Invasive snails and flies are major pests of imported orchids, controlled by methyl bromide (MB) fumigation in Korea. We compared the efficacy and phytotoxicity of ethyl formate (EF) and MB on four species of imported orchids using juvenile stages of Achatina fulica and third and fourth instars of Lycoriella mali. EF was as effective as MB. The LCt₉₉ values of EF were 68.1 and 73.1 g h/m³ at 15 °C; and those of MB were 95.9 and 78.4 g h/m³ at 15 °C for A. fulica and L. mali, respectively. In the scale-up trials, EF treatment at 35 g/m³ for 4 h at 15 °C resulted in complete control of both pests. MB treatment based on the current treatment guidelines for imported orchids (48 g/m³, 2 h, at >15 °C) resulted in complete control of L. mali but not of A. fulica. Chlorophyll content and hue values of treated orchids were not affected by EF treatment but significantly changed by MB (p-value < 0.05). All four treated species of orchids died within 30 d of MB treatment, while only one species died from EF treatment. Our results suggest that EF is a potential alternative to MB in phytosanitary treatment of imported orchids. Full article

This study examined if weeds could serve as insectary plants to increase beneficial insect abundance and diversity in mango cultivation in southern Florida. Additionally, we examined how weed presence affects mango tree soil health. We found that weeds significantly increased pollinating and parasitoid insect abundance and diversity. Eight insect orders and eighteen families were significantly more abundant on mango trees with weeds growing beneath them than those where weeds were removed. There was no difference in predatory insects between treatments, and slightly more herbivorous insects on weedy mango trees. Pollinating insects visiting mango flowers in the weed treatment were significantly greater, as well as spiders on weedy mango trees. However, there were more lacewings (Neuroptera) observed on the mango trees without weeds, and leaf chlorophyll in the old and new mango leaves was significantly greater, in the weed-free treatment. Soil conditions, however, significantly improved in soil carbon and a greater pH reduction in the presence of weeds, though weeds affected neither soil nitrogen, phosphorous, nor chlorophyll in productive green leaves. These results show that a tolerable level of selective weed species’ presence may benefit insect, plant, and soil biodiversity in farms. This is important in increasing production, sustainability, and biodiversity in agriculture, which otherwise may be deficient in non-crop life. Full article

The Northern House mosquito, Culex pipiens, is an important disease vector, and females are capable of surviving the winter in a state of overwintering diapause. This species’ diapause response has been extensively studied, and recent evidence suggests that the circadian clock is involved in measuring seasonal changes in daylength to initiate the diapause response. However, differences in the circadian activity of diapausing and non-diapausing Cx. pipiens have not been thoroughly investigated. Additionally, recent findings indicate that artificial light at night (ALAN) can disrupt mosquito diapause, potentially prolonging the mosquito biting season. We compared the circadian locomotor activity of mosquitoes reared in diapause-averting, long-day conditions and diapause-inducing, short-day conditions with and without ALAN to elucidate the interplay between circadian activity, diapause, and light pollution. We also uncovered metabolic differences between mosquitoes reared under diapausing and non-diapausing photoperiods with and without ALAN by measuring the concentration of protein, fructose, glycogen, water-soluble carbohydrates, and lipids. We found that ALAN exposure altered several diapause-associated phenotypes including slightly, but not significantly, increasing activity levels in short day-reared mosquitoes; and preventing some short day-reared mosquitoes from accumulating lipids. ALAN also significantly reduced glycogen and water-soluble carbohydrate levels in long day-reared mosquitoes. Based on our findings, light pollution may decrease insect fitness by perturbing metabolism, and may also impact several phenotypes associated with insect diapause, potentially extending the mosquito biting season and preventing insects in urban environments from overwintering successfully. Full article

The descending neurons (DNs) of insects connect the brain and thoracic ganglia and play a key role in controlling insect behaviors. Here, a comprehensive investigation of the distribution and organization of the DNs in the brain of Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) was made by using backfilling from the neck connective combined with immunostaining techniques. The maximum number of DN somata labeled in H. armigera was about 980 in males and 840 in females, indicating a sexual difference in DNs. All somata of DNs in H. armigera were classified into six different clusters, and the cluster of DNd was only found in males. The processes of stained neurons in H. armigera were mainly found in the ventral central brain, including in the posterior slope, ventral lateral protocerebrum, lateral accessory lobe, antennal mechanosensory and motor center, gnathal ganglion and other small periesophageal neuropils. These results indicate that the posterior ventral part of the brain is vital for regulating locomotion in insects. These findings provide a detailed description of DNs in the brain that could contribute to investigations on the neural mechanism of moth behaviors. Full article

