Bactericera cockerelli (Sulc) (Hemiptera: Triozidae) is a major pest of potato, (Solanum tuberosum L.), tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.), and peppers (Capsicum spp.). The purpose of our research was to identify and determine the impact of natural enemies on B. cockerelli population dynamics. Through 2 yr of field studies (2009-2010) at four different sites and laboratory feeding tests, we ident...

1. Pea aphids (Acyrthosiphon pisum Harris; Hemiptera: Aphididae) exhibit transgenerational wing polyphenism, in which unwinged females produce genetically identical winged offspring in response to environmental cues such as overcrowding and predation risk that indicate poor habitat quality. 2. Laboratory experiments were carried out to explore the intensity of the wing polyphenic response of pe...

Little study of insects with modern nanotechnology tools has been done so far. Here we use one of such tool, atomic force microscopy (AFM) to study surface oscillations of the ladybird beetles (Hippodamia convergens) measured in different parts of the insect at picometer level. This allows us to record a much broader spectral range of possible surface vibrations (up to several kHz) than the pre...