee colonies. However, the exact mechanis...

The sperm ultrastructure of a few representative species of Tenebrionoidea was studied. Two species belong to the Mordellidae (Mordellistena brevicauda and Hoshihananomia sp.), one species to Oedemeridae (Oedemera nobilis), and one species to Tenebri...

Many heterostigmatic mites (Acari: Prostigmata: Heterostigmata) display a wide range of symbiotic interactions, from phoresy to parasitism, with a variety of insects. Australia is expected to harbour a rich diversity of heterostigmatic mites; however...

Beekeeping is essential for the global food supply, yet honeybee health and hive numbers are increasingly threatened by habitat alteration, climate change, agrochemical overuse, pathogens, diseases, and insect pests. However, pests and diseases that...

As the insects for food and feed industry grows, a new understanding of the industrially reared insect microbiome is needed to better comprehend the role that it plays in both maintaining insect health and generating disease. While many microbiome pr...

Chemoreception by moth ovipositors has long been suggested, but underlying molecular mechanisms are mostly unknown. To reveal such chemosensory systems in the current study, we sequenced and assembled the pheromone gland-ovipositor (PG-OV) transcript...

The wastes generated during the post-harvest handling of various agricultural commodities is rather under-utlilized. The peels of citrus fruits are often discarded as waste. Citrus peels are rich in essential oils and exhibit toxicity towards various...

(1) Although most past studies are based on static analyses of the pest regulation drivers, evidence shows that a greater focus on the temporal dynamics of these interactions is urgently required to develop more efficient strategies. (2) Focusing on...

The granary weevil Sitophilus granarius (L.) is one of the most serious primary insect pests of stored products. When S. granarius present in grains, various volatile organic compounds are released as chemical signals which can be used to detect the...

Culex Flavivirus (CxFV) is a classical insect-specific virus, which has aroused interest after the first indication that it can produce in nature superinfection exclusion of viruses of medical interest such as West Nile. Despite the detection of CxFV...

The biological quality of sterile male insects produced in a mass-rearing facility is a prerequisite for the success of the SIT, which is a component of area-wide integrated pest management (AW-IPM). Indeed, sterile male insects released in the field...

The strawberry crop endures economic losses due to feeding injury from a number of phytophagous arthropod pests. A number of invasive pests have posed challenges to crop protection techniques in the strawberry cropping system recently. It is increasi...

Ceratitis capitata (Diptera: Tephritidae) is responsible for extensive damage in agriculture with important economic losses. Several strategies have been proposed to control this insect pest including insecticides and the Sterile Insect Technique. Tr...

The family Tuckerellidae, or peacock mites, is a monogeneric group comprising approximately 32 species, which are usually collected from the fruits or woody parts of their host plants. Fruits and branchlets of mamey, Mammea americana L. (Calophyllace...

In response to the concerns of beekeepers on the decline of honey bee populations on lavender honey flow in the lavender fields of southeast France and the consequent decrease of honey production, our long-term survey (2009–2021) monitored the...

Cuticle sclerotization is critical for insect survival. Laccase2 (Lac2) is a phenol oxidase that plays a key role in cuticle formation and pigmentation in a variety of insects. However, the function of Lac2 in whitefly, Bemisia tabaci, remains unclea...

Most animals must defend themselves in order to survive. Defensive behaviour includes detecting predators or intruders, avoiding them by staying low-key or escaping or deterring them away by means of aggressive behaviour, i.e., attacking them. Respon...

Ticks transmit a wide diversity of pathogens to a great variety of hosts, including humans. We conducted a tick surveillance study in northwestern Spain between 2014 and 2019. Ticks were removed from people and identified. Tick numbers, species, deve...

We recently examined specimens of the genus Paraleuctra Hanson, 1941, from Zhejiang Province and Sichuan Province, China, and two new synonyms are established based on morphological and molecular data. Paraleuctra sinica Yang and Yang, 1995, and Para...

Urban agriculture is practiced in spatially fragmented landscapes with unique characteristics that can impact species occurrence in time and space. As a result, biological control services, an ecosystem service from naturally occurring arthropod natu...

In the original publication [...]

The striped cucumber beetle (SCB) Acalymma vittatum (F.) (Coleptera: Chrysomelidae) is a prime problem in North American cucurbit crops. While certain chemical pesticides efficiently control SCB in conventional cucurbit fields, alternative solutions...

Neuropterida is a relatively primitive group of Holometabola. There are about 6500 extant species. Many species of this group are natural enemies and can prey on a variety of agricultural pests. In order to understand the leading research institution...

