High Survivorship of First-Generation Monarch Butterfly Eggs to Third Instar Associated with a Diverse Arthropod Community.

Based on surveys of winter roost sites, the eastern migratory population of the monarch butterfly () in North America appears to have declined in the last 20 years and this has prompted the implementation of numerous conservation strategies. However, there is little information on the survivorship of first-generation monarchs in the core area of occupancy in Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana where overwinter population recovery begins. The purpose of this study was to determine the survivorship of first-generation eggs to third instars at a site in north Texas and to evaluate host plant arthropods for their effect on survivorship.

The incidence of American swallow bugs (Oeciacus vicarius) in barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) colonies in northeast Texas.

The American swallow bug (Oeciacus vicarius) is an important ectoparasite of cliff swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) and is known to harbor several types of arbovirus. A recent study in northeast Texas suggested that O. vicarius might occur in barn swallows (Hirundo rustica) at rates much higher than previously thought.