Annual review of entomology最新文献

Yucca moths (Tegeticula and Parategeticula) are specialized pollinators of yucca plants, possessing unique, tentacle-like mouthparts used to actively collect pollen and deposit it onto the flowers of their hosts. The moths' larvae feed on the developing seeds and fruit tissue. First described in 1873, the yucca-yucca moth pollination system is now considered the archetypical example of a coevolved intimate mutualism. Research conducted over the past three decades has transformed our understanding of yucca moth diversity and host plant interactions. We summarize the current understanding of the diversity, ecology, and evolution of this group, review evidence for coevolution of the insects and their hosts, and describe how the nature of the interaction varies across evolutionary time and ecological contexts. Finally, we identify unresolved questions and areas for future research.

Edible insects are gaining traction worldwide for research and development. This review synthesizes a large and well-established body of research literature on the high nutritional value and variety of pharmacological properties of edible insects. Positive benefits of insect-derived products include immune enhancement; gastrointestinal protection; antitumor, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory capacities; antibacterial activities; blood lipid and glucose regulation; lowering of blood pressure; and decreased risk of cardiovascular diseases. However, the pharmacological mechanisms of these active components of edible insects in humans have received limited research attention. In addition, we discuss health risks (safety); application prospects; regulations and policies governing their production and consumption with a view to promote innovations, intraglobal trade, and economic development; and suggestions for future directions for further pharmacological functional studies. The aim is to review the current state of knowledge and research trends on edible insects as functional ingredients beneficial to the nutrition and health of humans and animals (livestock, aquatic species, and pets).

Brassica vegetable and oilseed crops are attacked by several different flea beetle species (Chrysomelidae: Alticini). Over the past decades, most research has focused on two Phyllotreta species, Phyllotreta striolata and Phyllotreta cruciferae, which are major pests of oilseed rape in North America. More recently, and especially after the ban of neonicotinoids in the European Union, the cabbage stem flea beetle, Psylliodes chrysocephala, has become greatly important and is now considered to be the major pest of winter oilseed rape in Europe. The major challenges to flea beetle control are the prediction of population dynamics in the field, differential susceptibility to insecticides, and the lack of resistant plant cultivars and other economically viable alternative management strategies. At the same time, many fundamental aspects of flea beetle biology and ecology, which may be relevant for the development of sustainable control strategies, are not well understood. This review focuses on the interactions between flea beetles and plants and summarizes the literature on current management strategies with an emphasis on the potential for biological control in flea beetle management.

In Africa, humans evolved as honey hunters of honey bee subspecies adapted to diverse geographical regions. Beekeeping today is practiced much as it was when Africans moved from honey hunting to beekeeping nearly 5,000 years ago, with beekeepers relying on seasonally available wild bees. Research suggests that populations are resilient, able to resist diseases and novel parasites. Distinct biomes, as well as environmental pressures, shaped the behavior and biology of these bees and in turn influenced how indigenous beekeeping developed. It appears that passive beekeeping practices that enabled free-living populations contributed to the overall resilience and health of the bee. There is clearly a need for research aimed at a deeper understanding of bee biology and the ecosystems from which they benefit and on which humans depend, as well as a growing realization that the management of these bees requires an indigenous approach that reflects a broader knowledge base and the economics of local communities and markets.

Arthropods are declining globally, and entomologists ought to be in the forefront of protecting them. However, entomological study methods are typically lethal, and we argue that this makes the ethical status of the profession precarious. Lethal methods are used in most studies, even those that aim to support arthropod conservation. Additionally, almost all collecting methods result in bycatch, and a first step toward less destructive research practices is to minimize bycatch and/or ensure its proper storage and use. In this review, we describe the available suite of nonlethal methods with the aim of promoting their use. We classify nonlethal methods into (a) reuse of already collected material, (b) methods that are damaging but not lethal, (c) methods that modify behavior, and (d) true nonlethal methods. Artificial intelligence and miniaturization will help to extend the nonlethal methodological toolkit, but the need for further method development and testing remains.

Earwigs are often known for the forceps-like appendage at the end of their abdomen, urban legends about them crawling into human ears, and their roles as pest and biological control agents. However, they are much less known for their social life. This is surprising, as many of the 1,900 species of earwigs show social behaviors toward eggs, juveniles, and adults. These behaviors typically occur during family and group living, which may be obligatory or facultative, last up to several months, and involve only a few to several hundred related or unrelated individuals. Moreover, many individuals can alternate between solitary and group living during their life cycle, an ability that probably prevailed during the emergence of social life. In this review, I detail the diversity of group living and social behavior in earwigs and show how further developing this knowledge in Dermaptera can improve our general understanding of the early evolution of social life in insects.

