Spotted wing drosophila, Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura), is a major agricultural pest throughout most of the fruit growing regions of the United States, with high reproductive rates and short generation times resulting in exponential population growth in berry crops across the country. Fruit suitability research has been conducted for some small fruit species such as raspberries, strawberries, cherries, and blackberries; however, there is a paucity of data regarding the role of previous injury on host susceptibility and suitability for D. suzukii. This study examined the role of previous fruit injury on adult D. suzukii survival, adult production, and host susceptibility, with injury referring to physiological splitting, disease, and vertebrate feeding. Results indicate that intact raspberries, blueberries, and table grapes are susceptible to oviposition by D. suzukii and the presence of injury increases survival of both male and female flies. When fruit was injured, berry infestation levels increases, but this did not always translate into increased adult populations. We found that the proportions of D. suzukii–infested fruit were significantly higher for injured versus intact fruit. When comparing adult emergence for intact and injured fruit, only table grape and cherry tomato had significantly higher adult counts for injured berries. Overall, adult emergence per injured fruit for raspberries of 19.77 was significantly higher than all other fruit types tested, with 2.87, 3.57, and 3.43 adults for cherry tomatoes, grapes, and blueberries, respectively. Results suggest reducing previous injury in ripe fruit may facilitate more effective management of D. suzukii populations.

Bagrada hilaris (Burmeister) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) is a serious pest of cruciferous crops, including leafy crucifers grown in enclosed greenhouses in the Central Coast of California. These enclosed greenhouses face season-long risk of feeding injury to plantings of cruciferous crops. Understanding the survival ability of B. hilaris would help develop crop-free periods as a cultural tactic for B. hilaris control. A series of trials was conducted with 2nd–3rd and 4th–5th instar nymphs and male and female adults to determine how well they survive when they had full, partial, or no access to food and water sources. The treatments for the experiment were: (a) soil plus food (a piece of broccoli crown); (b) soil plus water; (c) soil-only; and (d) empty (no soil, water, and food). Bagrada hilaris were individually released into 20-ml ventilated scintillation vials that were deployed outside by burying them in the ground with only the ventilated top exposed for multiple days. Results show that B. hilaris survived between 3 and 6 d after deployment without access to food and water. In all experiments, survival of B. hilaris in the food or water treatments was significantly greater than in the soil-only and empty treatments on final day of the trial. Bagrada hilaris in the soil-only treatment had significantly lower number of live B. hilaris than in the empty treatment on the days before the final day of the experiment. The survival of B. hilaris that had access to food was not significantly different from those that had access to water.

Previous studies show that pupating in soil is essential for Heortia vitessoides Moore (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) to complete its life cycle. However, little is known of the process. In the present study, we observed soil-burrowing and pupal-chamber construction by prepupae of H. vitessoides in 0.5-cm-wide acrylic plate interlayers. In bioassays, we also investigated pupation behaviors and pupal physiology and morphology in response to soil moistures of 5%, 25%, 45%, and 65% water saturation. Prepupae burrowed significantly deeper in soils with higher levels of soil moisture and constructed larger pupal chambers at 65% water saturation. H. vitessoides pupae also had significantly greater percentage biomass loss and lower body water content when the soil moistures were lower. Interestingly, pupae in 5% saturated soil were smaller and showed a significantly higher surface-to-volume ratio than at other soil moisture levels, which might pose challenges in water conservation.

Clostera anastomosis (L.) (Lepidoptera: Notodontidae) is an important leaf-feeding insect of poplars, Populus spp. (Salicaceae) in China. As part of a continuing search for environmentally friendly insecticides for this pest, we compared the in vitro inhibition of polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity by 21 insecticides and allelochemicals in C. anastomosis and poplar trees (populous × euramericana ‘NanLin895′). The results showed that three inhibitors (quercetin, phenyl thiourea, and phoxim) can strongly inhibit PPO activity in both C. anastomosis and poplars, but the inhibitory degree with each was significantly different. Our results further showed that three inhibitors had a certain dose relationship with the PPO activity in C. anastomosis and poplars. The I₅₀ values (50% inhibitory concentration) of three chemicals (quercetin, phenyl thiourea, and phoxim) were estimated as 14.17, 0.18, and 127.67 μM for C. anastomosis and as 0.34, 0.15, and 0.21 mM for poplars, respectively. These results will lay foundation for the design of effective, selective PPO inhibitors and the development of novel insecticides.