Neotropical species of the Elachista praelineata species group are reviewed. Five species are recognized in the Neotropics. A new species, Elachista stonisi sp. nov., and female of E. albisquamella Zeller, 1877 are described and illustrated with photographs of the adults, some of the immature stages, female genitalia, and leaf mines. The female of E. lata Sruoga, 2010 is associated with the male based on morphology and the comparison of partial mitochondrial COI sequences. Identification keys to the Neotropical species of E. praelineata species group, based on male and female genitalia, are provided. Full article

The fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is a migratory pest endemic, to tropical and subtropical regions of America. Biological control can effectively and sustainably control pests over a long period of time while reducing the frequency of pesticide use and ensuring the safety of agricultural produce. In our study, the egg-larval Chelonus species (Chelonus bifoveolatus) from parasitized eggs of Spodoptera frugiperda in Zambia were described and identified based on morphological and genetic characteristics. To evaluate the efficiency of C. bifoveolatus, their parasitism suitability on 0- to 2-day FAW eggs under laboratory conditions was compared. The results showed that C. bifoveolatus could accept all FAW eggs at 0-, 1- and 2-day-old age and complete development successfully. Significant differences were found among 0-, 1-, and 2-day-old host eggs with respect to egg-larva developmental duration of C. bifoveolatus, and the egg-larva developmental duration on 2-day-old eggs was significantly lower than those on 0- and 1-day-old eggs. No significant differences were observed in the parasitism, pupation, emergence, and female rates for C. bifoveolatus on various age eggs of FAW. Generally, the parasitism rate, pupal rate, and emergence rate at various ages of FAW eggs were higher than 90%, 75%, and 82%, respectively, and the longevity of female parasitoids was longer than male parasitoids, and the sex ratio of females to males was nearly 1:1. Our results indicate that C. bifoveolatus performed well on various ages of FAW eggs and is a potential biological control agent against FAW in Africa. Full article

Tomicus minor (Hartig) and Tomicus yunnanensis Kirkendall and Faccoli are two sympatric species that infest Pinus yunnanensis (Franchet) in southwest China, contributing to growth losses. Accurate sampling plans are needed to make informed control decisions for these species. We investigated three pine forests within experimental sites in Yuxi, Yunnan province, China from 2016 to 2018. The spatial distribution patterns of two pine shoot beetles during the shoot-feeding phase were determined using Taylor’s power law. The optimum sample sizes and stop lines for precision levels of 0.25 and 0.10 were calculated. The model was validated using an additional 15 and 17 independent field datasets ranging in density from 0.06 to 1.90 beetles per tree. T. minor and T. yunnanensis adults showed aggregated spatial distributions. For T. minor, sample sizes of 41 and 259 trees were adequate for a D of 0.25 and 0.10, respectively, while for T. yunnanensis, a mean density of one individual per tree required sample sizes of 33 plants (D = 0.25) and 208 plants (D = 0.10). The software simulations of this sampling plan showed precision levels close to the desired levels. At a fixed-precision level of 0.25, sampling is easily achievable. This sampling program is useful for the integrated pest management (IPM) of two sympatric Tomicus species. Full article

From its introduction in Europe, Vespa velutina nigrithorax has become an invasive species, since it is a predator of native fruits and insects, most of the latter being honeybees. Despite the knowledge on the life cycle of this hornet, Asian hornet behaviour is not well understood, since in vivo studies on this species are quite difficult to perform. In this work, an observational study of the behaviour of this invasive species in captivity has been carried out. Two secondary and one embryo nests were caught and kept under controlled environmental conditions, up to 13 weeks for the secondary nest and 6 weeks for the embryo nest. Captivity adaptation, defence against perturbations, evolution of the colony and overwintering were the different behaviours studied. The study has shown the importance of avoiding disturbances to the nest from the beginning of the experiments, since they tend to destroy the colony. The aggressive behaviour observed in the embryo nest was lower than in the secondary nests. Results of this research will allow obtaining additional information on this species, which is crucial to develop effective control methods. Full article

