Biology and Management of Urban Pests: Ticks, Mosquitos, Kissing Bugs, Bed Bugs, Ants, Cockroaches, Moths, Termites, and Food Storage Pests

Dear Colleagues,

The spread of human diseases carried and transmitted by insects present urgent problems worldwide. Mosquitos are listed as the most dangerous species, transmitting a variety of diseases including malaria, zika, chikenkunya, and dengue. Ticks are an increasing threat transmitting Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Recently, kissing bugs have spread Chagas disease in expanding areas. Evolution has enabled insects to develop complex adaptive abilities to their hosts, including the capacity spread from animals to humans. These capabilities are reflected in insect genomes. The destruction of food crops—both in the field and in storage—is another major impact of insects, reducing nutrient abundance and availability, and posing particular challenges for countries with limited economic resources. The mechanisms underlying insects’ adaptability to their hosts and their population success are still not fully understood. Biotechnology, including chemical and genetic pest control as well as the use of natural enemies, remains an area of intense investigation.

This Special Issue welcomes recent discoveries regarding pesticides, repellants, genomics, natural enemy utilization, and biotechnology in targeted insect control.

Prof. Dr. Roger Laine
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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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. Insects is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

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