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Major Insect Pest (major + insect_pest)
Selected AbstractsChoosing natural enemies for conservation biological control: use of the prey detectability half-life to rank key predators of Colorado potato beetleENTOMOLOGIA EXPERIMENTALIS ET APPLICATA, Issue 1 2010Matthew H. Greenstone Abstract Determining relative strengths of trophic links is critical for ranking predators for conservation biological control. Molecular gut-content analysis enables ranking by incidence of prey remains in the gut, but differential digestive rates bias such rankings toward predators with slower rates. This bias can be reduced by indexing each predator's half-life to that of the middle-most half-life in a predator complex. We demonstrate this with data from key species in the predator complex of Colorado potato beetle (CPB), Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), comprising adults and immatures of four taxonomically diverse species. These animals display order-of-magnitude variation in detectability half-life for the cytochrome oxidase I DNA sequence of a single CPB egg: from 7.0 h in larval Coleomegilla maculata (DeGeer) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) to 84.4 h in nymphal Perillus bioculatus (Fabricius) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae). The raw species-specific incidence of L. decemlineata DNA in the guts of 351 field-collected predators ranged from 11 to 95%, ranking them as follows: C. maculata adults < Lebia grandis Hentz (Coleoptera: Carabidae) adults < Podisus maculiventris (Say) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) adults < P. maculiventris nymphs < P. bioculatus adults < P. bioculatus nymphs. Half-life adjustment reorders the rankings: C. maculata adults < P. bioculatus adults < P. bioculatus nymphs < P. maculiventris nymphs < L. grandis adults < P. maculiventris adults. These changes in status demonstrate the value of half-life-adjusted molecular gut-content data for ranking predators. This is the first study to measure prey detectability half-lives for the key arthropod predators of a major insect pest, and to use them to evaluate the relative impact of all adults and immatures in this predator complex. [source] Pharmacological characterization of cis -nitromethylene neonicotinoids in relation to imidacloprid binding sites in the brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugensINSECT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY, Issue 1 2010X. Xu Abstract Neonicotinoid insecticides, such as imidacloprid, are selective agonists of the insect nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) and extensively used in areas of crop protection and animal health to control a variety of insect pest species. Here we describe that two cis -nitromethylene neonicotinoids (IPPA152002 and IPPA152004), recently synthesized in our laboratory, discriminated between the high and low affinity imidacloprid binding sites in the brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens, a major insect pest of rice crops in many parts of Asia. [3H]imidacloprid has two binding sites with different affinities (Kd value of 0.0035 ± 0.0006 nM for the high-affinity site and 1.47 ± 0.22 nM for the low-affinity site). Although the cis -nitromethylene neonicotinoids showed low displacement ability (Ki values of 0.15 ± 0.03 µM and 0.42 ± 0.07 µM for IPPA152002 and IPPA152004, respectively) against [3H]imidacloprid binding, low concentrations (0.01 µM) of IPPA152002 completely inhibited [3H]imidacloprid binding at its high-affinity site. In Xenopus oocytes co-injected with cRNA encoding Nl,1 and rat ,2 subunits, obvious inward currents were detected in response to applications of IPPA152002 and IPPA152004, although the agonist potency is reduced to that of imidacloprid. The previously identified Y151S mutation in Nl,1 showed significant effects on the agonist potency of IPPA152002 and IPPA152004, such as a 75.8% and 70.6% reduction in Imax, and a 2.4- and 2.1-fold increase in EC50. This data clearly shows that the two newly described cis -nitromethylene neonicotinoids act on insect nAChRs and like imidacloprid, discriminated between high and low affinity binding sites in N. lugens native nAChRs. These compounds may be useful tools to further elucidate the pharmacology and nature of neonicotinoid binding sites. [source] Efficacy of an esfenvalerate plus methoprene aerosol for the control of eggs and fifth instars of Plodia interpunctella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)INSECT SCIENCE, Issue 1 2010Emily A. Jenson Abstract, Aerosol insecticides may provide an alternative to fumigants for control of the Indianmeal moth, Plodia interpunctella (Hübner), the Indianmeal moth, a major insect pest of stored processed food. In this study, eggs and larvae (5th instars) of P. interpunctella were exposed to aerosol applications of the pyrethroid esfenvalerate and insect growth regulator methoprene, alone and in combination, in open and obstructed positions inside small sheds. When larvae were exposed to methoprene alone, adult emergence from those exposed larvae was 7.1%± 1.5%. In contrast, adult emergence was 92.5%± 3.5% when larvae were exposed to esfenvalerate alone. When eggs were exposed to methoprene, adult emergence of those exposed eggs was approximately 75%; however, when eggs were exposed to esfenvalerate, adult emergence was approximately 35%. In the combination treatment of methoprene plus esfenvalerate at their respective label rates, adult emergence following larval exposure was 0.91%± 0.61% compared to 16.3%± 9.6% when eggs were exposed. Based on our results, methoprene alone is highly effective in reducing adult emergence after larval exposure. However, it is not as effective on eggs as esfenvalerate. A combination treatment of esfenvalerate plus methoprene could be used to control eggs and the wandering-phase larval stages of P. interpunctella. An economic risk analysis also supports a strategy of combining methoprene and esfenvalerate. [source] Western corn rootworm (Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte) population dynamicsAGRICULTURAL AND FOREST ENTOMOLOGY, Issue 1 2009Lance J. Meinke Abstract 1,The western corn rootworm Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte is a major insect pest of field maize, Zea mays L. Larvae can cause substantial injury by feeding on maize roots. Larval feeding may destroy individual roots or root nodes, and reduce plant growth, stability, and yield. Costs associated with managing corn rootworms in continuous maize are annually one of the largest expenditures for insect management in the United States Corn Belt. 2,Even though D. virgifera virgifera has been studied intensively for over 50 years, there is renewed interest in the biology, ecology, and genetics of this species because of its ability to rapidly adapt to management tactics, and its aggressive invasive nature. 3,This article provides a comprehensive review of D. virgifera virgifera population dynamics, specifically: diapause, larval and adult development, seasonality, spatial and temporal dynamics at local and landscape scales, invasiveness in North America and Europe, and non-trophic interactions with other arthropods. 4,Gaps in current knowledge are identified and discussed especially within the context of challenges that scientists in North America and Europe are currently facing regarding pest dynamics and the need to develop appropriate management strategies for each geographic area. [source] The impact of irrigation frequency on population density of thrips, Thrips tabaci Rom (Thripidae, Thysanoptera) and yield of onion in E1 Rahad, SudanANNALS OF APPLIED BIOLOGY, Issue 2 2001H O KANNAN Summary Vegetable farmers of the El Rahad Scheme (a newly developed scheme situated between latitude 13°31,,14°25, north and longitude 33°31,34°32, east) used to extend irrigation frequency for onion production as they believed it would hamper and suppress thrips incidence. Thrips, T. tabaci, is the only major insect pest of onion in the El Rahad Scheme and the influence of irrigation intervals on the population density of the pest and on onion yield was not quantified. Irrigation is a factor in the development of crop pests and the levels of the pest population are related to the commencement of irrigation. The effect of irrigation frequency on the development of onion thrips and yield was investigated and the response was found to be a significant increase in the population density of the pests from February to March with shorter irrigation frequency. A steady increase of thrips population was noted from February and March and a sharp decline was recorded in April during both the 1992/93 and 1993/94 seasons. At wider irrigation intervals, levels of the pest population were significantly less from February to March during both seasons. Total bulb yield and average bulb weight were significantly higher at shorter irrigation frequencies when compared with extended frequencies. The same pattern of results existed throughout the course of the experiment. [source] | ||||||||||