Scanning electron microscopy was used for comparison of the morphological basis for host detection and mating behaviors by olfactory reception in two psyllid species, the Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama, and potato/tomato psyllid, Bactericera cockerelli (Sulc) (Hemiptera: Psyllidae). The two psyllids inhabit different plant niches. The Asian citrus psyllid is essentially monophagous, feeding primarily on citrus, but the potato psyllid feeds on a wide range of solanaceous plants. This study identified two antennal sensory arrays, with a more complex arrangement occurring in the Asian citrus psyllid than potato psyllid. The antennal length of the Asian citrus psyllid was 0.23 mm and contained 10 segments, while the antenna of the potato psyllid was 0.60 mm long with 10 segments. Both species had two multi-porous, single-walled bristles apical to the sensillus terminalis. These bristles were longer in potato psyllids. A few mechanosensory and chemosensory hairs were found on all antennal segments of both species, with more sensillae on distal segments. Asian citrus psyllid coevolved with its citrus host in tropical Asian countries; locating the strongly aromatic plants probably was less difficult. Asian citrus psyllid females would be constrained to a specific host plant, facilitating mate detection. Potato psyllid has fewer olfactory sensilla and feeds on a wider host range. A wide host range suggests that potato psyllid may have increased sensitivity to specific chemical cues required to locate mates that could be on different species of host plants.

Pollination by bees is required for production of seed alfalfa, Medicago sativa L. The alfalfa leafcutting bee, Megachile rotundata (F.) Hymenoptera: Megachilidae, and the honey bee, Apis mellifera L. Hymenoptera: Apidae, are the most commonly used pollinators. The fungus Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin has been proposed as a microbial control for Lygus spp. (Hemiptera: Miridae), a common pest of this crop. In laboratory bioassays, we found that adult alfalfa leafcutting and honey bees were susceptible to three strains of B. bassiana. A commercial strain, GHA, was the most pathogenic and virulent, causing approximately 45–80% mortality at a dose of 1 × 105 conidia per bee, and >80% mortality at 1 × 10⁶ conidia per bee. A new strain that is very pathogenic to lygus, 17–41, caused less than 20% mortality in honey bees at 1 × 10⁵ conidia per bee. The alfalfa leafcutting bee was more susceptible than honey bees to all three strains of the fungus. B. bassiana killed almost twice as many alfalfa leafcutting bees, and mortality occurred 1–3 days earlier. Field experiments are needed to further determine the risks this microbial control agent poses to pollinators.

Soil-dwelling organisms are critical to the overall biological function of any soil ecosystem. Mites, which generally constitute the most prevalent soil microarthropods, include taxa that exhibit sensitivity to certain physical properties of soil that are influenced by cultivation practices. Therefore, response of certain taxa of soil mites may indicate biological integrity of agricultural ecosystems. Oribatid mites exhibit sensitivities to disturbance resulting from tillage and other agricultural practices that affect organic matter content of soil. The response of oribatid mites to three soil amendments (beef manure, swine effluent, and anhydrous ammonia) applied at three nitrogen rates (0 = check, 168, or 504 kg N ha^-1 year^-1) was evaluated in conventionally cultivated continuous maize, Zea mays L., in western Oklahoma. A total of 994 mites was collected from 56 soil samples. Of the mites collected, 924 (93%) were Oribatida. Oribatid mites were more abundant in plots receiving beef manure amendments than either swine effluent or anhydrous ammonia. Percentage of organic matter was also greater in beef manure than with the other two amendment types. Nitrogen application rate did not have a significant effect on mite abundance or organic matter content.

The bioinsecticidal activity of organic extracts of Tagetes erecta L. on L1 larvae of fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (E. Smith), was evaluated. The acetonic extract of the leaves (500 ppm) of T. erecta exhibited an antifeedant effect, causing 50% reduction in larval weight in comparison with that of the check. Information obtained on larval weight at 7 days corroborated with results obtained at 14 days when T. erecta extracts killed most larvae. The following killed the most larvae: n-hexane leaf (48%), acetone leaf (60%), and ethanol leaf, which caused most larval mortality of 72%. T. erecta leaf extracts were toxic to 40–80% of the pupae. The leaf extracts hexane, acetone, and ethanol of T. erecta killed many larvae and were evaluated at different concentrations: 125, 250, 750, and 1,000 ppm. The LC₅₀ for n-hexano leaf extract was 312.2 ppm (X² = 0.1102); for acetone leaf extract of T. erecta, 246.9 ppm (X² = 0.1598), and for ethanol leaf extract, 152.2 ppm (X² = 0.1504), with a 95% confidence. Thus, use of these extracts is suggested as a more environmentally friendly alternative to combat insect pests of maize, Zea mays L.

