Mass rearing of the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata is one of the fundamental tasks of sterile insect technique (SIT) programs. The sterile male's production needs extensive amounts of larval diets. The present study investigated the use of two different inexpensive sources, black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens (BSF), and Yellow mealworm, Tenebrio molitor (YMW) meals as C. capitata larval diets instead of brewer yeast in the standard diet (St-Diet). The reproductive biology and quality control parameters were assessed as a feasibility study of the two alternative feeding sources for maintaining the performance of the medfly colony. The obtained results revealed that BSF-Diet exhibited the shortest larval and pupal periods (5.86 and 8.06 days) as compared to (6.05 and 9.12 days) and (6.95 and 9.36 days) of St-Diet and YMW-Diet, respectively. Moreover, the pupal production, pupal weight, and adult emergence produced from BSF-Diet were significantly higher than the other diets. In larvae fed on various sources of protein, the total protein content, total carbohydrate content, and the concentration of certain elements composition were investigated. The highest levels from these components were observed on BSF-Diet diet followed by YMW-Diet then the brewer's yeast which induced the lowest levels. Our findings indicated that both BSF-Diet and YMW-Diet were promising for feeding C. capitata larvae, with lower rearing costs compared to the stander diets. Consequently, BSF-Diet improved the quality control parameters of C. capitata colony that could be considered as a remarkably benefit for mass rearing facility to develop SIT program.

One of the most important causes of climate change is chemical inputs used in agricultural areas. The use of biocontrol agents to control weeds, which cause serious yield losses in production, constitutes an alternative to herbicides. This study was carried out to determine the distribution areas of Centaurea behen and the Cassida species on it in Hakkâri and its districts. Surveillance studies were carried out in terms of host plants and biocontrol agents at 170 sampling points to represent the region. In 65 (38%) of the examined locations, C. behen was encountered and five different Cassida species (C. palaestina, C. pannonica, C. rubiginosa, C. sanguinosa and C. strejceki), one of which was endemic, were detected feeding on it. In this study, the spatial distribution of hosts and biological agents in Türkiye under the current climate was estimated using the MaxEnt model. As a result, it was revealed that C. behen and Cassida species may have wider spatial distribution areas than the locations recorded in the literature. Cassida rubiginosa, C. sanguinosa and C. palaestina species were the highest in terms of population and frequency of occurrence of biocontrol agents detected on C. behen in the region. In addition, C. strejceki, an endemic species for Türkiye, was identified as the first host plant of C. behen in this study. Cassida strejceki may be a potential biocontrol agent since it was detected only on C. behen in the region.

We report the following seven species (representing five families) of true bugs (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) for the first time from Arkansas: Hesperocorixa minor, Sigara virginiensis (Corixidae); Systelloderes biceps (Enicocephalidae); Hebrus buenoi (Hebridae): Empicoris winnemana, Ploiaria similis (Reduviidae); Microvelia fontinalis (Veliidae). This includes the first report of the family Enicocephalidae (Unique-headed bugs) for Arkansas. All species were collected from flight intercept traps (deployed from April-July 2011) set in Arkansas Oaks Natural Area (Nevada County) located in southwestern Arkansas.

The sterile insect technique (SIT) is an environmentally friendly and species-specific method widely used to control agriculturally important fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritide). Previous studies have focused on the effects of releasing a higher proportion of sterile males relative to fertile males on Bactrocera dorsalis populations. In this study, we focused on the impact of releasing a small percentage of sterile males relative to fertile males on B. dorsalis populations. The results showed that when the ratio of wild to sterile males was 1:3, the number of eggs produced within 12 days (5166 eggs) and hatching rate (66%) were significantly lower than those of the control group (6680 eggs and 85%). When the males were released at a ratio of 1:3 for the second time, the hatching and pre-adult survival rates of B. dorsalis progeny were 43% and 37%, respectively. There were also significant decreases in R₀, r, λ, and T compared with the control, and after 90 days the population size predicted using the TIMING-MSChart program was reduced by 63%. Overall, these findings indicate that the release of sterile males as a small proportion relative to fertile males resulted in the collapse of the B. dorsalis population. This study establishes a scientific foundation for the release of sterile males in the field and the environmentally friendly prevention and control of B. dorsalis infestations.

