Influence of trap type on the captures of Lymantria dispar L. (Lepidoptera: Erebidae): trials from different European countries.

The spongy moth, Lymantria dispar L. (Lepidoptera: Eribidae), is a serious pest of deciduous forests and causes widespread defoliation. Despite this, few studies have evaluated the wide-ranging surveillance of adult male L.

(L.) (Lepidoptera: Erebidae): Current Status of Biology, Ecology, and Management in Europe with Notes from North America.

The European Spongy moth, Lymantria dispar (L.) (Lepidoptera: Erebidae), is an abundant species found in oak woods in Central and Southern Europe, the Near East, and North Africa and is an important economic pest. It is a voracious eater and can completely defoliate entire trees; repeated severe defoliation can add to other stresses, such as weather extremes or human activities.

Survey of Natural Enemies of the Invasive Boxwood Moth in Southwestern Mediterranean Europe and Biocontrol Potential of a Native (Bals.-Criv.) Vuill. Strain.

(Lepidoptera: Crambidae), a species native to East Asia, has been especially devastating in the Mediterranean region and Catalonia, northeast Spain, where is an essential component of the natural forest. As an invasive species, the lack of biotic mortality factors in the arrival region has been one of the main factors allowing its expansion. Therefore, this study aimed to collect and identify possible indigenous natural enemies adapting to the new species in the boxwood of the southwest Mediterranean region.

Parental effects of Bt toxin and vitamin A on Helicoverpa armigera.

The increase in the area cultivated with vitamin-enriched transgenic crops producing Bt toxin raises the question of whether the addition of vitamins will in any way mitigates the effect of the toxin on the phytophagous insects that feed on those crops. On the other hand, the parental effect that feeding on these enriched transgenic crops may have on the offspring of the phytophagous that survive on them is not well known. In this work, the effect of vitamin A (β-carotene) addition to diets with or without Bt toxin on Helicoverpa armigera larvae and their offspring was determined.

Fitness Costs of Two Maize Lepidopteran Pests Fed on (Bt) Diets Enriched with Vitamins A and C.

Serious malnutrition problems occur in developing countries where people's diets are mainly based on staple crops. To alleviate this, high-production crops are being developed that are better adapted to climate change, enriched in micronutrients and vitamins, or resistant to pests. In some cases, new varieties have been developed with several of the characteristics mentioned above, such as biofortified and pest-resistant crops.

β-carotene and Bacillus thuringiensis insecticidal protein differentially modulate feeding behaviour, mortality and physiology of European corn borer (Ostrinia nubilalis).

Maize with enhanced β-carotene production was engineered to counteract pervasive vitamin A deficiency in developing countries. Second-generation biofortified crops are being developed with additional traits that confer pest resistance. These include crops that can produce Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner (Bt) insecticidal proteins.

Carotenoids moderate the effectiveness of a Bt gene against the European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis.

We assessed the effectiveness of a biofortified maize line (4BtxHC) which accumulates high levels of antioxidant carotenoids that also expressed the insecticidal Cry1Ac Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) gene against the European corn borer Ostrinia nubilalis. This line had been previously engineered to accumulate carotenoids specifically in the seed endosperm, whereas the Bt gene was expressed constitutively. The concentrations of Bt toxin (Cry 1Ac) in the leaves of the 4Bt and 4BtxHC lines were not significantly different at 47±6 μg/g of fresh weight (FW); neither were they in the kernels of both lines (35±3 μg/g FW).

Do Sesamia nonagrioides (Lepidoptera; Noctuidae) gravid females discriminate between Bt or multivitamin corn varieties? Role of olfactory and visual cues.

The Mediterranean corn borer, Sesamia nonagrioides Lefèbvre, is a key pest of corn and a main target of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) corn in Northeast Spain. Trends for future biotechnology crops indicate that Bt, non-Bt, and stacked corn varieties with metabolic pathways for vitamin-increased traits could coexist in same region. Knowledge of the oviposition response of gravid females of S.

Response of last instar Helicoverpa armígera larvae to Bt toxin ingestion: changes in the development and in the CYP6AE14, CYP6B2 and CYP9A12 gene expression.

