We provide the first record of the leaf chafer beetle Leucothyreus suturalis Castelnau (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Rutelinae) associated with nests of Cornitermes cumulans (Kollar) and Silvestritermes holmgreni (Snyder) (Termitidae: Syntermitinae), including notes on the life cycle of the guest. We found 13 third-instar larvae in eight nests of C. cumulans and eight third-instar larvae in a single nest of S. holmgreni located in pasturelands or in forest edges of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. In nests of both termite species, L. suturalis larvae were found imbedded in peripheral areas of nests. Larval development was similar regardless of the termite host nest. We supplement the knowledge of scarab—termite associations, report the first leaf chafer (Rutelinae) association with termite hosts, and provide life history comparisons of termitophile versus nontermitophile in the genus Leucothyreus MacLeay.

Formulations of compounds repellent to honey bees may be useful tools to keep bees away from areas recently treated with toxic insecticides. Here, we report the activity of a previously unknown honey bee repellent, an essential oil from the flower of Swertia densifolia (Gentianaceae), which has activity toward Indian honey bees Apis florea F. The essential oil was obtained by hydrodistillation and was subjected to a rotating table bioassay with foragers of the honey bee A. florea. Repellency was dose-dependent up to 12 mg/ml and remained constant thereafter. The chemical constitution of the essential oil was examined by gas chromatography—mass spectrometry analyses, which identified 19 constituent compounds. The major constituents (>10% of the oil) were linalool and octadecanoic acid. The constituents of intermediate concentration (5–10%) were α-terpeniol, nerol, n-octadecyl acetate, and spirostan-3-ol. Besides these, five minor constituents (1–5%) and six of the eight trace components present (<1%) have also been identified. The response of A. florea foragers to mixtures of the major and intermediate constituents was studied. Screening of formulations of linalool and α-terpeniol showed repellent properties toward A. florea, behavior which has already been reported by us in earlier studies. The compound n-octadecyl acetate was found to be an attractant, while octadecanoic acid and spirostan-3-ol were neither attractants nor repellents. Nerol, however, elicited dose-dependent effects involving both attraction and repellency. The effects of the constituents of this essential oil were not merely additive, possibly due to synergistic effects. These results establish the previously unknown chemical constitution and dose-dependent repellent nature of the essential oil isolated from flower of S. densifolia toward A. florea and may be used to improve bee management.

The management of the soybean aphid Aphis glycines Matsumara is a major challenge to soybean production in the north-central United States. The identification and characterization of the insect predator community has informed integrated pest management strategies by providing insight on predators that can suppress soybean aphid populations. Hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae) are known predators of A. glycines, but more information is needed on their diversity, abundance, and performance to evaluate their importance as biological control agents of A. glycines. In this study, syrphid abundance was evaluated across two growing seasons in four soybean fields in east-central Minnesota. Six methods were used to quantify syrphid abundance at the larval, pupal, and adult life stages; describe species composition and richness for adults; and directly compare larval abundance to aphid abundance. The syrphid community comprised eight species, dominated by Toxomerus marginatus (Say) and Toxomerus geminatus (Say). Syrphid abundance was relatively low in soybean fields. Feeding trials were conducted to compare the performance of the most common syrphid (T. marginatus) on a diet of A. glycines with two native aphids, Aphis nerii Boyer de Fonscolombe and Aphis monardae Oestlund. Despite their low abundance in soybeans, T. marginatus larvae perform well on A. glycines, A. nerii, and A. monardae in laboratory feeding trials, implying that factors other than host suitability are limiting their potential to exert biological control on soybean aphids.