Agasicles hygrophila Selman and Vogt is used in the biological control of the invasive weed Alternanthera philoxeroides (Mart.) Griseb. However, with the northward establishment of A. philoxeroides in China, the weak adaptivity of A. hygrophila to cold weather has resulted in the ineffective control of A. philoxeroides in northern China. Cold acclimation can significantly enhance insect cold tolerance, enabling them to cope with more frequent climate fluctuations. To improve the biological control efficacy of A. hygrophila in cold climates, we compared the effects of rapid cold hardening and acclimation on A. hygrophila under laboratory conditions. On initially transferring adults from 26 to −10 °C for 2 h, mortality reached 80%. However, when pre-exposed to 0 °C for 2 h and then transferred to −10 °C for 2 h, adult mortality was reduced to 36.67%. These findings indicate that cold acclimation can enhance the cold tolerance of A. hygrophila under laboratory conditions. However, the beneficial cold acclimation effects waned after more than 15 min of recovery at 26 °C. Exposure to 15 °C for 24 h or gradual cooling from 0 to −10 °C at 1 °C·min⁻¹ also induced cold acclimation, indicating that long-term cold and fluctuating cold acclimation are also potentially effective strategies for enhancing low-temperature tolerance. Full article

Population genetic studies can reveal clues about the evolution of adaptive strategies of aphid species in agroecosystems and demonstrate the influence of environmental factors on the genetic diversity and gene flow among aphid populations. To investigate the genetic diversity of two Rhopalosiphum aphid species from different geographical regions, 32 populations (n = 535) of the bird cherry-oat aphid (Rhopalosiphum padi Linnaeus) and 38 populations (n = 808) of the corn leaf aphid (Rhopalosiphum maidis Fitch) from China and Europe were analyzed using one nuclear (elongation factor-1 alpha) and two mitochondrial (cytochrome oxidase I and II) genes. Based on the COI-COII sequencing, two obvious clades between Chinese and European populations and a low level of gene flow (Nm = 0.15) were detected in R. padi, while no geographical-associated genetic variation was found for EF-1α in this species. All genes in R. maidis had low genetic variation, indicating a high level of gene flow (Nm = 5.31 of COI-COII and Nm = 2.89 of EF-1α). Based on the mitochondrial result of R. padi, we concluded that the long distance between China and Europe may be interrupting the gene flow. The discordant results of nuclear gene analyses in R. padi may be due to the slower evolution of nuclear genes compared to mitochondrial genes. The gene exchange may occur gradually with the potential for continuous migration of the aphid. This study facilitates the design of control strategies for these pests. Full article

Aedes japonicus (Diptera: Culicidae), or the Asian rock pool mosquito, is an invasive mosquito in Europe and America. It was first detected outside of Asia in 1990 in Oceania. It has since expanded to North America and Europe in 1998 and 2000, respectively. Even though it is classified as a secondary vector of pathogens, it is competent to several arboviruses and filarial worms, and it is contributing to the transmission of La Crosse virus (LACV) and West Nile virus (WNV). In this study, CDC light, BG-sentinel, and gravid traps were used to collect mosquitoes between June and October 2021, in Wooster, Northeastern Ohio, USA. Morphological identification or/and Sanger sequencing were performed to identify the collected mosquitoes. Our results revealed that (adult) Ae. japonicus mosquitoes were the most abundant mosquito species collected with gravid traps in Wooster in 2021, confirming its establishment in Ohio. Molecular analyses of Ae. japonicus showed 100% nucleotide similarity with Ae. japonicus collected in Iowa (USA) and Canada, suggesting multiple introductions. Its presence may increase the risk of future arbovirus outbreaks in Wooster, Ohio. This study stresses the importance of actively monitoring the density and distribution of all members of the Ae. japonicus complex. Full article