Aquatic environments are an unusual habitat for most arthropods. Nevertheless, many arthropod species that were once terrestrial dwelling have transitioned back to marine and freshwater environments, either as semiaquatic or, more rarely, as fully aquatic inhabitants. Transition to water from land is exceptional, and without respiratory modifications to allow for extended submergence and the associated hypoxic conditions, survival is limited. In this article, we review marine-associated species that have made this rare transition in a generally terrestrial group, spiders. We include several freshwater spider species for comparative purposes. Marine-associated spiders comprise less than 0.3% of spider species worldwide but are found in over 14% of all spider families. As we discuss, these spiders live in environments that, with tidal action, hydraulic forces, and saltwater, are more extreme than freshwater habitats, often requiring physiological and behavioral adaptations to survive. Spiders employ many methods to survive inundation from encroaching tides, such as air bubble respiration, airtight nests, hypoxic comas, and fleeing incoming tides. While airway protection is the primary survival strategy, further survival adaptations include saltwater-induced osmotic regulation, dietary composition, predator avoidance, reproduction, locomotory responses, and adaptation to extreme temperatures and hydrostatic pressures that challenge existence in marine environments.

Mirids (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Miridae) feed upon a wide variety of cultivated and wild plants and can be economically important crop pests. They have traditionally been perceived as innocuous herbivores in East Asia; however, population levels of various mirid species have dramatically increased over the past decades. High-profile pests such as Apolygus spp., Adelphocoris spp., and Lygus spp. are now widely distributed across the region, and their infestation pressure is associated with climate, agroecological conditions, and farming practices. This review outlines how an in-depth understanding of pest biology, a systems-level characterization of pest ecology, and a comprehensive evaluation of integrated pest management tactics have enabled sustainable management of mirids across crop boundaries and harvest cycles. This work underscores how more holistic, integrative research approaches can accelerate the implementation of area-wide management of generalist pests, effectively prevent pest population build-up and yield impact, and shrink the environmental footprint of agriculture. In addition to highlighting the merits of interdisciplinary systems approaches, we discuss prospects and challenges for the sustainable management of polyphagous mirid pests in landscape matrices.

Dengue, caused by the dengue virus, is the most widespread arboviral infectious disease of public health significance globally. This review explores the communicative function of olfactory cues that mediate host-seeking, egg-laying, plant-feeding, and mating behaviors in Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, two mosquito vectors that drive dengue virus transmission. Aedes aegypti has adapted to live in close association with humans, preferentially feeding on them and laying eggs in human-fabricated water containers and natural habitats. In contrast, Ae. albopictus is considered opportunistic in its feeding habits and tends to inhabit more vegetative areas. Additionally, the ability of both mosquito species to locate suitable host plants for sugars and find mates for reproduction contributes to their survival. Advances in chemical ecology, functional genomics, and behavioral analyses have improved our understanding of the underlying neural mechanisms and reveal novel and specific olfactory semiochemicals that these species use to locate and discriminate among resources in their environment. Physiological status; learning; and host- and habitat-associated factors, including microbial infection and abundance, shape olfactory responses of these vectors. Some of these semiochemicals can be integrated into the toolbox for dengue surveillance and control.

Locusts are grasshoppers that can migrate en masse and devastate food security. Plant nutrient content is a key variable influencing population dynamics, but the relationship is not straightforward. For an herbivore, plant quality depends not only on the balance of nutrients and antinutrients in plant tissues, which is influenced by land use and climate change, but also on the nutritional state and demands of the herbivore, as well as its capacity to extract nutrients from host plants. In contrast to the concept of a positive relationship between nitrogen or protein concentration and herbivore performance, a five-decade review of lab and field studies indicates that equating plant N to plant quality is misleading because grasshoppers respond negatively or neutrally to increasing plant N just as often as they respond positively. For locusts specifically, low-N environments are actually beneficial because they supply high energy rates that support migration. Therefore, intensive land use, such as continuous grazing or cropping, and elevated ambient CO₂ levels that decrease the protein:carbohydrate ratios of plants are predicted to broadly promote locust outbreaks.