Moth community among apples during bloom in Northwest Arkansas: likely pollinators and activity periods.

J Econ Entomol

Ecdysis Foundation, 46958 188th St., Estelline, SD 57234, USA.

Published: April 2023

Apples are a fruit crop of economic and nutritional importance that require cross-pollination primarily by insects for sustainable production. It was recently demonstrated that nocturnal pollinators can contribute as much to apple pollination as diurnal pollinators. However, information concerning nocturnal pollinator identity, activity periods, and community composition in apples is lacking, which limits research expansion. To address this knowledge gap, nocturnal moths in an apple orchard were surveyed during apple bloom from 2018 to 2020 using blacklight traps, with samples collected hourly to delineate moth activity. Observations during the same periods were made to identify moths visiting apple flowers, whose capture data were then compared to other captured moth species to provide useful information concerning community composition during apple bloom. Blacklight surveys yielded 1,087 moths representing at least 68 species from 12 families, wherein 15 species from five families were observed visiting apple flowers. Captured moths were most abundant and diverse in the first two hours after sunset. Most captured moth species did not visit flowers and are likely not associated with apple pollination. However, moth species that were observed visiting flowers were the most abundant overall and most diverse by hour in surveys. Data indicate a rich moth community present among apple orchards during bloom and identify likely moth pollinators of apples. Though more research is required to establish the precise relationships between moth pollination and apples, the information provided here allows for targeted efforts to do so.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jee/toad045DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

moth species
12
moth
8
moth community
8
activity periods
8
apple
8
apple pollination
8
community composition
8
apple bloom
8
visiting apple
8
apple flowers
8

Similar Publications

The genetic architecture of resistance to flubendiamide insecticide in Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner).

PLoS One

January 2025

Department of Entomology and Acarology, Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture (ESALQ), University of São Paulo (USP), Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil.

Insecticide resistance is a major problem in food production, environmental sustainability, and human health. The cotton bollworm Helicoverpa armigera is a globally distributed crop pest affecting over 300 crop species. H.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Taxonomic history, morphology, evolution, gene pool and stress tolerances of azuki bean and its related wild genetic resources.

Breed Sci

September 2024

Research Center of Genetic Resources, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, 2-1-2 Kannondai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8602, Japan.

This review compiles information on the morphology, historical taxonomic treatments, species origin, gene pool concept, geographical and ecological habitats, and stress tolerance of the azuki bean () and related species. Willdenow (1802) first described the azuki bean in the genus , and Ohwi and Ohashi (1969) finally transferred it to the genus . The genus is currently divided into five subgenera: , , , , and .

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Two novel entomopathogenic fungal species of Lecanicillium isolated from soil in China.

BMC Microbiol

January 2025

College of Plant Protection, National Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China.

The genus Lecanicillium was established in 2001 based on the type species Lecanicillium lecani (former, Verticillium lecani), which is an important entomopathogenic fungus. To date, more than thirty species in the genus have been reported, but much more are waiting to discover. In this study, two novel species isolated from soil in east China were identified.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

[The role of volatile organic compounds in plant-insect communication].

Biol Aujourdhui

January 2025

Sorbonne Université, Institut d'Écologie et des Sciences de l'Environnement de Paris, 4 place Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France - Institut Universitaire de France, Paris, France.

Insects and flowering plants are the most abundant and diverse multicellular organisms on Earth, accounting for 75% of known species. Their evolution has been largely interdependent since the so-called Angiosperm Terrestrial Revolution (100-50 Mya), when the explosion of plant diversity stimulated the evolution of pollinating and herbivorous insects. Plant-insect interactions rely heavily on chemical communication via volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Establishing the anterior-posterior body axis is a fundamental process during embryogenesis, and the fruit fly, , provides one of the best-known case studies of this process. In Drosophila, localized mRNA of serves as anterior determinant (AD). Bicoid engages in a concentration-dependent competition with nucleosomes and initiates symmetry-breaking along the AP axis by promoting chromatin accessibility at the loci of transcription factor (TF) genes that are expressed in the anterior of the embryo.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!