Red imported fire ants, Solenopsis invicta (Buren) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), are abundant in many agroecosystems in the southern United States and can affect the abundance of arthropods in these systems. We determined the effects of red imported fire ants on the abundance of aphids, other herbivorous insects, and beneficial arthropods in Alabama tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) by manipulating the density of red imported fire ants in plots of tomato plants and by sampling fresh market tomato farms for two years (2003 and 2004). In both years of our study, aphid abundance was significantly greater in tomato plots with high densities of fire ants than in plots where fire ant densities were suppressed. Further, the abundance of fire ants was positively correlated with the abundance of aphids on intensely managed tomato farms in both years. These aphids included many species that are the primary vectors of economically-important plant viruses of tomato and other vegetable crops. The positive effect of fire ants on aphid abundance was likely due to facultative fire ant--aphid mutualisms. Other studies have demonstrated that fire ants protect honeydew-producing insects from natural enemies, and we found that fire ants reduced the abundance of beneficial arthropods in the second year of our field experiment. However, red imported fire ants did not significantly reduce the abundance of non-aphid herbivores in either year of our field experiment, suggesting that fire ants are not important biological control agents of these insects in tomato. Fire ants may disrupt biological control of aphids in tomato fields and suppression of fire ants on tomato farms may decrease the abundance of aphids.

Wireworms are important insect pests of Florida sugarcane. The objective of this study was to determine the seasonal population dynamics of wireworms in Florida sugarcane. In a preliminary test, significantly more total numbers of wireworms were found under sugarcane stools than between stools in a row or between rows. Hence, the sugarcane stool was used as the sampling site for wireworms in the population dynamics study. A sugarcane field was sampled for wireworms monthly from Jun 2004 to Jun 2006. The total number of wireworms was significantly less in the summer than other seasons and these wireworms were also significantly smaller at this time. Data in this study should be useful to southern Florida growers in understanding expected wireworm damage in different seasons.

Southern chinch bugs were tested from 10 locations in Florida to determine possible resistance to 4 insecticides. Resistance of varying degrees was found in all 4 insecticides: bifenthrin, deltamethrin, imidacloprid, and lambda-cyhalothrin. This study is the first to show southern chinch bug resistance to the latter 3 insecticides. Our data also show that multiple locations are necessary for insecticidal testing for southern chinch bugs since results from 1 location can be very misleading.

The exotic ant, Pheidole obscurithorax Naves, is currently expanding its range and increasing in local density in the southeastern United States. We describe new county records from 5 states and local density increases along roadside transects in the Tallahassee, Florida area. The patchy distribution suggests that this species is being transported to new localities by people. Throughout its introduced range, this species is largely confined to highly disturbed habitats, such as lawns and roadsides and frequently co-occurs with the introduced fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren. Locally, although the maximum density of nests per unit area has not changed since 2002, the total area occupied, and the total number of nests of P. obscurithorax is much greater. Beyond these data, little is known of the biology of this species.

The pink hibiscus mealybug, Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Green), threatens numerous crops of economic importance and could spread from populations in California and Florida to 33 other states. Field experiments conducted in Florida evaluated 3 commercially available trap designs baited with synthetic female sex pheromone for efficiency in trapping adult male M. hirsutus as well as ease in processing. Delta traps and double-sided sticky cards captured more males than Jackson traps. The Delta and Jackson traps were more effective at minimizing the capture of non-target insects. The effect of lure age on males captured was also evaluated by pre-aging lures outdoors for 0 to 8 months before testing. Fewer males were caught in Delta traps as the age of the lure increased, with significantly fewer caught in traps that had been pre-aged for 2 months. Monitoring of male flight activity throughout diel cycle with baited Delta traps indicated that males were most active around dusk. The field experiments also showed that the pheromone traps often capture males in areas where no visual indication of an infestation is evident. The pheromone trap may serve as a valuable tool to detect new infestations of pink hibiscus mealybug.

The microsporidian pathogen Vairimorpha invictae is being evaluated for release in the United States as a potential self-sustaining biological control agent for imported fire ants. We examined the host range of this pathogen at 5 sites in northern Argentina where Solenopsis invicta Buren fire ant colonies had high levels of infection (28-83%). At 3 sites near the city of Corrientes, we examined 509 non-Solenopsis ants from 61 collections, 12 genera, and 19 species with a polymerase chain reaction-based screening procedure. No V. invictae infections were detected in any of the samples. At 2 sites near San Javier in Santa Fe Province, 350 km to the south, we screened another 438 non-Solenopsis ants from 44 baits, 4 genera, and 4 species, again with no infections. At the Corrientes sites, we also examined 235 non-ant arthropods from 10 orders, 43 families, and more than 80 species. None were infected with V. invictae. The results of this study indicate that, in its native South American range, V. invictae is specific to Solenopsis fire ants.

