Journal of Insect Science

The Sudano-Sahelian and the high Guinea savannahs agroecological zones of Cameroon are suitable for the full development of tree crops, including mango. Unfortunately, fresh fruits exported to local and international markets are frequently rejected due to the presence of fruit fly larvae (Diptera: Tephritidae), resulting in drastic income losses and overuse of chemical control products. To promote sustainable management strategies, a 2-yr study (2020-2021) was conducted in 4 and 3 mixed orchards, respectively...

A survey for parasitoids of Lopholeucaspis japonica Cockerell (Hemiptera: Diaspididae), an exotic scale of woody ornamentals, resulted in the discovery of 3 species of aphelinid parasitoid wasps, Pteroptrix chinensis (Howard), Aphytis hispanicus (Mercet), and Marlattiella prima Howard. This serves as the first report of these parasitoids reared from a host in the state of Tennessee, USA. Despite routine pesticide applications in the surveyed nursery and directed treatments of the infested plants to control the scale outbreak, the percentage of parasitized scale in privet and euonymus shrubs averaged 7...

Inbreeding can have detrimental effects on reproductive fitness, but the extent of lineage-specific variation in these effects remains poorly understood. This study investigated the effects of brother and sister inbreeding on reproductive fitness in 2 lineages (L1 and T) of T. tabaci. Inbred females from both lineages exhibited a significant reduction in longevity compared with the control group. The L1 lineage experienced a 27% and 43% decrease in longevity in the F2 and F3 generations, respectively, while the T lineage showed a similar trend with a 30% and 44% decrease...

The soybean bud borer, a soybean pest in Brazil, was initially identified as Crocidosema aporema (Walsingham 1914) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). Outbreaks of this species have recently increased, but identification of this pest remains uncertain, and the historical factors associated with its geographic distribution in Brazil are little known. Here, we conducted a species characterization and phylogeographic analysis based on molecular and morphological evidence. Ninety individuals of bud-borers Lepidoptera were collected in different regions of Brazil...

Currently, the classification system of 2 subfamilies within Nemouridae has been widely accepted. However, monophyly of 2 subfamilies has not been well supported by molecular evidence. To date, only mitogenomes from genus Nemoura of the subfamily Nemourinae were used in previous phylogenetic studies and produced conflicting results with morphological studies. Herein, we analyzed mitogenomes of 3 Nemourinae species to reveal their mitogenomic characteristics and to examine genus-level classification among Nemouridae...

The shift to a pollen diet and the evolution of more highly organized societies, i.e., eusocial, were key milestones in bee diversification over their evolutionary history, culminating in a high dependence on feeding broods with a large variety of floral resources. Here, we hypothesized that obligatory eusocial bees have a wider diet diversity than their relatives with solitary lifestyles, and this would be related to colony size. To test both hypotheses, we surveyed diet breadth data (palynological analysis) based on the Shannon-Wiener index (H') for 85 bee taxa...

The shield bug, Dolycoris baccarum (L.) (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae), is widely distributed across Asia and Europe. At high latitudes, it overwinters, as adult in diapause, which then becomes the insect source for the following year. To fully understand the developmental duration and diapause characteristics of D. baccarum, the effects of photoperiod and temperature were studied in a population from Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China. The results indicated that the developmental duration was significantly prolonged at temperatures of 20 or 25 °C, with a prolonged light period; however, when the light period was prolonged to 16L:8D and 18L:6D, the developmental duration was shortened significantly...

The Middle East Asia Minor 1 biotype of Bemisia tabaci Gennadius (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) is a greenhouse and field crop pest of global significance. The objective of this study was to assess the potential of the generalist predatory thrips, Franklinothrips vespiformis Crawford (Thysanoptera: Aeolothripidae), as a biological control agent for B. tabaci. This was achieved by determining the functional responses of F. vespiformis larvae and adults to the egg and nymphal stages of B. tabaci under laboratory conditions...

Apis cerana cerana exhibits a prominent biological trait known as comb gnawing. In this study, gnawed combs from colonies during different seasons were collected, investigating the comb age and locations of gnawing. Patterns of comb gnawing were recorded, and the effects of 2 factors, namely, comb type and season, on the mass of wax residues and the gnawed surface area were measured. The results revealed that A. c. cerana predominantly gnaws combs that have been used for over 6 months, with gnawing concentrated in the brood-rearing area...

The parasitoid wasp, Ooencyrtus kuvanae (Howard) (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), is a natural enemy of the spongy moth, a significant forest pest in North America. We investigated the oviposition behavior of O. kuvanae females on spongy moth egg masses by (i) presenting female parasitoids with a single spongy moth egg mass that was replaced every day, 2nd day, 4th day, 8th day, or 16th day (which is the total length of the oviposition period) and (ii) presenting female parasitoids with 1, 2, 4, or 8 egg masses at a time...

