Throughout 1994-2000, adult beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua (Hübner) populations were monitored in the delta and hill regions of Mississippi using pheromone traps. Significant differences in the mean number of moths trapped were found among different geographical areas of the state. A trend was observed where the greatest number of moths was found in the Mississippi Delta, located in the western region of the state. The lowest number of moths was found in the hills located in the eastern region of the state. An annual profile of beet armyworm populations in the western section of the Mississippi Delta also revealed that wide-scale immigration of this pest typically begins at 200 Julian days (mid-July). This date could be used as a benchmark to determine when and if population levels are high enough to have the potential to cause economic damage to crops in the Mississippi Delta.

The potential to increase parasitism by Cotesia marginiventris through response to chemical signals emitted by herbivore-damaged plants was investigated in corn and cotton field plots. Recruitment of feral C. marginiventris adult females was measured by increased parasitism. Spodoptera frugiperda larvae placed in the field plots and then recollected experienced a mean rate of parasitism of approximately 4-6%. Mean total mortality of the collected larvae ranged from 13 to 20%. We found no significant difference in the level of parasitism, or larval mortality between field plots containing herbivore-damaged plants and plants that were undamaged. Under the conditions of this study, we found no evidence that systemic host plant volatiles induced by herbivore feeding were used by feral C. marginiventris to improve foraging and parasitism at specific sites within a field of corn or cotton.

The effects of leaf extracts of teosinte, Zea diploperennis L., and a Mexican maize variety, criollo ‘Uruapeño’, on the growth and survival of the fall armyworm larvae were evaluated under laboratory conditions. Hexane, methanol, and aqueous extractions were made and the extracts and residual fiber were separately incorporated into a modified Poitout & Bues meridic diet. The hexanic and methanolic extracts were concentrated in a rotary evaporator and 30 ml of each were mixed to 20 g of cellulose and then incorporated to a meridic diet. Aqueous leaf extract was not concentrated. Larval cumulative mortality, larval weight, days to pupation, pupae weight, pupae length and width, days to adult emergence were evaluated. The hexanic extract of both plants enhanced most of the FAW growth parameters. Methanolic extract and residual fiber of both plants negatively affected the pupae length and width. The aqueous extract caused 100% of larval cumulative mortality. Larvae fed on diets containing residual fiber of both plants exhibited antibiotic effects.

Larvae of fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) and soil samples were collected in six Mexican states. Larvae were collected from whorl-stage corn, grain sorghum, forage sorghum, and Sudan grass fields in 64 locations during the summer of 2000, to determine the occurrence of entomopathogens and parasitic nematodes. A total of 5591 FAW larvae from 64 locations were examined for indigenous FAW biological control agents. Overall total larval mortality was 3.935%. The larval mortality percent due to entomopathogens and parasitic nematodes was 3.524%, other causes reached 0.411% of total mortality. Three species of entomopathogenic fungi representing two classes, Hyphomycetes (Nomuraea rileyi, and Hirsutella sp.) and Zygomycetes (Entomophthora sp.) were recovered from FAW larvae, and two species of Hyphomycetes (Metarhizium anisopliae and Beauveria bassiana) were isolated from soil samples. An unidentified microsporidian was recovered from four locations in the State of Jalisco, three from Michoacán, three from Nayarit, and one from Veracruz and Colima, respectively. Mermithid nematodes were recovered from 24 FAW larvae at three locations in Nayarit and three larvae were recovered from two locations in Veracruz. Six larvae showing symptoms of viral disease were collected from Sinaloa (2), Jalisco (2), Michoacán (1), and Nayarit (1). Entomopathogenic nematodes from the genus Heterorhabditis sp. and Steinernema sp. were isolated from soil samples from Colima in one and two locations, respectively. Steinernema sp., and Heterorhabditis sp. were isolated from soil in one location in Michoacán. Steinernema sp. was recovered from two locations of Jalisco. In this survey, N. rileyi, mermithid nematodes, and microsporidia were the most frequent pathogens and parasites.