Two new species, Dryinus chenae and Dryinus expolitus, are described from Jianfengling National Nature Reserve (Hainan Province, China). Dryinus chenae can be recognized from the related Oriental species D. lini Olmi and D. lianus Xu, Olmi & He by the different OPL/TL ratio (OPL as long as TL in D. chenae, much shorter than TL in D. lini, much longer than TL in D. lianus). Dryinus expolitus can be recognized from the related Oriental species D. choui Olmi by the different sculpture (scutum granulated, with a few small areolae near the posterior margin in D. expolitus; almost completely reticulate rugose, with only the anterior surface of the median region granulated in D. choui) and color (pronotum black in D. expolitus, broadly testaceous in D. choui). Keys are provided for the determinations of the above species with illustrations of female chelae.

Brachymyrmex patagonicus Mayr is a recently introduced species that is well established in the Gulf Coast region of the United States. This species is abundant in Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana and has spread into other states. It has become a nuisance pest with occasional large infestations occurring in homes, hospitals, and other businesses. Brief descriptions and illustrations of all castes, biological and economic importance, and known distribution in the United States are given.

Late instars of 3 littoral Cafius Curtis species [Cafius fucicola Curtis, C. nauticus (Fairmaire), C. vestitus (Sharp)] are described for the first time by using sequences of mitochondrial gene. In total, 13 unknown larvae were collected in association with adults from the Nearctic and Palearctic regions. The partial cytochrome oxidase II (CO II) gene was sequenced from the unknown larvae and several identified adult specimens for adults-larvae association. The range of intraspecific p-distance was from 0 to 2.30% and the minimum interspecific p-distance was 14.46% between Cafius nauticus and C. vestitus. Parsimony and distance analyses were conducted and individuals of a single species were always grouped closely together. Based on these results, the unknown larvae were identified and diagnostic characters of the species are provided, with illustrations of features.

Larvae of many species of Sesiidae, the clearwing moths, are important pests in commercial nurseries, urban landscapes, timber stands, vineyards, and orchards. They cause economic loss by larval boring in stems and roots of herbaceous and woody plants. Researchers and growers often monitor for the presence of economically important sesiid adults with pheromone traps. These traps often attract more than one species of Sesiidae and specimens often degrade making identification difficult or impossible. This can cause problems in monitoring programs where species-specific control programs are used. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to amplify a 606-bp region of the mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase I (COI), tRNA leucine, and COII gene. This region exhibited 7.7-19.5% genetic variability among 8 species of Sesiidae. Samples were sequenced and restriction sites identified. PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis was conducted on 8 species of Sesiidae, Melittia satyriniformis, Paranthrene simulans, Pennisetia marginata, Synanthedon pictipes, S. exitiosa, S. scitula, S. rileyana, and Vitacea polistiformis, with 2 restriction enzymes, Dra I and Hinf I. This method is time efficient requiring less than 8 h to perform and cost efficient with each sample about $1. PCR-RFLP provides an accurate method to differentiate 8 species of adult clearwing moths commonly found in traps baited with commercially available pheromone lures.

Sixteen vineyards from 4 grape-growing regions across Florida were evaluated for seasonal distribution and presence of grape root borer (GRB), Vitacea polistiformis Harris (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae), during 2003 and 2004. Vineyards consisted of both muscadine (Vitis rotundifolia Michx.) and bunch grapes (Euvitis spp.). Grape root borer males were caught in all vineyards with Universal Moth Traps baited with female GRB pheromones, with higher captures in the northern and southern counties. Grape root borers began emerging in late Jun and early Jul in the Panhandle and southern regions. Emergence occurred in late Jul in the north-central region and in mid-Aug in the central region. Weekly trap catches indicated that peak GRB flights occurred during mid-to late Aug for the Panhandle region. In the north-central, central, and southern regions, peak flights occurred in the second and third week of Sep, coinciding with the period of grape harvest for muscadine grapes. The emergence period ceased with the onset of colder temperatures as the grapevines approached dormancy. Wing-style sticky traps were compared with Universal Moth Traps (bucket traps) in 2003 and 2004. Bucket traps were more effective and caught significantly more GRB than wing traps during both years of the study.

