Interaction of phytophagous insects with Salmonella enterica on plants and enhanced persistence of the pathogen with Macrosteles quadrilineatus infestation or Frankliniella occidentalis feeding.

PubMed

Soto-Arias, José Pablo; Groves, Russell; Barak, Jeri D

2013-01-01

Recently, most foodborne illness outbreaks of salmonellosis have been caused by consumption of contaminated fresh produce. Yet, the mechanisms that allow the human pathogen Salmonella enterica to contaminate and grow in plant environments remain poorly described. We examined the effect of feeding by phytophagous insects on survival of S. enterica on lettuce. Larger S. enterica populations were found on leaves infested with Macrosteles quadrilineatus. In contrast, pathogen populations among plants exposed to Frankliniella occidentalis or Myzus persicae were similar to those without insects. However, on plants infested with F. occidentalis, areas of the infested leaf with feeding damage sustained higher S. enterica populations than areas without damage. The spatial distribution of S. enterica cells on leaves infested with F. occidentalis may be altered resulting in higher populations in feeding lesions or survival may be different across a leaf dependent on local damage. Results suggest the possibility of some specificity with select insects and the persistence of S. enterica. Additionally, we demonstrated the potential for phytophagous insects to become contaminated with S. enterica from contaminated plant material. S. enterica was detected in approximately 50% of all M. quadrilineatus, F. occidentalis, and M. persicae after 24 h exposure to contaminated leaves. Particularly, 17% of F. occidentalis, the smallest of the insects tested, harbored more than 10(2) CFU/F. occidentalis. Our results show that phytophagous insects may influence the population dynamics of S. enterica in agricultural crops. This study provides evidence of a human bacterial pathogen interacting with phytophagous insect during plant infestation.

Salt controls feeding decisions in a blood-sucking insect.

PubMed

Pontes, Gina; Pereira, Marcos H; Barrozo, Romina B

2017-04-01

Salts are necessary for maintaining homeostatic conditions within the body of all living organisms. Like with all essential nutrients, deficient or excessive ingestion of salts can result in adverse health effects. The taste system is a primary sensory modality that helps animals to make adequate feeding decisions in terms of salt consumption. In this work we show that sodium and potassium chloride salts modulate the feeding behavior of Rhodnius prolixus in a concentration-dependent manner. Feeding is only triggered by an optimal concentration of any of these salts (0.1-0.15M) and in presence of the phagostimulant ATP. Conversely, feeding solutions that do not contain salts or have a high-salt concentration (>0.3M) are not ingested by insects. Notably, we show that feeding decisions of insects cannot be explained as an osmotic effect, because they still feed over hyperosmotic solutions bearing the optimal salt concentration. Insects perceive optimal-salt, no-salt and high-salt solutions as different gustatory information, as revealed the electromyogram recordings of the cibarial pump. Moreover, because insects do a continuous gustatory monitoring of the incoming food during feeding, sudden changes beyond the optimal sodium concentration decrease and even inhibit feeding. The administration of amiloride, a sodium channel blocker, noticeably reduces the ingestion of the optimal sodium solution but not of the optimal potassium solution. Salt detection seems to occur at least through two salt receptors, one amiloride-sensitive and another amiloride-insensitive. Our results confirm the importance of the gustatory system in R. prolixus, showing the relevant role that salts play on their feeding decisions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mouthpart conduit sizes of fluid-feeding insects determine the ability to feed from pores

DOE PAGES

Lehnert, Matthew S.; Bennett, Andrew; Reiter, Kristen E.; ...

2017-01-04

Fluid-feeding insects, such as butterflies, moths, and flies (20% of all animal species), are faced with the common selection pressure of having to remove and feed on trace amounts of fluids from porous surfaces. Insects able to acquire fluids that are confined to pores during drought conditions would have an adaptive advantage and increased fitness over other individuals. Here we performed feeding trials using solutions with magnetic nanoparticles to show that butterflies and flies have mouthparts adapted to pull liquids from porous surfaces using capillary action as the governing principle. In addition, the ability to feed on the liquids collectedmore » from pores depends on a relationship between the diameter of the mouthpart conduits and substrate pore size diameter; insects with mouthpart conduit diameters larger than the pores cannot successfully feed, thus there is a limiting substrate pore size from which each species can acquire liquids for fluid uptake. In conclusion, given that natural selection independently favored mouthpart architectures that support these methods of fluid uptake (Diptera and Lepidoptera share a common ancestor 280 mya that had chewing mouthparts), we suggest that the convergence of this mechanism advocates this as an optimal strategy for pulling trace amounts of fluids from porous surfaces.« less

Mouthpart conduit sizes of fluid-feeding insects determine the ability to feed from pores

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lehnert, Matthew S.; Bennett, Andrew; Reiter, Kristen E.

Fluid-feeding insects, such as butterflies, moths, and flies (20% of all animal species), are faced with the common selection pressure of having to remove and feed on trace amounts of fluids from porous surfaces. Insects able to acquire fluids that are confined to pores during drought conditions would have an adaptive advantage and increased fitness over other individuals. Here we performed feeding trials using solutions with magnetic nanoparticles to show that butterflies and flies have mouthparts adapted to pull liquids from porous surfaces using capillary action as the governing principle. In addition, the ability to feed on the liquids collectedmore » from pores depends on a relationship between the diameter of the mouthpart conduits and substrate pore size diameter; insects with mouthpart conduit diameters larger than the pores cannot successfully feed, thus there is a limiting substrate pore size from which each species can acquire liquids for fluid uptake. In conclusion, given that natural selection independently favored mouthpart architectures that support these methods of fluid uptake (Diptera and Lepidoptera share a common ancestor 280 mya that had chewing mouthparts), we suggest that the convergence of this mechanism advocates this as an optimal strategy for pulling trace amounts of fluids from porous surfaces.« less

Viruses of insects reared for food and feed.

PubMed

Maciel-Vergara, Gabriela; Ros, Vera I D

2017-07-01

The use of insects as food for humans or as feed for animals is an alternative for the increasing high demand for meat and has various environmental and social advantages over the traditional intensive production of livestock. Mass rearing of insects, under insect farming conditions or even in industrial settings, can be the key for a change in the way natural resources are utilized in order to produce meat, animal protein and a list of other valuable animal products. However, because insect mass rearing technology is relatively new, little is known about the different factors that determine the quality and yield of the production process. Obtaining such knowledge is crucial for the success of insect-based product development. One of the issues that is likely to compromise the success of insect rearing is the outbreak of insect diseases. In particular, viral diseases can be devastating for the productivity and the quality of mass rearing systems. Prevention and management of viral diseases imply the understanding of the different factors that interact in insect mass rearing. This publication provides an overview of the known viruses in insects most commonly reared for food and feed. Nowadays with large-scale sequencing techniques, new viruses are rapidly being discovered. We discuss factors affecting the emergence of viruses in mass rearing systems, along with virus transmission routes. Finally we provide an overview of the wide range of measures available to prevent and manage virus outbreaks in mass rearing systems, ranging from simple sanitation methods to highly sophisticated methods including RNAi and transgenics. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Micro- and Macroevolutionary Trade-Offs in Plant-Feeding Insects.

PubMed

Peterson, Daniel A; Hardy, Nate B; Normark, Benjamin B

2016-12-01

A long-standing hypothesis asserts that plant-feeding insects specialize on particular host plants because of negative interactions (trade-offs) between adaptations to alternative hosts, yet empirical evidence for such trade-offs is scarce. Most studies have looked for microevolutionary performance trade-offs within insect species, but host use could also be constrained by macroevolutionary trade-offs caused by epistasis and historical contingency. Here we used a phylogenetic approach to estimate the micro- and macroevolutionary correlations between use of alternative host-plant taxa within two major orders of plant-feeding insects: Lepidoptera (caterpillars) and Hemiptera (true bugs). Across 1,604 caterpillar species, we found both positive and negative pairwise correlations between use of 11 host-plant orders, with overall network patterns suggesting that different host-use constraints act over micro- and macroevolutionary timescales. In contrast, host-use patterns of 955 true bug species revealed uniformly positive correlations between use of the same 11 host plant orders over both timescales. The lack of consistent patterns across timescales and insect orders indicates that host-use trade-offs are historically contingent rather than universal constraints. Moreover, we observed few negative correlations overall despite the wide taxonomic and ecological diversity of the focal host-plant orders, suggesting that positive interactions between host-use adaptations, not trade-offs, dominate the long-term evolution of host use in plant-feeding insects.

Double-stranded RNA Oral Delivery Methods to Induce RNA Interference in Phloem and Plant-sap-feeding Hemipteran Insects.

PubMed

Ghosh, Saikat Kumar B; Hunter, Wayne B; Park, Alexis L; Gundersen-Rindal, Dawn E

2018-05-04

Phloem and plant sap feeding insects invade the integrity of crops and fruits to retrieve nutrients, in the process damaging food crops. Hemipteran insects account for a number of economically substantial pests of plants that cause damage to crops by feeding on phloem sap. The brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), Halyomorpha halys (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) and the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP), Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Liviidae) are hemipteran insect pests introduced in North America, where they are an invasive agricultural pest of high-value specialty, row, and staple crops and citrus fruits, as well as a nuisance pest when they aggregate indoors. Insecticide resistance in many species has led to the development of alternate methods of pest management strategies. Double-stranded RNA (dsRNA)-mediated RNA interference (RNAi) is a gene silencing mechanism for functional genomic studies that has potential applications as a tool for the management of insect pests. Exogenously synthesized dsRNA or small interfering RNA (siRNA) can trigger highly efficient gene silencing through the degradation of endogenous RNA, which is homologous to that presented. Effective and environmental use of RNAi as molecular biopesticides for biocontrol of hemipteran insects requires the in vivo delivery of dsRNAs through feeding. Here we demonstrate methods for delivery of dsRNA to insects: loading of dsRNA into green beans by immersion, and absorbing of gene-specific dsRNA with oral delivery through ingestion. We have also outlined non-transgenic plant delivery approaches using foliar sprays, root drench, trunk injections as well as clay granules, all of which may be essential for sustained release of dsRNA. Efficient delivery by orally ingested dsRNA was confirmed as an effective dosage to induce a significant decrease in expression of targeted genes, such as juvenile hormone acid O-methyltransferase (JHAMT) and vitellogenin (Vg). These innovative methods represent strategies for

Automated detection of insect-damaged sunflower seeds by X-ray imaging

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The development of insect-resistant sunflowers is hindered by the lack of a quick and effective method for scoring samples in terms of insect damage. The current method for scoring insect damage, which involves manual inspection of seeds for holes bored into the shell, is tedious, requiring approxi...

Insect-damaged fossil leaves record food web response to ancient climate change and extinction.

PubMed

Wilf, P

2008-01-01

Plants and herbivorous insects have dominated terrestrial ecosystems for over 300 million years. Uniquely in the fossil record, foliage with well-preserved insect damage offers abundant and diverse information both about producers and about ecological and sometimes taxonomic groups of consumers. These data are ideally suited to investigate food web response to environmental perturbations, and they represent an invaluable deep-time complement to neoecological studies of global change. Correlations between feeding diversity and temperature, between herbivory and leaf traits that are modulated by climate, and between insect diversity and plant diversity can all be investigated in deep time. To illustrate, I emphasize recent work on the time interval from the latest Cretaceous through the middle Eocene (67-47 million years ago (Ma)), including two significant events that affected life: the end-Cretaceous mass extinction (65.5 Ma) and its ensuing recovery; and globally warming temperatures across the Paleocene-Eocene boundary (55.8 Ma). Climatic effects predicted from neoecology generally hold true in these deep-time settings. Rising temperature is associated with increased herbivory in multiple studies, a result with major predictive importance for current global warming. Diverse floras are usually associated with diverse insect damage; however, recovery from the end-Cretaceous extinction reveals uncorrelated plant and insect diversity as food webs rebuilt chaotically from a drastically simplified state. Calibration studies from living forests are needed to improve interpretation of the fossil data.

Seed-feeding insects impacting globemallow seed production

Treesearch

Robert Hammon; Melissa Franklin

2012-01-01

Weevils (Anthonomus sphaeralciae Fall [Coleoptera: Curculionidae]), which attack flowers and developing seeds, can significantly impact globemallow Sphaeralcea spp. A. St.-Hil. (Malvaceae) seed production without a grower even noticing there was insect damage. This weevil damaged almost one-quarter of the flowers in a seed production field in Delta County, Colorado,...

Potential of insects as food and feed in assuring food security.

PubMed

van Huis, Arnold

2013-01-01

With a growing world population and increasingly demanding consumers, the production of sufficient protein from livestock, poultry, and fish represents a serious challenge for the future. Approximately 1,900 insect species are eaten worldwide, mainly in developing countries. They constitute quality food and feed, have high feed conversion ratios, and emit low levels of greenhouse gases. Some insect species can be grown on organic side streams, reducing environmental contamination and transforming waste into high-protein feed that can replace increasingly more expensive compound feed ingredients, such as fish meal. This requires the development of cost-effective, automated mass-rearing facilities that provide a reliable, stable, and safe product. In the tropics, sustainable harvesting needs to be assured and rearing practices promoted, and in general, the food resource needs to be revalorized. In the Western world, consumer acceptability will relate to pricing, perceived environmental benefits, and the development of tasty insect-derived protein products.

Parasite-altered feeding behavior in insects: integrating functional and mechanistic research frontiers.

PubMed

Bernardo, Melissa A; Singer, Michael S

2017-08-15

Research on parasite-altered feeding behavior in insects is contributing to an emerging literature that considers possible adaptive consequences of altered feeding behavior for the host or the parasite. Several recent ecoimmunological studies show that insects can adaptively alter their foraging behavior in response to parasitism. Another body of recent work shows that infection by parasites can change the behavior of insect hosts to benefit the parasite; manipulations of host feeding behavior may be part of this phenomenon. Here, we address both the functional and the underlying physiological frontiers of parasite-altered feeding behavior in order to spur research that better integrates the two. Functional categories of parasite-altered behavior that are adaptive for the host include prophylaxis, therapy and compensation, while host manipulation is adaptive for the parasite. To better understand and distinguish prophylaxis, therapy and compensation, further study of physiological feedbacks affecting host sensory systems is especially needed. For host manipulation in particular, research on mechanisms by which parasites control host feedbacks will be important to integrate with functional approaches. We see this integration as critical to advancing the field of parasite-altered feeding behavior, which may be common in insects and consequential for human and environmental health. © 2017. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Incidence of insects, diseases, and other damaging agents in Oregon forests.

Treesearch

Paul A. Dunham

2008-01-01

This report uses data from a network of forest inventory plots sampled at two points in time, annual aerial insect and disease surveys, and specialized pest damage surveys to quantify the incidence and impact of insects, diseases, and other damaging agents on Oregon's forests. The number and volume of trees damaged or killed by various agents is summarized....

Arboreal seed removal and insect damage in three California oaks

Treesearch

Walter D. Koenig; Johannes M. H. Knops; William J. Carmen

2002-01-01

We investigated arboreal removal and insect damage to acorns in an undisturbed oak woodland in central coastal California. Arboreal seed removal was determined for four to eight individual Quercus lobata trees over a period of 14 years by comparing visual estimates of the acorn crop with the number of acorns caught in seed traps. Insect damage was...

De novo transcriptome assemblies of four xylem sap-feeding insects

PubMed Central

Tassone, Erica E.; Cowden, Charles C.

2017-01-01

Abstract Background: Spittle bugs and sharpshooters are well-known xylem sap-feeding insects and vectors of the phytopathogenic bacterium Xylella fastidiosa (Wells), a causal agent of Pierce's disease of grapevines and other crop diseases. Specialized feeding on nutrient-deficient xylem sap is relatively rare among insect herbivores, and only limited genomic and transcriptomic information has been generated for xylem-sap feeders. To develop a more comprehensive understanding of biochemical adaptations and symbiotic relationships that support survival on a nutritionally austere dietary source, transcriptome assemblies for three sharpshooter species and one spittlebug species were produced. Findings: Trinity-based de novo transcriptome assemblies were generated for all four xylem-sap feeders using raw sequencing data originating from whole-insect preps. Total transcripts for each species ranged from 91 384 for Cuerna arida to 106 998 for Homalodisca liturata with transcript totals for Graphocephala atropunctata and the spittlebug Clastoptera arizonana falling in between. The percentage of transcripts comprising complete open reading frames ranged from 60% for H. liturata to 82% for C. arizonana. Bench-marking universal single-copy orthologs analyses for each dataset indicated quality assemblies and a high degree of completeness for all four species. Conclusions: These four transcriptomes represent a significant expansion of data for insect herbivores that feed exclusively on xylem sap, a nutritionally deficient dietary source relative to other plant tissues and fluids. Comparison of transcriptome data with insect herbivores that utilize other dietary sources may illuminate fundamental differences in the biochemistry of dietary specialization. PMID:28327966

Insects and other invertebrates

Treesearch

John R. Jones; Norbert V. DeByle; Diane M. Bowers

1985-01-01

Quaking aspen throughout its range appears to be host to several insect and other invertebrate pests (fig. 1). It is a short-lived species that is palatable to a large variety of animals. Furniss and Carolin (1977) listed 33 insect species that use aspen as a food source. Some are quite damaging and may kill otherwise healthy stands of aspen; others feed on weakened or...

De novo transcriptome assemblies of four xylem sap-feeding insects.

PubMed

Tassone, Erica E; Cowden, Charles C; Castle, S J

2017-03-01

Spittle bugs and sharpshooters are well-known xylem sap-feeding insects and vectors of the phytopathogenic bacterium Xylella fastidiosa (Wells), a causal agent of Pierce's disease of grapevines and other crop diseases. Specialized feeding on nutrient-deficient xylem sap is relatively rare among insect herbivores, and only limited genomic and transcriptomic information has been generated for xylem-sap feeders. To develop a more comprehensive understanding of biochemical adaptations and symbiotic relationships that support survival on a nutritionally austere dietary source, transcriptome assemblies for three sharpshooter species and one spittlebug species were produced. Trinity-based de novo transcriptome assemblies were generated for all four xylem-sap feeders using raw sequencing data originating from whole-insect preps. Total transcripts for each species ranged from 91 384 for Cuerna arida to 106 998 for Homalodisca liturata with transcript totals for Graphocephala atropunctata and the spittlebug Clastoptera arizonana falling in between. The percentage of transcripts comprising complete open reading frames ranged from 60% for H. liturata to 82% for C. arizonana. Bench-marking universal single-copy orthologs analyses for each dataset indicated quality assemblies and a high degree of completeness for all four species. These four transcriptomes represent a significant expansion of data for insect herbivores that feed exclusively on xylem sap, a nutritionally deficient dietary source relative to other plant tissues and fluids. Comparison of transcriptome data with insect herbivores that utilize other dietary sources may illuminate fundamental differences in the biochemistry of dietary specialization. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of GIGSCI 2017. This work is written by (a) US Government employee(s) and is in the public domain in the US.

Impacts of Insect Herbivores on Plant Populations.

PubMed

Myers, Judith H; Sarfraz, Rana M

2017-01-31

Apparent feeding damage by insects on plants is often slight. Thus, the influences of insect herbivores on plant populations are likely minor. The role of insects on host-plant populations can be elucidated via several methods: stage-structured life tables of plant populations manipulated by herbivore exclusion and seed-addition experiments, tests of the enemy release hypothesis, studies of the effects of accidentally and intentionally introduced insect herbivores, and observations of the impacts of insect species that show outbreak population dynamics. These approaches demonstrate that some, but not all, insect herbivores influence plant population densities. At times, insect-feeding damage kills plants, but more often, it reduces plant size, growth, and seed production. Plant populations for which seed germination is site limited will not respond at the population level to reduced seed production. Insect herbivores can influence rare plant species and need to be considered in conservation programs. Alterations due to climate change in the distributions of insect herbivores indicate the possibility of new influences on host plants. Long-term studies are required to show if density-related insect behavior stabilizes plant populations or if environmental variation drives most temporal fluctuations in plant densities. Finally, insects can influence plant populations and communities through changing the diversity of nonhost species, modifying nutrient fluxes, and rejuvenating over mature forests.

Interspecific variation within the genus Asclepias in response to herbivory by a phloem-feeding insect herbivore.

PubMed

Zehnder, Caralyn B; Hunter, Mark D

2007-11-01

Induced plant responses to leaf-chewing insects have been well studied, but considerably less is known about the effects of phloem-feedings insects on induction. In a set of laboratory experiments, we examined density-dependent induction by the milkweed-oleander aphid, Aphis nerii, of putative defenses in four milkweed species (Asclepias incarnata, Asclepias syriaca, Asclepias tuberosa, and Asclepias viridis). We hypothesized that high aphid density would lead to increased cardenolide expression in species with low constitutive levels of cardenolides (e.g., A. tuberosa), but that there would be no induction in high constitutive cardenolide species (e.g., A. viridis). Based on previous studies, we did not expect cardenolide induction in A. incarnata. Contrary to our predictions, we observed feeding-induced declines of cardenolide concentrations in A. viridis. Cardenolide concentrations did not respond to aphid feeding in the other three milkweed species. Aphids also caused reductions in biomass accumulation by two of four Asclepias species, A. viridis and A. incarnata. High aphid density led to a decrease in A. viridis foliar nitrogen concentration. However, aphids had no effect on the defensive chemistry, growth, or nutritional quality of either A. syriaca or A. tuberosa. Our results highlight that congeneric plant species may respond differently to the same levels of herbivore damage.

How phloem-feeding insects face the challenge of phloem-located defenses

PubMed Central

Will, Torsten; Furch, Alexandra C. U.; Zimmermann, Matthias R.

2013-01-01

Due to the high content of nutrient, sieve tubes are a primary target for pests, e.g., most phytophagous hemipteran. To protect the integrity of the sieve tubes as well as their content, plants possess diverse chemical and physical defense mechanisms. The latter mechanisms are important because they can potentially interfere with the food source accession of phloem-feeding insects. Physical defense mechanisms are based on callose as well as on proteins and often plug the sieve tube. Insects that feed from sieve tubes are potentially able to overwhelm these defense mechanisms using their saliva. Gel saliva forms a sheath in the apoplast around the stylet and is suggested to seal the stylet penetration site in the cell plasma membrane. In addition, watery saliva is secreted into penetrated cells including sieve elements; the presence of specific enzymes/effectors in this saliva is thought to interfere with plant defense responses. Here we detail several aspects of plant defense and discuss the interaction of plants and phloem-feeding insects. Recent agro-biotechnological phloem-located aphid control strategies are presented. PMID:24009620

Lignin degradation in wood-feeding insects.

PubMed

Geib, Scott M; Filley, Timothy R; Hatcher, Patrick G; Hoover, Kelli; Carlson, John E; Jimenez-Gasco, Maria del Mar; Nakagawa-Izumi, Akiko; Sleighter, Rachel L; Tien, Ming

2008-09-02

The aromatic polymer lignin protects plants from most forms of microbial attack. Despite the fact that a significant fraction of all lignocellulose degraded passes through arthropod guts, the fate of lignin in these systems is not known. Using tetramethylammonium hydroxide thermochemolysis, we show lignin degradation by two insect species, the Asian longhorned beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis) and the Pacific dampwood termite (Zootermopsis angusticollis). In both the beetle and termite, significant levels of propyl side-chain oxidation (depolymerization) and demethylation of ring methoxyl groups is detected; for the termite, ring hydroxylation is also observed. In addition, culture-independent fungal gut community analysis of A. glabripennis identified a single species of fungus in the Fusarium solani/Nectria haematococca species complex. This is a soft-rot fungus that may be contributing to wood degradation. These results transform our understanding of lignin degradation by wood-feeding insects.

Herbivory by a Phloem-feeding insect inhibits floral volatile production.

PubMed

Pareja, Martin; Qvarfordt, Erika; Webster, Ben; Mayon, Patrick; Pickett, John; Birkett, Michael; Glinwood, Robert

2012-01-01

There is extensive knowledge on the effects of insect herbivory on volatile emission from vegetative tissue, but little is known about its impact on floral volatiles. We show that herbivory by phloem-feeding aphids inhibits floral volatile emission in white mustard Sinapis alba measured by gas chromatographic analysis of headspace volatiles. The effect of the Brassica specialist aphid Lipaphis erysimi was stronger than the generalist aphid Myzus persicae and feeding by chewing larvae of the moth Plutella xylostella caused no reduction in floral volatile emission. Field observations showed no effect of L. erysimi-mediated floral volatile emission on the total number of flower visits by pollinators. Olfactory bioassays suggested that although two aphid natural enemies could detect aphid inhibition of floral volatiles, their olfactory orientation to infested plants was not disrupted. This is the first demonstration that phloem-feeding herbivory can affect floral volatile emission, and that the outcome of interaction between herbivory and floral chemistry may differ depending on the herbivore's feeding mode and degree of specialisation. The findings provide new insights into interactions between insect herbivores and plant chemistry.

Effect of Light Availability on the Interaction between Maritime Pine and the Pine Weevil: Light Drives Insect Feeding Behavior But Also the Defensive Capabilities of the Host

PubMed Central

Suárez-Vidal, Estefanía; López-Goldar, Xosé; Sampedro, Luis; Zas, Rafael

2017-01-01

Light is a major environmental factor that may determine the interaction between plants and herbivores in several ways, including top-down effects through changes in herbivore behavior and bottom-up effects mediated by alterations of plant physiology. Here we explored the relative contribution of these two regulation processes to the outcome of the interaction of pine trees with a major forest pest, the pine weevil (Hylobius abietis). We studied to what extent light availability influence insect feeding behavior and/or the ability of pines to produce induced defenses in response to herbivory. For this purpose, 3-year old Pinus pinaster plants from three contrasting populations were subjected to 6 days of experimental herbivory by the pine weevil under two levels of light availability (complete darkness or natural sunlight) independently applied to the plant and to the insect in a fully factorial design. Light availability strongly affected the pine weevil feeding behavior. The pine weevil fed more and caused larger feeding scars in darkness than under natural sunlight. Besides, under the more intense levels of weevil damage (i.e., those registered with insects in darkness), light availability also affected the pine’s ability to respond to insect feeding by producing induced resin defenses. These results were consistent across the three studied populations despite they differed in weevil susceptibility and inducibility of defenses. Morocco was the most damaged population and the one that induced more defensive compounds. Overall, results indicate that light availability modulates the outcome of the pine–weevil interactions through both bottom-up and top-down regulation mechanisms. PMID:28912787

Insects and Related Pests of Trees, Shrubs, and Lawns. MP-25R.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spackman, Everett W.; Lawson, Fred A.

This document discusses identification and control of the pests of trees and shrubs. The insects are grouped according to feeding habits and the type of damage caused to plants. Categories include the sucking insects and mites, leaf eating insects, pests attacking trunks and branches, and gall causing insects. (CS)

Insects that damage northern red oak acorns

Treesearch

Lester P. Gibson

1982-01-01

From 1961 to 1964 and in 1979, the insects found damaging acorns of northern red oak (Quercus rubra L.) in their relative order of abundance were: Curculio proboscideus F., C. sulcatulus (Casey), Melissopus latiferreanus (Wals.), C. nasicus (Say), C. orthorhynchus...

Plants as green phones: Novel insights into plant-mediated communication between below- and above-ground insects.

PubMed

Soler, Roxina; Harvey, Jeffrey A; Bezemer, T Martijn; Stuefer, Josef F

2008-08-01

Plants can act as vertical communication channels or 'green phones' linking soil-dwelling insects and insects in the aboveground ecosystem. When root-feeding insects attack a plant, the direct defense system of the shoot is activated, leading to an accumulation of phytotoxins in the leaves. The protection of the plant shoot elicited by root damage can impair the survival, growth and development of aboveground insect herbivores, thereby creating plant-based functional links between soil-dwelling insects and insects that develop in the aboveground ecosystem. The interactions between spatially separated insects below- and aboveground are not restricted to root and foliar plant-feeding insects, but can be extended to higher trophic levels such as insect parasitoids. Here we discuss some implications of plants acting as communication channels or 'green phones' between root and foliar-feeding insects and their parasitoids, focusing on recent findings that plants attacked by root-feeding insects are significantly less attractive for the parasitoids of foliar-feeding insects.

Insect-oak interactions with coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia) and Engelmann oak (Q. engelmannii) at the acorn and seedling stage

Treesearch

Connell E. Dunning; Timothy D. Paine; Richard A. Redak

2002-01-01

We determined the impact of insects on both acorns and seedlings of coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia Nee) and Engelmann oak (Quercus engelmannii E. Greene). Our goals were to (1) identify insects feeding on acorns and levels of insect damage, and (2) measure performance and preference of a generalist leaf-feeding insect herbivore...

Host selection by a phytophagous insect: the interplay between feeding, egg maturation, egg load, and oviposition

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Understanding movement patterns of phytophagous insects among plants is a primary goal of insect ecology. Adult females may visit plants for the purpose of depositing eggs, feeding, or both. For some species, egg maturation may be dependent on adult feeding. As a result, rates of egg maturation m...

The evolutionary development of plant-feeding insects and their nutritional endosymbionts.

PubMed

Skidmore, Isabel H; Hansen, Allison K

2017-12-01

Herbivorous insects have evolved diverse mechanisms enabling them to feed on plants with suboptimal nutrient availability. Low nutrient availability negatively impacts insect herbivore development and fitness. To overcome this obstacle numerous insect lineages have evolved intimate associations with nutritional endosymbionts. This is especially true for insects that specialize on nitrogen-poor substrates, as these insects are highly dependent on intracellular symbionts to provide nitrogen lacking in their insect host's diet. Emerging evidence in these systems suggest that the symbiont's and/or the insect's biosynthetic pathways are dynamically regulated throughout the insect's development to potentially cope with the insect's changing nutritional demands. In this review, we evaluate the evolutionary development of symbiotic insect cells (bacteriocytes) by comparing and contrasting genes and mechanisms involved in maintaining and regulating the nutritional symbiosis throughout insect development in a diversity of insect herbivore-endosymbiont associations. With new advances in genome sequencing and functional genomics, we evaluate to what extent nutritional symbioses are shaped by (i) the regulation of symbiont titer, (ii) the regulation of insect symbiosis genes, and (iii) the regulation of symbiont genes. We discuss how important these mechanisms are for the biosynthesis of essential amino acids and vitamins across insect life stages in divergent insect-symbiont systems. We conclude by suggesting future directions of research to further elucidate the evolutionary development of bacteriocytes and the impact of these nutritional symbioses on insect-plant interactions. © 2017 Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Insects affecting establishment of northern red oak seedlings in central Pennsylvania

Treesearch

J. Galford; L.R. Auchmoody; H.C. Smith; R.S. Walters

1991-01-01

Studies to evaluate the impact of insects on the establishment of advance oak regeneration in Pennsylvania were initiated in 1989. The populations and species of insects feeding on germinating acorns and new seedlings, their activity periods, and the damage caused by these insects were studied in relation to overstory-density (40, 60, and 100 percent relative density)...

Infrared radiation from hot cones on cool conifers attracts seed-feeding insects.

PubMed

Takács, Stephen; Bottomley, Hannah; Andreller, Iisak; Zaradnik, Tracy; Schwarz, Joseph; Bennett, Robb; Strong, Ward; Gries, Gerhard

2009-02-22

Foraging animals use diverse cues to locate resources. Common foraging cues have visual, auditory, olfactory, tactile or gustatory characteristics. Here, we show a foraging herbivore using infrared (IR) radiation from living plants as a host-finding cue. We present data revealing that (i) conifer cones are warmer and emit more near-, mid- and long-range IR radiation than needles, (ii) cone-feeding western conifer seed bugs, Leptoglossus occidentalis (Hemiptera: Coreidae), possess IR receptive organs and orient towards experimental IR cues, and (iii) occlusion of the insects' IR receptors impairs IR perception. The conifers' cost of attracting cone-feeding insects may be offset by occasional mast seeding resulting in cone crops too large to be effectively exploited by herbivores.

Metabolic Coevolution in the Bacterial Symbiosis of Whiteflies and Related Plant Sap-Feeding Insects.

PubMed

Luan, Jun-Bo; Chen, Wenbo; Hasegawa, Daniel K; Simmons, Alvin M; Wintermantel, William M; Ling, Kai-Shu; Fei, Zhangjun; Liu, Shu-Sheng; Douglas, Angela E

2015-09-15

Genomic decay is a common feature of intracellular bacteria that have entered into symbiosis with plant sap-feeding insects. This study of the whitefly Bemisia tabaci and two bacteria (Portiera aleyrodidarum and Hamiltonella defensa) cohoused in each host cell investigated whether the decay of Portiera metabolism genes is complemented by host and Hamiltonella genes, and compared the metabolic traits of the whitefly symbiosis with other sap-feeding insects (aphids, psyllids, and mealybugs). Parallel genomic and transcriptomic analysis revealed that the host genome contributes multiple metabolic reactions that complement or duplicate Portiera function, and that Hamiltonella may contribute multiple cofactors and one essential amino acid, lysine. Homologs of the Bemisia metabolism genes of insect origin have also been implicated in essential amino acid synthesis in other sap-feeding insect hosts, indicative of parallel coevolution of shared metabolic pathways across multiple symbioses. Further metabolism genes coded in the Bemisia genome are of bacterial origin, but phylogenetically distinct from Portiera, Hamiltonella and horizontally transferred genes identified in other sap-feeding insects. Overall, 75% of the metabolism genes of bacterial origin are functionally unique to one symbiosis, indicating that the evolutionary history of metabolic integration in these symbioses is strongly contingent on the pattern of horizontally acquired genes. Our analysis, further, shows that bacteria with genomic decay enable host acquisition of complex metabolic pathways by multiple independent horizontal gene transfers from exogenous bacteria. Specifically, each horizontally acquired gene can function with other genes in the pathway coded by the symbiont, while facilitating the decay of the symbiont gene coding the same reaction. © The Author(s) 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.

Small, Smaller, Smallest: The Origins and Evolution of Ancient Dual Symbioses in a Phloem-Feeding Insect

PubMed Central

Bennett, Gordon M.; Moran, Nancy A.

2013-01-01

Many insects rely on bacterial symbionts with tiny genomes specialized for provisioning nutrients lacking in host diets. Xylem sap and phloem sap are both deficient as insect diets, but differ dramatically in nutrient content, potentially affecting symbiont genome evolution. For sap-feeding insects, sequenced symbiont genomes are available only for phloem-feeding examples from the suborder Sternorrhyncha and xylem-feeding examples from the suborder Auchenorrhyncha, confounding comparisons. We sequenced genomes of the obligate symbionts, Sulcia muelleri and Nasuia deltocephalinicola, of the phloem-feeding pest insect, Macrosteles quadrilineatus (Auchenorrhyncha: Cicadellidae). Our results reveal that Nasuia-ALF has the smallest bacterial genome yet sequenced (112 kb), and that the Sulcia-ALF genome (190 kb) is smaller than that of Sulcia in other insect lineages. Together, these symbionts retain the capability to synthesize the 10 essential amino acids, as observed for several symbiont pairs from xylem-feeding Auchenorrhyncha. Nasuia retains genes enabling synthesis of two amino acids, DNA replication, transcription, and translation. Both symbionts have lost genes underlying ATP synthesis through oxidative phosphorylation, possibly as a consequence of the enriched sugar content of phloem. Shared genomic features, including reassignment of the UGA codon from Stop to tryptophan, and phylogenetic results suggest that Nasuia-ALF is most closely related to Zinderia, the betaproteobacterial symbiont of spittlebugs. Thus, Nasuia/Zinderia and Sulcia likely represent ancient associates that have co-resided in hosts since the divergence of leafhoppers and spittlebugs >200 Ma, and possibly since the origin of the Auchenorrhyncha, >260 Ma. PMID:23918810

Insect herbivore feeding and their excretion contribute to volatile organic compounds emission to the atmosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zebelo, S.; Gnavi, G.; Bertea, C.; Bossi, S.; Andrea, O.; Cordero, C.; Rubiolo, P.; Bicchi, C.; Maffei, M.

2011-12-01

Secondary plant metabolites play an important role in insect plant interactions. The Lamiaceae family, especially Mentha species, accumulate secondary plant metabolites in their glandular trichomes, mainly mono and sesquiterpenes. Here we show that mint plants respond to herbivory by changing the quality and quantity of leaf secondary plant metabolite components. The volatiles from herbivore damaged, mechanical damage and healthy plant were collected by HS-SPME and analyzed by GC-MS. Plants with the same treatment were kept for genomic analysis. Total RNA was extracted from the above specified treatments. The terpenoid quantitative gene expressions (qPCR) were then assayed. Upon herbivory, M. aquatica synthesizes and emits (+)-menthofuran and the other major monoterpene (+)-pulegone emitted by healthy and mechanically damaged plants. Herbivory was found to up-regulate the expression of genes involved in terpenoid biosynthesis. The increased emission of (+)-menthofuran was correlated with the upregulation of (+)-menthofuran synthase. In addition we analysed the VOC composition of C. herbacea frass from insects feeding on Mentha aquatica. VOCs were sampled by HS-SPME and analyzed by GCxGC-qMS, and the results compared through quantitative comparative analysis of 2D chromatographic data. Most terpenoids from M. aquatica were completely catabolized by C. herbacea and were absent in the frass volatile fraction. On the other hand, the monoterpene 1,8-cineole was oxidized and frass yielded several new hydroxy-1,8-cineoles, among which 2α-OH-, 3α-OH-, 3β-OH- and 9-OH-1,8-cineole. The role of VOC emitted during herbivory and frass excretion on secondary organic aerosol formation is discussed.

Infrared radiation from hot cones on cool conifers attracts seed-feeding insects

PubMed Central

Takács, Stephen; Bottomley, Hannah; Andreller, Iisak; Zaradnik, Tracy; Schwarz, Joseph; Bennett, Robb; Strong, Ward; Gries, Gerhard

2008-01-01

Foraging animals use diverse cues to locate resources. Common foraging cues have visual, auditory, olfactory, tactile or gustatory characteristics. Here, we show a foraging herbivore using infrared (IR) radiation from living plants as a host-finding cue. We present data revealing that (i) conifer cones are warmer and emit more near-, mid- and long-range IR radiation than needles, (ii) cone-feeding western conifer seed bugs, Leptoglossus occidentalis (Hemiptera: Coreidae), possess IR receptive organs and orient towards experimental IR cues, and (iii) occlusion of the insects' IR receptors impairs IR perception. The conifers' cost of attracting cone-feeding insects may be offset by occasional mast seeding resulting in cone crops too large to be effectively exploited by herbivores. PMID:18945664

High richness of insect herbivory from the early Miocene Hindon Maar crater, Otago, New Zealand

PubMed Central

Lee, Daphne E.; Wappler, Torsten

2017-01-01

Plants and insects are key components of terrestrial ecosystems and insect herbivory is the most important type of interaction in these ecosystems. This study presents the first analysis of associations between plants and insects for the early Miocene Hindon Maar fossil lagerstätte, Otago, New Zealand. A total of 584 fossil angiosperm leaves representing 24 morphotypes were examined to determine the presence or absence of insect damage types. Of these leaves, 73% show signs of insect damage; they comprise 821 occurrences of damage from 87 damage types representing all eight functional feeding groups. In comparison to other fossil localities, the Hindon leaves display a high abundance of insect damage and a high diversity of damage types. Leaves of Nothofagus(southern beech), the dominant angiosperm in the fossil assemblage, exhibit a similar leaf damage pattern to leaves from the nearby mid to late Miocene Dunedin Volcano Group sites but display a more diverse spectrum and much higher percentage of herbivory damage than a comparable dataset of leaves from Palaeocene and Eocene sites in the Antarctic Peninsula. PMID:28224051

Root-feeding insects and their interactions with organisms in the rhizosphere.

PubMed

Johnson, Scott N; Rasmann, Sergio

2015-01-07

Root-feeding insects are an increasingly studied group of herbivores whose impacts on plant productivity and ecosystem processes are widely recognized. Their belowground habitat has hitherto hindered our understanding of how they interact with other organisms that share the rhizosphere. A surge in research in this area has now shed light on these interactions. We review key interactions between root-feeding insects and other rhizospheric organisms, including beneficial plant microbes (mycorrhizal fungi, nitrogen-fixing bacteria), antagonists/pathogens of root herbivores (arthropod predators, entomopathogenic nematodes/fungi, and bacterial pathogens), competitors, symbiotic microbes, and detritivores. Patterns for these interactions are emerging. The negative impacts of mycorrhizal fungi on root herbivores, for instance, raise the intriguing prospect that these fungi could be used for pest management. Moreover, a better understanding of symbiotic microbes in root herbivores, especially those underpinning digestion, could prove useful in industries such as biofuel production.

Effects of dietary esfenvalerate exposures on three aquatic insect species representing different functional feeding groups.

PubMed

Palmquist, Katherine R; Jenkins, Jeffrey J; Jepson, Paul C

2008-08-01

Given the chemical properties of synthetic pyrethroids, it is probable that compounds, including esfenvalerate, that enter surface waters may become incorporated into aquatic insect food sources. We examined the effect of dietary esfenvalerate uptake in aquatic insects representing different functional feeding groups. We used three field-collected aquatic insect species: A grazing scraper, Cinygmula reticulata McDunnough (Ephemeroptera: Heptageniidae); an omnivorous filter feeder, Brachycentrus americanus Banks (Trichoptera: Brachycentridae); and a predator, Hesperoperla pacifica Banks (Plecoptera: Perlidae). Laboratory-cultured algae were preexposed for 24 h to esfenvalerate concentrations of 0, 0.025, 0.05, and 0.1 microg/L and provided to two C. reticulata age classes (small and final-instar nymphs). Reduction in small nymph growth was observed following three weeks of feeding on algae exposed to 0.05 and 0.1 microg/L of esfenvalerate, and the highest dietary exposure reduced egg production in final-instar nymphs. The diet for B. americanus and H. pacifica consisted of dead third-instar Chironomus tentans larvae preexposed for 24 h to esfenvalerate concentrations ranging between 0.1 and 1.0 microg/L. Consumption of larvae exposed to 0.5 to 1.0 microg/L of esfenvalerate caused case abandonment and mortality in B. americanus caddisfly larvae. Although H. pacifica nymphs readily consumed esfenvalerate-exposed larvae, no adverse effects were observed during the present study. Furthermore, no evidence of esfenvalerate-induced feeding deterrence was found in any of the species tested, suggesting that aquatic insects may not be able to distinguish between pyrethroid-contaminated and uncontaminated food sources. These findings indicate that feeding deterrence is not a factor in regulating aquatic insect dietary exposures to synthetic pyrethroids.

Island phytophagy: explaining the remarkable diversity of plant-feeding insects

PubMed Central

Joy, Jeffrey B.; Crespi, Bernard J.

2012-01-01

Plant-feeding insects have undergone unparalleled diversification among different plant taxa, yet explanations for variation in their diversity lack a quantitative, predictive framework. Island biogeographic theory has been applied to spatially discrete habitats but not to habitats, such as host plants, separated by genetic distance. We show that relationships between the diversity of gall-inducing flies and their host plants meet several fundamental predictions from island biogeographic theory. First, plant-taxon genetic distinctiveness, an integrator for long-term evolutionary history of plant lineages, is a significant predictor of variance in the diversity of gall-inducing flies among host-plant taxa. Second, range size and structural complexity also explain significant proportions of the variance in diversity of gall-inducing flies among different host-plant taxa. Third, as with other island systems, plant-lineage age does not predict species diversity. Island biogeographic theory, applied to habitats defined by genetic distance, provides a novel, comprehensive framework for analysing and explaining the diversity of plant-feeding insects and other host-specific taxa. PMID:22553094

Island phytophagy: explaining the remarkable diversity of plant-feeding insects.

PubMed

Joy, Jeffrey B; Crespi, Bernard J

2012-08-22

Plant-feeding insects have undergone unparalleled diversification among different plant taxa, yet explanations for variation in their diversity lack a quantitative, predictive framework. Island biogeographic theory has been applied to spatially discrete habitats but not to habitats, such as host plants, separated by genetic distance. We show that relationships between the diversity of gall-inducing flies and their host plants meet several fundamental predictions from island biogeographic theory. First, plant-taxon genetic distinctiveness, an integrator for long-term evolutionary history of plant lineages, is a significant predictor of variance in the diversity of gall-inducing flies among host-plant taxa. Second, range size and structural complexity also explain significant proportions of the variance in diversity of gall-inducing flies among different host-plant taxa. Third, as with other island systems, plant-lineage age does not predict species diversity. Island biogeographic theory, applied to habitats defined by genetic distance, provides a novel, comprehensive framework for analysing and explaining the diversity of plant-feeding insects and other host-specific taxa.

New fossil insect order Permopsocida elucidates major radiation and evolution of suction feeding in hemimetabolous insects (Hexapoda: Acercaria)

PubMed Central

Huang, Di-Ying; Bechly, Günter; Nel, Patricia; Engel, Michael S.; Prokop, Jakub; Azar, Dany; Cai, Chen-Yang; van de Kamp, Thomas; Staniczek, Arnold H.; Garrouste, Romain; Krogmann, Lars; dos Santos Rolo, Tomy; Baumbach, Tilo; Ohlhoff, Rainer; Shmakov, Alexey S.; Bourgoin, Thierry; Nel, André

2016-01-01

With nearly 100,000 species, the Acercaria (lice, plant lices, thrips, bugs) including number of economically important species is one of the most successful insect lineages. However, its phylogeny and evolution of mouthparts among other issues remain debatable. Here new methods of preparation permitted the comprehensive anatomical description of insect inclusions from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber in astonishing detail. These “missing links” fossils, attributed to a new order Permopsocida, provide crucial evidence for reconstructing the phylogenetic relationships in the Acercaria, supporting its monophyly, and questioning the position of Psocodea as sister group of holometabolans in the most recent phylogenomic study. Permopsocida resolves as sister group of Thripida + Hemiptera and represents an evolutionary link documenting the transition from chewing to piercing mouthparts in relation to suction feeding. Identification of gut contents as angiosperm pollen documents an ecological role of Permopsocida as early pollen feeders with relatively unspecialized mouthparts. This group existed for 185 million years, but has never been diverse and was superseded by new pollenivorous pollinators during the Cretaceous co-evolution of insects and flowers. The key innovation of suction feeding with piercing mouthparts is identified as main event that triggered the huge post-Carboniferous radiation of hemipterans, and facilitated the spreading of pathogenic vectors. PMID:26961785

New fossil insect order Permopsocida elucidates major radiation and evolution of suction feeding in hemimetabolous insects (Hexapoda: Acercaria)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Di-Ying; Bechly, Günter; Nel, Patricia; Engel, Michael S.; Prokop, Jakub; Azar, Dany; Cai, Chen-Yang; van de Kamp, Thomas; Staniczek, Arnold H.; Garrouste, Romain; Krogmann, Lars; Dos Santos Rolo, Tomy; Baumbach, Tilo; Ohlhoff, Rainer; Shmakov, Alexey S.; Bourgoin, Thierry; Nel, André

2016-03-01

With nearly 100,000 species, the Acercaria (lice, plant lices, thrips, bugs) including number of economically important species is one of the most successful insect lineages. However, its phylogeny and evolution of mouthparts among other issues remain debatable. Here new methods of preparation permitted the comprehensive anatomical description of insect inclusions from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber in astonishing detail. These “missing links” fossils, attributed to a new order Permopsocida, provide crucial evidence for reconstructing the phylogenetic relationships in the Acercaria, supporting its monophyly, and questioning the position of Psocodea as sister group of holometabolans in the most recent phylogenomic study. Permopsocida resolves as sister group of Thripida + Hemiptera and represents an evolutionary link documenting the transition from chewing to piercing mouthparts in relation to suction feeding. Identification of gut contents as angiosperm pollen documents an ecological role of Permopsocida as early pollen feeders with relatively unspecialized mouthparts. This group existed for 185 million years, but has never been diverse and was superseded by new pollenivorous pollinators during the Cretaceous co-evolution of insects and flowers. The key innovation of suction feeding with piercing mouthparts is identified as main event that triggered the huge post-Carboniferous radiation of hemipterans, and facilitated the spreading of pathogenic vectors.

New fossil insect order Permopsocida elucidates major radiation and evolution of suction feeding in hemimetabolous insects (Hexapoda: Acercaria).

PubMed

Huang, Di-Ying; Bechly, Günter; Nel, Patricia; Engel, Michael S; Prokop, Jakub; Azar, Dany; Cai, Chen-Yang; van de Kamp, Thomas; Staniczek, Arnold H; Garrouste, Romain; Krogmann, Lars; Dos Santos Rolo, Tomy; Baumbach, Tilo; Ohlhoff, Rainer; Shmakov, Alexey S; Bourgoin, Thierry; Nel, André

2016-03-10

With nearly 100,000 species, the Acercaria (lice, plant lices, thrips, bugs) including number of economically important species is one of the most successful insect lineages. However, its phylogeny and evolution of mouthparts among other issues remain debatable. Here new methods of preparation permitted the comprehensive anatomical description of insect inclusions from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber in astonishing detail. These "missing links" fossils, attributed to a new order Permopsocida, provide crucial evidence for reconstructing the phylogenetic relationships in the Acercaria, supporting its monophyly, and questioning the position of Psocodea as sister group of holometabolans in the most recent phylogenomic study. Permopsocida resolves as sister group of Thripida + Hemiptera and represents an evolutionary link documenting the transition from chewing to piercing mouthparts in relation to suction feeding. Identification of gut contents as angiosperm pollen documents an ecological role of Permopsocida as early pollen feeders with relatively unspecialized mouthparts. This group existed for 185 million years, but has never been diverse and was superseded by new pollenivorous pollinators during the Cretaceous co-evolution of insects and flowers. The key innovation of suction feeding with piercing mouthparts is identified as main event that triggered the huge post-Carboniferous radiation of hemipterans, and facilitated the spreading of pathogenic vectors.

Determining putative vectors of the Bogia Coconut Syndrome phytoplasma using loop-mediated isothermal amplification of single-insect feeding media

PubMed Central

Lu, Hengyu; Wilson, Bree A. L.; Ash, Gavin J.; Woruba, Sharon B.; Fletcher, Murray J.; You, Minsheng; Yang, Guang; Gurr, Geoff M.

2016-01-01

Phytoplasmas are insect vectored mollicutes responsible for disease in many economically important crops. Determining which insect species are vectors of a given phytoplasma is important for managing disease but is methodologically challenging because disease-free plants need to be exposed to large numbers of insects, often over many months. A relatively new method to detect likely transmission involves molecular testing for phytoplasma DNA in sucrose solution that insects have fed upon. In this study we combined this feeding medium method with a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay to study 627 insect specimens of 11 Hemiptera taxa sampled from sites in Papua New Guinea affected by Bogia coconut syndrome (BCS). The LAMP assay detected phytoplasma DNA from the feeding solution and head tissue of insects from six taxa belonging to four families: Derbidae, Lophopidae, Flatidae and Ricaniidae. Two other taxa yielded positives only from the heads and the remainder tested negative. These results demonstrate the utility of combining single-insect feeding medium tests with LAMP assays to identify putative vectors that can be the subject of transmission tests and to better understand phytoplasma pathosystems. PMID:27786249

Double strand RNA delivery system for plant-sap-feeding insects

PubMed Central

Ghosh, Saikat Kumar B.; Hunter, Wayne B.; Park, Alexis L.; Gundersen-Rindal, Dawn E.

2017-01-01

Double-stranded RNA (dsRNA)-mediated gene silencing, also known as RNA interference (RNAi), has been a breakthrough technology for functional genomic studies and represents a potential tool for the management of insect pests. Since the inception of RNAi numerous studies documented successful introduction of exogenously synthesized dsRNA or siRNA into an organism triggering highly efficient gene silencing through the degradation of endogenous RNA homologous to the presented siRNA. Managing hemipteran insect pests, especially Halyomorpha halys (Stål) (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae), the brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), is critical to food productivity. BMSB was recently introduced into North America where it is both an invasive agricultural pest of high value specialty, row, and staple crops, as well as an indoor nuisance pest. RNAi technology may serve as a viable tool to manage this voracious pest, but delivery of dsRNA to piercing-sucking insects has posed a tremendous challenge. Effective and practical use of RNAi as molecular biopesticides for biocontrol of insects like BMSB in the environment requires that dsRNAs be delivered in vivo through ingestion. Therefore, the key challenge for molecular biologists in developing insect-specific molecular biopesticides is to find effective and reliable methods for practical delivery of stable dsRNAs such as through oral ingestion. Here demonstrated is a reliable delivery system of effective insect-specific dsRNAs through oral feeding through a new delivery system to induce a significant decrease in expression of targeted genes such as JHAMT and Vg. This state-of-the-art delivery method overcomes environmental delivery challenges so that RNAi is induced through insect-specific dsRNAs orally delivered to hemipteran and other insect pests. PMID:28182760

Exotic Forest Insect Pests and Their Impact on Forest Management

Treesearch

Therese M. Poland; Robert A. Haack

2003-01-01

More than 4500 exotic organisms are now established in the United States, of which over 400 are insects that feed on trees and shrubs. While most exotic insects cause little or no damage, a few have become serious pests and have greatly altered native forest ecosystems. Three of the most recently introduced exotic forest pests are the pine shoot beetle, the Asian...

7 CFR 51.1414 - Serious damage.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... following defects shall be considered as serious damage: (a) Adhering hull material or dark stains affecting... insect, web or frass is present inside the shell, or the kernal shows distinct evidence of insect feeding; (h) Kernel spots when more than three dark spots on either half of the kernel, or when any spot or...

7 CFR 51.1414 - Serious damage.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... following defects shall be considered as serious damage: (a) Adhering hull material or dark stains affecting... insect, web or frass is present inside the shell, or the kernal shows distinct evidence of insect feeding; (h) Kernel spots when more than three dark spots on either half of the kernel, or when any spot or...

Phenotypic responses to microbial volatiles render a mold fungus more susceptible to insect damage.

