Tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois), nymphs and adults were collected from tall goldenrod, Solidago canadensis L. var. scabra Torr. and Gray, in Washington County, MS, during October and November 2008 and 2009. Adults were dissected to determine their reproductive status in order to evaluate host suitability of tall goldenrod relative to production of overwintering tarnished plant bug adults. Mean numbers of nymphs each week on tall goldenrod were used to evaluate the plant as a reproductive host. Results showed that tall goldenrod served as a reproductive host from flowering until a killing freeze occurred (5 weeks in 2008 and 10 weeks in 2009) with mean numbers as great as 58.7 ± 25.7 nymphs per 25-sweep sample. Most tarnished plant bug adults utilizing tall goldenrod as a host were in diapause for overwintering by the end of the second week in October of both years. A laboratory test showed tarnished plant bug adults could utilize mature tall goldenrod seeds as food. A field test was used to compare host suitability of tall goldenrod and blooming henbit, Lamium amplexicaule L., with regard to the timing of diapause termination in tarnished plant bug adults. Adults were collected on the same dates in December and January from tall goldenrod and from blooming henbit and dissected to determine reproductive status. Results showed the possible feeding of adults on tall goldenrod seeds had little effect on diapause termination as compared to adults that fed on henbit and began terminating diapause about 3 weeks earlier. This information will be useful in developing controls to reduce the size of the overwintering generation of tarnished plant bug.

The southern green stink bug, Nezara viridula (L.), utilizes stylets while feeding to pierce the wall of a boll of cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., and can inoculate disease-causing pathogens into developing green bolls. Detection of diseased bolls is difficult because the surface of the carpel wall frequently lacks apparent macroscopic evidence of insect feeding regardless of infection; blisters on the interior surface of the carpel wall are commonly masked by darkened necrotic tissue. The objectives of this study were to characterize microscopic evidence of feeding by laboratory-reared southern green stink bugs on greenhouse-grown cotton bolls and to use these findings to aid in detection of feeding evidence by piercing-sucking insects on field-collected bolls from four southeastern states. Microscopic analyses of greenhouse-reared bolls fed upon by southern green stink bug (n = 40) yielded definitive characteristics and imagery of feeding evidence. Salivary flanges on the exterior surface of the boll and blisters at the feeding site on the interior surface of the carpel wall were characteristic of feeding by southern green stink bug. Also, salivary flanges were associated with all external puncture wounds on the boll wall. These characteristics were used as the baseline to detect feeding by feral piercing-sucking pests on field-grown bolls during the 2008 and 2009 production seasons. Injury characteristics from field-grown bolls were comparable to characteristics observed in greenhouse-reared bolls after feeding by southern green stink bug. A few field-collected bolls (5%; n = 160) possessed discolored seeds and exhibited evidence of boll feeding externally but lacked blisters on the interior surface of the carpel wall, thus suggesting an incomplete breach of the interior carpel wall. Callus tissue, colloquially termed a ‘wart,’ on the interior surface of the boll carpel wall is typically associated with feeding by stink bugs but was not detected in bolls grown in a greenhouse and was only sporadically detected in bolls collected from the field. When present, callus tissue was always associated with an external puncture. This is the first study to unequivocally illustrate microscopic characteristics associated with feeding damage by southern green stink bug on cotton bolls. Findings are discussed in relation to evidence of feeding by insects in field-collected bolls of unknown age and history.

Hexaflumuron (Consult® 100 EC, Dow AgroSciences) is an insect growth regulator that inhibits chitin synthesis. The efficacy of hexaflumuron mixed with 2.5-M sucrose (mg^-1) was evaluated for toxicity, proboscis extension, gestation, and reproduction of bollworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), in a laboratory. The intention was to determine whether or not hexaflumuron could be used as a toxicant in a feeding-stimulant mixture for suppression of bollworm. Newly emerged bollworm adults actively seek carbohydrates. For feral male bollworm captured in pheromone-baited traps, the lethal concentration (LC₅₀) values 24 and 48 hours after exposure were 295.6 and 96.03 mg^-1, respectively. These values were significantly different. Hexaflumuron at 100 mg^-1 or more significantly depressed gustatory response of feral male and laboratory-reared male and female bollworms. There was no significant difference in proboscis-extension response between bollworms fed 1.0 and 2.5 M sucrose solutions. Percentage hatch of eggs oviposited by laboratory-reared females during 3 consecutive days was significantly less at concentrations of 5.0 mg^-1 or greater of hexaflumuron when compared with females fed 2.5-M sucrose. However, when laboratory-reared males fed hexaflumuron were compared with males fed 2.5-M sucrose solution, percentage of eggs that hatched was not significantly less. This suggests that hexaflumuron acted as an ovicide. It is posited that hexaflumuron could be a useful toxicant in a feeding-stimulant mixture for suppression of bollworm.

