Counts of salivary sheaths and salivary flanges have been widely used in studies of feeding behavior and crop damage of pestiferous stink bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) and other sheath-feeding Hemiptera. While salivary flanges can effectively predict crop damage by stink bugs, previous studies have assumed that food consumption (e.g., ingestion) and preference can also be inferred from flange data. Yet this assumption has remained untested. We investigated the relationship between the number of stink bug salivary flanges and consumption of cotton bolls for two important agricultural pest species: Nezara viridula (L.) and Euschistus servus (Say). We inferred food consumption rates from measures of relative growth rate and excreta quantity. To measure excreta, we quantified the color intensity, or chromaticity, of excreta using digital image analysis. We found a positive relationship between growth rate and the number of flanges for fifth instars of E. servus. However, we found no relationship between growth or excretion and the number of flanges for all stages of N. viridula and for E. servus adults. Our results indicate that counts of salivary flanges should not be used to infer food consumption or preference in studies on N. viridula and E. servus adults, but can be used in studies of E. servus nymphs. Species-and stage-specific differences in the relationship between consumption and salivary flanges suggests distinct feeding strategies among species and stages; such differences may be potentially important in determining crop damage from pestiferous stink bugs.

Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) (Diptera: Drosophilidae) is a pest of small fruits and cherries, and has also been noted to infest a variety of wild, ornamental, and uncultivated hosts. Identifying alternative hosts is critical for pest management. Research objectives were to: 1) survey fruits in the field for natural infestation of D. suzukii, 2) determine the susceptibility of fruits in laboratory no-choice studies, and 3) evaluate short-range preference between simultaneously ripe alternative hosts and cultivated fruits in laboratory choice studies. Field surveys identified new hosts or confirmed previously reported hosts including: Berberis aquifolium Pursh, Oregon grape; Cornus spp., dogwood; Cotoneaster lacteus W.W. Smith, milkflower cotoneaster; Elaeagnus umbellata Thunberg, Autumn olive; Frangula purshiana (de Candolle) A. Gray, cascara buckthorn; Lindera benzoin (L.) Blume, spicebush; Lonicera caerulea L., blue honeysuckle; Morus sp., mulberry; Phytolacca americana L., pokeweed; Prunus avium (L.) L., wild cherry; Prunus laurocerasus L., cherry laurel; Prunus lusitanica L., Portuguese laurel; Rubus armeniacus Focke, Himalaya blackberry; Rubus spectabilis Pursh, salmonberry; Sambucus nigra L., black elderberry; Sarcococca confusa Sealy, sweet box; Solanum dulcamara L., bittersweet nightshade; and Symphoricarpos albus (L.) S.F. Blake, snowberry. High fruit infestations were observed in S. confusa during April—May and Lonicera spp. in June before most commercial fruits ripen. From both field and laboratory studies, there was no evidence of susceptibility during the estimated ripe period Crataegus L. ‘Autumn Glory,’ hawthorn; Ilex crenata Thunberg, Japanese holly; Nandina domestica Thunberg, sacred bamboo; Rhaphiolepis umbellata (Thunberg) Makino, yeddo hawthorne; Rosa acicularis Lindley, prickly rose; Skimmia japonica Thunberg, Japanese skimmia; and Viburnum davidii Franchet, David's viburnum. Lastly, laboratory choice tests identified that several fall-ripening alternative hosts were more susceptible than ‘Pinot noir’ or ‘Pinot gris’ wine grapes. By understanding host use, growers can identify high-risk areas where coordinated action may reduce infestation of D. suzukii in crops.

Larvae of the tiger beetle Tetracha (=Megacephala) carolina L. (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae) were observed weekly in a residential yard in Greenville, Washington Co., MS, from 21 September to the following 30 June. Cleared areas around building foundations during this period contained 194 burrows of first-, second-, and third-instar larvae, as represented by three different diameter holes. Larvae were at the top of their burrow and visible during periods both day and night. Larvae retreated down into their burrow for longer periods when the site was in the shade relative to when it was in the sun. Burrows were closed with a soil plug during rain, when larvae were molting, and during harsh environmental conditions. Larvae whose burrows had a southern exposure were active a month longer in the fall and a month earlier in the spring compared with northern exposure larvae, though emerged adults appeared in both areas in late May. The density of burrows at three sites averaged 1 per 36.5 cm². Mortality of the third and last larval stage at the largest site was 34.4%, with higher mortality of the earlier stages.

