Aphid Species and Feeding Location on Canola Influences the Impact of Glucosinolates on a Native Lady Beetle Predator.

Aphids that attack canola (Brassica napus L.) exhibit feeding preferences for different parts of canola plants, which may be associated with brassica-specific glucosinolates. However, this idea remains untested.

Parasitism of Adult Pentatomidae by Tachinidae in Soybean in the North Central Region of the United States.

Stink bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) are agricultural pests of increasing significance in the North Central Region of the United States, posing a threat to major crops such as soybean. Biological control can reduce the need for insecticides to manage these pests, but the parasitism of stink bugs by Tachinidae (Diptera) is poorly characterized in this region. The objective of this study was to evaluate the rate of parasitism of stink bugs by tachinids over 2 yr from nine states across the North Central Region.

Effect of Temperature on Plant Resistance to Arthropod Pests.

Temperature has a strong influence on the development, survival, and fecundity of herbivorous arthropods, and it plays a key role in regulating the growth and development of their host plants. In addition, temperature affects the production of plant secondary chemicals as well as structural characteristics used for defense against herbivores. Thus, temperature has potentially important implications for host plant resistance.

Remote Sensing Data to Detect Hessian Fly Infestation in Commercial Wheat Fields.

Remote sensing data that are efficiently used in ecological research and management are seldom used to study insect pest infestations in agricultural ecosystems. Here, we used multispectral satellite and aircraft data to evaluate the relationship between normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and Hessian fly (Mayetiola destructor) infestation in commercial winter wheat (Triticum aestivum) fields in Kansas, USA. We used visible and near-infrared data from each aerial platform to develop a series of NDVI maps for multiple fields for most of the winter wheat growing season.

Incorporating biological control into IPM decision making.

Of the many ways biological control can be incorporated into Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs, natural enemy thresholds are arguably most easily adopted by stakeholders. Integration of natural enemy thresholds into IPM programs requires ecological and cost/benefit crop production data, threshold model validation, and an understanding of the socioeconomic factors that influence stakeholder decisions about biological control. These thresholds are more likely to be utilized by stakeholders when integrated into dynamic web-based IPM decision support systems that summarize pest management data and push site-specific biological control management recommendations to decision-makers.

Hessian Fly (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) Attraction to Different Wavelengths and Intensities of Light-Emitting Diodes in the Laboratory.

Monitoring of Hessian fly, Mayetiola destructor (Say) (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), populations is important for targeted management methods. Also, effectiveness of monitoring efforts is critical to surveillance efforts in regions of the world without this pest. Current Hessian fly monitoring traps rely purely on a single attractant, the female sex pheromone, which is ineffective for monitoring females in the population.

The Effect of Temperature and Host Plant Resistance on Population Growth of the Soybean Aphid Biotype 1 (Hemiptera: Aphididae).

A laboratory experiment was conducted to evaluate direct and indirect effects of temperature on demographic traits and population growth of biotype 1 of the soybean aphid, Aphis glycines Matsumura. Our objectives were to better understand how temperature influences the expression of host plant resistance, quantify the individual and interactive effects of plant resistance and temperature on soybean aphid population growth, and generate thermal constants for predicting temperature-dependent development on both susceptible and resistant soybeans. To assess indirect (plant-mediated) effects, soybean aphids were reared under a range of temperatures (15-30 °C) on soybean seedlings from a line expressing a Rag1 gene for resistance, and life history traits were quantified and compared to those obtained for soybean aphids on a susceptible soybean line.

Sorghum seed maturity affects the weight and feeding duration of immature corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea, and fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda, in the laboratory.

Corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea Boddie (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), and fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda J.E. Smith, are occasional pests in sorghum, Sorghum bicolor L.

Within-plant bottom-up effects mediate non-consumptive impacts of top-down control of soybean aphids.

There is increasing evidence that top-down controls have strong non-consumptive effects on herbivore populations. However, little is known about how these non-consumptive effects relate to bottom-up influences. Using a series of field trials, we tested how changes in top-down and bottom-up controls at the within-plant scale interact to increase herbivore suppression.

Development and validation of node-based sample units for estimating soybean aphid (Hemiptera: Aphididae) densities in field cage experiments.

The soybean aphid, Aphis glycines Matsumura (Hemiptera: Aphididae), is currently the most important insect threat to soybean, Clycine max (L.) Merr., production in the North Central United States.