Lethal Male Combat of (Hymenoptera: Eupelmidae), an Egg Parasitoid of Lepidopterous and Hemipterous Pests.

Aggressive interactions between males are common when victors gain increased mating success but can result in severe injury or death for the defeated. (Hymenoptera: Eupelmidae) is a solitary egg parasitoid of hemipteran and lepidopteran species. Here, we investigated lethal interactions between males and analyzed aggression behavior scaled with the male condition, number of competitors, number of presented females, and female mating status.

Risk of spread of the Asian citrus psyllid Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Liviidae) in Ghana.

The impact of invasive species on biodiversity, food security and economy is increasingly noticeable in various regions of the globe as a consequence of climate change. Yet, there is limited research on how climate change affects the distribution of the invasive Asian citrus psyllid Kuwayama (Hemiptera:Liviidae) in Ghana. Using maxnet package to fit the Maxent model in R software, we answered the following questions; (i) what are the main drivers for distribution, (ii) what are the -specific habitat requirements and (iii) how well do the risk maps fit with what we know to be correctly based on the available evidence?.

Management of J.E. Smith Using Recycled Virus Inoculum from Larvae Treated with Baculovirus under Field Conditions.

Fall armyworm (FAW) is a major pest of maize and causes huge losses. Chemical pesticides are the commonly used control strategy among farmers. The efficacy of baculoviruses against FAW has been proven; however, farmers may not be able to afford the products.

Research priorities for global food security under extreme events.

Extreme events, such as those caused by climate change, economic or geopolitical shocks, and pest or disease epidemics, threaten global food security. The complexity of causation, as well as the myriad ways that an event, or a sequence of events, creates cascading and systemic impacts, poses significant challenges to food systems research and policy alike. To identify priority food security risks and research opportunities, we asked experts from a range of fields and geographies to describe key threats to global food security over the next two decades and to suggest key research questions and gaps on this topic.

Correction: Weyl et al. The Host Range of the Stem-Boring Weevil, (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) Proposed for the Biological Control of (Asteraceae) in Pakistan. 2021, , 463.

The authors would like to make the following corrections to this paper [...

The Host Range and Risk Assessment of the Stem-Boring Weevil, (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) Proposed for the Biological Control of (Asteraceae) in Pakistan.

Parthenium, or , has extended its range in Pakistan throughout Punjab and into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and Sindh Provinces. Without control measures against parthenium, the negative impacts of this weed will go unchecked having deleterious effects on native biodiversity, human and animal health, as well as crop productivity. The weevil was obtained and imported from the Plant Health and Protection of the Agricultural Research Council (ARC-PHP), in Cedara, South Africa, in April 2019.

Using problem formulation for fit-for-purpose pre-market environmental risk assessments of regulated stressors.

Pre-market/prospective environmental risk assessments (ERAs) contribute to risk analyses performed to facilitate decisions about the market introduction of regulated stressors. Robust ERAs begin with an explicit problem formulation, which involves among other steps: (1) formally devising plausible pathways to harm that describe how the deployment of a regulated stressor could be harmful; (2) formulating risk hypotheses about the likelihood and severity of such events; (3) identifying the information that will be useful to test the risk hypotheses; and (4) developing a plan to acquire new data for hypothesis testing should tests with existing information be insufficient for decision-making. Here, we apply problem formulation to the assessment of possible adverse effects of RNA interference-based insecticidal genetically modified (GM) plants, GM growth hormone coho salmon, gene drive-modified mosquitoes and classical biological weed control agents on non-target organisms in a prospective manner, and of neonicotinoid insecticides on bees in a retrospective manner.

Perceptions and exposure to climate events along agricultural value chains: Evidence from Nigeria.

Africa's food systems are among the most vulnerable sectors to climate risk. Unfortunately, numerous activities along food supply chains (production, processing, storage, marketing and consumption) are also important contributors to climate change. Despite the differential effect of climate events on activities along food supply chains and vice versa, most climate change perception studies in agriculture focus on producers, particularly crop farmers.

The impact of ICT-enabled extension campaign on farmers' knowledge and management of fall armyworm in Uganda.

This study evaluates the unique and combined effects of three complementary ICT-based extension methods - interactive radio, mobile SMS messages and village-based video screenings - on farmers' knowledge and management of fall armyworm (FAW), an invasive pest of maize that is threatening food security in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Building on a survey of maize farmers in western Uganda and using various selection-on-observables estimators, we find consistent evidence that participation in the ICT-based extension campaigns significantly increases farmers' knowledge about FAW and stimulates the adoption of agricultural technologies and practices for the management of the pest. We also show that exposure to multiple campaign channels yields significantly higher outcomes than exposure to a single channel, with some evidence of additive effects.

Behavioral Evidence and Olfactory Reception of a Single Alarm Pheromone Component in .

is a major herbivore insect in the fruit orchards of China that has become a devastating invasive pest in North America and Europe since its accidental introductions in the 1990s and 2000s, respectively. Like other hemipteran insects, releases defensive chemicals against natural enemies, including ()-2-decenal, which is an aldehyde associated with alarm pheromones. In this study, a series of electrophysiological and behavioral tests were conducted to characterize the alarm functions of ()-2-decenal among adults and nymphs.