Journal of Applied Entomology最新文献

Zeugodacus tau has attracted global attention in recent years due to its population expansion and invasion of new territories, as this species shares a similar host range with Zeugodacus cucurbitae. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the basic biological differences between these two insects. Age-stage and two-sex life tables of Z. cucurbitae and Z. tau were established for individuals reared on zucchini fruit at a constant temperature of 25°C. Moreover, the oviposition period of the two insects was completely observed. The results demonstrated that the intrinsic rate of increase (r) and finite rate of increase (λ) of Z. cucurbitae were greater than those of Z. tau. Additionally, the duration of each developmental stage and the average lifespan of Z. cucurbitae were significantly shorter than those of Z. tau, while its survival rate was significantly greater. Notably, male individuals of both species presented longer lifespans than their female counterparts. The reproductive values of Z. cucurbitae and Z. tau initially increased but subsequently decreased with age, peaking at 46 d and 65 d, respectively. The population size of Z. cucurbitae was significantly larger than that of Z. tau on day 90. Oviposition pattern analysis revealed that the oviposition period of Z. cucurbitae exhibited a unimodal distribution, whereas the oviposition period of Z. tau displayed a bimodal distribution. Further investigation revealed that during the first 30 days, the oviposition rate was significantly negatively correlated with female fly longevity, and Z. cucurbitae presented a significantly greater oviposition rate than Z. tau during this period. In summary, the findings of this study suggest that under identical environmental conditions, Z. cucurbitae has strong population growth potential, providing critical foundational data for the integrated management of these two pest species.

Effector proteins, one of the major components of insect salivary glands, function to alter host defence mechanisms and facilitate pests for successful infestation. The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda, is a polyphagous lepidopteran insect that infests a wide range of agricultural crops. Despite being one of the world's most devastating pests, not much is known about the effector proteins of S. frugiperda. In this study, we conducted an in silico analysis of interproscan-annotated protein sequences derived from the S. frugiperda transcriptome using established secretome prediction pipelines. Out of 21,779 protein sequences of S. frugiperda, 821 proteins were predicted to be secretory in nature, resulting in the generation of an in silico secretome database for S. frugiperda. The proteins in the S. frugiperda secretome were categorised into different functional groups based on their annotated functions. From these data, genes corresponding to 20 protein candidates were selected on the basis of their functions and previous literature available, and a comparative analysis of their transcript levels in the salivary glands of S. frugiperda larvae fed on artificial diet versus tomato plants was performed. Three genes—a serine protease, a BCL co-repressor and a REPAT family gene—were found to be significantly upregulated in the salivary glands of S. frugiperda larvae fed on tomato plants. This highlights their secretory potential and possible involvement in host infestation. These findings signify that the predicted secretome, the first ever for S. frugiperda, can serve as a valuable resource for the identification of secreted proteins. This will pave the way for discovering potential effector proteins in S. frugiperda that play crucial roles in suppressing plant immune responses.

Plastic pollution is a pressing global challenge, with current management strategies often falling short regarding environmental impacts. As an alternative to plastic waste management approaches, the Galleria mellonella (Greater wax moth) has emerged as a potential natural agent to reduce plastic waste through its biodegradation. The G. mellonella larvae have a unique ability to consume and biodegrade various polymeric materials, including plastics, making them an eco-friendly solution to plastic waste management. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the current status of G. mellonella larvae in waste bioconversion and future perspectives in plastic waste management. Key challenges of the application of G. mellonella include its use in large-scale waste processing, economic feasibility, and environmental impact. This review highlights the potential of G. mellonella as a sustainable solution for plastic waste management and its possible integration into biorefineries for the production of valuable materials.