An inventory of parasitoids and parasites of fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith), was conducted using references describing parasitized FAW eggs, larvae, pupae and adults collected from different crops or habitats throughout the Americas and the Caribbean Basin. The crops and countries where these parasites were reported occurring in the Americas is also inventoried. Maize was the crop where the FAW was more frequently collected followed by rice. Overall, Chelonus insularis (Cresson) had the broadest natural distribution in the Americas. For the North American region C. insulares, Chelonus sp., and Euplectrus platyhypenae (Howard) were the most relevant parasitoids. In Central America, C. insularis was the most prevalent parasitoid, and in the South American region the most prevalent parasites were Archytas incertus (Macq.), A. marmoratus (Tns.), C. insularis, and Meteorus laphygmae (Viereck). Diapetimorpha introita (Cresson) is the most important pupal parasitoid of FAW occurring mainly in North America. An acugutturid, Noctuidonema guyanense (Remillet & Silvain), is the most important ectoparasitic nematode attacking adults of FAW and other noctuid moths in South and Southeastern US, and Mexico in North America, Caribbean Basin, Central America, and Northern South America.

Field experiments were conducted from 2000 to 2002 in the Mississippi Delta to evaluate remote sensing technologies for identifying factors in cotton growth and development related to infestations of beet armyworm and cabbage looper. Larval defoliation of plants was monitored using remote sensing techniques including aerial and hand-held sensors as well as visual measurements of damage. Percent reflectance differed for beet armyworm infested leaves compared to uninfested leaves. In two whole field studies, more beet armyworm hits were found in zones of less vigorous and open canopy, which corresponded to lower normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) values calculated from remotely sensed imagery. Percent light penetration of canopy was greater for plots damaged by looper larvae than for less damaged plots where looper larvae were controlled with insecticide, but NDVI values were not different.

Studies were conducted to determine if beet armyworms, Spodoptera exigua (Hübner), possess the genetic variation necessary to respond to selection for improved tolerance of the Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner (Bt) toxin Cry1Ac. Spodoptera exigua individuals that pupated earliest when fed the Cry1Ac diet (ca. the first 20% to pupate) produced offspring that developed significantly faster on the Cry1Ac diet than their parental-control strain. In addition, after two generations of selection, the selected population reached pupation 2 d faster than the Parental population. The selected group also developed significantly faster on transgenic-Bt cotton leaves (cv. NuCOTN 33B) than the Parental strain. Individuals selected to more rapidly develop on media containing Cry1Ac developed no more rapidly on artificial diet containing Cry2Aa than the parental, control colony of S. exigua.

Melaleuca quinquenervia (Cav.) S. T. Blake, the broad-leaved paperbark tree, has invaded ca. 202,000 ha in Florida, including portions of the Everglades National Park. We performed prerelease surveys in south Florida to determine if native or accidentally introduced arthropods exploit this invasive plant species and assess the potential for higher trophic levels to interfere with the establishment and success of future biological control agents. Herein we quantify the abundance of arthropods present on the above-ground portions of saplings and small M. quinquenervia trees at four sites. Only eight of the 328 arthropods collected were observed feeding on M. quinquenervia. Among the arthropods collected in the plants adventive range, 19 species are agricultural or horticultural pests. The high percentage of rare species (72.0%), presumed to be transient or merely resting on the foliage, and the paucity of species observed feeding on the weed, suggests that future biological control agents will face little if any competition from pre-existing plant-feeding arthropods.

