Melanoplus macclungi Rehn, 1946 is a little-known grasshopper originally recorded from Sun City, Kansas. As part of a survey of Oklahoma grasshoppers, we also collected this species throughout western Oklahoma, and northeast Arkansas. Analysis of citizen science data resulted in additional records for M. macclungi in central Arkansas and southwest Missouri. We have also recorded information on habitat preference, parasitoids, and fecundity.

The effectiveness of sanitation in preventing infestation of stored products by insects depends on the effect of food deprivation on the survival of those insects. The survival rate and progeny production of Lasioderma serricorne (Fabricius) (Coleoptera: Anobiidae) adults with different starvation periods was investigated at 27 ± 2 °C, 75 ± 5% relative humidity in the laboratory. Only 16.7 ± 3.3% of L. serricorne adults survived 18 d of starvation, and the number of adult progenies produced was reduced 90.9 ± 5.7% after 18 d of starvation. The results suggest that food deprivation for the duration of the study could effectively inhibit infestations by L. serricorne adults, which could assist in the design of effective stored product pest sanitation protocols.

The citrus longhorn beetle Anoplophora chinensis (Forster) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) is a destructive polyphagous species, which has been documented on broadleaved tree hosts from 40 genera. The antennal transcriptomes from male and female A. chinensis were constructed separately. We analyzed and annotated differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between male and female A. chinensis. The putative olfactory genes among the DEGs were identified. De novo assembly acquired 25,733 and 25,420 unigenes from male and female A. chinensis, respectively. After removing the redundant unigenes, 39,955 all-unigenes were produced. For male A. chinensis, the mean length of unigenes was 923 bp, and that was 881 bp in female. 24,359 (60.97%) of the all-unigenes were annotated in the nr database and the rest 15,596 (39.03%) unigenes could not find clear homology with recorded genes. A total of 4,672 genes were differentially expressed between males and females. Compared with males, 2,241 (47.97%) of the DEGs were up-regulated and 2,431 (52.03%) were down-regulated in females. We identified 31 differentially expressed olfactory genes between male and female A. chinensis, including 14 OBPs, 7 ORs, 4 GRs and 6 SNMPs. Results from the present study provided essential clues for explaining the behavior difference between male and female A. chinensis, and important information for developing bait traps for A. chinensis.

Effects of metabolic gas accumulation on termite behavior in tightly sealed laboratory bioassay arenas were compared with arenas with partial air exchange, or open ventilation. Laboratory studies with termites are often conducted in glass or plastic arenas. These studies can last from a few days up to 12-16 weeks or longer. Based on personal observation and published laboratory studies, how tightly study arenas are sealed is not consistent. In some instances arenas are tightly sealed with impermeable rubber stoppers or tight-fitting lids. In other studies, arenas are covered with semi-air-permeable Parafilm®, or loose-fitting aluminum foil or ventilated lids to allow air exchange. Generally, arenas are covered and not completely open to the air, thereby maintaining high moisture requirements needed to avoid termite dehydration. In this study, to determine metabolic gas accumulation and gas effects on termite groups collected from two field colonies, bioassay arenas were capped with either tightly sealed metal lids, semi-air-permeable Parafilm, or stainless steel mesh to allow non-restricted ventilation. Gas concentrations in these arenas and termite behavior and mortality were determined over time. During the study no visible ataxic termite behavior or significant mortality was observed within Parafilm or stainless-steel-mesh capped arenas. In contrast, tightly sealed arenas quickly accumulated significantly more metabolic gases compared with the other arena configurations, causing obvious abnormal termite behavior within 96 hours after these arenas were sealed. Within 8 to 10 days 100% moribund or dead termites occurred in tightly sealed arenas, whereas termites in semi-permeable membrane or non-restricted ventilated arenas were behaving normally. Excess gas accumulation in tightly sealed arenas first elicited negative effects between 96 and 144 hours. Our results show that tightly sealed bioassay arenas must be avoided, even for short-term studies lasting only a few days, as metabolic gases accumulate rapidly, causing negative effects on termites beginning within 4 to 6 days.