High population densities of red oak borer, Enaphalodes rufulus (Haldeman), are believed to be a major contributor to recent widespread oak mortality in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas. The intent of this research was to expand our knowledge on specific aspects of this insect's biology, life history, and distribution by trapping flying adults in the Ozark National Forest during emergence of 2001, 2003, and 2005 cohorts. Passive flight intercept trap catches revealed that preferred flight height and thus optimal trap placement for monitoring populations was close to the base of the dominant/co-dominant northern red oak, Quercus rubra L., canopy. Flight periods and peak flight were different in 2001 and 2003. Emergence occurred a week earlier in 2001 vs. 2003. Peak flight occurred over a 3-week period from mid Jun to early Jul in 2001 in contrast to 2003 peak flight, which occurred the first week of Jul. Male to female ratios were 1.9:1 and 1.4:1 for 2001 and 2003, respectively. In 2003, sex ratios varied significantly among 5 topographic positions evaluated, north, south, east, and west-facing benches and ridges. Total numbers of red oak borers caught varied both spatially and temporally from cohort to cohort in traps placed in 3 different areas on 5 topographic positions. This research should facilitate efficient future monitoring of adult red oak borer and form a basis for investigating stand and landscape-level factors affecting population densities throughout the forest.

The African fig fly, Zaprionus indianus, was first recorded in fig orchards in Brazil in 1999, at the Valinhos region, in the State of São Paulo. In view of the scarcity of biological data on this insect in Brazil, the objective of this research was to study the biology, temperature requirements, and to estimate the number of Z. indianus annual generations for the main fig producing regions of Brazil, aimed at controlling the pest. The insects were reared on artificial diet at constant temperatures of 18, 20, 22, 25, 28, 30, and 32°C, relative humidity 80 ± 10%, and 14-h photophase. Duration of the development stages was variable with temperature, being longer at the lower temperatures. Temperature also influenced viability during the larval and pupal stages and the egg-adult biological cycle, with significant differences between 32°C and the other temperature conditions. The lower temperature development threshold (TT) and thermal constant (K) values for the egg, larval, and pupal stages were 9.7 and 10.5; 9.2 and 148.6, and 10.7°C and 66.25 DD, respectively, for a total thermal constant of 262.2 DD for the egg-adult biological cycle. Based on a lower temperature development threshold of 7.9°C., Z. indianus may have up to 16.6, 12.4, and 12.7 annual generations in the regions of Valinhos-SP, Pelotas-RS, and São Sebastião do Paraíso-MG, respectively, which are traditionally known as fig producing regions in the country.

The size of prey is critical to the feeding success of any given predator, but the effects of diet packet size have not been studied. We examined the effects of size of packets (Parafilm® domes) of artificial diet and the size of prey eggs on oviposition and mortality rates of Orius insidiosus (Say). Artificial diet was presented to adult female O. insidiosus in 10-, 25- and 50-μL domes for 6 d and rate of oviposition was measured for 24 h. Oviposition was highest after feeding on the 10-μL domes, decreased slightly on the 25-μL domes, and was significantly reduced on the 50-μL domes. The effect of capsule size was negated on the 25-μL and 50-μL diet domes when the diet was supplemented with E. kuehniella egg protein. Predators were also fed eggs of 4 species of Lepidoptera, Ephestia kuehniella Zeller, Plodia interpunctella (Hübner), Helicoverpa zea (Boddie), Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith), and Heliothis virescens (Fabricius), ranging in volume from 19 ± 1.7 nL (mean ± SD) for P. interpunctella to 108 ± 21.3 nL for H. virescens eggs. Oviposition was highest and comparable on the E. kuehniella, P. interpunctella and H. virescens eggs and significantly less on S. frugiperda and H. virescens eggs. Oviposition positively correlated and mortality negatively correlated with weight-specific protein contents of the eggs, but neither correlated with egg volume. When all species of eggs were extracted and combined with diet in domes of constant size and constant protein content, only extracts of E. kuehniella and P. interpunctella eggs were more active than diet alone.

