Insecticide efficacy and emergence timing of the Douglas-fir twig weevil.

The Douglas-fir twig weevil (Cylindrocopturus furnissi Buchanan) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) has recently emerged as a significant pest of Christmas trees grown in the Pacific Northwest United States. The larvae girdle and disfigure twigs, which adversely affects tree marketability. Trees produced for export are also routinely destroyed for phytosanitary reasons when C.

Selectivity underlies the dissociation between seasonal prey availability and prey consumption in a generalist predator.

Generalist predators are capable of selective foraging, but are predicted to feed in close proportion to prey availability to maximize energetic intake especially when overall prey availability is low. By extension, they are also expected to feed in a more frequency-dependent manner during winter compared to the more favourable foraging conditions during spring, summer and fall seasons. For 18 months, we observed the foraging patterns of forest-dwelling wolf spiders from the genus Schizocosa (Araneae: Lycosidae) using PCR-based gut-content analysis and simultaneously monitored the activity densities of two common prey: springtails (Collembola) and flies (Diptera).

Does social feeding improve larval survival of the two-spotted lady beetle, Adalia bipunctata?

Lady beetles typically lay eggs in clusters, and clutch-mates that emerge near to each other might benefit in multiple ways. For example, lady beetle larvae are attracted to the pheromone released by aphids under attack. Thus, one potential advantage to larvae emerging as a group is if one larva captures an aphid, others can share in consuming the same aphid.