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Biology
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The Biology, Ecology, and Management of Plant Pests
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The Biology, Ecology, and Management of Plant Pests

A special issue of Biology (ISSN 2079-7737). This special issue belongs to the section "Ecology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 1 March 2026 | Viewed by 2504

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Lei Bian

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Tea Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310008, China
Interests: insect physiology; pest physical control technology; integrated pest management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Yu Gao

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Plant Protection, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, China
Interests: pest management and plant protection; edible insect; analytical chemistry of agrochemicals
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Suli Liu

E-Mail Website
Co-Guest Editor
School of Mathematics, Jilin University, Changchun 130118, China
Interests: applied mathematics; biomathematics
Dr. Yuxin Zhou

E-Mail Website
Co-Guest Editor
College of Plant Protection, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, China
Interests: insect ecology; insect toxicology; integrated pest management

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Plant pests have significant impacts on agricultural productivity and ecosystem stability. Understanding the biology and ecology of these pests is essential to develop effective and sustainable pest management strategies. This involves gaining novel insights into the physiological mechanisms that underpin pest survival and proliferation, conducting detailed studies on behavioral patterns and their triggers, unraveling the genetic basis of pest adaptation and resistance, and exploring the evolutionary trajectories that shape pest species over time. This Special Issue seeks to highlight research on the complex ecological relationships between pests and their surroundings. This type of research includes investigating the pivotal role of natural enemies in regulating pest populations, studying the mechanisms and potential of host plant resistance as a defensive strategy, and analyzing how various environmental factors, such as climate change, habitat modification, and resource availability, interact to influence pest population dynamics and community structures. We encourage submissions that showcase innovative biological control methods and integrated pest management (IPM) programs, such as biomathematical modeling, remote sensing and multispectral technologies, and the introduction of natural predators or pathogens; advances in ecological engineering approaches that modify the environment to suppress pest populations; and other novel management tactics that offer environmentally friendly alternatives to conventional chemical control.

Dr. Lei Bian
Dr. Yu Gao
Dr. Suli Liu
Dr. Yuxin Zhou
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biology is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • climate change
  • genetic diversity
  • life table
  • population dynamic
  • biomathematics
  • insect behavior
  • insect physiology
  • pest resistance
  • molecular mechanism
  • olfactory peripheral neurons
  • insecticide resistance
  • plant–pest–natural enemy
  • plant–insect-vector–pathogen
  • integrated pest management
  • pest monitoring and early warning

