Saliva is known to play a crucial role in insect feeding behavior and virus transmission. Currently, little is known about the salivary glands and saliva of thrips, despite the fact that Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) (the western flower thrips) is a serious pest due to its destructive feeding, wide host range, and transmission of tospoviruses. As a first step towards characterizing thri...

Competition is often considered a fundamental process influencing assemblage structure, yet little is known about competition among ectomycorrhizal (EM) fungi. Here, we examine competitive interactions between Rhizopogon occidentalis and Rhizopogon salebrosus in a 6-month microcosm study. Pinus muricata seedlings were grown in three EM treatments: R. occidentalis, R. salebrosus, and R. occident...

We compared predation of Orius insidiosus (Say) on adult and second instars of Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) andon adults ofF. occidentalis andF. tritici (Fitch) in arenaswith pepper ßowers. Also, we compared the dispersal of these thrips in the presence and absence of the predator. For each experiment, two densities of thrips (10 and 20 total thrips) and two time exposures (10 and 34 h...

Fluted pumpkin (Telfairia occidentalis) is a minimally-processed green leafy vegetable traditionally used for its antianaemic properties in the form of leaf juice without a heating or inactivation step before consumption. The aim of the study was to assess the presence of surface microbiota on T. occidentalis leaves and also to determine the antimicrobial susceptibility of isolated organisms. B...

Competitive interactions between species can be mitigated or even reversed in the presence of anthropogenic influences. The thrips species Frankliniella occidentalis and Thrips tabaci are highly invasive and damaging agricultural pests throughout the world. Where the species co-occur, one species tends to eventually predominate over the other. Avermectin and beta-cypermethrin are commonly used ...

In cold-temperate ecosystems of the upper Great Lakes Region, evergreen conifer-dominated forests were once common. As a result of past management practices, early-successional deciduous forests now dominate the landscape. Embedded in this matrix are stands of shade-tolerant conifers, including Thuja occidentalis . For the past several decades, large-scale T. occidentalis regeneration in remnan...

Podosphaera (Sphaerotheca) euphorbiae on Euphorbia epithymoides (= E. polychroma, cushion spurge) is reported for the first time in North America. Neoerysiphe (Erysiphe) galeopsidis on Lamium amplexicaule (henbit), Blumeria (Erysiphe) graminis on Festuca idahoenis (Idaho fescue), Taphrina johansonii on Populus tremuloides (trembling aspen), and Taphrina occidentalis on Alnus rubra (red alder) a...

Geographic patterns of genetic variation in chlorolast (cpDNA) and nuclear ribosomal (nrDNA) DNA were examined to test the hypothesis of hybridization between Juniperus osteosperma and Juniperus occidentalis in the Great Basin of western Nevada. Noncoding DNA from the trnL-trnF intergenic spacer and the trnL intron of the chloroplast genome was sequenced from seven populations of J. osteosperma...

Pinus-Juniperus L. (Piñon-juniper) woodlands of the western United States have expanded in area nearly 10-fold since the late 1800's. Juniperus occidentalis ssp. occidentalis Hook. (western juniper) dominance in sagebrush steppe has several negative consequences, including reductions in herbaceous production and diversity, decreased wildlife habitat, and higher erosion and runoff potentials. Pr...

1. High competitive ability is believed to be an important characteristic of invasive species. Many animal studies have compared the competitive ability of invasive species with a native species that is being displaced, but few have looked at systems where an invasive species has failed to establish itself. These types of studies are important to determine if competition is relevant not only to...