Addressing emerging issues in entomology: 2023 student debates.

The Entomological Society of America (ESA) Student Debates is an annual student competition at the ESA Annual Meeting organized by Student Debates Subcommittee (SDS) members of the ESA Student Affairs Committee. In conjunction with the 2023 ESA Annual Meeting theme, 'Insects and influence: Advancing entomology's impact on people and policy', the theme of this year's student debate was 'Addressing emerging issues in entomology'. With the aid of ESA membership, the SDS selected the following debate topics: (1) Should disclosure of artificial intelligence large language models in scientific writing always be required? and (2) Is it more important to prioritize honey bee or native pollinator health for long-term food security within North America? Four student teams from across the nation, composed of 3-5 student members and a professional advisor, were assigned a topic and stance.

High-throughput molecular gut content analysis of aphids identifies plants relevant for potato virus Y epidemiology.

Aphids are phloem-feeding insects that reduce crop productivity due to feeding and transmission of plant viruses. When aphids disperse across the landscape to colonize new host plants, they will often probe on a wide variety of nonhost plants before settling on a host suitable for feeding and reproduction. There is limited understanding of the diversity of plants that aphids probe on within a landscape, and characterizing this diversity can help us better understand host use patterns of aphids.

Assessing the adaptive role of cannabidiol (CBD) in defense against cannabis aphids.

is known for having unique specialized or secondary metabolites, cannabinoids that are derived from an extension of the terpene pathway in the lineage and includes more than 100 other similar metabolites. Despite the assumption that cannabinoids evolved as novel herbivory defense adaptations, there is limited research addressing the role of cannabinoids in responses to insect herbivores. Here we investigated the role of cannabidiol (CBD), the predominant cannabinoid in hemp, in plant defense against cannabis aphid (), one of the most damaging pests of hemp.

Virus Infection and Host Plant Suitability Affect Feeding Behaviors of Cannabis Aphid (Hemiptera: Aphididae), a Newly Described Vector of Potato Virus Y.

Aphids are the most prolific vectors of plant viruses resulting in significant yield losses to crops worldwide. Potato virus Y (PVY) is transmitted in a non-persistent manner by 65 species of aphids. With the increasing acreage of hemp (Cannabis sativa L.

Location, location, location: Feeding site affects aphid performance by altering access and quality of nutrients.

Aphid feeding behavior and performance on a given host plant are influenced by the plants' physical and chemical traits, including structural characters such as trichomes and nutritional composition. In this study, we determined the feeding behavior and performance of soybean aphids (Aphis glycines) on the stem, the adaxial (upper), and the abaxial (lower) leaf surfaces during early vegetative growth of soybean plants. Using the electrical penetration graph technique, we found that aphids feeding on the stem took the longest time to begin probing.