Four mitochondrial (cytrochrome oxidase I) haplotypes of the potato psyllid, Bactericera cockerelli (Šulc) (Hemiptera: Triozidae), have been identified in North America: western, central, northwestern, and southwestern. A recent study found that females of the northwestern haplotype mated by males of the western or central haplotypes failed to produce viable eggs. Our goal was to determine whether these patterns in reproductive incompatibility are associated with differences among haplotypes in the presence of cytoplasmic incompatibility-inducing bacteria, Wolbachia or Cardinium. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) revealed that psyllids of the western and central haplotypes were both simultaneously infected with two strains of Wolbachia, but Wolbachia was not detected in psyllids of the northwestern haplotype. PCR using archived DNA from field-collected psyllids confirmed patterns in Wolbachia infection among the western, central, and northwestern haplotypes, and also indicated that Wolbachia was not detectable in psyllids of the southwestern haplotype, which were not available for the mating studies. Cardinium was not detected in psyllids regardless of haplotype. These results provide evidence that differences in Wolbachia infection may be the cause of cytoplasmic incompatibilities among sympatric yet biologically distinct populations of B. cockerelli that have highly divergent mitochondrial haplotypes. This knowledge will improve the interpretation of studies to assess interactions and biological differences among B. cockerelli haplotypes.

Measurements of head capsule, mandible, metanotum, and body weight were done on larvae of Tenebrio molitor L. (Coleoptera: Tenebrionide) from the second to the last instar. Instar number varied from 14 to 18, but 15 or 16 instars were the most common. The value of dimensional measurements was evaluated as a tool for instar determination and to improve understanding of instar variation in T. molitor. Three methods of analysis were used, including discriminant, cluster, and frequency distribution analyses. Stepwise regression analysis was used to determine the optimal combination of dimensional variables. Head capsule width, left mandible length, and body weight at the beginning of stadia were the most significant variables impacting instar. Discriminant analyses of instar using these three variables resulted in 47.74% misclassifications, indicating a high degree of dimensional overlapping among instars. Dimensional overlap and variability increased in older instars. Cluster 15-group analysis using measurements of head capsule width and mandible length resulted in the lowest level of group variability; however, there was low degree of correspondence between cluster groups and instars. Frequency distribution analysis of head capsule width revealed 11 peaks, but only the early 8 peaks corresponded with observed instars. All three methods of morphometric analysis failed to identify all instars of T. molitor correctly. Frequency distribution analysis provided the best match, but only among instars 2 to 10. It appears that instar variation in the larval development of T. molitor occurs after the 10th instar. A model of T. molitor developmental plasticity is proposed.

Mark—release—recapture methods (MRR) can provide reliable estimates of an insect population's vital parameters; however, transect counts are becoming preferred for endangered taxa due to concerns about potential damage to their habitats that may occur due to intensive sampling and adverse effects of handling on behavior and survival. Yet transect counts, when used without supplemental data on population parameters, have inherent limitations that lessen their usefulness for rigorous population monitoring, in particular for the estimation of generation population sizes. We revise and extend a method for estimating generation population size that parametrically couples models of abundance measurements from transect counts conducted annually with models of survival data from MRR studies only performed in some years. Extensions encompass 1) semiparametric modeling of count data, 2) accounting for spatial sampling error via two alternative formulations, and 3) a fully generalized approach to adjustment for imperfect detectability of individuals. Application of the basic estimator is illustrated using two endangered insects: Euphilotes battoides allyni (Shields) (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae) and Trimerotropis infantilis Rentz (Orthoptera, Acrididae). Adult life span of the butterfly is no more than a couple of weeks, while adults of the grasshopper may live for several months. Despite these pronounced differences, our method proved flexible enough to fit the MRR and count data from each species and generate stable estimates of their respective generation population sizes. Simulation studies were also conducted and generally revealed low bias, with close agreement between actual and estimated population sizes.

