Insects, Volume 8, Issue 3

Flower strips are commonly recommended to boost biodiversity and multiple ecosystem services (e.g., pollination and pest control) on farmland. However, significant knowledge gaps remain regards the extent to which they deliver on these aims. Here, we...

The Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayma, is one of the most important pests in citrus production. The objective of this study was to evaluate D. citri resistance management with three insecticide rotations and compare them with no rotation...

The longhorn grasshopper, Ruspolia differens (Serville), plays an important role as a food source across Sub-Saharan Africa, where it is consumed as a delicacy in both rural and urban areas. The effect of two drying methods (freeze-drying and oven-dr...

Landscape diversification is a key element for the development of sustainable agriculture. This study explores whether the implementation of habitats for pest natural enemies enhances conservation biological control in an adjacent field. In the prese...

Lipases have key roles in insect lipid acquisition, storage, and mobilization and are also fundamental to many physiological processes in insects. Lipids are an important component of insect diets, where they are hydrolyzed in the midgut lumen, absor...

The efficacy of bistrifluron termite bait was evaluated using in-ground bait stations placed around Coptotermes lacteus mounds in south-eastern Australia during late summer and autumn (late February to late May 2012). Four in-ground bait stations con...

Most studies on termite food selection have focused on a single nutrient per choice, however, termites, like all animals, must balance multiple nutrients in their diet. While most studies that use multi-nutrient approaches focus on macromolecules, th...

Helicoverpa armigera, one of the world’s most destructive crop pests, was first documented in Brazil in 2013. Within a few months, this polyphagous insect had spread over the Northeast and Central-West of Brazil, causing great agricultural losses. Wi...

Organic apple production in the eastern US is small and is mostly based on existing varieties, which are susceptible to scab, and rootstocks, which are susceptible to fire blight. This requires numerous sprays per year of various pesticides to produc...

To date, few studies have evaluated chitin synthesis inhibitors against bed bugs, although they would provide an alternative mode of action to circumvent insecticide resistance. Acute and sublethal effects of lufenuron were evaluated against two stra...

Determining the abundance and distribution of male mosquitoes in the wild and establishing species seasonality in candidate pilot sites is of particular interest with respect to the use of the sterile-male technique. With the knowledge that using mic...

Neoleucinodes elegantalis (Guenée) is an oligophagous species of plants in the Solanaceae family that has a broad geographical distribution in the tropical zones of South America. It is the most important insect pest of naranjilla (Solanum quitoense...

Subterranean termites are the most economically important structural pests in the USA, and the eastern subterranean termite, Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar) (Dictyoptera: Rhinotermitidae) is the most widely distributed species. Soil treatment with a...

Nylanderia fulva (Mayr) is an invasive ant that is a serious pest in the southern United States. Pest control operators and homeowners are challenged to manage pest populations below acceptable thresholds. Contact and bait insecticides are key compon...

The hematophagous bug Triatoma rubida is a species of kissing bug that has been marked as a potential vector for the transmission of Chagas disease in the Southern United States and Northern Mexico. However, information on the distribution of T. rubi...

The life history of Chalcoela iphitalis—a common brood parasite of social wasps—has been described in previous literature, but critical information regarding oviposition behavior and possible differential host parasitism remain cryptic. Here we repor...

The Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Liviidae), is a primary pest of citrus due to its status as a vector of the citrus disease, huanglongbing. We evaluated the effects of light of specific wavelength and polarization on ph...

Improving natural pest control by promoting high densities of predatory mites (Acari: Phytoseiidae) is an effective way to prevent damage by pest mites (e.g., Eriophyidae, Tetranychidae) and other arthropod taxa that can cause serious damage to viney...

Many biotic and abiotic stressors impact bees’ health, acting as immunosupressors and contribute to colony losses. Thus, the importance of studying the immune response of honey bees is central to develop new strategies aiming to enhance bees’ fitness...

Bed bugs have reemerged recently as a serious and growing problem not only in North America but in many parts of the world. These insects have become the most challenging pest to control in urban environments. Residual insecticides are the most commo...

