Cherry damage and the spatial distribution of European earwigs, (Forficula auricularia L.) in sweet cherry trees.

Background: The European earwig, Forficula auricularia is an invasive insect pest found in many temperate regions of the world. Despite being well known predators, earwigs are considered pests in sweet cherry though this has never been empirically tested. Our aim was to quantify the relationship between damaged cherry fruit and earwig population size, cherry bunch size and earwig distribution in cherry tree canopies in the cherry varieties Ron's Seedling, Lewis, Sweet Georgia, and Lapin.

It Is Not All About Being Sweet: Differences in Floral Traits and Insect Visitation among Hybrid Carrot Cultivars.

Cytoplasmically male-sterile (CMS) carrot cultivars suffer from low pollination rates. In this study, insect visitation varied more than eightfold between 17 CMS carrot cultivars in a field-based cultivar evaluation trial. The visitation rates of honey bees, nectar scarabs, muscoid flies, and wasps each significantly differed among these cultivars.

Sampling, extraction and incidence of redberry mites (Acalitus essigi) on blackberries in Australia.

'Redberry disease' on blackberries is hypothesised to be caused by the redberry mite (RBM), Acalitus essigi (Hassan), and results in uneven ripening of blackberry drupelets, which become bright red, hard and inedible. This damage has been reported to cause significant crop losses in commercial blackberry production in most regions where commercial blackberries are grown. However, RBM are difficult to detect and manage due to their tiny body size.

Limited Cross Plant Movement and Non-Crop Preferences Reduce the Efficiency of Honey Bees as Pollinators of Hybrid Carrot Seed Crops.

Pollination rates in hybrid carrot crops remain limited after introduction of honey bee hives. In this study, honey bee foraging behaviour was observed in commercial hybrid carrot seed crops. Significantly more visits were made to male-fertile (MF) rather than cytoplasmically male-sterile (CMS) flowers.

When taxonomy and biological control researchers unite: Species delimitation of Eadya parasitoids (Braconidae) and consequences for classical biological control of invasive paropsine pests of Eucalyptus.

The invasive eucalyptus tortoise beetle, Paropsis charybdis, defoliates plantations of Eucalyptus nitens in New Zealand. Recent efforts to identify host specific biological control agents (parasitoids) from Tasmania, Australia, have focused on the larval parasitoid wasp, Eadya paropsidis (Braconidae), first described in 1978. In Tasmania, Eadya has been reared from Paropsisterna agricola (genus abbreviated Pst.

Frequent Insect Visitors Are Not Always Pollen Carriers in Hybrid Carrot Pollination.

Insect crop visitations do not necessarily translate to carriage or transfer of pollen. To evaluate the potential of the various insects visiting hybrid carrot flowers to facilitate pollen transfer, this study examines insect visitation rates to hybrid carrot seed crops in relation to weather, time of day and season, pollen carrying capacity, inter-row movement, and visitation frequency to male-fertile and male-sterile umbels. The highest pollen loads were carried by nectar scarabs, honey bees, and the hover fly (Linnaeus).

Mosquito distribution in a saltmarsh: determinants of eggs in a variable environment.

Two saltmarsh mosquitoes dominate the transmission of Ross River virus (RRV, Togoviridae: Alphavirus), one of Australia's most prominent mosquito-borne diseases. Ecologically, saltmarshes vary in their structure, including habitat types, hydrological regimes, and diversity of aquatic fauna, all of which drive mosquito oviposition behavior. Understanding the distribution of vector mosquitoes within saltmarshes can inform early warning systems, surveillance, and management of vector populations.

Resource Limitation, Controphic Ostracod Density and Larval Mosquito Development.

Aquatic environments can be restricted with the amount of available food resources especially with changes to both abiotic and biotic conditions. Mosquito larvae, in particular, are sensitive to changes in food resources. Resource limitation through inter-, and intra-specific competition among mosquitoes are known to affect both their development and survival.

Investigating the potential of selected natural compounds to increase the potency of pyrethrum against houseflies Musca domestica (Diptera: Muscidae).

Background: A study was undertaken to determine the efficacy of seven natural compounds compared with piperonyl butoxide (PBO) in synergising pyrethrum, with the intention of formulating an effective natural synergist with pyrethrum for use in the organic crop market.

Results: Discriminating dose bioassays showed PBO to be significantly more effective at synergising pyrethrum in houseflies than the seven natural compounds tested, causing 100% mortality in insecticide-susceptible WHO and resistant 381zb strains of housefly. The most effective natural synergists against WHO houseflies were dillapiole oil, grapefruit oil and parsley seed oil, with 59, 50 and 41% mortality respectively, compared with 18% mortality with unsynergised pyrethrum.

Identification, synthesis and field testing of (3Z,6Z,9Z)-3,6,9-henicosatriene, a second bioactive component of the sex pheromone of the autumn gum moth, Mnesampela privata.

The sex pheromone of Mnesampela privata, an endemic pest of Eucalyptus plantations in Australia, was previously identified as a single bioactive compound, (3Z,6Z,9Z)-3,6,9-nonadecatriene (C19 triene). Initial field testing of lures containing 1 mg, 5 mg or 10 mg of C19 triene (>98% purity) caught no or very few male M. privata.

Pre-adult development of Phytoseiulus persimilis on diets of Tetranychus urticae and Tetranychus lintearius: implications for the biological control of Ulex europaeus.

Predation by the phytoseiid mite, Phytoseiulus persimilis, is considered a major threat to the effectiveness of biological control of gorse, Ulex europaeus, using Tetranychus lintearius. To assess this threat and to determine if the impact of P. persimilis on T.

Hearing and frequency dependence of auditory interneurons in the parasitoid fly Homotrixa alleni (Tachinidae: Ormiini).

The parasitoid tachinid fly Homotrixa alleni detects its hosts by their acoustic signals. The tympanal organ of the fly is located at the prothorax and contains scolopidial sensory units of different size and orientation. The tympanal membrane vibrates in the frequency range of approximately 4-35 kHz, which is also reflected in the hearing threshold measured at the neck connective.

Fluctuating asymmetry, call structure and the risk of attack from phonotactic parasitoids in the bushcricket Sciarasaga quadrata (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae).

The acoustically orienting parasitoid Homotrixa alleni (Diptera: Tachinidae) is a significant mortality factor of calling male Sciarasaga quadrata (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae), with less than 10% of males escaping parasitism within the duration of the calling season. This study examined fluctuating asymmetry (FA) (small, random deviations from perfect symmetry) in five morphological traits in S. quadrata and its relation to the survival of calling males in the field.