Rickettsia felis is an emerging human pathogen associated with cat fleas: A review of findings in Taiwan.

Rickettsia felis is an emerging rickettsial agent principally associated with cat fleas (Ctenocephalides felis), formerly discovered in 1990. Since then, clinical cases of R. felis infection have been identified globally by specific DNA sequences in patients with undifferentiated febrile illness, including in Taiwan, but such evidence is limited.

Investigation of Ctenocephalides felis on domestic dogs and Rickettsia felis infection in the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe.

Rickettsia felis is an obligate intracellular Gram-negative bacterium which causes flea-borne spotted fever in humans. In the past decades, R. felis has been detected worldwide in Ctenocephalides felis fleas and various other arthropods.

A new millipede-parasitizing horsehair worm, sp. nov., at medium altitudes in Taiwan (Nematomorpha, Gordiida).

, a newly described horsehair worm that parasitizes the millipede, is one of the three described horsehair worm species in Taiwan. It is morphologically similar to Schmidt-Rhaesa, 2010 because of the progressively broadening distribution of bristles concentrated on the male tail lobes, but it is distinguishable from because of the stout bristles on the mid-body. In addition, a vertical white stripe on the anterior ventral side and areoles on the inside wall of the cloacal opening are rarely mentioned in other species.

Analysis of Recent Interception Records Reveals Frequent Transport of Arboreal Ants and Potential Predictors for Ant Invasion in Taiwan.

We uncovered taxonomic diversity, country of origin and commodity type of intercepted ants at Taiwanese borders based on an 8 year database of 439 interception records. We found intercepted ants arrived predominantly via timber, a pattern likely reflecting the high domestic demand for foreign timber in Taiwan. The most frequently intercepted species were either arboreal or wood-dwelling ants, raising a concern of these ants constituting a next wave of ant invasion in Taiwan.

Carriers and cutters: size-dependent caste polyethism in the tropical fire ant ().

Body size is an important life-history trait in eusocial insects which plays a key role in colony fitness. The division of labour, represented by caste polyethism, correlates with divergent morphological traits. Size polymorphism has been noted in the tropical fire ant, Solenopsis geminata; however, little is known regarding the differences in the size distributions of workers performing foraging tasks.

A rapid insect species identification system using mini-barcode pyrosequencing.

Background: Rapid and accurate species identification is not only important for biodiversity studies and pest quarantine and management, but in some cases may also influence the results of international trade negotiations. In this study, we developed a rapid species identification system for insects.

Results: A universal DNA mini-barcode primer pair was designed to target ∼ 120 bp of the mitochondrial 16S rDNA gene.

Detection of Male Oriental Fruit Fly (Diptera: Tephritidae) Susceptibility to Naled- and Fipronil-Intoxicated Methyl Eugenol.

Naled-intoxicated methyl eugenol (ME) is commonly used to control oriental fruit flies, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) (Diptera: Tephritidae), in Taiwan. However, non-responsiveness to ME and pesticide resistance in oriental fruit flies may reduce control efficacy. In this study, mark-recapture experiments were used to analyze the effects of naled-intoxicated ME on field and naled-resistant fly strains.

A new orthopteran-parasitizing horsehair worm, sp. n., with a redescription of and novel host records from Taiwan (Nematomorpha, Gordiida).

A description of a new species of horsehair worm, , a redescription of , and novel host records for the latter are provided. is morphologically similar to with moderately flat areoles on its tail tips, but is distinguishable by small mid-body ornamentations. Despite the distinct differences in the post-cloacal crescents between 14 male samples, their conspecific status, along with that of nine female samples, was upheld by a phylogenetic comparison of partial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) sequences.

Annual Survey of Horsehair Worm Cysts in Northern Taiwan, with Notes on a Single Seasonal Infection Peak in Chironomid Larvae (Diptera: Chironomidae).

The life cycle of the freshwater horsehair worm typically includes a free-living phase (adult, egg, larva) and a multiple-host parasitic phase (aquatic paratenic host, terrestrial definitive host). Such a life cycle involving water and land can improve energy flow in riparian ecosystems; however, its temporal dynamics in nature have rarely been investigated. This study examined seasonal infection with cysts in larval Chironominae (Diptera: Chironomidae) in northern Taiwan.

Prevalence of antibodies against Ehrlichia spp. and Orientia tsutsugamushi in small mammals around harbors in Taiwan.

Background: Tick-borne ehrlichiosis and mite-borne scrub typhus represent important emerging zoonotic rickettsial diseases. Although scrub typhus has been recognized by the Taiwanese public health system, information on ehrlichial infections is scarce in Taiwan. In this study, the risk of spread of ectoparasites on rodents through aerial and marine transportation was assessed in international and domestic harbors.

Ficus (Moraceae) and fig wasps (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) in Taiwan.

Although Ficus-associated wasp fauna have been extensively researched in Australasia, information on these fauna in Taiwan is not well accessible to scientists worldwide. In this study, we compiled records on the Ficus flora of Taiwan and its associated wasp fauna. Initial agronomic research reports on Ficus were published in Japanese in 1917, followed by reports on applied biochemistry, taxonomy, and phenology in Chinese.

A Checklist of Chigger Mites (Acari: Trombiculidae and Leeuwenhökiidae) From Taiwan, With Descriptions of Three New Species.

Scrub typhus is a lethal human disease transmitted by larval trombiculid mites (i.e., chiggers) that have been infected with the rickettsia Orientia tsutsugamushi.