In all bioassays in the laboratory, the mortality of neonate beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua (Hübner); cabbage looper, Trichoplusia ni (Hübner); bollworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie); and fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith); were greater on dual-Bt (Bollgard II) varieties (average 85.4%) than on single-Bt (Bollgard) cotton (average 45.3%). Bollworm was the most susceptible to Bollgard (average mortality 68.8%), while mortality of beet armyworm was 35.2%, cabbage looper 50.4%, and fall armyworm 49.7%. Mortality of beet armyworm after feeding on Bollgard II and WideStrike Bt traits was 74.1%, and significantly less than of cabbage looper (95.5%), bollworm (90.4%), or fall armyworm (87.2%). Assessing the efficacy of transgenic plants under new environmental and management regimes is of prime importance to the companies that produce new or improve existing transgenic products; plant breeders who create different varieties stacked with Bt endotoxins; and farmers who grow them. For 2006–2009, we did thousands of laboratory bioassays from different Bt trait varieties of cotton. But in the process of investigations, we observed variable data with some of the same treatments and the same initial insects. These reduced accuracy of results and interpretation. Laboratory and field performance of cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., containing endotoxins should be standardized. Only this can provide accurate and stable data for insect control with different transgenic technology. We discuss approaches and criteria for mass rearing standardized laboratory colonies of beet armyworm, fall armyworm, and bollworm, for laboratory and field evaluation of efficacy of Bt cottons.

Seven polymorphic microsatellite markers were used to analyze bollworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie), populations from various host plants in four locations in the southern United States. Linear distance between collection sites ranged from approximately 150 to 900 km. The analysis indicated low allelic range for all loci (2.286 ± 0.488 to 2.571 ± 0.787). Chi-square goodness-of-fit tests for deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium were not significant. Inbreeding coefficients, F_IS, were very variable among the seven loci with a bootstrapgenerated overall value of -0.104 ± 0.178 across all loci and populations. Overall population differentiation estimates, represented by F_ST, were essentially zero. In the analysis of variance of genotypes grouped into various geographical combinations, variation within individuals accounted for more than 93% of the total variation while no significant variation was detected between groups, among populations within groups, or among individuals within populations. The results indicated that extensive gene flow occurred between geographically distant bollworm populations, and the populations studied did not show any signs of differentiation based on the geographical location. Although there are no other microsatellite-based population studies for comparison, the results of the present study are congruent with the results of allozyme analyses on this species.

Polymorphic genetic markers were identified and characterized using a partial genomic library of the tobacco budworm, Heliothis virescens (Fabricius), enriched for simple sequence repeats (SSR) and nucleotide sequences of expressed sequence tags (EST). Nucleotide sequences of 192 clones from the partial genomic library yielded 147 unique SSRs while EST evaluations identified 280 SSR-containing sequences. All anonymous SSRs and 192 EST-SSRs were evaluated to select loci that produced the best quality peaks without stutter peaks. Six anonymous markers and nine EST-derived markers were selected to evaluate a sample of 96 insects collected from Stoneville, MS. The observed number of alleles ranged from two to eight, with an average of 5.87 (SE ± 0.53). The polymorphic information content (PIC) value averaged 0.446 (SE ± 0.052). Significant deviations from Hardy-Weinberg expectations were detected at eight loci. We speculate that these loci are under selection in the population of tobacco budworm used in the study. No significant linkage disequilibrium was detected at any of the loci. Proportions of anonymous and EST-SSR markers validated after extensive evaluation were 4.08 and 4.68%, respectively. One anonymous SSR marker (HvMS117) and all nine EST markers were transferable to the bollworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie).