Brown stink bug, Euschistus servus (Say), has greatly increased in numbers in the Brazos Valley in Central Texas and in many other areas of the Cotton Belt, and has become a major pest of cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., and other crops including pecans, Carya illinoensis (Wangenh.) K. Koch. Use of insecticides is among the most important of the limited control options available against this pest. Glass-vial bioassays were used to evaluate the toxicity of selected synthetic pyrethroid and organophosphate insecticides to adult brown stink bug captured in blacklight traps. A comparison was also made of toxicity of λ-cyhalothrin to brown stink bug collected directly from the field to those captured in blacklight traps. Lethal concentration value (LC₅₀) (upper and lower 95% confidence limits) for dicrotophos for 24-hour response, 0.30 (0.24–0.37) µg per vial, was significantly less compared to acephate with an LC₅₀ of 1.38 (1.01–1.81) µg per vial and chlorpyrifos with an LC₅₀ of 5.00 (4.27–5.67) µg per vial. Dicrotophos was five- and 17-fold more toxic to brown stink bug than acephate and chlorpyrifos, respectively. The order of toxicity to brown stink bug for synthetic pyrethroids was: bifenthrin = zeta-cypermethrin = γ-cyhalothrin > λ-cyhalothrin > cypermethrin. LC₅₀ values ranged from 0.27 (0.18–0.51) for bifenthrin to 1.35 (1.01–1.90) µg per vial for cypermethrin, a five-fold difference. LC₅₀ values for brown stink bugs collected from the field or captured in blacklight traps were not significantly different which suggests that brown stink bugs captured in blacklight traps may be used for insecticide bioassays. Data presented are useful for selecting insecticides for control and establishing baselines to monitor development of resistance of brown stink bugs to insecticides in the Brazos Valley of Central Texas.

Scyphophorus acupunctatus Gyllenhal causes economic losses to plants of the Agavaceae and Dracaenaceae families and, recently, in commercial plantations of nardo, Polianthes tuberosa L. Synthetic insecticides are the main controls, but these pesticides may not be effective, because larvae and adults are frequently found feeding in the interior of the “ball” of agave plants, far from the reach of the insecticide. The efficacy of insecticides to control this pest is unknown. In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of synthetic insecticides of different toxicological groups to control S. acupunctatus. The experimental design was completely randomized. The number of dead adults was analyzed using a nonparametric variance of Kruskal Wallis. The percentages of biological effectiveness of insecticides in each bioassay were obtained by using the Abbott formula. Malathion, endosulfan, methomyl, and fipronil showed high biological efficacy. Conversely, cypermethrin, lambda-cyhalothrin, deltamethrin, and betacifluthrin, of constant use in Tamaulipas to control S. acupunctatus, produced a minor effect similar to the nontreated check. However, although some insecticides were effective, it is recommended they be rotated with insecticides with different modes of action or in conjunction with other controls such as food attractants, entomopathogenic fungi and nematodes, and aggregation pheromones, to obtain better control of S. acupunctatus and prevent development of resistance to insecticide.

Vacuum devices were compared for sampling the abundance of psyllids. One vacuum device was an AC rechargeable, handheld, cordless model, while a second was a handheld, DC model powered through a cord connected to a 12-volt vehicle battery. Each of the devices had a mesh cylinder (substituted for a dust bag) in which the insects were captured. The third device was a reversed leaf blower with a two-cycle gasoline engine, with the insects captured in a standard-sized aerial insect net. Each device had advantages and disadvantages over the others depending on the collecting situation. However, the gas-powered device captured the most psyllids. The handheld models provided ease in handling compared to the bulkier (and noisier) leaf blower. The DC-powered sampler was tethered to its power source, in this case, a vehicle that could access trees in a commercial grove, whereas, the AC cordless device may be more suitable for dooryard situations. The disadvantage of the cordless device was that its operating time of approximately 10 minutes was sufficient for sampling psyllids on only two trees before it had to be recharged for 16 hours. Because of greater air flow, the gas device captured greater numbers than did either of the smaller electrical devices. The sampling procedure consisted of vacuuming a target tree for 5 minutes. The mean numbers of psyllids captured per tree with the AC, DC, and leaf blower devices were respectively: 17.4 (n = 44), 33.0 (n = 72), and 96.8 (n = 47). All mean differences were statistically significant. To test the efficiency of the leaf blower, some trees were immediately re-sampled. The proportion of psyllids in the first sample compared to the resample was approximately 3:1.

The chironomid midge Micropsectra manistee Taber is described from the western Lower Peninsula of Michigan. Numerous adult males and females were collected in a Malaise trap in late April in a paper birch-red maple-black ash-black cherry woods. The new species belongs to a scarcely studied genus but appears to be most closely related to the flies of the Micropsectra recurvata Goetghebuer species group as indicated by male terminalia.

The pepper weevil, Anthonomus eugenii Cano (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is a key pest of cultivated peppers (Cepsicum spp.) in the southern United States, Mexico, Central America, and on some islands of the Caribbean. Control of the pest is difficult and dependant on insecticide, with no effective biological control program yet developed. New species and records of parasitoids collected from various localities within the probable regions of origin of the pepper weevil in Mexico are listed. In total, 102 parasitoid specimens of six genera were collected. Of these, Eupelmus cushmeni (Crawford) and Beryscepus hunteri (Crawford) were recorded for the first time as primary parasitoids of the pepper weevil. A key to identify the genera of hymenopteran parasitoids attacking pepper weevil is also presented.