The litchi fruit borer, Conopomorpha sinensis (Bradley) (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae), is one of the major destructive and main pest of litchi fruits in Southeast Asia, including Bangladesh. This experiment was carried out in three different litchi orchards to develop a bio-rational management strategy using insect growth regulators (IGRs) to control the population of C. sinensis. The effectiveness of emamectin benzoate 5%, buprofezin, lufenuron, lufenuron (5%) + emamectin benzoate (5%), and abamectin were evaluated on the basis of fruit damage, yield of undamaged fruit and size, % fallen fruit, and total number of larvae in fallen fruits in three different litchi orchards. In our results, treatment with buprofezin showed the lowest (13.3%) level of fruit damage, followed by lufenuron + emamectin benzoate, abamectin, emamectin benzoate, and lufenuron, all of which were statistically significant compared with the untreated control. Furthermore, the highest number of undamaged fruits rate and mean fruit length were 86.7% and 17.8 mm, respectively, for buprofezin treatment compared to control (75.5 and 16.2). A large number of damaged, fallen fruits were found in the control plots (11.3%), while their number was lowest in buprofezin-treated orchards (4.1%). The chemical composition of litchi fruits was not affected by the application of IGRs. Indeed, levels of vitamin C, sugars, and titratable acidity increased in IGR-treated fruits compared with fruits from the control plots. Moreover, IGR treatments had a positive effect on total phenol (except lufenuron + emamectin benzoate) and flavonoid content of litchi fruits, improving their quality and as a source of antioxidants. Therefore, buprofezin can be used to manage the litchi fruit borer in organic litchi orchards.

The presence of morphological abnormalities from the described state (aberrations) can cause issues with identification of complex groups of bees. Three accounts of aberrant specimens of North American Hylaeus Fabricius from Rocky Mountain, Colorado are described. A specimen of Hylaeus rudbeckiae (Cockerell and Casad) exhibiting mosaic gynandromorphy, a specimen of Hylaeus personatellus (Cockerell) exhibiting aberrations on the face, and a specimen of Hylaeus coloradensis (Cockerell) exhibiting an aberration in the wing venation are described here with photo documentation.

Quality assessments of commercially available biological control (BC) agents is important to ensure the success of a BC program. It is important that greenhouse producers assess if BC agents received from BC suppliers are alive and functional before releasing into greenhouse production systems. We conducted a preliminary study to determine the quality of shipments from two suppliers of the whitefly parasitoid, Eretmocerus eremicus Rose & Zolnerowich (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae). Release cards containing parasitized pupae of the sweetpotato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), were individually placed into 500 mL Mason jars and a 4 x 5 cm yellow sticky card was attached to the inner lids. We found differences between the two shipments received from the two suppliers. For the first shipment, supplier B had a higher mean number of adults captured on the yellow sticky cards than supplier A (Laboratory: 10.1 versus 4.2 and Distributor: 19.1 versus 5.9 adults, respectively). However, for the second shipment, supplier A had a higher mean number of adults captured on the yellow sticky cards than supplier B (Laboratory: 14.5 versus 8.1 and Distributor: 20.9 versus 8.0 adults, respectively). Our preliminary study shows that formulations (release cards) of BC agents and emergence of adults can vary depending on individual shipments from the supplier providing the BC agents. Therefore, greenhouse producers should develop protocols for quality assessments of purchased BC agents before releasing them into greenhouses to ensure they have the best chance of successfully regulating pest populations below damaging levels.

In this short communication, I present new geographic range extensions for 16 leaf beetle species. All specimens examined are deposited in the Mexican collection “Colección Nacional de Insectos Dr. Alfredo Barrera Marín”, National Museum of Natural History, Mexico City.