Under elevated temperature conditions, Yemeni honey bees exhibited better thermal tolerance than hybrid Carniolan honey bees. Variations between body characteristics, cuticular lipids, cuticle thickness, and total body water content of the two races were investigated. Yemeni bees were smaller than Carniolan bees in all measured body characteristics. The cuticle thickness of Carniolan bees was significantly higher than that of Yemeni honey bees. The cuticular lipid profiles of the two races were similar, and there were no significant differences in the total body water content between them. The results of this study highlight that body size plays a central role in the high thermal tolerance of Yemeni bees over that of Carniolan bees. However, further investigations are required to understand the variations between the two races.

An internally-funded innovation grant provided by the Louisiana State University AgCenter was awarded to host an extension agent training that addressed establishing butterfly gardens and using these gardens in educational programming. Information provided included basic butterfly anatomy, butterfly feeding habits, and selection of both host and nectar plants. Three lessons, matched with state educational benchmarks, addressing butterfly plant propagation, butterfly life–cycles, and butterfly and other insect-feeding mechanisms were provided to agents for use with school-aged children. All materials needed to construct, plant, and maintain a 1.2 m by 2.4 m raised butterfly garden, along with supplies to conduct the lesson plans were provided. Agents participated in pre- and post-workshop surveys as well as a post-one-year project survey. Knowledge of butterfly biology increased by 35.3% by the end of the workshop, and an additional 0.6% by the end of the year. This training resulted in the initiation of 15 butterfly gardens at 13 schools, one camp, and two agricultural field day (Ag Day) settings in St. James Parish, LA. A total of 2088 children participated in this butterfly project. Agents reported that the training and supplies enabled them to immediately begin new programming on this topic and that participation in this program lessened anxiety regarding working with students in garden situations.

Species richness and seasonal abundance of billbugs (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) were determined for four golf courses in South Carolina. In 2009 and 2010, 3970 adult billbugs representing six species were collected with unbaited pitfall traps. Sphenophorus inaequalis (Say) and S. venatus vestitus Chittenden represented 95% of the billbugs collected, whereas S. coesifrons Gyllenhal, S. parvulus Gyllenhal, S. cariosus (Olivier), and S. minimus Hart composed the remainder of the billbugs captured. Adult billbugs were collected from March to December, with a sex ratio of roughly 1:1. More individuals of S. venatus vestitus and S. inaequalis were collected from March to July and August to November, suggesting two overlapping generations annually. Given the extended activity period, at least two insecticide applications may be needed to reduce the abundance of larvae and adults.

Transgenic cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L. (Malvales: Malvaceae), that produces two Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner (Bt) (Bacillales: Bacillaceae) toxins has reduced the need for insecticide treatments for bollworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), compared with single-gene Bt traits. Field trials were conducted in an area prone to high pressure from H. zea in South Carolina in 2010 and 2011 to develop action thresholds for this species in dual-gene Bt Bollgard II and WideStrike cotton. Plots containing non-Bt, WideStrike, and Bollgard II cotton varieties were examined weekly and treated according to threshold protocols for one of the following: bollworm eggs, larvae in white blooms, or boll damage. Although insecticide applications targeting H. zea increased yield in non-Bt cotton, differences in yield among the thresholds evaluated were not statistically evident when insecticides were applied within the sets of Bt traits. Insecticide applications exclusively targeting H. zea were not necessary in dual-gene Bt cotton. More H. zea larvae and damage occurred in WideStrike cotton compared with Bollgard II; however, lint yields for dual-gene Bt cotton did not differ among thresholds and did not support implementing protection strategies unique to each set of traits.

The potato aphid, Macrosiphum euphorbiae (Thomas) (Hemiptera: Aphididae), with over 200 known host plants pecies, is one of the most problematic aphids in protected environments worldwide. This study reports for the first time the presence of Aphelinus asychis Walker (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae), a major parasitoid of M. euphorbiae, in greenhouses in Himachal Pradesh, India. Percent parasitism by A. asychis ranged 2.1–39.3%, reaching its maximum in late November. These findings suggest that A. asychis may be released in augmentative biological control program against M. euphorbiae, which would help reduce pesticide use in Indian vegetable production greenhouses.

