Apterous A (apA), a member of the LIM-homeobox gene family, plays a critical role in the development of wing. The achaete-scute Complex (AS-C) encodes basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factors and functions in bristle development. In the present study, we cloned apA (NlapA) and an achaete-scute homologue (NlASH) from N. lugens. Levels of NlapA and NlASH were higher in nymphs than adul...

The phenology of tick emergence has important implications for the transmission of tick-borne pathogens. A long lag between the emergence of tick nymphs in spring and larvae in summer should increase transmission of persistent pathogens by allowing infected nymphs to inoculate the population of naive hosts that can subsequently transmit the pathogen to larvae to complete the transmission cycle....

Larvae and/or nymphs of four species of ixodid ticks, Ixodes scapularis Say, Amblyomma americanum (L.), Dermacentor andersoni Stiles, and Dermacentor variabilis Say, were fed to completion on laboratory hamsters or mice which had been inoculated with a West Nile (WN) virus isolate from Culex pipiens L. captured in Connecticut USA. Maximum titers in mice and hamsters were approximately 5 and two...

Hard-bodied ticks transmit various pathogens, such as Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Rickettsia spp., Babesia spp., and carry numerous other microorganisms with an unknown pathogenic potential. Among them, tick-borne encephalitis virus has great importance. In Central European conditions all developmental stages of ticks participate in the zoonotic cycle of the TBE ...

Twocommercial formulations ofBeauveria bassiana(Balsamo-Crivelli)Vuilleminwere applied to residential sites in Old Lyme, CT, for the control of nymphs of the blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis, in 1999 and 2000. The pyrethroid bifenthrin was applied to other premises for comparison with B. bassiana. A wood chip barrier was installed and maintained at six of the treated properties. In 1999, con...

The Asian parasitoid, Binodoxys communis (Gahan) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), is a candidate for release against the exotic soybean aphid, Aphis glycines Matsumura (Hemiptera: Aphididae), in North America. In this study, we examined preferences by B. communis for the different developmental stages of A. glycines and investigated consequences of these preferences for parasitoid fitness. We also de...

Eggs and nymphs of Triatoma dimidiata were described using both light and scanning electron microscopy. The egg body and operculum have an exochorion formed by irregular juxtaposed polygonal cells; these cells are without sculpture and the majority of them are hexagonal in shape. The five instars of T. dimidiatacan be distinguished from each other by characteristics of the pre, meso and metanot...

Abstract 34 types of pests were found on haloxylon and other sand-retaining plants planted in the dry area Aral Sea. The main dominant species these are large small humpback grasshoppers. When insecticide Imitrin 20% sus.K. was tested grasshoppers at 0.05 L/ha distribution patter measurement against 2-3-year-old nymphs 0.1 4-5-year-old nymphs: after 3 hours - 89.2-87.4%, 24- 95.1-94.0% 72 96.3-...

Parasitoids of the Encarsia genus (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) are important biological control agents against whiteflies. Some of the species in this genus not only parasitize their hosts, but also kill them through host feeding. The whitefly parasitoid, Encarsia formosa Gahan, was examined to determine whether the rearing host species affects its subsequent host-feeding capacity and parasitism....

Omnivorous insects make foraging decisions between plant and prey resources depending on their accessibility, availability, nutritional value. This shapes the stability complexity of food webs, but also pest control services in agroecosystems. The mirid bug Lygus pratensis is a common cotton China, it feeds variety species. However, little known about how different types available affect its fi...