This study investigated the species composition and density of sand flies in the Lombardy region (Northern Italy). Sand flies were collected using CDC traps baited with CO₂ (CO₂–CDC traps) between June and August 2021. A total of 670 sand flies...

The cotton-melon aphid, Aphis gossypii Glover, is a polyphagous insect pest with many host-specialized biotypes, such as the Cucurbitaceae- and Malvaceae-specialized (CU and MA) biotypes. Bacterial symbionts were reported to determine the host range...

Under the influence of various circulation systems, the Holocene humidity conditions on the Mongolian Plateau are spatially heterogeneous and the underlying mechanism is still ambiguous. The complexity of climate change may affect the accuracy of ass...

The Wiedemannia zetterstedti species group is revised after examination of all available type specimens and includes one new species (W. ulrichi Ivković & Sinclair sp. nov.) and four redescribed species (W. czernyi (Bezzi), W. longipennis (M...

This study investigates the effect of wing planform shape on the aerodynamic performance of insect wings by numerically solving the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. We define the wing planforms using a beta-function distribution and employ kin...

Industrial insect mass rearing aims to produce quality insects under safe sanitary conditions which can be compromised by pathogens and abiotic stressors. Therefore, knowledge on pathogen persistence, virulence and means of detection is of importance...

A new device for assessing Varroa destructor (Anderson–Truman) mite infestations in honey bee colonies was designed, tested, and evaluated against the sugar roll method, a widely used method by beekeepers. The Varroa Shaker Device (VSD) is constructe...

The Australian endemic weevils of the genus Miltotranes Zimmerman, 1994 (Curculionidae: Molytinae: Tranes group), comprising two species, M. prosternalis (Lea, 1929) and M. subopacus (Lea, 1929), are highly host-specific and the only known pollinator...

The Colorado potato beetle Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) is an internationally recognized destructive pest which has caused serious losses to the potato industry. To clarify the impact of repeated short-term heat exposur...

Although transposable elements (TEs) are usually silent in somatic tissues, they are sometimes mobilized in the soma and can potentially have biological consequences. The mariner element is one of the TEs involved in somatic mobilization (SM) in Dros...

Sarcophaga peregrina (Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830) is a species of medical and forensic importance. In order to investigate the molecular mechanism during postembryonic development and identify specific genes that may serve as potential targets, transcri...

Vitellogenin (Vg) genes encode the major egg yolk protein precursor in arthropods. In this study, four Vgs were identified in Zeugodacus cucurbitae (Coquillett). Sequence analysis showed that four ZcVgs had the conserved Vg domain. Phylogenetic analy...

The larvae of frugivorous tephritid fruit flies feed within fruit and are global pests of horticulture. With the reduced use of pesticides, alternative control methods are needed, of which fruit resistance is one. In the current study, we explicitly...

Fruit flies in the family Tephritidae are well known as economically important pests of edible fruits and can often cause serious damage and losses to both agriculture and the economy. One of the common parasitoids of fruit flies, Aceratoneuromyia&nb...

As a major invasive pest in China, Spodoptera frugiperda (Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) has caused great damage to crops. Hymenopteran parasitoids, especially the braconid wasps, play crucial roles in depressing pest populations. However, there was...

Humans are reshaping the planet in impressive, and impressively self-destructive, ways. Evidence and awareness of our environmental impact has failed to elicit meaningful change in reversing our behavior. A multifaceted approach to communicating huma...

It is well known that high temperature, a typically negative environmental factor, reduces the parasitism of a parasitoid. Generally, high temperature causes the rapid overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in organisms, and antioxidative en...

Insects are increasingly being considered as an attractive source of protein that can cater to the growing demand for food around the world and promote the development of sustainable food systems. Commercial insect farms have been established in vari...

Rhinotermitid termites, serious pests of wooden structures throughout the world, are commonly controlled with chitin synthesis inhibitor bait systems. Seasonal termite foraging patterns in some regions may prolong bait interception time, however, sig...

Populations of monogyne and polygyne red imported fire ants (RIFA), Solenopsis invicta Buren, are distributed throughout the southern United States. This ant species is hazardous to farm animals and workers, damages infrastructure, and depletes nativ...

Spodoptera frugiperda has become a major pest in many crops worldwide. The main control strategies are biological and chemical controls. However, pesticides have varying degrees of toxicity to parasitic wasps in the field. To integrate chemical and b...

In the original publication [...]

For insects, surviving winter depends on their capacity to store enough energy and find proper hibernation sites. A common strategy is to minimize movement and hibernate near autumn food sources. We investigated the efficiency of autumnal hosts to ac...