The biology of Megacopta cribraria (F.) (Heteroptera: Plataspidae) is not well understood in its new North American distribution, especially its development on alternative host plant species. We investigated whether overwintered M. cribraria could directly feed and oviposit on other legume species (Fabales: Fabaceae) without feeding on kudzu, Pueraria montana (Loureiro) Merrill var. lobata (Willdenow) Maesen & S. Almeida, and subsequently complete a first-generation on these species in no-choice greenhouse assays. Overwintered M. cribraria successfully oviposited on mung bean, Vigna radiata (L.) R. Wilczek; black-eyed pea, Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp; lima bean ( = butter bean), Phaseolus lunatus L.; soybean, Glycine max L. Merrill; and kudzu. There were no differences in oviposition or the hatch rates on different legume species, although hatch rate was highest for soybean followed by kudzu, lima bean, mung bean, and black-eyed pea, respectively. First-generation M. cribraria developed on all legume species except black-eyed pea in 55.6 ± 1.6 d with little variation in developmental time of the instars. However, there were significantly more first instars molting to second instars on kudzu (19.6 ± 3.3), soybean (14.7 ± 3.0), and mung bean (19.0 ± 1.0) than on lima bean (5.3 ± 2.4). Mean developmental days of the first, second, and fourth instars were consistent at about seven days, while the third and fifth instars took longer to develop. Mortality from egg to adult was greatest on black-eyed pea, followed by lima bean, kudzu, mung bean, and soybean. These results indicate that overwintered M. cribraria adults are able to bypass kudzu to directly develop on soybean, lima bean, and mung bean crops.

Human DNA has been identified successfully from several hematophagous and necrophagous insects. Because bed bugs, Cimex lectularius L. (Hemiptera: Cimicidae), imbibe human blood and achieve high population densities in human habitations, we assessed the stability of human DNA in bed bugs over time and matched blood isolated from bed bugs to an individual human host. Using polymorphic autosomal short tandem repeat (STR) markers commonly employed in forensic investigations and an Alu insertion polymorphism, we unambiguously identified human DNA in bed bugs up to 48 h after blood ingestion and visualized faint bands from bed bugs fed 72 h prior. Using STR markers, we could not identify human DNA in bed bug excreta at any time point after blood ingestion. All blood samples matched identical STRs amplified from the host that the bed bugs had fed on, indicating the feasibility of this approach to identify a human host within 48–72 h of blood ingestion.

The brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys (Stål) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), is an invasive pest of various crops, including fruiting vegetables, throughout the mid-Atlantic U.S.A. Current control strategies for this pest rely almost exclusively on foliar applications of broad-spectrum insecticides, which disrupt IPM programs and cause secondary pest outbreaks. Systemic neonicotinoids applied to the root-zone via soil drench or chemigation may be a more IPM friendly tactic for insect control in vegetables. Laboratory bioassays that utilized a plant uptake method showed that the neonicotinoid insecticides clothianidin, dinotefuran, imidacloprid, and thiamethoxam were all toxic to H. halys nymphs, with estimated LC₅₀ values of 0.077, 0.013, 0.068, and 0.018 ppm, respectively. Field efficacy experiments in Virginia showed that two soil applications of each of the aforementioned neonicotinoid insecticides significantly reduced stink bug damage to pepper and tomato. Field experiments conducted on tomatoes in North Carolina in 2012 and 2014 revealed a similar reduction in stink bug damage with a single-drip chemigation application of either dinotefuran or imidacloprid. In those trials, clothianidin was not efficacious and thiamethoxam was only effective in 2012. Our studies demonstrate the potential for soil applications of neonicotinoids to reduce stink bug damage to fruiting vegetables.