The East Asian Insect Flyway: Geographical and Climatic Factors Driving Migration Among Diverse Crop Pests.

The East Asian Insect Flyway is a globally important migration route stretching from the Indochina Peninsula and the Philippines through East China to Northeast China and northern Japan, although most migrants utilize only part of the flyway. In this review, we focus on long-range windborne migrations of lepidopteran and planthopper pests. We outline the environment in which migrations occur, with emphasis on the seasonal atmospheric circulations that influence the transporting wind systems.

Management of Insect Pests on Tea Plantations: Safety, Sustainability, and Efficiency.

Tea is the second most consumed beverage after water; thus, tea plants are economically important crops in many countries. The frequent application of chemical pesticides over large plantations of tea monoculture has led to pest outbreaks. In recent years, high amounts of highly water-soluble pesticides have been applied because of the proliferation of piercing-sucking insects; however, this method poses health hazards for humans and has negative environmental effects.

The Role of ()-β-Farnesene in Tritrophic Interactions: Biosynthesis, Chemoreception, and Evolution.

()-β-farnesene (EBF) stands out as a crucial volatile organic compound, exerting significant influence on the complex interactions between plants, aphids, and predator insects. Serving as an alarm signal within aphids, EBF is also emitted by plants as a defense mechanism to attract aphid predators. This review delves into EBF sources, functions, biosynthesis, detection mechanisms, and its coevolutionary impacts on aphids and insect predators.

Epigenetic Regulation in Insect-Microbe Interactions.

Insects have evolved diverse interactions with a variety of microbes, such as pathogenic fungi, bacteria, and viruses. The immune responses of insect hosts, along with the dynamic infection process of microbes in response to the changing host environment and defenses, require rapid and fine-tuned regulation of gene expression programs. Epigenetic mechanisms, including DNA methylation, histone modifications, and noncoding RNA regulation, play important roles in regulating the expression of genes involved in insect immunity and microbial pathogenicity.

Illuminating Entomological Dark Matter with DNA Barcodes in an Era of Insect Decline, Deep Learning, and Genomics.

Most insects encountered in the field are initially entomological dark matter in that they cannot be identified to species while alive. This explains the enduring quest for efficient ways to identify collected specimens. Morphological tools came first but are now routinely replaced or complemented with DNA barcodes.

Gene Drive and Symbiont Technologies for Control of Mosquito-Borne Diseases.

Mosquito-borne diseases, such as dengue and malaria, pose a significant burden to global health. Current control strategies with insecticides are only moderately effective. Scalable solutions are needed to reduce the transmission risk of these diseases.

Effects of Elevated CO and O on Aboveground Brassicaceous Plant-Insect Interactions.

Atmospheric gases, such as carbon dioxide (CO) and ozone (O), influence plant-insect interactions, with variable effects. The few studies that have investigated the direct effects of elevated CO (eCO; 750-900 ppm) or elevated O (eO; 60-200 ppb) on insects have shown mixed results. Instead, most research has focused on the indirect effects through changes in the host plant.

The Evolutionary Biology of Chelicerata.

Chelicerata constitutes an ancient, biodiverse, and ecologically significant group of Arthropoda. The study of chelicerate evolution has undergone a renaissance in the past decade, resulting in major changes to our understanding of the higher-level phylogeny and internal relationships of living orders. Included among these conceptual advances are the discoveries of multiple whole-genome duplication events in a subset of chelicerate orders, such as horseshoe crabs, spiders, and scorpions.

The Evolution of Queen Pheromone Production and Detection in the Reproductive Division of Labor in Social Insect Colonies.

Structurally diverse queen pheromones and fertility signals regulate the reproductive division of labor of social insects, such as ants, termites, some bees, and some wasps. The independent evolution of sociality in these taxa allows for the exploration of how natural history differences in sender and receiver properties led to the evolution of these complex communication systems. While describing the different effects and the structural diversity of queen pheromones, we identify two major syndromes that mostly separate ants and wasps from bees and termites in their use of different pheromone classes.

Insect Pest Management and Environmental Risk.

Insect pests and insect pest management tactics impose risks to the environment. Environmental risk assessment is a formalized paradigm for the objective evaluation of risk in which assumptions and uncertainties are clearly presented. Therefore, a better understanding of the environmental risks and especially the comparative risks posed by insect pests and management tactics will improve integrated pest management.