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 938 KB  
Article
The Thermal Adaptability of Sclerodermus guani Xiao et Wu (Hymenoptera: Bethylidae), an Important Parasitoid of Long-Horned Beetles in China
by Lina Wang, Yuhua Situ, Jie Zhang, Kui Kang, Zhongjiu Xiao, Shaobo Wang, Ke Wei and Yanlong Tang
Biology 2025, 14(9), 1234; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology14091234 - 10 Sep 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 439
Abstract
Sclerodermus guani is the most extensively studied and widely used parasitoid wasp for controlling forest trunk-boring pests in China, with temperature being a key environmental factor affecting its development and reproduction. Against the backdrop of global climate change, the frequency of heat stress [...] Read more.
Sclerodermus guani is the most extensively studied and widely used parasitoid wasp for controlling forest trunk-boring pests in China, with temperature being a key environmental factor affecting its development and reproduction. Against the backdrop of global climate change, the frequency of heat stress on parasitoid wasps is increasing. Therefore, studying their adaptability to heat stress is of great significance for breeding heat-tolerant strains. The findings of such research may help improve efficiency in rearing this wasp and provide guidance for its use in pest control. This study investigated the thermal adaptability of the wasp at temperatures ranging from 21 to 33 °C. The results showed that temperature significantly affected its parasitism capacity and behavior. As temperature increased, female wasps searched for and stung hosts more actively, and their pre-oviposition period decreased, as well as their developmental duration. The reproductive fitness of the wasp also varied significantly with temperature, with the most favorable temperatures being 27 °C and 30 °C. Both low and high temperatures were detrimental to its reproduction, and the difference in the number of female offspring was significant. The experimental results indicate that S. guani has higher reproductive fitness at 27–30 °C. Therefore, it is recommended that this parasitoid wasp be reared indoors at 27–30 °C and released for pest control in forests when the temperature is above 24 °C. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Biology, Ecology, and Management of Plant Pests)
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15 pages, 1496 KB  
Article
Changes in the Microbiota of the Scale Insect (Diaspis echinocacti, Bouché, 1833) in Opuntia stricta Cladodes: Taxonomic and Metagenomic Analysis as a Function of Infestation Levels
by Mikaelly Batista da Silva, Ana Beatriz Medeiros, Antonia Isabelly Monteiro dos Anjos, João Vitor Ferreira Cavalcante, Bianca Cristiane Ferreira Santiago, Shênia Santos Monteiro, Antonio Carlos Vital, Júnior, Rodrigo Juliani Siqueira Dalmolin, Hugo M. Lisboa and Matheus Augusto de Bittencourt Pasquali
Biology 2025, 14(9), 1233; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology14091233 - 10 Sep 2025
Viewed by 466
Abstract
Drought-tolerant cactus Opuntia stricta sustains livestock in Brazil’s semi-arid Northeast but suffers yield losses from the armored scale insect Diaspis echinocacti. Symbiotic bacteria are thought to underpin scale fitness; however, their response to pest pressure remains unexplored. We characterized the bacterial communities [...] Read more.
Drought-tolerant cactus Opuntia stricta sustains livestock in Brazil’s semi-arid Northeast but suffers yield losses from the armored scale insect Diaspis echinocacti. Symbiotic bacteria are thought to underpin scale fitness; however, their response to pest pressure remains unexplored. We characterized the bacterial communities of D. echinocacti collected from cladodes displaying low, intermediate, and high infestation (n = 3 replicates per level) using 16S-rRNA amplicon sequencing, processed with nf-core/ampliseq. Shannon diversity declined from low to high density, and Bray–Curtis ordination suggested compositional shifts, although group differences were not significant (Kruskal–Wallis and PERMANOVA, p > 0.05). The obligate endosymbiont “Candidatus Uzinura” dominated all samples (>85% relative abundance) irrespective of density, indicating a resilient core microbiome. PICRUSt2 predicted a contraction of metabolic breadth at higher infestations, with convergence on energy- and amino acid biosynthesis pathways. Taken together, increasing pest density was associated with modest loss of diversity and functional streamlining, rather than wholesale turnover. These baseline data can guide future work on microbiome-based strategies to complement existing scale-insect control in dryland cactus systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Biology, Ecology, and Management of Plant Pests)
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14 pages, 1213 KB  
Article
Assessment of Potential Toxic Effects of RNAi-Based Transgenic Cotton on the Non-Target Predator Harmonia axyridis
by Haiqin Yao, Haonan Xu, Jun Yang and Weihua Ma
Biology 2025, 14(9), 1173; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology14091173 - 2 Sep 2025
Viewed by 511
Abstract
Although traditional genetically modified (GM) cotton has reduced lepidopteran pests, secondary pests such as Adelphocoris suturalis Jakovlev (Hemiptera: Miridae) have become increasingly problematic. RNA interference (RNAi)-based insect-resistant plants offer a promising alternative, but their potential ecological risks, particularly within the plant–pest–natural enemy framework, [...] Read more.
Although traditional genetically modified (GM) cotton has reduced lepidopteran pests, secondary pests such as Adelphocoris suturalis Jakovlev (Hemiptera: Miridae) have become increasingly problematic. RNA interference (RNAi)-based insect-resistant plants offer a promising alternative, but their potential ecological risks, particularly within the plant–pest–natural enemy framework, require comprehensive evaluation. As a key natural enemy in cotton agroecosystems, Harmonia axyridis Pallas (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) plays a vital role in regulating pest populations and thus serves as an important non-target insect for environmental risk assessment. In this study, dsAsFAR transgenic cotton and the non-target insect H. axyridis were used to evaluate potential ecological risks. Based on the sequences of the HaFAR, AsFAR, and GFP genes, dsAsFAR, dsHaFAR, and dsGFP were synthesized in vitro and incorporated into artificial diets fed to H. axyridis, along with a ddH2O control group. No significant differences were observed among the treatments across various developmental stages. Furthermore, H. axyridis was fed aphids that had been reared on either transgenic or non-transgenic cotton plants cultivated in a greenhouse. The findings indicated no significant differences in the growth, development, predatory ability, or fecundity of H. axyridis. These results suggest that transgenic dsAsFAR cotton targeting A. suturalis poses no detectable adverse effects on H. axyridis, supporting the environmental safety of RNAi crops within a plant–pest–natural enemy ecological interaction framework. Moreover, the dsAsFAR expressed in transgenic cotton was not effectively transferred through the food chain to affect homologous gene expression in H. axyridis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Biology, Ecology, and Management of Plant Pests)
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16 pages, 1541 KB  
Article
A Ubiquitous Volatile in Noctuid Larval Frass Attracts a Parasitoid Species
by Chaowei Wang, Xingzhou Liu, Sylvestre T. O. Kelehoun, Kai Dong, Yueying Wang, Maozhu Yin, Jinbu Li, Yu Gao and Hao Xu
Biology 2025, 14(8), 1007; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology14081007 - 6 Aug 2025
Viewed by 559
Abstract
Natural enemies commonly probe larval bodies and frass with their antennae for prey hunting. However, the attractants to natural enemies emitted directly from hosts and host-associated tissues remained largely unknown. Here, we used two generalist noctuid species, Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) and Spodoptera frugiperda [...] Read more.
Natural enemies commonly probe larval bodies and frass with their antennae for prey hunting. However, the attractants to natural enemies emitted directly from hosts and host-associated tissues remained largely unknown. Here, we used two generalist noctuid species, Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) and Spodoptera frugiperda (JE Smith), along with the larval endoparasitoid Microplitis mediator (Haliday) to address the question. Extracts of larval frass of both the noctuid species were strongly attractive to M. mediator females when hosts were fed either maize, cotton, soybean leaves, or an artificial diet without leaf tissues. By using a combination of electrophysiological measurements and behavioral tests, we found that the attractiveness of frass mainly relied on a volatile compound ethyl palmitate. The compound was likely to be a by-product of host digestion involving gut bacteria because an antibiotic supplement in diets reduced the production of the compound in frass and led to the decreased attractiveness of frass to the parasitoids. In contrast, extracts of the larval bodies of both the noctuid species appeared to be less attractive to the parasitoids than their respective fecal extracts, independently of types of food supplied to the larvae. Altogether, larval frass of the two noctuid species was likely to be more important than their bodies in attracting the endoparasitoid species, and the main attractant of frass was probably one of the common metabolites of digestion involving gut microbes, and its emission is likely to be independent of host plant species. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Biology, Ecology, and Management of Plant Pests)
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