Scale insects (Hemiptera: Coccoidea) are widely distributed sap-feeding insects that damage a wide variety of plants, and reduce the productivity and commercial value of many crops, including fruits such as papaya (Carica papaya). These pests cause direct and indirect damage to papaya and other plants, and some species of this group are of quarantine importance and, thus, affect export and import of papaya fruit. To determine which species of scale insects commonly occur on papaya in Brazil, a survey of the scale insects on this crop was conducted over four years in commercial orchards located in the principal production regions of papaya in this country. Six species of scale insects were collected: Aonidiella comperei McKenzie, Coccus hesperidum L., Dysmicoccus grassii (Leonardi), Phenacoccus solenopsis Tinsley, a Pseudococcus species, and Selenaspidus articulatus (Morgan). The armored scale A. comperei often causes severe damage to the crop and was the most common and widely distributed scale insect species found on papaya in Brazil in this study. This is the first report of A. comperei on papaya in the States of Bahia, Ceará, Minas Gerais, and Paraíba, and of Co. hesperidum on papaya in Bahia, Ceará, and Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. Information on the geographic distribution of scale insects that have been recorded on papaya worldwide and in Brazil is summarized.

The blue-green sharpshooter Cicadella viridis (Linnaeus) (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) is a significant pest and disease vector of some economically important plants in some parts of its range in the Palearctic and Oriental regions. Its alimentary canal was examined using the light and electron microscopes. The alimentary canal was differentiated into the esophagus, filter chamber, external midgut section, and hindgut. The filter chamber contained a sheath and a filter organ; the former externally surrounding the latter. The filter organ was composed of the anterior and posterior ends of the midgut (internal midgut section), internal proximal ends of the Malpighian tubules, and internal proximal end of the ileum. Two types of cells constituting the internal anterior end of the midgut possessed morphologically different basal infoldings and apical microvilli. Cells of the internal posterior end of the midgut contained concentric structures tentatively identified as modified basal plasma membranes, whereas plasma membranes of the internal proximal ends of Malpighian tubules invaginated into narrow sinuate basal infoldings, though both organs had similar reduced cytoplasm. The external midgut section was divided into a conical segment and a midgut loop. The conical segment cells, which were packed with mitochondria, possessed regularly arranged dense microvilli and shallow infoldings. The midgut loop was subdivided into two regions: 1) an anterior segment, with cells containing abundant electron-lucent secretory granules, ribosome-like particles, and sparse rough endoplasmic reticulum; and 2) a posterior segment, having numerous mitochondria, some lysosome-like granules, well-developed basal infoldings, and apical microvilli. The hindgut emerged from the posterior of the filter chamber and was composed of a pear-shaped rectum and a long narrow ileum. Its cells possessed apical leaflets associated with mitochondria. Microorganisms existing between lamina of the extracellular matrix, in a clearing of ileum cytoplasm and muscle fibers, are probably pathogenic.

The reduviid genus Sinea presently is represented in America north of Mexico by 10 species, one of which is Sinea complexa Caudell. This species has been listed from California east to Missouri and Illinois. In fact, it does not occur in Missouri and Illinois but is limited primarily to the West and Southwest. A new species, Sinea incognita McPherson, described herein, occurs from Maryland south to Georgia and west to Kansas and Texas. It closely resembles S. complexa, for which we provide distinguishing characters; J.E.M. designates a male lectotype and female paralectotype for Caudell’s syntypes. A third species, Sinea integra Stål, currently known only from Mexico, shares with S. incognita and S. complexa the presence of spines and tubercles on both lobes of the pronotum rather than just on the anterior lobe as is typical of other Sinea spp. Because we discuss the three species in this article, and Stål did not designate a holotype for either of his two syntypes of S. integra (a male and female) deposited in the Swedish Museum of Natural History, J.E.M. also designates a male lectotype and female paralectotype for this species.

The Oriental melolonthine genus Tocama Reitter, 1902 is reviewed. The genus includes 11 species with 3 new Chinese species, Tocama varimaculata Li and Yang, sp. nov., Tocama zhangia Wang and Li, sp. nov., and Tocama similis Li and Wang, sp. nov. described herein. A lectotype is designated for Melolontha rubiginosa Fairmaire, 1889. An amended key for males, diagnoses, redescriptions, illustrations, the type depository, phenology, geographical distributions and map, remarks, and drawings of the male genitalia of each species are given.