Abundances and interactions among biological control insects and their effects on target invasive plants were monitored within the flower heads and roots of diffuse knapweed, Centaurea diffusa, and in spotted knapweed, Centaurea stoebe, along the Colorado Front Range. Flower weevils, (Larinus species) and root-feeders (Cyphocleonus achates and Sphenoptera jugoslavica) were released on knapweed ...

Spatial patterns are important cues for flower detection and recognition by nectar-feeding insects. Pattern vision has been studied in much detail in bees and flies but rarely in butterflies and moths. In this paper, I present a first proof of pattern-learning abilities in a moth, and discuss reasons for the limitations to their pattern learning. The diurnal hawkmoth Macroglossum stellatarum sp...

Deceptive flowers decoy pollinators by advertising a reward, which finally is not provided. Numerous deceptive plants are pollinated Diptera, but the attractive cues and strategies only identified in few cases. A typical fly-deceptive plant genus Aristolochia , evolved sophisticated trap to temporarily capture pollinators. Though rarely demonstrated experimental approaches, species believed che...

Flower flies (Diptera: Syrphidae) are one of the most species-rich dipteran families and provide important ecosystem services such as pollination, biological control pests, recycling organic matter redistributions essential nutrients. fly adults generally feed on pollen nectar, but their larval feeding habits strikingly diverse. In present study, high-throughput sequencing was used to capture e...

The highly oligophagous tephritid Chaetostomella cylindrica infests the flower heads of six genera and ten species of thistles in Lebanon. It predominantly utilizes two hosts occurring in sympatry, Notobasis syriaca and Onopordum illyricum. Previous work showed that adult flies emerging from N. syriaca fit more closely the description of the species, particularly with respect to the colour and ...

Diptera are one of the three largest and most diverse animal groups in the world. As an often neglected but important group of pollinators, they play a significant role in agrobiodiversity and the biodiversity of plants everywhere. Flies are present in almost all habitats and biomes and for many medicinal, food and ornamental plants, pollinating flies guarantee or enhance seed and fruit product...

This is the first record for the subfamily Psychodinae from Ecuador and a new species belonging to genus Arisemus, A. triconnectus, is described.

Encouraging natural enemies by growing attractive plants is considered an effective method of pest control in organic farming. However, it is important to identify which flowers best attract beneficial insects. In this study, relative attractiveness of 16 species of flowering plants to adult hoverflies was assessed by conducting timed observations of feeding-visit frequencies. The experiments w...