Austromusotima camptozonale (Hampson) is under investigation as a potential biological control agent of Old World climbing fern, Lygodium microphyllum (Cav.) R. Br., which is a serious invasive weed in southern Florida. Studies were conducted to investigate aspects of the mating biology of A. camptozonale with a view to improving field colonization efforts. A laboratory colony of A. camptozonale had a female-biased sex ratio of 1:1.3 male:female, with females emerging slightly earlier than males. The majority of female moths mated only once, even when they were confined with multiple males for several nights. Sex ratio had a significant effect on the percentage of females that were mated, with higher percentages of females mated at high male sex ratios. However sex ratio had no effect on the number of times individual females mated. Larval production was significantly higher in colony cages with high male sex ratios, and this was likely due to the higher percentages of females that were mated in these cages. Data suggest that A. camptozonale females are likely to be functionally monandrous under field conditions. Females produced a lifetime average of 61.2 ± 9.7 larvae, and were short-lived, surviving an average of 5.7 ± 0.5 d. Females began oviposition on the first night after mating and continued until the day of their death. However 90% of eggs were deposited between the first and third night after mating. Due to the short lifespan of female moths, adults may not be the best life stage for field release in a biological control program, owing to likely disruption of critical mating and oviposition activities. Elevating the ratio of males in colony mating cages is a strategy for maximizing female reproductive output.

Forty-six species, belonging to 30 different genera of aphids, are reported from Honduras. Of these, 26 represent new distribution records for Honduras. A list of the plant hosts in Honduras on which the aphid species were collected is included.

Harmonia axyridis (Pallas) was first detected in north Florida in 1993 feeding on crape myrtle aphids, Sarucallis kahawaluokalani (Kirkaldy) on crape myrtle, Lagerstroemia indica L. This lady beetle spread rapidly and was instrumental in reducing populations of the yellow pecan aphid complex, Monellia caryella (Fitch) and Monelliopsis pecanis Bissell, in pecan as well as crapemyrtle aphids. Prior to the arrival of H. axyridis to north Florida, the population dynamics of the yellow pecan aphid complex were compared to those of the crapemyrtle aphid and their common arthropod predators. The current study, conducted 8 and 9 years after the arrival of H. axyridis, sampled the same locations and some of the same trees reported previously. This research compares the current aphid and arthropod predator populations with the earlier results to determine the impact of H. axyridis. Prior to the addition of H. axyridis, aphid populations achieved high numbers and the lady beetles, Hippodamia convergens (Guerin-Meneville), Olla v-nigrum (Mulsant), Coleomegilla maculata (DeGeer), Cycloneda sanguinea L. and C. munda (Say) were the most frequently observed predators. In 1984-1985, other common predators included the green lacewing, Chrysoperla rufilabris (Burmeister), the brown lacewings, Micromus posticus (Walker), and Hemerobius stigma (Stephens), the mirid, Deraeocorus nebulosus (Uhler), the reduviids, Zelus exsanguis (Stahl) and Sinea spinipes (Herrich-Schaeffer), the hover flies, Allograpta obliqua (Say) and Mesograpta sp., the anthocorid, Orius insidious (Say), and spiders. A parasitoid of pecan aphids, Aphelinus perpallidus Gahan, was also common. Recent sampling showed H. axyridis to be the dominant predator of aphid populations. Populations of the aphids and the native predator and parasitoid species are dramatically reduced. Only spiders and the reduviids, species potentially involved in intraguild predation with H. axyridis, were detected.

We examined inherited sterility effects on the F₁ and F₂ generations of the cactus moth, Cactoblastis cactorum (Berg) after gamma sterilization. Our objectives were to identify the dose of gamma radiation that would fully sterilize F₁-generation moths and result in no viable offspring when F₁ males were inbred- or out-crossed to fertile females, and that would allow maximum production of F₁ sterile C. cactorum adults by irradiated males. Newly emerged adults of C. cactorum were exposed to increasing doses of gamma radiation and inbred or out-crossed to fertile counterparts. Inherited effects resulting from irradiation of males and females were expressed in the F₁ generation as reduced egg hatch, increased developmental time for the F₁ egg, and increased F₁ larval to adult mortality. These effects were most pronounced when parental adults were irradiated at 200 Gy. Survival of F₁-generation offspring originating from irradiated male × fertile female crosses was greatest at 200 Gy. In addition, inbred- and out-crosses of surviving F₁ adults, with 1 parent irradiated at 200 Gy, resulted in no F₂ adults. Maximum production of sterile F₁ adults at 200 Gy suggests this dose is the most appropriate dose for implementing the sterile insect technique (SIT)-F₁ sterility for control of C. cactorum in North America and for testing host suitability and potential geographical range in the field.

