The phytoseiid mite Neoseiulus cucumeris (Oudemans) (Acari: Phytoseiidae) is one of the well-known natural enemies across the globe which can feed on different types of pests and pollen grains. This predator was reared on the mixture of the stored products mite, Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Schrank) (Acari: Acaridae) (as prey diet) along with different plant pollens (as plant diet) including almond (TA), cattail (TC), castor-bean (TCb), date (TD), saffron (TS), and mixed pollens of almond, cattail, castor bean, and date (TP) for 20 generations (G1–G20). The effects of the mixed plant and prey diets on biological parameters of N. cucumeris were evaluated under laboratory conditions at 25 ± 1°C, 60 ± 5% RH, and a photoperiod of 16:8 (L: D) h every 10 generations (G1, G10, and G20). N. cucumeris showed the highest performance on the mixed pollens + T. putrescentiae (TP diet) among the diets tested. Our findings revealed almost stable performance of the predator by long-term feeding on a mixture of pollen and prey diet and this combination can use as a suitable alternative food for mass rearing of N. cucumeris.

Graphical Abstract

Chrysobothris mali Horn and Chrysobothris femorata (Olivier) (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) are wood-boring beetles native to western North America. Both species are highly polyphagous, feeding on a wide range of deciduous trees and shrubs, including fruit and nut trees as well as shade trees grown as nursery stock. Chrysobothris femorata is widely distributed across North America, while C. mali occurs west of the Rocky Mountains. There is a notable lack of basic biological information regarding both species' phenology and distributions in the Pacific Northwest. To better understand the biology of these economically important insects, seasonal adult collection information, host plant association data, and morphological measurements were collected from preserved specimens residing in 5 major regional arthropod collections. Label information was collected from 661 C. mali and 165 C. femorata specimens. Collection location data were used to create a map of C. femorata and C. mali distributions in the western United States, indicating that C. femorata is significantly less abundant in California, Oregon, and Washington than C. mali. Of the 50 associated plant taxa noted on specimen labels, only 4 associations were shared between the species, potentially indicating host specialization. New reproductive hosts are recorded for C. femorata (2 hosts) and C. mali (3 hosts). Tree species commonly damaged by flatheaded borers in commercial orchards and nurseries were not present in the historical records. The insights gleaned from specimen data allow researchers to better understand the biology and ecology of these understudied, yet economically impactful insects in the western United States.

Megachile rotundata F. is the primary commercial pollinator for alfalfa seed production in North America. Managed M. rotundata populations are susceptible to several mortality factors including attack by parasitoids. One such parasitoid, Melittobia acasta Walker, is a multivoltine wasp whose infestations can decimate bee stocks. Details of M. acasta life history using M. rotundata as a host are needed to develop control strategies. Our objectives were (i) to describe the M. acasta life cycle using M. rotundata prepupae as hosts and (ii) to determine the M. acasta developmental base temperature and propose a degree-day model. First, 150–300 M. acasta adults were introduced to 60 M. rotundata prepupae (10–20 wasp females/4 bee prepupae) upon which they oviposited. Progeny development (at 30 °C) was monitored through adulthood. We identified 12 distinct phases of the M. acasta life cycle that were observed among samples over an average of 19.5 days. Second, vials each containing a M. rotundata prepupa with M. acasta eggs were positioned across a temperature gradient bar (2 vials per temperature). In repeated trials, wasp development was tracked from egg to adult where a mean development time for 30 °C was found to be 13 days. A linear regression analysis determined the lower developmental temperature threshold to be 8.55 °C. Application of this base temperature in a degree-day model revealed an average of 305.8-degree-day accumulation from egg to adult. These results provide a framework to assist bee managers in devising M. acasta control strategies and timing their implementation.

Biosurveillance monitors the prey of the solitary buprestid-hunting wasp, Cerceris fumipennis (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae), for the presence for emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis, Fairmaire: Coleoptera: Buprestidae). Still unresolved is the foraging range, and thus the surveillance range, of C. fumipennis. Foraging occurs in forest canopies and wasps are difficult to track. We assumed that the proportion of conifer-feeding beetles collected at a colony would be related to the proportion of conifers in the surrounding area. If this is the case, the radius of the area around a colony which best correlates the proportion of conifers with the proportion of conifer feeding prey should reflect the foraging range of the colony. In this study, we used 7 yr of foraging data, and the National Land Cover Dataset 2016 map to estimate the foraging range of C. fumipennis. Overall, we found that the highest correlation between prey type collected, and forest type present, was between 1,000 and 1,500 m from the nest sites. We thus conclude that surveillance of a colony of C. fumipennis will yield information about the presence of non-native buprestids within a 1.0–1.5 km radius.

Predatory mites are effective natural enemies of small arthropods, including pest mites and insects, which provide biological control of several crop pests worldwide. The family Phytoseiidae (Acari: Mesostigmata) is a diverse group of predators found in cultivated crops and other habitats containing natural vegetation. Although some phytoseiid species are commercialized and widely used in biological control programs, the determination of natural populations and identification of the species is a vital first step in understanding their interactions with the crop, environment, and pests. The citrus crop is a diverse agroecosystem colonized by a variety of pests including mites and warrants an understanding of the complex of predators. We collected predatory mites from multiple citrus groves in Florida, to find and identify species for biological control in citrus crops. The examination of the specimens involved the use of Olympus CX-41 microscope, and drawings were prepared with the help of the attached camera Lucida. Any needed corrections were made using tracing paper, rapidograph pen, and Adobe Photoshop version CS6. Neoseiulus hexaporus sp. nov. is described and illustrated as a new species based on its distinct morphology compared with previously described species in paspalivorus group. We also provide a complementary redescription of Neoseiulus mumai (Denmark), including an important diagnostic character of leg chaetotaxy which had led to the description of a new species, Neoseiulus kikuyu Ma, Fan & Zhang. We also provide new illustrations of N. mumai to facilitate its diagnosis.