PubMed

Caballero Ortiz, Silvia; Trienens, Monika; Pfohl, Katharina; Karlovsky, Petr; Holighaus, Gerrit; Rohlfs, Marko

2018-04-01

In decomposer systems, fungi show diverse phenotypic responses to volatile organic compounds of microbial origin (volatiles). The mechanisms underlying such responses and their consequences for the performance and ecological success of fungi in a multitrophic community context have rarely been tested explicitly. We used a laboratory-based approach in which we investigated a tripartite yeast-mold-insect model decomposer system to understand the possible influence of yeast-borne volatiles on the ability of a chemically defended mold fungus to resist insect damage. The volatile-exposed mold phenotype (1) did not exhibit protein kinase A-dependent morphological differentiation, (2) was more susceptible to insect foraging activity, and (3) had reduced insecticidal properties. Additionally, the volatile-exposed phenotype was strongly impaired in secondary metabolite formation and unable to activate "chemical defense" genes upon insect damage. These results suggest that volatiles can be ecologically important factors that affect the chemical-based combative abilities of fungi against insect antagonists and, consequently, the structure and dynamics of decomposer communities.

Development of reference transcriptomes for the major insect pests of cowpea: a toolbox for insect pest management approaches in West Africa

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Cowpea crops are widely cultivated and a major nutritional source of protein for indigenous human populations in West Africa. Annual yields and longevity of grain storage is greatly reduced by feeding damage caused by a complex of insect pests that include Anoplocnemis curvipes, Aphis craccivora, Cl...

Floral Assemblages and Patterns of Insect Herbivory during the Permian to Triassic of Northeastern Italy.

PubMed

Labandeira, Conrad C; Kustatscher, Evelyn; Wappler, Torsten

2016-01-01

To discern the effect of the end-Permian (P-Tr) ecological crisis on land, interactions between plants and their insect herbivores were examined for four time intervals containing ten major floras from the Dolomites of northeastern Italy during a Permian-Triassic interval. These floras are: (i) the Kungurian Tregiovo Flora; (ii) the Wuchiapingian Bletterbach Flora; (iii) three Anisian floras; and (iv) five Ladinian floras. Derived plant-insect interactional data is based on 4242 plant specimens (1995 Permian, 2247 Triassic) allocated to 86 fossil taxa (32 Permian, 56 Triassic), representing lycophytes, sphenophytes, pteridophytes, pteridosperms, ginkgophytes, cycadophytes and coniferophytes from 37 million-year interval (23 m.yr. Permian, 14 m.yr. Triassic). Major Kungurian herbivorized plants were unaffiliated taxa and pteridosperms; later during the Wuchiapingian cycadophytes were predominantly consumed. For the Anisian, pteridosperms and cycadophytes were preferentially consumed, and subordinately pteridophytes, lycophytes and conifers. Ladinian herbivores overwhelming targeted pteridosperms and subordinately cycadophytes and conifers. Throughout the interval the percentage of insect-damaged leaves in bulk floras, as a proportion of total leaves examined, varied from 3.6% for the Kungurian (N = 464 leaves), 1.95% for the Wuchiapingian (N = 1531), 11.65% for the pooled Anisian (N = 1324), to 10.72% for the pooled Ladinian (N = 923), documenting an overall herbivory rise. The percentage of generalized consumption, equivalent to external foliage feeding, consistently exceeded the level of specialized consumption from internal feeding. Generalized damage ranged from 73.6% (Kungurian) of all feeding damage, to 79% (Wuchiapingian), 65.5% (pooled Anisian) and 73.2% (pooled Ladinian). Generalized-to-specialized ratios show minimal change through the interval, although herbivore component community structure (herbivore species feeding on a single plant-host species

Floral Assemblages and Patterns of Insect Herbivory during the Permian to Triassic of Northeastern Italy

PubMed Central

Labandeira, Conrad C.; Kustatscher, Evelyn

2016-01-01

To discern the effect of the end-Permian (P-Tr) ecological crisis on land, interactions between plants and their insect herbivores were examined for four time intervals containing ten major floras from the Dolomites of northeastern Italy during a Permian–Triassic interval. These floras are: (i) the Kungurian Tregiovo Flora; (ii) the Wuchiapingian Bletterbach Flora; (iii) three Anisian floras; and (iv) five Ladinian floras. Derived plant–insect interactional data is based on 4242 plant specimens (1995 Permian, 2247 Triassic) allocated to 86 fossil taxa (32 Permian, 56 Triassic), representing lycophytes, sphenophytes, pteridophytes, pteridosperms, ginkgophytes, cycadophytes and coniferophytes from 37 million-year interval (23 m.yr. Permian, 14 m.yr. Triassic). Major Kungurian herbivorized plants were unaffiliated taxa and pteridosperms; later during the Wuchiapingian cycadophytes were predominantly consumed. For the Anisian, pteridosperms and cycadophytes were preferentially consumed, and subordinately pteridophytes, lycophytes and conifers. Ladinian herbivores overwhelming targeted pteridosperms and subordinately cycadophytes and conifers. Throughout the interval the percentage of insect-damaged leaves in bulk floras, as a proportion of total leaves examined, varied from 3.6% for the Kungurian (N = 464 leaves), 1.95% for the Wuchiapingian (N = 1531), 11.65% for the pooled Anisian (N = 1324), to 10.72% for the pooled Ladinian (N = 923), documenting an overall herbivory rise. The percentage of generalized consumption, equivalent to external foliage feeding, consistently exceeded the level of specialized consumption from internal feeding. Generalized damage ranged from 73.6% (Kungurian) of all feeding damage, to 79% (Wuchiapingian), 65.5% (pooled Anisian) and 73.2% (pooled Ladinian). Generalized-to-specialized ratios show minimal change through the interval, although herbivore component community structure (herbivore species feeding on a single plant-host species

Grain, silage and forage sorghum hybrid resistance to insect and bird damage, 2017

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

A total of 32 grain and 30 forage type sorghum hybrids were evaluated for resistance to insect, disease, and bird damage in Tifton, Georgia. These hybrids plus 33 silage type and 5 pearl millet hybrids also were evaluated for sugarcane aphid resistance near Griffin, Georgia. A total of 10 insect pes...

Response of insects to damaged and undamaged germinating acorns

Treesearch

Jimmy R. Galford; Deloris Weiss-Cottrill

1991-01-01

Damaged germinating northern red oak, Quercus rubra L., acorns in pitfall traps were significantly more attractive to two species of acorn insects than undamaged germinating acorns. Significantly more adults of the weevil Conotrachelus posticatus ohe em an and the sap beetle Stelidota octomaculata (Say) were caught in traps containing germinating acorns cut into halves...

Real-time In Vivo Recording of Arabidopsis Calcium Signals During Insect Feeding Using a Fluorescent Biosensor

PubMed Central

Vincent, Thomas R.; Canham, James; Toyota, Masatsugu; Avramova, Marieta; Mugford, Sam T.; Gilroy, Simon; Miller, Anthony J.; Hogenhout, Saskia; Sanders, Dale

2017-01-01

Calcium ions are predicted to be key signaling entities during biotic interactions, with calcium signaling forming an established part of the plant defense response to microbial elicitors and to wounding caused by chewing insects, eliciting systemic calcium signals in plants. However, the role of calcium in vivo during biotic stress is still unclear. This protocol describes the use of a genetically-encoded calcium sensor to detect calcium signals in plants during feeding by a hemipteran pest. Hemipterans such as aphids pierce a small number of cells with specialized, elongated sucking mouthparts, making them the ideal tool to study calcium dynamics when a plant is faced with a biotic stress, which is distinct from a wounding response. In addition, fluorescent biosensors are revolutionizing the measurement of signaling molecules in vivo in both animals and plants. Expressing a GFP-based calcium biosensor, GCaMP3, in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana allows for the real-time imaging of plant calcium dynamics during insect feeding, with a high spatial and temporal resolution. A repeatable and robust assay has been developed using the fluorescence microscopy of detached GCaMP3 leaves, allowing for the continuous measurement of cytosolic calcium dynamics before, during, and after insect feeding. This reveals a highly-localized rapid calcium elevation around the aphid feeding site that occurs within a few minutes. The protocol can be adapted to other biotic stresses, such as additional insect species, while the use of Arabidopsis thaliana allows for the rapid generation of mutants to facilitate the molecular analysis of the phenomenon. PMID:28829425

Three-way interaction among plants, bacteria, and coleopteran insects.

PubMed

Wielkopolan, Beata; Obrępalska-Stęplowska, Aleksandra

2016-08-01

Coleoptera, the largest and the most diverse Insecta order, is characterized by multiple adaptations to plant feeding. Insect-associated microorganisms can be important mediators and modulators of interactions between insects and plants. Interactions between plants and insects are highly complex and involve multiple factors. There are various defense mechanisms initiated by plants upon attack by herbivorous insects, including the development of morphological structures and the synthesis of toxic secondary metabolites and volatiles. In turn, herbivores have adapted to feeding on plants and further sophisticated adaptations to overcome plant responses may continue to evolve. Herbivorous insects may detoxify toxic phytocompounds, sequester poisonous plant factors, and alter their own overall gene expression pattern. Moreover, insects are associated with microbes, which not only considerably affect insects, but can also modify plant defense responses to the benefit of their host. Plants are also frequently associated with endophytes, which may act as bioinsecticides. Therefore, it is very important to consider the factors influencing the interaction between plants and insects. Herbivorous insects cause considerable damage to global crop production. Coleoptera is the largest and the most diverse order in the class Insecta. In this review, various aspects of the interactions among insects, microbes, and plants are described with a focus on coleopteran species, their bacterial symbionts, and their plant hosts to demonstrate that many factors contribute to the success of coleopteran herbivory.

Larval western bean cutworm feeding damage encourages the development of Gibberella ear rot on field corn.

PubMed

Parker, Nicole S; Anderson, Nolan R; Richmond, Douglas S; Long, Elizabeth Y; Wise, Kiersten A; Krupke, Christian H

2017-03-01

A 2 year study was conducted to determine whether western bean cutworm (Striacosta albicosta Smith) (WBC) larval feeding damage increases severity of the fungal disease Gibberella ear rot [Fusarium graminearum (Schwein.) Petch] in field corn (Zea mays L.). The effect of a quinone-outside inhibiting fungicide, pyraclostrobin, on Gibberella ear rot severity and mycotoxin production, both with and without WBC pressure, was also evaluated. The impact of each variable was assessed individually and in combination to determine the effect of each upon ear disease severity. There was a positive correlation between the presence of WBC larvae in field corn and Gibberella ear rot severity under inoculated conditions in the 2 years of the experiment. An application of pyraclostrobin did not impact Gibberella ear rot development when applied at corn growth stage R1 (silks first emerging). Feeding damage from WBC larvae significantly increases the development of F. graminearum in field corn. We conclude that an effective integrated management strategy for Gibberella ear rot should target the insect pest first, in an effort to limit disease severity and subsequent mycotoxin production by F. graminearum in kernels. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

Seed production and cone-feeding insects of Pinus pumila on the Kamtchatka Peninsula: aspects of coexistence

Treesearch

Petr A. Khomentovsky; L. S. Efremova

1991-01-01

Insects attacking seeds and cones of trees are significant for their economic consequences as well as for the ecological role in vegetation dynamics. Currently much is known about seed and cone insects feeding on upright trees (see Roques, this volume), but almost nothing is known about cone inhabitants of prostrate pines Pinus pumila (Pall.) Rgl...

The volatile emission of Eurosta solidaginis primes herbivore-induced volatile production in Solidago altissima and does not directly deter insect feeding

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background The induction of plant defenses in response to herbivory is well documented. In addition, many plants prime their anti-herbivore defenses following exposure to environmental cues associated with increased risk of subsequent attack, including induced volatile emissions from herbivore-damaged plant tissues. Recently, we showed in both field and laboratory settings that tall goldenrod plants (Solidago altissima) exposed to the putative sex attractant of a specialist gall-inducing fly (Eurosta solidaginis) experienced less herbivory than unexposed plants. Furthermore, we observed stronger induction of the defense phytohormone jasmonic acid in exposed plants compared to controls. These findings document a novel class of plant-insect interactions mediated by the direct perception, by plants, of insect-derived olfactory cues. However, our previous study did not exclude the possibility that the fly emission (or its residue) might also deter insect feeding via direct effects on the herbivores. Results Here we show that the E. solidaginis emission does not (directly) deter herbivore feeding on Cucurbita pepo or Symphyotrichum lateriflorum plants—which have no co-evolutionary relationship with E. solidaginis and thus are not expected to exhibit priming responses to the fly emission. We also document stronger induction of herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPV) in S. altissima plants given previous exposure to the fly emission relative to unexposed controls. No similar effect was observed in maize plants (Zea mays), which have no co-evolutionary relationship with E. solidaginis. Conclusions Together with our previous findings, these results provide compelling evidence that reduced herbivory on S. altissima plants exposed to the emission of male E. solidaginis reflects an evolved plant response to olfactory cues associated with its specialist herbivore and does not involve direct effects of the fly emission on herbivore feeding behavior. We further discuss

Morphology and physiology of the olfactory system of blood-feeding insects.

PubMed

Guidobaldi, F; May-Concha, I J; Guerenstein, P G

2014-01-01

Several blood-feeding (hematophagous) insects are vectors of a number of diseases including dengue, Chagas disease and leishmaniasis which persistently affect public health throughout Latin America. The vectors of those diseases include mosquitoes, triatomine bugs and sandflies. As vector control is an efficient way to prevent these illnesses it is important to understand the sensory biology of those harmful insects. We study the physiology of the olfactory system of those insects and apply that knowledge on the development of methods to manipulate their behavior. Here we review some of the latest information on insect olfaction with emphasis on hematophagous insects. The insect olfactory sensory neurons are housed inside hair-like organs called sensilla which are mainly distributed on the antenna and mouthparts. The identity of many of the odor compounds that those neurons detect are already known in hematophagous insects. They include several constituents of host (vertebrate) odor, sex, aggregation and alarm pheromones, and compounds related to egg-deposition behavior. Recent work has contributed significant knowledge on how odor information is processed in the insect first odor-processing center in the brain, the antennal lobe. The quality, quantity, and temporal features of the odor stimuli are encoded by the neural networks of the antennal lobe. Information regarding odor mixtures is also encoded. While natural mixtures evoke strong responses, synthetic mixtures that deviate from their natural counterparts in terms of key constituents or proportions of those constituents evoke weaker responses. The processing of olfactory information is largely unexplored in hematophagous insects. However, many aspects of their olfactory behavior are known. As in other insects, responses to relevant single odor compounds are weak while natural mixtures evoke strong responses. Future challenges include studying how information about odor mixtures is processed in their brain

Flower-visiting behavior of male bees is triggered by nectar-feeding insects.

PubMed

Sugiura, Shinji; Abe, Tetsuto; Yamaura, Yuichi; Makino, Shun'ichi

2007-08-01

Bees are important pollinators for many flowering plants. Female bees are thought to be more effective pollinators than male bees because they carry much more pollen than males. Males of some solitary bee species are known to patrol near flowers that females visit. Because patrolling males visit flowers to mate or defend their territories, they may function as pollinators. However, the significance of patrolling males to pollination has not been studied. We studied males of a solitary bee, Heriades fulvohispidus (Megachilidae), patrolling near flowers and visiting flowers that attracted nectar-feeding insects, including conspecifics, on the Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands. To test the hypothesis that patrolling male bees may function as pollen vectors, we compared the frequency of visits by H. fulvohispidus to flowers of an endemic plant, Schima mertensiana (Theaceae); comparisons were made among flowers with a dead H. fulvohispidus, a dead beetle, a piece of plastic, and nothing (control flowers). Patrolling H. fulvohispidus more frequently visited flowers with a dead conspecific, a dead beetle, or a piece of plastic than the control flowers. Our experiment demonstrates that nectar-feeding insects (including conspecifics and other insects) enhance the flower-visiting frequency of patrolling H. fulvohispidus males on S. mertensiana flowers. Furthermore, we observed S. mertensiana pollen on patrolling males as well as females, suggesting that male bees may also function as pollen vectors.

Flower-visiting behavior of male bees is triggered by nectar-feeding insects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sugiura, Shinji; Abe, Tetsuto; Yamaura, Yuichi; Makino, Shun'ichi

2007-08-01

Bees are important pollinators for many flowering plants. Female bees are thought to be more effective pollinators than male bees because they carry much more pollen than males. Males of some solitary bee species are known to patrol near flowers that females visit. Because patrolling males visit flowers to mate or defend their territories, they may function as pollinators. However, the significance of patrolling males to pollination has not been studied. We studied males of a solitary bee, Heriades fulvohispidus (Megachilidae), patrolling near flowers and visiting flowers that attracted nectar-feeding insects, including conspecifics, on the Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands. To test the hypothesis that patrolling male bees may function as pollen vectors, we compared the frequency of visits by H. fulvohispidus to flowers of an endemic plant, Schima mertensiana (Theaceae); comparisons were made among flowers with a dead H. fulvohispidus, a dead beetle, a piece of plastic, and nothing (control flowers). Patrolling H. fulvohispidus more frequently visited flowers with a dead conspecific, a dead beetle, or a piece of plastic than the control flowers. Our experiment demonstrates that nectar-feeding insects (including conspecifics and other insects) enhance the flower-visiting frequency of patrolling H. fulvohispidus males on S. mertensiana flowers. Furthermore, we observed S. mertensiana pollen on patrolling males as well as females, suggesting that male bees may also function as pollen vectors.

Combined effects of environmental disturbance and climate warming on insect herbivory in mountain birch in subarctic forests: Results of 26-year monitoring.

PubMed

Kozlov, M V; Zverev, V; Zvereva, E L

2017-12-01

Both pollution and climate affect insect-plant interactions, but the combined effects of these two abiotic drivers of global change on insect herbivory remain almost unexplored. From 1991 to 2016, we monitored the population densities of 25 species or species groups of insects feeding on mountain birch (Betula pubescens ssp. czerepanovii) in 29 sites and recorded leaf damage by insects in 21 sites in subarctic forests around the nickel-copper smelter at Monchegorsk, north-western Russia. The leaf-eating insects demonstrated variable, and sometimes opposite, responses to pollution-induced forest disturbance and to climate variations. Consequently, we did not discover any general trend in herbivory along the disturbance gradient. Densities of eight species/species groups correlated with environmental disturbance, but these correlations weakened from 1991 to 2016, presumably due to the fivefold decrease in emissions of sulphur dioxide and heavy metals from the smelter. The densities of externally feeding defoliators decreased from 1991 to 2016 and the densities of leafminers increased, while the leaf roller densities remained unchanged. Consequently, no overall temporal trend in the abundance of birch-feeding insects emerged despite a 2-3°C elevation in spring temperatures. Damage to birch leaves by insects decreased during the observation period in heavily disturbed forests, did not change in moderately disturbed forests and tended to increase in pristine forests. The temporal stability of insect-plant interactions, quantified by the inverse of the coefficient of among-year variations of herbivore population densities and of birch foliar damage, showed a negative correlation with forest disturbance. We conclude that climate differently affects insect herbivory in heavily stressed versus pristine forests, and that herbivorous insects demonstrate diverse responses to environmental disturbance and climate variations. This diversity of responses, in combination with the

Impact of foliar herbivory on the development of a root-feeding insect and its parasitoid

PubMed Central

Bezemer, T. Martijn; Cortesero, Anne Marie; Van der Putten, Wim H.; Vet, Louise E. M.; Harvey, Jeffrey A.

2007-01-01

The majority of studies exploring interactions between above- and below-ground biota have been focused on the effects of root-associated organisms on foliar herbivorous insects. This study examined the effects of foliar herbivory by Pieris brassicae L. (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) on the performance of the root herbivore Delia radicum L. (Diptera: Anthomyiidae) and its parasitoid Trybliographa rapae (Westwood) (Hymenoptera: Figitidae), mediated through a shared host plant Brassica nigra L. (Brassicaceae). In the presence of foliar herbivory, the survival of D. radicum and T. rapae decreased significantly by more than 50%. In addition, newly emerged adults of both root herbivores and parasitoids were significantly smaller on plants that had been exposed to foliar herbivory than on control plants. To determine what factor(s) may have accounted for the observed results, we examined the effects of foliar herbivory on root quantity and quality. No significant differences in root biomass were found between plants with and without shoot herbivore damage. Moreover, concentrations of nitrogen in root tissues were also unaffected by shoot damage by P. brassicae larvae. However, higher levels of indole glucosinolates were measured in roots of plants exposed to foliar herbivory, suggesting that the development of the root herbivore and its parasitoid may be, at least partly, negatively affected by increased levels of these allelochemicals in root tissues. Our results show that foliar herbivores can affect the development not only of root-feeding insects but also their natural enemies. We argue that such indirect interactions between above- and below-ground biota may play an important role in the structuring and functioning of communities. PMID:17334787

Sap-feeding insects on forest trees along latitudinal gradients in northern Europe: a climate-driven patterns.

PubMed

Kozlov, Mikhail V; Stekolshchikov, Andrey V; Söderman, Guy; Labina, Eugenia S; Zverev, Vitali; Zvereva, Elena L

2015-01-01

Knowledge of the latitudinal patterns in biotic interactions, and especially in herbivory, is crucial for understanding the mechanisms that govern ecosystem functioning and for predicting their responses to climate change. We used sap-feeding insects as a model group to test the hypotheses that the strength of plant-herbivore interactions in boreal forests decreases with latitude and that this latitudinal pattern is driven primarily by midsummer temperatures. We used a replicated sampling design and quantitatively collected and identified all sap-feeding insects from four species of forest trees along five latitudinal gradients (750-1300 km in length, ten sites in each gradient) in northern Europe (59 to 70°N and 10 to 60°E) during 2008-2011. Similar decreases in diversity of sap-feeding insects with latitude were observed in all gradients during all study years. The sap-feeder load (i.e. insect biomass per unit of foliar biomass) decreased with latitude in typical summers, but increased in an exceptionally hot summer and was independent of latitude during a warm summer. Analysis of combined data from all sites and years revealed dome-shaped relationships between the loads of sap-feeders and midsummer temperatures, peaking at 17 °C in Picea abies, at 19.5 °C in Pinus sylvestris and Betula pubescens and at 22 °C in B. pendula. From these relationships, we predict that the losses of forest trees to sap-feeders will increase by 0-45% of the current level in southern boreal forests and by 65-210% in subarctic forests with a 1 °C increase in summer temperatures. The observed relationships between temperatures and the loads of sap-feeders differ between the coniferous and deciduous tree species. We conclude that climate warming will not only increase plant losses to sap-feeding insects, especially in subarctic forests, but can also alter plant-plant interactions, thereby affecting both the productivity and the structure of future forest ecosystems. © 2014

Invasive Bark Beetles, Forest Insect& Disease Leaflet 176

Treesearch

J.C. Lee; R.A. Haack; J.F. Negron; J.J. Witcosky; S.J. Seybold

2007-01-01

Bark beetles (Scolytidae) are among the most damaging insects in Northern Hemisphere forests, killing trees by direct feeding and by vectoring fungal pathogens. In addition to an already formidable native bark beetle complex, the number of exotic scolytids in U.S. forests has increased rapidly, with 53 known species established as of June 2007.

Feeding damage to plants increases with plant size across 21 Brassicaceae species.

PubMed

Schlinkert, Hella; Westphal, Catrin; Clough, Yann; Ludwig, Martin; Kabouw, Patrick; Tscharntke, Teja

2015-10-01

Plant size is a major predictor of ecological functioning. We tested the hypothesis that feeding damage to plants increases with plant size, as the conspicuousness of large plants makes resource finding and colonisation easier. Further, large plants can be attractive to herbivores, as they offer greater amounts and ranges of resources and niches, but direct evidence from experiments testing size effects on feeding damage and consequently on plant fitness is so far missing. We established a common garden experiment with a plant size gradient (10-130 cm height) using 21 annual Brassicaceae species, and quantified plant size, biomass and number of all aboveground components (flowers, fruits, leaves, stems) and their proportional feeding damage. Plant reproductive fitness was measured using seed number, 1000 seed weight and total seed weight. Feeding damage to the different plant components increased with plant size or component biomass, with mean damage levels being approximately 30 % for flowers, 5 % for fruits and 1 % for leaves and stems. Feeding damage affected plant reproductive fitness depending on feeding damage type, with flower damage having the strongest effect, shown by greatly reduced seed number, 1000 seed weight and total seed weight. Finally, we found an overall negative effect of plant size on 1000 seed weight, but not on seed number and total seed weight. In conclusion, being conspicuous and attractive to herbivores causes greater flower damage leading to higher fitness costs for large plants, which might be partly counterbalanced by benefits such as enhanced competitive/compensatory abilities or more mutualistic pollinator visits.

Testing for the Effects and Consequences of Mid Paleogene Climate Change on Insect Herbivory

PubMed Central

Wappler, Torsten; Labandeira, Conrad C.; Rust, Jes; Frankenhäuser, Herbert; Wilde, Volker

2012-01-01

Background The Eocene, a time of fluctuating environmental change and biome evolution, was generally driven by exceptionally warm temperatures. The Messel (47.8 Ma) and Eckfeld (44.3 Ma) deposits offer a rare opportunity to take a census of two, deep-time ecosystems occurring during a greenhouse system. An understanding of the long-term consequences of extreme warming and cooling events during this interval, particularly on angiosperms and insects that dominate terrestrial biodiversity, can provide insights into the biotic consequences of current global climatic warming. Methodology/Principal Findings We compare insect-feeding damage within two middle Eocene fossil floras, Messel and Eckfeld, in Germany. From these small lake deposits, we studied 16,082 angiosperm leaves and scored each specimen for the presence or absence of 89 distinctive and diagnosable insect damage types (DTs), each of which was allocated to a major functional feeding group, including four varieties of external foliage feeding, piercing- and-sucking, leaf mining, galling, seed predation, and oviposition. Methods used for treatment of presence–absence data included general linear models and standard univariate, bivariate and multivariate statistical techniques. Conclusions/Significance Our results show an unexpectedly high diversity and level of insect feeding than comparable, penecontemporaneous floras from North and South America. In addition, we found a higher level of herbivory on evergreen, rather than deciduous taxa at Messel. This pattern is explained by a ca. 2.5-fold increase in atmospheric CO2 that overwhelmed evergreen antiherbivore defenses, subsequently lessened during the more ameliorated levels of Eckfeld times. These patterns reveal important, previously undocumented features of plant-host and insect-herbivore diversification during the European mid Eocene. PMID:22815805

Impact of routine Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti) treatment on the availability of flying insects as prey for aerial feeding predators.

PubMed

Timmermann, Ute; Becker, Norbert

2017-12-01

Since 1980, mosquito breeding habitats in the Upper Rhine Valley were routinely treated with Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis (Bti). Bti is considered to significantly reduce the number of mosquitoes, and - especially when used in higher dosages - to be toxic to other Nematocera species, e.g. Chironomidae, which could be food sources for aerial feeding predators. To investigate direct and indirect effects of routine Bti treatment on food sources for aerial feeding predators, the availability of flying insects in treated and untreated areas was compared. A car trap was used for insect collection, which allowed their exact spatiotemporal assignment. The statistical analysis revealed that insect taxa abundance was influenced differently by the factors season, temperature and time of day. Nematocera (Diptera) were the most frequently collected insects in all areas. Chironomidae were the predominant aquatic Nematocera. The comparison of treated and untreated sites did not show significant differences that would indicate any direct or indirect effect of routine Bti treatment on the availability of flying insects. Additional to food availability, food selection must be considered when investigating food resources for aerial feeding predators. In this study, food selection of Delichon urbicum (House Martin) as an example was investigated with the help of neck ring samples. The preferred prey of the investigated D. urbicum colony consisted of diurnal insects with terrestrial larvae (Aphidina, Brachycera, Coleoptera). Chironomidae were consumed, but not preferred.

Vernal freeze damage and genetic variation alter tree growth, chemistry, and insect interactions.

PubMed

Rubert-Nason, Kennedy F; Couture, John J; Gryzmala, Elizabeth A; Townsend, Philip A; Lindroth, Richard L

2017-11-01

Anticipated consequences of climate change in temperate regions include early spring warmup punctuated by intermittent hard freezes. Warm weather accelerates leaf flush in perennial woody species, potentially exposing vulnerable young tissues to damaging frosts. We employed a 2 × 6 randomized factorial design to examine how the interplay of vernal (springtime) freeze damage and genetic variation in a hardwood species (Populus tremuloides) influences tree growth, phytochemistry, and interactions with an insect herbivore (Chaitophorus stevensis). Acute effects of freezing included defoliation and mortality. Surviving trees exhibited reduced growth and altered biomass distribution. Reflushed leaves on these trees had lower mass per area, lower lignin concentrations, and higher nitrogen concentrations, altered chemical defence profiles, and supported faster aphid population growth. Many effects varied among plant genotypes and were related with herbivore performance. This study suggests that a single damaging vernal freeze event can alter tree-insect interactions through effects on plant growth and chemistry. Differential responses of various genotypes to freeze damage suggest that more frequent vernal freeze events could also influence natural selection, favouring trees with greater freeze hardiness, and more resistance or tolerance to herbivores following damage. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Complex Feeding Tracks of the Sessile Herbivorous Insect Ophiomyia maura as a Function of the Defense against Insect Parasitoids

PubMed Central

Ayabe, Yoshiko; Ueno, Takatoshi

2012-01-01

Because insect herbivores generally suffer from high mortality due to their natural enemies, reducing the risk of being located by natural enemies is of critical importance for them, forcing them to develop a variety of defensive measures. Larvae of leaf-mining insects lead a sedentary life inside a leaf and make conspicuous feeding tracks called mines, exposing themselves to the potential risk of parasitism. We investigated the defense strategy of the linear leafminer Ophiomyia maura Meigen (Diptera: Agromyzidae), by focusing on its mining patterns. We examined whether the leafminer could reduce the risk of being parasitized (1) by making cross structures in the inner area of a leaf to deter parasitoids from tracking the mines due to complex pathways, and (2) by mining along the edge of a leaf to hinder visually searching parasitoids from finding mined leaves due to effective background matching of the mined leaves among intact leaves. We quantified fractal dimension as mine complexity and area of mine in the inner area of the leaf as interior mine density for each sample mine, and analyzed whether these mine traits affected the susceptibility of O. maura to parasitism. Our results have shown that an increase in mine complexity with the development of occupying larvae decreases the probability of being parasitized, while interior mine density has no influence on parasitism. These results suggest that the larval development increases the host defense ability through increasing mine complexity. Thus the feeding pattern of these sessile insects has a defensive function by reducing the risk of parasitism. PMID:22393419

Shelters of leaf-tying herbivores decompose faster than leaves damaged by free-living insects: Implications for nutrient turnover in polluted habitats.

PubMed

Kozlov, Mikhail V; Zverev, Vitali; Zvereva, Elena L

2016-10-15

Leaf-eating insects can influence decomposition processes by modifying quality of leaf litter, and this impact can be especially pronounced in habitats where leaf-eating insects reach high densities, for example in heavily polluted areas. We hypothesized that the decomposition rate is faster for shelters of leaf-tying larvae than for leaves damaged by free-living insects, in particular due to the accumulation of larval frass within shelters. We exposed litter bags containing samples of three different compositions (shelters built by moth larvae, leaves damaged by free-living insects and intact leaves of mountain birch, Betula pubescens ssp. czerepanovii) for one year at two heavily polluted sites near the nickel-copper smelter at Monchegorsk in north-western Russia and at two unpolluted sites. The decomposition rate of leaves damaged by free-living insects was 91% of that of undamaged leaves, whereas the mass loss of leaves composing shelters did not differ of that of undamaged leaves. These differences between leaves damaged by different guilds of herbivorous insects were uniform across the study sites, although the decomposition rate in polluted sites was reduced to 77% of that in unpolluted sites. Addition of larval frass to undamaged leaves had no effect on the subsequent decomposition rate. Therefore we suggest that damaged leaves tied by shelter-building larvae decompose faster than untied damaged leaves due to a looser physical structure of the litter, which creates favourable conditions for detritivores and soil decomposers. Thus, while leaf damage by insects per se reduces litter quality and its decomposition rate, structuring of litter by leaf-tying insects counterbalances these negative effects. We conclude that leaf-tying larvae, in contrast to free-living defoliators, do not impose negative effects on nutrient turnover rate even at their high densities, which are frequently observed in heavily polluted sites. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights

The multiple strategies of an insect herbivore to overcome plant cyanogenic glucoside defence.

PubMed

Pentzold, Stefan; Zagrobelny, Mika; Roelsgaard, Pernille Sølvhøj; Møller, Birger Lindberg; Bak, Søren

2014-01-01

Cyanogenic glucosides (CNglcs) are widespread plant defence compounds that release toxic hydrogen cyanide by plant β-glucosidase activity after tissue damage. Specialised insect herbivores have evolved counter strategies and some sequester CNglcs, but the underlying mechanisms to keep CNglcs intact during feeding and digestion are unknown. We show that CNglc-sequestering Zygaena filipendulae larvae combine behavioural, morphological, physiological and biochemical strategies at different time points during feeding and digestion to avoid toxic hydrolysis of the CNglcs present in their Lotus food plant, i.e. cyanogenesis. We found that a high feeding rate limits the time for plant β-glucosidases to hydrolyse CNglcs. Larvae performed leaf-snipping, a minimal disruptive feeding mode that prevents mixing of plant β-glucosidases and CNglcs. Saliva extracts did not inhibit plant cyanogenesis. However, a highly alkaline midgut lumen inhibited the activity of ingested plant β-glucosidases significantly. Moreover, insect β-glucosidases from the saliva and gut tissue did not hydrolyse the CNglcs present in Lotus. The strategies disclosed may also be used by other insect species to overcome CNglc-based plant defence and to sequester these compounds intact.

Systematic analysis of phloem-feeding insect-induced transcriptional reprogramming in Arabidopsis highlights common features and reveals distinct responses to specialist and generalist insects.

PubMed

Foyer, Christine H; Verrall, Susan R; Hancock, Robert D

2015-02-01

Phloem-feeding insects (PFIs), of which aphids are the largest group, are major agricultural pests causing extensive damage to crop plants. In contrast to chewing insects, the nature of the plant response to PFIs remains poorly characterized. Scrutiny of the literature concerning transcriptional responses of model and crop plant species to PFIs reveals surprisingly little consensus with respect to the transcripts showing altered abundance following infestation. Nevertheless, core features of the transcriptional response to PFIs can be defined in Arabidopsis thaliana. This comparison of the PFI-associated transcriptional response observed in A. thaliana infested by the generalists Myzus persicae and Bemisia tabaci with the specialist Brevicoryne brassicae highlights the importance of calcium-dependent and receptor kinase-associated signalling. We discuss these findings within the context of the complex cross-talk between the different hormones regulating basal immune response mechanisms in plants. We identify PFI-responsive genes, highlighting the importance of cell wall-associated kinases in plant-PFI interactions, as well as the significant role of kinases containing the domain of unknown function 26. A common feature of plant-PFI interaction is enhanced abundance of transcripts encoding WRKY transcription factors. However, significant divergence was observed with respect to secondary metabolism dependent upon the insect attacker. Transcripts encoding enzymes and proteins associated with glucosinolate metabolism were decreased following attack by the generalist M. persicae but not by the specialist B. brassicae. This analysis provides a comprehensive overview of the molecular patterns associated with the plant response to PFIs and suggests that plants recognize and respond to perturbations in the cell wall occurring during PFI infestation. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology. All rights

Forest insects and climate change: long-term trends in herbivore damage.

PubMed

Klapwijk, Maartje J; Csóka, György; Hirka, Anikó; Björkman, Christer

2013-10-01

Long-term data sets, covering several decades, could help to reveal the effects of observed climate change on herbivore damage to plants. However, sufficiently long time series in ecology are scarce. The research presented here analyzes a long-term data set collected by the Hungarian Forest Research Institute over the period 1961-2009. The number of hectares with visible defoliation was estimated and documented for several forest insect pest species. This resulted in a unique time series that provides us with the opportunity to compare insect damage trends with trends in weather patterns. Data were analyzed for six lepidopteran species: Thaumetopoea processionea, Tortrix viridana, Rhyacionia buoliana, Malacosoma neustria, Euproctis chrysorrhoea, and Lymantria dispar. All these species exhibit outbreak dynamics in Hungary. Five of these species prefer deciduous tree species as their host plants, whereas R. buoliana is a specialist on Pinus spp. The data were analyzed using general linear models and generalized least squares regression in relation to mean monthly temperature and precipitation. Temperature increased considerably, especially over the last 25 years (+1.6°C), whereas precipitation exhibited no trend over the period. No change in weather variability over time was observed. There was increased damage caused by two species on deciduous trees. The area of damage attributed to R. buoliana decreased over the study period. There was no evidence of increased variability in damage. We conclude that species exhibiting a trend toward outbreak-level damage over a greater geographical area may be positively affected by changes in weather conditions coinciding with important life stages. Strong associations between the geographical extent of severe damage and monthly temperature and precipitation are difficult to confirm, studying the life-history traits of species could help to increase understanding of responses to climate change.

Interactive direct and plant-mediated effects of elevated atmospheric [CO2 ] and temperature on a eucalypt-feeding insect herbivore.

PubMed

Murray, T J; Ellsworth, D S; Tissue, D T; Riegler, M

2013-05-01

Understanding the direct and indirect effects of elevated [CO2 ] and temperature on insect herbivores and how these factors interact are essential to predict ecosystem-level responses to climate change scenarios. In three concurrent glasshouse experiments, we measured both the individual and interactive effects of elevated [CO2 ] and temperature on foliar quality. We also assessed the interactions between their direct and plant-mediated effects on the development of an insect herbivore of eucalypts. Eucalyptus tereticornis saplings were grown at ambient or elevated [CO2 ] (400 and 650 μmol mol(-1) respectively) and ambient or elevated ( + 4 °C) temperature for 10 months. Doratifera quadriguttata (Lepidoptera: Limacodidae) larvae were feeding directly on these trees, on their excised leaves in a separate glasshouse, or on excised field-grown leaves within the temperature and [CO2 ] controlled glasshouse. To allow insect gender to be determined and to ensure that any sex-specific developmental differences could be distinguished from treatment effects, insect development time and consumption were measured from egg hatch to pupation. No direct [CO2 ] effects on insects were observed. Elevated temperature accelerated larval development, but did not affect leaf consumption. Elevated [CO2 ] and temperature independently reduced foliar quality, slowing larval development and increasing consumption. Simultaneously increasing both [CO2 ] and temperature reduced these shifts in foliar quality, and negative effects on larval performance were subsequently ameliorated. Negative nutritional effects of elevated [CO2 ] and temperature were also independently outweighed by the direct positive effect of elevated temperature on larvae. Rising [CO2 ] and temperature are thus predicted to have interactive effects on foliar quality that affect eucalypt-feeding insects. However, the ecological consequences of these interactions will depend on the magnitude of concurrent temperature rise

Manipulation of host plant cells and tissues by gall-inducing insects and adaptive strategies used by different feeding guilds.

PubMed

Oliveira, D C; Isaias, R M S; Fernandes, G W; Ferreira, B G; Carneiro, R G S; Fuzaro, L

2016-01-01

Biologists who study insect-induced plant galls are faced with the overwhelming diversity of plant forms and insect species. A challenge is to find common themes amidst this diversity. We discuss common themes that have emerged from our cytological and histochemical studies of diverse neotropical insect-induced galls. Gall initiation begins with recognition of reactive plant tissues by gall inducers, with subsequent feeding and/or oviposition triggering a cascade of events. Besides, to induce the gall structure insects have to synchronize their life cycle with plant host phenology. We predict that reactive oxygen species (ROS) play a role in gall induction, development and histochemical gradient formation. Controlled levels of ROS mediate the accumulation of (poly)phenols, and phytohormones (such as auxin) at gall sites, which contributes to the new cell developmental pathways and biochemical alterations that lead to gall formation. The classical idea of an insect-induced gall is a chamber lined with a nutritive tissue that is occupied by an insect that directly harvests nutrients from nutritive cells via its mouthparts, which function mechanically and/or as a delivery system for salivary secretions. By studying diverse gall-inducing insects we have discovered that insects with needle-like sucking mouthparts may also induce a nutritive tissue, whose nutrients are indirectly harvested as the gall-inducing insects feeds on adjacent vascular tissues. Activity of carbohydrate-related enzymes across diverse galls corroborates this hypothesis. Our research points to the importance of cytological and histochemical studies for elucidating mechanisms of induced susceptibility and induced resistance. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of corn germplasm lines for multiple ear-colonizing insect and disease resistance.

PubMed

Ni, Xinzhi; Xu, Wenwei; Blanco, Michael H; Wilson, Jeffrey P

2012-08-01

Ear-colonizing insects and diseases that reduce yield and impose health threats by mycotoxin contaminations in the grain, are critical impediments for corn (Zea mays L.) production in the southern United States. Ten germplasm lines from the Germplasm Enhancement of Maize (GEM) Program in Ames, IA, and Raleigh, NC, and 10 lines (derived from GEM germplasm) from the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station in Lubbock, TX, were examined in 2007 and 2008 with local resistant and susceptible controls. Four types of insect damage and smut disease (Ustilago maydis) infection, as well as gene X environment (G X E) interaction, was assessed on corn ears under field conditions. Insect damage on corn ears was further separated as cob and kernel damage. Cob penetration rating was used to assess corn earworm [Helicoverpa zea (Boddie)] and fall armyworm [Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith)] feeding on corn cobs, whereas kernel damage was assessed using three parameters: 1) percentage of kernels discolored by stink bugs (i.e., brown stink bug [Euschistus serous (Say)], southern green stink bug [Nezara viridula (L.)], and green stink bug [Chinavia (Acrosternum) hilare (Say)]; 2) percentage of maize weevil (Sitophilus zeamais Motschulsky)-damaged kernels; and 3) percentage of kernels damaged by sap beetle (Carpophilus spp.), "chocolate milkworm" (Moodna spp.), and pink scavenger caterpillar [Pyroderces (Anatrachyntis) rileyi (Walsingham)]. The smut infection rates on ears, tassels, and nodes also were assessed. Ear protection traits (i.e., husk tightness and extension) in relation to insect damage and smut infection also were examined. Significant differences in insect damage, smut infection, and husk protection traits were detected among the germplasm lines. Three of the 20 germplasm lines were identified as being multiple insect and smut resistant. Of the three lines, entries 5 and 7 were derived from DKXL370, which was developed using corn germplasm from Brazil, whereas entry 14 was

New technologies in electrical penetration graph (EPG) monitors of insect feeding and their applications for 21st century entomology

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Electrical penetration graph (EPG) monitoring of insect feeding is a rigorous means of observing and quantifying feeding behaviors of piercing-sucking arthropods, as well as fine details of chewing and oviposition behaviors not observable visually. While EPG was originally invented nearly 50 years ...

Targeted predation of extrafloral nectaries by insects despite localized chemical defences

PubMed Central

Gish, Moshe; Mescher, Mark C.; De Moraes, Consuelo M.

2015-01-01

Extrafloral (EF) nectaries recruit carnivorous arthropods that protect plants from herbivory, but they can also be exploited by nectar thieves. We studied the opportunistic, targeted predation (and destruction) of EF nectaries by insects, and the localized chemical defences that plants presumably use to minimize this effect. In field and laboratory experiments, we identified insects that were possibly responsible for EF nectary predation in Vicia faba (fava bean) and determined the extent and accuracy of the feeding damage done to the EF nectaries by these insects. We also performed biochemical analyses of plant tissue samples in order to detect microscale distribution patterns of chemical defences in the area of the EF nectary. We observed selective, targeted feeding on EF nectaries by several insect species, including some that are otherwise not primarily herbivorous. Biochemical analyses revealed high concentrations of l-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine, a non-protein amino acid that is toxic to insects, near and within the EF nectaries. These results suggest that plants allocate defences to the protection of EF nectaries from predation, consistent with expectations of optimal defence theory, and that this may not be entirely effective, as insects limit their exposure to these defences by consuming only the secreting tissue of the nectary. PMID:26446809

The study of insect blood-feeding behaviour. 2. Recording techniques and the use of flow charts.

PubMed

Smith, J J; Friend, W G

1987-01-01

This paper continues a discussion of approaches and methodologies we have used in our studies of feeding in haematophagous insects. Described are techniques for directly monitoring behaviour: electrical recording of feeding behaviour via resistance changes in the food canal, optical methods for monitoring mouthpart activity, and a computer technique for behavioural event recording. Also described is the use of "flow charts" or "decision diagrams" to model interrelated sequences of behaviours.

In field damage of high and low cyanogenic cassava due to a generalist insect herbivore Cyrtomenus bergi (Hemiptera: Cydnidae).

PubMed

Riis, Lisbeth; Bellotti, Anthony Charles; Castaño, Oscar

2003-12-01

The hypothesis that cyanogenic potential in cassava roots deters polyphagous insects in the field is relevant to current efforts to reduce or eliminate the cyanogenic potential in cassava. To test this hypothesis, experiments were conducted in the field under natural selection pressure of the polyphagous root feeder Cyrtomenus bergi Froeschner (Hemiptera: Cydnidae). A number of cassava varieties (33) as well as 13 cassava siblings and their parental clone, each representing a determined level of cyanogenic potential (CNP), were scored for damage caused by C. bergi and related to CNP and nonglycosidic cyanogens, measured as hydrogen cyanide. Additionally, 161 low-CNP varieties (< 50 ppm hydrogen cyanide, fresh weight) from the cassava germplasm core collection at Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT) were screened for resistance/tolerance to C. bergi. Low root damage scores were registered at all levels of CNP. Nevertheless, CNP and yield (or root size) partly explained the damage in cassava siblings (r2 = 0.82) and different cassava varieties (r2 = 0.42), but only when mean values of damage scores were used. This relation was only significant in one of two crop cycles. A logistic model describes the underlying negative relation between CNP and damage. An exponential model describes the underlying negative relation between root size and damage. Damage, caused by C. bergi feeding, released nonglycosidic cyanogens, and an exponential model fits the underlying positive relation. Fifteen low-CNP clones were selected for potential resistance/tolerance against C. bergi.

A retrospective analysis of known and potential risks associated with exotic toadflax-feeding insects

Treesearch

Sharlene E. Sing; Robert K. D. Peterson; David K. Weaver; Richard W. Hansen; George P. Markin

2005-01-01

To date, eight exotic toadflax-feeding insect species have been accidentally or intentionally introduced to North America. Reports on their establishment and impact have been recorded for more than 60 years. Environmental risks linked to biological control of toadflax were identified in terms of host resources and undesirable impacts on the target species through the...

Towards Biological Control of Kudzu Through an Improved Understanding of Insect-Kudzu Interactions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Orr, D.; Barber, G.; DeBarr, G.

2001-08-03

The authors evaluated various approaches to the biological control of kudzu and exotic weed that infests the SRS. A large number of native pollinators were found to be attracted to kudzu. The viability of seed was found to be low, between 2% and 11%. This is the result of native Hemiptera. The results suggest that seed feeding insects should not be targeted for importation. Both kudzu and soybeans had the same level of abundance and diversity of herbivore insects and the same levels of defoliation. No vine or root damaging species were found. Efforts should be targeted to the lattermore » insects to control kudzu.« less

Comprehensive field screenings for whorl- and ear-feeding insect resistance in corn germplasm lines

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

A holistic approach to developing new corn germplasm that confers multiple insect resistance in various plant tissues at different growth stages was examined in two separate studies. The first study was the screening of eight corn germplasm lines for resistance whorl damage to fall armyworm [Spodop...

Parallel Histories of Horizontal Gene Transfer Facilitated Extreme Reduction of Endosymbiont Genomes in Sap-Feeding Insects

PubMed Central

Sloan, Daniel B.; Nakabachi, Atsushi; Richards, Stephen; Qu, Jiaxin; Murali, Shwetha Canchi; Gibbs, Richard A.; Moran, Nancy A.

2014-01-01

Bacteria confined to intracellular environments experience extensive genome reduction. In extreme cases, insect endosymbionts have evolved genomes that are so gene-poor that they blur the distinction between bacteria and endosymbiotically derived organelles such as mitochondria and plastids. To understand the host’s role in this extreme gene loss, we analyzed gene content and expression in the nuclear genome of the psyllid Pachypsylla venusta, a sap-feeding insect that harbors an ancient endosymbiont (Carsonella) with one of the most reduced bacterial genomes ever identified. Carsonella retains many genes required for synthesis of essential amino acids that are scarce in plant sap, but most of these biosynthetic pathways have been disrupted by gene loss. Host genes that are upregulated in psyllid cells housing Carsonella appear to compensate for endosymbiont gene losses, resulting in highly integrated metabolic pathways that mirror those observed in other sap-feeding insects. The host contribution to these pathways is mediated by a combination of native eukaryotic genes and bacterial genes that were horizontally transferred from multiple donor lineages early in the evolution of psyllids, including one gene that appears to have been directly acquired from Carsonella. By comparing the psyllid genome to a recent analysis of mealybugs, we found that a remarkably similar set of functional pathways have been shaped by independent transfers of bacterial genes to the two hosts. These results show that horizontal gene transfer is an important and recurring mechanism driving coevolution between insects and their bacterial endosymbionts and highlight interesting similarities and contrasts with the evolutionary history of mitochondria and plastids. PMID:24398322

Feeding the insect industry

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

This article reports the use of insect colloidal artificial diets suitable for the rearing of economically important arthropods, such as Lygus lineolaris, Lygus hesperus, Coleomegilla maculata, and Phytoseiulus persimilis The different diets contain key nutrients such as proteins, carbohydrates, vit...

Edible insects are the future?

PubMed

van Huis, Arnold

2016-08-01

The global increase in demand for meat and the limited land area available prompt the search for alternative protein sources. Also the sustainability of meat production has been questioned. Edible insects as an alternative protein source for human food and animal feed are interesting in terms of low greenhouse gas emissions, high feed conversion efficiency, low land use, and their ability to transform low value organic side streams into high value protein products. More than 2000 insect species are eaten mainly in tropical regions. The role of edible insects in the livelihoods and nutrition of people in tropical countries is discussed, but this food source is threatened. In the Western world, there is an increasing interest in edible insects, and examples are given. Insects as feed, in particular as aquafeed, have a large potential. Edible insects have about the same protein content as conventional meat and more PUFA. They may also have some beneficial health effects. Edible insects need to be processed and turned into palatable dishes. Food safety may be affected by toxicity of insects, contamination with pathogens, spoilage during conservation and allergies. Consumer attitude is a major issue in the Western world and a number of strategies are proposed to encourage insect consumption. We discuss research pathways to make insects a viable sector in food and agriculture: an appropriate disciplinary focus, quantifying its importance, comparing its nutritional value to conventional protein sources, environmental benefits, safeguarding food safety, optimising farming, consumer acceptance and gastronomy.

Economic Impacts of Non-Native Forest Insects in the Continental United States

PubMed Central

Aukema, Juliann E.; Leung, Brian; Kovacs, Kent; Chivers, Corey; Britton, Kerry O.; Englin, Jeffrey; Frankel, Susan J.; Haight, Robert G.; Holmes, Thomas P.; Liebhold, Andrew M.; McCullough, Deborah G.; Von Holle, Betsy

2011-01-01

Reliable estimates of the impacts and costs of biological invasions are critical to developing credible management, trade and regulatory policies. Worldwide, forests and urban trees provide important ecosystem services as well as economic and social benefits, but are threatened by non-native insects. More than 450 non-native forest insects are established in the United States but estimates of broad-scale economic impacts associated with these species are largely unavailable. We developed a novel modeling approach that maximizes the use of available data, accounts for multiple sources of uncertainty, and provides cost estimates for three major feeding guilds of non-native forest insects. For each guild, we calculated the economic damages for five cost categories and we estimated the probability of future introductions of damaging pests. We found that costs are largely borne by homeowners and municipal governments. Wood- and phloem-boring insects are anticipated to cause the largest economic impacts by annually inducing nearly $1.7 billion in local government expenditures and approximately $830 million in lost residential property values. Given observations of new species, there is a 32% chance that another highly destructive borer species will invade the U.S. in the next 10 years. Our damage estimates provide a crucial but previously missing component of cost-benefit analyses to evaluate policies and management options intended to reduce species introductions. The modeling approach we developed is highly flexible and could be similarly employed to estimate damages in other countries or natural resource sectors. PMID:21931766

Coconut leaf bioactivity toward generalist maize insect pests

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Tropical plants are often more resistant to insects than temperate plants due to evolution of robust defenses to cope with a more constant insect threat. Coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) has very few chewing leaf feeding insect pests and was tested against two omnivorous leaf feeding caterpillar species,...

Plant Defense against Insect Herbivores

PubMed Central

Fürstenberg-Hägg, Joel; Zagrobelny, Mika; Bak, Søren

2013-01-01

Plants have been interacting with insects for several hundred million years, leading to complex defense approaches against various insect feeding strategies. Some defenses are constitutive while others are induced, although the insecticidal defense compound or protein classes are often similar. Insect herbivory induce several internal signals from the wounded tissues, including calcium ion fluxes, phosphorylation cascades and systemic- and jasmonate signaling. These are perceived in undamaged tissues, which thereafter reinforce their defense by producing different, mostly low molecular weight, defense compounds. These bioactive specialized plant defense compounds may repel or intoxicate insects, while defense proteins often interfere with their digestion. Volatiles are released upon herbivory to repel herbivores, attract predators or for communication between leaves or plants, and to induce defense responses. Plants also apply morphological features like waxes, trichomes and latices to make the feeding more difficult for the insects. Extrafloral nectar, food bodies and nesting or refuge sites are produced to accommodate and feed the predators of the herbivores. Meanwhile, herbivorous insects have adapted to resist plant defenses, and in some cases even sequester the compounds and reuse them in their own defense. Both plant defense and insect adaptation involve metabolic costs, so most plant-insect interactions reach a stand-off, where both host and herbivore survive although their development is suboptimal. PMID:23681010

7 CFR 51.2122 - Insect injury.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 2 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Insect injury. 51.2122 Section 51.2122 Agriculture... Standards for Grades of Shelled Almonds Definitions § 51.2122 Insect injury. Insect injury means that the insect, web, or frass is present or there is definite evidence of insect feeding. ...

Novel Insect Leaf-Mining after the End-Cretaceous Extinction and the Demise of Cretaceous Leaf Miners, Great Plains, USA

PubMed Central

Donovan, Michael P.; Wilf, Peter; Labandeira, Conrad C.; Johnson, Kirk R.; Peppe, Daniel J.

