Wolbachia infection modifies phloem feeding behavior but not plant virus transmission by a hemipteran host.

Wolbachia-infected and uninfected subpopulations of beet leafhoppers, Circulifer tenellus (Baker) (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), co-occur in the Columbia Basin region of Washington and Oregon. While facultative endosymbionts such as Hamiltonella defensa have demonstrably altered feeding/probing behavior in hemipteran hosts, the behavioral phenotypes conferred by Wolbachia to its insect hosts, including feeding/probing, are largely understudied. We studied the feeding/probing behavior of beet leafhoppers with and without Wolbachia using electropenetrography, along with corresponding inoculation rates of beet curly top virus, a phloem-limited plant pathogen vectored by beet leafhoppers.

Bacterial Endosymbionts Identified From Leafhopper (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) Vectors of Phytoplasmas.

Insects often harbor bacterial endosymbionts that provide them with nutritional benefit or with protection against natural enemies, plant defenses, insecticides, and abiotic stresses. Certain endosymbionts may also alter acquisition and transmission of plant pathogens by insect vectors. We identified bacterial endosymbionts from four leafhopper vectors (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) of 'Candidatus Phytoplasma' species by direct sequencing 16S rDNA and confirmed endosymbiont presence and identity by species-specific conventional PCR.

The Venom Compound N-(3-methylbutyl)acetamide Attracts Several Polistes (Fuscopolistes) Species (Hymenoptera: Vespidae).

Polistes paper wasps in the Fuscopolistes subgenus (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) can be serious pests when they swarm at tall man-made structures. Chemical attractants may be useful to trap such paper wasps when they achieve pest status. Polistes venom has been shown to elicit a variety of behavioral responses in congeneric wasps, making it a source for potential chemical attractants.