The suitability of ten diets for the development and reproduction of Franklinothrips orizabensis Johansen, the key natural enemy of Scirtothrips perseae Nakahara, a pest of California grown avocados, was determined in the laboratory. The experimental diets evaluated were: (i) irradiated Ephestia kuehniella Zeller eggs; (ii) irradiated E. kuehniella eggs and avocado pollen; (iii) Tetranychus pac...

Olfaction is crucial in many insects for critical behaviors, including those regulating survival and reproduction. Insect odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) function in the first step of the olfactory system and play an essential role in the perception of odorants, such as pheromones and host chemicals. The oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis, is a destructive fruit-eating pest, due to its wid...

The Bactrocera dorsalis complex of tropical fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae: Dacinae) contains 75 described species, largely endemic to Southeast Asia. Within the complex are a small number of polyphagous pests of international significance, including B. dorsalis sensu stricto, B. papayae, B. carambolae, and B. philippinensis. Most species within the complex were described in 1994 and since t...

Retinofugal pathways in the painted turtle were examined with autoradiographic and HRP methods. The majority of the retinal fibers decussate at the optic chiasm and course caudally to terminate in 12 regions of the diencephalon and mesencephalon. The pars dorsalis of the lateral geniculate nucleus is the densest target in the thalamus. Two nuclei dorsal to pars dorsalis--the dorsal optic and do...

Avocado fruit can be severely damaged by Scirtothrips perseae (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) in southern California. Scirtothrips perseae is found on leaves and fruit, but its prevalence on one versus the other substrate has not been documented. In this study, the occurrence and infestation levels of S. perseae on avocado leaves and fruit during late spring and summer were compared at three sites in...

Studies were conducted to determine attraction and feeding propensity of oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel), and melon fly, Bactrocera cucurbitae (Coquillet) to different protein bait mixtures with and without the insecticides spinosad and malathion. The type of protein bait (Provesta621autolyzed yeast extract, MazofermE802, GF-120Fruit Fly Bait, or Nu-LureInsect Bait) had a major...

Genetics-enhanced sterile insect techniques (SIT) are promising novel approaches to control Bactrocera dorsalis, the most destructive horticultural pest in East Asia and the Pacific region. To identify novel genetic agents to alter male fertility of B. dorsalis, previous studies investigated miRNA expression in testes of B. dorsalis. One miRNA, miR-8-3p was predicted to bind the 3'UTR of putati...