Parallel to the widespread decline of plants and animals, there is also an ongoing expansion of many species, which is especially pronounced in certain taxonomic groups and in northern latitudes. In order to inform an improved understanding of population dynamics in range-expanding taxa, we studied species richness, abundance and population growth in a sample of 25,138 individuals representing 107 range-expanding moth species at three light-trap sites in southeastern Sweden over 16 years (from 2005 to 2020) in relation to temperature and years since colonisation. Species richness and average abundance across range-expanding moths increased significantly over time, indicating a continuous influx of species expanding their ranges northward. Furthermore, average abundance and population growth increased significantly with increasing average ambient air temperature during the recording year, and average abundance also increased significantly with increasing temperature during the previous year. In general, population growth increased between years (growth rate > 1), although the population growth rate decreased significantly in association with years since colonisation. These findings highlight that, in contrast to several other studies in different parts of the world, species richness and abundance have increased in southeastern Sweden, partly because the warming climate enables range-expanding moths to realise their capacity for rapid distribution shifts and population growth. This may lead to fast and dramatic changes in community composition, with consequences for species interactions and the functioning of ecosystems. These findings are also of applied relevance for agriculture and forestry in that they can help to forecast the impacts of future invasive pest species. Full article

Pest detection in plants is essential for ensuring high productivity. Convolutional neural networks (CNN)-based deep learning advancements recently have made it possible for researchers to increase object detection accuracy. In this study, pest detection in plants with higher accuracy is proposed by an improved YOLOv5m-based method. First, the SWin Transformer (SWinTR) and Transformer (C3TR) mechanisms are introduced into the YOLOv5m network so that they can capture more global features and can increase the receptive field. Then, in the backbone, ResSPP is considered to make the network extract more features. Furthermore, the global features of the feature map are extracted in the feature fusion phase and forwarded to the detection phase via a modification of the three output necks C3 into SWinTR. Finally, WConcat is added to the fusion feature, which increases the feature fusion capability of the network. Experimental results demonstrate that the improved YOLOv5m achieved 95.7% precision rate, 93.1% recall rate, 94.38% F₁ score, and 96.4% Mean Average Precision (mAP). Meanwhile, the proposed model is significantly better than the original YOLOv3, YOLOv4, and YOLOv5m models. The improved YOLOv5m model shows greater robustness and effectiveness in detecting pests, and it could more precisely detect different pests from the dataset. Full article

Zoraptera shows extreme uniformity in general body morphology, with the exception of Formosozoros (=Zorotypus) newi Chao & Chen, 2000, which stands out in terms of the shape and arrangement of its legs, the cerci, and several other morphological characters. After critical evaluation, we found that this species is not a zorapteran but is instead a nymph (1st instar) of an earwig; i.e., F. newi is a dermapteran. Because of the lack of morphological descriptions of Dermaptera nymphs that would allow species identification, and because the type material of F. newi is lost, a more detailed classification is not possible. We therefore propose that the genus name Formosozoros Chao & Chen, 2000 and the species name Formosozoros newi Chao & Chen, 2000 are nomina dubia. Full article

Entomological surveillance in Benin has historically been limited to zones where indoor residual spraying was performed or where long-standing sentinel surveillance sites existed. However, there are significant country-wide gaps in entomological knowledge. The National Malaria Control Program (NMCP) assessed population dynamics of Anopheles vectors and malaria transmission in each of Benin’s 12 departments to create an entomological risk profile. Two communes per department (24/77 communes) were chosen to reflect diverse geographies, ecologies and malaria prevalence. Two villages per commune were selected from which four households (HH) per village were used for human landing catches (HLCs). In each HH, an indoor and outdoor HLC occurred between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. on two consecutive nights between July–September 2017. Captured Anopheles were identified, and ovaries were dissected to determine parous rate. Heads and thoraces were tested for Plasmodium falciparum sporozoites by ELISA. The Entomological Inoculation Rate (EIR) was calculated as the product of mosquito bite rate and sporozoite index. Bite rates from An. gambiae s.l., the primary vector species complex, differed considerably between communes; average sporozoite infection index was 3.5%. The EIR ranged from 0.02 infectious bites (ib) per human per night in the departments of Ouémé and Plateau to 1.66 ib/human/night in Collines. Based on transmission risk scales, Avrankou, Sakété and Nikki are areas of low transmission (0 < EIR < 3 ib/human/year), Adjarra, Adja Ouèrè, Zè, Toffo, Bopa, Pehunco, Pèrèrè and Kandi are of medium transmission (3 < EIR < 30 ib/human/year), and the other remaining districts are high transmission (EIR > 30 ib/human/year). The heterogeneous and diverse nature of malaria transmission in Benin was not readily apparent when only assessing entomological surveillance from sentinel sites. Prospectively, the NMCP will use study results to stratify and deploy targeted vector control interventions in districts with high EIRs to better protect populations most at-risk. Full article