Intracellular symbionts of arthropods have diverse influences on their hosts, and their functions generally appear to be associated with their localization within the host. The effect of localization pattern on the role of a particular symbiont cannot normally be tested since the localization pattern within hosts is generally invariant. However, in Israel, the secondary symbiont Rickettsia is u...

Many intracellular microbial symbionts of arthropods are strictly vertically transmitted and manipulate their host's reproduction in ways that enhance their own transmission. Rare horizontal transmission events are nonetheless necessary for symbiont spread to novel host lineages. Horizontal transmission has been mostly inferred from phylogenetic studies but the mechanisms of spread are still la...

t g a 1 a c w ( a e c a e The compatibility of five insect growth regulators (IGRs), buprofezin, pyriproxyfen, fenoxycarb, pymetrozine, and kinoprene, were tested in the laboratory for compatibility with the whitefly parasitoid Eretmocerus eremicus Rose and Zolnerowich (Hymeoptera: Aphelinidae). The survivorship of adult paraitoids foraging on poinsettia leaves with residues 6, 4, and 96 h of a...

The parasitoid wasp, Eretmocerus delhiensis (Hymenoptera, Aphelinidae) is a thelytokous and syn-ovigenic parasitoid. To evaluate E. delhiensis as a biocontrol agent in greenhouse, the killing efficiency of this parasitoid by parasitism and host-feeding, were studied. Killing efficiency can be compared by estimation of functional response parameters. Laboratory experiments were performed in cont...

Bt-transgenic cotton has proven to be highly efficient in controlling key lepidopteran pests. One concern with the deployment of Bt cotton varieties is the potential proliferation of non-target pests. We previously showed that Bt cotton contained lower concentrations of insecticidal terpenoids as a result of reduced caterpillar damage, which benefited the aphid Aphis gossypii. It is thus import...

In this study, we investigated the tritrophic interactions among a persistently transmitted plant virus, Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV), its insect vector, the sweetpotato whitefly Bemisia tabaci, and a parasitoid, Encarsia formosa Gahan, one of the most extensively used biological control agents. As an emerging invasive pest worldwide, the two most damaging whiteflies are B. tabaci B an...

the effect of imidacloprid on the greenhouse whitefly and parasitoid wasp studied in greenhouse conditions, on lantana camara l., in a completely randomized block design with five treatments of 0.02, 0.04, 0.08, and 0.16 g/liter of insecticide and control (water) for two periods of short and long term (seven and 125 days after treatment). in short term the difference of mean of the adults’ mort...

The role of selective new generation bioisecticides, beside their effectiveness against key pests, relies on safety to beneficial arthropods. Spinetoram, a semi-synthetic analogue the microbial-derived bioinsecticide spinosad is registered worldwide for application in numerous crops, but assessment its ecotoxicological risk arthropods has scarcely been documented. Moreover, this first report to...