2014-01-01

Plant and associated insect-damage diversity in the western U.S.A. decreased significantly at the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) boundary and remained low until the late Paleocene. However, the Mexican Hat locality (ca. 65 Ma) in southeastern Montana, with a typical, low-diversity flora, uniquely exhibits high damage diversity on nearly all its host plants, when compared to all known local and regional early Paleocene sites. The same plant species show minimal damage elsewhere during the early Paleocene. We asked whether the high insect damage diversity at Mexican Hat was more likely related to the survival of Cretaceous insects from refugia or to an influx of novel Paleocene taxa. We compared damage on 1073 leaf fossils from Mexican Hat to over 9000 terminal Cretaceous leaf fossils from the Hell Creek Formation of nearby southwestern North Dakota and to over 9000 Paleocene leaf fossils from the Fort Union Formation in North Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming. We described the entire insect-feeding ichnofauna at Mexican Hat and focused our analysis on leaf mines because they are typically host-specialized and preserve a number of diagnostic morphological characters. Nine mine damage types attributable to three of the four orders of leaf-mining insects are found at Mexican Hat, six of them so far unique to the site. We found no evidence linking any of the diverse Hell Creek mines with those found at Mexican Hat, nor for the survival of any Cretaceous leaf miners over the K-Pg boundary regionally, even on well-sampled, surviving plant families. Overall, our results strongly relate the high damage diversity on the depauperate Mexican Hat flora to an influx of novel insect herbivores during the early Paleocene, possibly caused by a transient warming event and range expansion, and indicate drastic extinction rather than survivorship of Cretaceous insect taxa from refugia. PMID:25058404

Effect of dieldrin in the glue line of oak plywood panels in preventing Lyctus beetle damage

Treesearch

Thomas McIntyre

1961-01-01

For many years the lumber industry has been seeking improved methods of preventing decay and insect damage to lumber and other wood products. One relatively new approach to this problem is the addition of toxic chemicals in plywood glues to prevent infestations or restrict feeding injury by wood-boring insects. Wood products treated in this manner have been marketed in...

Using a botanical garden to assess factors influencing the colonization of exotic woody plants by phyllophagous insects.

PubMed

Kirichenko, Natalia; Kenis, M

2016-09-01

The adoption of exotic plants by indigenous herbivores in the region of introduction can be influenced by numerous factors. A botanical garden in Western Siberia was used to test various hypotheses on the adaptation of indigenous phyllophagous insects to exotic plants invasions, focusing on two feeding guilds, external leaf chewers and leaf miners. A total of 150 indigenous and exotic woody plant species were surveyed for insect damage, abundance and species richness. First, exotic woody plants were much less damaged by chewers and leaf miners than native plants, and the leaf miners' species richness was much lower on exotic than native plants. Second, exotic woody plants having a congeneric species in the region of introduction were more damaged by chewers and hosted a more abundant and species-rich community of leaf miners than plants without native congeneric species. Third, damage by chewers significantly increased with the frequency of planting of exotic host plants outside the botanical garden, and leaf miners' abundance and species richness significantly increased with residence time in the garden. Finally, no significant relationship was found between insect damage or abundance and the origin of the exotic plants. Besides the ecological implications of the results, this study also illustrates the potential of botanical gardens to test ecological hypotheses on biological invasions and insect-plant interactions on a large set of plant species.

Effect of simulated insect damage on growth and survival of northern red oak (Quercus rubra L.) seedlings

Treesearch

Susan L. Wright; Richard W. Hall; John W. Peacock

1989-01-01

Effects of simulated insect damage—artificial defoliation and root damage in combination with two levels of watering—were studied to determine the potential effect on northern red oak seedlings (Quercus rubra L.). Treatments and treatment combinations caused significant differences in stem diameter, percentage of stem dieback, and mortality....

Genetic compensation of high dose radiation-induced damage in an anhydrobiotic insect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gusev, Oleg; Nakahara, Yuichi; Sakashita, Tetsuya; Kikawada, Takahiro; Okuda, Takashi

Anhydrobiotic larvae of African chironomid Polypedilum vanderplanki are known to show an extremely high tolerance against a range of stresses. The tolerance against various extreme environments exhibited by that insect might be due to being almost completely desiccated replacing water with trehalose, a state where little or no chemical reactions occur. From 2005 dried larvae of this insect are being used in a number of space experiments, both inside and outside of ISS as a model organism for estimation the limits of higher organisms' resistance to space environment stresses and long-term storage of the alive anhydrobiotic organisms during continues spaceflight. We have shown previously that both hydrated and dried larvae of Polypedilum vanderplanki have very higher tolerance against both highand low-linear energy transfer (LET), surviving after 7000Gy irradiation. It was suggested that the larvae would have effective DNA-reparation system in addition to artificial protection provided by glass-stage without water. In the present study we conducted analysis of stress-related gene expression in the larvae after 70-2000 Gy irradiations. Both DNA damage level and activity of DNA-reparation, anti-apoptotic and protein-damage related genes were analyzed. Direct visualization of DNA damage in the larvae fat body cells using Comet Assay showed that fragmented by radiation DNA is re-arranged within 76-98 hours after exposure. We found that massive overexpression of hsp and anti-oxidant genes occur in larvae entering anhydrobiosis , and provides refolding of proteins after rehydration. In the irradiated larvae overexpression of DNA-reparation enzymes anti-apoptotic genes was confirmed, suggesting that survival after high-dose irradiation is a result of combination of highly effective blocking of entering the apoptosis after severe DNA damage and DNA reparation.

Wounding, insect chewing and phloem sap feeding differentially alter the leaf proteome of potato, Solanum tuberosum L.

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Various factors shape the response of plants to herbivorous insects, including wounding patterns, specific chemical effectors and feeding habits of the attacking herbivore. Here we performed a comparative proteomic analysis of the plant's response to wounding and herbivory, using as a model potato plants (Solanum tuberosum L.) subjected to mechanical wounding, defoliation by the Colorado potato beetle Leptinotarsa decemlineata Say, or phloem sap feeding by the potato aphid Macrosiphum euphorbiae Thomas. Results Out of ~500 leaf proteins monitored by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE), 31 were up- or downregulated by at least one stress treatment compared to healthy control plants. Of these proteins, 29 were regulated by beetle chewing, 8 by wounding and 8 by aphid feeding. Some proteins were up- or downregulated by two different treatments, while others showed diverging expression patterns in response to different treatments. A number of modulated proteins identified by mass spectrometry were typical defense proteins, including wound-inducible protease inhibitors and pathogenesis-related proteins. Proteins involved in photosynthesis were also modulated, notably by potato beetle feeding inducing a strong decrease of some photosystem I proteins. Quantitative RT PCR assays were performed with nucleotide primers for photosynthesis-related proteins to assess the impact of wounding and herbivory at the gene level. Whereas different, sometimes divergent, responses were observed at the proteome level in response to wounding and potato beetle feeding, downregulating effects were systematically observed for both treatments at the transcriptional level. Conclusions These observations illustrate the differential impacts of wounding and insect herbivory on defense- and photosynthesis-related components of the potato leaf proteome, likely associated with the perception of distinct physical and chemical cues in planta. PMID:23268880

Edible insects in China: Utilization and prospects.

PubMed

Feng, Ying; Chen, Xiao-Ming; Zhao, Min; He, Zhao; Sun, Long; Wang, Cheng-Ye; Ding, Wei-Feng

2018-04-01

The use of edible insects has a long history in China, where they have been consumed for more than 2000 years. In general, the level of acceptance is high for the consumption of insects in China. Many studies on edible insects have been conducted in the last 20 years, and the scope of the research includes the culture of entomophagy and the identification, nutritional value, farming and breeding of edible insects, in addition to food production and safety. Currently, 324 species of insects from 11 orders are documented that are either edible or associated with entomophagy in China, which include the common edible species, some less commonly consumed species and some medicinal insects. However, only approximately 10 to 20 types of insects are regularly consumed. The nutritional values for 174 species are available in China, including edible, feed and medicinal species. Although the nutritional values vary among species, all the insects examined contain protein, fat, vitamins and minerals at levels that meet human nutritional requirements. Edible insects were, and continue to be, consumed by different ethnic groups in many parts of China. People directly consume insects or food products made from insects. The processing of products from insect protein powder, oil and chitin, and the development of healthcare foods has been studied in China. People also consume insects indirectly by eating livestock that were fed insects, which may be a more acceptable pathway to use insects in human diets. Although limited, the data on the food safety of insects indicate that insects are safe for food or feed. Incidences of allergic reactions after consuming silkworm pupae, cicadas and crickets have been reported in China. Insect farming is a unique breeding industry in rural China and is a source of income for local people. Insects are reared and bred for human food, medicine and animal feed using two approaches in China: the insects are either fully domesticated and reared

Volatiles of Solena amplexicaulis (Lam.) Gandhi Leaves Influencing Attraction of Two Generalist Insect Herbivores.

PubMed

Sarkar, Nupur; Karmakar, Amarnath; Barik, Anandamay

2016-10-01

Epilachna vigintioctopunctata Fabr. (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) and Aulacophora foveicollis Lucas (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) are important pests of Solena amplexicaulis (Lam.) Gandhi (Cucurbitaceae), commonly known as creeping cucumber. The profiles of volatile organic compounds from undamaged plants, plants after 48 hr continuous feeding of adult females of either E. vigintioctopunctata or A. foveicollis, by adults of both species, and after mechanical damaging were identified and quantified by GC-MS and GC-FID analyses. Thirty two compounds were detected in volatiles of all treatments. In all plants, methyl jasmonate was the major compound. In Y-shaped glass tube olfactometer bioassays under laboratory conditions, both insect species showed a significant preference for complete volatile blends from insect damaged plants, compared to those of undamaged plants. Neither E. vigintioctopunctata nor A. foveicollis showed any preference for volatiles released by heterospecifically damaged plants vs. conspecifically damaged plants or plants attacked by both species. Epilachna vigintioctopunctata and A. foveicollis showed attraction to three different synthetic compounds, linalool oxide, nonanal, and E-2-nonenal in proportions present in volatiles of insect damaged plants. Both species were attracted by a synthetic blend of 1.64 μg linalool oxide + 3.86 μg nonanal + 2.23 μg E-2-nonenal, dissolved in 20 μl methylene chloride. This combination might be used as trapping tools in pest management strategies.

An insect-feeding guild of carnivorous plants and spiders: does optimal foraging lead to competition or facilitation?

PubMed

Crowley, Philip H; Hopper, Kevin R; Krupa, James J

2013-12-01

Carnivorous plants and spiders, along with their prey, are main players in an insect-feeding guild found on acidic, poorly drained soils in disturbed habitat. Darwin's notion that these plants must actively attract the insects they capture raises the possibility that spiders could benefit from proximity to prey hotspots created by the plants. Alternatively, carnivorous plants and spiders may deplete prey locally or (through insect redistribution) more widely, reducing each other's gain rates from predation. Here, we formulate and analyze a model of this guild, parameterized for carnivorous sundews and lycosid spiders, under assumptions of random movement by insects and optimal foraging by predators. Optimal foraging here involves gain maximization via trap investment (optimal web sizes and sundew trichome densities) and an ideal free distribution of spiders between areas with and without sundews. We find no facilitation: spiders and sundews engage in intense exploitation competition. Insect attraction by plants modestly increases sundew gain rates but slightly decreases spider gain rates. In the absence of population size structure, optimal spider redistribution between areas with and without sundews yields web sizes that are identical for all spiders, regardless of proximity to sundews. Web-building spiders have higher gain rates than wandering spiders in this system at high insect densities, but wandering spiders have the advantage at low insect densities. Results are complex, indicating that predictions to be tested empirically must be based on careful quantitative assessment.

Tropical insect diversity: evidence of greater host specialization in seed-feeding weevils.

PubMed

Peguero, Guille; Bonal, Raúl; Sol, Daniel; Muñoz, Alberto; Sork, Victoria L; Espelta, Josep M

2017-08-01

Host specialization has long been hypothesized to explain the extraordinary diversity of phytophagous insects in the tropics. However, addressing this hypothesis has proved challenging because of the risk of over-looking rare interactions, and hence biasing specialization estimations, and the difficulties to separate the diversity component attributable to insect specialization from that related to host diversity. As a result, the host specialization hypothesis lacks empirical support for important phytophagous insect clades. Here, we test the hypothesis in a radiation of seed-feeding insects, acorn weevils (Curculio spp.), sampled in temperate and tropical regions (California and Nicaragua, respectively) with an equivalent pool of oak host species. Using DNA sequences from three low-copy genes, we delimited to species level 778 weevil larvae extracted from host seeds and assessed their phylogenetic relationships by Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian inference. We then reconstructed the oak-weevil food webs and examined differences in alpha, beta and gamma diversity using Hill numbers of effective species. We found a higher alpha, beta and gamma diversity of weevils in Nicaragua compared to California despite similar richness of host species at both local and regional level. By means of Bayesian mixed models, we also found that tropical weevil species were highly specialized both in terms of host range and interaction strength, whereas their temperate congeners had a broader taxonomic and phylogenetic host spectrum. Finally, in Nicaraguan species, larval body size was highly correlated with the size of the acorns infested, as would be expected by a greater host specialization, whereas in California this relationship was absent. Altogether, these lines of evidence support the host specialization hypothesis and suggest contrasting eco-evolutionary dynamics in tropical and temperate regions even in absence of differences in host diversity. © 2017 by the Ecological

Insect enemies of birch

Treesearch

James G. Conklin

1969-01-01

Native birches are subject to attack by insects at all stages of growth from the germinating seedling to the mature tree. All parts of the tree—roots, stem, branches, foliage, and even the developing seed—may be utilized as feeding sites by insects of one kind or another. An enumeration of the many insects recorded in the literature as feeders on...

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the guts of insects feeding on plants: prospects for discovering plant-derived antibiotics.

PubMed

Ignasiak, Katarzyna; Maxwell, Anthony

2017-12-01

Although plants produce many secondary metabolites, currently none of these are commercial antibiotics. Insects feeding on specific plants can harbour bacterial strains resistant to known antibiotics suggesting that compounds in the plant have stimulated resistance development. We sought to determine whether the occurrence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in insect guts was a widespread phenomenon, and whether this could be used as a part of a strategy to identify antibacterial compounds from plants. Six insect/plant pairs were selected and the insect gut bacteria were identified and assessed for antibiotic susceptibilities compared with type strains from culture collections. We found that the gut strains could be more or less susceptible to antibiotics than the type strains, or show no differences. Evidence of antibacterial activity was found in the plant extracts from five of the six plants, and, in one case Catharanthus roseus (Madagascar Periwinkle), compounds with antibacterial activity were identified. Bacterial strains isolated from insect guts show a range of susceptibilities to antibiotics suggesting a complex interplay between species in the insect gut microbiome. Extracts from selected plants can show antibacterial activity but it is not easy to isolate and identify the active components. We found that vindoline, present in Madagascar Periwinkle extracts, possessed moderate antibacterial activity. We suggest that plant-derived antibiotics are a realistic possibility given the advances in genomic and metabolomic methodologies.

How insects overcome two-component plant chemical defence: plant β-glucosidases as the main target for herbivore adaptation.

PubMed

Pentzold, Stefan; Zagrobelny, Mika; Rook, Fred; Bak, Søren

2014-08-01

Insect herbivory is often restricted by glucosylated plant chemical defence compounds that are activated by plant β-glucosidases to release toxic aglucones upon plant tissue damage. Such two-component plant defences are widespread in the plant kingdom and examples of these classes of compounds are alkaloid, benzoxazinoid, cyanogenic and iridoid glucosides as well as glucosinolates and salicinoids. Conversely, many insects have evolved a diversity of counteradaptations to overcome this type of constitutive chemical defence. Here we discuss that such counter-adaptations occur at different time points, before and during feeding as well as during digestion, and at several levels such as the insects’ feeding behaviour, physiology and metabolism. Insect adaptations frequently circumvent or counteract the activity of the plant β-glucosidases, bioactivating enzymes that are a key element in the plant’s two-component chemical defence. These adaptations include host plant choice, non-disruptive feeding guilds and various physiological adaptations as well as metabolic enzymatic strategies of the insect’s digestive system. Furthermore, insect adaptations often act in combination, may exist in both generalists and specialists, and can act on different classes of defence compounds. We discuss how generalist and specialist insects appear to differ in their ability to use these different types of adaptations: in generalists, adaptations are often inducible, whereas in specialists they are often constitutive. Future studies are suggested to investigate in detail how insect adaptations act in combination to overcome plant chemical defences and to allow ecologically relevant conclusions.

A geometric model of mortality and crop protection for insects feeding on discrete toxicant deposits.

PubMed

Ebert, Timothy; Derksen, Richard

2004-04-01

Current theory governing the biological effectiveness of toxicants stresses the dose-response relationship and focuses on uniform toxicant distributions in the insect's environment. However, toxicants are seldom uniformly dispersed under field conditions. Toxicant distribution affects bioavailability, but the mechanics of such interactions is not well documented. We present a geometric model of the interactions between insects and heterogeneously distributed toxicants. From the model, we conclude the following: 1) There is an optimal droplet size, and droplets both smaller and larger than this optimum will decrease efficacy. 2) There is an ideal droplet distribution. Droplets should be spaced based on two criteria: calculate the allowable damage, double this quantity, and one lethal deposit should be placed in this area; and define the quantity of leaf the larva could eat before the toxicant decays below the lethal level and place one lethal deposit within this area. 3) Distributions of toxicant where deposits are sublethal will often be ineffective, but the application is wasteful if deposits contain more than a lethal dose. 4) Insect behavior both as individuals and collectively influences the level of crop production provided by an application. This conclusion has implications for both crop protection and natural plant-insect interactions. The effective utilization of new more environmentally sensitive toxicants may depend on how well we understand how heterogeneous toxicant distributions interact with insect behavior to determine the biological outcome.

Insect damage to oaks

Treesearch

Charles O. Rexrode

1971-01-01

In terms of mortality caused by insects, defoliators are the most serious enemies of oaks at the present time. An oak leaf tier, Croesia semipurprana, is one of the principal defoliators of trees in the red oak group. Oak leaf rollers, primarily Archips semiferana, have been responsible for widespread mortality in white and...

7 CFR 51.2122 - Insect injury.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Insect injury. 51.2122 Section 51.2122 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards, Inspections, Marketing... insect, web, or frass is present or there is definite evidence of insect feeding. ...

Identification of multiple ear-colonizing insect and disease resistance in CIMMYT maize inbred lines with varying levels of silk maysin.

PubMed

Ni, Xinzhi; Krakowsky, Matthew D; Buntin, G David; Rector, Brian G; Guo, Baozhu; Snook, Maurice E

2008-08-01

Ninety four corn inbred lines selected from International Center for the Improvement of Maize and Wheat (CIMMYT) in Mexico were evaluated for levels of silk maysin in 2001 and 2002. Damage by major ear-feeding insects [i.e., corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae); maize weevil, Sitophilus zeamais (Motschulsky) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae); brown stink bug, Euschistus servus (Say); southern green stink bugs, Nezara viridula (L.) (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae)], and common smut [Ustilago maydis DC (Corda)] infection on these inbred lines were evaluated in 2005 and 2006 under subtropical conditions at Tifton, GA. Ten inbred lines possessing good agronomic traits were also resistant to the corn earworm. The correlation between ear-feeding insect damage or smut infection and three phenotypic traits (silk maysin level, husk extension, and husk tightness of corn ears) was also examined. Corn earworm and stink bug damage was negatively correlated to husk extension, but not to either silk maysin levels or husk tightness. In combination with the best agronomic trait ratings that show the least corn earworm and stink bug damage, lowest smut infection rate, and good insect-resistant phenotypic traits (i.e., high maysin and good husk coverage and husk tightness), 10 best inbred lines (CML90, CML92, CML94, CML99, CML104, CML108, CML114, CML128, CML137, and CML373) were identified from the 94 lines examined. These selected inbred lines will be used for further examination of their resistance mechanisms and development of new corn germplasm that confers multiple ear-colonizing pest resistance.

Characterization of Natural and Simulated Herbivory on Wild Soybean (Glycine soja Seib. et Zucc.) for Use in Ecological Risk Assessment of Insect Protected Soybean

PubMed Central

Goto, Hidetoshi; Shimada, Hiroshi; Horak, Michael J.; Ahmad, Aqeel; Baltazar, Baltazar M.; Perez, Tim; McPherson, Marc A.; Stojšin, Duška; Shimono, Ayako; Ohsawa, Ryo

2016-01-01

Insect-protected soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) was developed to protect against foliage feeding by certain Lepidopteran insects. The assessment of potential consequences of transgene introgression from soybean to wild soybean (Glycine soja Seib. et Zucc.) is required as one aspect of the environmental risk assessment (ERA) in Japan. A potential hazard of insect-protected soybean may be hypothesized as transfer of a trait by gene flow to wild soybean and subsequent reduction in foliage feeding by Lepidopteran insects that result in increased weediness of wild soybean in Japan. To assess this potential hazard two studies were conducted. A three-year survey of wild soybean populations in Japan was conducted to establish basic information on foliage damage caused by different herbivores. When assessed across all populations and years within each prefecture, the total foliage from different herbivores was ≤ 30%, with the lowest levels of defoliation (< 2%) caused by Lepidopteran insects. A separate experiment using five levels of simulated defoliation (0%, 10%, 25%, 50% and 100%) was conducted to assess the impact on pod and seed production and time to maturity of wild soybean. The results indicated that there was no decrease in wild soybean plants pod or seed number or time to maturity at defoliation rates up to 50%. The results from these experiments indicate that wild soybean is not limited by lepidopteran feeding and has an ability to compensate for defoliation levels observed in nature. Therefore, the potential hazard to wild soybean from the importation of insect-protected soybean for food and feed into Japan is negligible. PMID:26963815

Hurricane Andrew Damage in Relation to Wood Decay Fungi and Insects in Bottomland Hardwoods of the Atchafalaya Basin, Louisiana

Treesearch

Theodor D. Leininger; A. Dan Wilson; Donald G. Lester

1997-01-01

Hurricane Andrew caused damage to more than 780 sq.km of bottomland hardwood and cypress-tupelo forests in the Atchafalaya Basin of Louisiana in August 1992. Trees in bottomland hardwood sites were examined, in early May 1994, for signs and symptoms of wood decay fungi, and for insect damage, ostensibly present before the hurricane, which may have predisposed trees to...

Characterizing Damage of Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) in Blueberries.

PubMed

Wiman, Nik G; Parker, Joyce E; Rodriguez-Saona, Cesar; Walton, Vaughn M

2015-06-01

Brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys (Stål) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), is a severe economic pest of growing importance in the United States, Canada, and Europe. While feeding damage from H. halys has been characterized in tree fruit, vegetables, and agronomic crops, less is known about the impacts of stink bugs on small fruits such as blueberries. In this study, we examined H. halys feeding on two representative early and late ripening blueberry cultivars in Oregon and New Jersey. This research examined how different densities of H. halys confined on blueberry clusters for week-long periods affected fruit quality at harvest. After fruit were ripe, we stained and quantified the number of salivary sheaths on berries as an indication of feeding pressure. Feeding by H. halys damaged the fruits by causing increased levels of external discoloration, and internal damage in the form of tissue necrosis. Exposure of berries to H. halys was also associated with decreasing berry weights and lower soluble solids in fruits. However, the different cultivars did not respond consistently to feeding pressure from H. halys. Weekly variability in feeding pressure of two of the cultivars as quantified by the number of stylet sheaths per berry was largely accounted for by environmental variables. We conclude that H. halys does have potential to severely damage blueberries and may become an important economic pest. Characterization of damage is important because correct identification of insect damage is key for successful management. © The Authors 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Insect Species Damage on Ornamental Plants and Saplings of Bartin Province and Its Vicinity in the Western Black Sea Region of Turkey

PubMed Central

Kaygin, Azize Toper; Sönmezyildiz, Hilmi; Ülgentürk, Selma; Özdemir, Işıl

2008-01-01

The objectives of this study were to identify harmful insect species, understand their biology, assess their damage potential and target plants and define distribution areas. There are a lot of native or cultured ornamental plants in Bartın and its surrounding (Çaycuma, Zonguldak, Karabük, Mengen, Devrek). These plants are herbaceous and woody species. Specimens were collected from various cultured and non-cultured plants. A total of 34 species belonging to 20 families of 5 orders were identified. The order Hemiptera was represented by the highest number of species (19 species), followed by Coleoptera (8), Lepidoptera (4), Orthoptera (2), and Dermaptera (1). Insect samples were collected from plants by net traps, special insect aspirators, and various insect traps. The identified species have been stored in the collection room of the Forest Entomology and Protection Unit, Bartın Forestry Faculty, Zonguldak Karaelmas University (Z.K.U.), Turkey. This is the first detailed study about insect species causing damage on ornamental plants and saplings of Bartın province and its vicinity, although similar studies of different regions exist. This research makes a very important contribution to the insect fauna of Bartın, its environs and Turkey. Twenty four of the identified species were new for Bartın and its vicinity, while the remainder had been previously recorded in different parts of Bartın. PMID:19325767

Functional anatomy of vagina muscles in the blood-feeding insect, Rhodnius prolixus.

PubMed

Chiang, R G; O'Donnell, M J

2009-11-01

The physiology of the muscles associated with the vagina in the blood-feeding insect, Rhodnius prolixus Stal, was investigated with the use of Methylene Blue staining to visualize the anatomy, and a micro force transducer to record spontaneous and neurally-evoked contractions. The vagina is associated with a dorsal muscle and a set of paired lateral muscles. The dorsal muscle extends from the base of the common oviduct to apodemes located laterally on sternite VIII, the first genital segment. The lateral muscles extend from a medially-located apodeme on the posterior edge of sternite VI around each side of the common oviduct to travel posteriorly along the side of the vagina before inserting laterally on apodemes on sternite VIII. The vagina muscles display spontaneous and neurally-evoked contractions that are prolonged but transient. The response to evoked contractions shows that the muscles are innervated by both excitatory and inhibitory motor axons. The degree of tension generated by evoked contractions is dependent on the frequency of stimulation with maximal tension being generated at 20-30Hz. This tension, which often exceeds 400mg, is transient and returns to a baseline within 1 to 2min during continuous stimulation. These results, which are the first to describe this chamber in this well-studied insect, are discussed with respect to the act of egg laying.

Effects from early planting of late-maturing sunflowers on damage from primary insect pests in the United States

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Delayed planting is recommended to reduce damage from sunflower insect pests in the United States, including the sunflower moth, Homoeosoma electellum (Hulst) and banded sunflower moth, Cochylis hospes Walsingham. However, in some locations, planting earlier or growing later-maturing hybrids could i...

Longitudinal Distribution of the Functional Feeding Groups of Aquatic Insects in Streams of the Brazilian Cerrado Savanna.

PubMed

Brasil, L S; Juen, L; Batista, J D; Pavan, M G; Cabette, H S R

2014-10-01

We demonstrate that the distribution of the functional feeding groups of aquatic insects is related to hierarchical patch dynamics. Patches are sites with unique environmental and functional characteristics that are discontinuously distributed in time and space within a lotic system. This distribution predicts that the occurrence of species will be based predominantly on their environmental requirements. We sampled three streams within the same drainage basin in the Brazilian Cerrado savanna, focusing on waterfalls and associated habitats (upstream, downstream), representing different functional zones. We collected 2,636 specimens representing six functional feeding groups (FFGs): brushers, collector-gatherers, collector-filterers, shredders, predators, and scrapers. The frequency of occurrence of these groups varied significantly among environments. This variation appeared to be related to the distinct characteristics of the different habitat patches, which led us to infer that the hierarchical patch dynamics model can best explain the distribution of functional feeding groups in minor lotic environments, such as waterfalls.

Decreased losses of woody plant foliage to insects in large urban areas are explained by bird predation.

PubMed

Kozlov, Mikhail V; Lanta, Vojtěch; Zverev, Vitali; Rainio, Kalle; Kunavin, Mikhail A; Zvereva, Elena L

2017-10-01

Despite the increasing rate of urbanization, the consequences of this process on biotic interactions remain insufficiently studied. Our aims were to identify the general pattern of urbanization impact on background insect herbivory, to explore variations in this impact related to characteristics of both urban areas and insect-plant systems, and to uncover the factors governing urbanization impacts on insect herbivory. We compared the foliar damage inflicted on the most common trees by defoliating, leafmining and gall-forming insects in rural and urban habitats associated with 16 European cities. In two of these cities, we explored quality of birch foliage for herbivorous insects, mortality of leafmining insects due to predators and parasitoids and bird predation on artificial plasticine larvae. On average, the foliage losses to insects were 16.5% lower in urban than in rural habitats. The magnitude of the overall adverse effect of urbanization on herbivory was independent of the latitude of the locality and was similar in all 11 studied tree species, but increased with an increase in the size of the urban area: it was significant in large cities (city population 1-5 million) but not significant in medium-sized and small towns. Quality of birch foliage for herbivorous insects was slightly higher in urban habitats than in rural habitats. At the same time, leafminer mortality due to ants and birds and the bird attack intensity on dummy larvae were higher in large cities than in rural habitats, which at least partially explained the decline in insect herbivory observed in response to urbanization. Our findings underscore the importance of top-down forces in mediating impacts of urbanization on plant-feeding insects: factors favouring predators may override the positive effects of temperature elevation on insects and thus reduce plant damage. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Contact chemosensation of phytochemicals by insect herbivores

PubMed Central

Burse, Antje

2017-01-01

Contact chemosensation, or tasting, is a complex process governed by nonvolatile phytochemicals that tell host-seeking insects whether they should accept or reject a plant. During this process, insect gustatory receptors (GRs) contribute to deciphering a host plant's metabolic code. GRs recognise many different classes of nonvolatile compounds; some GRs are likely to be narrowly tuned and others, broadly tuned. Although primary and/or secondary plant metabolites influence the insect's feeding choice, their decoding by GRs is challenging, because metabolites in planta occur in complex mixtures that have additive or inhibitory effects; in diverse forms composed of structurally unrelated molecules; and at different concentrations depending on the plant species, its tissue and developmental stage. Future studies of the mechanism of insect herbivore GRs will benefit from functional characterisation taking into account the spatio-temporal dynamics and diversity of the plant's metabolome. Metabolic information, in turn, will help to elucidate the impact of single ligands and complex natural mixtures on the insect's feeding choice. PMID:28485430

Development of a statewide Landsat digital data base for forest insect damage assessment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, D. L.; Dottavio, C. L.; Nelson, R. F.

1983-01-01

A Joint Research Project (JRP) invlving NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center and the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry/Division of Forest Pest Management demonstrates the utility of Landsat data for assessing forest insect damage. A major effort within the project has been the creation of map-registered, statewide Landsat digital data base for Pennsylvania. The data base, developed and stored on computers at the Pennsylvania State University Computation Center, contains Landsat imagery, a Landsat-derived forest resource map, and digitized data layers depicting Forest Pest Management District boundaries and county boundaries. A data management front-end system was also developed to provide an interface between the various layers of information within the data base and image analysis software. This front-end system insures than an automated assessment of defoliation damage can be conducted and summarized by geographic area or jurisdiction of interest.

Phytohormone ecology : Herbivory byThrips tabaci induces greater ethylene production in intact onions than mechanical damage alone.

PubMed

Kendall, D M; Bjostad, L B

1990-03-01

Herbivory byThrips tabaci affected production of the phytohormone ethylene from living onion foliage. Ethylene analysis was performed by gas chromatography on intact onion tissue. Thrips feeding damage and a crushed thrips extract stimulated significantly greater production of eihylene than could be explained by either one-time or semicontinuous mechanical damage alone, suggesting that ethylene-inducing cues may be transferred to the plant during feeding. This is the first demonstration of increased ethylene production from insect-infested intact plants. This study suggests that herbivores affect both the phytohormone physiology and secondary chemistry of living plants because ethylene has been shown to enhance production of defensive phytochemicals.

Aquatic wood -- an insect perspective

Treesearch

Peter S. Cranston; Brendan McKie

2006-01-01

Immersed wood provides refugia and substrate for a diverse array of macroinvertebrates, and food for a more restricted genuinely xylophagous fauna. Worldwide, xylophages are found across aquatic insect orders, including Coleoptera, Diptera, Trichoptera and Plecoptera. Xylophages often are specialised, feeding on the wood surface or mining deep within. Many feed...

Resistance of rice to insect pests mediated by suppression of serotonin biosynthesis.

PubMed

Lu, Hai-Ping; Luo, Ting; Fu, Hao-Wei; Wang, Long; Tan, Yuan-Yuan; Huang, Jian-Zhong; Wang, Qing; Ye, Gong-Yin; Gatehouse, Angharad M R; Lou, Yong-Gen; Shu, Qing-Yao

2018-05-07

Rice is one of the world's most important foods, but its production suffers from insect pests, causing losses of billions of dollars, and extensive use of environmentally damaging pesticides for their control 1,2 . However, the molecular mechanisms of insect resistance remain elusive. Although a few resistance genes for planthopper have been cloned, no rice germplasm is resistant to stem borers. Here, we report that biosynthesis of serotonin, a neurotransmitter in mammals 3 , is induced by insect infestation in rice, and its suppression confers resistance to planthoppers and stem borers, the two most destructive pests of rice 2 . Serotonin and salicylic acid derive from chorismate 4 . In rice, the cytochrome P450 gene CYP71A1 encodes tryptamine 5-hydroxylase, which catalyses conversion of tryptamine to serotonin 5 . In susceptible wild-type rice, planthopper feeding induces biosynthesis of serotonin and salicylic acid, whereas in mutants with an inactivated CYP71A1 gene, no serotonin is produced, salicylic acid levels are higher and plants are more insect resistant. The addition of serotonin to the resistant rice mutant and other brown planthopper-resistant genotypes results in a loss of insect resistance. Similarly, serotonin supplementation in artificial diet enhances the performance of both insects. These insights demonstrate that regulation of serotonin biosynthesis plays an important role in defence, and may prove valuable for breeding insect-resistant cultivars of rice and other cereal crops.

Insect--plant adaptations.

PubMed

Southwood, T R

1984-01-01

The adaptation of insects to plants probably commenced in the early Permian period, though most current associations will be more recent. A major burst of adaptation must have followed the rise of the Angiosperms in the Cretaceous period, though some particular associations are as recent as this century. Living plants form a large proportion of the potential food in most habitats, though insects have had to overcome certain general hurdles to live and feed on them. Insects affect the reproduction and survival of plants, and thus the diversity of plant secondary chemicals may have evolved as a response. Where an insect species has a significant effect on a plant species that is its only host, coevolution may be envisaged. A spectacular example is provided by Heliconius butterflies and passion flower vines, studied by L.E. Gilbert and others. But such cases may be likened to 'vortices in the evolutionary stream': most plant species are influenced by a range of phytophagous insects so that selection will be for general defences--a situation termed diffuse coevolution. Evidence is presented on recent host-plant shifts to illustrate both the restrictions and the flexibility in current insect-plant associations.

Plants respond to leaf vibrations caused by insect herbivore chewing.

PubMed

Appel, H M; Cocroft, R B

2014-08-01

Plant germination and growth can be influenced by sound, but the ecological significance of these responses is unclear. We asked whether acoustic energy generated by the feeding of insect herbivores was detected by plants. We report that the vibrations caused by insect feeding can elicit chemical defenses. Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) rosettes pre-treated with the vibrations caused by caterpillar feeding had higher levels of glucosinolate and anthocyanin defenses when subsequently fed upon by Pieris rapae (L.) caterpillars than did untreated plants. The plants also discriminated between the vibrations caused by chewing and those caused by wind or insect song. Plants thus respond to herbivore-generated vibrations in a selective and ecologically meaningful way. A vibration signaling pathway would complement the known signaling pathways that rely on volatile, electrical, or phloem-borne signals. We suggest that vibration may represent a new long distance signaling mechanism in plant-insect interactions that contributes to systemic induction of chemical defenses.

Insect-based protein: future promising protein source for fish cultured

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nugroho, R. A.; Nur, F. M.

2018-04-01

As one of the vital component feed used in fisheries, fishmeal (FM) is generally added to the fish diet to enhance fish growth, digestive performance and absorption of nutrients. This addition contributes significantly to the variable production cost in the aquaculture industry. Expanded production of carnivorous species requiring high protein, high-energy feeds will further tax global fish meal. Thus, research based on the low-cost budget for feed operating cost should be strategized to assist aquaculturists in enhancing fish productivity. Moreover, suitable alternative feed ingredients will have to be utilized to provide the essential nutrients and energy needed to fuel the growth of aquaculture production. To this effect, the use of insect-based protein sources to replace FM that often scarce, expensive, limited availability, and leads to high fish production costs is alternative ways and has been gaining momentum. Currently, Insects have been proposed as one of the potential future protein sources of protein because of the production of insects is highly sustainable. Farming insects is characterized by higher food conversion efficiencies, lower environmental impact, and higher potential to be grown on waste streams.

Insect growth regulators and insect control: a critical appraisal.

PubMed Central

Siddall, J B

1976-01-01

Insect growth regulators (IGRs) of the juvenile hormone type alter physiological processes essential to insect development and appear to act specifically on insects. Three natural juvenile hormones have been found in insects but not in other organisms. Future use of antagonists or inhibitors of hormone synthesis may be technically possible as an advantageous extension of pest control by IGRs. A documented survey of the properties, metabolism, toxicology, and uses of the most commercially advanced chemical, methoprene, shows it to be environmentally acceptable and toxicologically innocuous. Derivation of its current use patterns is discussed and limitations on these are noted. Residue levels and their measurement in the ppb region have allowed exemption from the requirement of tolerances in the EPA registered use of methoprene for mosquito control. Tolerances for foods accompany its fully approved use for control of manure breeding flies through a cattle feed supplement. The human health effects of using this chemical appear to be purely beneficial, but further advances through new IGR chemicals appear unlikely without major changes in regulatory and legislative policy. PMID:976222

Novel double-stranded RNA viruses of plant-feeding insects encode a serine-alanine-proline rich protein and a polymerase distantly related to fungal viruses

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Novel double stranded RNAs (~8 kbp) were isolated from the three cornered alfalfa hopper (Spissistilus festinus) and beet leafhopper (Circulifer tenellus), two plant-feeding hemipteran insect pests. Genome organization of the two new viruses, designated as Spissistilus festinus virus 1 (SpFV1) and ...

Exposure of Solidago altissima plants to volatile emissions of an insect antagonist (Eurosta solidaginis) deters subsequent herbivory.

PubMed

Helms, Anjel M; De Moraes, Consuelo M; Tooker, John F; Mescher, Mark C

2013-01-02

Recent work indicates that plants respond to environmental odors. For example, some parasitic plants grow toward volatile cues from their host plants, and other plants have been shown to exhibit enhanced defense capability after exposure to volatile emissions from herbivore-damaged neighbors. Despite such intriguing discoveries, we currently know relatively little about the occurrence and significance of plant responses to olfactory cues in natural systems. Here we explore the possibility that some plants may respond to the odors of insect antagonists. We report that tall goldenrod (Solidago altissima) plants exposed to the putative sex attractant of a closely associated herbivore, the gall-inducing fly Eurosta solidaginis, exhibit enhanced defense responses and reduced susceptibility to insect feeding damage. In a field study, egg-laying E. solidaginis females discriminated against plants previously exposed to the sex-specific volatile emissions of males; furthermore, overall rates of herbivory were reduced on exposed plants. Consistent with these findings, laboratory assays documented reduced performance of the specialist herbivore Trirhabda virgata on plants exposed to male fly emissions (or crude extracts), as well as enhanced induction of the key defense hormone jasmonic acid in exposed plants after herbivory. These unexpected findings from a classic ecological study system provide evidence for a previously unexplored class of plant-insect interactions involving plant responses to insect-derived olfactory cues.

Exposure of Solidago altissima plants to volatile emissions of an insect antagonist (Eurosta solidaginis) deters subsequent herbivory

PubMed Central

Helms, Anjel M.; De Moraes, Consuelo M.; Tooker, John F.; Mescher, Mark C.

2013-01-01

Recent work indicates that plants respond to environmental odors. For example, some parasitic plants grow toward volatile cues from their host plants, and other plants have been shown to exhibit enhanced defense capability after exposure to volatile emissions from herbivore-damaged neighbors. Despite such intriguing discoveries, we currently know relatively little about the occurrence and significance of plant responses to olfactory cues in natural systems. Here we explore the possibility that some plants may respond to the odors of insect antagonists. We report that tall goldenrod (Solidago altissima) plants exposed to the putative sex attractant of a closely associated herbivore, the gall-inducing fly Eurosta solidaginis, exhibit enhanced defense responses and reduced susceptibility to insect feeding damage. In a field study, egg-laying E. solidaginis females discriminated against plants previously exposed to the sex-specific volatile emissions of males; furthermore, overall rates of herbivory were reduced on exposed plants. Consistent with these findings, laboratory assays documented reduced performance of the specialist herbivore Trirhabda virgata on plants exposed to male fly emissions (or crude extracts), as well as enhanced induction of the key defense hormone jasmonic acid in exposed plants after herbivory. These unexpected findings from a classic ecological study system provide evidence for a previously unexplored class of plant–insect interactions involving plant responses to insect-derived olfactory cues. PMID:23237852

Seed and Cone Insects of Southern Pines

Treesearch

Southeastern Forest Experiment Station

1980-01-01

Distribution maps are included for all insect species, providing at a glance each insect's expected southern distribution. Knowledge of some distributions is incomplete. Accordingly, the range maps should be used as general rather than absolute guides.Insect species and their pine hosts are tabulated for each of the three damage...

Weak trophic interactions among birds, insects and white oak saplings (Quercus alba)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lichtenberg, J.S.; Lichtenberg, D.A.

2002-01-01

We examined the interactions among insectivorous birds, arthropods and white oak saplings (Quercus alba L.) in a temperate deciduous forest under 'open' and 'closed' canopy environments. For 2 y, we compared arthropod densities, leaf damage and sapling growth. Saplings from each canopy environment were assigned to one of four treatments: (1) reference, (2) bird exclosure, (3) insecticide and (4) exclosure + insecticide. Sap-feeding insects were the most abundant arthropod feeding guild encountered and birds reduced sap-feeder densities in 1997, but not in 1998. Although there was no detectable influence of birds on leaf-chewer densities in either year, leaf damage to saplings was greater within bird exclosures than outside of bird exclosures in 1997. Insecticide significantly reduced arthropod densities and leaf damage to saplings, but there was no corresponding increase in sapling growth. Growth and biomass were greater for saplings in more open canopy environments for both years. Sap-feeder densities were higher on closed canopy than open canopy saplings in 1997, but canopy environment did not influence the effects of birds on lower trophic levels. Although previous studies have found birds to indirectly influence plant growth and biomass, birds did not significantly influence the growth or biomass of white oak saplings during our study.

Structural and chemical insect defenses in calcium oxalate defective mutants of Medicago truncatula

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Plant structures can act as defense against herbivorous insects, causing them to avoid feeding on a given plant or tissue. Mineral crystals of calcium oxalate in leaves of Medicago truncatula Gaertn. are effective deterrents of lepidopteran feeding, and they inhibit conversion of leaves into insect ...

The Ingestion of Fluorescent, Magnetic Nanoparticles for Determining Fluid-uptake Abilities in Insects

DOE PAGES

Lehnert, Matthew S.; Reiter, Kristen E.; Bennett, Andrew; ...

2017-01-01

Here, fluid-feeding insects ingest a variety of liquids, which are present in the environment as pools, films, or confined to small pores. Studies of liquid acquisition require assessing mouthpart structure and function relationships; however, fluid uptake mechanisms are historically inferred from observations of structural architecture, sometimes unaccompanied with experimental evidence. Here, we report a novel method for assessing fluid-uptake abilities with butterflies (Lepidoptera) and flies (Diptera) using small amounts of liquids. Insects are fed with a 20% sucrose solution mixed with fluorescent, magnetic nanoparticles from filter papers of specific pore sizes. The crop (internal structure used for storing fluids) ismore » removed from the insect and placed on a confocal microscope. A magnet is waved by the crop to determine the presence of nanoparticles, which indicate if the insects are able to ingest fluids. This methodology is used to reveal a widespread feeding mechanism (capillary action and liquid bridge formation) that is potentially shared among Lepidoptera and Diptera when feeding from porous surfaces. In addition, this method can be used for studies of feeding mechanisms among a variety of fluid-feeding insects, including those important in disease transmission and biomimetics, and potentially other studies that involve nano- or micro-sized conduits where liquid transport requires verification.« less

The Ingestion of Fluorescent, Magnetic Nanoparticles for Determining Fluid-uptake Abilities in Insects

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lehnert, Matthew S.; Reiter, Kristen E.; Bennett, Andrew

Here, fluid-feeding insects ingest a variety of liquids, which are present in the environment as pools, films, or confined to small pores. Studies of liquid acquisition require assessing mouthpart structure and function relationships; however, fluid uptake mechanisms are historically inferred from observations of structural architecture, sometimes unaccompanied with experimental evidence. Here, we report a novel method for assessing fluid-uptake abilities with butterflies (Lepidoptera) and flies (Diptera) using small amounts of liquids. Insects are fed with a 20% sucrose solution mixed with fluorescent, magnetic nanoparticles from filter papers of specific pore sizes. The crop (internal structure used for storing fluids) ismore » removed from the insect and placed on a confocal microscope. A magnet is waved by the crop to determine the presence of nanoparticles, which indicate if the insects are able to ingest fluids. This methodology is used to reveal a widespread feeding mechanism (capillary action and liquid bridge formation) that is potentially shared among Lepidoptera and Diptera when feeding from porous surfaces. In addition, this method can be used for studies of feeding mechanisms among a variety of fluid-feeding insects, including those important in disease transmission and biomimetics, and potentially other studies that involve nano- or micro-sized conduits where liquid transport requires verification.« less

Feed Conversion, Survival and Development, and Composition of Four Insect Species on Diets Composed of Food By-Products.

PubMed

Oonincx, Dennis G A B; van Broekhoven, Sarah; van Huis, Arnold; van Loon, Joop J A

2015-01-01

A large part of the environmental impact of animal production systems is due to the production of feed. Insects are suggested to efficiently convert feed to body mass and might therefore form a more sustainable food and/or feed source. Four diets were composed from by-products of food manufacturing and formulated such as to vary in protein and fat content. These were offered to newly hatched Argentinean cockroaches, black soldier flies, yellow mealworms, and house crickets. The first two species are potentially interesting as a feed ingredient, while the latter two are considered edible for humans. Feed conversion efficiency, survival, development time, as well as chemical composition (nitrogen, phosphorus, and fatty acids), were determined. The Argentinean cockroaches and the black soldier flies converted feed more efficiently than yellow mealworms, and house crickets. The first two were also more efficient than conventional production animals. On three of the four diets yellow mealworms and house crickets had a feed conversion efficiency similar to pigs. Furthermore, on the most suitable diet, they converted their feed as efficiently as poultry, when corrected for edible portion. All four species had a higher nitrogen-efficiency than conventional production animals, when corrected for edible portion. Offering carrots to yellow mealworms increased dry matter- and nitrogen-efficiency and decreased development time. Diet affected survival in all species but black soldier flies, and development time was strongly influenced in all four species. The chemical composition of Argentinean cockroaches was highly variable between diets, for black soldier flies it remained similar. The investigated species can be considered efficient production animals when suitable diets are provided. Hence, they could form a sustainable alternative to conventional production animals as a source of feed or food.

Feed Conversion, Survival and Development, and Composition of Four Insect Species on Diets Composed of Food By-Products

PubMed Central

Oonincx, Dennis G. A. B.; van Broekhoven, Sarah; van Huis, Arnold; van Loon, Joop J. A.

2015-01-01

A large part of the environmental impact of animal production systems is due to the production of feed. Insects are suggested to efficiently convert feed to body mass and might therefore form a more sustainable food and/or feed source. Four diets were composed from by-products of food manufacturing and formulated such as to vary in protein and fat content. These were offered to newly hatched Argentinean cockroaches, black soldier flies, yellow mealworms, and house crickets. The first two species are potentially interesting as a feed ingredient, while the latter two are considered edible for humans. Feed conversion efficiency, survival, development time, as well as chemical composition (nitrogen, phosphorus, and fatty acids), were determined. The Argentinean cockroaches and the black soldier flies converted feed more efficiently than yellow mealworms, and house crickets. The first two were also more efficient than conventional production animals. On three of the four diets yellow mealworms and house crickets had a feed conversion efficiency similar to pigs. Furthermore, on the most suitable diet, they converted their feed as efficiently as poultry, when corrected for edible portion. All four species had a higher nitrogen-efficiency than conventional production animals, when corrected for edible portion. Offering carrots to yellow mealworms increased dry matter- and nitrogen-efficiency and decreased development time. Diet affected survival in all species but black soldier flies, and development time was strongly influenced in all four species. The chemical composition of Argentinean cockroaches was highly variable between diets, for black soldier flies it remained similar. The investigated species can be considered efficient production animals when suitable diets are provided. Hence, they could form a sustainable alternative to conventional production animals as a source of feed or food. PMID:26699129

Succession pattern of carrion-feeding insects in Paramo, Colombia.

PubMed

Martinez, Efrain; Duque, Patricia; Wolff, Marta

2007-03-02

The minimum postmortem interval can be estimated based on knowledge of the pattern of insect succession on a corpse. To use this approach requires that we take into account the rates of insect development associated with particular climatological conditions of the region. This study is the first to look at insect succession on decomposing carcasses in the high altitude plains (Paramo) in Colombia, at 3035 m above sea level. Five stages of decomposition were designated with indicator species identified for each stage: Callíphora nigribasis at the fresh stage; Compsomyiops verena at the bloated stage; Compsomyiops boliviana during active decay; Stearibia nigriceps and Hydrotaea sp. during advanced decay and Leptocera sp. for dry remains. A succession table is presented for carrion-associated species of the region, which can be used for estimating time since death in similar areas. Compsomyiops boliviana is reported for the first time in Colombia.

Cool Headed Individuals Are Better Survivors: Non-Consumptive and Consumptive Effects of a Generalist Predator on a Sap Feeding Insect

PubMed Central

Horváth, Vivien; Marczali, Zsolt; Samu, Ferenc

2015-01-01

Non-consumptive effects (NCEs) of predators are part of the complex interactions among insect natural enemies and prey. NCEs have been shown to significantly affect prey foraging and feeding. Leafhopper's (Auchenorrhyncha) lengthy phloem feeding bouts may play a role in pathogen transmission in vector species and also exposes them to predation risk. However, NCEs on leafhoppers have been scarcely studied, and we lack basic information about how anti-predator behaviour influences foraging and feeding in these species. Here we report a study on non-consumptive and consumptive predator-prey interactions in a naturally co-occurring spider–leafhopper system. In mesocosm arenas we studied movement patterns during foraging and feeding of the leafhopper Psammotettix alienus in the presence of the spider predator Tibellus oblongus. Leafhoppers delayed feeding and fed much less often when the spider was present. Foraging movement pattern changed under predation risk: movements became more frequent and brief. There was considerable individual variation in foraging movement activity. Those individuals that increased movement activity in the presence of predators exposed themselves to higher predation risk. However, surviving individuals exhibited a ‘cool headed’ reaction to spider presence by moving less than leafhoppers in control trials. No leafhoppers were preyed upon while feeding. We consider delayed feeding as a “paradoxical” antipredator tactic, since it is not necessarily an optimal strategy against a sit-and-wait generalist predator. PMID:26295476

Use of habitat odour by host-seeking insects.

PubMed

Webster, Ben; Cardé, Ring T

2017-05-01

Locating suitable feeding or oviposition sites is essential for insect survival. Understanding how insects achieve this is crucial, not only for understanding the ecology and evolution of insect-host interactions, but also for the development of sustainable pest-control strategies that exploit insects' host-seeking behaviours. Volatile chemical cues are used by foraging insects to locate and recognise potential hosts but in nature these resources usually are patchily distributed, making chance encounters with host odour plumes rare over distances greater than tens of metres. The majority of studies on insect host-seeking have focussed on short-range orientation to easily detectable cues and it is only recently that we have begun to understand how insects overcome this challenge. Recent advances show that insects from a wide range of feeding guilds make use of 'habitat cues', volatile chemical cues released over a relatively large area that indicate a locale where more specific host cues are most likely to be found. Habitat cues differ from host cues in that they tend to be released in larger quantities, are more easily detectable over longer distances, and may lack specificity, yet provide an effective way for insects to maximise their chances of subsequently encountering specific host cues. This review brings together recent advances in this area, discussing key examples and similarities in strategies used by haematophagous insects, soil-dwelling insects and insects that forage around plants. We also propose and provide evidence for a new theory that general and non-host plant volatiles can be used by foraging herbivores to locate patches of vegetation at a distance in the absence of more specific host cues, explaining some of the many discrepancies between laboratory and field trials that attempt to make use of plant-derived repellents for controlling insect pests. © 2016 Cambridge Philosophical Society.

Relations between wood-inhabiting insects and fungi

Treesearch

Nina P. Krivosheina

1991-01-01

It is widely known that xylophagous insects do not usually attack healthy, resistant trees. In order to overcome these defenses, inner-bark feeding insects have developed symbiotic interrelationships with various organisms, fungi in particular. In this paper, using our own data together with that available in the literature, we analyze the forms of relationships...

Insect mycophagy: a preliminary bibliography.

Treesearch

Robert. Fogel

1975-01-01

Insects that feed on fungi are primary dispersal agents for many beneficial and pathogenic species. Nearly 300 references on the subject, published since the mid-19th century are listed in this bibliography.

Insects in fluctuating thermal environments.

PubMed

Colinet, Hervé; Sinclair, Brent J; Vernon, Philippe; Renault, David

2015-01-07

All climate change scenarios predict an increase in both global temperature means and the magnitude of seasonal and diel temperature variation. The nonlinear relationship between temperature and biological processes means that fluctuating temperatures lead to physiological, life history, and ecological consequences for ectothermic insects that diverge from those predicted from constant temperatures. Fluctuating temperatures that remain within permissive temperature ranges generally improve performance. By contrast, those which extend to stressful temperatures may have either positive impacts, allowing repair of damage accrued during exposure to thermal extremes, or negative impacts from cumulative damage during successive exposures. We discuss the mechanisms underlying these differing effects. Fluctuating temperatures could be used to enhance or weaken insects in applied rearing programs, and any prediction of insect performance in the field-including models of climate change or population performance-must account for the effect of fluctuating temperatures.