The butterfly genus of Teinopalpus, endemic to Asia, embodies a distinct species of mountain-dwelling butterflies with specific habitat requirements. These species are rare in the wild and hold high conservation and research value. Similar to other protected species, the genetic analysis of the rare Teinopalpus aureus poses challenges due to the complexity of sampling. In this study, we successfully extracted DNA and amplified mitochondrial genomic DNA from various noninvasive sources such as larval feces, larval exuviae, larval head capsules, pupal exuviaes, and filamentous gland secretions, all integral parts of butterfly metamorphosis...

In this study, a vitellogenin like1 gene (SfVg-like1) in Sogatella furcifera was identified. The open reading frame (ORF) encoded 1,321 amino acid sequence. Structure analysis reveals that the amino acid sequence of SfVg-like1 has 3 conserved LPD_N, DUF1943 and VWFD domains. Phylogenetic analyses showed that SfVg-like1 was clustered in the same branch with the Vg-like1 of Nilaparvata lugens (100% bootstrap value) compared with other Hemiptera insects Vgs associated with vitellogenesis. Temporo-spatial expression analyses showed that SfVg-like1 expressed during all stages, and in both genders...

Females of host-feeding parasitic wasps often partition hosts of different stages for feeding and parasitization, but the underlying behavioral mechanisms are largely unknown, making it difficult to evaluate parasitoid-host interactions and their effects on biological control success. Tamarixia triozae (Burks) is an ectoparasitoid of tomato-potato psyllid Bactericera cockerelli (Šulc), which utilizes nymphs and kills them both by parasitization and host feeding. In this study, we exposed female wasps to 1st- to 5th-instar psyllid nymphs simultaneously and made 13-h continuous video recording of parasitoid-host interactions...

Methods to measure the diversity and biological control impact of parasitoids for the control of spotted-wing drosophila, Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) (Diptera: Drosophilidae) are being developed in support of biological control programs around the world. Existing methods to determine parasitism levels and parasitoid species composition focus on sampling D. suzukii within fresh and rotting fruit. However, many D. suzukii pupate in the soil or in dropped fruit, where additional parasitism could occur and where their parasitoids are thought to overwinter...

Gastrodia elata Blume, a valuable traditional Chinese medicine with significant clinical and nutritional importance, is a fungal heterotrophic orchid. We present the first report of the mitochondrial genome structure and characteristics of 3 Scarabaeidae pests affecting G. elata: Sophrops peronosporus Gu & Zhang, Anomala rufiventris Kollar & Redtenbacher, and Callistethus plagiicollis Fairmaire. Each mitogenome contained 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNAs (tRNAs), 2 ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs), and a control region, with no gene rearrangements observed...

The spotted amber ladybird, Hippodamia variegata (Goeze) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), is known to be a potent predator of aphids, psyllids, whiteflies, mealybugs, and some butterfly species. This ladybeetle overwinters in the diapausing adult stage. The current study aimed to evaluate the impact of diapause on the energy resources and cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) of the female ladybeetle, specifically comparing the changes in glycogen, lipid, and protein contents, and CHCs profile of diapausing and non-diapausing adults...

Diaphorina citri, also known as the Asian citrus psyllid, is the main vector of 'Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus' (CLas) associated with citrus Huanglongbing. It has been reported that D. citri could also be infected by Citrus tristeza virus (CTV), a virus that has been previously reported to be vectored by certain aphid species. In this study, the CTV and CLas profiles in different organs, color variants, developmental stages, or sexes of D. citri insects were analyzed. Although no significant differences were found between nymphs and adults in CTV titers, we found that the third instar nymph of D...

Body mass underpins many ecological processes at the level of individuals, populations, and communities. Often estimated in arthropods from linear morphological traits such as body length or head width, these relationships can vary even between closely related taxa. Length-mass relationships of mosquito (Diptera: Culicidae) larvae are poorly known despite the importance of this family to disease and aquatic ecology. To fill this gap, we measured ontogenetic changes in linear traits (body length, head width, and thorax width) and dry and wet masses and estimated length- and width-mass relationships in larvae of 3 culicid species inhabiting different niches: the tropical Aedes albopictus (Skuse, 1894), the temperate Culex pipiens (Linnaeus, 1758), and the snowmelt Ochlerotatus punctor (Kirby, 1837)...

A study was conducted to investigate the population genetic structure and breeding pattern of 140 tropical bed bugs, Cimex hemipterus (F.) (Hemiptera: Cimicidae), collected from 14 infested sites in major cities in Iraq. The samples were genotyped using a set of 7 polymorphic microsatellite markers. High genetic variety was seen among populations, with an average of 2-9 alleles per locus. The number of alleles across 7 microsatellite loci was between 6 and 18. There was a notable disparity in the alleles per loci when comparing the overall population to those within it...

Insect wing surfaces have nano- and microscale features that enable multi-functionality. Leafhoppers (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) are unique in that they produce and excrete nanoscale particles, called brochocosomes, that are spread onto the integument by the insect. Brochosomes are extra-cuticular, removable, and make the integument both superhydrophobic and anti-reflective, 2 greatly desired properties in engineering and material science fields. Adaptations like this have captured the interest of researchers looking to draw inspiration from the natural world to create novel solutions and optimize current technologies...