Numbers of workers of Vespula pensylvanica (Saussure) (western yellowjacket) and V. atropilosa (Sladen) trapped with heptyl butyrate in Washington increased with greater release of the attractant from vial dispensers, up to an estimated 2.3 milligrams heptyl butyrate per hour. Vespula germanica (F.) (German yellowjacket) workers were also captured in significant numbers, and numbers of workers captured increased with increased release of heptyl butyrate, up to an estimated 1.4 milligrams per hour. Numbers of workers of Vespula squamosa (Drury) trapped with heptyl butyrate in Oklahoma increased with increased release of heptyl butyrate from dispensers, up to an estimated 3.3 milligrams per hour. Vial dispensers, with holes of 6, 12, 22, and 33 mm diameter in the vial lid, lost 0.42, 1.4, 2.3, and 3.3 milligrams of heptyl butyrate per hour in the laboratory and these rates changed little over a period of 4 weeks, indicating close to a zero order rate of release pattern. Rates of loss of 2 ml heptyl butyrate applied to a cotton ball decreased with exposure time, from an initial rate of 6.0 milligrams per hour to near zero at 16 days post-treatment. Captures of wasps in traps sold commercially might be improved with the use of a controlled-release dispenser.

Corn rootworms of the genus Diabrotica (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) are among the most important insect pest of crops in the United States. The southern corn rootworm, Diabrotica undecimpunctata howardi Barber is an economically important pest of corn, cucurbits and peanuts. Genetic analysis of southern corn rootworms, collected from South Dakota, Nebraska, and Arkansas was undertaken using DNA sequences of the nuclear ribosomal first internal transcribed spacer region (ITS1), and a portion of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) cytochrome oxidase I and II genes. Among the 22 beetles subjected to DNA sequencing analysis, no polymorphic nucleotide sites were observed for the ITS1 marker and one variable nucleotide site was observed for the mtDNA marker. The lack of genetic distinction observed in southern corn rootworm populations suggests either high levels of dispersal or a recent geographical expansion from a relatively small base.

The little decapitating fly, Pseudacteon curvatus Borgmeier, was released at 11 sites in Alabama, Florida, and Tennessee as a potential self-sustaining biocontrol agent of imported fire ants. We used a biotype from Buenos Aires Province, Argentina that parasitizes black fire ants (Solenopsis richteri Forel). Generally, several thousand flies were released as larvae in parasitized ant workers over a 1-2 week period. Pseudacteon curvatus flies were successfully established on hybrid fire ants (Solenopsis invicta × Solenopsis richteri) at a site near Talladega, Alabama where they have persisted more than two years and expanded out 5-20 km from the original release site. Flies failed to establish in Florida and Tennessee although a few 1st-generation field-reared flies were recovered at four sites in Florida. This fly is only the second parasitoid species to be successfully released against imported fire ants or any other pest ant species. Possible reasons for failures at the other sites include insufficient vegetation cover, competition with another Pseudacteon species in Florida, severe winter kill of ants at a site in Tennessee, and the possibility that the biotype of P. curvatus released was not a viable parasitoid of red imported fire ants.

Using field-caged host trees, this study investigated the influence of adult diet on the mating success and survival of male Mediterranean fruit flies, Ceratitis capitata (Wied.), from two mass-rearing strains. Upon emergence, males from a genetic sexing (temperature sensitive lethal) strain and a bisexual strain were given either a sugar-protein diet (protein-fed) or a sugar-only diet (protein-deprived). Mating trials were conducted using field-caged host trees, and 100 males of a given strain and diet competed with 100 wild males for matings with 100 wild females (all wild flies were given the sugar-protein diet). There was no apparent effect of diet on male mating success for either mass-reared strain. Wild males obtained significantly more matings per replicate than males from either strain on either diet, and the mean number of matings per replicate was similar between protein-fed and protein-deprived males for both strains. In addition, the survival of protein-fed and protein-deprived males was compared over 2- and 4-day intervals on field-caged host trees. Within each mass-reared strain, there was no apparent effect of adult diet on male survival for either test interval. The present findings are compared with similar studies on other mass-reared strains.