Bt crops are able to produce Cry proteins, which were originally present in Bacillus thuringiensis bacteria. Although Bt maize is very efficient against corn borers, Spanish crops are also attacked by the earworm H. armigera, which is less susceptible to Bt maize.

Comparative analysis of hemolymph proteome maps in diapausing and non-diapausing larvae of Sesamia nonagrioides.

Background: Sesamia nonagrioides is a noctuid that feeds on maize, sugar cane and sorghum in North Africa and Southern Europe. Larvae reared under long day conditions pupate after 5 or 6 larval instars, whereas larvae reared under short day conditions enter diapause and undergo up to 12 molts before dying or pupating. To better understand the mechanism of larval development and diapause, we identified proteins with different expressions in the sixth instar of diapausing and non-diapausing larvae.

UHPLC-MS analysis of juvenile hormone II in Mediterranean corn borer (Sesamia nonagrioides) hemolymph using various ionization techniques.

The juvenile hormones (JHs) have been considered the most versatile hormones in the animal kingdom. JH-II is the most abundant JH in Sesamia nonagrioides, important maize pests in the Mediterranean basin. This study compared the sensitivities and matrix effects of four ionization modes on analyzing JH-II in S.

Modification of hormonal balance in larvae of the corn borer Sesamia nonagrioides (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) due to sublethal Bacillus thuringiensis protein ingestion.

Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) corn, Zea mays L., is highly efficient against the corn borer Sesamia nonagrioides (Lefèbvre) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) when the larvae feed only on the transgenic plants. However, when they feed on Bt leaves during only part of their development, thus ingesting sublethal amounts of Bt toxins, some larvae survive.

Control of larval-pupal-adult molt in the moth Sesamia nonagrioides by juvenile hormone and ecdysteroids.

Sesamia nonagrioides (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) larvae reared under long day (LD; 16L:8D) conditions pupate after 5 or 6 larval instars, whereas under short day (SD; 12L:12D) conditions they undergo up to 12 additional molts before pupating. This extended period of repeated molting is maintained by high levels of juvenile hormone (JH). Previous work demonstrated that both LD and SD larvae decapitated in the 6th instar pupate but further development is halted.

Gene encoding the prothoracicotropic hormone of a moth is expressed in the brain and gut.

The molts of lepidopteran insects are typically controlled by the brain-derived prothoracicotropic hormone (PTTH) that stimulates ecdysteroidogenesis in the prothoracic glands (PGs). We report here that the larvae and pupae of the moth Sesamia nonagrioides can molt without brain (PGs must be present), suggesting that there might be a secondary source of PTTH. We addressed this issue by characterizing spatial and temporal expression patterns of the PTTH gene.

Brain-independent development in the moth Sesamia nonagrioides.

The caterpillars of Sesamia nonagrioides developing under long-day (LD) photoperiod pupate in the 5th or 6th instar whereas under short day (SD) conditions they enter diapause and undergo several extra larval molts. The diapause is terminated within 1-3 instars upon transfer of SD larvae to the LD conditions. Brain removal from the 6th instar larvae promotes pupation followed by imaginal development; however, one third of the SD larvae and 12% of the LD larvae debrained at the start of the instar first undergo 1-2 larval molts.

Response of Mythimna unipuncta males to components of the Sesamia nonagrioides pheromone.

Several sympatric lepidopteran species feed on maize plants, and the different components of their species-specific female sex pheromones may play a role in attracting conspecifics and/or deter heterospecific males. In this study, we analyzed the content of Mythimna unipuncta pheromone glands and tested the response of males to components of their own pheromone blend and that of Sesamia nonagrioides in the wind tunnel. Whole pheromone glands, and lures where (Z)-9-hexadecenyl acetate, Z)-11-hexadecen-1-ol or (Z)-9-hexadecenyl acetate + (Z)-11-hexadecen-1-ol were added to the major component, (Z)-11-hexadecenyl acetate, elicited significantly higher responses by M.

Juvenile hormone esterase activity in the pupating and diapausing larvae of Sesamia nonagrioides.

