Spatial distribution and fixed-precision sequential sampling plans for (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) adults in primocane raspberry: influence of foliar insecticides.

The Japanese beetle, Newman (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), an invasive species from northern Japan, was first detected in Minnesota in 1968. According to fruit growers and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, population size and feeding damage has been an increasing concern since 2010. Based on trap-catch data, populations have recently exceeded 4,000 beetles/trap/week during July-August near raspberry fields, and can increase by an order of magnitude within 7-10 days.

Extended Sentinel Monitoring of Resistance to Cry and Vip3Aa Toxins in Bt Sweet Corn: Assessing Changes in Phenotypic and Allele Frequencies of Resistance.

Transgenic corn and cotton that produce Cry and Vip3Aa toxins derived from (Bt) are widely planted in the United States to control lepidopteran pests. The sustainability of these Bt crops is threatened because the corn earworm/bollworm, (Boddie), is evolving a resistance to these toxins. Using Bt sweet corn as a sentinel plant to monitor the evolution of resistance, collaborators established 146 trials in twenty-five states and five Canadian provinces during 2020-2022.

A degree-day model for forecasting adult phenology of (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) in a temperate climate.

Japanese beetle, (Newman), was first detected in the United States in New Jersey in 1916. The beetle gradually spread to the Midwest U.S.

Exclusion and Repulsion of (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) Using Selected Coverings on High Tunnel Structures for Primocane Red Raspberry.

In temperate climates, there has been an increasing interest by fruit growers to implement the use of high tunnels, using a variety of coverings, to extend the season for fruit production. High tunnels also provide an opportunity to enhance insect pest management, via physical exclusion, and thus support reductions in insecticide use. Due to increasing pest pressure by the Japanese beetle, Popillia japonica Newman, in Midwest U.

HUGE pipeline to measure temporal genetic variation in populations for genetic biocontrol applications.

Understanding the fine-scale genome sequence diversity that exists within natural populations is important for developing models of species migration, temporal stability, and range expansion. For invasive species, agricultural pests, and disease vectors, sequence diversity at specific loci in the genome can impact the efficacy of next-generation genetic biocontrol strategies. Here we describe a pipeline for haplotype-resolution genetic variant discovery and quantification from thousands of Spotted Wing Drosophila (, SWD) isolated at two field sites in the North-Central United States (Minnesota) across two seasons.

Pest population dynamics are related to a continental overwintering gradient.

Overwintering success is an important determinant of arthropod populations that must be considered as climate change continues to influence the spatiotemporal population dynamics of agricultural pests. Using a long-term monitoring database and biologically relevant overwintering zones, we modeled the annual and seasonal population dynamics of a common pest, (Boddie), based on three overwintering suitability zones throughout North America using four decades of soil temperatures: the southern range (able to persist through winter), transitional zone (uncertain overwintering survivorship), and northern limits (unable to survive winter). Our model indicates population dynamics are hierarchically structured with continental-level effects that are partitioned into three geographic zones.

Evaluating invasion risk and population dynamics of the brown marmorated stink bug across the contiguous United States.

Background: Invasive species threaten the productivity and stability of natural and managed ecosystems. Predicting the spread of invaders, which can aid in early mitigation efforts, is a major challenge, especially in the face of climate change. While ecological niche models are effective tools to assess habitat suitability for invaders, such models have rarely been created for invasive pest species with rapidly expanding ranges.

Impact of Adult (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) Foliar Feeding Injury on Fruit Yield and Quality of a Temperate, Cold-Hardy Wine Grape, 'Frontenac'.

(Newman), is a highly polyphagous, invasive species, first recorded in the U.S. in 1916, and detected in Minnesota in the late 1960s.

Optimizing the Use of Semiochemical-Based Traps for Efficient Monitoring of Popillia japonica (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae): Validation of a Volumetric Approach.

Japanese beetle, Popillia japonica Newman, is an invasive insect, native to Japan. The species was detected in the United States in New Jersey in 1916, and then first confirmed in Minnesota in 1968. Since their arrival, P.

Novel real-time PCR based assays for differentiating fall armyworm strains using four single nucleotide polymorphisms.

The fall armyworm, is a polyphagous global pest with a preference for gramineous crops such as corn, sorghum and pasture grasses. This species is comprised of two morphologically identical but genetically distinct host strains known as the corn and rice strains, which can complicate pest management approaches. Two molecular markers are commonly used to differentiate between strains, however, discordance between these markers can lead to inconclusive strain identification.

Presence-Absence Sampling Plans for Stink Bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) in the Midwest Region of the United States.

Stink bugs represent an increasing risk to soybean production in the Midwest region of the United States. The current sampling protocol for stink bugs in this region is tailored for population density estimation and thus is more relevant to research purposes. A practical decision-making framework with more efficient sampling effort for management of herbivorous stink bugs is needed.

Sweet Corn Sentinel Monitoring for Lepidopteran Field-Evolved Resistance to Bt Toxins.

As part of an insect resistance management plan to preserve Bt transgenic technology, annual monitoring of target pests is mandated to detect susceptibility changes to Bt toxins. Currently Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) monitoring involves investigating unexpected injury in Bt crop fields and collecting larvae from non-Bt host plants for laboratory diet bioassays to determine mortality responses to diagnostic concentrations of Bt toxins. To date, this monitoring approach has not detected any significant change from the known range of baseline susceptibility to Bt toxins, yet practical field-evolved resistance in H.

