We evaluated selected soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merr., genotypes during their reproductive stages for resistance to the soybean aphid, Aphis glycines Matsumura (Hemiptera: Aphididae), under greenhouse conditions and documented the categories of aphid-resistant soybean. Two screening studies were performed to assess the level of resistance to the soybean aphid on six soybean genotypes during the...

The life history of the shield-backed bug, Pachycoris stallii Uhler (Heteroptera: Scutelleridae), immatures was studied on its host plant, Croton californicus Muell.-Arg. (Euphorbiaceae), in Baja California Sur, Mexico. Immature stages are described and illustrated. Pachycoris stallii is bi- or multivoltine and occurs in xeric areas with sandy soil where it is rarely encountered away from C. ca...

Mahanarva fi mbriolata (Stål) is an important pest in Latin America and causes signifi cant reduction in sugarcane productivity. There is no information regarding the effect of this pest on the quality of cane juice used for sugar and alcohol production. This work aimed at evaluating the quality of sugarcane juice from plants attacked by spittlebugs. The experiment was arranged in a completely ...

Lyme borreliosis (LB) is the most common arthropod-borne disease of humans in the Northern hemisphere. In Europe, the causative agent, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex, is principally vectored by Ixodes ricinus ticks. The aim of this study was to identify environmental factors influencing questing I. ricinus nymph abundance and B. burgdorferi s.l. infection in questing nymphs using a lar...

BACKGROUND The feeding of Bemisia tabaci nymphs trigger the SA pathway in some plant species. A previous study showed that B. tabaci nymphs induced defense against aphids (Myzus persicae) in tobacco. However, the mechanism underlying this defense response is not well understood. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Here, the effect of activating the SA signaling pathway in tobacco plants through B....

Matsucoccus matsumurae (Kuwana) (Hemiptera: Coccoidea: Matsucoccidae) is an invasive alien species and a destructive pest of two native Chinese pines, Pinus tabulaeformis Carr. and P. massoniana Lamb., throughout the eastern regions of China. The pathogenicity of three entomopathogenic fungi, Lecanicillium lecanii strain V3.4504 and V3.4505, Fusarium incarnatum-equiseti strain HEB01 and Lecanic...

The study aimed to assess the long-term population dynamics of questing Rhipicephalus appendiculatus and Rhipicephalus zambeziensis in two landscape zones of the Kruger National Park (KNP). Ticks were collected by dragging the vegetation monthly in three habitats (grassland, woodland and gully) at two sites in the KNP (Nhlowa Road and Skukuza) from August 1988 to March 2002. Larvae were the mos...

The focus of this study was on quantifying fitness attributes, such as spore density and viability, and determining the virulence level against aphid (Aphis gossypii) nymphs of isolates from the fungal species Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae. The fungal isolates were obtained from several insects, including Plutella xylostella, Hypothenemus hampei, Bronstispa longissima, A. gossyp...

In the social aphid Nipponaphis monzeni, a unique gall-repairing behaviour has been known: when a hole is made on the gall, many soldier nymphs discharge body fluid on the breach, which promptly solidifies and plugs the hole. Here, we experimentally investigated the subsequent fate of repaired galls and their inhabitants. Irrespective of natural repair by soldier nymphs or artificial repair wit...

The aim of the study was to monitor present status of the Ixodes ricinus tick vertical distribution in the Krkonose Mts. (Czech Republic) and evaluate its potential changes. Two methods were used: monitoring of tick presence on dogs in 2001-2002 and direct monitoring of host-seeking ticks by flagging on two vertical transects reaching from 620 to 1270 m above sea level (a. s. l.) and from 600 t...