Abstract: Oxalic acid dihydrate is used to treat varroosis of Apis mellifera. This study investigates lethal and sublethal effects of oxalic acid dihydrate on individually treated honeybees kept in cages under laboratory conditions as well as the dis...

The challenge of managing agroecosystems on a landscape scale and the novel structure of soil communities in agroecosystems both provide reason to focus on in-field management practices, including cover crop adoption, reduced tillage, and judicial pe...

Studies related to the demography of individual members from ant colonies have received little attention, although they are the basis to understanding the population dynamics of colonies. Thus, the objective of this work was to study the queen ovipos...

Forests provide potentially important bee habitat, but little research has been done on forest bee diversity and the relative effectiveness of bee sampling methods in this environment. Bee diversity and sampling methodology were studied in an Illinoi...

The expansion of modern agriculture has led to the loss and fragmentation of natural habitat, resulting in a global decline in biodiversity, including bees. In many countries, farmers can participate in cost-share programs to create natural habitat o...

Tephritid fruit flies are economically important orchard pests globally. While much effort has focused on controlling individual species with a combination of pesticides and biological control, less attention has been paid to managing assemblages of...

Epiplema albida (Hampson) (Lepidoptera: Uraniidae, Epipleminae) from Sri Lanka, was studied to assess its safety for use as a biological control agent for Sri Lankan privet, Ligustrum robustum subsp. walkeri (Oleaceae) in La Réunion and other Mascare...

We tested a threshold-based bed bug (Cimex lectularius L.) management approach with the goal of achieving elimination with minimal or no insecticide application. Thirty-two bed bug infested apartments were identified. These apartments were divided in...

Zoophytophagous insects can substitute animals for plant resources when prey is scarce. Many arthropods feed on conspecifics to survive in these conditions. An individual’s tendency for cannibalism may depend on its genotype along with its diet speci...

Increased homogeneity of agricultural landscapes in the last century has led to a loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services. However, management practices such as wildflower borders offer supplementary resources to many beneficial arthropods. There...

The cocoa mealybug, Exallomochlus hispidus Morrison (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) is known to attack mangosteen, an important fruit export commodity for Indonesia. The mealybug is polyphagous, so alternative host plants can serve as a source of nourish...

Of the 30 extant orders of true insect, 12 are considered to be aquatic, or semiaquatic, in either some or all of their life stages. Out of these, six orders contain species engaged in entomophagy, but very few are being harvested effectively, leadin...

The use of non-crop plants to provide the resources that herbivorous crop pests’ natural enemies need is being increasingly incorporated into integrated pest management programs. We evaluated insect functional groups found on three refuges consisting...

The Ceracis furcifer species-group (Coleoptera: Ciidae) originally comprised nine species names: Ceracis cornifer (Mellié, 1849); C. cylindricus (Brèthes, 1922); C. furcifer Mellié, 1849; C. hastifer (Mellié, 1849); C. monocerus Lawrence, 1967; C. ru...

The literature on community-based environmental management is very extensive and the discussion of the pros and cons is continuing. Presented here is an example of a successful interaction between university-based entomologists and a local rural comm...

The Homerus swallowtail, Papilio (Pterourus) homerus Fabricius, is listed as an endangered species and is endemic to the Caribbean island of Jamaica. The largest butterfly in the Western Hemisphere, P. homerus once inhabited seven of Jamaica’s 14 par...

The introduction of biological control agents to new environments requires host specificity tests to estimate potential non-target impacts of a prospective agent. Currently, the approach is conservative, and is based on physiological host ranges dete...

Overlooking the importance of insect disease can have disastrous effects on insect conservation. This study reported the microfungi that infect Pteroptyx bearni eggs and larvae during ex-situ rearing project. Two different species of microfungi that...

Adult parasitoids of pest insects rely on floral resources for survival and reproduction, but can be food-deprived in intensively managed agricultural systems lacking these resources. Stink bugs are serious pests for crops in southwest Georgia. Provi...

Fire is one of the most relevant ecological disturbances in nature. Little is known about the effects of fire on biodiversity in ecosystems like rupestrian grasslands, which share characteristics with savanna and forest biomes. Brazilian rupestrian g...