With the aim of studying the olfactory behavior of one of the main pests in neotropical cocoa plantations, the cocoa beetle Steirastoma breve (Sulzer) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), we studied behavioral and antennal responses towards different odor sources in a two-choice olfactometer and an electroantennographic system, respectively. Odor sources tested as stimuli in olfactometric experiments were chopped pieces of cocoa branches, adult males, adult females of S. breve, and combinations of these. Extracts of female and male body parts in n-hexane were tested in electroantennnographic experiments. Statistically significant attraction responses in the olfactometer were observed only when S. breve individuals were stimulated with odors from pieces of cocoa branches. Both sexes showed active EAG responses to odors of cocoa branches, and females showed active EAG responses to adult male odors. These results suggest that olfactory behavior of S. breve is mediated by volatiles derived from cocoa trees and from adult male insects.

The first detections of Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama, in North America occurred almost simultaneously in Florida and in the Caribbean (Guadeloupe). Damaging populations on citrus have been reported in Florida but not in Puerto Rico where the psyllid was first detected in 2001, having probably arrived with its parasitoid, Tamarixia radiata Waterston. In an effort to identify additional sources of mortality, the relative abundance of coccinellid species was estimated on 180 citrus trees from early April to early July 2003. The most abundant species were Coelophora inaequalis F. (38.8%) and Cycloneda sanguinea limbifer L. (31.3%), and the least abundant were Cladis nitidula F. (5.9%), Coleomegilla innonata Mulsant (4.8%), Chilocorus cacti L. (2.1%), Scymnus sp. (5.9%), Hippodamia convergens Guerin (2.4%), and Cryptolaemus montrouzieri Mulsant (8.8%). These eight species were collected from citrus production areas in Puerto Rico for a laboratory study of feeding behavior. All eight consumed D. citri nymphs, with C. innonata consuming psyllids at a greater rate than C. cacti or Scymnus sp. Choice tests showed that C. inaequalis and C. s. limbifer preferred brown citrus aphid (BCA) Toxoptera citricida to D. citri as prey, whereas C. nitidula and C. cacti (both Chilochorini) preferred D. citri. Our results suggest that coccinellid species could play an important role as predators of the psyllid in Puerto Rico and contribute to its natural control.

The Old World climbing fern, Lygodium microphyllum, is an invasive weed in the Florida Everglades and the leaf roll galling mite, Floracarus perrepae, is a proposed biological control agent. Field studies were conducted for one to two years at sites in its native range in Australia, New Caledonia, and India to evaluate the effect of climate on F. perrepae. Monthly counts of the proportion of L. microphyllum subpinnae (leaflets) with leaf roll galls were used to measure the incidence of damage caused by F. perrepae. Between sites the most significant weather variable was rainfall 14 to 28 days prior to sampling, with higher levels having a depressive effect on the incidence of leaf rolls. Within sites the mean maximum temperature was the only significant weather variable, showing a decrease in the incidence of leaf rolls above 27°C, and it was predicted that no leaf rolls would form above 35°C. The weather parameters in Homestead, Florida for 2002 were within the range of those evaluated in the eight native range field sites. Thus, we do not predict that climate will prevent the establishment of this biological control agent for L. microphyllum in southern Florida.

The contents of 21 trap-nests located in Sagarmatha National Park, Nepal, in 2002 and 2003 revealed interesting aspects of the biology of Ancistrocerus sikhimensis Bingham (Hymenoptera: Eumenidae). The nests included 2-7 brood cells separated by mud partitions. The dimensions of these structures seem to increase from the first cell to the last one constructed by the wasp. Females always used all the available space of the trap-nests, and the variability in the number of cells per nest essentially depended on their different dimensions. All the emerged adults were females, and we suspect that this species is bivoltine, with a highly shifted sex ratio between the two generations. In 2002, the parasite Chrysis sp. aff. coelestina Klug, recorded for the first time on this host, was responsible for a rate of parasitism per nest of 0%-100%, with an average of 41.65%. A second cuckoo wasp, Chrysis violenta ultramonticola Linsenmaier, emerged from one nest in 2003. Most A. sikhimensis females housed, mainly on the abdomen, hypopi of the mite Vespacarus sp., which is known to be involved in other wasp-mite associations. Unlike other mite-symbiotic eumenid wasps, A. sikhimensis does not present an acarinarium on its body to house the mites.

A new species of Tridactylidae, Ellipes eisneri, is described from the Brooksville Ridge in Florida. This is the second species of flightless tridactylid that is known to inhabit deep, well drained sand formations in Florida. It is associated with an algal layer occurring a few mm beneath the surface. When not feeding near the surface, E. eisneri retreats down vertical burrows. The range of the species is not well known, but it could be restricted to the Brooksville Ridge. The habits of this species are convergent with those of the previously described Neotridactylus archboldi Deyrup & Eisner. There is a good chance that there are additional species of upland pygmy mole crickets in other sandy areas of southeastern North America.