The nymph, female imago and egg of Siphluriscus chinensis Ulmer are described and figured in detail for the first time based on associated nymphs and imagos from China. Additional characters of the male imago are described. Based upon imaginal and nymphal characters, Siphluriscidae fam. n. is established in the Siphlonuroidea for Siphluriscus and, provisionally, the Jurassic genus Stackelbergisca Tshernova. Siphluriscus ? davidi Navás, known from one male subimago, is transferred to Siphlonurus davidi comb. n. The family Siphluriscidae is distinguished from all other families of Siphlonuroidea by the presence of coxal gills on the fore and middle legs in all stages and in the nymph by the presence of a basal, moveable, dactyl-like appendage on each claw, and labial and maxillary gills. Characters of the nymphal mouthparts, particularly the mandibles and maxillae, suggest that Siphluriscidae is a sister-group of the family Nesameletidae. However, the majority of character states are considered plesiomorphic in the Ephemeroptera, and may contribute valuable information on the origin, phylogeny and biogeography of Ephemeroptera.

The lobate lac scale insect, Paratachardina lobata lobata (Chamberlin) (Kerriidae: Coccoidea: Hemiptera), a recent invader of southern Florida from India and Sri Lanka, now infests more than 160 economic and native plants in at least 49 plant families. It is killing wax myrtle (Myrica cerifera L.) and coco plum (Chrysobalanus icaco L.), valued native and horticultural plants in many locations. Intensive insecticide use in infested natural and residential areas is an unsuitable control approach because of the large numbers of plants infested, the high cost, and probable damage to non-target organisms. Biological control is a much needed solution for lobate lac scale. No parasitism has been detected in Florida. The lobate lac scale is native to India and Sri Lanka, occurring in localities south of 16 degrees N. latitude. The known host range includes some of the same species and families of host plants as it does in Florida, plus other plant groups on which it has yet to be detected in Florida. The natural enemies of the lobate lac scale have not been previously sought nor studied, but those of the related true lac scale of commerce are relatively well known, and some of these appear to have potential for biological control of the lobate lac scale. The most important natural enemies are predaceous Lepidoptera and Chrysopa species, and parasitic encyrtid and euplophid chalcidoid wasps. The chalcidoid wasps, with narrower host ranges, appear to be more suitable as potential biological control agents. Among these, Tachardiaephagus tachardiae Howard (Encyrtidae), seems particularly promising. It attacks the lobate lac scale, is known only from lac scale hosts, is not hyperparasitic, is one of the most important parasitoids of lac scale, has 9-12 generations per year, and occurs in the same climatic conditions as occur in southern Florida. It is recommended that this wasp and two other important parasitoids of the true lac scale, T. somervilli Madhihassen (Encyrtidae) and Coccophagus tschirchii Madhihassen (Eulophidae), be acquired and evaluated as potential biological control agents of the lobate lac scale. Explorations for unknown natural enemies of lobate lac scale in India and Sri Lanka should also be undertaken in locations with climatic similarity to that of southern Florida. Host specificity testing of species belonging to Florida’s 12 native scale families (Coccoidea) and allied Hemiptera is advisable to define the potential host ranges and thus the safety of candidate biological control agents. The prospects of effective and safe biological control appear to be good. No native lac scales (Kerriidae) occur in Florida, and parasitoids are known that appear to be both narrow specialists and damaging to their host lac scales.

Paricanoides Liang gen. nov. (Hemiptera: Fulgoroidea: Tropiduchidae) is described to include two new species, Paricanoides orientalis Liang sp. nov. (type species, south China: Hainan Island and north Vietnam: Tonkin, Blao) and Paricanoides dalatensis Liang sp. nov. (Vietnam: Dalat). Male genitalia of the new species are illustrated and a dorsal habitus is provided for the male of P. orientalis. The eggs of P. dalatensis are described and illustrated with scanning electron micrographs. The new genus Paricanoides is distinguished by its forewing venation and is tentatively placed in the tribe Paricanini Melichar.