The Herbivore Induced Plant Volatiles (HIPVs) are low molecular weight compounds and mostly belong to terpenoids, phenylpropanoids/benzenoids, Green Leaf Volatiles (GLVs) and amino acid derivatives. Volatile phytochemicals function as airborne indirect defense communication signals that specifically attract natural enemies. This case study discusses in detail metrics of publication on Herbivore Induced Plant Volatiles and pest management in the last two decades as listed on the Web of Science collection. Out of a total of 207 research publications, India and other countries contributed eight and 199 publications respectively, with a publication percentage of 3.86 and 96.13. Globally, the impact factor (JIF) ranged from 0.22 (Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society) to 10.151 (New Phytologist). Similarly for Indian publications, the range was from 0.208 to 4.223. Web of Science citation of all papers published on this topic totaled 4,302 excluding self-citation. The average h-index was 35 and the average citation per year was 245.16. If the research progress through these years is monitored, it was explicit that the research picked up during the last decade and around 87 percent of total publications made were from 2010 to 2021. The researchers should focus more on HIPV synthetic production and application which enhances its uses in IPM.

Nemognatha chrysomelina (Fabricius, 1775) is recorded from Beshgram, Chitral, KPK, Pakistan for the first time. This discovery expands the known range of this species and provides a new country record for Pakistan.

Spiders, as a predatory group, are frequently encountered in agricultural areas and play a crucial role in maintaining ecological equilibrium. In European olive groves, spiders have been identified as significant contributors to the reduction of pest populations. However, there is a noticeable scarcity of studies focusing on spider diversity in Turkish olive groves, particularly within Balıkesir province, a region that holds considerable importance in olive cultivation. The determination of spiders, acting as natural areas to olive grove pests, has not been subject to research in this province. This study aims to address this research gap by investigating the diversity of spiders in olive groves across five regions in Balikesir province, situated in the North Aegean region of Türkiye. A total of 85 areas, encompassing both ground-dwelling and canopy species, were examined. Thomisidae, Salticidae, Araneidae and Philodromidae were identified as the dominant families, with Philodromus rufus (Walckenaer, 1826), Tmarus piochardi (Simon, 1866), Salticus noordami (Metzner, 1999), and Pseudicius palaestinensis (Strand, 1915) being the most frequently encountered specimens.

An interesting observation pertains to the coexistence of the olive fly population, Bacterocea oleae (Rossi, 1790) (Diptera: Tephritidae), with spiders. It was revealed that the density of spiders exhibits an inverse relationship with the density of olive flies. While the species identified as dominant among spiders show potential as biological control agents against B. oleae, further research on this subject is warranted. Additionally, this study marks the first inclusion of Pseudeuophrys vafra (Blackwall, 1867) (Salticidae) in the spider list of Türkiye. We suggest that Philodromus rufus (Walckenaer, 1826), Tmarus piochardi (Simon, 1866), can be as a potential bioindicator for the olive grove.

Ficus benjamina, often known as weeping fig, is planted in tropical and subtropical areas and the Greenish silk moth, Trilocha varians has been its major pest since 2019. This newly emerged pest (larvae) of horticultural crops is causing 100% defoliation and even death of plants. A severe attack of this pest has been seen on F. bejamina. The current pest is invading other ornamental plants, especially jackfruit. There was a need to minimize the pest population, but still, no management strategies have been adopted to control this pest in the world. In the current study, the toxicity of three insecticides (belt, runner and radiant), and four plant extracts (Azadirachta indica, Nicotiana tabacum, Moringa oleifera and Eucalyptus globulus) were evaluated against 2^nd instar T. varians. Belt was found to be a more toxic insecticide followed by runner and radiant. LC₅₀ of the belt was 25.200, 20.708, 6.374, 2.893, 2.907 and 2.216 ppm after 12, 24, 36, 48, 60 and 72 hours, respectively, while LC₉₀ of the belt was 392.833, 58.822, 148.741, 126.018, 105.504 and 33.039 ppm after 12, 24, 36, 48, 60 and 72 hours of application, respectively under laboratory conditions. The mean larval mortality differed significantly between treatments during the 1^st (f = 2.26; df = 3; p = 0.002) and 2^nd spray (f = 3.18; df = 3; p = 0.001) under greenhouse conditions. Belt was the most effective insecticide with an LT₅₀ value of 9.749 h (1.865-17.953) followed by runner 11.926 h (5.364–23.813) and radiant 12.857 h (6.516-28.339). Azadirachta indica caused 17.85, 26.79, 37.76, 46.11, 55.77, 71.42 and 88.99% of mortalities at 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72 and 96 h of post-treatment, respectively. Probit analysis showed A. indica, N. tabacum, M. oleifera and E. globulus as effective botanicals with LT₅₀ values of 119.761 h (99.443–148.015), 128.175 h (102.091–148.531), 151.681 h (144.347–189.368) and 157.182 h (149.331–201.152), respectively. The leaf damage by larvae differed significantly between both insecticide and botanical treatments in all rounds of spraying. The current findings could assist farmers in mitigating this pest and aid policymakers in developing Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies. Our results are particularly valuable for screening effective insecticides, contributing to the overall management of this pest.