We used polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques to evaluate the detectability of intraguild predation of immature aphid parasitoids by lady beetles. Mitochondrial DNA from the parasitic wasp Lysiphlebus testaceipes Cresson was detectable within the gut of the convergent lady beetle, Hippodamia convergens Guérin-Méneville, by using PCR following intraguild predation of a parasitized greenbug, Schizaphis graminum (Rondani). Detection with PCR was possible as many as 16 hours post-feeding 100% of the time by using newly developed primers. Intraguild predation of L. testaceipes by coccinellids in fields of winter wheat, Triticum aestivum L., was common during the spring; the proportion of intraguild predators consuming L. testaceipes ranged from 0.667 to 0.871. Our findings justify the use of PCR as a tool to document intraguild pedation and may lead to more quantitative evaluations of the dynamics and consequences of this common ecological phenomenon.

Insects in the order Hemiptera are considered the second most important group of plant pathogen vectors, after aphids as agriculture crop pests. Genomic approaches are providing new information on the genetic basis of biology, behavior, and refinement of their phylogenetic classification. Three leafhopper species, important as vectors of plant pathogenic bacteria referred to as Xylella fastidiosa (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), were examined by comparison of the available expressed sequence tags, ∼43,400 ESTs from three leafhopper species (Hunter datasets, NCBI). These species are vectors of the plant-pathogenic bacterium, Xylella fastidiosa (Wells et al.) the causal agent of Pierce's disease of grapevine. A tentative look at the gene expression across these three leafhopper species, the glassy-winged sharpshooter, Homalodisca vitripennis (Germar), blue-green sharpshooter, Graphocephala atropunctata (Signoret), and black-winged sharpshooter, Oncometopia nigricans (Walker), were analyzed. After comparison approximately 4,800 specific transcripts for each species were obtained, with most of these (∼40–48%) being identified as house-keeping. While the assembled datasets are not complete representations of all the leafhopper transcriptomes, these are predicted to be approximately one-fourth of the active genes in the genomes of these leafhoppers, based on comparative analysis of genomes of other insects in the order Hemiptera, based on an average of ∼15k-25,000 active genes. Interest in host plant utilization led us to focus on a poorly studied set of transcripts from leafhoppers the desaturases. Delta-9 desaturase enzymes have been shown to be highly conserved throughout Eukarya (fungi, protists, plants, and animals) and specifically function to place double bonds between the adjacent carbons of specific fatty acids, playing a vital role in the internal metabolism and physiology of insects. The Δ-9 desaturase sequences of several insect species, including the three leafhopper species of this study, were used to construct a phylogenetic tree. Additional analysis highlights differences for species-specific targeting of these genes within leafhoppers. It is proposed that as new developments in genomics and strategies like RNA-interference emerge, researchers will be able to design specific and effective management tools to reduce leafhopper abundance, and/or transmission of disease by leafhoppers.

Psyllids, specifically Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Psyllidae), are economically important in the U.S. as vectors of the pathogen associated with citrus greening disease (Huanglongbing). Huanglongbing is one of the most severe diseases of citrus crops worldwide and is associated with psyllid-transmitted ‘Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’. The microbiome of the Asian citrus psyllid was investigated; we analyzed Eubacterial 16S rDNA amplified from adults, eggs, and cell cultures. The nucleotide sequences showed significant homologies to 10 distinct types of bacteria. The four bacteria species detected in cell cultures identified two new types not previously reported to be associated with psyllids. Staphylococcus is a common enteric bacterium; these data support finding a type I strain which is similar. Another related to Methylocystis heyeri is a bacterium typically isolated from acidic environments that has been shown to utilize methane as the sole source of carbon and energy. Psyllid cell cultures are at a slightly acidic pH of ∼6.48, with the cultures derived from a diverse set of tissues that may include enteric tissues. These associated microbes of Asian citrus psyllid provide new insights into microbial interactions and avenues for developing novel management approaches against the pathogenic bacteria associated with Huanglongbing.