Plant-feeding insects harbor double-stranded RNA viruses encoding a novel proline-alanine rich protein and a polymerase distantly related to that of fungal viruses

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Novel double-stranded RNAs (~8 kbp) were isolated from three cornered alfalfa hopper (Spissistilus festinus) and beet leafhopper (Circulifer tenellus), two plant-feeding hemipteran insect pests. Genomes of the two new viruses, designated as Spissistilus festinus virus 1 (SpFV1) and Circulifer tenell...

Assessment of Feeding Acceptance and Injury of Kerman Pistachios, Pistacia vera, by Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae)

PubMed Central

Kamiyama, Matthew T; Hernandez, Gabriel; Nay, Justin; Hoddle, Mark S

2017-01-01

Abstract In the United States, California (CA) is the primary commercial producer of pistachio nuts, Pistacia vera L. (Anacardiaceae). The brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), Halyomorpha halys (Stål) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), an invasive and polyphagous insect pest from Asia, has established in urban areas in several pistachio-growing counties in CA. Breeding BMSB populations have not been detected in commercial pistachio acreage. However, the detection of BMSB in Kern and Fresno counties, major Kerman pistachio producing areas in CA, underscored key knowledge gaps on BMSB ecology in CA and motivated investigations on the susceptibility of pistachio nuts to BMSB feeding. Laboratory feeding trials conducted in quarantine under permit indicated that adult BMSB stylets can penetrate developing pistachio shells and associated feeding was correlated with kernel necrosis for nuts collected mid to late season (June to August 2016). Feeding damage estimates indicated that higher levels of kernel injury were associated with female BMSB when compared to feeding by male BMSB. These results suggest that there is probable risk of feeding damage to field grown pistachios from BMSB. The implications of this study for BMSB pest management in the CA pistachio system and future research directions are discussed. PMID:29117381

Development of defoliating insects and their preferences for host plants under varying temperatures in a subtropical evergreen forest in eastern China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jing, Jun; Xia, Lingdan; Li, Kai

2017-06-01

The aim of this work was to understand the development of defoliating insects and their preferences for host plants under varying temperatures in a subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest in China. We measured the main developmental parameters of three typical defoliating insects (i.e., Ourapteryx ebuleata szechuana, Biston marginata, and Euproctis angulata) and their preferences for five host plants at temperatures from 16°C to 31°C at 3°C intervals in the Tiantong National Forest Research station in eastern China. The results showed the following. 1) An appropriate rise in temperature increases the survival rate with an increase in the number of offspring. The developmental durations for these three insects were shortened, and pupal weight increased with an increase in temperature. 2) A shift in the preference for host plants for these three insects was observedat elevated temperatures. They all preferred to feed on Schima superba and Castanopsis sclerophylla at elevated temperatures, showing an opposite response to the other three plants. The daily leaf consumption of the three insects was positively correlated with their feeding preference, with more leaves being consumed from the plants they preferred. 3) For O. ebuleata szechuana larvae, daily leaf consumption initially increased and then decreased with increasing temperatures. In contrast, Biston marginata and Euproctis angulata larvae consumed more leaves at elevated temperatures. The feeding preferences of O. ebuleata szechuana and Biston marginata were more sensitive to changing temperatures than that of Euproctis angulata laevae. We concluded that increased numbers of offspring and generations, pupal weights, and a shift in preference to two plants for these three defoliating insects might lead to severe damage to these two plants which would enhance the fragmentation and decrease the stability of the forest communities under changing temperatures. Meanwhile, the variations in the responses of

Bugs, butterflies, and spiders: children's understandings about insects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shepardson, Daniel P.

2002-06-01

This article explores elementary children's ideas about insects. The study involved 20 children from each grade level, kindergarten through fifth-grade, for a total of 120 children. The data collection procedure was designed to investigate what an insect means to children, through the use of three different tasks: draw and explain, interview about instances, and the formulation of a general rule. Considering children's responses to the three tasks, I found that their ideas about insects reflect understandings based on physical characteristics of size and shape, arthropod characteristics, insect characteristics, human-insect interactions, life habits of insects, feeding habits of insects, and means of locomotion. Children's understandings are juxtaposed to that of a scientific perspective, elucidating implications for curriculum development and instructional practice.

Mechanisms of plant defense against insect herbivores

PubMed Central

War, Abdul Rashid; Paulraj, Michael Gabriel; Ahmad, Tariq; Buhroo, Abdul Ahad; Hussain, Barkat; Ignacimuthu, Savarimuthu; Sharma, Hari Chand

2012-01-01

Plants respond to herbivory through various morphological, biochemicals, and molecular mechanisms to counter/offset the effects of herbivore attack. The biochemical mechanisms of defense against the herbivores are wide-ranging, highly dynamic, and are mediated both by direct and indirect defenses. The defensive compounds are either produced constitutively or in response to plant damage, and affect feeding, growth, and survival of herbivores. In addition, plants also release volatile organic compounds that attract the natural enemies of the herbivores. These strategies either act independently or in conjunction with each other. However, our understanding of these defensive mechanisms is still limited. Induced resistance could be exploited as an important tool for the pest management to minimize the amounts of insecticides used for pest control. Host plant resistance to insects, particularly, induced resistance, can also be manipulated with the use of chemical elicitors of secondary metabolites, which confer resistance to insects. By understanding the mechanisms of induced resistance, we can predict the herbivores that are likely to be affected by induced responses. The elicitors of induced responses can be sprayed on crop plants to build up the natural defense system against damage caused by herbivores. The induced responses can also be engineered genetically, so that the defensive compounds are constitutively produced in plants against are challenged by the herbivory. Induced resistance can be exploited for developing crop cultivars, which readily produce the inducible response upon mild infestation, and can act as one of components of integrated pest management for sustainable crop production. PMID:22895106

Physical characteristics of Medicago truncatula calcium oxalate crystals determine their effectiveness in insect defense

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Plant structural traits can act as defense against herbivorous insects, causing them to avoid feeding on a given plant or tissue. Mineral crystals of calcium oxalate in leaves of Medicago truncatula Gaertn. have previously been shown to be effective deterrents of lepidopteran insect feeding. They ar...

Inoculation of tomato plants with rhizobacteria enhances the performance of the phloem-feeding insect Bemisia tabaci

PubMed Central

Shavit, Roee; Ofek-Lalzar, Maya; Burdman, Saul; Morin, Shai

2013-01-01

In their natural environment, plants experience multiple biotic interactions and respond to this complexity in an integrated manner. Therefore, plant responses to herbivory are flexible and depend on the context and complexity in which they occur. For example, plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) can enhance plant growth and induce resistance against microbial pathogens and herbivorous insects by a phenomenon termed induced systemic resistance (ISR). In the present study, we investigated the effect of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) pre-inoculation with the PGPR Pseudomonas fluorescens WCS417r, on the performance of the generalist phloem-feeding insect Bemisia tabaci. Based on the ability of P. fluorescens WCS417r to prime for ISR against generalists chewing insects and necrotrophic pathogens, we hypothesized that pre-inoculated plants will strongly resist B. tabaci infestation. In contrast, we discovered that the pre-inoculation treatment increased the tomato plant suitability for B. tabaci which was emphasized both by faster developmental rate and higher survivability of nymph stages on pre-inoculated plants. Our molecular and chemical analyses suggested that the phenomenon is likely to be related to: (I) the ability of the bacteria to reduce the activity of the plant induced defense systems; (II) a possible manipulation by P. fluorescens of the plant quality (in terms of suitability for B. tabaci) through an indirect effect on the rhizosphere bacterial community. The contribution of our study to the pattern proposed for other belowground rhizobacteria and mycorrhizal fungi and aboveground generalist phloem-feeders is discussed. PMID:23964283

Single and Combined Effects of Deoxynivalenol Mycotoxin and a Microbial Feed Additive on Lymphocyte DNA Damage and Oxidative Stress in Broiler Chickens

PubMed Central

Awad, Wageha A.; Ghareeb, Khaled; Dadak, Agnes; Hess, Michael; Böhm, Josef

2014-01-01

The immune and intestinal epithelial cells are particularly sensitive to the toxic effects of deoxynivalenol (DON). The aim of this experiment was to study the effects of DON and/or a microbial feed additive on the DNA damage of blood lymphocytes and on the level of thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) as an indicator of lipid peroxidation and oxidative stress in broilers. A total of forty 1-d-old broiler chicks were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 dietary treatments (10 birds per group) for 5 wk. The dietary treatments were 1) basal diet; 2) basal diet contaminated with 10 mg DON/kg feed; 3) basal diet contaminated with 10 mg DON/kg feed and supplemented with 2.5 kg/ton of feed of Mycofix Select; 4) basal diet supplemented with Mycofix Select (2.5 kg/ton of feed). At the end of the feeding trial, blood were collected for measuring the level of lymphocyte DNA damage of blood and the TBARS level was measured in plasma, heart, kidney, duodenum and jejunum. The dietary exposure of DON caused a significant increase (P = 0.001) of DNA damage in blood lymphocytes (31.99±0.89%) as indicated in the tail of comet assay. Interestingly addition of Mycofix Select to DON contaminated diet decreased (P = 0.001) the DNA damage (19.82±1.75%) induced by DON. In order to clarify the involvement of lipid peroxidation in the DNA damage of DON, TBARS levels was measured. A significant increase (P = 0.001) in the level of TBARS (23±2 nmol/mg) was observed in the jejunal tissue suggesting that the lipid peroxidation might be involved in the DNA damage. The results indicate that DON is cytotoxic and genotoxic to the chicken intestinal and immune cells and the feed additive have potential ability to prevent DNA damage induced by DON. PMID:24498242

Mapping of quantitative trait loci for resistance to fall armyworm and southwestern corn borer leaf-feeding damage in maize.

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith), and southwestern corn borer (SWCB), Diatraea grandiosella Dyar are damaging insect pests of maize resulting in significant yield and economic losses. A previous study identified quantitative trait loci (QTL) that contribute to reduced leaf-fe...

Yeast-like microorganisms in the scale insect Kermes quercus (Insecta, Hemiptera, Coccomorpha: Kermesidae). Newly acquired symbionts?

PubMed

Podsiadło, Elżbieta; Michalik, Katarzyna; Michalik, Anna; Szklarzewicz, Teresa

2018-01-01

Scale insects, like other plant sap-consumers, are host to symbiotic microorganisms which provide them with the substances missing from their diet. In contrast to most scale insects, Kermes quercus (Linnaeus) was regarded as asymbiotic. Our histological and ultrastructural observations show that in the body of the feeding stages of K. quercus collected in two locations (Warsaw and Cracow), numerous yeast-like microorganisms occur. These microorganisms were localized in the cytoplasm of fat body cells. The yeast-like microorganisms were observed neither in other organs of the host insect nor in the eggs. These microorganisms did not cause any damage to the structure of the ovaries and the course of oogenesis of the host insect. The females infected by them produced about 1300 larvae. The lack of these microorganisms in the cytoplasm of eggs indicates that they are not transmitted transovarially from mother to offspring. Molecular analyses indicated that the microorganisms which reside in the body of K. quercus are closely related to the entomopathogenic fungi Cordyceps and Ophiocordyceps, which belong to the Sordariomycetes class within the Ascomycota. The role of yeast-like microorganisms to their host insects remains unknown; however, it has been suggested that they may represent newly acquired symbionts. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Intraplant communication in maize contributes to defense against insects

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The vasculature of plants act as a channel for transport of signal(s) that facilitate long-distance intraplant communication. In maize, Maize insect resistance1-Cysteine Protease (Mir1-CP), which has homology to papain-like proteases, provides defense to different feeding guilds of insect pests. Fur...

Oral toxicity of beta-N-acetyl hexosaminidase to insects.

PubMed

Dowd, Patrick F; Johnson, Eric T; Pinkerton, T Scott

2007-05-02

Insect chitin is a potential target for resistance plant proteins, but plant-derived chitin-degrading enzymes active against insects are virtually unknown. Commercial beta-N-acetylhexosaminidase (NAHA), a chitin-degrading enzyme from jack bean Canavalia ensiformis, caused significant mortality of fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda larvae at 75 microg/gm, but no significant mortality was noted with Aspergillus niger NAHA. Maize Zea mays callus transformed to express an Arabidopsis thaliana clone that putatively codes for NAHA caused significantly higher mortality of cigarette beetle Lasioderma serricorne larvae and significantly reduced growth rates (as reflected by survivor weights) of S. frugiperda as compared to callus that expressed control cDNAs. Tassels from model line Hi-II maize (Z. mays) plants transformed with the NAHA gene fed to S. frugiperda caused significantly higher mortality than tassels transformed to express glucuronidase; mortality was significantly correlated with NAHA expression levels detected histochemically. Leaf disks from inbred Oh43 maize plants transformed with the NAHA gene on average had significantly less feeding by caterpillars than null transformants. Leaf disks of Oh43 transformants caused significant mortality of both S. frugiperda and corn earworm Helicoverpa zea larvae, which was associated with higher expression levels of NAHA detected by isoelectric focusing, histochemically, or with antibody. Overall, these results suggest that plant NAHA has a role in insect resistance. Introduction of NAHA genes or enhancement of activity through breeding or genetic engineering has the potential to significantly reduce insect damage and thereby indirectly reduce mycotoxins that are harmful to animals and people.

Host Plant Resistance and Insect Pest Management in Chickpea

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Nearly 60 insect species feed on chickpea worldwide, of which cutworms (black cutworm - Agrotis ipsilon and turnip moth - Agrotis segetum), leaf feeding caterpillars (leaf caterpillar - Spodoptera exigua and hairy caterpillar - Spilarctia oblique), leaf miners (Liriomyza cicerina), aphids (Aphis cr...

Tolerance and resistance of invasive and native Eupatorium species to generalist herbivore insects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Rui-Fang; Feng, Yu-Long

2016-11-01

Invasive plants are exotic species that escape control by native specialist enemies. However, exotic plants may still be attacked by locally occurring generalist enemies, which can influence the dynamics of biological invasions. If invasive plants have greater defensive (resistance and tolerance) capabilities than indigenous plants, they may experience less damage from native herbivores. In the present study, we tested this prediction using the invasive plant Eupatorium adenophorum and two native congeners under simulated defoliation and generalist herbivore insect (Helicoverpa armigera and Spodoptera litura) treatments. E. adenophorum was less susceptible and compensated more quickly to damages in biomass production from both treatments compared to its two congeners, exhibiting greater herbivore tolerance. This strong tolerance to damage was associated with greater resource allocation to aboveground structures, leading to a higher leaf area ratio and a lower root: crown mass ratio than those of its native congeners. E. adenophorum also displayed a higher resistance index (which integrates acid detergent fiber, nitrogen content, carbon/nitrogen ratio, leaf mass per area, toughness, and trichome density) than its two congeners. Thus, H. armigera and S. litura performed poorly on E. adenophorum, with less leaf damage, a lengthened insect developmental duration, and decreased pupating: molting ratios compared to those of the native congeners. Strong tolerance and resistance traits may facilitate the successful invasion of E. adenophorum in China and may decrease the efficacy of leaf-feeding biocontrol agents. Our results highlight both the need for further research on defensive traits and their role in the invasiveness and biological control of exotic plants, and suggest that biocontrol of E. adenophorum in China would require damage to the plant far in excess of current levels.

Multiple insect resistance in 59 commmerical corn hybrids - 2017

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Commercial corn hybrids were screened for ear- and kernel-feeding insect resistance under field conditions at Tifton, GA. Nine hybrids were rated Very Good (VG), the highest rating for multiple insect resistance in 2017 (see following table). Thirteen were Good (G), 19 were Fair (F), and 13 were Poo...

Multiple insect resistance in 50 commercial corn hybrids, 2016

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Commercial corn hybrids were screened for ear- and kernel-feeding insect resistance under field conditions at Tifton, GA. Nine hybrids were rated Very Good (VG), the highest rating for multiple insect resistance in 2016 (see following table). Thirteen were Good (G), 19 were Fair (F), and 13 were Poo...

7 CFR 51.2960 - Damage.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... of the rest of the shell or the majority of shells in the lot, or darker discoloration covering a... considered as damaged; and, (g) Insects when an insect or insect fragment, web or frass is present inside the...

7 CFR 51.2960 - Damage.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... of the rest of the shell or the majority of shells in the lot, or darker discoloration covering a... considered as damaged; and, (g) Insects when an insect or insect fragment, web or frass is present inside the...

7 CFR 51.2960 - Damage.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... of the rest of the shell or the majority of shells in the lot, or darker discoloration covering a... considered as damaged; and, (g) Insects when an insect or insect fragment, web or frass is present inside the...

Genes, enzymes and chemicals of terpenoid diversity in the constitutive and induced defence of conifers against insects and pathogens.

PubMed

Keeling, Christopher I; Bohlmann, Jörg

2006-01-01

Insects select their hosts, but trees cannot select which herbivores will feed upon them. Thus, as long-lived stationary organisms, conifers must resist the onslaught of varying and multiple attackers over their lifetime. Arguably, the greatest threats to conifers are herbivorous insects and their associated pathogens. Insects such as bark beetles, stem- and wood-boring insects, shoot-feeding weevils, and foliage-feeding budworms and sawflies are among the most devastating pests of conifer forests. Conifer trees produce a great diversity of compounds, such as an enormous array of terpenoids and phenolics, that may impart resistance to a variety of herbivores and microorganisms. Insects have evolved to specialize in resistance to these chemicals -- choosing, feeding upon, and colonizing hosts they perceive to be best suited to reproduction. This review focuses on the plant-insect interactions mediated by conifer-produced terpenoids. To understand the role of terpenoids in conifer-insect interactions, we must understand how conifers produce the wide diversity of terpenoids, as well as understand how these specific compounds affect insect behaviour and physiology. This review examines what chemicals are produced, the genes and proteins involved in their biosynthesis, how they work, and how they are regulated. It also examines how insects and their associated pathogens interact with, elicit, and are affected by conifer-produced terpenoids.

Flower color preferences of insects and livestock: effects on Gentiana lutea reproductive success.

PubMed

Sobral, Mar; Losada, María; Veiga, Tania; Guitián, Javier; Guitián, José; Guitián, Pablo

2016-01-01

Angiosperms diversification was primarily driven by pollinator agents, but non-pollinator agents also promoted floral evolution. Gentiana lutea shows pollinator driven flower color variation in NW Spain. We test whether insect herbivores and livestock, which frequently feed in G.lutea, play a role in G. lutea flower color variation, by answering the following questions: (i) Do insect herbivores and grazing livestock show flower color preferences when feeding on G. lutea? (ii) Do mutualists (pollinators) and antagonists (seed predators, insect herbivores and livestock) jointly affect G. lutea reproductive success? Insect herbivores fed more often on yellow flowering individuals but they did not affect seed production, whereas livestock affected seed production but did not show clear color preferences. Our data indicate that flower color variation of G. lutea is not affected by insect herbivores or grazing livestock.

Potential Impacts of Climate Change on Insect Communities: A Transplant Experiment

PubMed Central

Nooten, Sabine S.; Andrew, Nigel R.; Hughes, Lesley

2014-01-01

Climate change will have profound impacts on the distribution, abundance and ecology of all species. We used a multi-species transplant experiment to investigate the potential effects of a warmer climate on insect community composition and structure. Eight native Australian plant species were transplanted into sites approximately 2.5°C (mean annual temperature) warmer than their native range. Subsequent insect colonisation was monitored for 12 months. We compared the insect communities on transplanted host plants at the warmer sites with control plants transplanted within the species' native range. Comparisons of the insect communities were also made among transplanted plants at warmer sites and congeneric plant species native to the warmer transplant area. We found that the morphospecies composition of the colonising Coleoptera and Hemiptera communities differed markedly between transplants at the control compared to the warmer sites. Community structure, as described by the distribution of feeding guilds, was also found to be different between the controls and transplants when the entire Coleoptera and Hemiptera community, including non-herbivore feeding guilds, was considered. However, the structure of the herbivorous insect community showed a higher level of consistency between plants at control and warm sites. There were marked differences in community composition and feeding guild structure, for both herbivores and non-herbivores, between transplants and congenerics at the warm sites. These results suggest that as the climate warms, considerable turnover in the composition of insect communities may occur, but insect herbivore communities may retain elements of their present-day structure. PMID:24465827

Combination of Methoprene and Controlled Aeration to Manage Insects in Stored Wheat.

PubMed

Liu, Samuel S; Arthur, Frank H; VanGundy, Douglas; Phillips, Thomas W

2016-06-17

A commercial formulation of the insect growth regulator methoprene was applied to wheat stored in small bins either alone or in combination with controlled aeration of the bins, to lower grain temperature for insect pest management of stored wheat. Grain temperatures were monitored and modified by a computer-controlled thermocouple system that also activated the aeration system at programmed set-points to move cool ambient air through the grain mass to lower grain temperature. Results from sampling insect populations in experimental storage bins along with laboratory mortality bioassays of insects placed on wheat taken from the bins over the course of the storage period showed that methoprene was very effective in controlling infestation by the externally-feeding stored grain insects Plodia interpunctella (Hübner), the Indian meal moth Tribolium castaneum (Herbst), the red flour beetle, Cryptolestes ferrugineus (Stephens), the rusty grain beetle, and also for the internal-feeding pest Rhyzopertha dominica( Fauvel), the lesser grain borer. Methoprene did not give good control of the internal-feeding pest Sitophilus oryzae (L.), the rice weevil. Aeration alone was somewhat effective in suppressing insect population development, while methoprene alone or when combined with aeration greatly enhanced insect control. Commercial grain grading for industry quality standards at the end of the storage period confirmed the impact of insect suppression on maintaining high quality of the stored wheat. This field experiment shows that methoprene combined with aeration to cool grain can be effective for pest management of stored wheat in the southern plains of the United States of America.

Assessment of Feeding Acceptance and Injury of Kerman Pistachios, Pistacia vera, by Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae).

PubMed

Lara, Jesús R; Kamiyama, Matthew T; Hernandez, Gabriel; Nay, Justin; Hoddle, Mark S; Gao, Yulin

2017-09-01

In the United States, California (CA) is the primary commercial producer of pistachio nuts, Pistacia vera L. (Anacardiaceae). The brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), Halyomorpha halys (Stål) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), an invasive and polyphagous insect pest from Asia, has established in urban areas in several pistachio-growing counties in CA. Breeding BMSB populations have not been detected in commercial pistachio acreage. However, the detection of BMSB in Kern and Fresno counties, major Kerman pistachio producing areas in CA, underscored key knowledge gaps on BMSB ecology in CA and motivated investigations on the susceptibility of pistachio nuts to BMSB feeding. Laboratory feeding trials conducted in quarantine under permit indicated that adult BMSB stylets can penetrate developing pistachio shells and associated feeding was correlated with kernel necrosis for nuts collected mid to late season (June to August 2016). Feeding damage estimates indicated that higher levels of kernel injury were associated with female BMSB when compared to feeding by male BMSB. These results suggest that there is probable risk of feeding damage to field grown pistachios from BMSB. The implications of this study for BMSB pest management in the CA pistachio system and future research directions are discussed. © The Authors 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America.

Delivery of lethal dsRNAs in insect diets by branched amphiphilic peptide capsules.

PubMed

Avila, L A; Chandrasekar, R; Wilkinson, K E; Balthazor, J; Heerman, M; Bechard, J; Brown, S; Park, Y; Dhar, S; Reeck, G R; Tomich, J M

2018-03-10

Development of new and specific insect pest management methods is critical for overcoming pesticide resistance and collateral off-target killings. Gene silencing by feeding dsRNA to insects shows promise in this area. Here we described the use of a peptide nano-material, branched amphiphilic peptide capsules (BAPCs), that facilitates cellular uptake of dsRNA by insects through feeding. The insect diets included dsRNA with and without complexation with BAPCs. The selected insect species come from two different orders with different feeding mechanisms: Tribolium castaneum and Acyrthosiphon pisum. The gene transcripts tested (BiP and Armet) are part of the unfolded protein response (UPR) and suppressing their translation resulted in lethality. For Acyrthosiphon pisum, ingestion of BiP-dsRNA associated with BAPCs led to the premature death of the aphids (t 1/2 =4-5days) compared to ingestion of the same amounts of free BiP-dsRNA (t 1/2 =11-12days). Tribolium castaneum was effectively killed using a combination of BiP-dsRNA and Armet-dsRNA complexed with BAPCs; most dying as larvae or during eclosion (~75%). Feeding dsRNA alone resulted in fewer deaths (~30%). The results show that complexation of dsRNA with BAPCs enhanced the oral delivery of dsRNA over dsRNA alone. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Developmental pathway from leaves to galls induced by a sap-feeding insect on Schinus polygamus (Cav.) Cabrera (Anacardiaceae).

PubMed

Dias, Graciela G; Ferreira, Bruno G; Moreira, Gilson R P; Isaias, Rosy M S

2013-03-01

Galling sap-feeding insects are presumed to cause only minor changes in host plant tissues, because they usually do not require development of nutritive tissues for their own use. This premise was examined through comparison of the histometry, cytometry and anatomical development of non-galled leaves and galls of Calophya duvauae (Scott) (Hemiptera: Calophyidae) on Schinus polygamus (Cav.) Cabrera (Anacardiaceae). Cell fates changed from non-galled leaves to galls during the course of tissue differentiation. C. duvauae caused changes in dermal, ground, and vascular systems of the leaves of S. polygamus. Its feeding activity induced the homogenization of the parenchyma, and the neoformation of vascular bundles and trichomes. The histometric and cytometric data revealed compensatory effects of hyperplasia and cell hypertrophy in the epidermis, with hyperplasia predominating in the adaxial epidermis. There was a balance between these processes in the other tissues. Thus, we found major differences between the developmental pathways of non-galled leaves and galls. These changes were associated with phenotypic alterations related to shelter and appropriate microenvironmental conditions for the gall inducer. The nondifferentiation of a typical nutritive tissue in this case was compared to other non-phylogenetically related arthropod gall systems, and is suggested to result from convergence associated with the piercing feeding apparatus of the corresponding gall-inducer.

Flower color preferences of insects and livestock: effects on Gentiana lutea reproductive success

PubMed Central

Losada, María; Veiga, Tania; Guitián, Javier; Guitián, José; Guitián, Pablo

2016-01-01

Angiosperms diversification was primarily driven by pollinator agents, but non-pollinator agents also promoted floral evolution. Gentiana lutea shows pollinator driven flower color variation in NW Spain. We test whether insect herbivores and livestock, which frequently feed in G.lutea, play a role in G. lutea flower color variation, by answering the following questions: (i) Do insect herbivores and grazing livestock show flower color preferences when feeding on G. lutea? (ii) Do mutualists (pollinators) and antagonists (seed predators, insect herbivores and livestock) jointly affect G. lutea reproductive success? Insect herbivores fed more often on yellow flowering individuals but they did not affect seed production, whereas livestock affected seed production but did not show clear color preferences. Our data indicate that flower color variation of G. lutea is not affected by insect herbivores or grazing livestock. PMID:27014509

Satellite data based method for general survey of forest insect disturbance in British Columbia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ranson, J.; Montesano, P.

2008-12-01

Regional forest disturbances caused by insects are important to monitor and quantify because of their influence on local ecosystems and the global carbon cycle. Local damage to forest trees disrupts food supplies and shelter for a variety of organisms. Changes in the global carbon budget, its sources and its sinks affect the way the earth functions as a whole, and has an impact on global climate. Furthermore, the ability to detect nascent outbreaks and monitor the spread of regional infestations helps managers mitigate the damage done by catastrophic insect outbreaks. While detection is needed at a fine scale to support local mitigation efforts, detection at a broad regional scale is important for carbon flux modeling on the landscape scale, and needed to direct the local efforts. This paper presents a method for routinely detecting insect damage to coniferous forests using MODIS vegetation indices, thermal anomalies and land cover. The technique is validated using insect outbreak maps and accounts for fire disturbance effects. The range of damage detected may be used to interpret and quantify possible forest damage by insects.

Entomologic evaluation of insect hypersensitivity in horses.

PubMed

Greiner, E C

1995-04-01

Potential methods of incriminating insects as the cause of insect hypersensitivity are presented. A listing of the biting midges known to attack horses in North America is presented also. An example of how species may be determined to be the cause of the hypersensitivity is given using data from a recent study in Florida. Light trap collections indicated the temporal and geographic distribution of potential contributing species and collections made by vacuuming horses further delineated species by proving they feed on horses and the correct locations on the horses to match lesion distribution. Culicoides hypersensitivity in horses in Florida seems to be caused by a series of species active and feeding on the horses at different times of the year.

A georeferenced Landsat digital database for forest insect-damage assessment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, D. L.; Nelson, R. F.; Dottavio, C. L.

1985-01-01

In 1869, the gypsy moth caterpillar was introduced in the U.S. in connection with the experiments of a French scientist. Throughout the insect's period of establishment, gypsy moth populations have periodically increased to epidemic proportions. For programs concerned with preventing the insect's spread, it would be highly desirable to be able to employ a survey technique which could provide timely, accurate, and standardized assessments at a reasonable cost. A project was, therefore, initiated with the aim to demonstrate the usefulness of satellite remotely sensed data for monitoring the insect defoliation of hardwood forests in Pennsylvania. A major effort within this project involved the development of a map-registered Landsat digital database. A complete description of the database developed is provided along with information regarding the employed data management system.

Wolbachia infection complexity among insects in the tropical rice-field community.

PubMed

Kittayapong, P; Jamnongluk, W; Thipaksorn, A; Milne, J R; Sindhusake, C

2003-04-01

Wolbachia are a group of intracellular bacteria that cause reproductive alterations in their arthropod hosts. Widely discordant host and Wolbachia phylogenies indicate that horizontal transmission of these bacteria among species sometimes occurs. A likely means of horizontal transfer is through the feeding relations of organisms within communities. Feeding interactions among insects within the rice-field insect community have been well documented in the past. Here, we present the results of a polymerase chain reaction-based survey and phylogenetic analysis of Wolbachia strains in the rice-field insect community of Thailand. Our field survey indicated that 49 of 209 (23.4%) rice-field insect species were infected with Wolbachia. Of the 49 infected species, 27 were members of two feeding complexes: (i) a group of 13 hoppers preyed on by 2 mirid species and parasitized by a fly species, and (ii) 2 lepidopteran pests parasitized by 9 wasp species. Wolbachia strains found in three hoppers, Recilia dorsalis, Nephotettix malayanus and Nisia nervosa, the two mirid predators, Cyrtorhinus lividipennis and Tytthus chinensis, and the fly parasitoid, Tomosvaryella subvirescens, were all in the same Wolbachia clade. In the second complex, the two lepidopteran pests, Cnaphalocrocis medinalis and Scirpophaga incertulas, were both infected with Wolbachia from the same clade, as was the parasitoid Tropobracon schoenobii. However, none of the other infected parasitoid species in this feeding complex was infected by Wolbachia from this clade. Mean (+/- SD) genetic distance of Wolbachia wsp sequences among interacting species pairs of the hopper feeding complex (0.118 +/- 0.091 nucleotide sequence differences), but not for the other two complexes, was significantly smaller than that between noninteracting species pairs (0.162 +/- 0.079 nucleotide sequence differences). Our results suggest that some feeding complexes, such as the hopper complex described here, could be an important

Plant Volatiles Induced by Herbivore Egg Deposition Affect Insects of Different Trophic Levels

PubMed Central

Fatouros, Nina E.; Lucas-Barbosa, Dani; Weldegergis, Berhane T.; Pashalidou, Foteini G.; van Loon, Joop J. A.; Dicke, Marcel; Harvey, Jeffrey A.; Gols, Rieta; Huigens, Martinus E.

2012-01-01

Plants release volatiles induced by herbivore feeding that may affect the diversity and composition of plant-associated arthropod communities. However, the specificity and role of plant volatiles induced during the early phase of attack, i.e. egg deposition by herbivorous insects, and their consequences on insects of different trophic levels remain poorly explored. In olfactometer and wind tunnel set-ups, we investigated behavioural responses of a specialist cabbage butterfly (Pieris brassicae) and two of its parasitic wasps (Trichogramma brassicae and Cotesia glomerata) to volatiles of a wild crucifer (Brassica nigra) induced by oviposition of the specialist butterfly and an additional generalist moth (Mamestra brassicae). Gravid butterflies were repelled by volatiles from plants induced by cabbage white butterfly eggs, probably as a means of avoiding competition, whereas both parasitic wasp species were attracted. In contrast, volatiles from plants induced by eggs of the generalist moth did neither repel nor attract any of the tested community members. Analysis of the plant’s volatile metabolomic profile by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and the structure of the plant-egg interface by scanning electron microscopy confirmed that the plant responds differently to egg deposition by the two lepidopteran species. Our findings imply that prior to actual feeding damage, egg deposition can induce specific plant responses that significantly influence various members of higher trophic levels. PMID:22912893

Plant volatiles induced by herbivore egg deposition affect insects of different trophic levels.

PubMed

Fatouros, Nina E; Lucas-Barbosa, Dani; Weldegergis, Berhane T; Pashalidou, Foteini G; van Loon, Joop J A; Dicke, Marcel; Harvey, Jeffrey A; Gols, Rieta; Huigens, Martinus E

2012-01-01

Plants release volatiles induced by herbivore feeding that may affect the diversity and composition of plant-associated arthropod communities. However, the specificity and role of plant volatiles induced during the early phase of attack, i.e. egg deposition by herbivorous insects, and their consequences on insects of different trophic levels remain poorly explored. In olfactometer and wind tunnel set-ups, we investigated behavioural responses of a specialist cabbage butterfly (Pieris brassicae) and two of its parasitic wasps (Trichogramma brassicae and Cotesia glomerata) to volatiles of a wild crucifer (Brassica nigra) induced by oviposition of the specialist butterfly and an additional generalist moth (Mamestra brassicae). Gravid butterflies were repelled by volatiles from plants induced by cabbage white butterfly eggs, probably as a means of avoiding competition, whereas both parasitic wasp species were attracted. In contrast, volatiles from plants induced by eggs of the generalist moth did neither repel nor attract any of the tested community members. Analysis of the plant's volatile metabolomic profile by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and the structure of the plant-egg interface by scanning electron microscopy confirmed that the plant responds differently to egg deposition by the two lepidopteran species. Our findings imply that prior to actual feeding damage, egg deposition can induce specific plant responses that significantly influence various members of higher trophic levels.

Forest insect conditions in the Northeast - 1954

Treesearch

W. E. Waters

1955-01-01

Forest insects continued to be a major cause of timber loss in the Northeast in 1954. A diversity of destructive pests caused these losses in different ways: by outright killing trees; by reducing growth; by reducing merchantable volume; and by reducing the quality of forest products. Some of the insects caused serious damage to woodlands that have high recreational...

Plant-mediated interspecific horizontal transmission of an intracellular symbiont in insects

PubMed Central

Gonella, Elena; Pajoro, Massimo; Marzorati, Massimo; Crotti, Elena; Mandrioli, Mauro; Pontini, Marianna; Bulgari, Daniela; Negri, Ilaria; Sacchi, Luciano; Chouaia, Bessem; Daffonchio, Daniele; Alma, Alberto

2015-01-01

Intracellular reproductive manipulators, such as Candidatus Cardinium and Wolbachia are vertically transmitted to progeny but rarely show co-speciation with the host. In sap-feeding insects, plant tissues have been proposed as alternative horizontal routes of interspecific transmission, but experimental evidence is limited. Here we report results from experiments that show that Cardinium is horizontally transmitted between different phloem sap-feeding insect species through plants. Quantitative PCR and in situ hybridization experiments indicated that the leafhopper Scaphoideus titanus releases Cardinium from its salivary glands during feeding on both artificial media and grapevine leaves. Successional time-course feeding experiments with S. titanus initially fed sugar solutions or small areas of grapevine leaves followed by feeding by the phytoplasma vector Macrosteles quadripunctulatus or the grapevine feeder Empoasca vitis revealed that the symbionts were transmitted to both species. Explaining interspecific horizontal transmission through plants improves our understanding of how symbionts spread, their lifestyle and the symbiont-host intermixed evolutionary pattern. PMID:26563507

Plant-mediated interspecific horizontal transmission of an intracellular symbiont in insects.

PubMed

Gonella, Elena; Pajoro, Massimo; Marzorati, Massimo; Crotti, Elena; Mandrioli, Mauro; Pontini, Marianna; Bulgari, Daniela; Negri, Ilaria; Sacchi, Luciano; Chouaia, Bessem; Daffonchio, Daniele; Alma, Alberto

2015-11-13

Intracellular reproductive manipulators, such as Candidatus Cardinium and Wolbachia are vertically transmitted to progeny but rarely show co-speciation with the host. In sap-feeding insects, plant tissues have been proposed as alternative horizontal routes of interspecific transmission, but experimental evidence is limited. Here we report results from experiments that show that Cardinium is horizontally transmitted between different phloem sap-feeding insect species through plants. Quantitative PCR and in situ hybridization experiments indicated that the leafhopper Scaphoideus titanus releases Cardinium from its salivary glands during feeding on both artificial media and grapevine leaves. Successional time-course feeding experiments with S. titanus initially fed sugar solutions or small areas of grapevine leaves followed by feeding by the phytoplasma vector Macrosteles quadripunctulatus or the grapevine feeder Empoasca vitis revealed that the symbionts were transmitted to both species. Explaining interspecific horizontal transmission through plants improves our understanding of how symbionts spread, their lifestyle and the symbiont-host intermixed evolutionary pattern.

Sustainable farming of the mealworm Tenebrio molitor for the production of food and feed.

PubMed

Grau, Thorben; Vilcinskas, Andreas; Joop, Gerrit

2017-09-26

The farming of edible insects is an alternative strategy for the production of protein-rich food and feed with a low ecological footprint. The industrial production of insect-derived protein is more cost-effective and energy-efficient than livestock farming or aquaculture. The mealworm Tenebrio molitor is economically among the most important species used for the large-scale conversion of plant biomass into protein. Here, we review the mass rearing of this species and its conversion into food and feed, focusing on challenges such as the contamination of food/feed products with bacteria from the insect gut and the risk of rapidly spreading pathogens and parasites. We propose solutions to prevent the outbreak of infections among farmed insects without reliance on antibiotics. Transgenerational immune priming and probiotic bacteria may provide alternative strategies for sustainable insect farming.

Target detection in insects: optical, neural and behavioral optimizations.

PubMed

Gonzalez-Bellido, Paloma T; Fabian, Samuel T; Nordström, Karin

2016-12-01

Motion vision provides important cues for many tasks. Flying insects, for example, may pursue small, fast moving targets for mating or feeding purposes, even when these are detected against self-generated optic flow. Since insects are small, with size-constrained eyes and brains, they have evolved to optimize their optical, neural and behavioral target visualization solutions. Indeed, even if evolutionarily distant insects display different pursuit strategies, target neuron physiology is strikingly similar. Furthermore, the coarse spatial resolution of the insect compound eye might actually be beneficial when it comes to detection of moving targets. In conclusion, tiny insects show higher than expected performance in target visualization tasks. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Does lignin modification affect feeding preference or growth performance of insect herbivores in transgenic silver birch (Betula pendula Roth)?

PubMed

Tiimonen, Heidi; Aronen, Tuija; Laakso, Tapio; Saranpää, Pekka; Chiang, Vincent; Ylioja, Tiina; Roininen, Heikki; Häggman, Hely

2005-11-01

Transgenic silver birch (Betula pendula Roth) lines were produced in order to modify lignin biosynthesis. These lines carry COMT (caffeate/5-hydroxyferulate O-methyltransferase) gene from Populus tremuloides driven by constitutive promoter 35S CaMV (cauliflower mosaic virus) or UbB1 (ubiquitin promoter from sunflower). The decreased syringyl/guaiacyl (S/G) ratio was found in stem and leaf lignin of 35S CaMV-PtCOMT transgenic silver birch lines when compared to non-transformed control or UbB1-PtCOMT lines. In controlled feeding experiments the leaves of transgenic birch lines as well as controls were fed to insect herbivores common in boreal environment, i.e., larvae of Aethalura punctulata, Cleora cinctaria and Trichopteryx carpinata (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) as well as the adults of birch leaf-feeding beetles Agelastica alni (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) and Phyllobius spp. (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). The feeding preferences of these herbivores differed in some cases among the tested birch lines, but these differences could not be directly associated to lignin modification. They could as well be explained by other characteristics of leaves, either natural or caused by transgene site effects. Growth performance of lepidopteran larvae fed on transgenic or control leaves did not differ significantly.

Environmental RNAi in herbivorous insects.

PubMed

Ivashuta, Sergey; Zhang, Yuanji; Wiggins, B Elizabeth; Ramaseshadri, Partha; Segers, Gerrit C; Johnson, Steven; Meyer, Steve E; Kerstetter, Randy A; McNulty, Brian C; Bolognesi, Renata; Heck, Gregory R

2015-05-01

Environmental RNAi (eRNAi) is a sequence-specific regulation of endogenous gene expression in a receptive organism by exogenous double-stranded RNA (dsRNA). Although demonstrated under artificial dietary conditions and via transgenic plant presentations in several herbivorous insects, the magnitude and consequence of exogenous dsRNA uptake and the role of eRNAi remains unknown under natural insect living conditions. Our analysis of coleopteran insects sensitive to eRNAi fed on wild-type plants revealed uptake of plant endogenous long dsRNAs, but not small RNAs. Subsequently, the dsRNAs were processed into 21 nt siRNAs by insects and accumulated in high quantities in insect cells. No accumulation of host plant-derived siRNAs was observed in lepidopteran larvae that are recalcitrant to eRNAi. Stability of ingested dsRNA in coleopteran larval gut followed by uptake and transport from the gut to distal tissues appeared to be enabling factors for eRNAi. Although a relatively large number of distinct coleopteran insect-processed plant-derived siRNAs had sequence complementarity to insect transcripts, the vast majority of the siRNAs were present in relatively low abundance, and RNA-seq analysis did not detect a significant effect of plant-derived siRNAs on insect transcriptome. In summary, we observed a broad genome-wide uptake of plant endogenous dsRNA and subsequent processing of ingested dsRNA into 21 nt siRNAs in eRNAi-sensitive insects under natural feeding conditions. In addition to dsRNA stability in gut lumen and uptake, dosage of siRNAs targeting a given insect transcript is likely an important factor in order to achieve measurable eRNAi-based regulation in eRNAi-competent insects that lack an apparent silencing amplification mechanism. © 2015 Ivashuta et al.; Published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press for the RNA Society.

Plant-Aphid Interactions Under Elevated CO2: Some Cues from Aphid Feeding Behavior.

PubMed

Sun, Yucheng; Guo, Huijuan; Ge, Feng

2016-01-01

Although the increasing concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) accelerates the accumulation of carbohydrates and increases the biomass and yield of C3 crop plants, it also reduces their nitrogen concentration. The consequent changes in primary and secondary metabolites affect the palatability of host plants and the feeding of herbivorous insects. Aphids are phloem feeders and are considered the only feeding guild that positively responds to elevated CO2. In this review, we consider how elevated CO2 modifies host defenses, nutrients, and water-use efficiency by altering concentrations of the phytohormones jasmonic acid, salicylic acid, ethylene, and abscisic acid. We will describe how these elevated CO2-induced changes in defenses, nutrients, and water statusfacilitate specific stages of aphid feeding, including penetration, phloem-feeding, and xylem absorption. We conclude that a better understanding of the effects of elevated CO2 on aphids and on aphid damage to crop plants will require research on the molecular aspects of the interaction between plant and aphid but also research on aphid interactions with their intra- and inter-specific competitors and with their natural enemies.

Insect-induced effects on plants and possible effectors used by galling and leaf-mining insects to manipulate their host-plant.

PubMed

Giron, David; Huguet, Elisabeth; Stone, Graham N; Body, Mélanie

2016-01-01

Gall-inducing insects are iconic examples in the manipulation and reprogramming of plant development, inducing spectacular morphological and physiological changes of host-plant tissues within which the insect feeds and grows. Despite decades of research, effectors involved in gall induction and basic mechanisms of gall formation remain unknown. Recent research suggests that some aspects of the plant manipulation shown by gall-inducers may be shared with other insect herbivorous life histories. Here, we illustrate similarities and contrasts by reviewing current knowledge of metabolic and morphological effects induced on plants by gall-inducing and leaf-mining insects, and ask whether leaf-miners can also be considered to be plant reprogrammers. We review key plant functions targeted by various plant reprogrammers, including plant-manipulating insects and nematodes, and functionally characterize insect herbivore-derived effectors to provide a broader understanding of possible mechanisms used in host-plant manipulation. Consequences of plant reprogramming in terms of ecology, coevolution and diversification of plant-manipulating insects are also discussed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Tolerance to insect defoliation: biocenotic aspects

Treesearch

Andrey A. Pleshanov; Victor I. Voronin; Elena S. Khlimankova; Valentina I. Epova

1991-01-01

Woody plant resistance to insect damage is of great importance in forest protection, and tree tolerance is an important element of this resistance. The compensating mechanisms responsible for tolerance are nonspecific as a rule and develop after damage has been caused by phytophagous animals or other unfavorable effects. Beyond that, plant tolerance depends on duration...

Systemic insecticide and gibberellin reduced cone damage and increased flowering in a spruce seed orchard.

PubMed

Rosenberg, O; Almqvist, C; Weslien, J

2012-06-01

Insects feeding in conifer cones are difficult to control with nonsystemic insecticides. Newly developed systemic insecticides that can be injected into tree trunks may be a possible way of reducing both insect damage and negative side-effects to the surrounding environment, compared with conventional spraying. Several insecticides that could be injected into tree stems were tested on Picea abies (L.) Karst. In one experiment, insecticides (bifenthrin, deltamethrin, abamectin, and imidacloprid) were injected during flowering; in a second experiment two of these insecticides (abamectin and imidacloprid) were injected 1 yr before the expected flowering. In the second experiment insecticide treatment was also combined with treatments with the flower stimulating hormone, gibberellin (GA(4/7)). The only insecticide that reduced damage was abamectin, both after injection during flowering and after injection 1 yr before the expected flowering. Injections with GA(4/7) increased flowering and were as efficient as the conventional application method of drilling but abamectin was not effective in combination with the drilling method. There was no negative effect of the insecticide injections on seed quality. The injections were ineffective against the seed chalcid Megastigmus strobilobius (Ratzeburg), which was found to have an unexpected, negative effect on seed quality. Our results suggest that it may be possible to reduce damage from certain insect species, and to increase flowering by injecting abamectin and GA(4/7) in the year before a cone crop.

Insects of bur oak acorns

Treesearch

Lester P. Gibson

1971-01-01

During 1961-1969, the insects found damaging acorns of bur oak, Quercus macrocarpa Michauxii, in their order of importance were the weevils: Curculio pardalis (Chittenden), C. strictus (Casey), C. sulcatulus (Casey), C. iowensis (Casey), C. proboscideus...

Characterization of sounds in maize produced by internally feeding insects:investigations to develop inexpensive devices for detection of Prostephanus truncatus& Sitophilus zeamais in small-scale storage facilities in Africa

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The detectability and spectral characteristics of sounds produced by internally feeding stored product insects in Zea mays L. (maize or corn) were investigated in a noise-free laboratory setting to consider the feasibility of constructing a low-cost acoustic detection device that would assist pest m...

Seed treatments for the control of insects and diseases in sugarbeet

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Insect feeding and vectoring of viruses cause serious problems in sugarbeet production worldwide. In order to ameliorate insect and disease problems on sugarbeet, two seed treatments, Poncho Beta (60 g a.i. clothianidin + 8 g a.i. beta-cyfluthrin/100,000 seed) and Cruiser Tef (60 g a.i. thiamethoxa...

Application of Genomics for Understanding Plant Virus-Insect Vector Interactions and Insect Vector Control.

PubMed

Kaur, Navneet; Hasegawa, Daniel K; Ling, Kai-Shu; Wintermantel, William M

2016-10-01

The relationships between plant viruses and their vectors have evolved over the millennia, and yet, studies on viruses began <150 years ago and investigations into the virus and vector interactions even more recently. The advent of next generation sequencing, including rapid genome and transcriptome analysis, methods for evaluation of small RNAs, and the related disciplines of proteomics and metabolomics offer a significant shift in the ability to elucidate molecular mechanisms involved in virus infection and transmission by insect vectors. Genomic technologies offer an unprecedented opportunity to examine the response of insect vectors to the presence of ingested viruses through gene expression changes and altered biochemical pathways. This review focuses on the interactions between viruses and their whitefly or thrips vectors and on potential applications of genomics-driven control of the insect vectors. Recent studies have evaluated gene expression in vectors during feeding on plants infected with begomoviruses, criniviruses, and tospoviruses, which exhibit very different types of virus-vector interactions. These studies demonstrate the advantages of genomics and the potential complementary studies that rapidly advance our understanding of the biology of virus transmission by insect vectors and offer additional opportunities to design novel genetic strategies to manage insect vectors and the viruses they transmit.

Utilization of organic residues using heterotrophic microalgae and insects.

PubMed

Pleissner, Daniel; Rumpold, Birgit A

2018-02-01

Various organic residues occur globally in the form of straw, wood, green biomass, food waste, feces, manure etc. Other utilization strategies apart from anaerobic digestion, composting and incineration are needed to make use of the whole potential of organic residues as sources of various value added compounds. This review compares the cultivation of heterotrophic microalgae and insects using organic residues as nutrient sources and illuminates their potential with regard to biomass production, productivity and yield, and utilization strategies of produced biomasses. Furthermore, cultivation processes as well as advantages and disadvantages of utilization processes are identified and discussed. It was shown that both heterotrophic algae and insects are able to reduce a sufficient amount of organic residues by converting it into biomass. The biomass composition of both organisms is similar which allows similar utilization strategies in food and feed, chemicals and materials productions. Even though insect is the more complex organism, biomass production can be carried out using simple equipment without sterilization and hydrolysis of organic residues. Contrarily, heterotrophic microalgae require a pretreatment of organic residues in form of sterilization and in most cases hydrolysis. Interestingly, the volumetric productivity of insect biomass exceeds the productivity of algal biomass. Despite legal restrictions, it is expected that microalgae and insects will find application as alternative food and feed sources in the future. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sharply increased insect herbivory during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum.

PubMed

Currano, Ellen D; Wilf, Peter; Wing, Scott L; Labandeira, Conrad C; Lovelock, Elizabeth C; Royer, Dana L

2008-02-12

The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM, 55.8 Ma), an abrupt global warming event linked to a transient increase in pCO2, was comparable in rate and magnitude to modern anthropogenic climate change. Here we use plant fossils from the Bighorn Basin of Wyoming to document the combined effects of temperature and pCO2 on insect herbivory. We examined 5,062 fossil leaves from five sites positioned before, during, and after the PETM (59-55.2 Ma). The amount and diversity of insect damage on angiosperm leaves, as well as the relative abundance of specialized damage, correlate with rising and falling temperature. All reach distinct maxima during the PETM, and every PETM plant species is extensively damaged and colonized by specialized herbivores. Our study suggests that increased insect herbivory is likely to be a net long-term effect of anthropogenic pCO2 increase and warming temperatures.

Intraspecific competition facilitates the evolution of tolerance to insect damage in the perennial plant Solanum carolinense.

PubMed

McNutt, David W; Halpern, Stacey L; Barrows, Kahaili; Underwood, Nora

2012-12-01

Tolerance to herbivory (the degree to which plants maintain fitness after damage) is a key component of plant defense, so understanding how natural selection and evolutionary constraints act on tolerance traits is important to general theories of plant-herbivore interactions. These factors may be affected by plant competition, which often interacts with damage to influence trait expression and fitness. However, few studies have manipulated competitor density to examine the evolutionary effects of competition on tolerance. In this study, we tested whether intraspecific competition affects four aspects of the evolution of tolerance to herbivory in the perennial plant Solanum carolinense: phenotypic expression, expression of genetic variation, the adaptive value of tolerance, and costs of tolerance. We manipulated insect damage and intraspecific competition for clonal lines of S. carolinense in a greenhouse experiment, and measured tolerance in terms of sexual and asexual fitness components. Compared to plants growing at low density, plants growing at high density had greater expression of and genetic variation in tolerance, and experienced greater fitness benefits from tolerance when damaged. Tolerance was not costly for plants growing at either density, and only plants growing at low density benefited from tolerance when undamaged, perhaps due to greater intrinsic growth rates of more tolerant genotypes. These results suggest that competition is likely to facilitate the evolution of tolerance in S. carolinense, and perhaps in other plants that regularly experience competition, while spatio-temporal variation in density may maintain genetic variation in tolerance.

Gene disruption technologies have the potential to transform stored product insect pest control

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Stored product insects feed on grains and processed commodities manufactured from grain post-harvest, reducing the nutritional value and contaminating food. Currently, the main defense against stored product insect pests is the pesticide fumigant phosphine. Phosphine is highly toxic to all animals, ...

Flexibility and extracellular opening determine the interaction between ligands and insect sulfakinin receptors

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Despite their fundamental importance for growth, the mechanisms that regulate food intake are poorly understood. Our previous work demonstrated that insect sulfakinin (SK) signaling is involved in inhibiting feeding in an important model and pest insect, the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum. B...

Traditional consumption of and rearing edible insects in Africa, Asia and Europe.

PubMed

Raheem, Dele; Carrascosa, Conrado; Oluwole, Oluwatoyin Bolanle; Nieuwland, Maaike; Saraiva, Ariana; Millán, Rafael; Raposo, António

2018-02-15

The traditional consumption of edible insects is common in one third of the world's population, mostly in Latin America, Africa and Asia. There are over one thousand identified species of insects eaten in some stage of their life cycle; and they play important roles in ensuring food security. The most common way to collect insects are from the wild, which is seasonal with limited availability and has an increasing demand resulting in a disruption to the ecosystem. There is a growing interest shown in rearing insects for commercial purposes, and an industrial scale production will be required to ensure steady supplies. Industrial production will need to take into account the living environment of insects, the nutritional composition of their feed and the overall efficiency of the production system. We provide a short overview on the consumption of and rearing insects in Africa, Asia and Europe. For Africa, a snapshot is given for Nigeria, Ghana, Central African Republic, Kenya and Uganda, while the following countries are reported for Asia: China, Japan, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Thailand and Vietnam. In addition, a list of insect species with the highest potential for food and feed in the European Union is provided with some reference to The Netherlands and Finland. The review concludes that there is need to better understand the rearing and farming procedures that will yield high quality edible insects in Africa, Asia and Europe.

