An annotated checklist with a key to the genera of Australian psyllids (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Psylloidea).

The diversity of the psyllids of Australia reflects that of the plants of this country, with large radiations and ecological dominance of Myrtaceae (e.g., Eucalyptus), Fabaceae (e.

Seasonal Phenology and Climate Associated Feeding Activity of Introduced in Southeast Australia.

Invasive insects pose an increasing risk to global agriculture, environmental stability, and public health. Giant pine scale (GPS), Gennadius (Hemiptera: Marchalinidae), is a phloem feeding scale insect endemic to the Eastern Mediterranean Basin, where it primarily feeds on and other Pinaceae. In 2014, GPS was detected in the southeast of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, infesting the novel host .

Precision Monitoring of Honey Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Activity and Pollen Diversity during Pollination to Evaluate Colony Health.

Certain crops depend upon pollination services for fruit set, and, of these, almonds are of high value for Australia. Stressors, such as diseases, parasites, pesticides, and nutrition, can contribute to honey bee L. colony decline, thereby reducing bee activity and pollination efficiency.

The functional roles of psyllid abundance and assemblage on bird-associated forest defoliation.

Fluctuations in the abundance of insect herbivores and the severity of damage they cause to their hosts are key factors affecting tree health and trophic interactions. Bell miner associated dieback (BMAD) is a trophic cascade involving eucalypt trees, psyllids and bell miners. Bell miners are a territorial species of bird that reduce insectivorous bird diversity, thereby increasing psyllid abundances.

Divergence in floral scent and morphology, but not thermogenic traits, associated with pollinator shift in two brood-site-mimicking Typhonium (Araceae) species.

Background: Flowers which imitate insect oviposition sites probably represent the most widespread form of floral mimicry, exhibit the most diverse floral signals and are visited by two of the most speciose and advanced taxa of insect - beetles and flies. Detailed comparative studies on brood-site mimics pollinated exclusively by each of these insect orders are lacking, limiting our understanding of floral trait adaptation to different pollinator groups in these deceptive systems.

Methods: Two closely related and apparent brood-site mimics, Typhonium angustilobum and T.

Not Led by the Nose: Volatiles from Undamaged Hosts Do Not Influence Psyllid Orientation.

Psyllids (Hemiptera: Psylloidea) are small sucking insects with high host plant specificity. Despite the primitive olfactory system of psyllids, some species have been suggested to rely on host plant volatiles (HPVs) for seasonal migration between summer deciduous hosts and winter coniferous hosts. Similarly, enhanced attraction of psyllid vectors has been observed as a result of the manipulation of host odors by plant pathogens.

Does foliage metal accumulation influence plant-insect interactions? A field study of two sympatric tree metallophytes.

Gossia (Myrtaceae) is a highly restricted tree genus most speciose in New Caledonia and eastern Australia. The latter group accumulates above-normal foliar manganese (Mn) concentrations, with some individuals exhibiting the rare Mn-hyperaccumulative trait. Whether foliar metals contribute to chemical defence has been addressed via numerous feeding experiments and very few field studies.

Unravelling mummies: cryptic diversity, host specificity, trophic and coevolutionary interactions in psyllid - parasitoid food webs.

Background: Parasitoids are hyperdiverse and can contain morphologically and functionally cryptic species, making them challenging to study. Parasitoid speciation can arise from specialisation on niches or diverging hosts. However, which process dominates is unclear because cospeciation across multiple parasitoid and host species has rarely been tested.

The Long and the Short of Mate Attraction in a Psylloid: do Semiochemicals Mediate Mating in Aacanthocnema dobsoni Froggatt?

Mating is preceded by a series of interdependent events that can be broadly categorized into searching and courtship. Long-range signals convey species- and sex-specific information during searching, while short-range signals provide information specific to individuals during courtship. Studies have shown that cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) can be used for mate recognition in addition to protecting insects from desiccation.

Semiochemical and Vibrational Cues and Signals Mediating Mate Finding and Courtship in Psylloidea (Hemiptera): A Synthesis.

Mate finding and courtship involve complex interactions that require close coordination between individuals of the opposite gender. Well-organized signalling systems, sometimes involving a combination of signal modalities, are required to convey species-specific and individual information to members of the opposite gender. Previous studies of psyllids have focused on single-signal modalities and have largely ignored the potentially interdependent nature of different types of signals.

Shoot feeding as a nutrient acquisition strategy in free-living psylloids.

Shoot feeding by sucking insects is accepted as an adaptation to feeding where plant nutrients are most concentrated and/or of higher quality. Psylloids are an important hemipteran taxon, most of which are free-living and comprise many shoot feeding species, whose nutritional ecology has been largely ignored. I conducted a longitudinal study of Ctenarytaina eucalypti (Maskell) and C.

Specificity and sensitivity of plant odor-detecting olfactory sensory neurons in Ctenarytaina eucalypti (Sternorrhyncha: Psyllidae).

The blue gum psyllid, Ctenarytaina eucalypti (Sternorrhyncha: Psyllidae), is an economic threat to Eucalyptus subgenus Symphyomyrtus plantations worldwide. To date, no generally applicable control method is available and the potential for semiochemical-based monitoring or control methods has not yet been investigated. Hence, we conducted the first study on the olfactory sense of C.

Anoeconeossa bundoorensis sp. n., a new psyllid (Hemiptera: Psylloidea) from Eucalyptus camaldulensis (Myrtaceae) from Southeast Australia.

Anoeconeossa bundoorensis sp. n. is described from Eucalyptus camaldulensis (Myrtaceae) from southern Victoria in Southeast Australia.

Ctenarytaina bipartita sp. n. (Hemiptera, Psylloidea), a new eucalypt psyllid from Southeast Australia.

Ctenarytaina bipartita sp.n., associated with Eucalyptus kitsoniana and E.

Challenges to assessing connectivity between massive populations of the Australian plague locust.

Linking demographic and genetic dispersal measures is of fundamental importance for movement ecology and evolution. However, such integration can be difficult, particularly for highly fecund species that are often the target of management decisions guided by an understanding of population movement. Here, we present an example of how the influence of large population sizes can preclude genetic approaches from assessing demographic population structuring, even at a continental scale.

Native and exotic pests of eucalyptus: a worldwide perspective.

Eucalyptus species, native to Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and New Guinea, are the most widely planted hardwood timber species in the world. The trees, moved around the globe as seeds, escaped the diverse community of herbivores found in their native range. However, a number of herbivore species from the native range of eucalypts have invaded many Eucalyptus-growing regions in North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America in the last 30 years.

Causes and consequences of host expansion by Mnesampela privata.

The autumn gum moth, Mnesampela privata, utilizes several species of Eucalyptus planted outside regions of endemism within Australia. We investigated whether foliar monoterpene composition influenced oviposition in the field on the natural primary host (E. globulus) and a novel host (E.

Monoterpenes and epicuticular waxes help female autumn gum moth differentiate between waxy and glossy Eucalyptus and leaves of different ages.

The autumn gum moth, Mnesampela privata, is a native Australian species whose preferred host, Eucalyptus globulus (Myrtaceae), is an aromatic evergreen tree that has long-lived waxy leaves during the juvenile phase of growth. We compared the behavioral and antennal responses of female moths to whole leaves (new and old) and samples of foliar chemicals (from new and old leaves) from a typical E. globulus subsp.