Antennal sensilla of Cyclocephala barrerai (Coleoptera: Melolonthidae): morphology, sexual dimorphism, allometric relationships, and function.

Scarab beetles use pheromones and volatiles to search for their partners and host plants. The perception of these compounds occurs in the beetle antennae, particularly in the sensilla. Relatively few studies have morphologically and physiologically characterized the sensilla of scarab beetles.

Mate Selection on : Effect of Weight, Age, and Virginity.

Sexual selection determines the evolution of the species by favoring some attributes that confer a reproductive advantage to those individuals with those attributes. Tephritidae flies do not always select the same traits when looking for a mating partner. Some aspects of the mating system of are known; nevertheless, there is no information on the effect of age, size, and virginity when selecting a mating partner.

Reproductive Apparatus, Gonadic Maturation, and Allometry of Martínez (Coleoptera: Melolonthidae: Dynastinae).

The Order Coleoptera provides good examples of morphological specializations in the reproductive apparatus, gonadic maturation, and allometry differing between the sexes. The female and male reproductive apparatus has been modified to ensure reproduction between individuals of the same species. The genus has more than 500 species distributed in America, and Martínez is an economically important species in the central part of Mexico.

Comparative Genomics and Pathogenicity Analysis of Two Bacterial Symbionts of Entomopathogenic Nematodes: The Role of the GroEL Protein in Virulence.

Bacteria of the genera and are symbionts of entomopathogenic nematodes. Despite their close phylogenetic relationship, they show differences in their pathogenicity and virulence mechanisms in target insects. These differences were explored by the analysis of the pangenome, as it provides a framework for characterizing and defining the gene repertoire.

Effectiveness of Push-Pull Systems to Fall Armyworm () Management in Maize Crops in Morelos, Mexico.

Chemical control is the main method used to combat fall armyworm in maize crops. However, its indiscriminate use usually leads to a more complex scenario characterized by loss of its effectiveness due to the development of resistance of the insect pest, emergence of secondary pests, and reduction of the populations of natural enemies. For this reason, efforts to develop strategies for agroecological pest management such as Push-Pull are increasingly growing.

The influence of male dominance in female Anastrepha curvicauda mate selection.

Males of the papaya fruit fly, Anastrepha curvicauda Gerstaecker (former Toxotrypana curvicauda), defend a papaya fruit from rivals and males release their sex pheromone to attract and mate with females and offer them an oviposition site. While some aspects of the biology of A. curvicauda are known, such as its reproductive biology, its sex pheromone, and host selection, there is currently no information on the species mate selection process.

Plant Selection for the Establishment of Push-Pull Strategies for Pathosystem in Morelos, Mexico.

Regulations imposed on the use of chemical insecticides call for the development of environmental-friendly pest management strategies. One of the most effective strategies is the push-pull system, which takes advantage of the behavioral response of the insect to the integration of repellent stimuli; it expels the pest out of the main crop (push), while attracting stimuli (attractants) pull the pest to an alternative crop or trap (pull). The objective of this study was to design a push-pull system to control in maize crops () in Morelos, Mexico.

Mazes to Study the Effects of Spatial Complexity, Predation and Population Density on Mate Finding.

The difficulty to locate mates and overcome predation can hamper species establishment and population maintenance. The effects of sparseness between individuals or the effect of predators on the probability of population growth can be difficult to measure experimentally. For testing hypotheses about population density and predation, we contend that habitat complexity can be simulated using insect mazes of varying mathematical difficulty.

Copitarsia decolora Guenée (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) females avoid larvae competition by detecting larvae damaged plants.

Herbivory insects can discriminate the quality of a host plant for food or oviposition, by detecting the volatile organic compounds (VOC's) released by the plant, however, damaged plants may release a different VOC's profile modifying the insects' response. We tested if the VOC's profile from damaged plants affected the response of Copitarsia decolora as these moths oviposit preferably around undamaged host plants. We assessed the response in wind tunnel conditions of C.