Plants as green phones

PubMed Central

Harvey, Jeffrey A; Bezemer, T Martijn; Stuefer, Josef F

2008-01-01

Plants can act as vertical communication channels or ‘green phones’ linking soil-dwelling insects and insects in the aboveground ecosystem. When root-feeding insects attack a plant, the direct defense system of the shoot is activated, leading to an accumulation of phytotoxins in the leaves. The protection of the plant shoot elicited by root damage can impair the survival, growth and development of aboveground insect herbivores, thereby creating plant-based functional links between soil-dwelling insects and insects that develop in the aboveground ecosystem. The interactions between spatially separated insects below- and aboveground are not restricted to root and foliar plant-feeding insects, but can be extended to higher trophic levels such as insect parasitoids. Here we discuss some implications of plants acting as communication channels or ‘green phones’ between root and foliar-feeding insects and their parasitoids, focusing on recent findings that plants attacked by root-feeding insects are significantly less attractive for the parasitoids of foliar-feeding insects. PMID:19513244

Development of Reference Transcriptomes for the Major Field Insect Pests of Cowpea: A Toolbox for Insect Pest Management Approaches in West Africa

PubMed Central

Agunbiade, Tolulope A.; Sun, Weilin; Coates, Brad S.; Djouaka, Rousseau; Tamò, Manuele; Ba, Malick N.; Binso-Dabire, Clementine; Baoua, Ibrahim; Olds, Brett P.; Pittendrigh, Barry R.

2013-01-01

Cowpea is a widely cultivated and major nutritional source of protein for many people that live in West Africa. Annual yields and longevity of grain storage is greatly reduced by feeding damage caused by a complex of insect pests that include the pod sucking bugs, Anoplocnemis curvipes Fabricius (Hemiptera: Coreidae) and Clavigralla tomentosicollis Stål (Hemiptera: Coreidae); as well as phloem-feeding cowpea aphids, Aphis craccivora Koch (Hemiptera: Aphididae) and flower thrips, Megalurothrips sjostedti Trybom (Thysanoptera: Thripidae). Efforts to control these pests remain a challenge and there is a need to understand the structure and movement of these pest populations in order to facilitate the development of integrated pest management strategies (IPM). Molecular tools have the potential to help facilitate a better understanding of pest populations. Towards this goal, we used 454 pyrosequencing technology to generate 319,126, 176,262, 320,722 and 227,882 raw reads from A. curvipes, A. craccivora, C. tomentosicollis and M. sjostedti, respectively. The reads were de novo assembled into 11,687, 7,647, 10,652 and 7,348 transcripts for A. curvipes, A. craccivora, C. tomentosicollis and M. sjostedti, respectively. Functional annotation of the resulting transcripts identified genes putatively involved in insecticide resistance, pathogen defense and immunity. Additionally, sequences that matched the primary aphid endosymbiont, Buchnera aphidicola, were identified among A. craccivora transcripts. Furthermore, 742, 97, 607 and 180 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were respectively predicted among A. curvipes, A. craccivora, C. tomentosicollis and M. sjostedti transcripts, and will likely be valuable tools for future molecular genetic marker development. These results demonstrate that Roche 454-based transcriptome sequencing could be useful for the development of genomic resources for cowpea pest insects in West Africa. PMID:24278221

Functional feeding groups of aquatic insect families in Latin America: a critical analysis and review of existing literature.

PubMed

Ramírez, Alonso; Gutiérrez-Fonseca, Pablo E

2014-04-01

Aquatic macroinvertebrates are involved in numerous processes within aquatic ecosystems. They often have important effects on ecosystem processes such as primary production (via grazing), detritus breakdown, and nutrient mineralization and downstream spiraling. The functional feeding groups (FFG) classification was developed as a tool to facilitate the incorporation of macroinvertebrates in studies of aquatic ecosystems. This classification has the advantage of combining morphological characteristics (e.g., mouth part specialization) and behavioral mechanisms (e.g., way of feeding) used by macroinvertebrates when consuming resources. Although recent efforts have greatly advanced our ability to identify aquatic macroinvertebrates, there is limited information on FFG assignment. Furthermore, there has been some variation in the use of the FFG classification, in part due to an emphasis on using gut content analysis to assign FFG, which is more appropriate for assigning trophic guilds. Thus, the main goals of this study are to (1) provide an overview of the value of using the FFG classification, (2) make an initial attempt to summarize available information on FFG for aquatic insects in Latin America, and (3) provide general guidelines on how to assign organisms to their FFGs. FFGs are intended to reflect the potential effects of organisms in their ecosystems and the way they consume resources. Groups include scrapers that consume resources that grow attached to the substrate by removing them with their mouth parts; shredders that cut or chew pieces of living or dead plant material, including all plant parts like leaves and wood; collectors-gatherers that use modified mouth parts to sieve or collect small particles (< 1 mm) accumulated on the stream bottom; filterers that have special adaptations to remove particles directly from the water column; and predators that consume other organisms using different strategies to capture them. In addition, we provide details on

Strategies for Enhanced Crop Resistance to Insect Pests.

PubMed

Douglas, Angela E

2018-04-29

Insect pests are responsible for substantial crop losses worldwide through direct damage and transmission of plant diseases, and novel approaches that complement or replace broad-spectrum chemical insecticides will facilitate the sustainable intensification of food production in the coming decades. Multiple strategies for improved crop resistance to insect pests, especially strategies relating to plant secondary metabolism and immunity and microbiome science, are becoming available. Recent advances in metabolic engineering of plant secondary chemistry offer the promise of specific toxicity or deterrence to insect pests; improved understanding of plant immunity against insects provides routes to optimize plant defenses against insects; and the microbiomes of insect pests can be exploited, either as a target or as a vehicle for delivery of insecticidal agents. Implementation of these advances will be facilitated by ongoing advances in plant breeding and genetic technologies.

Olfactory Mechanisms for Discovery of Odorants to Reduce Insect-Host Contact

PubMed Central

Clark, Jonathan T.; Ray, Anandasankar

2016-01-01

Insects have developed highly sophisticated and sensitive olfactory systems to find animal or plant hosts for feeding. Some insects vector pathogens that cause diseases in hundreds of millions of people and destroy billions of dollars of food products every year. There is great interest, therefore, in understanding how the insect olfactory system can be manipulated to reduce their contact with hosts. Here, we review recent advances in our understanding of insect olfactory detection mechanisms, which may serve as a foundation for designing insect control programs based on manipulation of their behaviors by using odorants. Because every insect species has a unique set of olfactory receptors and olfactory-mediated behaviors, we focus primarily on general principles of odor detection that potentially apply to most insects. While these mechanisms have emerged from studies on model systems for study of insect olfaction, such as Drosophila melanogaster, they provide a foundation for discovery of odorants to repel insects or reduce host-seeking behavior. PMID:27628342

Identification and Control of Common Insect Pests of Ornamental Shrubs and Trees.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gesell, Stanley G.

This agriculture extension service publication from Pennsylvania State University introduces the identification and control of common ornamental insect pests. For each of the insects or insect groups (i.e. aphids) identified in this publication, information on host plants, pest description, and damage caused by the pest is given. Also a calendar…

Insects that feed on Miconia calvescens in Costa Rica

Treesearch

P. Hanson; K. Nishida; P. Allen; E Chacón; B. Reichert; A. Castillo; M. Alfaro; L. Madrigal; E. Rojas; F. Badenes-Perez; T. Johnson

2010-01-01

Research at the University of Costa Rica on potential biological control agents of Miconia calvescens was initiated in 2000. Although M. calvescens can be fairly common at certain sites, it is generally uncommon in Costa Rica and appears to be incapable of becoming established in forests with a closed canopy. Over fifty insect...

7 CFR 51.1450 - Serious damage.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

...; (c) Decay affecting any portion of the kernel; (d) Insects, web, or frass or any distinct evidence of insect feeding on the kernel; (e) Internal discoloration which is dark gray, dark brown, or black and...) Dark kernel spots when more than three are on the kernel, or when any dark kernel spot or the aggregate...

7 CFR 51.1450 - Serious damage.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

...; (c) Decay affecting any portion of the kernel; (d) Insects, web, or frass or any distinct evidence of insect feeding on the kernel; (e) Internal discoloration which is dark gray, dark brown, or black and...) Dark kernel spots when more than three are on the kernel, or when any dark kernel spot or the aggregate...

7 CFR 51.1450 - Serious damage.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... not be classed as rancidity; (c) Decay affecting any portion of the kernel; (d) Insects, web, or frass or any distinct evidence of insect feeding on the kernel; (e) Internal discoloration which is dark gray, dark brown, or black and extends more than one-third the length of the half-kernel or piece; (f...

7 CFR 51.1450 - Serious damage.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

...; (c) Decay affecting any portion of the kernel; (d) Insects, web, or frass or any distinct evidence of insect feeding on the kernel; (e) Internal discoloration which is dark gray, dark brown, or black and...) Dark kernel spots when more than three are on the kernel, or when any dark kernel spot or the aggregate...

7 CFR 51.1450 - Serious damage.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... not be classed as rancidity; (c) Decay affecting any portion of the kernel; (d) Insects, web, or frass or any distinct evidence of insect feeding on the kernel; (e) Internal discoloration which is dark gray, dark brown, or black and extends more than one-third the length of the half-kernel or piece; (f...

Microbial Brokers of Insect-Plant Interactions Revisited

PubMed Central

Douglas, Angela E

2013-01-01

Recent advances in sequencing methods have transformed the field of microbial ecology, making it possible to determine the composition and functional capabilities of uncultured microorganisms. These technologies have been instrumental in the recognition that resident microorganisms can have profound effects on the phenotype and fitness of their animal hosts by modulating the animal signaling networks that regulate growth, development, behavior, etc. Against this backdrop, this review assesses the impact of microorganisms on insect-plant interactions, in the context of the hypothesis that microorganisms are biochemical brokers of plant utilization by insects. There is now overwhelming evidence for a microbial role in insect utilization of certain plant diets with an extremely low or unbalanced nutrient content. Specifically, microorganisms enable insect utilization of plant sap by synthesizing essential amino acids. They also can broker insect utilization of plant products of extremely high lignocellulose content, by enzymatic breakdown of complex plant polysaccharides, nitrogen fixation, and sterol synthesis. However, the experimental evidence for microbial-mediated detoxification of plant allelochemicals is limited. The significance of microorganisms as brokers of plant utilization by insects is predicted to vary, possibly widely, as a result of potentially complex interactions between the composition of the microbiota and the diet and insect developmental age or genotype. For every insect species feeding on plant material, the role of resident microbiota as biochemical brokers of plant utilization is a testable hypothesis. PMID:23793897

Mechanisms for regulating oxygen toxicity in phytophagous insects.

PubMed

Ahmad, S; Pardini, R S

1990-01-01

The antioxidant enzymatic defense of insects for the regulation of oxygen toxicity was investigated. Insect species examined were lepidopterous larvae of the cabbage looper (Trichoplusia ni), southern armyworm (Spodoptera eridania), and black swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes). These phytophagous species are subject to both endogenous and exogenous sources of oxidative stress from toxic oxygen radicals, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and lipid peroxides (LOOH). In general, the constitutive levels of the enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione transferase (GT), and its peroxidase activity (GTpx), and glutathione reductase (GR), correlate well with natural feeding habits of these insects and their relative susceptibility to prooxidant plant allelochemicals, quercetin (a flavonoid), and xanthotoxin (a photoactive furanocoumarin). Induction of SOD activity which rapidly destroys superoxide radicals, appears to be the main response to dietary prooxidant exposure. A unique observation includes high constitutive activity of CAT and a broader subcellular distribution in all three insects than observed in most mammalian species. These attributes of CAT appear to be important in the prevention of excessive accumulation of cytotoxic H2O2. Unlike mammalian species, insects possess very low levels of a GPOX-like activity toward H2O2. Irrefutable proof that this activity is due to a selenium-dependent GPOX found in mammals, is lacking at this time. However, the activity of selenium-independent GTpx is unusually high in insects, suggesting that GTpx and not GPOX plays a prominent role in scavenging deleterious LOOHs. The GSSG generated from the GPOX and GTpx reactions may be reduced to GSH by GR activity. A key role of SOD in protecting insects from prooxidant toxicity was evident when its inhibition resulted in enhanced toxicity towards prooxidants. The role of antioxidant compounds in protecting these insects from toxic forms of oxygen has not been explored in

Insect pests of sweetpotato in Uganda: farmers' perceptions of their importance and control practices.

PubMed

Okonya, Joshua Sikhu; Mwanga, Robert Om; Syndikus, Katja; Kroschel, Jürgen

2014-01-01

Insect pests are among the most important constraints limiting sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas) production in Africa. However, there is inadequate information about farmers' knowledge, perceptions and practices in the management of key insect pests. This has hindered development of effective pest management approaches for smallholder farmers. A standard questionnaire was used to interview individual sweetpotato farmers (n = 192) about their perception and management practices regarding insect pests in six major sweetpotato producing districts of Uganda. The majority (93%) of farmers perceived insect pests to be a very serious problem. With the exception of Masindi and Wakiso districts where the sweetpotato butterfly (Acraea acerata) was the number one constraint, sweetpotato weevils (Cylas puncticollis and C. brunneus) were ranked as the most important insect pests. Insecticide use in sweetpotato fields was very low being highest (28-38% of households) in districts where A. acerata infestation is the biggest problem. On average, 65% and 87% of the farmers took no action to control A. acerata and Cylas spp., respectively. Farmers were more conversant with the presence of and damage by A. acerata than of Cylas spp. as they thought that Cylas spp. root damage was brought about by a prolonged dry season. Different levels of field resistance (ability of a variety to tolerate damage) of sweetpotato landraces to A. acerata (eight landraces) and Cylas spp. (six landraces) were reported by farmers in all the six districts. This perceived level of resistance to insect damage by landraces needs to be investigated. To improve farmers' capabilities for sweetpotato insect pest management, it is crucial to train them in the basic knowledge of insect pest biology and control.

Identification of a novel hemolymph peptide that modulates silkworm feeding motivation.

PubMed

Nagata, Shinji; Morooka, Nobukatsu; Asaoka, Kiyoshi; Nagasawa, Hiromichi

2011-03-04

Phytophagous insects do not constantly chew their diets; most of their time is spent in a non-feeding quiescent state even though they live on or around their diets. Following starvation, phytophagous insect larvae exhibit enhanced foraging behaviors such as nibbling and walking similar to the sequential behavior that occurs prior to each meal. Although extensive physiological studies have revealed regularly occurring feeding behaviors in phytophagous insects, little has been elucidated regarding the mechanism at the molecular level. Here, we report identification and characterization of a novel 62-amino acid peptide, designated as hemolymph major anionic peptide (HemaP), from the hemolymph of Bombyx mori larvae that induces foraging behaviors. The endogenous HemaP levels are significantly increased by diet deprivation, whereas refeeding after starvation returns them to basal levels. In larvae fed ad libitum, hemolymph HemaP levels fluctuate according to the feeding cycle, indicating that locomotor-associated feeding behaviors of B. mori larvae are initiated when HemaP levels exceed an unidentified threshold. Furthermore, administration of exogenous HemaP mimics the starvation-experienced state by affecting dopamine levels in the suboesophageal ganglion, which coordinates neck and mandible movements. These data strongly suggest that fluctuation of hemolymph HemaP levels modulates the regularly occurring feeding-motivated behavior in B. mori by triggering feeding initiation.

Effects of effluent water on the abundance of cowpea insect pests.

PubMed

Tiroesele, Bamphitlhi; Sitwane, Monametsi; Obopile, M; Ullah, Muhammad Irfan; Ali, Sajjad

2017-10-03

Botswana experiences low and unreliable rainfall. Thus, the use of effluent water in agriculture is increasingly important. Insect damage is the major constraint for cowpea grain production in the most cowpea-producing lands. We investigated the effects of effluent water on insect pest abundance on cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) under field conditions. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design with 100, 75, 50, and 25% of effluent water and 0% (control-clean tap water) treatments. Treatments with 100% effluent water resulted in a significant increase in insect pest populations as compared with the control. These results show that the use of effluent water to irrigate crops may increase incidence, abundance, and damage caused by insect pests possibly by decreasing plant vigor. The use of effluent water in agriculture should be addressed in a wise way.

Detection of fragments from internal insects in wheat samples using a laboratory entoleter

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

A simple, rapid method was developed for estimating the number of insect fragments in flour caused by hidden, internal-feeding insects in whole grains during storage. The method uses a small mechanical rotary device (entoleter), which accelerates whole wheat kernels to high speeds and projects them...

Insects and their life cycle: Steps to take to assess threats

Treesearch

Alicia M. Bray; Jason B. Oliver

2013-01-01

This paper provides a brief overview of the importance of wood-boring insects to the forest nursery industry. Descriptions of the major insect groups are provided with special attention to the life stages that are most problematic within each group. Steps are provided to guide individuals to mitigate potential threats if a new insect is detected causing damage to trees...

Always chew your food: freshwater stingrays use mastication to process tough insect prey

PubMed Central

Welch, Kenneth C.; Summers, Adam P.; Lovejoy, Nathan R.

2016-01-01

Chewing, characterized by shearing jaw motions and high-crowned molar teeth, is considered an evolutionary innovation that spurred dietary diversification and evolutionary radiation of mammals. Complex prey-processing behaviours have been thought to be lacking in fishes and other vertebrates, despite the fact that many of these animals feed on tough prey, like insects or even grasses. We investigated prey capture and processing in the insect-feeding freshwater stingray Potamotrygon motoro using high-speed videography. We find that Potamotrygon motoro uses asymmetrical motion of the jaws, effectively chewing, to dismantle insect prey. However, CT scanning suggests that this species has simple teeth. These findings suggest that in contrast to mammalian chewing, asymmetrical jaw action is sufficient for mastication in other vertebrates. We also determined that prey capture in these rays occurs through rapid uplift of the pectoral fins, sucking prey beneath the ray's body, thereby dissociating the jaws from a prey capture role. We suggest that the decoupling of prey capture and processing facilitated the evolution of a highly kinetic feeding apparatus in batoid fishes, giving these animals an ability to consume a wide variety of prey, including molluscs, fishes, aquatic insect larvae and crustaceans. We propose Potamotrygon as a model system for understanding evolutionary convergence of prey processing and chewing in vertebrates. PMID:27629029

Time-lagged intraspecific competition in temporally separated cohorts of a generalist insect.

PubMed

Barnes, Elizabeth E; Murphy, Shannon M

2018-03-01

Competition can have far-reaching consequences for insect fitness and dispersion. Time-lagged interspecific competition is known to negatively affect fitness, yet time-lagged intraspecific competition is rarely studied outside of outbreak conditions. We tested the impact of competition between larval cohorts of the western tent caterpillar (Malacosoma californicum) feeding on chokecherry (Prunus virginiana). We reared larvae on host plants that either had or did not have feeding damage from tent caterpillars the previous season to test the bottom-up fitness effects of intraspecific competition. We measured host-plant quality to test potential mechanisms for bottom-up effects and conducted field oviposition surveys to determine if female adult tent caterpillars avoided host plants with evidence of prior tent caterpillar presence. We found that time-lagged intraspecific competition impacted tent caterpillar fitness by reducing female pupal mass, which is a predictor of lifetime fitness. We found that plants that had been fed upon by tent caterpillars the previous season had leaves that were significantly tougher than plants that had not been fed upon by tent caterpillars, which may explain why female tent caterpillars suffered reduced fitness on these plants. Finally, we found that there were fewer tent caterpillar egg masses on plants that had tent caterpillars earlier in the season than plants without tent caterpillars, which suggests that adult females avoid these plants for oviposition. Our results confirm that intraspecific competition occurs among tent caterpillars and suggests that time-lagged intraspecific competition has been overlooked as an important component of insect fitness.

Plant–Aphid Interactions Under Elevated CO2: Some Cues from Aphid Feeding Behavior

PubMed Central

Sun, Yucheng; Guo, Huijuan; Ge, Feng

2016-01-01

Although the increasing concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) accelerates the accumulation of carbohydrates and increases the biomass and yield of C3 crop plants, it also reduces their nitrogen concentration. The consequent changes in primary and secondary metabolites affect the palatability of host plants and the feeding of herbivorous insects. Aphids are phloem feeders and are considered the only feeding guild that positively responds to elevated CO2. In this review, we consider how elevated CO2 modifies host defenses, nutrients, and water-use efficiency by altering concentrations of the phytohormones jasmonic acid, salicylic acid, ethylene, and abscisic acid. We will describe how these elevated CO2-induced changes in defenses, nutrients, and water statusfacilitate specific stages of aphid feeding, including penetration, phloem-feeding, and xylem absorption. We conclude that a better understanding of the effects of elevated CO2 on aphids and on aphid damage to crop plants will require research on the molecular aspects of the interaction between plant and aphid but also research on aphid interactions with their intra- and inter-specific competitors and with their natural enemies. PMID:27148325

Squirrel Damage to Pines

Treesearch

USDA Forest Service

1981-01-01

Flagging (dead branch tips) on jack pine and red pine may be caused by insects, diseases, or mechanical damage. In the Lake States, flagging is often the result of mechanical damage, sometimes girdling, caused when the cones are torn off by red squirrels.

Tropical forest loss and its multitrophic effects on insect herbivory.

PubMed

Morante-Filho, José Carlos; Arroyo-Rodríguez, Víctor; Lohbeck, Madelon; Tscharntke, Teja; Faria, Deborah

2016-12-01

Forest loss threatens biodiversity, but its potential effects on multitrophic ecological interactions are poorly understood. Insect herbivory depends on complex bottom-up (e.g., resource availability and plant antiherbivore defenses) and top-down forces (e.g., abundance of predators and herbivorous), but its determinants in human-altered tropical landscapes are largely unknown. Using structural equation models, we assessed the direct and indirect effects of forest loss on insect herbivory in 40 landscapes (115 ha each) from two regions with contrasting land-use change trajectories in the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest. We considered landscape forest cover as an exogenous predictor and (1) forest structure, (2) abundance of predators (birds and arthropods), and (3) abundance of herbivorous arthropods as endogenous predictors of insect leaf damage. From 12 predicted pathways, 11 were significant and showed that (1) leaf damage increases with forest loss (direct effect); (2) leaf damage increases with forest loss through the simplification of vegetation structure and its associated dominance of herbivorous insects (indirect effect); and further demonstrate (3) a lack of top-down control of herbivores by predators (birds and arthropods). We conclude that forest loss favors insect herbivory by undermining the bottom-up control (presumably reduced plant antiherbivore defense mechanisms) in forests dominated by fast-growing pioneer plant species, and by improving the conditions required for herbivores proliferation. © 2016 by the Ecological Society of America.

Disproportionate photosynthetic decline and inverse relationship between constitutive and induced volatile emissions upon feeding of Quercus robur leaves by large larvae of gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar)

PubMed Central

Copolovici, Lucian; Pag, Andreea; Kännaste, Astrid; Bodescu, Adina; Tomescu, Daniel; Copolovici, Dana; Soran, Maria-Loredana; Niinemets, Ülo

2018-01-01

Gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar L., Lymantriinae) is a major pest of pedunculate oak (Quercus robur) forests in Europe, but how its infections scale with foliage physiological characteristics, in particular with photosynthesis rates and emissions of volatile organic compounds has not been studied. Differently from the majority of insect herbivores, large larvae of L. dispar rapidly consume leaf area, and can also bite through tough tissues, including secondary and primary leaf veins. Given the rapid and devastating feeding responses, we hypothesized that infection of Q. robur leaves by L. dispar leads to disproportionate scaling of leaf photosynthesis and constitutive isoprene emissions with damaged leaf area, and to less prominent enhancements of induced volatile release. Leaves with 0% (control) to 50% of leaf area removed by larvae were studied. Across this range of infection severity, all physiological characteristics were quantitatively correlated with the degree of damage, but all these traits changed disproportionately with the degree of damage. The net assimilation rate was reduced by almost 10-fold and constitutive isoprene emissions by more than 7-fold, whereas the emissions of green leaf volatiles, monoterpenes, methyl salicylate and the homoterpene (3E)-4,8-dimethy-1,3,7-nonatriene scaled negatively and almost linearly with net assimilation rate through damage treatments. This study demonstrates that feeding by large insect herbivores disproportionately alters photosynthetic rate and constitutive isoprene emissions. Furthermore, the leaves have a surprisingly large capacity for enhancement of induced emissions even when foliage photosynthetic function is severely impaired. PMID:29367792

Prospecting for Cellulolytic Activity in Insect Digestive Fluids

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Efficient cellulolytic enzymes are needed to degrade recalcitrant plant biomass during ethanol purification and make lignocellulosic biofuels a cost-effective alternative to fossil fuels. Despite the large number of insect species that feed on lignocellulosic material, limited availability of quant...

Relationship between foliar chemistry and insect performance: the forest tent caterpillar

Treesearch

Francois Lorenzetti; Yves Mauffette; Eric Bauce

1999-01-01

Forest tent caterpillar (FTC) feeds on several species of deciduous trees (Stehr and Cook 1968), in northeastern North America, quaking aspen is the preferred host of this spring-feeding insect. FTC commonly defoliates several thousands of hectares of aspen stands each year in Quebec (Bordeleau 1990), although its secondary hosts seldom are attacked.

Ethylene Contributes to maize insect resistance1-Mediated Maize Defense against the Phloem Sap-Sucking Corn Leaf Aphid1[OPEN

PubMed Central

Louis, Joe; Basu, Saumik; Varsani, Suresh; Castano-Duque, Lina; Jiang, Victoria; Williams, W. Paul; Felton, Gary W.; Luthe, Dawn S.

2015-01-01

Signaling networks among multiple phytohormones fine-tune plant defense responses to insect herbivore attack. Previously, it was reported that the synergistic combination of ethylene (ET) and jasmonic acid (JA) was required for accumulation of the maize insect resistance1 (mir1) gene product, a cysteine (Cys) proteinase that is a key defensive protein against chewing insect pests in maize (Zea mays). However, this study suggests that mir1-mediated resistance to corn leaf aphid (CLA; Rhopalosiphum maidis), a phloem sap-sucking insect pest, is independent of JA but regulated by the ET-signaling pathway. Feeding by CLA triggers the rapid accumulation of mir1 transcripts in the resistant maize genotype, Mp708. Furthermore, Mp708 provided elevated levels of antibiosis (limits aphid population)- and antixenosis (deters aphid settling)-mediated resistance to CLA compared with B73 and Tx601 maize susceptible inbred lines. Synthetic diet aphid feeding trial bioassays with recombinant Mir1-Cys Protease demonstrates that Mir1-Cys Protease provides direct toxicity to CLA. Furthermore, foliar feeding by CLA rapidly sends defensive signal(s) to the roots that trigger belowground accumulation of the mir1, signifying a potential role of long-distance signaling in maize defense against the phloem-feeding insects. Collectively, our data indicate that ET-regulated mir1 transcript accumulation, uncoupled from JA, contributed to heightened resistance to CLA in maize. In addition, our results underscore the significance of ET acting as a central node in regulating mir1 expression to different feeding guilds of insect herbivores. PMID:26253737

Insect resistance of a full sib family of tetraploid switchgrass with varying lignin levels

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Lignin is a plant resistance mechanism against insects. Reduction of lignin in biomass grasses in order to increase the efficiency of fermentation may result in increased susceptibility to insect feeding, interfering with sustainable production. Field grown leaves of high- and low-lignin parent and ...

Application of the Prunus spp. Cyanide Seed Defense System onto Wheat: Reduced Insect Feeding and Field Growth Tests.

PubMed

Mora, Carlos A; Halter, Jonas G; Adler, Cornel; Hund, Andreas; Anders, Heidrun; Yu, Kang; Stark, Wendelin J

2016-05-11

Many crops are ill-protected against insect pests during storage. To protect cereal grains from herbivores during storage, pesticides are often applied. While pesticides have an undoubtable functionality, increasing concerns are arising about their application. In the present study, we investigated a bioinspired cyanogenic grain coating with amygdalin as cyanogenic precursor mimicking the feeding-triggered release of hydrogen cyanide (HCN) found for example in bitter almonds. The multilayer coating consisted of biodegradable polylactic acid with individual layers containing amygdalin or β-glucosidase which is capable of degrading amygdalin to HCN. This reaction occurred only when the layers were ruptured, e.g., by a herbivore attack. Upon feeding coated cyanogenic wheat grains to Tenebrio molitor (mealworm beetle), Rhizopertha dominica (lesser grain borer), and Plodia interpunctella (Indianmeal moth), their reproduction as well as consumption rate were significantly reduced, whereas germination ability increased compared to noncoated grains. In field experiments, we observed an initial growth delay compared to uncoated grains which became negligible at later growth stages. The here shown strategy to artificially apply a naturally occurring defense mechanisms could be expanded to other crops than wheat and has the potential to replace certain pesticides with the benefit of complete biodegradability and increased safety during storage.

[Feeding venomous insects among the people and the measures to curb and control this addiction by the government in the Song Dynasty].

PubMed

Li, Yuqing

2014-01-01

Feeding venomous insects, a mystic witchcraft of producing poisonous materials to spoil other people has a long history which was still popular in the southern part of the Song Dynasty, aiming at revenge of one's enemy and the occupation of other's property. The Song government took a strict measures to tackle it, including enacting a decree to prohibiting it, encouraging people to report such malpractice, punishing heavily the person committing such criminal behavior and, at the same time, providing recipes and medicines to remedy its ensued disorders. All of these were helpful to the improvement of social morality.

Linking energetics and overwintering in temperate insects.

PubMed

Sinclair, Brent J

2015-12-01

Overwintering insects cannot feed, and energy they take into winter must therefore fuel energy demands during autumn, overwintering, warm periods prior to resumption of development in spring, and subsequent activity. Insects primarily consume lipids during winter, but may also use carbohydrate and proteins as fuel. Because they are ectotherms, the metabolic rate of insects is temperature-dependent, and the curvilinear nature of the metabolic rate-temperature relationship means that warm temperatures are disproportionately important to overwinter energy use. This energy use may be reduced physiologically, by reducing the slope or elevation of the metabolic rate-temperature relationship, or because of threshold changes, such as metabolic suppression upon freezing. Insects may also choose microhabitats or life history stages that reduce the impact of overwinter energy drain. There is considerable capacity for overwinter energy drain to affect insect survival and performance both directly (via starvation) or indirectly (for example, through a trade-off with cryoprotection), but this has not been well-explored. Likewise, the impact of overwinter energy drain on growing-season performance is not well understood. I conclude that overwinter energetics provides a useful lens through which to link physiology and ecology and winter and summer in studies of insect responses to their environment. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Black bear (Ursus americanus Pallas) feeding damage across timber harvest edges in northern California coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens[D. Don] Endl.) forests, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Russell, W.H.; Carnell, K.; McBride, J.R.

2001-01-01

Feeding damage to trees by black bears (Ursus americanus Pallas) was recorded in proximity to timber harvest edges in harvested and old-growth stands of coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens [D. Don] Endl.) in northern California, USA. Bears exhibited distinct preference in their feeding patterns related to stand structure and composition and to distance from the timber-harvest edge. Most damage was recorded within regenerating stands. Regression analysis indicated that density of damaged trees was negatively correlated with distance from timber harvest edges within old-growth stands. A significant negative correlation was also found between the density of trees damaged by bears and habitat diversity (H') as measured by the Shannon diversity index. In addition, bears exhibited preference for pole-size trees (dbh = 10-50 cm) over all other size classes, and coast redwood over other species. In general, damage by bears appeared to act as a natural thinning agent in even-aged stands. No damage was recorded in old-growth stands except in close proximity to the timber-harvest edge where subcanopy recruitment was high.

Insect prey eaten by Hoary Bats (Lasiurus cinereus) prior to fatal collisions with wind turbines

USGS Publications Warehouse

Valdez, Ernest W.; Cryan, Paul M.

2013-01-01

Wind turbines are being deployed all across the world to meet the growing demand for energy, and in many areas, these turbines are causing the deaths of insectivorous migratory bats. One of the hypothesized causes of bat susceptibility is that bats are attracted to insects on or near the turbines. We examined insect remains in the stomachs and intestines of hoary bats (Lasiurus cinereus) found dead beneath wind turbines in New York and Texas to evaluate the hypothesis that bats die while feeding at turbines. Most of the bats we examined had full stomachs, indicating that they fed in the minutes to hours leading up to their deaths. However, we did not find prey in the mouths or throats of any bats that would indicate the bats died while capturing prey. Hoary bats fed mostly on moths, but we also detected the regular presence of beetles, true bugs, and crickets. Presence of terrestrial insects in stomachs indicates that bats may have gleaned them from the ground or the turbine surfaces, yet aerial capture of winged insect stages cannot be ruled out. Our findings confirm earlier studies that indicate hoary bats feed during migration and eat mostly moths. Future studies on bat behaviors and insect presence at wind turbines could help determine whether feeding at turbines is a major fatality risk for bats.

Response of native insect communities to invasive plants.

PubMed

Bezemer, T Martijn; Harvey, Jeffrey A; Cronin, James T

2014-01-01

Invasive plants can disrupt a range of trophic interactions in native communities. As a novel resource they can affect the performance of native insect herbivores and their natural enemies such as parasitoids and predators, and this can lead to host shifts of these herbivores and natural enemies. Through the release of volatile compounds, and by changing the chemical complexity of the habitat, invasive plants can also affect the behavior of native insects such as herbivores, parasitoids, and pollinators. Studies that compare insects on related native and invasive plants in invaded habitats show that the abundance of insect herbivores is often lower on invasive plants, but that damage levels are similar. The impact of invasive plants on the population dynamics of resident insect species has been rarely examined, but invasive plants can influence the spatial and temporal dynamics of native insect (meta)populations and communities, ultimately leading to changes at the landscape level.

Minimizing yellow-bellied sapsucker damage

Treesearch

Gayne G. Erdmann; Ralph M., Jr. Peterson

1992-01-01

The yellow-bellied sapsucker is a migratory woodpecker that feeds on a wide variety of orchard, shade, and forest trees. Instead of drilling holes to find insects like other woodpeckers, sapsuckers drill holes in living trees to feed on sap and phloem tissues. Yellow and paper birches are their favorite summer food sources on their nesting grounds in Upper Michigan and...

Identification of a Novel Hemolymph Peptide That Modulates Silkworm Feeding Motivation*

PubMed Central

Nagata, Shinji; Morooka, Nobukatsu; Asaoka, Kiyoshi; Nagasawa, Hiromichi

2011-01-01

Phytophagous insects do not constantly chew their diets; most of their time is spent in a non-feeding quiescent state even though they live on or around their diets. Following starvation, phytophagous insect larvae exhibit enhanced foraging behaviors such as nibbling and walking similar to the sequential behavior that occurs prior to each meal. Although extensive physiological studies have revealed regularly occurring feeding behaviors in phytophagous insects, little has been elucidated regarding the mechanism at the molecular level. Here, we report identification and characterization of a novel 62-amino acid peptide, designated as hemolymph major anionic peptide (HemaP), from the hemolymph of Bombyx mori larvae that induces foraging behaviors. The endogenous HemaP levels are significantly increased by diet deprivation, whereas refeeding after starvation returns them to basal levels. In larvae fed ad libitum, hemolymph HemaP levels fluctuate according to the feeding cycle, indicating that locomotor-associated feeding behaviors of B. mori larvae are initiated when HemaP levels exceed an unidentified threshold. Furthermore, administration of exogenous HemaP mimics the starvation-experienced state by affecting dopamine levels in the suboesophageal ganglion, which coordinates neck and mandible movements. These data strongly suggest that fluctuation of hemolymph HemaP levels modulates the regularly occurring feeding-motivated behavior in B. mori by triggering feeding initiation. PMID:21177851

A Sequential Insect Dispenser for Behavioral Experiments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gans, Carl; Mix, Harold

1974-01-01

Describes the construction and operation of an automatic insect dispenser suitable for feeding small vertebrates that are being maintained for behavioral experiments. The food morsels are squirted from their chambers an an air jet, and may be directed at a particluar portion of the cage or distributed to different areas. (JR)

Parasitism by Cuscuta pentagona attenuates host plant defenses against insect herbivores.

PubMed

Runyon, Justin B; Mescher, Mark C; De Moraes, Consuelo M

2008-03-01

Considerable research has examined plant responses to concurrent attack by herbivores and pathogens, but the effects of attack by parasitic plants, another important class of plant-feeding organisms, on plant defenses against other enemies has not been explored. We investigated how attack by the parasitic plant Cuscuta pentagona impacted tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) defenses against the chewing insect beet armyworm (Spodoptera exigua; BAW). In response to insect feeding, C. pentagona-infested (parasitized) tomato plants produced only one-third of the antiherbivore phytohormone jasmonic acid (JA) produced by unparasitized plants. Similarly, parasitized tomato, in contrast to unparasitized plants, failed to emit herbivore-induced volatiles after 3 d of BAW feeding. Although parasitism impaired antiherbivore defenses, BAW growth was slower on parasitized tomato leaves. Vines of C. pentagona did not translocate JA from BAW-infested plants: amounts of JA in parasite vines grown on caterpillar-fed and control plants were similar. Parasitized plants generally contained more salicylic acid (SA), which can inhibit JA in some systems. Parasitized mutant (NahG) tomato plants deficient in SA produced more JA in response to insect feeding than parasitized wild-type plants, further suggesting cross talk between the SA and JA defense signaling pathways. However, JA induction by BAW was still reduced in parasitized compared to unparasitized NahG, implying that other factors must be involved. We found that parasitized plants were capable of producing induced volatiles when experimentally treated with JA, indicating that resource depletion by the parasite does not fully explain the observed attenuation of volatile response to herbivore feeding. Collectively, these findings show that parasitic plants can have important consequences for host plant defense against herbivores.

Always chew your food: freshwater stingrays use mastication to process tough insect prey.

PubMed

Kolmann, Matthew A; Welch, Kenneth C; Summers, Adam P; Lovejoy, Nathan R

2016-09-14

Chewing, characterized by shearing jaw motions and high-crowned molar teeth, is considered an evolutionary innovation that spurred dietary diversification and evolutionary radiation of mammals. Complex prey-processing behaviours have been thought to be lacking in fishes and other vertebrates, despite the fact that many of these animals feed on tough prey, like insects or even grasses. We investigated prey capture and processing in the insect-feeding freshwater stingray Potamotrygon motoro using high-speed videography. We find that Potamotrygon motoro uses asymmetrical motion of the jaws, effectively chewing, to dismantle insect prey. However, CT scanning suggests that this species has simple teeth. These findings suggest that in contrast to mammalian chewing, asymmetrical jaw action is sufficient for mastication in other vertebrates. We also determined that prey capture in these rays occurs through rapid uplift of the pectoral fins, sucking prey beneath the ray's body, thereby dissociating the jaws from a prey capture role. We suggest that the decoupling of prey capture and processing facilitated the evolution of a highly kinetic feeding apparatus in batoid fishes, giving these animals an ability to consume a wide variety of prey, including molluscs, fishes, aquatic insect larvae and crustaceans. We propose Potamotrygon as a model system for understanding evolutionary convergence of prey processing and chewing in vertebrates. © 2016 The Author(s).

[What makes an insect a vector?].

PubMed

Kampen, Helge

2009-01-01

Blood-feeding insects transmit numerous viruses, bacteria, protozoans and helminths to vertebrates. The developmental cycles of the microorganisms in their vectors and the mechanisms of transmission are generally extremely complex and the result of a long-lasting coevolution of vector and vectored pathogen based on mutual adaptation. The conditions necessary for an insect to become a vector are multiple but require an innate vector competence as a genetic basis. Next to the vector competence plenty of entomological, ecological and pathogen-related factors are decisive, given the availability of infection sources. The various modes of pathogen transmission by vectors are connected to the developmental routes of the microorganisms in their vectors. In particular, pathogens transmitted by saliva encounter a lot of cellular and acellular barriers during their migration from the insect's midgut through the hemocele into the salivary fluid, including components of the insect's immune system. With regard to intracellular development, receptor-mediated invasion mechanisms are of relevance. As an environmental factor, the temperature has a paramount impact on the vectorial roles of hematophagous insects. Not only has it a considerable influence on the duration of a pathogen's development in its vector (extrinsic incubation period) but it can render putatively vector-incompetent insects to vectors ("leaky gut" phenomenon). Equally crucial are behavioural aspects of both the insect and the pathogen such as blood host preferences, seasonal appearance and circadian biting activity on the vector's side and diurnal/nocturnal periodicity on the pathogen's side which facilitate a contact in the first place.

Countercurrent heat exchange and thermoregulation during blood-feeding in kissing bugs

PubMed Central

Lahondère, Chloé; Insausti, Teresita C; Belev, George; Pereira, Marcos H

2017-01-01

Blood-sucking insects experience thermal stress at each feeding event on endothermic vertebrates. We used thermography to examine how kissing-bugs Rhodnius prolixus actively protect themselves from overheating. During feeding, these bugs sequester and dissipate the excess heat in their heads while maintaining an abdominal temperature close to ambient. We employed a functional-morphological approach, combining histology, µCT and X-ray-synchrotron imaging to shed light on the way these insects manage the flow of heat across their bodies. The close alignment of the circulatory and ingestion systems, as well as other morphological characteristics, support the existence of a countercurrent heat exchanger in the head of R. prolixus, which decreases the temperature of the ingested blood before it reaches the abdomen. This kind of system has never been described before in the head of an insect. For the first time, we show that countercurrent heat exchange is associated to thermoregulation during blood-feeding. PMID:29157359

‘Fungicide application method’ and the interpretation of mycorrhizal fungus insect indirect effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laird, Robert A.; Addicott, John F.

2008-09-01

Mycorrhizal fungi, by altering their host plant's physiology, can have indirect effects on insect herbivores. The 'fungicide application method' is a common approach used to investigate the indirect effects of mycorrhizal fungi on insects. This approach works by using initially mycorrhizal plants, and then generating a subset of these plants that are free of mycorrhizal fungi by applying fungicide to their roots. When insect feeding-bioassays are conducted using the resulting mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal plants, differences in insect performance are typically attributed to differences in mycorrhizal colonization per se, rather than the application of the fungicide. Thus, the fungicide application method relies on the assumption that there is no direct toxicity of the fungicide on the focal insect species, and no indirect effects on the focal insect resulting from effects of the fungicide on the host plant or on non-target soil micro-organisms. We tested this critical assumption by feeding Zygogramma exclamationis (Chrysomelidae) larvae on non-mycorrhizal Helianthus annuus (Asteraceae) plants whose roots were treated with a solution of the fungicide benomyl or with a distilled water control. Larvae fed on benomyl-treated plants had reduced survival, lower relative growth rate, and lower food conversion efficiency, compared to larvae fed on control plants. Hence, fungicides applied to roots can affect herbivorous insect performance even in the absence of the possibility of mycorrhizal fungi-mediated effects. We recommend caution when using fungicide application and suggest that selective inoculation is a preferable method of generating mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal plants when studying mycorrhizal fungi-insect indirect effects.

Meligethes aeneus pollen-feeding suppresses, and oviposition induces, Brassica napus volatiles: beetle attraction/repellence to lilac aldehydes and veratrole

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Insect pollination and pollen-feeding can reduce plant volatile emissions and future insect floral attraction, with oviposition having different effects. Meligethes aeneus F. (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae), is a pollen-feeding pest beetle of oilseed rape, Brassica napus L. (Brassicaceae). We measured pla...

Characterization of feeding-delaying factors from the silkworm Bombyx mori.

PubMed

Nagata, Shinji; Morooka, Nobukatsu; Matsumoto, Sumihiro; Nagasawa, Hiromichi

2009-04-01

In several phytophagous insects, feeding behavior occurs regularly. Recently, we demonstrated that feeding behavior in larvae of the silkworm Bombyx mori had a regular frequency. To address the control of the feeding cycle in B. mori, we aimed to characterize factors influencing feeding initiation and termination. Injection of extracts of the midgut, foregut, and fat body into starved Bombyx larvae delayed the initiation of feeding. This result indicates the presence in these tissues of factors capable of decreasing the likelihood of feeding initiation.

Microbiological Load of Edible Insects Found in Belgium.

PubMed

Caparros Megido, Rudy; Desmedt, Sandrine; Blecker, Christophe; Béra, François; Haubruge, Éric; Alabi, Taofic; Francis, Frédéric

2017-01-13

Edible insects are gaining more and more attention as a sustainable source of animal protein for food and feed in the future. In Belgium, some insect products can be found on the market, and consumers are sourcing fresh insects from fishing stores or towards traditional markets to find exotic insects that are illegal and not sanitarily controlled. From this perspective, this study aims to characterize the microbial load of edible insects found in Belgium (i.e., fresh mealworms and house crickets from European farms and smoked termites and caterpillars from a traditional Congolese market) and to evaluate the efficiency of different processing methods (blanching for all species and freeze-drying and sterilization for European species) in reducing microorganism counts. All untreated insect samples had a total aerobic count higher than the limit for fresh minced meat (6.7 log cfu/g). Nevertheless, a species-dependent blanching step has led to a reduction of the total aerobic count under this limit, except for one caterpillar species. Freeze-drying and sterilization treatments on European species were also effective in reducing the total aerobic count. Yeast and mold counts for untreated insects were above the Good Manufacturing Practice limits for raw meat, but all treatments attained a reduction of these microorganisms under this limit. These results confirmed that fresh insects, but also smoked insects from non-European trades, need a cooking step (at least composed of a first blanching step) before consumption. Therefore, blanching timing for each studied insect species is proposed and discussed.

Gut immunity in Lepidopteran insects.

PubMed

Wu, Kai; Yang, Bing; Huang, Wuren; Dobens, Leonard; Song, Hongsheng; Ling, Erjun

2016-11-01

Lepidopteran insects constitute one of the largest fractions of animals on earth, but are considered pests in their relationship with man. Key to the success of this order of insects is its ability to digest food and absorb nutrition, which takes place in the midgut. Because environmental microorganisms can easily enter Lepidopteran guts during feeding, the innate immune response guards against pathogenic bacteria, virus and microsporidia that can be devoured with food. Gut immune responses are complicated by both resident gut microbiota and the surrounding peritrophic membrane and are distinct from immune responses in the body cavity, which depend on the function of the fat body and hemocytes. Due to their relevance to agricultural production, studies of Lepidopteran insect midgut and immunity are receiving more attention, and here we summarize gut structures and functions, and discuss how these confer immunity against different microorganisms. It is expected that increased knowledge of Lepidopteran gut immunity may be utilized for pest biological control in the future. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Insects and Diseases of Cottonwood

Treesearch

R.C. Morris; T.H. Filer; J.D. Solomon; Francis I. McCracken; N.A. Overgaard; M.J. Weiss

1975-01-01

Insects and disease organisms are a continuing threat to cottonwood (Populus deltoides Bartr.), especially during the tree's first 5 years. The danger is intensified in large plantings of a single species and age because rapid buildup of damaging agents can occur. This booklet, will help forest nurserymen and plantation managers identify and...

Chemical characteristics of normal, woolly apple aphid-damaged, and mechanically damaged twigs of six apple cultivars, measured in autumn wood.

PubMed

Zhou, Hong-Xu; Wang, Xi-Cun; Yu, Yi; Tan, Xiu-Mei; Cheng, Zai-Quan; Zhang, An-Sheng; Men, Xing-Yuan; Li-Li, Li

2013-04-01

Chemical characteristics of normal, woolly apple aphid-damaged, and mechanically damaged twigs of six apple cultivars: Red Fuji, Golden Delicious, Qinguan, Zhaojin 108, Starkrimson, and Red General, were examined in autumn wood to provide abetter understanding of factors related to cultivar resistance to the woolly apple aphid, Eriosoma lanigerum (Hausmann). Chemical measures examined included soluble sugars, soluble proteins and amino acids, total phenolics, and polyphenol oxidase (that enhances the resistance of plants to insects) and superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, and catalase (that degrade waste products in plants). Soluble sugar, protein, and amino acid contents in normal (undamaged) twigs of Red Fuji, aphid-susceptible cultivar, were higher than in mechanically damaged and aphid-damaged twigs. Total phenolic compounds, an important group of defensive compounds against aphids, increased by 30.5 and 6.0% in mechanically damaged twigs of Qinguan and Zhaojin 108, respectively, and decreased by 21.7 and 16.1% in aphid-damaged twigs of Red Fuji and Red General, respectively. Compared with normal twigs, in aphid-damaged twigs, superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, and polyphenol activity all decreased in Red Fuji. The resistance of some apple cultivars to woolly apple aphid during the growth of autumn shoots was related to several of the physiological indices we monitored. The thin epidermis of callus tissue over healed wounds showed increased susceptibility to the attack by woolly apple aphid. Apple cultivar Qinguan with the highest level of resistance to woolly apple aphid in autumn had increased in amino acid, total phenolic compound levels, and enzyme activity after aphid feeding.

Distribution of the cone insect, Dioryctria disclusa, in red pine.

Treesearch

William J. Mattson

1976-01-01

Within the crowns of red pine, Pinus resinosa Ait., trees, larvae of the cone insect, Dioryctria disclusa Heinrich, tended to follow the distributions of their foods. Between-tree distributions of larvae, however, were relatable to food distributions in only two of five years. Cone damage/tree by D. disclusa increased linearly with cone abundance per tree when insect...

Plasticity in Insect Olfaction: To Smell or Not to Smell?

PubMed

Gadenne, Christophe; Barrozo, Romina B; Anton, Sylvia

2016-01-01

In insects, olfaction plays a crucial role in many behavioral contexts, such as locating food, sexual partners, and oviposition sites. To successfully perform such behaviors, insects must respond to chemical stimuli at the right moment. Insects modulate their olfactory system according to their physiological state upon interaction with their environment. Here, we review the plasticity of behavioral responses to different odor types according to age, feeding state, circadian rhythm, and mating status. We also summarize what is known about the underlying neural and endocrinological mechanisms, from peripheral detection to central nervous integration, and cover neuromodulation from the molecular to the behavioral level. We describe forms of olfactory plasticity that have contributed to the evolutionary success of insects and have provided them with remarkable tools to adapt to their ever-changing environment.

Microbial control of wood-boring insects attacking forest and shade trees

Treesearch

Ann E. Hajek; Leah S. Bauer

2007-01-01

Wood-boring insect pests that feed on the bark, phloem, or xylem (wood) of living trees pose unique management challenges because their immature stages live in cryptic, often inaccessible, habitats within host trees. The eggs of wood borers are laid in or on tree trunks, branches, terminal shoots, or roots. After the eggs hatch, neonates tunnel in and feed on internal...

Radiocesium Transfer in Forest Insect Communities after the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident.

PubMed

Ishii, Yumiko; Hayashi, Seiji; Takamura, Noriko

2017-01-01

To understand radiocesium transfer in the forest insect food web, we investigated the activity concentrations of radiocesium in forest insects in the Fukushima and Ibaraki Prefectures approximately 1.5-2.5 years after the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant. We analyzed 34 species of insects sampled from 4 orders and 4 feeding functional groups (herbivore, carnivore, omnivore, and detritivore) from three sites in each prefecture. 137Cs activity concentrations were lowest in herbivorous species and were especially high in detritivorous and omnivorous species that feed on forest litter and fungi. Radiocesium activity concentrations in any given species reflected the degree of contamination of that species' primary food sources since radiocesium activity concentrations were found to be the lowest in leaves and grass and the highest in litter, bark, and fungi. This study confirmed that litter and other highly contaminated forest components such as fungi, decaying wood, bryophytes, and lichens serve as sources of 137Cs transfer into the forest insect community.

Radiocesium Transfer in Forest Insect Communities after the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident

PubMed Central

Hayashi, Seiji; Takamura, Noriko

2017-01-01

To understand radiocesium transfer in the forest insect food web, we investigated the activity concentrations of radiocesium in forest insects in the Fukushima and Ibaraki Prefectures approximately 1.5–2.5 years after the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant. We analyzed 34 species of insects sampled from 4 orders and 4 feeding functional groups (herbivore, carnivore, omnivore, and detritivore) from three sites in each prefecture. 137Cs activity concentrations were lowest in herbivorous species and were especially high in detritivorous and omnivorous species that feed on forest litter and fungi. Radiocesium activity concentrations in any given species reflected the degree of contamination of that species’ primary food sources since radiocesium activity concentrations were found to be the lowest in leaves and grass and the highest in litter, bark, and fungi. This study confirmed that litter and other highly contaminated forest components such as fungi, decaying wood, bryophytes, and lichens serve as sources of 137Cs transfer into the forest insect community. PMID:28125745

Survey for potential insect biological control agents of Ligustrum sinense (Scrophulariales: Oleaceae) in China.

Treesearch

Y-Z Zhang; J.L. Hanula; J. Sun

2008-01-01

A systematic survey of Chinese privet foliage, stems, seeds, and roots for associated phytophagous insects was conducted in China during 2005 and 2006 in order to establish basic information about the insect communities that Chinese privet harbors and to evaluate the abundance and damage caused by these insects. A total of 170...

Verde plant bug, Creontiades signatus (Hemiptera: Miridae) effects of insect density and bloom period of infestation on cotton damage and yield

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The verde plant bug, Creontiades signatus Distant (Hemiptera: Miridae), has emerged as a threat to cotton in South Texas, causing boll damage similar to boll-feeding stink bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae). Verde plant bugs were released into caged cotton for a one-week period to characterize the effec...

Entomopathogenicity to Two Hemipteran Insects Is Common but Variable across Epiphytic Pseudomonas syringae Strains.