The development of the Mediterranean corn borer, Sesamia nonagrioides, under long-day (LD) photoperiod is associated with juvenile hormone (JH) decline and pupation in the 5th or 6th larval instar. The larvae grown under short-day (SD) conditions maintain a moderate JH titer and enter diapause during which they undergo several extra larval molts. Both types of larvae exhibit similar levels of juvenile hormone esterase (JHE) activity that increases in each instar during the period of low ecdysteroid titer and drops when the titer rises to a molt-inducing peak.

Factors affecting the natural duration of diapause and post-diapause development in the Mediterranean corn borer Sesamia nonagrioides (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae).

Sesamia nonagrioides responds to photoperiod for diapause termination at high temperature with a Type II response curve, and only photoperiods longer than 12:12 terminate diapause. However, these photoperiods never occur in the field when diapausing larvae are competent to terminate diapause. Under a temperature similar to the natural field temperatures diapause terminates spontaneously in approximately 4 months, which ensures that the larvae reach the middle of winter without pupation.

Effects of ecdysteroid agonist RH-2485 reveal interactions between ecdysteroids and juvenile hormones in the development of Sesamia nonagrioides.

Larvae of Sesamia nonagrioides developing under long day (LD) conditions pupate in the 5th or 6th instar, whereas under the short day (SD) conditions, they undergo several supernumerary larval molts and are regarded as diapausing. The development in early larval instars occurs in the LD larvae at a moderate and in the SD larvae at a high juvenile hormone (JH) titer; ecdysteroid titer cycles similarly under both conditions. The transformation to pupa is initiated by a burst of ecdysteroids at undetectable JH levels, whereas extra larval molts in the diapausing larvae are associated with moderate JH titer and irregular rises of ecdysteroids.

Inhibition of pheromone response in Sesamia nonagrioides by the pheromone of the sympatric corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis.

Sesamia nonagrioides Lef. and Ostrinia nubilalis (Hübn.) are two corn borers present in the Mediterranean area that share a similar feeding habitat.

Pheromone antagonism in the European corn borer moth Ostrinia nubilalis.

Mixing the sex pheromones of the Mediterranean corn borer, Sesamia nonagrioides, and the European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis, results in significantly lower captures of O. nubilalis when compared to traps loaded with its pheromone alone. Rubber septa loaded with a constant concentration of the pheromone of O.

Six years after the commercial introduction of Bt maize in Spain: field evaluation, impact and future prospects.

We carried out a 6-year-field evaluation to assess potential hazards of growing Compa, a transgenic Bt maize variety based on the transformation event CG 00256-176. Two categories of hazards were investigated: the potential of the target corn borer Sesamia nonagrioides to evolve resistance to Bt maize and effects on non-target organisms. In order to address the first hazard, dispersal capacity of the corn borer was measured and our results indicated that larvae move to plants other than those onto which the female oviposited - even to plants in adjacent rows - in remarkable numbers and they do so mostly at a mature age, suggesting that mixing Bt and non-Bt seeds in the same field would not be a very useful deployment strategy to delay/prevent resistance.

Relationship between an increase of juvenile hormone titer in early instars and the induction of diapause in fully grown larvae of Sesamia nonagrioides.

The larvae of Sesamia nonagrioides (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) grown at 25 degrees C and long photoperiod (16:8h light:dark) pupate in the 5th or 6th (mostly) larval instar, while the larvae reared under a short photoperiod (12:12h) enter diapause during which they consume some food and undergo up to 12 (usually 3-4) stationary larval molts. Diapause programming includes an increase of juvenile hormone (JH) titer in the hemolymph from about 20 to 50 nM in the 4th and 5th instar larvae (titer in earlier instars was not measured). JH I, II, and III are present in approximate ratio 1-2:10:1.

Juvenile hormone and diapause in the Mediterranean corn borer, Sesamia nonagrioides.

Juvenile hormone content of Sesamia nonagrioides larvae reared under different environmental conditions that induce diapause was studied using a bioassay on newly-emerged Tribolium confusum pupae. Two analytical methods were also used to measure JHIII content. Extracts from larvae that developed under different conditions of photoperiod and temperature caused different effects in T.