The aim of this technical brief is to summarize the results obtained from the laboratory and field trials conducted on birth control for insects in minimizing the impacts of fruit flies on horticulture. Several species of fruit flies belonging to Tephritidae family have a greater impact on global agriculture specially horticulture trade than almost any other pest. The introduction of fruit fly ...

The brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys (Stål), is an invasive pest from Asia that feeds on many agricultural crops in the United States, including blueberries. Yet, the effects of H. halys feeding on fruit chemistry and induced resistance to insects remain unknown. Here we hypothesized that frugivory by H. halys changes fruit chemical composition, which in turn affects insect feeding...

HIGHLIGHTS Using date seed powder as Alternative for yeast in rearing of peach fruit fly, Bactrocera zonata. Date provide insects quality parameters corresponding to FAO, IAEA/USDA standards. costs less than yeast.

The sterile insect technique (SIT) is an environmentally friendly method of pest control in which insects are mass-produced, irradiated and released to mate with wild counterparts. SIT has been used to control major pest insects including the pink bollworm (Pectinophora gossypiella Saunders), a global pest of cotton. Transgenic technology has the potential to overcome disadvantages associated w...

Information from Literature Much has been published about pollination, pollinators, pollinizers, fertilization and fruit set in text books and periodicals. The definitions are not difficult. Pollination is the movement of pollen among compatible flowering plants (cross-pollination) or from anthers to stigmas on the same plant or different plants of the same clone (self-pollination). Many plants...

Two fruit fly baits, Nu-Lure/malathion and GF-120 (Spinosad) were evaluated in the laboratory for non-target impacts on beneficial insects. Nu-Lure/malathion proved attractive and toxic to adults and larvae of the coccinellid species, Curinus coeruleus Mulsant, Cycloneda sanguinea L. and Harmonia axyridis Pallas, a lacewing species, Chrysoperla rufilabris Burmeister. The coccinellids Olla v-nig...

Traps baited with synthetic lures (ammonium acetate and putrescine) captured as many Mexican fruit flies as the traditional torula yeast/borax slurry, but with far fewer (ratio 5:1) nontarget insects. Ninety percent of the nontarget insects were dipterans. Consequently, neither trap is efficacious against other citrus pests, which are mainly Hemiptera or Lepidoptera. Although the nontarget catc...

Learning in the context of mate choice can influence sexual selection and speciation. Relatively little work, however, has been conducted on the role of learning in the context of mate choice, and this topic has been mostly ignored in insects even though insects have served as a prime model system in research on sexual selection and incipient speciation. Extending recent work indicating apparen...

The phagocytosis of invading microorganisms by specialized blood cells is a crucial element of innate immunity in both mammals and insects. In this issue of Cell, Kocks et al. (2005) demonstrate that Eater, a scavenger receptor, plays an important role in the recognition and phagocytosis of bacteria in the fruit fly Drosophila.

Just as the Wright brothers implemented controls to achieve stable airplane flight, flying insects have evolved behavioral strategies that ensure recovery from flight disturbances. Pioneering studies performed on tethered and dissected insects demonstrate that the sensory, neurological, and musculoskeletal systems play important roles in flight control. Such studies, however, cannot produce an ...