PubMed

Smee, Melanie R; Baltrus, David A; Hendry, Tory A

2017-01-01

Strains of the well-studied plant pathogen Pseudomonas syringae show large differences in their ability to colonize plants epiphytically and to inflict damage to hosts. Additionally, P. syringae can infect some sap-sucking insects and at least one P. syringae strain is highly virulent to insects, causing death to most individuals within as few as 4 days and growing to high population densities within insect hosts. The likelihood of agricultural pest insects coming into contact with transient populations of P. syringae while feeding on plants is high, yet the ecological implications of these interactions are currently not well understood as virulence has not been tested across a wide range of strains. To investigate virulence differences across strains we exposed the sweet potato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci , and the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum , both of which are cosmopolitan agricultural pests, to 12 P. syringae strains. We used oral inoculations with bacteria suspended in artificial diet in order to assay virulence while controlling for other variables such as differences in epiphytic growth ability. Generally, patterns of pathogenicity remain consistent across the two species of hemipteran insects, with bacterial strains from phylogroup II, or genomospecies 1, causing the highest rate of mortality with up to 86% of individuals dead after 72 h post infection. The rate of mortality is highly variable across strains, some significantly different from negative control treatments and others showing no discernable difference. Interestingly, one of the most pathogenic strains to both aphids and whiteflies (Cit7) is thought to be non-pathogenic on plants. We also found Cit7 to establish the highest epiphytic population after 48 h on fava beans. Between the nine P. syringae strains tested for epiphytic ability there is also much variation, but epiphytic ability was positively correlated with pathogenicity to insects, suggesting that the two traits may be linked and that

Large-scale patterns of insect and disease activity in the Conterminous United States and Alaska from the National Insect and Disease Detection Survey Database, 2007 and 2008

Treesearch

Kevin M. Potter

2012-01-01

Analyzing patterns of forest pest infestation is necessary for monitoring the health of forested ecosystems because of the impacts that insects and diseases can have on forest structure, composition, biodiversity, and species distributions (Castello and others 1995). In particular, introduced nonnative insects and diseases can extensively damage the diversity, ecology...

Ecological disequilibrium drives insect pest and pathogen accumulation in non-native trees

PubMed Central

Burgess, Treena I.; Le Roux, Johannes J.; Richardson, David M.; Slippers, Bernard; Wingfield, Michael J.

2017-01-01

Abstract Non-native trees have become dominant components of many landscapes, including urban ecosystems, commercial forestry plantations, fruit orchards and as invasives in natural ecosystems. Often, these trees have been separated from their natural enemies (i.e. insects and pathogens) leading to ecological disequilibrium, that is, the immediate breakdown of historically co-evolved interactions once introduced into novel environments. Long-established, non-native tree plantations provide useful experiments to explore the dimensions of such ecological disequilibria. We quantify the status quo of non-native insect pests and pathogens catching up with their tree hosts (planted Acacia, Eucalyptus and Pinus species) in South Africa, and examine which native South African enemy species utilize these trees as hosts. Interestingly, pines, with no confamilial relatives in South Africa and the longest residence time (almost two centuries), have acquired only one highly polyphagous native pathogen. This is in contrast to acacias and eucalypts, both with many native and confamilial relatives in South Africa that have acquired more native pathogens. These patterns support the known role of phylogenetic relatedness of non-native and native floras in influencing the likelihood of pathogen shifts between them. This relationship, however, does not seem to hold for native insects. Native insects appear far more likely to expand their feeding habits onto non-native tree hosts than are native pathogens, although they are generally less damaging. The ecological disequilibrium conditions of non-native trees are deeply rooted in the eco-evolutionary experience of the host plant, co-evolved natural enemies and native organisms from the introduced range. We should expect considerable spatial and temporal variation in ecological disequilibrium conditions among non-native taxa, which can be significantly influenced by biosecurity and management practices. PMID:28013250

Some insects affecting Penstemon seed production

Treesearch

Robert Hammon; Melissa Franklin

2012-01-01

Beardtongue (Penstemon Schmidel [Scrophulariaceae)) seeds are often produced without apparent damage from pests, but several species of native insects can adversely impact seed production fields. Tarnished plant bug (Lygus lineolaris (Palisot)) and western plant bug (Lygus hesperus Knight [Hemiptera: Miridae]), penstemon weevil (Hesperobaris sp. Casey [Coleoptera:...

Are insect repellents toxic to freshwater insects? A case study using caddisflies exposed to DEET.

PubMed

Campos, Diana; Gravato, Carlos; Quintaneiro, Carla; Koba, Olga; Randak, Tomas; Soares, Amadeu M V M; Pestana, João L T

2016-04-01

Stream ecosystems face ever-increasing pressures by the presence of emergent contaminants, such as, personal care products. N, N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide (DEET) is a synthetic insect repellent that is being found in surface waters environments in concentrations up to 33.4 μg/L. Information concerning DEET's toxicity in the aquatic environment is still limited and focused only on its acute effects on model species. Our main objective was to assess the effects of DEET exposure to a caddisfly non-target species using sub-lethal endpoints. For that, we chose Sericostoma vittatum, an important shredder in Portuguese freshwaters that has been already used in different ecotoxicological assays. Besides acute tests, S. vittatum were exposed during 6 days to a gradient of DEET concentrations (8, 18 and 40.5 mg/L) to assess effects on feeding behaviour and biochemical responses, such as, lipid peroxidation levels (LPO), catalase and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activities, and also assess effects on energy reserves and consumption. Acute tests revealed a 48 h-LC50 of 80.12 mg/L and DEET exposure caused feeding inhibition with a LOEC of 36.80 mg/L. Concerning the biochemical responses, DEET caused no effects in LPO nor on catalase activity. A non-significant decrease in AChE activity was observed. Regarding energetic reserves, exposure to DEET caused a significant reduction in S. vittatum carbohydrates levels. These results add important information for the risk assessment of insect repellents in the aquatic environment and suggest that reported environmental concentrations of DEET are not toxic to non-target freshwater insects. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

How to diagnose black walnut damage.

Treesearch

Barbara C. Weber; Robert L. Anderson; William H. Hoffard

1980-01-01

Presents a key to common insect, disease, animal, and other damages to black walnut. Also includes illustrations of many of the damage types and descriptions of the causal agents. Preventive or control recommendations are made where appropriate.

Evidence that insect herbivores are deterred by ant pheromones.

PubMed Central

Offenberg, Joachim; Nielsen, Mogens Gissel; MacIntosh, Donald J; Havanon, Sopon; Aksornkoae, Sanit

2004-01-01

It is well documented that ants can protect plants against insect herbivores, but the underlying mechanisms remain almost undocumented. We propose and test the pheromone avoidance hypothesis--an indirect mechanism where insect herbivores are repelled not only by ants but also by ant pheromones. Herbivores subjected to ant predation will experience a selective advantage if they evolve mechanisms enabling them to avoid feeding within ant territories. Such a mechanism could be based on the ability to detect and evade ant pheromones. Field observations and data from the literature showed that the ant Oecophylla smaragdina distributes persistent pheromones throughout its territory. In addition, a laboratory test showed that the beetle Rhyparida wallacei, which this ant preys on, was reluctant to feed on leaves sampled within ant territories compared with leaves sampled outside territories. Thus, this study provides an example of an ant-herbivore system conforming to the pheromone avoidance hypothesis. PMID:15801596

7 CFR 51.2089 - Damage.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

..., web or frass is present or there is definite evidence of insect feeding; (e) Mold, when visible on the... is affected by very dark or black stains contrasting with the natural color of the skin; (h...

7 CFR 51.2089 - Damage.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

..., web or frass is present or there is definite evidence of insect feeding; (e) Mold, when visible on the... is affected by very dark or black stains contrasting with the natural color of the skin; (h...

Parasitism by Cuscuta pentagona Attenuates Host Plant Defenses against Insect Herbivores1

PubMed Central

Runyon, Justin B.; Mescher, Mark C.; De Moraes, Consuelo M.

2008-01-01

Considerable research has examined plant responses to concurrent attack by herbivores and pathogens, but the effects of attack by parasitic plants, another important class of plant-feeding organisms, on plant defenses against other enemies has not been explored. We investigated how attack by the parasitic plant Cuscuta pentagona impacted tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) defenses against the chewing insect beet armyworm (Spodoptera exigua; BAW). In response to insect feeding, C. pentagona-infested (parasitized) tomato plants produced only one-third of the antiherbivore phytohormone jasmonic acid (JA) produced by unparasitized plants. Similarly, parasitized tomato, in contrast to unparasitized plants, failed to emit herbivore-induced volatiles after 3 d of BAW feeding. Although parasitism impaired antiherbivore defenses, BAW growth was slower on parasitized tomato leaves. Vines of C. pentagona did not translocate JA from BAW-infested plants: amounts of JA in parasite vines grown on caterpillar-fed and control plants were similar. Parasitized plants generally contained more salicylic acid (SA), which can inhibit JA in some systems. Parasitized mutant (NahG) tomato plants deficient in SA produced more JA in response to insect feeding than parasitized wild-type plants, further suggesting cross talk between the SA and JA defense signaling pathways. However, JA induction by BAW was still reduced in parasitized compared to unparasitized NahG, implying that other factors must be involved. We found that parasitized plants were capable of producing induced volatiles when experimentally treated with JA, indicating that resource depletion by the parasite does not fully explain the observed attenuation of volatile response to herbivore feeding. Collectively, these findings show that parasitic plants can have important consequences for host plant defense against herbivores. PMID:18165323

Impact of insect management on population dynamics and insecticide resistance of tarnished plant bug (Lygus lineolaris)

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris (Palisot De Beauvois) is a highly polyphagous insect that feeds on numerous wild and cultivated host plants. Although transgenic crops expressing insecticidal toxins have been available for approximately 20 years for some insect crop pests, none have been d...

Using satellite multispectral imagery for damage mapping armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) in maize damage at a regional scale

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Armyworm, as a destructive insect for maize, causes wide range of damage in both China and U.S. in recent years. To obtain the spatial distribution of damage area and assess the damage severity, a fast and accurate loss assessment method is of great importance for effective management. This study, t...

Activities and Ecological Role of Adult Aquatic Insects in the Riparian Zone of Streams

Treesearch

John K. Jackson; Vincent H. Resh

1989-01-01

Most adult aquatic insects that emerge from streams live briefly in the nearby riparian zone. Adult activities, such as mating, dispersal, and feeding, influence their distribution in the terrestrial habitat. A study at Big Sulphur Creek, California, has shown that both numbers and biomass of adult aquatic insects are greatest in the near-stream vegetation; however,...

Time-Restricted Feeding Shifts the Skin Circadian Clock and Alters UVB-Induced DNA Damage.

PubMed

Wang, Hong; van Spyk, Elyse; Liu, Qiang; Geyfman, Mikhail; Salmans, Michael L; Kumar, Vivek; Ihler, Alexander; Li, Ning; Takahashi, Joseph S; Andersen, Bogi

2017-08-01

The epidermis is a highly regenerative barrier protecting organisms from environmental insults, including UV radiation, the main cause of skin cancer and skin aging. Here, we show that time-restricted feeding (RF) shifts the phase and alters the amplitude of the skin circadian clock and affects the expression of approximately 10% of the skin transcriptome. Furthermore, a large number of skin-expressed genes are acutely regulated by food intake. Although the circadian clock is required for daily rhythms in DNA synthesis in epidermal progenitor cells, RF-induced shifts in clock phase do not alter the phase of DNA synthesis. However, RF alters both diurnal sensitivity to UVB-induced DNA damage and expression of the key DNA repair gene, Xpa. Together, our findings indicate regulation of skin function by time of feeding and emphasize a link between circadian rhythm, food intake, and skin health. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Insect Feeding Deterrents in Endophyte-Infected Tall Fescue †

PubMed Central

Johnson, M. C.; Dahlman, D. L.; Siegel, M. R.; Bush, L. P.; Latch, G. C. M.; Potter, D. A.; Varney, D. R.

1985-01-01

The presence of an endophytic fungus, Acremonium coenophialum, in tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) deterred aphid feeding by Rhopalosiphum padi and Schizaphis graminum. Both species of aphid were unable to survive when confined to endophyte-infected tall fescue plants. Feeding deterrents and toxic factors to R. padi and Oncopeltus fasciatus, large milkweed bug, were primarily associated with a methanol extract obtained when endophyte-infected tall fescue seed was serially extracted with hexane, ethyl acetate, and methanol. The concentrations of pyrrolizidine alkaloids were determined to be 30 to 100 times greater in the methanol extract than in the hexane and ethyl acetate extracts. PMID:16346751

Ambient orchard and on-tree volatile collection system for monitoring and detection of attractants for navel orangeworm

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The navel orangeworm (NOW) is a major insect pest of California tree nuts. Its feeding damage lowers nut kernel quality resulting in considerable monetary loss to growers, producers, and shippers. Moreover, NOW feeding damage directly contributes to aflatoxin contamination. Hence, control of NOW has...

Plant feeding promotes diversification in the Crustacea

PubMed Central

Poore, Alistair G. B.; Ahyong, Shane T.; Lowry, James K.; Sotka, Erik E.

2017-01-01

About half of the world’s animal species are arthropods associated with plants, and the ability to consume plant material has been proposed to be an important trait associated with the spectacular diversification of terrestrial insects. We review the phylogenetic distribution of plant feeding in the Crustacea, the other major group of arthropods that commonly consume plants, to estimate how often plant feeding has arisen and to test whether this dietary transition is associated with higher species numbers in extant clades. We present evidence that at least 31 lineages of marine, freshwater, and terrestrial crustaceans (including 64 families and 185 genera) have independently overcome the challenges of consuming plant material. These plant-feeding clades are, on average, 21-fold more speciose than their sister taxa, indicating that a shift in diet is associated with increased net rates of diversification. In contrast to herbivorous insects, most crustaceans have very broad diets, and the increased richness of taxa that include plants in their diet likely results from access to a novel resource base rather than host-associated divergence. PMID:28760973

Plant feeding promotes diversification in the Crustacea.

PubMed

Poore, Alistair G B; Ahyong, Shane T; Lowry, James K; Sotka, Erik E

2017-08-15

About half of the world's animal species are arthropods associated with plants, and the ability to consume plant material has been proposed to be an important trait associated with the spectacular diversification of terrestrial insects. We review the phylogenetic distribution of plant feeding in the Crustacea, the other major group of arthropods that commonly consume plants, to estimate how often plant feeding has arisen and to test whether this dietary transition is associated with higher species numbers in extant clades. We present evidence that at least 31 lineages of marine, freshwater, and terrestrial crustaceans (including 64 families and 185 genera) have independently overcome the challenges of consuming plant material. These plant-feeding clades are, on average, 21-fold more speciose than their sister taxa, indicating that a shift in diet is associated with increased net rates of diversification. In contrast to herbivorous insects, most crustaceans have very broad diets, and the increased richness of taxa that include plants in their diet likely results from access to a novel resource base rather than host-associated divergence.

Characterization of adult transcriptomes from the omnivorous lady beetle Coleomegilla maculata fed pollen or insect egg diet

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Diet, nutrition, and obesity are important topics of current research. While many insect genome and/or transcriptome models are based on dietary specialists, the lady beetle Coleomegilla maculata, a common New World species, is highly omnivorous. C. maculata feeds on plants, fungi, insects and other...

Interspecific interactions in phytophagous insects revisited: a quantitative assessment of competition theory.

PubMed

Kaplan, Ian; Denno, Robert F

2007-10-01

The importance of interspecific competition is a highly controversial and unresolved issue for community ecology in general, and for phytophagous insects in particular. Recent advancements, however, in our understanding of indirect (plant- and enemy-mediated) interactions challenge the historical paradigms of competition. Thus, in the context of this rapidly developing field, we re-evaluate the evidence for interspecific competition in phytophagous insects using a meta-analysis of published studies. Our analysis is specifically designed to test the assumptions underlying traditional competition theory, namely that competitive interactions are symmetrical, necessitate spatial and temporal co-occurrence, and increase in intensity as the density, phylogenetic similarity, and niche overlap of competing species increase. Despite finding frequent evidence for competition, we found very little evidence that plant-feeding insects conform to theoretical predictions for interspecific competition. Interactions were highly asymmetrical, similar in magnitude within vs. between feeding guilds (chewers vs. sap-feeders), and were unaffected by the quantity of resources removed (% defoliation). There was mixed support for the effects of phylogeny, spatial/temporal separation, and the relative strength of intra- vs. interspecific competition. Clearly, a new paradigm that accounts for indirect interactions and facilitation is required to describe how interspecific competition contributes to the organization of phytophagous insect communities, and perhaps to other plant and animal communities as well.

Fungal DNA virus infects a mycophagous insect and utilizes it as a transmission vector

PubMed Central

Liu, Si; Xie, Jiatao; Cheng, Jiasen; Li, Bo; Chen, Tao; Fu, Yanping; Li, Guoqing; Wang, Manqun; Jin, Huanan; Wan, Hu; Jiang, Daohong

2016-01-01

Mycoviruses are usually transmitted horizontally via hyphal anastomosis and vertically via sexual/asexual spores. Previously, we reported that a gemycircularvirus, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum hypovirulence-associated DNA virus 1 (SsHADV-1), could infect its fungal host extracellularly. Here, we discovered that SsHADV-1 could infect a mycophagous insect, Lycoriella ingenua, and use it as a transmission vector. Virus acquired by larvae feeding on colonies of a virus-infected strain of S. sclerotiorum was replicated and retained in larvae, pupae, adults, and eggs. Virus could be transmitted to insect offspring when larvae were injected with virus particles and allowed to feed on a nonhost fungus. Virus replication in insect cells was further confirmed by inoculating Spodoptera frugiperda cells with virus particles and analyzing with RT-PCR, Northern blot, immunofluorescence, and flow cytometry assays. Larvae could transmit virus once they acquired virus by feeding on virus-infected fungal colony. Offspring larvae hatched from viruliferous eggs were virus carriers and could also successfully transmit virus. Virus transmission between insect and fungus also occurred on rapeseed plants. Virus-infected isolates produced less repellent volatile substances to attract adults of L. ingenua. Furthermore, L. ingenua was easily observed on Sclerotinia lesions in rapeseed fields, and viruliferous adults were captured from fields either sprayed with a virus-infected fungal strain or nonsprayed. Our findings may facilitate the exploration of mycoviruses for control of fungal diseases and enhance our understanding of the ecology of SsHADV-1 and other newly emerging SsHADV-1–like viruses, which were recently found to be widespread in various niches including human HIV-infected blood, human and animal feces, insects, plants, and even sewage. PMID:27791095

Plant Secondary Metabolites Modulate Insect Behavior-Steps Toward Addiction?

PubMed

Wink, Michael

2018-01-01

Plants produce a diversity of secondary metabolites (PSMs) that serve as defense compounds against herbivores and microorganisms. In addition, some PSMs attract animals for pollination and seed dispersal. In case of pollinating insects, PSMs with colors or terpenoids with fragrant odors attract pollinators in the first place, but when they arrive at a flower, they are rewarded with nectar, so that the pollinators do not feed on flowers. In order to be effective as defense chemicals, PSMs evolved as bioactive substances, that can interfere with a large number of molecular targets in cells, tissues and organs of animals or of microbes. The known functions of PSMs are summarized in this review. A number of PSMs evolved as agonists or antagonists of neuronal signal transduction. Many of these PSMs are alkaloids. Several of them share structural similarities to neurotransmitters. Evidence for neuroactive and psychoactive PSMs in animals will be reviewed. Some of the neuroactive PSMs can cause addiction in humans and other vertrebrates. Why should a defense compound be addictive and thus attract more herbivores? Some insects are food specialists that can feed on plants that are normally toxic to other herbivores. These specialists can tolerate the toxins and many are stored in the insect body as acquired defense chemicals against predators. A special case are pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) that are neurotoxic and mutagenic in vertebrates. PAs are actively sequestered by moths of the family Arctiidae and a few other groups of arthropods. In arctiids, PAs are not only used for defense, but also serve as morphogens for the induction of male coremata and as precursors for male pheromones. Caterpillars even feed on filter paper impregnated with pure PAs (that modulate serotonin receptors in vertebrates and maybe even in insects) and thus show of behavior with has similarities to addiction in vertebrates. Not only PA specialists, but also many monophagous herbivores select

Feeding ecology of Gila boraxobius (Osteichthyes: Cyprindae) endemic to a thermal lake in southeastern Oregon

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Williams, J.E.; Williams, C.D.

1980-06-30

Gila boraxobius is a dwarf species of cyprinid endemic to a thermal lake in southeastern Oregon. Despite a relatively depauperate fauna and flora in the lake, 24 food items were found in intestines of G. boraxobius. Ten of the 24 foods, including six insects, were of terrestrial origin. The relative importance of food items fluctuated seasonally. Diatoms, chironomid larvae, microcrustaceans, and dipteran adults were the primary foods during spring. In summer, diatoms decreased and terrestrial insects increased in importance. During autumn important foods were terrestrial insects, chironomid larvae, and diatoms. Diatoms and microcrustaceans increased in importance during winter. Chironomid larvaemore » were of importance in winter, when the importance of terrestrial food items decreased substantially. Similar food habits were observed between juveniles and adults, except that adults consumed more gastropods and diatoms and juveniles consumed more copepods and terrestrial insects. Gila boraxobius feeds opportunistically with individuals commonly containing mostly one food item. Fish typically feed by picking foods from soft bottom sediments or from rocks. However, fish will feed throughout the water column or on the surface if food is abundant there. Gila boraxobius feeds throughout the day, with a peak in feeding activity just after sunset. A daily ration of 11.1 percent body weight was calculated for the species during June. A comparison of food habits among G. boraxobius and populations of G. alvordensis during the summer shows that all are opportunistic in feeding, but that G. boraxobius relies more heavily on terrestrial foods.« less

Development of real-time PCR tests for the detection of Tenebrio molitor in food and feed.

PubMed

Debode, Frédéric; Marien, Aline; Gérard, Amaury; Francis, Frédéric; Fumière, Olivier; Berben, Gilbert

2017-08-01

Insects are rich in proteins and could be an alternative source of proteins to feed animals and humans. Numerous companies have started the production of insects for feed purposes. In Europe, these processed animal proteins are not yet authorised by legislation as many questions still need to be answered concerning this 'novel food'. Authorisations will be possible when methods of authentication of the products are available. In this study we propose real-time PCR methods for the specific detection of the mealworm (Tenebriomolitor), one of the most widely used insects for food and feed production. Two PCR assays are proposed: the first based on the wingless gene and the second based on the cadherin gene. The PCR tests amplify fragments of 87 bp. These qualitative methods were tested according to several performance criteria. The specificity was tested on 34 insect species' DNA, but also on non-insect species including crustacean, mammals, birds and plants. The limit of detection was determined and was below 20 copies for the two PCR tests. The applicability of the tests was demonstrated by the analysis of real-life processed samples containing T. molitor.

Severely insect-damaged forest: A temporary trap for red squirrels?

Treesearch

Claire A. Zugmeyer; John L. Koprowski

2009-01-01

Recent insect infestations in the spruce-fir forest in the Pinalenno Mountains of southeastern Arizona provided an opportunity to document response to severe forest disturbance and existence of an ecological trap for an endemic montane isolate, the endangered Mt. Graham red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus grahamensis). From September 2003 to...

7 CFR 51.1414 - Serious damage.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... as serious damage: (a) Adhering hull material or dark stains affecting an aggregate of more than 20...) Decay affecting any portion of the kernel; (g) Insect injury when the insect, web or frass is present... than three dark spots on either half of the kernel, or when any spot or the aggregate of two or more...

7 CFR 51.1414 - Serious damage.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... as serious damage: (a) Adhering hull material or dark stains affecting an aggregate of more than 20...) Decay affecting any portion of the kernel; (g) Insect injury when the insect, web or frass is present... than three dark spots on either half of the kernel, or when any spot or the aggregate of two or more...

7 CFR 51.1414 - Serious damage.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... as serious damage: (a) Adhering hull material or dark stains affecting an aggregate of more than 20...) Decay affecting any portion of the kernel; (g) Insect injury when the insect, web or frass is present... than three dark spots on either half of the kernel, or when any spot or the aggregate of two or more...

Genome scale transcriptomics of baculovirus-insect interactions.

PubMed

Nguyen, Quan; Nielsen, Lars K; Reid, Steven

2013-11-12

Baculovirus-insect cell technologies are applied in the production of complex proteins, veterinary and human vaccines, gene delivery vectors' and biopesticides. Better understanding of how baculoviruses and insect cells interact would facilitate baculovirus-based production. While complete genomic sequences are available for over 58 baculovirus species, little insect genomic information is known. The release of the Bombyx mori and Plutella xylostella genomes, the accumulation of EST sequences for several Lepidopteran species, and especially the availability of two genome-scale analysis tools, namely oligonucleotide microarrays and next generation sequencing (NGS), have facilitated expression studies to generate a rich picture of insect gene responses to baculovirus infections. This review presents current knowledge on the interaction dynamics of the baculovirus-insect system' which is relatively well studied in relation to nucleocapsid transportation, apoptosis, and heat shock responses, but is still poorly understood regarding responses involved in pro-survival pathways, DNA damage pathways, protein degradation, translation, signaling pathways, RNAi pathways, and importantly metabolic pathways for energy, nucleotide and amino acid production. We discuss how the two genome-scale transcriptomic tools can be applied for studying such pathways and suggest that proteomics and metabolomics can produce complementary findings to transcriptomic studies.

Organ Damage and Hepatic Lipid Accumulation in Carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) after Feed-Borne Exposure to the Mycotoxin, Deoxynivalenol (DON)

PubMed Central

Pietsch, Constanze; Schulz, Carsten; Rovira, Pere; Kloas, Werner; Burkhardt-Holm, Patricia

2014-01-01

Deoxynivalenol (DON) frequently contaminates animal feed, including fish feed used in aquaculture. This study intends to further investigate the effects of DON on carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) at concentrations representative for commercial fish feeds. Experimental feeding with 352, 619 or 953 μg DON kg−1 feed resulted in unaltered growth performance of fish during six weeks of experimentation, but increased lipid peroxidation was observed in liver, head kidney and spleen after feeding of fish with the highest DON concentration. These effects of DON were mostly reversible by two weeks of feeding the uncontaminated control diet. Histopathological scoring revealed increased liver damage in DON-treated fish, which persisted even after the recovery phase. At the highest DON concentration, significantly more fat, and consequently, increased energy content, was found in whole fish body homogenates. This suggests that DON affects nutrient metabolism in carp. Changes of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity in kidneys and muscle and high lactate levels in serum indicate an effect of DON on anaerobic metabolism. Serum albumin was reduced by feeding the medium and a high dosage of DON, probably due to the ribotoxic action of DON. Thus, the present study provides evidence of the effects of DON on liver function and metabolism. PMID:24566729

Ecosystem Services from Edible Insects in Agricultural Systems: A Review.

PubMed

Payne, Charlotte L R; Van Itterbeeck, Joost

2017-02-17

Many of the most nutritionally and economically important edible insects are those that are harvested from existing agricultural systems. Current strategies of agricultural intensification focus predominantly on increasing crop yields, with no or little consideration of the repercussions this may have for the additional harvest and ecology of accompanying food insects. Yet such insects provide many valuable ecosystem services, and their sustainable management could be crucial to ensuring future food security. This review considers the multiple ecosystem services provided by edible insects in existing agricultural systems worldwide. Directly and indirectly, edible insects contribute to all four categories of ecosystem services as outlined by the Millennium Ecosystem Services definition: provisioning, regulating, maintaining, and cultural services. They are also responsible for ecosystem disservices, most notably significant crop damage. We argue that it is crucial for decision-makers to evaluate the costs and benefits of the presence of food insects in agricultural systems. We recommend that a key priority for further research is the quantification of the economic and environmental contribution of services and disservices from edible insects in agricultural systems.

Ecosystem Services from Edible Insects in Agricultural Systems: A Review

PubMed Central

Payne, Charlotte L. R.; Van Itterbeeck, Joost

2017-01-01

Many of the most nutritionally and economically important edible insects are those that are harvested from existing agricultural systems. Current strategies of agricultural intensification focus predominantly on increasing crop yields, with no or little consideration of the repercussions this may have for the additional harvest and ecology of accompanying food insects. Yet such insects provide many valuable ecosystem services, and their sustainable management could be crucial to ensuring future food security. This review considers the multiple ecosystem services provided by edible insects in existing agricultural systems worldwide. Directly and indirectly, edible insects contribute to all four categories of ecosystem services as outlined by the Millennium Ecosystem Services definition: provisioning, regulating, maintaining, and cultural services. They are also responsible for ecosystem disservices, most notably significant crop damage. We argue that it is crucial for decision-makers to evaluate the costs and benefits of the presence of food insects in agricultural systems. We recommend that a key priority for further research is the quantification of the economic and environmental contribution of services and disservices from edible insects in agricultural systems. PMID:28218635

Insect Pests of Field Crops. MP-28.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burkhardt, Chris C.

This document addresses the principles of field crop insect control through biological, mechanical, and chemical processes. Identification, life history, damage, pesticides, pesticide use and environmental considerations are presented for the major pests of corn, alfalfa, beans, small grains, sugar beets, and potatoes. Each section is accompanied…

Genomics of adaptation to host-plants in herbivorous insects.

PubMed

Simon, Jean-Christophe; d'Alençon, Emmanuelle; Guy, Endrick; Jacquin-Joly, Emmanuelle; Jaquiéry, Julie; Nouhaud, Pierre; Peccoud, Jean; Sugio, Akiko; Streiff, Réjane

2015-11-01

Herbivorous insects represent the most species-rich lineages of metazoans. The high rate of diversification in herbivorous insects is thought to result from their specialization to distinct host-plants, which creates conditions favorable for the build-up of reproductive isolation and speciation. These conditions rely on constraints against the optimal use of a wide range of plant species, as each must constitute a viable food resource, oviposition site and mating site for an insect. Utilization of plants involves many essential traits of herbivorous insects, as they locate and select their hosts, overcome their defenses and acquire nutrients while avoiding intoxication. Although advances in understanding insect-plant molecular interactions have been limited by the complexity of insect traits involved in host use and the lack of genomic resources and functional tools, recent studies at the molecular level, combined with large-scale genomics studies at population and species levels, are revealing the genetic underpinning of plant specialization and adaptive divergence in non-model insect herbivores. Here, we review the recent advances in the genomics of plant adaptation in hemipterans and lepidopterans, two major insect orders, each of which includes a large number of crop pests. We focus on how genomics and post-genomics have improved our understanding of the mechanisms involved in insect-plant interactions by reviewing recent molecular discoveries in sensing, feeding, digesting and detoxifying strategies. We also present the outcomes of large-scale genomics approaches aimed at identifying loci potentially involved in plant adaptation in these insects. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

40 CFR 161.590 - Nontarget insect data requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... MP Data to support EP Guidelines reference No. Nontarget insect testing—pollinators Honey bee acute contact LD50 (1) [CR] [CR] [CR] [CR] [CR] [CR] TGAI TGAI 141-1 Honey bee—toxicity of residues on foliage (1), (2) CR CR CR CR CR CR TEP TEP 141-2 Honey bee subacute feeding study (3) 141-4 Field testing for...

40 CFR 161.590 - Nontarget insect data requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... MP Data to support EP Guidelines reference No. Nontarget insect testing—pollinators Honey bee acute contact LD50 (1) [CR] [CR] [CR] [CR] [CR] [CR] TGAI TGAI 141-1 Honey bee—toxicity of residues on foliage (1), (2) CR CR CR CR CR CR TEP TEP 141-2 Honey bee subacute feeding study (3) 141-4 Field testing for...

40 CFR 161.590 - Nontarget insect data requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... MP Data to support EP Guidelines reference No. Nontarget insect testing—pollinators Honey bee acute contact LD50 (1) [CR] [CR] [CR] [CR] [CR] [CR] TGAI TGAI 141-1 Honey bee—toxicity of residues on foliage (1), (2) CR CR CR CR CR CR TEP TEP 141-2 Honey bee subacute feeding study (3) 141-4 Field testing for...

40 CFR 161.590 - Nontarget insect data requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... MP Data to support EP Guidelines reference No. Nontarget insect testing—pollinators Honey bee acute contact LD50 (1) [CR] [CR] [CR] [CR] [CR] [CR] TGAI TGAI 141-1 Honey bee—toxicity of residues on foliage (1), (2) CR CR CR CR CR CR TEP TEP 141-2 Honey bee subacute feeding study (3) 141-4 Field testing for...

Medicago truncatula-derived calcium oxalate crystals have a negative impact on chewing insect performance via their physical properties

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Plant structural traits often act as defenses against herbivorous insects, causing them to avoid feeding on a given plant or tissue. Mineral crystals of calcium oxalate in Medicago truncatula Gaertn. (Fabaceae) leaves have previously been shown to be effective deterrents of lepidopteran insect feedi...

Non-Destructive Sampling of Ancient Insect DNA

PubMed Central

Thomsen, Philip Francis; Elias, Scott; Gilbert, M. Thomas P.; Haile, James; Munch, Kasper; Kuzmina, Svetlana; Froese, Duane G.; Holdaway, Richard N.; Willerslev, Eske

2009-01-01

Background A major challenge for ancient DNA (aDNA) studies on insect remains is that sampling procedures involve at least partial destruction of the specimens. A recent extraction protocol reveals the possibility of obtaining DNA from past insect remains without causing visual morphological damage. We test the applicability of this protocol on historic museum beetle specimens dating back to AD 1820 and on ancient beetle chitin remains from permafrost (permanently frozen soil) dating back more than 47,000 years. Finally, we test the possibility of obtaining ancient insect DNA directly from non-frozen sediments deposited 3280-1800 years ago - an alternative approach that also does not involve destruction of valuable material. Methodology/Principal Findings The success of the methodological approaches are tested by PCR and sequencing of COI and 16S mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) fragments of 77–204 base pairs (-bp) in size using species-specific and general insect primers. Conclusion/Significance The applied non-destructive DNA extraction method shows promising potential on insect museum specimens of historical age as far back as AD 1820, but less so on the ancient permafrost-preserved insect fossil remains tested, where DNA was obtained from samples up to ca. 26,000 years old. The non-frozen sediment DNA approach appears to have great potential for recording the former presence of insect taxa not normally preserved as macrofossils and opens new frontiers in research on ancient biodiversity. PMID:19337382

Experimental transmission of vesicular stomatitis New Jersey virus from Simulium vittatum to cattle: clinical outcome is influenced by site of insect feeding.

PubMed

Mead, D G; Lovett, K Rainwater; Murphy, M D; Pauszek, S J; Smoliga, G; Gray, E W; Noblet, R; Overmyer, J; Rodriguez, L L

2009-07-01

Vesicular stomatitis New Jersey virus (VSNJV) is an insect-transmitted Rhabdovirus causing vesicular disease in domestic livestock including cattle, horses, and pigs. Natural transmission during epidemics remains poorly understood, particularly in cattle, one of the most affected species during outbreaks. This study reports the first successful transmission of VSNJV to cattle by insect bite resulting in clinical disease. When infected black flies (Simulium vittatum Zetterstedt) fed at sites where VS lesions are usually observed (mouth, nostrils, and foot coronary band), infection occurred, characterized by local viral replication, vesicular lesions, and high neutralizing antibody titers (> 1: 256). Viral RNA was detected up to 9 d postinfection in tissues collected during necropsy from lesion sites and lymph nodes draining those sites. Interestingly, when flies were allowed to feed on flank or neck skin, viral replication was poor, lesions were not observed, and low levels of neutralizing antibodies (range, 1:8-1:32) developed. Viremia was never observed in any of the animals and infectious virus was not recovered from tissues on necropsies performed between 8 and 27 d postinfection. Demonstration that VSNJV transmission to cattle by infected black flies can result in clinical disease contributes to a better understanding of the epidemiology and potential prevention and control methods for this important disease.

Sitona lineatus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) Larval Feeding on Pisum sativum L. Affects Soil and Plant Nitrogen

PubMed Central

Cárcamo, Héctor A.; Herle, Carolyn E.; Lupwayi, Newton Z.

2015-01-01

Adults of Sitona lineatus (pea leaf weevil, PLW) feed on foliage of several Fabaceae species but larvae prefer to feed on nodules of Pisum sativum L. and Vicia faba L. Indirectly, through their feeding on rhizobia, weevils can reduce soil and plant available nitrogen (N). However, initial soil N can reduce nodulation and damage by the weevil and reduce control requirements. Understanding these interactions is necessary to make integrated pest management recommendations for PLW. We conducted a greenhouse study to quantify nodulation, soil and plant N content, and nodule damage by weevil larvae in relation to soil N amendment with urea, thiamethoxam insecticide seed coating and crop stage. PLWs reduced the number of older tumescent (multilobed) nodules and thiamethoxam addition increased them regardless of other factors. Nitrogen amendment significantly increased soil available N (>99% nitrate) as expected and PLW presence was associated with significantly lower levels of soil N. PLW decreased plant N content at early flower and thiamethoxam increased it, particularly at late flower. The study illustrated the complexity of interactions that determine insect herbivory effects on plant and soil nutrition for invertebrates that feed on N-fixing root nodules. We conclude that effects of PLW on nodulation and subsequent effects on plant nitrogen are more pronounced during the early growth stages of the plant. This suggests the importance of timing of PLW infestation and may explain the lack of yield depression in relation to this pest observed in many field studies. Also, pea crops in soils with high levels of soil N are unlikely to be affected by this herbivore and should not require insecticide inputs. PMID:26106086

Wolbachia infection reduces blood-feeding success in the dengue fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti.

PubMed

Turley, Andrew P; Moreira, Luciano A; O'Neill, Scott L; McGraw, Elizabeth A

2009-09-15

The mosquito Aedes aegypti was recently transinfected with a life-shortening strain of the endosymbiont Wolbachia pipientis (wMelPop) as the first step in developing a biocontrol strategy for dengue virus transmission. In addition to life-shortening, the wMelPop-infected mosquitoes also exhibit increased daytime activity and metabolic rates. Here we sought to quantify the blood-feeding behaviour of Wolbachia-infected females as an indicator of any virulence or energetic drain associated with Wolbachia infection. In a series of blood-feeding trials in response to humans, we have shown that Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes do not differ in their response time to humans, but that as they age they obtain fewer and smaller blood meals than Wolbachia-uninfected controls. Lastly, we observed a behavioural characteristic in the Wolbachia infected mosquitoes best described as a "bendy" proboscis that may explain the decreased biting success. Taken together the evidence suggests that wMelPop infection may be causing tissue damage in a manner that intensifies with mosquito age and that leads to reduced blood-feeding success. These behavioural changes require further investigation with respect to a possible physiological mechanism and their role in vectorial capacity of the insect. The selective decrease of feeding success in older mosquitoes may act synergistically with other Wolbachia-associated traits including life-shortening and viral protection in biocontrol strategies.

Plants and insect eggs: how do they affect each other?

PubMed

Hilker, Monika; Meiners, Torsten

2011-09-01

Plant-insect interactions are not just influenced by interactions between plants and the actively feeding stages, but also by the close relationships between plants and insect eggs. Here, we review both effects of plants on insect eggs and, vice versa, effects of eggs on plants. We consider the influence of plants on the production of insect eggs and address the role of phytochemicals for the biosynthesis and release of insect sex pheromones, as well as for insect fecundity. Effects of plants on insect oviposition by contact and olfactory plant cues are summarised. In addition, we consider how the leaf boundary layer influences both insect egg deposition behaviour and development of the embryo inside the egg. The effects of eggs on plants involve egg-induced changes of photosynthetic activity and of the plant's secondary metabolism. Except for gall-inducing insects, egg-induced changes of phytochemistry were so far found to be detrimental to the eggs. Egg deposition can induce hypersensitive-like plant response, formation of neoplasms or production of ovicidal plant substances; these plant responses directly harm the eggs. In addition, egg deposition can induce a change of the plant's odour and leaf surface chemistry which serve indirect plant defence with the help of antagonists of the insect eggs. These egg-induced changes lead to attraction of egg parasitoids and their arrestance on a leaf, respectively. Finally, we summarise knowledge of the elicitors of egg-induced plant changes and address egg-induced effects on the plant's transcriptional pattern. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The control of Malpighian tubule secretion in a predacious hemipteran insect, the spined soldier bug Podisus maculiventris (Heteroptera, Pentatomidae)

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Spined soldier bugs, Podisus maculiventris, are heteropteran insects that feed voraciously on other insects, particular the soft bodied larval forms of Lepidoptera and Coleoptera. The response of P. maculiventris Malpighian tubules (MT) to serotonin and known diuretic and antidiuretic peptides has b...

Induction of Systemic Resistance against Insect Herbivores in Plants by Beneficial Soil Microbes

PubMed Central

Rashid, Md. Harun-Or; Chung, Young R.

2017-01-01

Soil microorganisms with growth-promoting activities in plants, including rhizobacteria and rhizofungi, can improve plant health in a variety of different ways. These beneficial microbes may confer broad-spectrum resistance to insect herbivores. Here, we provide evidence that beneficial microbes modulate plant defenses against insect herbivores. Beneficial soil microorganisms can regulate hormone signaling including the jasmonic acid, ethylene and salicylic acid pathways, thereby leading to gene expression, biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, plant defensive proteins and different enzymes and volatile compounds, that may induce defenses against leaf-chewing as well as phloem-feeding insects. In this review, we discuss how beneficial microbes trigger induced systemic resistance against insects by promoting plant growth and highlight changes in plant molecular mechanisms and biochemical profiles. PMID:29104585

Insects Intercepted on Wood Articles at ports-of-Entry in the United States: 1985-1996

Treesearch

Robert A. Haack; Joseph F. Cavey

1997-01-01

Of the more than 2000 exotic insects now established in the United States (US Congress 1993), more than 400 feed on trees and shrubs (Haack et al. 1997b, Mattsonet et al. 1994, Niemela and Mattson 1996).Several of these exotic insects have greatly altered forest ecosystems in the US (Campbell and Schlarbaum 1994, Ciesla 1993, Liebhold etal. 1995, Wallner 1996)....

Gall-induction in insects: evolutionary dead-end or speciation driver?

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background The tree of life is significantly asymmetrical - a result of differential speciation and extinction - but general causes of such asymmetry are unclear. Differences in niche partitioning are thought to be one possible general explanation. Ecological specialization might lead to increases in diversification rate or, alternatively, specialization might limit the evolutionary potential of specialist lineages and increase their extinction risk. Here we compare the diversification rates of gall-inducing and non-galling insect lineages. Compared with other insect herbivores feeding on the same host plant, gall-inducing insects feed on plant tissue that is more nutritious and less defended, and they do so in a favorable microhabitat that may also provide some protection from natural enemies. We use sister-taxon comparisons to test whether gall-inducing lineages are more host-specific than non-galling lineages, and more or less diverse than non-gallers. We evaluate the significance of diversity bipartitions under Equal Rates Markov models, and use maximum likelihood model-fitting to test for shifts in diversification rates. Results We find that, although gall-inducing insect groups are more host-specific than their non-galling relatives, there is no general significant increase in diversification rate in gallers. However, gallers are found at both extremes - two gall-inducing lineages are exceptionally diverse (Euurina sawflies on Salicaceae and Apiomorpha scale insects on Eucalytpus), and one gall-inducing lineage is exceptionally species-poor (Maskellia armored scales on Eucalyptus). Conclusions The effect of ecological specialization on diversification rates is complex in the case of gall-inducing insects, but host range may be an important factor. When a gall-inducing lineage has a host range approximate to that of its non-galling sister, the gallers are more diverse. When the non-galler clade has a much wider host range than the galler, the non-galler is

Specialized proteinine rove beetles shed light on insect-fungal associations in the Cretaceous.

PubMed

Cai, Chenyang; Newton, Alfred F; Thayer, Margaret K; Leschen, Richard A B; Huang, Diying

2016-12-28

Insects and fungi have a long history of association in shared habitats. Fungus-feeding, or mycophagy, is remarkably widespread in beetles (Coleoptera) and appears to be a primitive feeding habit that preceded feeding on plant tissues. Numerous Mesozoic beetles belonging to extant fungus-associated families are known, but direct fossil evidence elucidating mycophagy in insects has remained elusive. Here, we report a remarkable genus and species, Vetuproteinus cretaceus gen. et sp. nov., belonging to a new tribe (Vetuproteinini trib. nov.) of the extant rove beetle subfamily Proteininae (Staphylinidae) in Mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. The mouthparts of this beetle have a markedly enlarged protruding galea bearing an apparent spore brush, a specialized structure we infer was used to scrape spores off surfaces and direct them into the mouth, as in multiple modern spore-feeding beetles. Considering the long evolutionary history of Fungi, the Mid-Cretaceous beetles likely fed on ancient Basidiomycota and/or Ascomycota fungi or spore-producing organisms such as slime moulds (Myxomycetes). The discovery of the first Mesozoic proteinine illustrates the antiquity of the subfamily, and suggests that ancestral Proteininae were already diverse and widespread in Pangaea before the supercontinent broke up. © 2016 The Author(s).

Visual approach computation in feeding hoverflies.

PubMed

Thyselius, Malin; Gonzalez-Bellido, Paloma T; Wardill, Trevor J; Nordström, Karin

2018-05-22

On warm sunny days, female hoverflies are often observed feeding from a wide range of wild and cultivated flowers. In doing so, hoverflies serve a vital role as alternative pollinators, and are suggested to be the most important pollinators after bees and bumblebees. Unless the flower hoverflies are feeding from is large, they do not readily share the space with other insects, but instead opt to leave if another insect approaches. We used high-speed videography followed by 3D reconstruction of flight trajectories to quantify how female Eristalis hoverflies respond to approaching bees, wasps and two different hoverfly species. We found that, in 94% of the interactions, the occupant female left the flower when approached by another insect. We found that compared with spontaneous take-offs, the occupant hoverfly's escape response was performed at ∼3 times higher speed (spontaneous take-off at 0.2±0.05 m s -1 compared with 0.55±0.08 m s -1 when approached by another Eristalis ). The hoverflies tended to take off upward and forward, while taking the incomer's approach angle into account. Intriguingly, we found that, when approached by wasps, the occupant Eristalis took off at a higher speed and when the wasp was further away. This suggests that feeding hoverflies may be able to distinguish these predators, demanding impressive visual capabilities. Our results, including quantification of the visual information available before occupant take-off, provide important insight into how freely behaving hoverflies perform escape responses from competitors and predators (e.g. wasps) in the wild. © 2018. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Gustatory receptor neuron responds to DEET and other insect repellents in the yellow-fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanford, Jillian L.; Shields, Vonnie D. C.; Dickens, Joseph C.

2013-03-01

Three gustatory receptor neurons were characterized for contact chemoreceptive sensilla on the labella of female yellow-fever mosquitoes, Aedes aegypti. The neuron with the smallest amplitude spike responded to the feeding deterrent, quinine, as well as N, N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide and other insect repellents. Two other neurons with differing spikes responded to salt (NaCl) and sucrose. This is the first report of a gustatory receptor neuron specific for insect repellents in mosquitoes and may provide a tool for screening chemicals to discover novel or improved feeding deterrents and repellents for use in the management of arthropod disease vectors.

The Molecular Characterization of the Kinin Transcript and the Physiological Effects of Kinins in the Blood-Gorging Insect Rhodnius prolixus

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The dramatic feeding-related activities of the Chagas' disease vector, Rhodnius prolixus are under neurohormonal regulation of serotonin and various neuropeptides. One such family of neuropeptides, the insect kinins, possess diuretic, digestive and myotropic activities in many insects. In this study...

Edible insects - defining knowledge gaps in biological and ethical considerations of entomophagy.

PubMed

Pali-Schöll, Isabella; Binder, Regina; Moens, Yves; Polesny, Friedrich; Monsó, Susana

2018-04-25

While seeking novel food sources to feed the increasing population of the globe, several alternatives have been discussed, including algae, fungi or in vitro meat. The increasingly propagated usage of farmed insects for human nutrition raises issues regarding food safety, consumer information and animal protection. In line with law, insects like any other animals must not be reared or manipulated in a way that inflicts unnecessary pain, distress or harm on them. Currently, there is a great need for research in the area of insect welfare, especially regarding species-specific needs, health, farming systems and humane methods of killing. Recent results from neurophysiological, neuroanatomical and behavioral sciences prompt caution when denying consciousness and therefore the likelihood of presence of pain and suffering or something closely related to it to insects. From an animal protection point of view, these issues should be satisfyingly solved before propagating and establishing intensive husbandry systems for insects as a new type of mini-livestock factory farming.

Dynamic Maize Responses to Aphid Feeding Are Revealed by a Time Series of Transcriptomic and Metabolomic Assays1[OPEN

PubMed Central

Tzin, Vered; Fernandez-Pozo, Noe; Richter, Annett; Schmelz, Eric A.; Schoettner, Matthias; Schäfer, Martin; Ahern, Kevin R.; Meihls, Lisa N.; Kaur, Harleen; Huffaker, Alisa; Mori, Naoki; Degenhardt, Joerg; Mueller, Lukas A.; Jander, Georg

2015-01-01

As a response to insect attack, maize (Zea mays) has inducible defenses that involve large changes in gene expression and metabolism. Piercing/sucking insects such as corn leaf aphid (Rhopalosiphum maidis) cause direct damage by acquiring phloem nutrients as well as indirect damage through the transmission of plant viruses. To elucidate the metabolic processes and gene expression changes involved in maize responses to aphid attack, leaves of inbred line B73 were infested with corn leaf aphids for 2 to 96 h. Analysis of infested maize leaves showed two distinct response phases, with the most significant transcriptional and metabolic changes occurring in the first few hours after the initiation of aphid feeding. After 4 d, both gene expression and metabolite profiles of aphid-infested maize reverted to being more similar to those of control plants. Although there was a predominant effect of salicylic acid regulation, gene expression changes also indicated prolonged induction of oxylipins, although not necessarily jasmonic acid, in aphid-infested maize. The role of specific metabolic pathways was confirmed using Dissociator transposon insertions in maize inbred line W22. Mutations in three benzoxazinoid biosynthesis genes, Bx1, Bx2, and Bx6, increased aphid reproduction. In contrast, progeny production was greatly decreased by a transposon insertion in the single W22 homolog of the previously uncharacterized B73 terpene synthases TPS2 and TPS3. Together, these results show that maize leaves shift to implementation of physical and chemical defenses within hours after the initiation of aphid feeding and that the production of specific metabolites can have major effects in maize-aphid interactions. PMID:26378100

Differential profiles of direct and indirect modification of vector feeding behaviour by a plant virus.

PubMed

He, Wen-Bo; Li, Jie; Liu, Shu-Sheng

2015-01-08

Plant viruses interact with their insect vectors directly and indirectly via host plants, and this tripartite interaction may produce fitness benefits to both the vectors and the viruses. Our previous studies show that the Middle East-Asia Minor 1 (MEAM1) species of the whitefly Bemisia tabaci complex improved its performance on tobacco plants infected by the Tomato yellow leaf curl China virus (TYLCCNV), which it transmits, although virus infection of the whitefly per se reduced its performance. Here, we use electrical penetration graph recording to investigate the direct and indirect effects of TYLCCNV on the feeding behaviour of MEAM1. When feeding on either cotton, a non-host of TYLCCNV, or uninfected tobacco, a host of TYLCCNV, virus-infection of the whiteflies impeded their feeding. Interestingly, when viruliferous whiteflies fed on virus-infected tobacco, their feeding activities were no longer negatively affected; instead, the virus promoted whitefly behaviour related to rapid and effective sap ingestion. Our findings show differential profiles of direct and indirect modification of vector feeding behaviour by a plant virus, and help to unravel the behavioural mechanisms underlying a mutualistic relationship between an insect vector and a plant virus that also has features reminiscent of an insect pathogen.

Differential profiles of direct and indirect modification of vector feeding behaviour by a plant virus

PubMed Central

He, Wen-Bo; Li, Jie; Liu, Shu-Sheng

2015-01-01

Plant viruses interact with their insect vectors directly and indirectly via host plants, and this tripartite interaction may produce fitness benefits to both the vectors and the viruses. Our previous studies show that the Middle East-Asia Minor 1 (MEAM1) species of the whitefly Bemisia tabaci complex improved its performance on tobacco plants infected by the Tomato yellow leaf curl China virus (TYLCCNV), which it transmits, although virus infection of the whitefly per se reduced its performance. Here, we use electrical penetration graph recording to investigate the direct and indirect effects of TYLCCNV on the feeding behaviour of MEAM1. When feeding on either cotton, a non-host of TYLCCNV, or uninfected tobacco, a host of TYLCCNV, virus-infection of the whiteflies impeded their feeding. Interestingly, when viruliferous whiteflies fed on virus-infected tobacco, their feeding activities were no longer negatively affected; instead, the virus promoted whitefly behaviour related to rapid and effective sap ingestion. Our findings show differential profiles of direct and indirect modification of vector feeding behaviour by a plant virus, and help to unravel the behavioural mechanisms underlying a mutualistic relationship between an insect vector and a plant virus that also has features reminiscent of an insect pathogen. PMID:25567524

Silvicultural Practices in Forests of the Southern United States: Insect and Disease Considerations

Treesearch

T. Evan Nebeker; Theodor D. Leininger; James S. Meadows

1999-01-01

The relationship between silvicultural practices, e.g. thinning, and pest organisms (insects and diseases) has been investigated extensively in pine species but to a lesser degree in hardwoods. Of critical interest is the potential negative impact to the residual stand resulting from insect damage and diseases that develop as a consequence of silvicultural practices....

Influence of Trichomes in Strawberry Cultivars on the Feeding Behavior of Chaetosiphon fragaefolii (Cockerell) (Hemiptera: Aphididae).

PubMed

Benatto, A; Mogor, A F; Penteado, S C; Pereira, L S; Salas, F J S; Zawadneak, M A C

2018-08-01

Chaetosiphon fragaefolii (Cockerell) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) is the predominant aphid in strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duchesne) production systems in Brazil. This pest species directly damages the plants and is also responsible for spreading viruses. Further, C. fragaefolii often renders strawberry cultivation unviable, because of its high reproductive rate, as well as the large number of individuals generated through parthenogenesis. The present study aimed to (1) evaluate the feeding behavior of C. fragaefolii in four strawberry cultivars (Albion, Aromas, Camarosa, and San Andreas) and (2) identify the resistance factors associated with the number and type of trichomes in the cultivars, and also its effect on the feeding behavior of C. fragaefolii, using the electrical penetration graph (EPG) technique. The results revealed an intrinsic relationship between the number of trichomes on the cultivar and feeding behavior of C. fragaefolii. A higher number of trichomes, both tector and glandular, was observed in Albion compared to that of other cultivars, resulting in a longer no probing (Np) period per insect, and a longer Np phase. A relatively short phloem phase and ingestion time of the phloem sieve elements were also observed in Albion. These results suggest that the trichomes act as a physical barrier creating difficulties for C. fragaefolii to feed, thereby altering its feeding behavior in the four cultivars studied.