Butterfly species can be sensitive to ecosystem disturbance and, therefore, suitable to be used as indicators of habitat quality. We determined species richness and diversity of butterfly species along five tourist trails in the northeast region of Portugal. These trails were in different landscape structures, varying from urban areas to areas extensively managed for agriculture (i.e., vineyards, meadows) to natural areas (i.e., grasslands, rivers, forests). A total of 522 butterflies representing 45 species belonging to 34 genera and 5 families of Lepidoptera were recorded. Of the taxonomic families represented in the survey, the Nymphalidae were most numerous (362 specimens, 22 species) followed by Pieridae (86 specimens, 11 species) and Lycaenidae (58 specimens, 8 species). Four species have a conservation status, an indicator of the risk of extinction they face at present or in the near future [Euphydryas aurinia (Rottemburg, 1775), Phengaris alcon (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775), Hipparchia semele (L., 1758) and Melanargia lachesis (Hübner, 1790)], and these represent 6.9% of the total species identified. Among the five trails, diversity parameters varied with high values of species richness and diversity, low dominance of species, and moderate evenness of distribution. Additionally, butterfly species comparison among the trails revealed that Alvão and Vale do Corgo trails have most of the species in common, especially from Pieridae and Nymphalidae, while the Marão trail has more species associated exclusively to this trail. These results were also supported by hierarchical clustering performed with an average linkage aggregation method using Jaccard distance and by comparison between proportions of butterflies among trails within each family.

A great number of cell lines from hemipteran, lepidopteran, and dipteran insects have been developed and characterized. Using the advent of new techniques and instruments in molecular biology as well as the advancement in biotechnology, the indigenous cell lines might prove useful in the development of alternatives to conventional chemical pesticides for agriculture and in the creation of vaccines and life-saving pharmaceuticals for human and animal diseases. Cell cultures of insects are used for the generation of vaccines, viral pesticides, and recombinant proteins, and in basic research in virology, endocrinology, molecular biology, genetics, and biochemistry. This paper summarizes information collected regarding the different insect cell lines developed and characterized thus far and also describes different applications in entomological research.

Japanese beetles, Popillia japonica Newman, are nursery regulatory pests. Currently, immersion of balled-and-burlapped (B&B) and containerized plants grown in pine bark substrates in a chlorpyrifos or bifenthrin solution satisfies the Domestic Japanese Beetle Harmonization Plan (DJHP) for shipping plants to noninfested states. Study objectives were to (a) evaluate individual and combination insecticide treatments for potential as regulatory dips against third-instar P. japonica in 30-cm B&B and no. 3 containers and (b) determine the lowest effective rates. Tests were performed fall and spring from 2007 to 2010. In all B&B tests and most container tests, insecticide treatments had significantly fewer larvae than the untreated check. Treatments also were more effective during spring tests than fall tests. The highest rate of a bifenthrin imidacloprid combination was the only treatment that consistently met the DJHP regulatory standard of no larvae recovered across multiple tests. During spring tests with B&B and container plants, all rates tested of bifenthrin, bifenthrin carbaryl, chlorantraniliprole, clothianidin, or dinotefuran met the no-larval-recovery DJHP standard. The lowest effective bifenthrin rate during spring tests was 9× lower than the current DJHP bifenthrin dip rate. Several treatments in this study met DJHP regulatory standards for dipping B&B and containerized plants and during spring timings bifenthrin alone or in combination with carbaryl or imidacloprid was effective at rates lower than currently allowed in the DJHP.