How Insect Exocrine Glands Work.

Exocrine glands release a secretion to the body surface or into a lumen and are likely to be found in all insect taxa. Their secretions are diverse, serving many physiological, behavioral, and defensive functions. Much research has characterized gland structure and secretion identity and function, but little research has attempted to understand how these glands work to release secretion amounts in a timescale appropriate to function: How are some (e.

Complexities in the Implementation and Maintenance of Integrated Pest Management in Potato.

Integrated pest management (IPM) is an educated and systematic effort to use multiple control techniques to reduce pest damage to economically acceptable levels while minimizing negative environmental impacts. Although its benefits are widely acknowledged, IPM is not universally practiced by farmers. Potato farming, which produces one of the most important staple crops in the world, provides a good illustration of the issues surrounding IPM adoption.

Phenotypic Plasticity in Locusts: Trade-Off Between Migration and Reproduction.

Locusts exhibit phenotypic plasticity in response to population density changes, with distinct phenotypes in the solitary and gregarious phases. In the past decade, many studies have revealed the molecular mechanisms underlying phase changes, which include the change of body coloration, pheromones, behavior, flight, fecundity, immunity, and aging. Our understanding of the molecular mechanisms related to these phenotypic differences has expanded in breadth and depth with the decoding of the locust genome, involving transcriptional, post-transcriptional, translational, and epigenetic regulation.

Taxonomy, Biology, Symbionts, Omics, and Management of Palm Weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Dryophthorinae).

Palm weevils, spp., are destructive pests of native, ornamental, and agricultural palm species. Of the 10 recognized species, two of the most injurious species, and , both of which have spread beyond their native range, are the best studied.

Vector Biology and Integrated Management of Malaria Vectors in China.

Malaria is an infectious disease caused by parasites, transmitted by , , , and in China. In 2021, the disease was eliminated in China after more than 70 years of efforts implementing an integrated mosquito management strategy. This strategy comprised indoor residual spray, insecticide-treated bed nets, irrigation management, and rice-fish coculture based on an understanding of taxonomic status and ecological behaviors of vector species, in conjunction with mass drug administration and promotion of public education.

How Nutrients Mediate the Impacts of Global Change on Locust Outbreaks.

Locusts are grasshoppers that can migrate en masse and devastate food security. Plant nutrient content is a key variable influencing population dynamics, but the relationship is not straightforward. For an herbivore, plant quality depends not only on the balance of nutrients and antinutrients in plant tissues, which is influenced by land use and climate change, but also on the nutritional state and demands of the herbivore, as well as its capacity to extract nutrients from host plants.

Biology, Ecology, and Management of Flea Beetles in Crops.

vegetable and oilseed crops are attacked by several different flea beetle species (Chrysomelidae: Alticini). Over the past decades, most research has focused on two species, and , which are major pests of oilseed rape in North America. More recently, and especially after the ban of neonicotinoids in the European Union, the cabbage stem flea beetle, , has become greatly important and is now considered to be the major pest of winter oilseed rape in Europe.

Ecology and Management of African Honey Bees ( L.).

In Africa, humans evolved as honey hunters of honey bee subspecies adapted to diverse geographical regions. Beekeeping today is practiced much as it was when Africans moved from honey hunting to beekeeping nearly 5,000 years ago, with beekeepers relying on seasonally available wild bees. Research suggests that populations are resilient, able to resist diseases and novel parasites.

Insect Bacteriocytes: Adaptation, Development, and Evolution.

Bacteriocytes are host cells specialized to harbor symbionts in certain insect taxa. The adaptation, development, and evolution of bacteriocytes underlie insect symbiosis maintenance. Bacteriocytes carry enriched host genes of insect and bacterial origin whose transcription can be regulated by microRNAs, which are involved in host-symbiont metabolic interactions.

Pesticide Exposure and Effects on Non- Bees.

Bees are essential pollinators of many crops and wild plants, and pesticide exposure is one of the key environmental stressors affecting their health in anthropogenically modified landscapes. Until recently, almost all information on routes and impacts of pesticide exposure came from honey bees, at least partially because they were the only model species required for environmental risk assessments (ERAs) for insect pollinators. Recently, there has been a surge in research activity focusing on pesticide exposure and effects for non- bees, including other social bees (bumble bees and stingless bees) and solitary bees.