Insect Pests and Integrated Pest Management in Museums, Libraries and Historic Buildings

PubMed Central

Querner, Pascal

2015-01-01

Insect pests are responsible for substantial damage to museum objects, historic books and in buildings like palaces or historic houses. Different wood boring beetles (Anobium punctatum, Hylotrupes bajulus, Lyctus sp. or introduced species), the biscuit beetle (Stegobium paniceum), the cigarette beetle (Lasioderma serricorne), different Dermestides (Attagenus sp., Anthrenus sp., Dermestes sp., Trogoderma sp.), moths like the webbing clothes moth (Tineola bisselliella), Silverfish (Lepisma saccharina) and booklice (Psocoptera) can damage materials, objects or building parts. They are the most common pests found in collections in central Europe, but most of them are distributed all over the world. In tropical countries, termites, cockroaches and other insect pests are also found and result in even higher damage of wood and paper or are a commune annoyance in buildings. In this short review, an introduction to Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in museums is given, the most valuable collections, preventive measures, monitoring in museums, staff responsible for the IPM and chemical free treatment methods are described. In the second part of the paper, the most important insect pests occurring in museums, archives, libraries and historic buildings in central Europe are discussed with a description of the materials and object types that are mostly infested and damaged. Some information on their phenology and biology are highlighted as they can be used in the IPM concept against them. PMID:26463205

Insect Pests and Integrated Pest Management in Museums, Libraries and Historic Buildings.

PubMed

Querner, Pascal

2015-06-16

Insect pests are responsible for substantial damage to museum objects, historic books and in buildings like palaces or historic houses. Different wood boring beetles (Anobium punctatum, Hylotrupes bajulus, Lyctus sp. or introduced species), the biscuit beetle (Stegobium paniceum), the cigarette beetle (Lasioderma serricorne), different Dermestides (Attagenus sp., Anthrenus sp., Dermestes sp., Trogoderma sp.), moths like the webbing clothes moth (Tineola bisselliella), Silverfish (Lepisma saccharina) and booklice (Psocoptera) can damage materials, objects or building parts. They are the most common pests found in collections in central Europe, but most of them are distributed all over the world. In tropical countries, termites, cockroaches and other insect pests are also found and result in even higher damage of wood and paper or are a commune annoyance in buildings. In this short review, an introduction to Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in museums is given, the most valuable collections, preventive measures, monitoring in museums, staff responsible for the IPM and chemical free treatment methods are described. In the second part of the paper, the most important insect pests occurring in museums, archives, libraries and historic buildings in central Europe are discussed with a description of the materials and object types that are mostly infested and damaged. Some information on their phenology and biology are highlighted as they can be used in the IPM concept against them.

Immune modulation enables a specialist insect to benefit from antibacterial withanolides in its host plant

PubMed Central

Barthel, Andrea; Vogel, Heiko; Pauchet, Yannick; Pauls, Gerhard; Kunert, Grit; Groot, Astrid T.; Boland, Wilhelm; Heckel, David G.; Heidel-Fischer, Hanna M.

2016-01-01

The development of novel plant chemical defenses and counter adaptations by herbivorous insect could continually drive speciation, producing more insect specialists than generalists. One approach to test this hypothesis is to compare closely related generalist and specialist species to reveal the associated costs and benefits of these different adaptive strategies. We use the specialized moth Heliothis subflexa, which feeds exclusively on plants in the genus Physalis, and its close generalist relative H. virescens. Specialization on Physalis plants necessitates the ability to tolerate withanolides, the secondary metabolites of Physalis species that are known to have feeding deterrent and immune inhibiting properties for other insects. Here we find that only H. subflexa benefits from the antibacterial properties of withanolides, and thereby gains a higher tolerance of the pathogen Bacillus thuringiensis. We argue that the specialization in H. subflexa has been guided to a large extent by a unique role of plant chemistry on ecological immunology. PMID:27561781

Insect-plant-pathogen interactions as shaped by future climate: effects on biology, distribution, and implications for agriculture.

PubMed

Trębicki, Piotr; Dáder, Beatriz; Vassiliadis, Simone; Fereres, Alberto

2017-12-01

Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) is the main anthropogenic gas which has drastically increased since the industrial revolution, and current concentrations are projected to double by the end of this century. As a consequence, elevated CO 2 is expected to alter the earths' climate, increase global temperatures and change weather patterns. This is likely to have both direct and indirect impacts on plants, insect pests, plant pathogens and their distribution, and is therefore problematic for the security of future food production. This review summarizes the latest findings and highlights current knowledge gaps regarding the influence of climate change on insect, plant and pathogen interactions with an emphasis on agriculture and food production. Direct effects of climate change, including increased CO 2 concentration, temperature, patterns of rainfall and severe weather events that impact insects (namely vectors of plant pathogens) are discussed. Elevated CO 2 and temperature, together with plant pathogen infection, can considerably change plant biochemistry and therefore plant defense responses. This can have substantial consequences on insect fecundity, feeding rates, survival, population size, and dispersal. Generally, changes in host plant quality due to elevated CO 2 (e.g., carbon to nitrogen ratios in C3 plants) negatively affect insect pests. However, compensatory feeding, increased population size and distribution have also been reported for some agricultural insect pests. This underlines the importance of additional research on more targeted, individual insect-plant scenarios at specific locations to fully understand the impact of a changing climate on insect-plant-pathogen interactions. © 2017 Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Preference of dendrophagous insects for forest borders

Treesearch

Andrey V. Gurov

1991-01-01

Numerous investigations have shown that forest insect outbreaks usually occur in specific habitats. Frequently these outbreaks do not generally extend to other territories occupied by these same host trees. Moreover, in every stand subjected to an outbreak, both slightly undamaged plots and heavily damaged plots are found. Perhaps some plots are initially more...

The cost of being an omnivore: mandible wear from plant feeding in a true bug

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roitberg, Bernard D.; Gillespie, David R.; Quiring, Donald M. J.; Alma, Colleen R.; Jenner, Wade H.; Perry, Jennifer; Peterson, Jason H.; Salomon, Maxence; Vanlaerhoven, Sherah

2005-09-01

Evolutionary and ecological transitions from carnivorous to omnivorous feeding may be constrained by the ability of the animal to cope with disparate types of foods, even if preadaptations for such behaviour exist. The omnivorous true bug, Dicyphus hesperus (Hemiptera: Miridae) requires both animals (small, soft-bodied insects) and plants in its diet and obtains the majority of its dietary and metabolic water from plant feeding. Serrations on the lateral margins of the mandibular stylets wear with age, and this wear is exacerbated when the insects feed on plants compared to those provided free water and no plants. D. hesperus that feed on plants attack fewer prey but consumed similar amounts of prey tissue compared to individuals that were provided free water. Although others have shown mandible wear for plant-chewing animals we show for the first time that plant feeding can impose similar wear on plant-piercing animals as well.

The Hungry Fly: Hydrodynamics of feeding in the common house fly

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prakash, Manu; Steele, Miles

2010-11-01

A large number of insect species feed primarily on a fluid diet. To do so, they must overcome the numerous challenges that arise in the design of high-efficiency, miniature pumps. Although the morphology of insect feeding structures has been described for decades, their dynamics remain largely unknown even in the most well studied species (e.g. fruit fly). Here, we use invivo imaging and microsurgery to elucidate the design principles of feeding structures of the common house fly. Using high-resolution X-ray microscopy, we record invivo flow of sucrose solutions through the body over many hours during fly feeding. Borrowing from microsurgery techniques common in neurophysiology, we are able to perturb the pump to a stall position and thus evaluate function under load conditions. Furthermore, fluid viscosity-dependent feedback is observed for optimal pump performance. As the gut of the fly starts to fill up, feedback from the stretch receptors in the cuticle dictates the effective flow rate. Finally, via comparative analysis between the house fly, blow fly, fruit fly and bumble bees, we highlight the common design principles and the role of interfacial phenomena in feeding.

Shifts in Buchnera aphidicola density in soybean aphids (Aphis glycines) feeding on virus-infected soybean

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Bacterial symbioses are prevalent across insect taxa, and are considered key to several specialized feeding behaviors and to insect diversification at large. Aphids undergo an obligate symbiosis with Buchnera aphidicola, which provides essential amino acids to its host contributing directly to host ...

Effects of plants genetically modified for insect resistance on nontarget organisms.

PubMed

O'Callaghan, Maureen; Glare, Travis R; Burgess, Elisabeth P J; Malone, Louise A

2005-01-01

Insect resistance, based on Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) endotoxins, is the second most widely used trait (after herbicide resistance) in commercial genetically modified (GM) crops. Other modifications for insect resistance, such as proteinase inhibitors and lectins, are also being used in many experimental crops. The extensive testing on nontarget plant-feeding insects and beneficial species that has accompanied the long-term and wide-scale use of Bt plants has not detected significant adverse effects. GM plants expressing other insect-resistant proteins that have a broader spectrum of activity have been tested on only a limited number of nontarget species. Little is known about the persistence of transgene-derived proteins in soil, with the exception of Bt endotoxins, which can persist in soil for several months. Bt plants appear to have little impact on soil biota such as earthworms, collembolans, and general soil microflora. Further research is required on the effects of GM plants on soil processes such as decomposition. Assessment of nontarget impacts is an essential part of the risk assessment process for insect-resistant GM plants.

Overturning dogma: tolerance of insects to mixed-sterol diets is not universal.

PubMed

Behmer, Spencer T

2017-10-01

Insects cannot synthesize sterols de novo, but like all eukaryotes they use them as cell membrane inserts where they influence membrane fluidity and rigidity. They also use a small amount for metabolic purposes, most notably as essential precursors for steroid hormones. It has been a long-held view that most insects require a small amount of specific sterol (often cholesterol) for metabolic purposes, but for membrane purposes (where the bulk of sterols are used) specificity in sterol structure was less important. Under this model, it was assumed that insects could tolerate mixed-sterol diets as long as a small amount of cholesterol was available. In the current paper this dogma is overturned, using data from plant-feeding insects that were fed mixed-sterol diets with different amounts and ratios of dietary sterols. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effects of habitat management on different feeding guilds of herbivorous insects in cacao agroforestry systems.

PubMed

Novais, Samuel M A; Macedo-Reis, Luiz E; DaRocha, Wesley D; Neves, Frederico S

2016-06-01

Human pressure on natural habitats increases the importance of agroforests for biodiversity conservation. The objective of this study was to evaluate the role of cacao traditional cultivation system (CTCS) on the conservation of the herbivorous insect community when compared with a monodominant rubber agroforest, a type of agricultural system for cacao cultivation. The insects were sampled in three habitats in Southeastern Bahia, Brazil: native forests, CTCS and rubber agroforests. In each habitat, 18 plots of 10 m2 were established, and the structural measures were collected and herbivorous insects were sampled with a Malaise/window trap. The diversity of folivorous decreased with the simplification of vegetation structure, but species composition was similar among habitats. In addition to a decrease in the availability of resources in monodominant rubber agroforests, the latex present in these systems have limited the occurrence of species that cannot circumvent latex toxicity. The diversity of sap-sucking insects was similar among habitats, but species composition was similar only in the CTCS and native forest, and it was different in the rubber agroforest. We observed turnover and a higher frequency of individuals of the family Psyllidae in the rubber agroforest. The biology and behavior of Psyllids and absence of natural enemies enable their diversity to increase when they are adapted to a new host. We observed a shift in the composition of xylophagous insects in the rubber agroforest compared to that in other habitats. Moreover, this agroforest has low species richness, but high individual abundance. Latex extraction is likely an important additional source of volatile compounds discharged into the environment, and it increases the attraction and recruitment of coleoborers to these sites. We concluded that CTCS has an herbivorous insect community with a structure similar to the community found in native forests of the region, and they present a more

A Comparison of Hamster Anesthetics and Their Effect on Mosquito Blood Feeding

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Hamsters or mice are often anesthetized when they are used as the hosts for insect feeding experiments. An experiment was done to determine if there was a difference in mosquito blood feeding success when fed on hamsters anesthetized using two commonly used protocols. The number of blood-fed females...

Massive yet grossly underestimated global costs of invasive insects

PubMed Central

Bradshaw, Corey J. A.; Leroy, Boris; Bellard, Céline; Roiz, David; Albert, Céline; Fournier, Alice; Barbet-Massin, Morgane; Salles, Jean-Michel; Simard, Frédéric; Courchamp, Franck

2016-01-01

Insects have presented human society with some of its greatest development challenges by spreading diseases, consuming crops and damaging infrastructure. Despite the massive human and financial toll of invasive insects, cost estimates of their impacts remain sporadic, spatially incomplete and of questionable quality. Here we compile a comprehensive database of economic costs of invasive insects. Taking all reported goods and service estimates, invasive insects cost a minimum of US$70.0 billion per year globally, while associated health costs exceed US$6.9 billion per year. Total costs rise as the number of estimate increases, although many of the worst costs have already been estimated (especially those related to human health). A lack of dedicated studies, especially for reproducible goods and service estimates, implies gross underestimation of global costs. Global warming as a consequence of climate change, rising human population densities and intensifying international trade will allow these costly insects to spread into new areas, but substantial savings could be achieved by increasing surveillance, containment and public awareness. PMID:27698460

SAR studies directed toward the pyridine moiety of the sap-feeding insecticide sulfoxaflor (Isoclast™ active).

PubMed

Loso, Michael R; Benko, Zoltan; Buysse, Ann; Johnson, Timothy C; Nugent, Benjamin M; Rogers, Richard B; Sparks, Thomas C; Wang, Nick X; Watson, Gerald B; Zhu, Yuanming

2016-02-01

Sap-feeding insect pests constitute a major insect pest complex that includes a range of aphids, whiteflies, planthoppers and other insect species. Sulfoxaflor (Isoclast™ active), a new sulfoximine class insecticide, targets sap-feeding insect pests including those resistant to many other classes of insecticides. A structure activity relationship (SAR) investigation of the sulfoximine insecticides revealed the importance of a 3-pyridyl ring and a methyl substituent on the methylene bridge linking the pyridine and the sulfoximine moiety to achieving strong Myzus persicae activity. A more in depth QSAR investigation of pyridine ring substituents revealed a strong correlation with the calculated logoctanol/water partition coefficient (SlogP). Model development resulted in a highly predictive model for a set of 18 sulfoximines including sulfoxaflor. The model is consistent with and helps explain the highly optimized pyridine substitution pattern for sulfoxaflor. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Onion Thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) Feeding Promotes Infection By Pantoea ananatis in Onion.

PubMed

Grode, Ari; Chen, Shicheng; Walker, Edward D; Szendrei, Zsofia

2017-12-05

Onion thrips, Thrips tabaci Lindeman, is a primary insect pest of onions (Allium cepa) worldwide. Onion thrips cause feeding damage by destroying epidermal tissue. They are also vectors of Pantoea ananatis (Serrano) Mergaert, the bacteria that causes center rot. Onions with center rot develop white streaks with water-soaked margins along the onion leaves, which turn necrotic and lead to bulb rot during storage. The role of thrips feeding on the establishment and progression of bacterial infection in onions has not been investigated. Onions infested with thrips and inoculated with P. ananatis had more necrotic tissue and symptoms were more severe with increasing thrips density. We conducted a fluorescence microscopy study that examined how P. ananatis (expressing a fluorescence protein gene) colonized a control group of onions without thrips in comparison to a test group of onions with thrips. We found that P. ananatis colonized some onions in the control group because of naturally existing wounds in the epidermal tissue but more colonization was found in the thrips infested group because of the increased presence of entry points caused by thrips feeding. Overall, our results demonstrate that wounds caused by thrips feeding facilitate center rot development by providing entry sites for the bacteria into leaf tissue. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Plant phenolics are detoxified by prophenoloxidase in the insect gut

PubMed Central

Wu, Kai; Zhang, Jie; Zhang, Qiaoli; Zhu, Shoulin; Shao, Qimiao; Clark, Kevin D.; Liu, Yining; Ling, Erjun

2015-01-01

Plant phenolics are a group of important secondary metabolites that are toxic to many animals and insects if ingested at high concentrations. Because most insects consume plant phenolics daily, they have likely evolved the capacity to detoxify these compounds. Here, we used Drosophila melanogaster, Bombyx mori and Helicoverpa armigera as models to study the metabolism of plant phenolics by prophenoloxidases. We found that insect foreguts release prophenoloxidases into the lumen, and that the survival of prophenoloxidase-deletion mutants was impaired when fed several plant phenolics and tea extracts. Using l-DOPA as a model substrate, biochemical assays in large Lepidopteran insects demonstrated that low levels of l-DOPA are rapidly metabolized into intermediates by phenoloxidases. Feeding with excess l-DOPA showed that the metabolic intermediate 5,6-dihydroxyindole reached the hindgut either by passing directly through the midgut, or by transport through the hemolymph. In the hindgut, 5,6-dihydroxyindole was further oxidized by prophenoloxidases. Intermediates exerted no toxicity in the hemocoel or midgut. These results show that plant phenolics are not toxic to insects unless prophenoloxidase genes are lost or the levels of phenolics exceed the catalytic activity of the gut prophenoloxidases. PMID:26592948

Bear feeding activity at alpine insect aggregation sites in the Yellowstone ecosystem

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mattson, David J.; Gillin, Colin M.; Benson, Scott A.; Knight, Richard R.

1991-01-01

Bears (Ursidae) were observed from fixed-wing aircraft on or near alpine talus in the Shoshone National Forest between 15 June and 15 September in 1981–1989. Bears fed on insect aggregations at 6 known and 12 suspected alpine talus sites, disproportionately more at elevations > 3350 m, on slopes > 30°, and on south- and west-facing aspects. While at these sites, bears almost exclusively ate invertebrates, typically army cutworm moths (Euxoa auxiliaris). Subadult grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribilis) appeared to be underrepresented at the sites, and proportionate representation of adult females with young appeared to decrease between 15 June and 15 September. Overall, observations of bears at these sites increased between 1981 and 1989. We suggest that alpine insect aggregations are an important food source for bears in the Shoshone National Forest, especially in the absence of high-quality foraging alternatives in July and August of most years.

Elevated air temperature alters an old-field insect community in a multi-factor climate change experiment

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Villalpando, Sean; Williams, Ray; Norby, Richard J

To address how multiple, interacting climate drivers may affect plant-insect community associations, we sampled the insect community from a constructed old-field plant community grown under simultaneous [CO2], temperature, and water manipulation. Insects were identified to morphospecies, assigned to feeding guilds and abundance, richness and evenness quantified. Warming significantly increased Order Thysanoptera abundance and reduced overall morphospecies richness and evenness. Non-metric multidimensional scaling clearly supported the effect of warming on insect community composition. Reductions in richness for herbivores and parasitoids suggest trophic-level effects within the insect community. Analysis of dominant insects demonstrated the effects of warming were limited to a relativelymore » small number of morphospecies. Reported reductions in whole-community foliar N at elevated [CO2] unexpectedly did not result in any effects on herbivores. These results demonstrate climatic warming may alter certain insect communities via effects on insect species most responsive to higher temperature, contributing to a change in community structure.« less

Control of key pecan insect pests using biorational pesticides.

PubMed

Shapiro-Ilan, David I; Cottrell, Ted E; Jackson, Mark A; Wood, Bruce W

2013-02-01

Key pecan insect pests include the black pecan aphid, Melanocallis caryaefoliae (Davis), pecan weevil, Curculio caryae (Horn), and stink bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae). Alternative control tactics are needed for management of these pests in organic and conventional systems. Our objective was to evaluate the potential utility of several alternative insecticides including three plant extract formulations, eucalyptus extract, citrus extract-8.92%, and citrus extract-19.4%, and two microbial insecticides, Chromobacterium subtsugae (Martin et al.) and Isaria fumosorosea (Wize). In the laboratory, eucalyptus extract, citrus extract-8.92%, citrus extract-19.4%, and C. subtsugae caused M. caryaefoliae mortality (mortality was reached approximately 78, 83, and 96%, respectively). In field tests, combined applications of I. fumosorosea with eucalyptus extract were synergistic and caused up to 82% mortality in M. caryaefoliae. In laboratory assays focusing on C. caryae suppression, C. subtsugae reduced feeding and oviposition damage, eucalyptus extract and citrus extract-19.4% were ineffective, and antagonism was observed when citrus extract-19.4% was combined with the entomopathogenic nematode, Steinernema carpocapsae (Weiser). In field tests, C. subtsugae reduced C. caryae damage by 55% within the first 3d, and caused 74.5% corrected mortality within 7 d posttreatment. In the laboratory, C. subtsugae and eucalyptus extract did not cause mortality in the brown stink bug, Euschistus servus (Say). Applications of C. subtsugae for suppression of C. caryae, and eucalyptus extract plus I. fumosorosea for control of M. caryaefoliae show promise as alternative insecticides and should be evaluated further.

Cutworm damage to seedlings in California pine stands

Treesearch

H.A. Fowells

1940-01-01

Cutworms, Noctuidae larvae, frequently cause serious damage to natural and planted seedlings in the California pine region. Observations during several years in California and reports from other regions suggest that these insects contribute to frequent failures of plantations and natural reproduction. Careful study of the insects with a view to their control seems...

7 CFR 51.2560 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... have black, brown or gray surface with a dark interior color and the immaturity has adversely affected the flavor of the kernel. (2) Kernel spotting refers to dark brown or dark gray spots aggregating more... the kernel shows conspicuous evidence of feeding. (3) Insect damage is an insect, insect fragment, web...

7 CFR 51.2560 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... have black, brown or gray surface with a dark interior color and the immaturity has adversely affected the flavor of the kernel. (2) Kernel spotting refers to dark brown or dark gray spots aggregating more... the kernel shows conspicuous evidence of feeding. (3) Insect damage is an insect, insect fragment, web...

7 CFR 51.2560 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... have black, brown or gray surface with a dark interior color and the immaturity has adversely affected the flavor of the kernel. (2) Kernel spotting refers to dark brown or dark gray spots aggregating more... the kernel shows conspicuous evidence of feeding. (3) Insect damage is an insect, insect fragment, web...

7 CFR 51.2739 - Damage.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... damage: (a) Rancidity or decay; (b) Mold; (c) Insects, worm cuts, web or frass; (d) Freezing injury causing hard, translucent, or discolored flesh; and, (e) Dirt when the surface of the kernel is heavily...

Verde plant bug (Hemiptera: Miridae) feeding injury to cotton bolls characterized by boll age, size, and damage ratings.

PubMed

Armstrong, J Scott; Brewer, Michael J; Parker, Roy D; Adamczyk, J J

2013-02-01

The verde plant bug, Creontiades signatus (Distant), has been present in south Texas for several years but has more recently been documented as an economic threat to cultivated cotton, (Gossypium hirsutum L. Our studies over 2 yr (2009 and 2010) and two locations (Weslaco and Corpus Christi, TX) investigated feeding-injury of the verde plant bug to a range of cotton boll age classes defined by boll diameter and accumulated degree-days (anthesis to the time of infesting) for first-position cotton bolls infested with the plant bugs. The most detrimental damage to younger cotton holls from verde plant bug feeding was boll abscission. Cotton bolls <04 accumulating daily degree-days (ACDD), or a boll diameter of 1.3 cm were subject to 60-70% higher boll abscission when compared with the noninfested controls. Significantly higher boll abscission occurred from verde plant bug injured bolls compared with the controls up to 162 ACDD or a mean boll diameter 2.0 cm. Cotton seed weights were significantly reduced up to 179 ACDD or a boll diameter of 2.0 cm at Weslaco in 2009, and up to 317 ACDD or boll diameter 2.6 cm for Weslaco in 2010 when compared with the noninfested controls. Lint weight per cotton boll for infested and noninfested bolls was significantly reduced up to 262 ACDD or boll diameter 2.5 for Corpus Christi in 2010 and up to 288 ACCD or boll diameter 2.6 cm for Weslaco, TX, in 2010. Damage ratings (dependant variable) regressed against infested and noninfested seed-cotton weights showed that in every instance, the infested cotton bolls had a strong and significant relationship with damage ratings for all age classes of bolls. Damage ratings for the infested cotton bolls that did not abscise by harvest showed visual signs of verde plant bug feeding injury and the subsequent development ofboll rot; however, these two forms of injury causing lint and seed mass loss are hard to differentiate from open or boll-locked cotton bolls. Based on the results of both lint

Comparisons of protein profiles of beech bark disease resistant and susceptible American beech (Fagus grandifolia)

Treesearch

Mary E. Mason; Jennifer L. Koch; Marek Krasowski; Judy Loo

2013-01-01

Beech bark disease is an insect-fungus complex that damages and often kills American beech trees and has major ecological and economic impacts on forests of the northeastern United States and southeastern Canadian forests. The disease begins when exotic beech scale insects feed on the bark of trees, and is followed by infection of damaged bark tissues by one of the...

Exotic forest insects and residential property values

Treesearch

Thomas P. Holmes; Elizabeth A. Murphy; Kathleen P. Bell

2006-01-01

This paper presents a case study of the economic damages to homeowners in a northern New Jersey community due to an exotic forest insect-the hemlock woolly adelgid. Hedonic property value methods are used to estimate the effect of hemlock health on property values. A statistically significant relationship between hemlock health and residential property values is...

The provision of solid feeds to veal calves: II. Behavior, physiology, and abomasal damage.

PubMed

Mattiello, S; Canali, E; Ferrante, V; Caniatti, M; Gottardo, F; Cozzi, G; Andrighetto, I; Verga, M

2002-02-01

differed from the other treatments, possibly in response to the higher iron intake and(or) to the higher hemoconcentration, probably due to the administration of beet pulp as dried feed. The incidence of abomasal ulcers and erosions was increased by the provision of the solid feeds, particularly by a structured fiber source such as straw. A roughage source able to satisfy calves' behavioral needs and to improve digestive processes without damaging the digestive apparatus still has to be identified.

The Importance of Insects in Energy Transfers Across Riparian Ecotones Along Hong Kong Streams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chan, E. K.; Dudgeon, D.

2005-05-01

Energy and materials in the form of insects transfer reciprocally between land and water through stream riparian ecotones, and may provide important energy subsidies to aquatic and terrestrial consumers. Variation in the magnitude and extent of this transfer was investigated in 2004-05 in six Hong Kong streams: four shaded and two unshaded. A combination of pan traps and light traps were used to investigate seasonal activity of aquatic and terrestrial insects. Both were more abundant during the wet season (April to September). Over 80% of emerging aquatic insects stayed within 20 m of the stream bank at all sites, suggesting that the water to land subsidy was spatially restricted. Inputs of terrestrial insects into shaded streams were 30% greater than at open sites, and drift-feeding Parazacco spilurus (Cyprinidae) ate more terrestrial insects in shaded (>40% of prey) than unshaded streams (25% of prey). Stable isotope analysis (SIA; C & N) of potential prey and fish tissues confirmed the dietary importance of terrestrial insects. The spider Leucauge celebesiana (Tetragnathidae) builds orb web parallel to the water surface during the main period of aquatic insect emergence, and SIA indicated that aquatic insects were the primary prey of this terrestrial consumer.

A reaction-diffusion model of the Darien Gap Sterile Insect Release Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alford, John G.

2015-05-01

The Sterile Insect Release Method (SIRM) is used as a biological control for invasive insect species. SIRM involves introducing large quantities of sterilized male insects into a wild population of invading insects. A fertile/sterile mating produces offspring that are not viable and the wild insect population will eventually be eradicated. A U.S. government program maintains a permanent sterile fly barrier zone in the Darien Gap between Panama and Columbia to control the screwworm fly (Cochliomyia Hominivorax), an insect that feeds off of living tissue in mammals and has devastating effects on livestock. This barrier zone is maintained by regular releases of massive quantities of sterilized male screwworm flies from aircraft. We analyze a reaction-diffusion model of the Darien Gap barrier zone. Simulations of the model equations yield two types of spatially inhomogeneous steady-state solutions representing a sterile fly barrier that does not prevent invasion and a barrier that does prevent invasion. We investigate steady-state solutions using both phase plane methods and monotone iteration methods and describe how barrier width and the sterile fly release rate affects steady-state behavior.

Comparative ultrastructural characterization of African horse sickness virus-infected mammalian and insect cells reveals a novel potential virus release mechanism from insect cells.

PubMed

Venter, E; van der Merwe, C F; Buys, A V; Huismans, H; van Staden, V

2014-03-01

African horse sickness virus (AHSV) is an arbovirus capable of successfully replicating in both its mammalian host and insect vector. Where mammalian cells show a severe cytopathic effect (CPE) following AHSV infection, insect cells display no CPE. These differences in cell death could be linked to the method of viral release, i.e. lytic or non-lytic, that predominates in a specific cell type. Active release of AHSV, or any related orbivirus, has, however, not yet been documented from insect cells. We applied an integrated microscopy approach to compare the nanomechanical and morphological response of mammalian and insect cells to AHSV infection. Atomic force microscopy revealed plasma membrane destabilization, integrity loss and structural deformation of the entire surface of infected mammalian cells. Infected insect cells, in contrast, showed no morphological differences from mock-infected cells other than an increased incidence of circular cavities present on the cell surface. Transmission electron microscopy imaging identified a novel large vesicle-like compartment within infected insect cells, not present in mammalian cells, containing viral proteins and virus particles. Extracellular clusters of aggregated virus particles were visualized adjacent to infected insect cells with intact plasma membranes. We propose that foreign material is accumulated within these vesicles and that their subsequent fusion with the cell membrane releases entrapped viruses, thereby facilitating a non-lytic virus release mechanism different from the budding previously observed in mammalian cells. This insect cell-specific defence mechanism contributes to the lack of cell damage observed in AHSV-infected insect cells.

Rapid defense responses in maize leaves induced by Spodoptera exigua caterpillar feeding

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Insects such as beet armyworm caterpillars (Spodoptera exigua) cause extensive damage to maize (Zea mays) by consuming foliar tissue. Maize plants respond to insect attack by triggering defense mechanisms that involve massive changes in gene expression, biosynthesis of specialized metabolites and de...

Insect herbivory in a mature Eucalyptus woodland canopy depends on leaf phenology but not CO2 enrichment.

PubMed

Gherlenda, Andrew N; Moore, Ben D; Haigh, Anthony M; Johnson, Scott N; Riegler, Markus

2016-10-19

Climate change factors such as elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations (e[CO 2 ]) and altered rainfall patterns can alter leaf composition and phenology. This may subsequently impact insect herbivory. In sclerophyllous forests insects have developed strategies, such as preferentially feeding on new leaf growth, to overcome physical or foliar nitrogen constraints, and this may shift under climate change. Few studies of insect herbivory at elevated [CO 2 ] have occurred under field conditions and none on mature evergreen trees in a naturally established forest, yet estimates for leaf area loss due to herbivory are required in order to allow accurate predictions of plant productivity in future climates. Here, we assessed herbivory in the upper canopy of mature Eucalyptus tereticornis trees at the nutrient-limited Eucalyptus free-air CO 2 enrichment (EucFACE) experiment during the first 19 months of CO 2 enrichment. The assessment of herbivory extended over two consecutive spring-summer periods, with a first survey during four months of the [CO 2 ] ramp-up phase after which full [CO 2 ] operation was maintained, followed by a second survey period from months 13 to 19. Throughout the first 2 years of EucFACE, young, expanding leaves sustained significantly greater damage from insect herbivory (between 25 and 32 % leaf area loss) compared to old or fully expanded leaves (less than 2 % leaf area loss). This preference of insect herbivores for young expanding leaves combined with discontinuous production of new foliage, which occurred in response to rainfall, resulted in monthly variations in leaf herbivory. In contrast to the significant effects of rainfall-driven leaf phenology, elevated [CO 2 ] had no effect on leaf consumption or preference of insect herbivores for different leaf age classes. In the studied nutrient-limited natural Eucalyptus woodland, herbivory contributes to a significant loss of young foliage. Leaf phenology is a significant factor

Nondestructive detection of infested chestnuts based on NIR spectroscopy

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Insect feeding is a significant postharvest problem for processors of Chestnuts (Castanea sativa, Miller). In most cases, damage from insects is 'hidden', i.e. not visually detectable on the fruit surface. Consequently, traditional sorting techniques, including manual sorting, are generally inadequa...

Evolutionary Ecology of Multitrophic Interactions between Plants, Insect Herbivores and Entomopathogens.

PubMed

Shikano, Ikkei

2017-06-01

Plants play an important role in the interactions between insect herbivores and their pathogens. Since the seminal review by Cory and Hoover (2006) on plant-mediated effects on insect-pathogen interactions, considerable progress has been made in understanding the complexity of these tritrophic interactions. Increasing interest in the areas of nutritional and ecological immunology over the last decade have revealed that plant primary and secondary metabolites can influence the outcomes of insect-pathogen interactions by altering insect immune functioning and physical barriers to pathogen entry. Some insects use plant secondary chemicals and nutrients to prevent infections (prophylactic medication) and medicate to limit the severity of infections (therapeutic medication). Recent findings suggest that there may be selectable plant traits that enhance entomopathogen efficacy, suggesting that entomopathogens could potentially impose selection pressure on plant traits that improve both pathogen and plant fitness. Moreover, plants in nature are inhabited by diverse communities of microbes, in addition to entomopathogens, some of which can trigger immune responses in insect herbivores. Plants are also shared by numerous other herbivorous arthropods with different modes of feeding that can trigger different defensive responses in plants. Some insect symbionts and gut microbes can degrade ingested defensive phytochemicals and be orally secreted onto wounded plant tissue during herbivory to alter plant defenses. Since non-entomopathogenic microbes and other arthropods are likely to influence the outcomes of plant-insect-entomopathogen interactions, I discuss a need to consider these multitrophic interactions within the greater web of species interactions.

Nonadaptive radiation: Pervasive diet specialization by drift in scale insects?

PubMed

Hardy, Nate B; Peterson, Daniel A; Normark, Benjamin B

2016-10-01

At least half of metazoan species are herbivorous insects. Why are they so diverse? Most herbivorous insects feed on few plant species, and adaptive host specialization is often invoked to explain their diversification. Nevertheless, it is possible that the narrow host ranges of many herbivorous insects are nonadaptive. Here, we test predictions of this hypothesis with comparative phylogenetic analyses of scale insects, a group for which there appear to be few host-use trade-offs that would select against polyphagy, and for which passive wind-dispersal should make host specificity costly. We infer a strong positive relationship between host range and diversification rate, and a marked asymmetry in cladogenetic changes in diet breadth. These results are consonant with a system of pervasive nonadaptive host specialization in which small, drift- and extinction-prone populations are frequently isolated from persistent and polyphagous source populations. They also contrast with the negative relationship between diet breadth and taxonomic diversification that has been estimated in butterflies, a disparity that likely stems from differences in the average costs and benefits of host specificity and generalism in scale insects versus butterflies. Our results indicate the potential for nonadaptive processes to be important to diet-breadth evolution and taxonomic diversification across herbivorous insects. © 2016 The Author(s). Evolution © 2016 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

Characterization of insect resistance loci in the USDA soybean germplasm collection using genome-wide association studies

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Management of insects that cause economic damage to yields of soybean mainly rely on insecticide application. Sources of resistance in soybean plant introduction (PIs) to different insect pests have been reported, and some of these resistance sources, like for the soybean aphid (SBA) have been used ...

The impacts of repeated cold exposure on insects.

PubMed

Marshall, Katie E; Sinclair, Brent J

2012-05-15

Insects experience repeated cold exposure (RCE) on multiple time scales in natural environments, yet the majority of studies of the effects of cold on insects involve only a single exposure. Three broad groups of experimental designs have been employed to examine the effects of RCE on insect physiology and fitness, defined by the control treatments: 'RCE vs cold', which compares RCE with constant cold conditions; 'RCE vs warm', which compares RCE with constant warm conditions; and 'RCE vs matched cold' which compares RCE with a prolonged period of cold matched by time to the RCE condition. RCE are generally beneficial to immediate survival, and increase cold hardiness relative to insects receiving a single prolonged cold exposure. However, the effects of RCE depend on the study design, and RCE vs warm studies cannot differentiate between the effects of cold exposure in general vs RCE in particular. Recent studies of gene transcription, immune function, feeding and reproductive output show that the responses of insects to RCE are distinct from the responses to single cold exposures. We suggest that future research should attempt to elucidate the mechanistic link between physiological responses and fitness parameters. We also recommend that future RCE experiments match the time spent at the stressful low temperature in all experimental groups, include age controls where appropriate, incorporate a pilot study to determine time and intensity of exposure, and measure sub-lethal impacts on fitness.

Potent limonoid insect antifeedant from Melia azedarach.

PubMed

Carpinella, Cecilia; Ferrayoli, Carlos; Valladares, Graciela; Defago, Maria; Palacios, Sara

2002-08-01

Systematic fractionation of a fruit extract from Argentine Melia azedarach L., which was monitored by an insect antifeedant bioassay, led to the isolation of meliartenin, a limonoid antifeedant, which existed as a mixture of two interchangeable isomers. At 4 microg/cm2 and 1 microg/cm2, the isomeric mixture was as active as azadirachtin in strongly inhibiting the larval feeding of Epilachna paenulata Germ. (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) and the polyphagous pest, Spodoptera eridania (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), respectively.

Important Insect Pests of Fruit - Important Insect Pests of Nuts - Field Crop Insect Pests - Insect Pests of Vegetable Crops.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gesell, Stanley G.; And Others

This document consists of four agriculture extension service publications from Pennsylvania State University. The titles are: (1) Important Insect Pests of Fruit; (2) Important Insect Pests of Nuts; (3) Field Crop Insect Pests; and (4) Insect Pests of Vegetable Crops. The first publication gives the hosts, injury, and description of 22 insect…

Seasonal abundance and spatio-temporal distribution of dominant xylem fluid-feeding hemiptera in vineyards of central Texas and surrounding habitats.

PubMed

Lauzière, Isabelle; Sheather, Simon; Mitchell, Forrest

2008-08-01

A survey of xylem fluid-feeding insects (Hemiptera) exhibiting potential for transmission of Xylella fastidiosa, the bacterium causing Pierce's disease of grapevine, was conducted from 2004 to 2006 in the Hill Country grape growing region of central Texas. Nineteen insect species were collected from yellow sticky traps. Among these, two leafhoppers and one spittlebug comprised 94.57% of the xylem specialists caught in this region. Homalodisca vitripennis (Germar), Graphocephala versuta (Say), and Clastoptera xanthocephala Germar trap catches varied significantly over time, with greatest counts usually recorded between May or June and August and among localities. A comparison of insect counts from traps placed inside and outside vineyards indicated that G. versuta is always more likely captured on the vegetation adjacent to the vineyard. C. xanthocephala was caught inside the vineyard during the summer. Between October and December, the natural habitat offers more suitable host plants, and insects were absent from the vineyards after the first freezes. H. vitripennis was caught in higher numbers inside the vineyards throughout the grape vegetative season. However, insects were also caught in the habitat near the affected crop throughout the year, and residual populations overwintering near vineyards were also recorded. This study shed new light on the fauna of xylem fluid-feeding insects of Texas. These results also provide critical information to vineyard managers for timely applications of insecticides before insect feeding and vectoring to susceptible grapevines.

Evaluating the role of Actinobacteria in the gut of wood-feeding termites (Reticulitermes spp.)

Treesearch

Rachel A. Arango; Frederick Green III; Vina W. Yang; Joliene R. Lindholm; Nathaniel P. Chotlos; Kenneth F. Raffa

2017-01-01

Nitrogen has been shown to be a limiting nutrient across a range of xylophagous insects. These insects often rely on symbiotic microorganisms in the gut for nitrogen acquisition, via fixation of atmospheric nitrogen or break down of other available nitrogenous substances. In phylogenetically lower, wood-feeding termites, the role of nitrogen fixing bacteria has been...

Characterization of Insect Resistance Loci in the USDA Soybean Germplasm Collection Using Genome-Wide Association Studies

PubMed Central

Chang, Hao-Xun; Hartman, Glen L.

2017-01-01

Management of insects that cause economic damage to yields of soybean mainly rely on insecticide applications. Sources of resistance in soybean plant introductions (PIs) to different insect pests have been reported, and some of these sources, like for the soybean aphid (SBA), have been used to develop resistant soybean cultivars. With the availability of SoySNP50K and the statistical power of genome-wide association studies, we integrated phenotypic data for beet armyworm, Mexican bean beetle (MBB), potato leafhopper (PLH), SBA, soybean looper (SBL), velvetbean caterpillar (VBC), and chewing damage caused by unspecified insects for a comprehensive understanding of insect resistance in the United States Department of Agriculture Soybean Germplasm Collection. We identified significant single nucleotide (SNP) polymorphic markers for MBB, PLH, SBL, and VBC, and we highlighted several leucine-rich repeat-containing genes and myeloblastosis transcription factors within the high linkage disequilibrium region surrounding significant SNP markers. Specifically for soybean resistance to PLH, we found the PLH locus is close but distinct to a locus for soybean pubescence density on chromosome 12. The results provide genetic support that pubescence density may not directly link to PLH resistance. This study offers a novel insight of soybean resistance to four insect pests and reviews resistance mapping studies for major soybean insects. PMID:28555141

Circadian rhythms in insect disease vectors

PubMed Central

Meireles-Filho, Antonio Carlos Alves; Kyriacou, Charalambos Panayiotis

2013-01-01

Organisms from bacteria to humans have evolved under predictable daily environmental cycles owing to the Earth’s rotation. This strong selection pressure has generated endogenous circadian clocks that regulate many aspects of behaviour, physiology and metabolism, anticipating and synchronising internal time-keeping to changes in the cyclical environment. In haematophagous insect vectors the circadian clock coordinates feeding activity, which is important for the dynamics of pathogen transmission. We have recently witnessed a substantial advance in molecular studies of circadian clocks in insect vector species that has consolidated behavioural data collected over many years, which provided insights into the regulation of the clock in the wild. Next generation sequencing technologies will facilitate the study of vector genomes/transcriptomes both among and within species and illuminate some of the species-specific patterns of adaptive circadian phenotypes that are observed in the field and in the laboratory. In this review we will explore these recent findings and attempt to identify potential areas for further investigation. PMID:24473802

Linkage of an ABCC transporter to a single QTL that controls Ostrinia nubilalis larval resistance to the Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1Fa toxin

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Field evolved resistance of insect populations to Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) crystalline (Cry) toxins expressed by crop plants has resulted in reduced control of insect feeding damage to field crops, and threatens the sustainability of Bt transgenic technologies. A single quantitative trait locus ...

Transcriptional profile and differential fitness in a specialist milkweed insect across host plants varying in toxicity.

PubMed

Birnbaum, Stephanie S L; Rinker, David C; Gerardo, Nicole M; Abbot, Patrick

2017-12-01

Interactions between plants and herbivorous insects have been models for theories of specialization and co-evolution for over a century. Phytochemicals govern many aspects of these interactions and have fostered the evolution of adaptations by insects to tolerate or even specialize on plant defensive chemistry. While genomic approaches are providing new insights into the genes and mechanisms insect specialists employ to tolerate plant secondary metabolites, open questions remain about the evolution and conservation of insect counterdefences, how insects respond to the diversity defences mounted by their host plants, and the costs and benefits of resistance and tolerance to plant defences in natural ecological communities. Using a milkweed-specialist aphid (Aphis nerii) model, we test the effects of host plant species with increased toxicity, likely driven primarily by increased secondary metabolites, on aphid life history traits and whole-body gene expression. We show that more toxic plant species have a negative effect on aphid development and lifetime fecundity. When feeding on more toxic host plants with higher levels of secondary metabolites, aphids regulate a narrow, targeted set of genes, including those involved in canonical detoxification processes (e.g., cytochrome P450s, hydrolases, UDP-glucuronosyltransferases and ABC transporters). These results indicate that A. nerii marshal a variety of metabolic detoxification mechanisms to circumvent milkweed toxicity and facilitate host plant specialization, yet, despite these detoxification mechanisms, aphids experience reduced fitness when feeding on more toxic host plants. Disentangling how specialist insects respond to challenging host plants is a pivotal step in understanding the evolution of specialized diet breadths. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Visual aids for aerial observers on forest insect surveys.

Treesearch

A.T. Larsen

1957-01-01

Aerial surveys are widely used to detect, appraise, and map damage caused to forest trees by insects. The success of these surveys largely depends upon the ability of observers to distinguish differences in foliage color and tree condition. The observers' ability is influenced by several factors.

How Predictable Are the Behavioral Responses of Insects to Herbivore Induced Changes in Plants? Responses of Two Congeneric Thrips to Induced Cotton Plants

PubMed Central

Silva, Rehan; Furlong, Michael J.; Wilson, Lewis J.; Walter, Gimme H.

2013-01-01

Changes in plants following insect attack are referred to as induced responses. These responses are widely viewed as a form of defence against further insect attack. In the current study we explore whether it is possible to make generalizations about induced plant responses given the unpredictability and variability observed in insect-plant interactions. Experiments were conducted to test for consistency in the responses of two congeneric thrips, Frankliniella schultzei Trybom and Frankliniella occidentalis Pergrande (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) to cotton seedlings (Gossypium hirsutum Linneaus (Malvales: Malvaceae)) damaged by various insect herbivores. In dual-choice experiments that compared intact and damaged cotton seedlings, F. schultzei was attracted to seedlings damaged by Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), Tetranychus urticae (Koch) (Trombidiforms: Tetranychidae), Tenebrio molitor Linnaeus (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), F. schultzei and F. occidentalis but not to mechanically damaged seedlings. In similar tests, F. occidentalis was attracted to undamaged cotton seedlings when simultaneously exposed to seedlings damaged by H. armigera, T. molitor or F. occidentalis. However, when exposed to F. schultzei or T. urticae damaged plants, F. occidentalis was more attracted towards damaged plants. A quantitative relationship was also apparent, F. schultzei showed increased attraction to damaged seedlings as the density of T. urticae or F. schultzei increased. In contrast, although F. occidentalis demonstrated increased attraction to plants damaged by higher densities of T. urticae, there was a negative relationship between attraction and the density of damaging conspecifics. Both species showed greater attraction to T. urticae damaged seedlings than to seedlings damaged by conspecifics. Results demonstrate that the responses of both species of thrips were context dependent, making generalizations difficult to formulate. PMID:23691075

Landscape changes have greater effects than climate changes on six insect pests in China.

PubMed

Zhao, Zihua; Sandhu, Hardev S; Ouyang, Fang; Ge, Feng

2016-06-01

In recent years, global changes are the major causes of frequent, widespread outbreaks of pests in mosaic landscapes, which have received substantial attention worldwide. We collected data on global changes (landscape and climate) and economic damage caused by six main insect pests during 1951-2010 in China. Landscape changes had significant effects on all six insect pests. Pest damage increased significantly with increasing arable land area in agricultural landscapes. However, climate changes had no effect on damage caused by pests, except for the rice leaf roller (Cnaphalocrocis medinalis Guenee) and armyworm (Mythimna separate (Walker)), which caused less damage to crops with increasing mean temperature. Our results indicate that there is slight evidence of possible offset effects of climate changes on the increasing damage from these two agricultural pests. Landscape changes have caused serious outbreaks of several species, which suggests the possibility of the use of landscape design for the control of pest populations through habitat rearrangement. Landscape manipulation may be used as a green method to achieve sustainable pest management with minimal use of insecticides and herbicides.

The Impact of Insects on Second-Year Cone Crops in Red Pine Seed-Production Areas

Treesearch

William J. Mattson

1968-01-01

Second-year cone crops in red pine seed-production areas have been severely damaged by five species of insects. Control of the two most destructive pests could increase present seed yields in most areas by at least 50 percent. Some seed-production areas may not produce harvestable seed crops until cone-insect populations are suppressed.

Imbalanced Hemolymph Lipid Levels Affect Feeding Motivation in the Two-Spotted Cricket, Gryllus bimaculatus.

PubMed

Konuma, Takahiro; Tsukamoto, Yusuke; Nagasawa, Hiromichi; Nagata, Shinji

2016-01-01

Insect feeding behavior is regulated by many intrinsic factors, including hemolymph nutrient levels. Adipokinetic hormone (AKH) is a peptide factor that modulates hemolymph nutrient levels and regulates the nutritional state of insects by triggering the transfer of lipids into the hemolymph. We recently demonstrated that RNA interference (RNAi)-mediated knockdown of the AKH receptor (AKHR) reduces hemolymph lipid levels, causing an increase in the feeding frequency of the two-spotted cricket, Gryllus bimaculatus. This result indicated that reduced hemolymph lipid levels might motivate crickets to feed. In the present study, to elucidate whether hemolymph lipid levels contribute to insect feeding behavior, we attempted to manipulate hemolymph lipid levels via the lipophorin (Lp)-mediated lipid transferring system in G. bimaculatus. Of the constituent proteins in Lp, we focused on apolipophorin-III (GrybiApoLp-III) because of its possible role in facilitating lipid mobilization. First, we used RNAi to reduce the expression of GrybiApoLp-III. RNAi-mediated knockdown of GrybiApoLp-III had little effect on basal hemolymph lipid levels and the amount of food intake. In addition, hemolymph lipid levels remained static even after injecting AKH into GrybiApoLp-IIIRNAi crickets. These observations indicated that ApoLp-III does not maintain basal hemolymph lipid levels in crickets fed ad libitum, but is necessary for mobilizing lipid transfer into the hemolymph following AKH stimulation. Second, Lp (containing lipids) was injected into the hemolymph to induce a temporary increase in hemolymph lipid levels. Consequently, the initiation of feeding was delayed in a dose-dependent manner, indicating that increased hemolymph lipid levels reduced the motivation to feed. Taken together, these data validate the importance of basal hemolymph lipid levels in the control of energy homeostasis and for regulating feeding behavior in crickets.

Imbalanced Hemolymph Lipid Levels Affect Feeding Motivation in the Two-Spotted Cricket, Gryllus bimaculatus

PubMed Central

Konuma, Takahiro; Tsukamoto, Yusuke; Nagasawa, Hiromichi; Nagata, Shinji

2016-01-01

Insect feeding behavior is regulated by many intrinsic factors, including hemolymph nutrient levels. Adipokinetic hormone (AKH) is a peptide factor that modulates hemolymph nutrient levels and regulates the nutritional state of insects by triggering the transfer of lipids into the hemolymph. We recently demonstrated that RNA interference (RNAi)-mediated knockdown of the AKH receptor (AKHR) reduces hemolymph lipid levels, causing an increase in the feeding frequency of the two-spotted cricket, Gryllus bimaculatus. This result indicated that reduced hemolymph lipid levels might motivate crickets to feed. In the present study, to elucidate whether hemolymph lipid levels contribute to insect feeding behavior, we attempted to manipulate hemolymph lipid levels via the lipophorin (Lp)-mediated lipid transferring system in G. bimaculatus. Of the constituent proteins in Lp, we focused on apolipophorin-III (GrybiApoLp-III) because of its possible role in facilitating lipid mobilization. First, we used RNAi to reduce the expression of GrybiApoLp-III. RNAi-mediated knockdown of GrybiApoLp-III had little effect on basal hemolymph lipid levels and the amount of food intake. In addition, hemolymph lipid levels remained static even after injecting AKH into GrybiApoLp-IIIRNAi crickets. These observations indicated that ApoLp-III does not maintain basal hemolymph lipid levels in crickets fed ad libitum, but is necessary for mobilizing lipid transfer into the hemolymph following AKH stimulation. Second, Lp (containing lipids) was injected into the hemolymph to induce a temporary increase in hemolymph lipid levels. Consequently, the initiation of feeding was delayed in a dose-dependent manner, indicating that increased hemolymph lipid levels reduced the motivation to feed. Taken together, these data validate the importance of basal hemolymph lipid levels in the control of energy homeostasis and for regulating feeding behavior in crickets. PMID:27144650

Compensatory responses in plant-herbivore interactions: Impacts of insects on leaf water relations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peschiutta, María L.; Bucci, Sandra J.; Scholz, Fabián G.; Goldstein, Guillermo

2016-05-01

Herbivore damage to leaves has been typically evaluated in terms of fractions of area removed; however morpho-physiological changes in the remaining tissues can occur in response to removal. We assessed the effects of partial removal of the leaf mesophyll by Caliroa cerasi (Hymenoptera) on leaf hydraulic conductance (Kleaf), vascular architecture, water relations and leaf size of three Prunus avium cultivars. The insect feeds on the leaf mesophyll leaving the vein network intact (skeletonization). Within each cultivar there were trees without infestations and trees chronically infested, at least over the last three years. Leaf size of intact leaves tended to be similar during leaf expansion before herbivore attack occurs across infested and non-infested trees. However, after herbivore attack and when the leaves were fully expanded, damaged leaves were smaller than leaves from non-infested trees. Damaged area varied between 21 and 31% depending on cultivar. The non-disruption of the vascular system together with either vein density or capacitance increased in damaged leaves resulted in similar Kleaf and stomatal conductance in infested and non-infested trees. Non-stomatal water loss from repeated leaf damage led to lower leaf water potentials in two of the infested cultivars. Lower leaf osmotic potentials and vulnerability to loss of Kleaf were observed in infested plants. Our results show that skeletonization resulted in compensatory changes in terms of water relations and hydraulics traits and in cultivar-specific physiological changes in phylogenetic related P. avium. Our findings indicate that detrimental effects of herbivory on the photosynthetic surface are counterbalanced by changes providing higher drought resistance, which has adaptive significance in ecosystems where water availability is low and furthermore where global climate changes would decrease soil water availability in the future even further.

Feeding and defecation behavior of Triatoma rubida (Uhler, 1894) (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) under laboratory conditions, and its potential role as a vector of Chagas disease in Arizona, USA.

