Soil treatments with Metarhizium brunneum EAMa 01/58-Su strain conducted in both Northern and Southern Spain reduced the olive fly (Bactrocera oleae) population density emerging from the soil during spring up to 70% in treated plots compared with controls. A model to determine the influence of rainfall on the conidial wash into different soil types was developed, with most of the conidia retain...

A bacterial isolate (SCU-B244T) was obtained in China from crickets (Teleogryllus occipitalis) living in cropland deserted for approximately 10 years. The isolated bacteria were Gram-negative, facultatively anaerobic, oxidase-negative rods. A preliminary analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence indicated that the strain belongs to either the genus Erwinia or Pantoea. Analysis of multilocus sequen...

An undescribed wasp, Pteromalus nr. myopitae (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) opportunistically parasitizes the olive fruit fly Bactrocera oleae (Rossi) (Diptera: Tephritidae), an introduced pest of olives in California. The native or typical host of P. nr. myopitae is unknown. We demonstrate that P. nr. myopitae is a solitary, ectoparasitic, idiobiont parasitoid of the third instar host inside frui...

Domestication of crop plants selects for numerous traits that often distinguish them dramatically from their wild progenitors. In some cases, these modifications lead to increased herbivory, by enhancing their attractiveness to herbivorous insects or reducing the efficiency of natural enemies, or both. This study investigated the effects of fruit enlargement on the olive (Olea europaea L.), the...

The olive fruit fly Bactrocera oleae has a unique ability to cope with olive flesh, and is the most destructive pest of olives worldwide. Its control has been largely based on the use of chemical insecticides, however, the selection of insecticide resistance against several insecticides has evolved. The study of detoxification mechanisms, which allow the olive fruit fly to defend against insect...

The olive fruit fly, Bactrocera oleae, is the most destructive pest of olive orchards worldwide. The monophagous larva has the unique capability of feeding on olive mesocarp, coping with high levels of phenolic compounds and utilizing non-hydrolyzed proteins present, particularly in the unripe, green olives. On the molecular level, the interaction between B. oleae and olives has not been invest...

The olive fruit fly Bactrocera oleae (Diptera: Tephritidae) is the most devastating pest of cultivated olive (Olea europaea L.). Intraspecific variation in plant resistance to B. oleae has been described only at phenotypic level. In this work, we used a transcriptomic approach to study the molecular response to the olive fruit fly in two olive cultivars with contrasting level of susceptibility....

This study uses molecular and cytogenetic methods to determine the origin of a B chromosome in some males of the wasp Trichogramma kaykai. This so-called paternal sex ratio (PSR) chromosome transmits only through sperm and shortly after fertilization triggers degeneration of the paternal genome, while keeping itself intact. The resulting embryos develop into haploid B-chromosome-carrying males....

Widely distributed species often show strong phylogeographic structure, with lineages potentially adapted to different biotic and abiotic conditions. The success of an invasion process may thus depend on the intraspecific identity of the introduced propagules. However, pest risk analyses are usually performed without accounting for intraspecific diversity. In this study, we developed bioclimati...