Morphological allometry and intersexuality in horsehair-worm-infected mantids, Hierodula formosana (Mantodea: Mantidae).

Parasitic castration is a strategy used by parasites to minimize damage to the host by consuming its reproductive system, which results in the morphological alteration of the host. We determined that the forewing shape and density of the antennal sensilla of field-collected adult male mantids (Hierodula formosana), infected by horsehair worms (Chordodes formosanus) was partially feminized (intersexuality), and both male and female mantids infected by horsehair worms exhibited allometric changes in their wings and walking legs. In addition, the testes of most infected male adults disappeared or reduced in size, whereas the number of ovarioles in infected female adults was unaffected.

Genetic and physiological data suggest demographic and adaptive responses in complex interactions between populations of figs (Ficus pumila) and their pollinating wasps (Wiebesia pumilae).

To study interactions between host figs and their pollinating wasps and the influence of climatic change on their genetic structures, we sequenced cytoplasmic and nuclear genes and genotyped nuclear microsatellite loci from two varieties of Ficus pumila, the widespread creeping fig and endemic jelly fig, and from their pollinating wasps, Wiebesia pumilae, found in Taiwan and on nearby offshore islands. Great divergence in the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (mtCOI) with no genetic admixture in nuclear markers indicated that creeping- and jelly-fig wasps are genetically distinct. Compared with creeping-fig wasps, jelly-fig wasps also showed better resistance under cold (20 °C) than warm (25 and 30 °C) conditions in a survival test, indicating their adaptation to a cold environment, which may have facilitated population expansion during the ice age as shown by a nuclear intron and 10 microsatellite loci.

An improved bioassay facilitates the screening of repellents against cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae).

Background: Repellents are a common method for preventing flea bites, making an effective system for flea repellent screening advantageous. We describe an improved technique to facilitate repellent activity screening of numerous plant-based Ctenocephalides felis (cat flea) repellents.

Results: Two long strips of filter paper were impregnated with test compounds (dissolved in ethanol) and ethanol only, respectively.

An injury equivalency system for establishing a common economic threshold for three species of rice planthoppers (Hemiptera: Delphacidae) in Taiwan.

The economic threshold (ET) for multiple pest species that share the same injury type on host plants (feeding guild) has been proposed for decision-making in integrated management framework of many defoliating insect pests. However, only a few consider agricultural pests with sucking mouthparts. This study presents the first injury equivalency system for the feeding guild made up of three rice (Oryza sativa L.

The insecticidal activities of fire ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) venoms against Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) larvae.

Although fire ants frequently have negative impacts on agricultural systems and public health, they have additional beneficial insecticidal effects. To evaluate the potential effect of fire ant venoms on agricultural pests, the compositions of the venoms and their insecticidal activities against Plutella xylostella (L.) larvae were evaluated under laboratory conditions.

Truncated transcripts of nicotinic acetylcholine subunit gene Bdα6 are associated with spinosad resistance in Bactrocera dorsalis.

Spinosad-resistance mechanisms of Bactrocera dorsalis, one of the most important agricultural pests worldwide, were investigated. Resistance levels to spinosad in a B. dorsalis strain from Taiwan were more than 2000-fold, but showed no cross resistance to imidacloprid or fipronil.

Discovery of genes related to insecticide resistance in Bactrocera dorsalis by functional genomic analysis of a de novo assembled transcriptome.

Insecticide resistance has recently become a critical concern for control of many insect pest species. Genome sequencing and global quantization of gene expression through analysis of the transcriptome can provide useful information relevant to this challenging problem. The oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis, is one of the world's most destructive agricultural pests, and recently it has been used as a target for studies of genetic mechanisms related to insecticide resistance.

A new horsehair worm, Chordodes formosanus sp. n. (Nematomorpha, Gordiida) from Hierodula mantids of Taiwan and Japan with redescription of a closely related species, Chordodes japonensis.

A new species of horsehair worm, Chordodes formosanussp. n., is described and compared to a closely related species, Chordodes japonensis.

Fitness costs of an insecticide resistance and their population dynamical consequences in the oriental fruit fly.

Naled is a commonly used insecticide for controlling populations of the oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel), in Taiwan and other countries. B. dorsalis has developed resistance to the insecticide, and the resistance management is an important issue.

Identification of Rickettsia felis in fleas but not ticks on stray cats and dogs and the evidence of Rickettsia rhipicephali only in adult stage of Rhipicephalus sanguineus and Rhipicephalus haemaphysaloides.

Rickettsia spp. are zoonotic pathogens and mainly transmitted by various arthropod vectors, such as fleas, ticks, and lice. Previous epidemiological studies indicated that ectoparasites infested on dogs or cats may be infected by Rickettsia spp.

A new Chorizococcus species (Coccoidea, Pseudococcidae) from Taiwan with transferring of Chorizococcus mirzayansi Moghaddam to genus Spilococcus Ferris.

A new mealybug species, Chorizococcus zoysiaesp. n., feeding on Zoysia tenuifolia (Poaceae), is described from Taiwan.

Efficacy of Beauveria bassiana against the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), in Taiwan.

Background: Combining biological control and chemical control could be used for controlling red imported fire ant (RIFA), Solenopsis invicta, more effectively. Beauveria bassiana F256, a local strain from Taiwan, was evaluated for its efficacy in the control of S. invicta under both laboratory and field conditions.