PubMed

Reisenman, Carolina E; Gregory, Teresa; Guerenstein, Pablo G; Hildebrand, John G

2011-10-01

Chagas disease is caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, which is transmitted to humans by blood-sucking triatomine insects. This disease is endemic throughout Mexico and Central and South America, but only a few autochthonous cases have been reported in the United States, despite the fact that infected insects readily invade houses and feed on humans. Competent vectors defecate during or shortly after feeding so that infective feces contact the host. We thus studied the feeding and defecation behaviors of the prevalent species in southern Arizona, Triatoma rubida. We found that whereas defecation during feeding was frequent in females (93%), it was very rare in immature stages (3%), and absent in males. Furthermore, more than half of the immature insects that exhibited multiple feeding bouts (62%) defecated during interruptions of feeding, i.e., while likely on or near the host. These results indicate that T. rubida potentially could transmit T. cruzi to humans.

Reducing logging damage

Treesearch

Richard D. Cosens

1952-01-01

Reducing logging damage to reproduction and residual stands is an important part of harvesting the old-growth forests of California. Much of the over mature timber: is on areas with an acceptable stocking of advance growth. When the old trees are harvested, the advance growth is scarred, deformed, broken, or killed outright. Insects and disease attack the broken and...

Gene Disruption Technologies Have the Potential to Transform Stored Product Insect Pest Control.

PubMed

Perkin, Lindsey C; Adrianos, Sherry L; Oppert, Brenda

2016-09-19

Stored product insects feed on grains and processed commodities manufactured from grain post-harvest, reducing the nutritional value and contaminating food. Currently, the main defense against stored product insect pests is the pesticide fumigant phosphine. Phosphine is highly toxic to all animals, but is the most effective and economical control method, and thus is used extensively worldwide. However, many insect populations have become resistant to phosphine, in some cases to very high levels. New, environmentally benign and more effective control strategies are needed for stored product pests. RNA interference (RNAi) may overcome pesticide resistance by targeting the expression of genes that contribute to resistance in insects. Most data on RNAi in stored product insects is from the coleopteran genetic model, Tribolium castaneum, since it has a strong RNAi response via injection of double stranded RNA (dsRNA) in any life stage. Additionally, Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) technology has been suggested as a potential resource for new pest control strategies. In this review we discuss background information on both gene disruption technologies and summarize the advances made in terms of molecular pest management in stored product insects, mainly T. castaneum, as well as complications and future needs.

Eradication of Invading Insect Populations: From Concepts to Applications

Treesearch

Andrew M. Liebhold; Ludek Berec; Eckehard G. Brockerhoff; Rebecca S. Epanchin-Niell; Alan Hastings; Daniel A. Herms; John M. Kean; Deborah G. McCullough; David M. Suckling; Patrick C. Tobin; Takehiko Yamanaka

2016-01-01

Eradication is the deliberate elimination of a species from an area. Given that international quarantine measures can never be 100% effective, surveillance for newly arrived populations of nonnative species coupled with their eradication represents an important strategy for excluding potentially damaging insect species. Historically, eradication efforts have not always...

Insect galls of Restinga de Marambaia (Barra de Guaratiba, Rio de Janeiro, RJ).

PubMed

Maia, V C; Silva, L O

2016-04-19

Thirty-one morphotypes of insect galls and two flower damages were found on 16 families, 22 genera and 24 plant species in Restinga de Marambaia (Barra de Guaratiba, Rio de Janeiro, RJ). Fabaceae and Myrtaceae were the plant families with the greatest richness of insect galls (4 and 6 morphotypes, respectively), and the greatest number of galled plants (four and three species, respectively). Galls were mostly found on leaves and stems (77% and 10%, respectively). The galling insects are represented by Diptera, Lepidoptera, and Hemiptera. The majority of the galls (81%) were induced by gall midges (Cecidomyiidae: Diptera).

Seed-predator satiation and Janzen-Connell effects vary with spatial scales for seed-feeding insects.

PubMed

Xiao, Zhishu; Mi, Xiangcheng; Holyoak, Marcel; Xie, Wenhua; Cao, Ke; Yang, Xifu; Huang, Xiaoqun; Krebs, Charles J

2017-01-01

The Janzen-Connell model predicts that common species suffer high seed predation from specialized natural enemies as a function of distance from parent trees, and consequently as a function of conspecific density, whereas the predator satiation hypothesis predicts that seed attack is reduced due to predator satiation at high seed densities. Pre-dispersal predation by insects was studied while seeds are still on parent trees, which represents a frequently overlooked stage in which seed predation occurs. Reproductive tree density and seed production were investigated from ten Quercus serrata populations located in south-west China, quantifying density-dependent pre-dispersal seed predation over two years by three insect groups. Acorn infestation was nearly twice as high in the low-seed year as that in the high-seed year, with considerable spatio-temporal variation in the direction and magnitude of density-dependent pre-dispersal seed predation evident. Across whole populations of trees, a high density of reproductive trees caused predator satiation and reduced insect attack in the high-seed year. Within individual trees, and consistent with the Janzen-Connell model, overall insect seed predation was positively correlated with seed production in the low-seed year. In addition, there was variation among insect taxa, with positive density-dependent seed predation by Curculio weevils in the high-seed year and moths in the low-seed year, but apparent density independence by Cyllorhynchites weevils in both years. The overall trend of negative density-dependent, pre-dispersal seed predation suggests that predator satiation limited the occurrence of Janzen-Connell effects across Q. serrata populations. Such effects may have large impacts on plant population dynamics and tree diversity, depending on the extent to which they are reduced by counteracting positive density-dependent predation for seeds on individual trees and other factors affecting successful recruitment. © The

Physiological Responses Induced by Ostrinia furnacalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) Feeding in Maize and Their Effects on O. furnacalis Performance.

PubMed

Guo, Jingfei; Guo, Jianqing; He, Kanglai; Bai, Shuxiong; Zhang, Tiantao; Zhao, Jiuran; Wang, Zhenying

2017-04-01

Plants damaged by herbivorous insects often respond by mounting a series of defense responses that can inhibit the insect's fitness. Ostrinia furnacalis (Guenée) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) is a major insect pest in maize throughout much of Asia, Australia, and the western Pacific islands. We examined the effects of O. furnacalis -induced maize defenses on O. furnacalis fitness, and explained the effects from biochemical changes that occur in maize leaves in response to O. furnacalis feeding. The results of the age-stage, two-sex life table showed that significantly longer larval and pupal life spans, and total preoviposition period (TPOP) occurred. A decrease in the longevity and fecundity of female adults was observed in O. furnacalis fed on O. furnacalis -damaged leaves. The mean generation time ( T ), finite rate of increase ( ), net reproductive rate ( R 0 ), and intrinsic rate of increase ( r ) were also correspondingly affected. Biochemical assays indicated that 24 h of O. furnacalis herbivory resulted in decreased levels of the benzoxazinoids, 2,4-dihydroxy-7-methoxy-1,4-benzoxazin-3-one (DIMBOA), and 2-(2,4-dihydroxy-7-methoxy-1,4-benzoxazin-3-one)-β-D-glucopyranose (DIMBOA-Glc), and a corresponding increase in 2-(2-hydroxy-4,7-dimethoxy-1,4-benzoxazin-3-one)-β-D-glucopyranose (HDMBOA-Glc). Maize also exhibited higher activities of the defensive enzymes-peroxidase (POD), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and polyphenol oxidase (PPO)-after 24 h of herbivory. We concluded that exposure to O. furnacalis -damaged leaves had an inhibitory impact on the fitness of the neonate to pupa stages of O. furnacalis . The observed higher level of HDMBOA-Glc and higher enzymatic activities of POD, SOD, CAT, and PPO may account, in part, for the observed inhibitory effects on O. furnacalis fitness. © The Authors 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email

Insect Pests of Shade Trees and Shrubs: A Guide for Commercial Nurserymen and Arborists. Publication E-41.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schuder, Donald L.

This guide presents information on controlling insect pests of ornamental trees and shrubs. It is organized for easy reference by nurserymen, arborists, and others desirous of controlling insect damage. General information given includes notes on spraying and sprayers, insecticides, general purpose sprays, phytotoxicity, and health precautions.…

Deciphering maize genetics and ecology to reduce insect damage and aflatoxin accumulation

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Ear-colonizing insects and diseases, which reduce yield and impose health threats via mycotoxin contaminations, are critical impediments for maize production in the southern US states. To address this problem a combination of basic and applied research approaches are being conducted by the interdis...

An Evidence-Based Review on Medicinal Plants Used as Insecticide and Insect Repellent in Traditional Iranian Medicine

PubMed Central

Cheraghi Niroumand, Mina; Farzaei, Mohammad Hosein; Karimpour Razkenari, Elahe; Amin, Gholamreza; Khanavi, Mahnaz; Akbarzadeh, Tahmineh; Shams-Ardekani, Mohammad Reza

2016-01-01

Context Insects can be the cause of major ecological problems; they can transmit microbes and parasites that affect humans, and damage food crops, trees, and homes. The total economic cost of insect-related damage and disease is immeasurable. In traditional Iranian medicine (TIM), several medicinal plants have been identified as insecticides or insect repellents, but many of them are still unknown. Therefore, the aim of this study was to review the insecticidal or insect repellent activity of certain medicinal plants described in TIM. Evidence Acquisition Information about medicinal plants proposed as insecticides and insect repellents in the TIM was collected from the TIM literature, and searched in modern medical databases to find studies that confirmed their efficacy. Results Modern investigations have supported the claims of the insecticidal activity of several plants, including Allium sativum, Artemisia absinthium, Citrullus colocynthis, Laurus nobilis, Mentha pulegium, Myrtus communis, Nerium oleander, Ocimum basilicum, and Origanum majorana. However, in the cases of plants like Iris florentina and Malva sylvestris, there is not enough evidence in modern medicine to prove their effectiveness with regard to their insecticidal and insect repellent activities. Conclusions This study confirmed the Iranian traditional medicine claims of the insecticidal and insect repellent activity of certain plants. Further pharmacological and clinical studies are recommended to evaluate the overall efficacy and possible mechanisms underlying these herbs. PMID:27186389

An Evidence-Based Review on Medicinal Plants Used as Insecticide and Insect Repellent in Traditional Iranian Medicine.

PubMed

Cheraghi Niroumand, Mina; Farzaei, Mohammad Hosein; Karimpour Razkenari, Elahe; Amin, Gholamreza; Khanavi, Mahnaz; Akbarzadeh, Tahmineh; Shams-Ardekani, Mohammad Reza

2016-02-01

Insects can be the cause of major ecological problems; they can transmit microbes and parasites that affect humans, and damage food crops, trees, and homes. The total economic cost of insect-related damage and disease is immeasurable. In traditional Iranian medicine (TIM), several medicinal plants have been identified as insecticides or insect repellents, but many of them are still unknown. Therefore, the aim of this study was to review the insecticidal or insect repellent activity of certain medicinal plants described in TIM. Information about medicinal plants proposed as insecticides and insect repellents in the TIM was collected from the TIM literature, and searched in modern medical databases to find studies that confirmed their efficacy. Modern investigations have supported the claims of the insecticidal activity of several plants, including Allium sativum, Artemisia absinthium, Citrullus colocynthis, Laurus nobilis, Mentha pulegium, Myrtus communis, Nerium oleander, Ocimum basilicum, and Origanum majorana. However, in the cases of plants like Iris florentina and Malva sylvestris, there is not enough evidence in modern medicine to prove their effectiveness with regard to their insecticidal and insect repellent activities. This study confirmed the Iranian traditional medicine claims of the insecticidal and insect repellent activity of certain plants. Further pharmacological and clinical studies are recommended to evaluate the overall efficacy and possible mechanisms underlying these herbs.

Unlinked genetic loci control the reduced transcription of aminopeptidase N 1 and 3 in the European corn borer and determine tolerance to Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1Ab toxin

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Crystalline (Cry) toxins from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) control insect feeding damage on crop plants via foliar applications or by expression within transgenic plants, but continued Bt use is threatened by the buildup of insect resistance traits. Aminopeptidase N (apn) gene family members encode m...

Season and light affect constitutive defenses of understory shrub species against folivorous insects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karolewski, Piotr; Giertych, Marian J.; Żmuda, Michał; Jagodziński, Andrzej M.; Oleksyn, Jacek

2013-11-01

Understory shrubs contribute to overall species diversity, providing habitat and forage for animals, influence soil chemistry and forest microclimate. However, very little is known about the chemical defense of various shrub species against folivorous insects. Using six shrub species, we tested how seasonal changes and light conditions affect their constitutive defense to insect damage. We monitored leaf perforation, concentrations of total phenols, condensed tannins, nitrogen (N), and total nonstructural carbohydrates (TNC). Leaf damage caused by insects was low in Sambucus nigra, Cornus sanguinea, and Frangula alnus, intermediate in Corylus avellana and Prunus serotina, and high in Prunus padus. Leaves of all the species, when growing in high light conditions, had high concentrations of defense metabolites. Except for C. avellana, leaves of the other shrub species growing in full sun were less injured than those in shade. This may be due to higher concentrations of defense metabolites and lower concentrations of nitrogen. Similar patterns of the effects of light on metabolites studied and N were observed for leaves with varying location within the crown of individual shrubs (from the top of the south direction to the bottom of the north), as for leaves from shrubs growing in full sun and shrubs in the shade of canopy trees. A probable cause of the greater damage of more sunlit leaves of C. avellana was the fact that they were herbivorized mostly by Altica brevicollis, a specialist insect that prefers plant tissues with a high TNC level and is not very sensitive to a high level of phenolic compounds.

Storage insects on yam chips and their traditional management in Northern Benin.

PubMed

Loko, Y L; Dansi, A; Tamo, M; Bokonon-Ganta, A H; Assogba, P; Dansi, M; Vodouhè, R; Akoegninou, A; Sanni, A

2013-01-01

Twenty-five villages of Northern Benin were surveyed to identify the constraints of yam chips production, assess the diversity of storage insects on yam chips, and document farmers' perception of their impacts on the stocks and their traditional management practices. Damages due to storage insects (63.9% of responses) and insufficiency of insect-resistant varieties (16.7% of responses) were the major constraints of yam chips production. Twelve insect pest species were identified among which Dinoderus porcellus Lesne (Coleoptera, Bostrichidae) was by far the most important and the most distributed (97.44% of the samples). Three predators (Teretrius nigrescens Lewis, Xylocoris flavipes Reuter, and Alloeocranum biannulipes Montrouzier & Signoret) and one parasitoid (Dinarmus basalis Rondani) all Coleoptera, Bostrichidae were also identified. The most important traditional practices used to control or prevent insect attack in yam chips were documented and the producers' preference criteria for yam cultivars used to produce chips were identified and prioritized. To further promote the production of yam chips, diversification of insect-resistant yam varieties, conception, and use of health-protective natural insecticides and popularization of modern storage structures were proposed.

Shared flowering phenology, insect pests, and pathogens among wild, weedy, and cultivated rice in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam: implications for transgenic rice.

PubMed

Cohen, Michael B; Arpaia, Salvatore; Lan, La Pham; Chau, Luong Minh; Snow, Allison A

2008-01-01

Many varieties of transgenic rice are under development in countries where wild and weedy relatives co-occur with the crop. To evaluate possible risks associated with pollen-mediated transgene dispersal, we conducted a two-year survey in Vietnam to examine overlapping flowering periods of rice (Oryza sativa L.), weedy rice (O. sativa), and wild rice (O. rufipogon Griff.), all of which are inter-fertile. We surveyed populations in two regions of the Mekong Delta, northern and southern, and at three sites in each of three habitats per region: fresh water, saline water, and acid sulfate soil. Weedy rice frequently flowered simultaneously with neighboring cultivated rice plants. Flowering was more seasonal in wild rice and often peaked in November and December. Peak flowering times of wild rice overlapped with adjacent rice fields at all of the saline sites and half of the acid sulfate sites. The longer flowering season of wild rice ensured that crop-to-wild gene flow was possible in fresh water habitats as well. Our second objective was to determine whether wild and weedy rice populations are exposed to pests that could be targeted by future transgenes, which may then provide fitness benefits. These populations shared many pathogen and insect herbivore species with cultivated rice (leaffolder, locust, cricket, planthoppers, rice bug, stem borer, sheath blight, blast, bacterial leaf blight, and brown spot). Damage by leaffolders and locusts was the most frequently observed insect feeding damage on all three rice types. Indicator species analysis revealed that most of the insect herbivores were associated with particular habitats, demonstrating the importance of broad geographic sampling for transgenic rice risk assessment. These survey data and the strong likelihood of gene flow from cultivated rice suggest that further studies are needed to examine the effects of transgenic traits such as resistance to pests on the abundance of wild and weedy rice.

Colonization Dynamics of Subcortical Insects on Forest Sites With Relatively Stressed and Unstressed Loblolly Pine Trees.

PubMed

Helbig, Christiane E; Coyle, David R; Klepzig, Kier D; Nowak, John T; Gandhi, Kamal J K

2016-08-01

Loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) is the most important commercial tree species in the southeastern United States. Since the 1950s, there have been reports of loblolly pines showing reduced growth and increased mortality, particularly in central Alabama and western Georgia, United States; the phenomenon is termed as southern pine decline (SPD). Recently, the role of rhizophagous (root-feeding) insects in loblolly pine health within the context of SPD has come under greater scrutiny. We investigated the impacts of subcortical insects, particularly rhizophagous weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), on loblolly pine health in northeastern Georgia. We created plots-representing a gradient of increased relative tree stress-from ungirdled trees, ungirdled trees baited with ethanol and turpentine (ungirdled-baited), and girdled trees. In total, 10,795 subcortical insects from four families (Buprestidae, Cerambycidae, Curculionidae, and Siricidae) and >82 species were trapped in two years. Almost half of the insects trapped (46% of individuals and 11% of species) were nonnative to North America. Insect captures in plots with girdled trees were 61 and 187% greater than those with ungirdled-baited and ungirdled trees, respectively. Tree treatment impacted captures of native, but not nonnative insects. Relative feeding area by the rhizophagous weevils Hylobius pales (Herbst) and Pachylobius picivorus (Germar) on pine twigs placed in pitfall traps was 1, 17, and 82% in plots with ungirdled, ungirdled-baited, and girdled trees, respectively. Hence, there was a strong association of native subcortical insects, especially rhizophagous weevils, with relatively highly stressed trees, confirming that they are secondary instead of primary pine colonizers. © The Authors 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Feeding behavior of the stink bug Bagrada hilaris is changed by the electrical signals applied during EPG recordings

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Feeding behavior of piercing-sucking insects is most rigorously studied using eletropenetrography (EPG). This technique utilizes an electrical circuit to record waveforms caused by voltage fluctuations when a wired insect inserts its stylet into an electrified plant. Past researchers have asserted t...

Taste detection of the non-volatile isothiocyanate moringin results in deterrence to glucosinolate-adapted insect larvae.

PubMed

Müller, Caroline; van Loon, Joop; Ruschioni, Sara; De Nicola, Gina Rosalinda; Olsen, Carl Erik; Iori, Renato; Agerbirk, Niels

2015-10-01

Isothiocyanates (ITCs), released from Brassicales plants after hydrolysis of glucosinolates, are known for their negative effects on herbivores but mechanisms have been elusive. The ITCs are initially present in dissolved form at the site of herbivore feeding, but volatile ITCs may subsequently enter the gas phase and all ITCs may react with matrix components. Deterrence to herbivores resulting from topically applied volatile ITCs in artificial feeding assays may hence lead to ambiguous conclusions. In the present study, the non-volatile ITC moringin (4-(α-L-rhamnopyranosyloxy)benzyl ITC) and its glucosinolate precursor glucomoringin were examined for effects on behaviour and taste physiology of specialist insect herbivores of Brassicales. In feeding bioassays, glucomoringin was not deterrent to larvae of Pieris napi (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) and Athalia rosae (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae), which are adapted to glucosinolates. Glucomoringin stimulated feeding of larvae of the related Pieris brassicae (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) and also elicited electrophysiological activity from a glucosinolate-sensitive gustatory neuron in the lateral maxillary taste sensilla. In contrast, the ITC moringin was deterrent to P. napi and P. brassicae at high levels and to A. rosae at both high and low levels when topically applied to cabbage leaf discs (either 12, 120 or 1200 nmol moringin per leaf disc of 1cm diameter). Survival of A. rosae was also significantly reduced when larvae were kept on leaves treated with moringin for several days. Furthermore, moringin elicited electrophysiological activity in a deterrent-sensitive neuron in the medial maxillary taste sensillum of P. brassicae, providing a sensory mechanism for the deterrence and the first known ITC taste response of an insect. In simulated feeding assays, recovery of moringin was high, in accordance with its non-volatile nature. Our results demonstrate taste-mediated deterrence of a non-volatile, natural ITC to glucosinolate

Economic analysis for commingling effects of insect activity in the elevator boot area

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Boot areas in commercial grain elevators and feed mills contribute to commingling of insects with grain that moves through the elevator leg. A partial budget and stochastic dominance model was developed to improve pest management decision-making and risk analysis assessment from commingling effects ...

Weed manipulation for insect pest management in corn

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Altieri, M. A.; Whitcomb, W. H.

1980-11-01

Populations of insect pests and associated predaceous arthropods were sampled by direct observation and other relative methods in simple and diversified corn habitats at two sites in north Florida during 1978 and 1979. Through various cultural manipulations, characteristic weed communities were established selectively in alternate rows within corn plots. Fall armyworm ( Spodoptera frugiperda J. E. Smith) incidence was consistently higher in the weed-free habitats than in the corn habitats containing natural weed complexes or selected weed associations. Corn earworm ( Heliothis zea Boddie) damage was similar in all weed-free and weedy treatments, suggesting that this insect is not affected greatly by weed diversity. Only the diversification of corn with a strip of soybean significantly reduced corn earworm damage. In one site, distance between plots was reduced. Because predators moved freely between habitats, it was difficult to identify between-treatment differences in the composition of predator communities. In the other site, increased distances between plots minimized such migrations, resulting in greater population densities and diversity of common foliage insect predators in the weed-manipulated corn systems than in the weed-free plots. Trophic relationships in the weedy habitats were more complex than food webs in monocultures. Predator diversity (measured as mean number of species per area) and predator density was higher in com plots surrounded by mature, complex vegetation than at those surrounded by annual crops. This suggests that diverse adjacent areas to crops provide refuge for predators, thus acting as colonization sources.

Brevicoryne brassicae aphids interfere with transcriptome responses of Arabidopsis thaliana to feeding by Plutella xylostella caterpillars in a density-dependent manner.

PubMed

Kroes, Anneke; Broekgaarden, Colette; Castellanos Uribe, Marcos; May, Sean; van Loon, Joop J A; Dicke, Marcel

2017-01-01

Plants are commonly attacked by multiple herbivorous species. Yet, little is known about transcriptional patterns underlying plant responses to multiple insect attackers feeding simultaneously. Here, we assessed transcriptomic responses of Arabidopsis thaliana plants to simultaneous feeding by Plutella xylostella caterpillars and Brevicoryne brassicae aphids in comparison to plants infested by P. xylostella caterpillars alone, using microarray analysis. We particularly investigated how aphid feeding interferes with the transcriptomic response to P. xylostella caterpillars and whether this interference is dependent on aphid density and time since aphid attack. Various JA-responsive genes were up-regulated in response to feeding by P. xylostella caterpillars. The additional presence of aphids, both at low and high densities, clearly affected the transcriptional plant response to caterpillars. Interestingly, some important modulators of plant defense signalling, including WRKY transcription factor genes and ABA-dependent genes, were differentially induced in response to simultaneous aphid feeding at low or high density compared with responses to P. xylostella caterpillars feeding alone. Furthermore, aphids affected the P. xylostella-induced transcriptomic response in a density-dependent manner, which caused an acceleration in plant response against dual insect attack at high aphid density compared to dual insect attack at low aphid density. In conclusion, our study provides evidence that aphids influence the caterpillar-induced transcriptional response of A. thaliana in a density-dependent manner. It highlights the importance of addressing insect density to understand how plant responses to single attackers interfere with responses to other attackers and thus underlines the importance of the dynamics of transcriptional plant responses to multiple herbivory.

The insects as an assessment tool of ecotoxicology associated with metal toxic plants.

PubMed

Azmat, Rafia; Moin, Sumeira; Saleem, Ailyan

2018-04-01

In this article, the assessment of lethal effects of Copper (Cu) on Luffa acutangula and Spinacia oleracea plants investigated in relation to the presence of insect species Oxycarenus hyalinipennis. The analysis of Cu-treated plants displays the information of rapid growth of Oxycarenus hyalinipennis species in triplicate. However, results showed that the impact of metal toxicity appeared as the reduced growth rate of plants, and dense growth of the insect species Oxycarenus halinipennis followed by the chewing/degradation of the toxic plant. The insect's inductees into polluted plants were justified by morphological and primary molecular level using plant stress hypothesis through analysis of the primary chemistry of leaves and roots. That includes various sugar contents which substantiated that these compounds act as the best feeding stimulant from oviposition to adult stage of the insects and accountable for the enactment of insects in the toxic plants. The relationship of these insects to the toxic plants linked with the higher contents of glucose, carbohydrates, and cellulose. The higher carbohydrate and cellulose content in both plants species under Cu accumulation exhibited more signs of insect mutilation over control plants and the lack of chemical resistances allowed the adult insects to spread, survive, reproduce and live long. The presence of insects developed relationships that assimilate all developmental, biological, and the interactive toxicity of Cu in both plant species which indicate the risk associated with these plants. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Insects attracted to Maple Sap: Observations from Prince Edward Island, Canada.

PubMed

Majka, Christopher G

2010-07-23

The collection of maple sap for the production of maple syrup is a large commercial enterprise in Canada and the United States. In Canada, which produces 85% of the world's supply, it has an annual value of over $168 million CAD. Over 38 million trees are tapped annually, 6.5% of which use traditional buckets for sap collection. These buckets attract significant numbers of insects. Despite this, there has been very little investigation of the scale of this phenomenon and the composition of insects that are attracted to this nutrient source. The present paper reports the results of a preliminary study conducted on Prince Edward Island, Canada. Twenty-eight species of Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, and Trichoptera were found in maple sap buckets, 19 of which are known to be attracted to saps and nectars. The physiological role of sap feeding is discussed with reference to moths of the tribe Xylenini, which are active throughout the winter, and are well documented as species that feed on sap flows. Additionally, 18 of the 28 species found in this study are newly recorded in Prince Edward Island.

Single and multiple in-season measurements as indicators of at-harvest cotton boll damage caused by verde plant bug (Hemiptera: Miridae).

PubMed

Brewer, Michael J; Armstrong, J Scott; Parker, Roy D

2013-06-01

The ability to monitor verde plant bug, Creontiades signatus Distant (Hemiptera: Miridae), and the progression of cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., boll responses to feeding and associated cotton boll rot provided opportunity to assess if single in-season measurements had value in evaluating at-harvest damage to bolls and if multiple in-season measurements enhanced their combined use. One in-season verde plant bug density measurement, three in-season plant injury measurements, and two at-harvest damage measurements were taken in 15 cotton fields in South Texas, 2010. Linear regression selected two measurements as potentially useful indicators of at-harvest damage: verde plant bug density (adjusted r2 = 0.68; P = 0.0004) and internal boll injury of the carpel wall (adjusted r2 = 0.72; P = 0.004). Considering use of multiple measurements, a stepwise multiple regression of the four in-season measurements selected a univariate model (verde plant bug density) using a 0.15 selection criterion (adjusted r2 = 0.74; P = 0.0002) and a bivariate model (verde plant bug density-internal boll injury) using a 0.25 selection criterion (adjusted r2 = 0.76; P = 0.0007) as indicators of at-harvest damage. In a validation using cultivar and water regime treatments experiencing low verde plant bug pressure in 2011 and 2012, the bivariate model performed better than models using verde plant bug density or internal boll injury separately. Overall, verde plant bug damaging cotton bolls exemplified the benefits of using multiple in-season measurements in pest monitoring programs, under the challenging situation when at-harvest damage results from a sequence of plant responses initiated by in-season insect feeding.

Spread of plant pathogens and insect vectors at the northern range margin of cypress in Italy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zocca, Alessia; Zanini, Corrado; Aimi, Andrea; Frigimelica, Gabriella; La Porta, Nicola; Battisti, Andrea

2008-05-01

The Mediterranean cypress ( Cupressus sempervirens) is a multi-purpose tree widely used in the Mediterranean region. An anthropogenic range expansion of cypress has taken place at the northern margin of the range in Italy in recent decades, driven by ornamental planting in spite of climatic constraints imposed by low winter temperature. The expansion has created new habitats for pathogens and pests, which strongly limit tree survival in the historical (core) part of the range. Based on the enemy release hypothesis, we predicted that damage should be lower in the expansion area. By comparing tree and seed cone damage by pathogens and pests in core and expansion areas of Trentino, a district in the southern Alps, we showed that tree damage was significantly higher in the core area. Seed cones of C. sempervirens are intensively colonized by an aggressive and specific pathogen (the canker fungus Seiridium cardinale, Coelomycetes), associated with seed insect vectors Megastigmus wachtli (Hymenoptera Torymidae) and Orsillus maculatus (Heteroptera Lygaeidae). In contrast, we observed lower tree damage in the expansion area, where a non-aggressive fungus ( Pestalotiopsis funerea, Coelomycetes) was more frequently associated with the same insect vectors. Our results indicate that both insect species have a great potential to reach the range margin, representing a continuous threat of the arrival of fungal pathogens to trees planted at extreme sites. Global warming may accelerate this process since both insects and fungi profit from increased temperature. In the future, cypress planted at the range margin may then face similar pest and pathogen threats as in the historical range.

Cooking and disgust sensitivity influence preference for attending insect-based food events.

PubMed

Hamerman, Eric J

2016-01-01

Insects are energy-efficient and sustainable sources of animal protein in a world with insufficient food resources to feed an ever-increasing population. However, much of the western world refuses to eat insects because they perceive them as disgusting. This research finds that both animal reminder disgust and core disgust reduced people's willingness to attend a program called "Bug Appétit" in which insects were served as food. Additionally, people who were low in sensitivity to animal reminder disgust were more willing to attend this program after having been primed to think about cooking. Cooking is a process by which raw ingredients are transformed into finished products, reducing the "animalness" of meat products that renders them disgusting. Sensitivity to core disgust did not interact with cooking to influence willingness to attend the program. While prior research has emphasized that direct education campaigns about the benefits of entomophagy (the consumption of insects) can increase willingness to attend events at which insect-based food is served, this is the first demonstration that indirect priming can have a similar effect among a subset of the population. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Description and Biology of Insects and Related Pests Injurious to Vegetable Crops - For Commercial Growers Only.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC.

This manual is designed by the Massachusetts Cooperative Extension Service as a guide for the control of the most common insects and related pests of vegetable crops grown commercially in Massachusetts. It contains general information on insects and specific descriptions of the major pests, their life cycles, and the damage they cause. The topics…

Postharvest processes of edible insects in Africa: A review of processing methods, and the implications for nutrition, safety and new products development.

PubMed

Mutungi, C; Irungu, F G; Nduko, J; Mutua, F; Affognon, H; Nakimbugwe, D; Ekesi, S; Fiaboe, K K M

2017-08-30

In many African cultures, insects are part of the diet of humans and domesticated animals. Compared to conventional food and feed sources, insects have been associated with a low ecological foot print because fewer natural resources are required for their production. To this end, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations recognized the role that edible insects can play in improving global food and nutrition security; processing technologies, as well as packaging and storage techniques that improve shelf-life were identified as being crucial. However, knowledge of these aspects in light of nutritional value, safety, and functionality is fragmentary and needs to be consolidated. This review attempts to contribute to this effort by evaluating the available evidence on postharvest processes for edible insects in Africa, with the aim of identifying areas that need research impetus. It further draws attention to potential postharvest technology options for overcoming hurdles associated with utilization of insects for food and feed. A greater research thrust is needed in processing and this can build on traditional knowledge. The focus should be to establish optimal techniques that improve presentation, quality and safety of products, and open possibilities to diversify use of edible insects for other benefits.

Novel control methods for insect pests: development of a microencapsulation procedure for proteinaceous bioactives intended for oral delivery.

PubMed

Richards, Elaine H; Wontner-Smith, Tim; Bradish, Hannah; Dani, M Paulina; Cotterill, Jane V

2015-09-01

The objective was to develop an environmentally favourable microcapsule suitable for delivery of proteinaceous bioactive agents ('bioinsecticides') to pest insects. Utilising feeding bioassays, we determined that microspheres made of alginate can be produced in a variety of sizes and are palatable and non-toxic to larvae of the lepidopteran pest Lacanobia oleracea. Dehydrated microspheres were also readily ingested by larvae. Using a novel feeding bioassay and alginate microspheres containing a fluorescent marker material (coumarin 7 encapsulated in styrene maleic anhydride beads), we determined that the microspheres successfully deliver the marker to the insect gut. Moreover, the alginate microspheres rapidly break down in the alkaline conditions of the insect gut and release their contents, the beads passing through the gut in 2-3 h. Using bovine serum albumin as a test protein and western blotting, it was determined that alginate can successfully encapsulate protein, and that the microspheres can be stored in a CaCl2 solution for up to 24 days without extensive leakage. Importantly, it was also determined that alginate and the microsphere-making procedure developed do not inactivate rVPr1 (an insect immunosuppressive protein and potential bioinsecticide). An alginate-based microsphere has potential to deliver the proteinaceous bioactive rVPr1 to pest insects. © 2014 Crown copyright. Pest Management Science © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry.

75 FR 69396 - Availability of an Environmental Assessment for a Biological Control Agent for Arundo donax

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-11-12

... infestations. The proposed biological control agent, Arundo scale, is one of the most damaging insects to A... feeding on cells that carry out photosynthesis and cellular respiration, resulting over time in gradual... donacis (Hemiptera: Diaspididae), an Insect for Biological Control of Arundo donax (Poaceae) in the...

Aquatic Insects and their Potential to Contribute to the Diet of the Globally Expanding Human Population.

PubMed

Williams, D Dudley; Williams, Siân S

2017-07-21

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, leading to over-exploitation and local extinction. Examples of existing practices are given, ranging from the extremes of including insects (e.g., dipterans) in the dietary cores of many indigenous peoples to consumption of selected insects, by a wealthy few, as novelty food (e.g., caddisflies). The comparative nutritional worth of aquatic insects to the human diet and to domestic animal feed is examined. Questions are raised as to whether natural populations of aquatic insects can yield sufficient biomass to be of practicable and sustained use, whether some species can be brought into high-yield cultivation, and what are the requirements and limitations involved in achieving this?

Aquatic Insects and their Potential to Contribute to the Diet of the Globally Expanding Human Population

PubMed Central

Williams, D. Dudley; Williams, Siân S.

2017-01-01

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, leading to over-exploitation and local extinction. Examples of existing practices are given, ranging from the extremes of including insects (e.g., dipterans) in the dietary cores of many indigenous peoples to consumption of selected insects, by a wealthy few, as novelty food (e.g., caddisflies). The comparative nutritional worth of aquatic insects to the human diet and to domestic animal feed is examined. Questions are raised as to whether natural populations of aquatic insects can yield sufficient biomass to be of practicable and sustained use, whether some species can be brought into high-yield cultivation, and what are the requirements and limitations involved in achieving this? PMID:28754025

Nitric oxide contributes to high-salt perception in a blood-sucking insect model.

PubMed

Cano, Agustina; Pontes, Gina; Sfara, Valeria; Anfossi, Diego; Barrozo, Romina B

2017-11-14

In all organisms, salts produce either appetitive or aversive responses depending on the concentration. While low-salt concentration in food elicits positive responses to ingest, high-salt triggers aversion. Still the mechanisms involved in this dual behavior have just started to be uncovered in some organisms. In Rhodnius prolixus, using pharmacological and behavioral assays, we demonstrated that upon high-salt detection in food a nitric oxide (NO) dependent cascade is activated. This activation involves a soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) and the production of cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP). Thus, appetitive responses to low-salt diets turn to aversion whenever this cascade is activated. Conversely, insects feed over aversive high-salt solutions when it is blocked by reducing NO levels or by affecting the sGC activity. The activation of NO/sGC/cGMP cascade commands the avoidance feeding behavior in R. prolixus. Investigations in other insect species should examine the possibility that high-salt aversion is mediated by NO/sSG/cGMP signaling.

Neuropeptides as Regulators of Behavior in Insects.

PubMed

Schoofs, Liliane; De Loof, Arnold; Van Hiel, Matthias Boris

2017-01-31

Neuropeptides are by far the largest and most diverse group of signaling molecules in multicellular organisms. They are ancient molecules important in regulating a multitude of processes. Their small proteinaceous character allowed them to evolve and radiate quickly into numerous different molecules. On average, hundreds of distinct neuropeptides are present in animals, sometimes with unique classes that do not occur in distantly related species. Acting as neurotransmitters, neuromodulators, hormones, or growth factors, they are extremely diverse and are involved in controlling growth, development, ecdysis, digestion, diuresis, and many more physiological processes. Neuropeptides are also crucial in regulating myriad behavioral actions associated with feeding, courtship, sleep, learning and memory, stress, addiction, and social interactions. In general, behavior ensures that an organism can survive in its environment and is defined as any action that can change an organism's relationship to its surroundings. Even though the mode of action of neuropeptides in insects has been vigorously studied, relatively little is known about most neuropeptides and only a few model insects have been investigated. Here, we provide an overview of the roles neuropeptides play in insect behavior. We conclude that multiple neuropeptides need to work in concert to coordinate certain behaviors. Additionally, most neuropeptides studied to date have more than a single function.

A Guide to the Insect Borers, Pruners, and Girdlers of Pecan and Hickory

Treesearch

J.D. Solomon; J.A. Payne

1986-01-01

The importance, identification, biology and indirect control of insects attacking shoots, branches, trunks, and roots of tress are presented. Damage due to and control of the yellow-bellied sapsucker is discussed.

The Dilemmas of the Gourmet Fly: The Molecular and Neuronal Mechanisms of Feeding and Nutrient Decision Making in Drosophila

PubMed Central

Itskov, Pavel M.; Ribeiro, Carlos

2012-01-01

To survive and successfully reproduce animals need to maintain a balanced intake of nutrients and energy. The nervous system of insects has evolved multiple mechanisms to regulate feeding behavior. When animals are faced with the choice to feed, several decisions must be made: whether or not to eat, how much to eat, what to eat, and when to eat. Using Drosophila melanogaster substantial progress has been achieved in understanding the neuronal and molecular mechanisms controlling feeding decisions. These feeding decisions are implemented in the nervous system on multiple levels, from alterations in the sensitivity of peripheral sensory organs to the modulation of memory systems. This review discusses methodologies developed in order to study insect feeding, the effects of neuropeptides and neuromodulators on feeding behavior, behavioral evidence supporting the existence of internal energy sensors, neuronal and molecular mechanisms controlling protein intake, and finally the regulation of feeding by circadian rhythms and sleep. From the discussed data a conceptual framework starts to emerge which aims to explain the molecular and neuronal processes maintaining the stability of the internal milieu. PMID:23407678

Genome of Rhodnius prolixus, an insect vector of Chagas disease, reveals unique adaptations to hematophagy and parasite infection

PubMed Central

Mesquita, Rafael D.; Vionette-Amaral, Raquel J.; Lowenberger, Carl; Rivera-Pomar, Rolando; Monteiro, Fernando A.; Minx, Patrick; Spieth, John; Carvalho, A. Bernardo; Panzera, Francisco; Lawson, Daniel; Torres, André Q.; Ribeiro, Jose M. C.; Sorgine, Marcos H. F.; Waterhouse, Robert M.; Abad-Franch, Fernando; Alves-Bezerra, Michele; Amaral, Laurence R.; Araujo, Helena M.; Aravind, L.; Atella, Georgia C.; Azambuja, Patricia; Berni, Mateus; Bittencourt-Cunha, Paula R.; Braz, Gloria R. C.; Calderón-Fernández, Gustavo; Carareto, Claudia M. A.; Christensen, Mikkel B.; Costa, Igor R.; Costa, Samara G.; Dansa, Marilvia; Daumas-Filho, Carlos R. O.; De-Paula, Iron F.; Dias, Felipe A.; Dimopoulos, George; Emrich, Scott J.; Esponda-Behrens, Natalia; Fampa, Patricia; Fernandez-Medina, Rita D.; da Fonseca, Rodrigo N.; Fontenele, Marcio; Fronick, Catrina; Fulton, Lucinda A.; Gandara, Ana Caroline; Garcia, Eloi S.; Genta, Fernando A.; Giraldo-Calderón, Gloria I.; Gomes, Bruno; Gondim, Katia C.; Granzotto, Adriana; Guarneri, Alessandra A.; Guigó, Roderic; Harry, Myriam; Hughes, Daniel S. T.; Jablonka, Willy; Jacquin-Joly, Emmanuelle; Juárez, M. Patricia; Koerich, Leonardo B.; Lange, Angela B.; Latorre-Estivalis, José Manuel; Lavore, Andrés; Lawrence, Gena G.; Lazoski, Cristiano; Lazzari, Claudio R.; Lopes, Raphael R.; Lorenzo, Marcelo G.; Lugon, Magda D.; Marcet, Paula L.; Mariotti, Marco; Masuda, Hatisaburo; Megy, Karine; Missirlis, Fanis; Mota, Theo; Noriega, Fernando G.; Nouzova, Marcela; Nunes, Rodrigo D.; Oliveira, Raquel L. L.; Oliveira-Silveira, Gilbert; Ons, Sheila; Orchard, Ian; Pagola, Lucia; Paiva-Silva, Gabriela O.; Pascual, Agustina; Pavan, Marcio G.; Pedrini, Nicolás; Peixoto, Alexandre A.; Pereira, Marcos H.; Pike, Andrew; Polycarpo, Carla; Prosdocimi, Francisco; Ribeiro-Rodrigues, Rodrigo; Robertson, Hugh M.; Salerno, Ana Paula; Salmon, Didier; Santesmasses, Didac; Schama, Renata; Seabra-Junior, Eloy S.; Silva-Cardoso, Livia; Silva-Neto, Mario A. C.; Souza-Gomes, Matheus; Sterkel, Marcos; Taracena, Mabel L.; Tojo, Marta; Tu, Zhijian Jake; Tubio, Jose M. C.; Ursic-Bedoya, Raul; Venancio, Thiago M.; Walter-Nuno, Ana Beatriz; Wilson, Derek; Warren, Wesley C.; Wilson, Richard K.; Huebner, Erwin; Dotson, Ellen M.; Oliveira, Pedro L.

2015-01-01

Rhodnius prolixus not only has served as a model organism for the study of insect physiology, but also is a major vector of Chagas disease, an illness that affects approximately seven million people worldwide. We sequenced the genome of R. prolixus, generated assembled sequences covering 95% of the genome (∼702 Mb), including 15,456 putative protein-coding genes, and completed comprehensive genomic analyses of this obligate blood-feeding insect. Although immune-deficiency (IMD)-mediated immune responses were observed, R. prolixus putatively lacks key components of the IMD pathway, suggesting a reorganization of the canonical immune signaling network. Although both Toll and IMD effectors controlled intestinal microbiota, neither affected Trypanosoma cruzi, the causal agent of Chagas disease, implying the existence of evasion or tolerance mechanisms. R. prolixus has experienced an extensive loss of selenoprotein genes, with its repertoire reduced to only two proteins, one of which is a selenocysteine-based glutathione peroxidase, the first found in insects. The genome contained actively transcribed, horizontally transferred genes from Wolbachia sp., which showed evidence of codon use evolution toward the insect use pattern. Comparative protein analyses revealed many lineage-specific expansions and putative gene absences in R. prolixus, including tandem expansions of genes related to chemoreception, feeding, and digestion that possibly contributed to the evolution of a blood-feeding lifestyle. The genome assembly and these associated analyses provide critical information on the physiology and evolution of this important vector species and should be instrumental for the development of innovative disease control methods. PMID:26627243

Genome of Rhodnius prolixus, an insect vector of Chagas disease, reveals unique adaptations to hematophagy and parasite infection.

PubMed

Mesquita, Rafael D; Vionette-Amaral, Raquel J; Lowenberger, Carl; Rivera-Pomar, Rolando; Monteiro, Fernando A; Minx, Patrick; Spieth, John; Carvalho, A Bernardo; Panzera, Francisco; Lawson, Daniel; Torres, André Q; Ribeiro, Jose M C; Sorgine, Marcos H F; Waterhouse, Robert M; Montague, Michael J; Abad-Franch, Fernando; Alves-Bezerra, Michele; Amaral, Laurence R; Araujo, Helena M; Araujo, Ricardo N; Aravind, L; Atella, Georgia C; Azambuja, Patricia; Berni, Mateus; Bittencourt-Cunha, Paula R; Braz, Gloria R C; Calderón-Fernández, Gustavo; Carareto, Claudia M A; Christensen, Mikkel B; Costa, Igor R; Costa, Samara G; Dansa, Marilvia; Daumas-Filho, Carlos R O; De-Paula, Iron F; Dias, Felipe A; Dimopoulos, George; Emrich, Scott J; Esponda-Behrens, Natalia; Fampa, Patricia; Fernandez-Medina, Rita D; da Fonseca, Rodrigo N; Fontenele, Marcio; Fronick, Catrina; Fulton, Lucinda A; Gandara, Ana Caroline; Garcia, Eloi S; Genta, Fernando A; Giraldo-Calderón, Gloria I; Gomes, Bruno; Gondim, Katia C; Granzotto, Adriana; Guarneri, Alessandra A; Guigó, Roderic; Harry, Myriam; Hughes, Daniel S T; Jablonka, Willy; Jacquin-Joly, Emmanuelle; Juárez, M Patricia; Koerich, Leonardo B; Lange, Angela B; Latorre-Estivalis, José Manuel; Lavore, Andrés; Lawrence, Gena G; Lazoski, Cristiano; Lazzari, Claudio R; Lopes, Raphael R; Lorenzo, Marcelo G; Lugon, Magda D; Majerowicz, David; Marcet, Paula L; Mariotti, Marco; Masuda, Hatisaburo; Megy, Karine; Melo, Ana C A; Missirlis, Fanis; Mota, Theo; Noriega, Fernando G; Nouzova, Marcela; Nunes, Rodrigo D; Oliveira, Raquel L L; Oliveira-Silveira, Gilbert; Ons, Sheila; Orchard, Ian; Pagola, Lucia; Paiva-Silva, Gabriela O; Pascual, Agustina; Pavan, Marcio G; Pedrini, Nicolás; Peixoto, Alexandre A; Pereira, Marcos H; Pike, Andrew; Polycarpo, Carla; Prosdocimi, Francisco; Ribeiro-Rodrigues, Rodrigo; Robertson, Hugh M; Salerno, Ana Paula; Salmon, Didier; Santesmasses, Didac; Schama, Renata; Seabra-Junior, Eloy S; Silva-Cardoso, Livia; Silva-Neto, Mario A C; Souza-Gomes, Matheus; Sterkel, Marcos; Taracena, Mabel L; Tojo, Marta; Tu, Zhijian Jake; Tubio, Jose M C; Ursic-Bedoya, Raul; Venancio, Thiago M; Walter-Nuno, Ana Beatriz; Wilson, Derek; Warren, Wesley C; Wilson, Richard K; Huebner, Erwin; Dotson, Ellen M; Oliveira, Pedro L

2015-12-01

Rhodnius prolixus not only has served as a model organism for the study of insect physiology, but also is a major vector of Chagas disease, an illness that affects approximately seven million people worldwide. We sequenced the genome of R. prolixus, generated assembled sequences covering 95% of the genome (∼ 702 Mb), including 15,456 putative protein-coding genes, and completed comprehensive genomic analyses of this obligate blood-feeding insect. Although immune-deficiency (IMD)-mediated immune responses were observed, R. prolixus putatively lacks key components of the IMD pathway, suggesting a reorganization of the canonical immune signaling network. Although both Toll and IMD effectors controlled intestinal microbiota, neither affected Trypanosoma cruzi, the causal agent of Chagas disease, implying the existence of evasion or tolerance mechanisms. R. prolixus has experienced an extensive loss of selenoprotein genes, with its repertoire reduced to only two proteins, one of which is a selenocysteine-based glutathione peroxidase, the first found in insects. The genome contained actively transcribed, horizontally transferred genes from Wolbachia sp., which showed evidence of codon use evolution toward the insect use pattern. Comparative protein analyses revealed many lineage-specific expansions and putative gene absences in R. prolixus, including tandem expansions of genes related to chemoreception, feeding, and digestion that possibly contributed to the evolution of a blood-feeding lifestyle. The genome assembly and these associated analyses provide critical information on the physiology and evolution of this important vector species and should be instrumental for the development of innovative disease control methods.

Storage Insects on Yam Chips and Their Traditional Management in Northern Benin

PubMed Central

Loko, Y. L.; Dansi, A.; Tamo, M.; Bokonon-Ganta, A. H.; Assogba, P.; Dansi, M.; Vodouhè, R.; Akoegninou, A.; Sanni, A.

2013-01-01

Twenty-five villages of Northern Benin were surveyed to identify the constraints of yam chips production, assess the diversity of storage insects on yam chips, and document farmers' perception of their impacts on the stocks and their traditional management practices. Damages due to storage insects (63.9% of responses) and insufficiency of insect-resistant varieties (16.7% of responses) were the major constraints of yam chips production. Twelve insect pest species were identified among which Dinoderus porcellus Lesne (Coleoptera, Bostrichidae) was by far the most important and the most distributed (97.44% of the samples). Three predators (Teretrius nigrescens Lewis, Xylocoris flavipes Reuter, and Alloeocranum biannulipes Montrouzier & Signoret) and one parasitoid (Dinarmus basalis Rondani) all Coleoptera, Bostrichidae were also identified. The most important traditional practices used to control or prevent insect attack in yam chips were documented and the producers' preference criteria for yam cultivars used to produce chips were identified and prioritized. To further promote the production of yam chips, diversification of insect-resistant yam varieties, conception, and use of health-protective natural insecticides and popularization of modern storage structures were proposed. PMID:23710140

Influence of large woody debris on stream insect communities and benthic detritus

Treesearch

A. Dennis Lemly; Robert H. Hilderbrand

2000-01-01

We examined the extent to which benthic detritus loadings and the functional feeding group structure of stream insect communities respond to channel modifications produced by experimental addition of large woody debris (LWD, entire logs) to Stony Creek, VA. Benthic detritus loadings per sample did not change after LWD additions, but large increases in pool habitats...

Molecular cloning and characterization of an α-amylase cDNA highly expressed in major feeding stages of the coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei.

PubMed

Bezerra, C A; Macedo, L L P; Amorim, T M L; Santos, V O; Fragoso, R R; Lucena, W A; Meneguim, A M; Valencia-Jimenez, A; Engler, G; Silva, M C M; Albuquerque, E V S; Grossi-de-Sa, M F

2014-12-10

α-Amylases are common enzymes responsible for hydrolyzing starch. Insect-pests, whose larvae develop in seeds, rely obligatorily on α-amylase activity to digest starch, as their major food source. Considering the relevance of insect α-amylases and the natural α-amylase inhibitors present in seeds to protect from insect damage, we report here the molecular cloning and nucleotide sequence of the full-length AmyHha cDNA of the coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei, a major insect-pest of coffee crops. The AmyHha sequence has 1879 bp, containing a 1458 bp open reading frame, which encodes a predicted protein with 485 amino acid residues, with a predicted molecular mass of 51.2 kDa. The deduced protein showed 55-79% identity to other insect α-amylases, including Anthonomus grandis, Ips typographus and Sitophilus oryzae α-amylases. In depth analysis revealed that the highly conserved three amino acid residues (Asp184, Glu220, and Asp285), which compose the catalytic site are also presented in AmyHha amylase. The AmyHha gene seems to be a single copy in the haploid genome and AmyHha transcription levels were found higher in L2 larvae and adult insects, both corresponding to major feeding phases. Modeling of the AmyHha predicted protein uncovered striking structural similarities to the Tenebrio molitor α-amylase also displaying the same amino acid residues involved in enzyme catalysis (Asp184, Glu220 and Asp285). Since AmyHha gene was mostly transcribed in the intestinal tract of H. hampei larvae, the cognate α-amylase could be considered a high valuable target to coffee bean insect control by biotechnological strategies. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Survey of phytophagous insects and foliar pathogens in China for a biocontrol perspective on kudzu, Pueraria montana var. lobata (Willd.) Maesen and S. Almeida (Fabaceae)

Treesearch

Jiang-Hua Sun; Zhu-Dong Liu; Ping Cai; David Orr; Judith Hough-Goldstein

2006-01-01

A three-year survey of kudzu foliage, seed, stems, and roots for associated phytophagous insects was conducted to establish basic information about the insect communities that kudzu harbors in China and to assess the abundance, diversity and damage caused by these insects. Diseases of kudzu were also surveyed in southern China. A total of 116 phytophagous insect...

Insect abatement system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spiro, Clifford Lawrence (Inventor); Burnell, Timothy Brydon (Inventor); Wengrovius, Jeffrey Hayward (Inventor)

1997-01-01

An insect abatement system prevents adhesion of insect debris to surfaces which must be kept substantially free of insect debris. An article is coated with an insect abatement coating comprising polyorganosiloxane with a Shore A hardness of less than 50 and a tensile strength of less than 4 MPa. A method for preventing the adhesion of insect debris to surfaces includes the step of applying an insect abatement coating to a surface which must be kept substantially free of insect debris.

Insects attacking black walnut in the midwestern United States

Treesearch

Steven Katovich

2004-01-01

Black walnut has only a handful of insects that would be considered significant pests. Of the leaf feeders, the walnut caterpillar is the most likely to cause significant defoliation and damage to trees. However, severe infestations are infrequent and tend to be restricted to small geographic areas. Two other commonly encountered defoliators are the yellow necked...

Bean Pod Mottle Virus Spread in Insect Feeding Resistant Soybeans

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Bean pod mottle virus (BPMV) reduces yield and seed quality in soybeans. No qualitative resistance to this virus has been found in soybean, although some tolerance is known. To test the hypothesis that virus incidence and movement would be reduced in soybeans with resistance to feeding by the viru...

Influence of pymetrozine on feeding behaviors of three rice planthoppers and a rice leafhopper using electrical penetration graphs

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Pymetrozine reportedly inhibited feeding of plant sap-sucking insects, such as aphids and brown planthopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens. By using electrical penetration graph (EPG), this study was conducted to investigate any differential effects of pymetrozine on the feeding behaviors of four major r...