Larra bicolor (F.) (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae) is an introduced biological control agent of pest Scapteriscus mole crickets (Orthoptera: Gryllotalpidae) in northern Florida. The pests are of southern South American origin. Larra bicolor is widespread in South America; the imported stock is from Bolivia. Its adults seem to require nectar sources. In South America, Puerto Rico (where it was also introduced from Brazil), and southern Florida (a separate introduction from Puerto Rico), the neotropical wildflower Spermacoce verticillata L. (Rubiaceae) has been observed to be a favored nectar source. In northern Florida (29°N) this wildflower is uncommon, freezes to the ground at first winter frost, and does not flower again until April-May. Nevertheless, where it has been planted in northern Florida, the wasps feed on it throughout the warmer months. Wasps were observed to feed at nectaries of 10 other plant species in northern Florida. Four of these other plants were compared experimentally with S. verticillata, but all received fewer visits from the wasps. Known disadvantages to the use of S. verticillata to augment L. bicolor are that it is not native to Florida, and that it grows vigorously in full sun when its roots are not immersed in water. It has been reported as a minor weed in southern Florida. However, it is the best alternative to attract L. bicolor to places where mole cricket control is needed.

A well developed management plan is in place for control of pests such as the twospotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae), in field and greenhouse grown strawberry, Fragaria ananassa Duchesne; however, an integrated pest management approach to control the cotton aphid, Aphis gossypii Glover (Homoptera: Aphididae), is not available. In order to initiate an effective program for the cotton aphid, the population dynamics of the aphid and the effectiveness of the pink spotted lady beetle, Coleomegilla maculata DeGeer (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), to control aphids were studied on greenhouse strawberry. Results from this experiment established peaks of aphid infestation throughout the growing season and location of different cotton aphid life forms on the plant. The greatest positive response of the pink spotted lady beetle to cotton aphid occurred at high prey density. This characteristic indicates that the pink spotted lady beetle may be a good candidate for augmentative biological control of cotton aphid on strawberry in the greenhouse. This study provides a basis for developing a biological control of cotton aphid component for an integrated strawberry pest management program.

The development of effective techniques to eradicate populations of invasive ant species is crucial to the conservation of native biodiversity. An intensive program was initiated in 2001 to eradicate the invasive little fire ant, Wasmannia auropunctata (Roger) from ∼21 ha on Marchena Island in the Galápagos Archipelago. Linear transects, approximately 10 m apart, were cut through the vegetation of the infested area and a buffer zone of 6 ha. Amdro® (Hydramethylnon) was applied manually up to three times in the treatment area at three-month intervals between March and October 2001. To date, five follow-up monitoring surveys have placed sticks painted with peanut butter in a grid 3-4 m apart. Two small populations (0.1% of the area originally occupied by W. auropunctata) were detected in April and October 2002 and were subsequently treated with Amdro®. No W. auropunctata ants were found in May 2003 and April 2004. Five nocturnal surveys carried out in the immediate area of introduction of W. auropunctata did not detect any individuals. Monitoring surveys will continue for an additional two years to ensure eradication of any remaining populations and verify the success of this program. This paper discusses the procedures used to kill W. auropunctata and monitor the efficacy of the eradication methods, the program’s costs, and its applicability to other island ecosystems.

We studied the population dynamics of the zebra longwing butterfly, Heliconius charithonia (Nymphalidae), in a 0.05 ha garden in Miami, Florida, for 2 years to answer the following questions: (1) How stable is a suburban, subtropical population of this widespread neotropical butterfly? (2) What are the major factors influencing its population dynamics? (3) What are the implications of adult mobility regarding gene flow within and between fragmented urban populations of this species? A mark-recapture study indicated that adult population size averaged 59 individuals (range: 9-115 individuals). Peak numbers occurred in mid-wet season (September) in 1996 and in the late dry and early wet seasons (April through June) in 1997. Fluctuations in size of the adult population paralleled changes in biomass of the larval food plant, Passiflora incense. Population sex ratio was consistently male-biased (68% males). Reproduction occurred year-round, and parasitism by a trichogrammatid wasp killed about 50% of Heliconius eggs throughout the year. Recruitment of adults from chrysalises produced in the garden and deaths, rather than immigration and emigration, accounted for most numerical changes. Both males and females apparently adjust their home range locations in response to changes in the biomass of Passiflora plants. Females search these plants for suitable oviposition sites, and males search them for female pupae (mates). In addition to relatively high mortality from egg parasitism, fluctuations in the number of suitable oviposition sites and amount of larval food limited recruitment into the adult butterfly population. High adult mobility probably results in substantial gene flow within and between populations of this butterfly in urban south Florida.

Volatile compounds released by disturbed females of the bethylid wasp Cephalonomia stephanoderis Betrem were collected and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The origin of volatiles and their behavioral effects on conspecifics were also investigated. The source of the volatile compounds was found to be the head, and more specifically, the mandibular glands. These glands contain skatole as the main volatile component. Behavioral bioassays demonstrated that extracts of parasitoid heads and synthetic skatole evoked the same alarm behavior in this species. The possible function of this chemical is discussed.

The mature larva of A. sikhimensis is described, illustrated, and compared with that of other species of the genus so far described. The final-instar of this species and the different species recently described, or redescribed, in this genus are A. kitcheneri, A. longispinosus, and A. trifasciatus, and all can be differentiated on the basis of the following characters: (a) the development of antennae; (b) the development of the atrium with respect to the subatrium; (c) the number of the sensilla of the labrum and galea, and (d) the presence/absence of spinules and papillae on the labium.