The invasive lobate lac scale identified as Paratachardina lobata (Chamberlin) (Hemiptera: Keriidae), native to southern India and Sri Lanka, is a severe threat to native and economic plants in southern Florida. In an attempt to find appropriate control against the invasive scale, 3 parasitoid species associated with P. lobata in its native southern India were tested in host acceptance trials in quarantine. Ooencyrtus kerriae Hayat (Encyrtidae) and Coccophagus parlobatae Hayat (Aphelinidae) drill their ovipositor through the rigid lac covering of the scale, whereas Aprostocetus bangaloricus Narendran (Eulophidae) oviposits into the anal pore of the scale. Despite this apparent oviposition behavior, their reproduction on lobate lac scale in these tests failed. Ooencyrtus kerriae and C. parlobatae yielded insignificant numbers of offspring and A. bangaloricus did not reproduce on lobate lac scale in Florida. To investigate the lack of offspring, scales were dissected 2 months after parasitoid oviposition. No parasitoid development to the larval stage was recorded in the scales, but round blood cell accumulations were found, which appeared to be encapsulations of parasitoid eggs. These findings indicate a strong immune response of the invasive scale to the tested parasitoids. The unsuitability of the invasive lac scale as a host for these parasitoids suggests that the invasive lobate lac scale and the Indian P. lobata differ physiologically. Additional surveys are needed to find a better matching form of the invasive lobate lac scale in order to obtain more suitable parasitoids for the control of this serious pest in Florida.

A field-portable 3D laser scanner was employed as a means of digitizing the surface of fire ant (Solenopsis invicta Buren) mounds for analysis of shape and orientation in Mississippi and Oklahoma. Estimates of above-ground mound volume obtained through manual measurements of mound length, width, and height were higher and more variable than estimates obtained by summing the area underneath interpolated mound surfaces. Mounds were typically elliptical in shape and oriented in a north-south direction. The mound apex was offset to the northeast of the mean mound center by an average of 46 ± 5 mm. Additional mound characteristics extracted from 3D data included slope (degrees), surface area, and slope within mound aspect (northeast, southeast, etc.). Advantages of the methodology employed in this study and possible explanations for fire ant mound shape are discussed.

Open field experiments were conducted in Brazil to assess the suitability of the South American leaf feeding beetle Metriona elatior Klug for biological control of tropical soda apple, Solanum viarum Dunal in the USA. A multiple choice open field test with eggplant (Solanum melongena L.), bell-pepper (Capsicum annuum L.), potato (Solanum tuberosum L.), tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.), giló (Solanum gilo Raddi), falsa-jurubeba (Solanum fastigiatum Willd.), and the target weed Solanum viarum, was conducted at the Universidade Federal do Paraná Experimental Station in Curitiba. A second multiple choice-test was conducted 2 years later at the same location excluding the target weed and exposing M. elatior adults to S. melongena, S. tuberosum, L. scullentum, and C. annuum. An S. viarum control plot was established 60 km from the choice-test field. In total, 276 teneral adult beetles were released in the first multiple choice-test. In the second test, 176 beetles were released in the choice-test plot that excluded S. viarum, and 172 adult beetles were released in the S. viarum control plot at different developmental stages of the tested plants. All the plants in each plot were visually checked once a week and the number of adults, immatures, and eggs recorded. Results in the first multiple choice-test showed a complete rejection of the crop plants by M. elatior. Minor feeding (<3%) was observed on eggplant in the second experiment in which S. viarum was excluded from the crop plots, but all M. elatior larvae died in less than a week. The tests were ended when the plants started to senesce. The results of these open field tests corroborate previous quarantine/laboratory host specificity tests indicating that host range expansion of M. elatior to include the solanaceous crops tested is highly unlikely. A petition to release M. elatior in the USA was submitted to the TAG committee in September 2006.

Eight releases of the South American fire ant decapitating fly, Pseudacteon tricuspis Borgmeier, were conducted in Louisiana from 1999 to 2006. Although P. tricuspis was initially recaptured at 88% of the release sites, four of the releases ultimately failed, so long-term establishment was only 43%. Fly populations from two releases have expanded out 50-80 km from their release sites (Fall 2006).