Spodoptera frugiperda (Smith) is a polyphagous insect of major economic impact in the Western hemisphere, and it has genetically differentiated into two strains (i.e., corn and rice) that are morphologically identical at the level of larvae and adult but differs in their wing shape and in their genetics. In 2008, corn and rice strains of this pest were identified from Tolima department in Colombia. This work continues the molecular identification of these two strains in three other regions of Colombia and three other crops (grass, sugarcane, and sweet sorghum). Our results showed that both strains are associated to the same hosts as reported in 2008. The corn strain was more abundant in corn, cotton, sorghum, sugarcane, and sweet sorghum, whereas the rice strain was more abundant in grass and rice. This host plant association reflects a population genetic differentiation in Colombia, with significant genetic differentiation between subpopulations (PhiPT) values for both markers—cytochrome oxidase I and FR (For Rice) fragment repeat—for all crops. The UPGMA (Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic Mean) dendrograms obtained with Nei genetic distances separated most of rice strain populations from the other crops, suggesting that it is genetically differentiated from the corn strain. Our results demonstrate the importance of differentiating these two strains in nature, as these two populations significantly differ in their tolerance to both insecticides and Bacillus thuringiensis endotoxins under laboratory conditions and thus transference of genes that confer resistance to any control is low.

The tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois), is an important pest of cotton that also feeds on other crops and many wild hosts. In the mid-South, where tarnished plant bugs in cotton are controlled exclusively with synthetic insecticides, infestations resulted in >29% of all yield loss attributed to insect damage and the control costs exceeded US$10 per acre in 2013. They have developed resistance to the most commonly used insecticides. Estimations of gene flow and migration are important to understand the spread of resistance in tarnished plant bug populations. Here, we analyzed tarnished plant bugs collected from July to September, 2006, to estimate population genetic parameters using 13 microsatellite markers. Our data indicated that tarnished plant bug populations in the study area had undergone a population bottleneck and all loci deviated from Hardy—Weinberg equilibrium in one or more collections. Bayesian simulations and factorial correspondence analysis indicated the presence of two genetic clusters in the tarnished plant bug populations in the study area. Proportions of insects separated into the two genetic clusters changed from July to September. Genetic differentiation and reduced gene flow between populations were also observed. We postulate that while random genetic drift and gene flow may have contributed to the seasonal variations observed in the study populations, selection by insecticide sprays in cotton during 2005–2006 as well as other extrinsic factors could also have played a significant role in the temporal variation in genetic structure observed in the tarnished plant bug populations.

Bombyx mori L. larvae exposed to 4-n-nonylphenol (4-NP; 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, and 0.4 g per kg of nutrient) in the laboratory were studied with respect to superoxide dismutase, catalase, and corresponding mRNA levels in gonads during different developmental stages (larval, pupal, and adult). In addition, malondialdehyde contents were measured. An increase in malondialdehyde content was observed at the larval, pupal, and adult stages. In addition, an increase or decrease in superoxide dismutase, catalase, and the gene transcript level of superoxide dismutase and catalase was detected at the different stages. The changing trend in mRNA levels of these enzymes was not always consistent with that of enzyme activity. These results suggest a relationship between 4-NP and alterations in the levels of antioxidant enzymes in B. mori gonads.

The ant genus Aphaenogaster Mayr is an ecologically diverse group that is common throughout much of North America. Aphaenogaster has a complicated taxonomic history due to variability of taxonomic characters. Novomessor Emery was previously synonymized with Aphaenogaster, which was justified by the partial mesonotal suture observed in Aphaenogaster ensifera Forel. Previous studies using Bayesian phylogenies with molecular data suggest Aphaenogaster is polyphyletic. Convergent evolution and retention of ancestral similarities are two major factors contributing to nonmonophyly of Aphaenogaster. Based on 42 multistate morphological characters and five genes, we found Novomessor more closely related to Veromessor Forel and that this clade is sister to Aphaenogaster. Our results confirm the validity of Novomessor stat. r. as a separate genus, and it is resurrected based on the combination of new DNA, morphological, behavioral, and ecological data.

A segment of the nuclear 28S rRNA gene was compared among six species of Lygus [Lygus hesperus (Knight), Lygus keltoni (Schwartz), Lygus borealis (Kelton), Lygus elisus (Van Duzee), Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois), and Lygus vanduzeei (Knight)]. The DNA sequences were separate into three main groups. The LL group contains L. lineolaris and L. vanduzeei. Group LBLE is composed of L. elisus and most of L. borealis. Group LH includes L. hesperus and most of L. keltoni. Some L. keltoni were part of the LBLE group and some L. borealis were part of the LH group. The 28S region does not contain sufficient genetic polymorphism to delineate species. The apparent polyphyly of L. borealis and L. keltoni could reflect historic interbreeding, recent development of a hybrid swarm, or highlight inadequacies of morphospecies identification.