The maize weevil, Sitophilus zeamais Motschulsky, a major insect pest of stored grain, infests kernels in the field and is brought into storage where damage continues. To evaluate damage by maize weevils to different maturity stages of kernels of sorghum, Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench, five adult weevils were put into each of 10 vials with 5 g of kernels collected from ‘Pioneer 86G08’ sorghum at different stages of maturity in the field. Statistically significant differences were found among the maturity stages of sorghum in the percentage of damaged kernels and numbers of live and dead maize weevils 7 days after infestation. At 7 days after infestation, 6.1, 15.4, 23.1, 17.4, 12.0, and 8.0% of the grains that had 50 (milk), 34 (soft dough), 32 (hard dough), 24, 16, and 14% moisture (physiological maturity), respectively, were damaged by maize weevils. Sorghum grain at the hard-dough stage (approximately 32% moisture) was most vulnerable to maize weevils.

A new species of Boletina Staeger fungus gnat was discovered in western Michigan. Adult males and females were collected in early spring in a Malaise trap in a paper birch-red maple-black cherry woods adjacent to black ash swamp and cattail marsh. The late March collection date is the earliest reported from the eastern United States for any species of the genus according to the literature examined. Boletina michigana Taber will sometimes key out to Boletina obscura Johannsen using keys based upon non-genitalic morphology, but male terminalia indicate a specific difference instead.

Malpighia mexicana, or red nanche, is a plant with edible fruits, used on crafts and medicine, as well as for the establishment of living fences. The objective of this work was to catalog the parasitoids associated with Anthonomus sisyphus Clark (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in the fruit of M. mexicana in the central valleys of Oaxaca, México. The sampling sites were located in San Lorenzo Cacaotepec and the Ethnobotanical Garden of Santo Domingo. From 2005 to 2007, mature red nanche fruits were collected weekly to determine the emergency of the parasitoids. The fruits were weighed, counted and placed in trays. The greatest infestation was found in San Lorenzo Cacaotepec with 1.16 to 1.44 weevils per fruit while in theEthnobotanical Garden were 0.74 to 1.18 weevils per fruit. Seven different species of parasitoids belonging to the families Braconidae, Pteromalidae, and Eupelmidae were found associated with A. sisyphus. The most abundant species were Triaspis eugenii, Diospilus sp., and Bracon sp. The Ethnobotanical Garden was the site with the greatest abundance of species of parasitoids and presented the highest level of parasitism. The species with the highest proportion of males were Bracon sp. in 2005 and 2007 and T. eugenii in 2006.

In the State of Mexico, Mexico, Rosa sp. production is one of the most important economic activities. However, the two-spotted mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch, is a pest that limits this crop's productivity, and its control is carried out mainly with acaricides. Therefore, we estimated the levels of resistance to six acaricides in three field-collected populations of T. urticae from greenhouses of this growing region, and compared their response with a susceptible population of the same species. The products tested were abamectin, fenbutatin oxide, chlorfenapyr, amitraz, bifenthrin, and propargite. Significant differences were found in the response to the applied concentrations of acaricides. The levels of resistance were high to all tested acaricides, except fenbutatin oxide, in the Villa Guerrero and Tenancingo populations. The Coatepec population was susceptible to fenbutatin oxide and abamectin and had higher levels of tolerance to bifenthrin, amitraz, and chlorfenapyr. The RR₅₀ values in resistant populations, ranged from 10 (propargite in Tenancingo population) to 6.400-fold (amitraz in Villa Guerrero population), in comparison to the susceptible reference. Amendments to both pest management strategies and the use of acaricides against T. urticae in Rosa sp. are proposed.

The southern cattle tick, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus (Canestrini), is considered to be one of the most significant pests of cattle worldwide. A vector for piroplasmosis, or cattle fever, the southern cattle tick is a key target of en aggressive eradication program along the U.S.-Mexico border. Endemic to subtropical and tropical regions, southern cattle ticks are limited in range by climate and temperature. Neither adults nor larvae of southern cattle tick survive more than e few days of subfreezing temperatures. Nonetheless, in a separate study of fecundity of southern cettle tick in different field conditions, where begged samples of egg masses were allowed to hatch in the field then placed in a freezer in order to estimate egg hatch, a single southern cattle tick larva was found alive following exposure to room temperature after 20 days of cold-exposure. Although quite anomalous, this report of this outlying observation suggests the possibility that southern cattle tick can survive extremely cold temperatures for long durations.