Conservationists are tasked with developing effective monitoring regimes for wildlife species of interest. Effective monitoring is especially important for invasive species to map their spread and develop management strategies. One invasive species, the Japanese burrowing cricket (Velarifictorus micado), is steadily spreading across the eastern United States, however, aural monitoring protocols have never been developed. To inform potential monitoring efforts for this invasive insect, we conducted aural point count surveys for V. micado across the Inner Bluegrass Region of central Kentucky, United States, at all hours of the day from 19 September to 5 November 2024. We generated single-season occupancy models which allowed us to assess which variables (windspeed, barometric pressure, temperature, time of day, and ordinal date) that best predicted variation in detection probability. We detected V. micado at 16 of 49 sites (naive occupancy = 0.33). Detection probability (p̂) was generally low (p̂ = 0.30 (95% CI: 0.15–0.51)), and our top model indicated that time of day and ordinal date were the strongest predictors of detection probability. Specifically, detection probability was maximised at sunset (p̂ = 0.93) and declined linearly to sunrise (p̂ = 0.24) and approached zero before noon. The effect of ordinal date was less dramatic and included a linear decline from 19 September (p̂ = 0.71) to 5 November (p̂ = 0.10). Our results clearly demonstrate that the optimal conditions for V. micado point count surveys are during the month of September and in the hours immediately preceding sunset. Future work assessing patterns of occupancy probability would be valuable in understanding the ecology of this invasive insect.

Although bees have been extensively studied, other less charismatic insect groups, such as Diptera and Coleoptera, are often overlooked. However, these are widespread and integrate pollination networks, being dominant in specific habitats such as high-altitude regions. However, important knowledge gaps consist of: (1) most network studies are conducted in temperate mountains with limited data for tropical ones, (2) neglected pollinators are not the focus of investigations, and (3) most studies have a short temporal scale, without investigating seasonality effects throughout the year. To fill these gaps, we studied several sites in the Espinhaço Mountain Range (EMR), a local area with exceptional biodiversity and endemism. We compared the networks between the southern and northern areas across four seasons: early and late dry, and early and late wet seasons. We found two times more interactions between plants and pollinators in the southern than in the northern EMR. Plants engaged in Coleoptera and Diptera-mediated pollination are, in general, white, mass-flowering, and belong to Asteraceae, Cyperaceae, and Eriocaulaceae families. The number of interactions decreased from early wet to end dry, both in southern and northern EMR. Specialisation slightly increases over the seasons in the southern EMR but decreases in the northern. In general, nestedness was higher in the dry season. Networks are, in general, modular. Modularity was higher in the early wet season, progressively decreasing over the seasons in both areas. In conclusion, given the ecological dominance of Eriocaulaceae, Asteraceae, and other plant families in the EMR, the decline of Diptera and Coleoptera could imply cascading effects across the ecosystem. Also, as the networks change over the climatic seasons in this tropical mountain, this highlights the importance of understanding the complex effect of climate change on the EMR plant-pollinator interactions.

The sterile insect technique (SIT) is considered a tool for sustainable pest control and is known to substantially improve the control of economically important fruit flies through male-only releases facilitated by the mass-rearing of genetic sexing strains. However, the production of these strains is more costly because adult colonies must be at least three times larger than those of bisexual strains in order to produce the same number of eggs. The present study determined the viability of increasing the egg production of the genetic sexing strain Vienna 8 of Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) and the bisexual strain of Anastrepha ludens (Loew) by using the juvenoids methoprene and pyriproxyfen to stimulate female fecundity. We evaluated doses of 0.05%, 0.03% and 0.01%, which were incorporated into the adult diet. We determined the effect on potential female fecundity, female fecundity, female fertility, and male and female survival in both species. The results showed that the methoprene and pyriproxyfen doses used did not have an effect on potential fecundity, fecundity and fertility in females of C. capitata, but there was an effect in females of A. ludens. The juvenoids also had a negative effect on adult survival in both species. In conclusion, using either of the two juvenoids can increase egg production in a mass-rearing facility of A. ludens but not of C. capitata, and their application requires further evaluation.