BACKGROUND The flower bug Orius sauteri is an important polyphagous predator that is widely used for the biological control of mites and aphids. However, the optimal conditions for mass rearing of this insect are still unclear, thus limiting its application. METHODOLOGY In this study, we investigated the optimal ingredients of an artificial diet for raising O. sauteri using a microencapsulati...

Alternative strategies to the common practice of spraying with insecticide in order to control the rosy apple aphid Dysaphis plantaginea (Pass.) (Homoptera: Aphididae) are required. Biological control by natural enemies is a possible tool. In Asturies, despite the tradition of growing local cider apple trees, there are no studies about the community of D. plantaginea predators and their impact ...

Soybean tissue and arthropods were collected in Bt soybean fields in China at different times during the growing season to investigate the exposure of arthropods to the plant-produced Cry1Ac toxin and the transmission of the toxin within the food web. Samples from 52 arthropod species/taxa belonging to 42 families in 10 orders were analysed for their Cry1Ac content using enzyme-linked immunosor...

Optimal mating frequencies differ between sexes as a consequence of the sexual differentiation of reproductive costs per mating, where mating is normally more costly to females than males. In mating systems where sexual reproduction is costly to females, sexual conflict may cause both direct (i.e. by reducing female fecundity or causing mortality) and indirect (i.e. increased risk of mortality,...

A computer model for simulating population dynamics of Lyctocoris campestris (F.), a predator of stored-product insects, was developed using data from the literature and newly collected data for adult longevity and fecundity. Immature development time and survival, adult longevity, fecundity, and cannibalism were simulated. The model was validated at ambient environmental conditions during thre...