Assessment of (Banks) and (Hagen) as Biological Control Agents of (Pergande) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) on Tomato () under Glasshouse Conditions.

We tested the predatory capacity of newly-hatched or newly-molted (Banks) and (Hagen) larvae after a 24 h fasting period on adults of (Pergande) that were feeding on tomato plants (at vegetative and blooming stage) under glasshouse conditions. We also recorded fruit damage by the thrips. Both spp.

Assessing the Pathogenicity of Two Bacteria Isolated from the Entomopathogenic Nematode against and Some Pest Insects.

The entomopathogenic nematodes are parasites of insects and are associated with mutualist symbiosis enterobacteria of the genus ; these bacteria are lethal to their host insects. MOR03 was isolated from sugarcane soil in Morelos state, Mexico. The molecular identification of the nematode was confirmed using sequences of the ITS1-5.

Behavioral Response of (Heteroptera: Coreidae) to Stimuli Based on Colors and its Aggregation Pheromone.

The leaf-footed bug (Dallas) (Heteroptera: Coreidae) is an important pest in the Americas. However, no preference of colors, sexual behavior nor aggregation pheromone has been reported, which can be used for detection, monitoring, and control purposes. In the laboratory we tested the attractiveness of white, violet, blue, green, yellow, and orange color to nymphs and adults (mated and unmated) and found that most adults and nymphs were attracted to and remained longer on blue and green colored cards than the other colors tested.

With or without pheromone habituation: possible differences between insect orders?

Background: Habituation to sex pheromones is one of the key mechanisms in mating disruption, an insect control tactic. Male moths often show reduced sexual response after pre-exposure to female sex pheromone. Mating disruption is relatively rare in insect orders other than Lepidoptera.

Thigmotaxis Mediates Trail Odour Disruption.

Disruption of foraging using oversupply of ant trail pheromones is a novel pest management application under investigation. It presents an opportunity to investigate the interaction of sensory modalities by removal of one of the modes. Superficially similar to sex pheromone-based mating disruption in moths, ant trail pheromone disruption lacks an equivalent mechanistic understanding of how the ants respond to an oversupply of their trail pheromone.

Spatial analysis of mass trapping: how close is close enough?

Background: The identification of new attractants can present opportunities for developing mass trapping, but standard screening methods are needed to expedite this. We have developed a simple approach based on quantifying trap interference in 4 × 4 trap arrays with different spacings. We discuss results from sex pheromones in Lepidoptera (light brown apple moth, Epiphyas postvittana), Diptera (apple leaf curling midge, Dasineura mali) and Homoptera (citrophilous mealybug, Pseudococcus calceolariae), compared with a kairomone for New Zealand flower thrips (Thrips obscuratus).

Mating behavior of Cnephasia jactatana (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), an important pest of kiwifruit.

Understanding mating behavioral sequence helps us identify the mechanisms of mate assessment and choice, and better evaluate behavior-based pest control strategies. Here we describe the mating behavior of Cnephasia jactatana Walker whose females release a sex pheromone, and determine the effect of male mating status on reproductive success. The mating sequence starts when males approach females and display courtship behavior with antennation and fanning wings.

First record of Diachasmimorpha longicaudata (Ashmead) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) attacking Toxotrypana curvicauda Gerstaecker (Diptera: Tephritidae).

A new host record is reported for the braconid wasp Diachasmimorpha longicaudata (Ashmead) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), parasitizing papaya fruit fly larvae Toxotrypana curvicauda Gerstaecker (Diptera: Tephritidae) in México.

Effect of mating delay on the reproductive performance of Cnephasia jactatana (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae).

The leafroller species, Cnephasia jactatana Walker, is an important pest of kiwifruit in New Zealand. The effect of mating delay on its reproductive performance was investigated in the laboratory to provide information for the development of pheromonal pest control measures such as mating disruption. Reproductive performance of both sexes is adversely affected by mating delay.