Risk of Cold-Hardy Apple Cultivars for Injury From the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae).

An invasive species, the brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys (Stål) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), has emerged as a serious pest of orchard crops in the United States with the highest economic losses to date in Mid-Atlantic apple, Malus domestica Borkh. (Rosales: Rosaceae). If populations continue to grow and spread in the Midwest, H.

Season-Long Monitoring of the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) Throughout the United States Using Commercially Available Traps and Lures.

Reliable monitoring of the invasive Halyomorpha halys abundance, phenology and geographic distribution is critical for its management. Halyomorpha halys adult and nymphal captures on clear sticky traps and in black pyramid traps were compared in 18 states across the Great Lakes, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Pacific Northwest and Western regions of the United States. Traps were baited with commercial lures containing the H.

Evaluation of Exclusion Netting for Spotted-Wing Drosophila (Diptera: Drosophilidae) Management in Minnesota Wine Grapes.

Spotted-wing drosophila, Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura), an economically damaging invasive species of numerous fruit crops, was first detected in Minnesota in 2012. High fecundity, and short generation times facilitated a rapid rise in the global pest status of D. suzukii, particularly in North America and Europe.

Quantifying Plant Soluble Protein and Digestible Carbohydrate Content, Using Corn (Zea mays) As an Exemplar.

Elemental data are commonly used to infer plant quality as a resource to herbivores. However, the ubiquity of carbon in biomolecules, the presence of nitrogen-containing plant defensive compounds, and variation in species-specific correlations between nitrogen and plant protein content all limit the accuracy of these inferences. Additionally, research focused on plant and/or herbivore physiology require a level of accuracy that is not achieved using generalized correlations.

Effects of Diapause on Halyomorpha halys (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) Cold Tolerance.

Diapause and cold tolerance can profoundly affect the distribution and activity of temperate insects. Halyomorpha halys (Stål) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), an alien invasive species from Asia, enters a winter dormancy in response to environmental cues. We investigated the nature of this dormancy and its effects on H.

Predator Preference for Bt-Fed Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Prey: Implications for Insect Resistance Management in Bt Maize Seed Blends.

Understanding indirect, trophic-level effects of genetically engineered plants, expressing insecticidal proteins derived from the bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), is essential to the ecological risk assessment process. In this study, we examine potential indirect, trophic-level effects of Bt-sensitive prey using the predator, Harmonia axyridis (Pallas), feeding upon Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E.

Bt Maize Seed Mixtures for Helicoverpa zea (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae): Larval Movement, Development, and Survival on Non-transgenic Maize.

In 2012 and 2013, field trials were conducted near Rosemount, MN, to assess the movement and development of Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) larvae on non-Bt refuge corn plants within a seed mixture of non-Bt and Bt corn. The Bt corn hybrid expressed three Bt toxins-Cry1Ab, Cry1F, and Vip3A. As the use of seed mixtures for insect resistance management (IRM) continues to be implemented, it is necessary to further characterize how this IRM approach impacts resistance development in ear-feeding Lepidopteran pests.

Multi-state trials of Bt sweet corn varieties for control of the corn earworm (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae).

Field tests in 2010-2011 were performed in New York, Minnesota, Maryland, Ohio, and Georgia to compare Bt sweet corn lines expressing Cry1A.105 + Cry2Ab2 and Cry1Ab with their non-Bt isolines, with and without the use of foliar insecticides. The primary insect pest in all locations during the trial years was Heliocoverpa zea (Boddie), which is becoming the most serious insect pest of sweet corn in the United States.

Bt pollen dispersal and Bt kernel mosaics: integrity of non-Bt refugia for lepidopteran resistance management in maize.

Field trials were conducted at Rosemount, MN in 2009 and 2010, to measure pollen movement from Bt corn to adjacent blocks of non-Bt refuge corn. As the use of Bt corn hybrids continues to increase in the United States, and new insect resistance management (IRM) plans are implemented, it is necessary to measure the efficacy of these IRM plans. In Minnesota, the primary lepidopteran pests of corn include the European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis (Hübner) and corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie).

Harmonia axyridis (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) exhibits no preference between Bt and non-Bt maize fed Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae).

A recent shift in managing insect resistance to genetically engineered (GE) maize consists of mixing non-GE seed with GE seed known as "refuge in a bag", which increases the likelihood of predators encountering both prey fed Bt and prey fed non-Bt maize. We therefore conducted laboratory choice-test feeding studies to determine if a predator, Harmonia axyridis, shows any preference between prey fed Bt and non-Bt maize leaves. The prey species was Spodoptera frugiperda, which were fed Bt maize (MON-810), expressing the single Cry1Ab protein, or non-Bt maize.

Cold hardiness of Helicoverpa zea (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) pupae.

An insect's cold hardiness affects its potential to overwinter and outbreak in different geographic regions. In this study, we characterized the response of Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) pupae to low temperatures by using controlled laboratory measurements of supercooling point (SCP), lower lethal temperature (LT(50)), and lower lethal time (LLTime). The impact of diapause, acclimation, and sex on the cold hardiness of the pupae also were evaluated.

Cost-effective binomial sequential sampling of western bean cutworm, Striacosta albicosta (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), egg masses in corn.

Striacosta albicosta (Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is a native pest of dry beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) and corn (Zea mays L.).