Scale insects Stigmacoccus paranaensis (Foldi, 2006) associated with bracatinga trees (Mimosa scabrella) in Santa Catarina, Brazil, can play an important economic role and guarantee the production of “bracatinga honeydew honey”. This scale insect has ability to excrete large amounts honeydew, importance for beekeepers, especially due natural occurrence host plants at high density, known as “bra...

Background. Foraging efficiency is critical in determining the success of organisms and may be affected by a range of factors, including resource distance and quality. For social insects such as ants, outcomes must be considered at the level of both the individual and the colony. It is important to understand whether anthropogenic disturbances, such as forestry, affect foraging loads, independe...

321 honey samples from Switzerland were collected. The botanical authenticity of 176 honey samples was confirmed by the determination of electrical conductivity, sugar composition, pH-value, free acidity, and microscopical pollen analysis [2], as well as the sensory evaluation by three experts. The honey samples were assigned to one of the following groups: floral honeys from acacia (Robinia sp...

Tutin is a plant-derived neurotoxin which is sometimes detected in New Zealand honey. Tutin contamination of honey occurs when bees gather honeydew from an insect that feeds on sap of the shrub Coriaria arborea (“tutu”). Consumption of tutu honeydew honey can result in serious acute adverse health effects. Temporary maximum levels (MLs) for tutin in honey and comb honey of 2 mg/kg and 0.1 mg/kg...

The fresh-cut produce industry has been the fastest-growing portion of the food retail market during the past 10 years, providing consumers with convenient and nutritious food. However, fresh-cut fruits and vegetables raise food safety concerns, because exposed tissue may be colonized more easily by pathogenic bacteria than intact produce. This is due to the higher availability of nutrients on ...

Buffa, L. M., P. Jaureguiberry, and M. A. Delfino. 2009. Exudate-gathering ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) at three different liquid food rewards. Acta Zoológica Mexicana (n. s.), 25(3): 515-526. ABSTRACT. Extrafloral nectaries (EFNs) and hemipteran honeydew are liquid food rewards (FRs) that encourage ant visitation in many plant families in a wide variety of habitats. In this study we explored...

A phage cocktail was applied to honeydew melon pieces 1, 0.5, and 0 h before contamination with Listeria monocytogenes strain LCDC 81-861 and 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 h after contamination. The phage application was most effective when applied 1, 0.5, or 0 h before contamination with L. monocytogenes, reducing pathogen populations by up to 6.8 log units after 7 days of storage. This indicates that unde...

BACKGROUND The brown planthopper (BPH) Nilaparvata lugens (Stal) is a serious pest of rice in Asia. Development of novel control strategies can be facilitated by comparison of BPH feeding behaviour on varieties exhibiting natural genetic variation, and then elucidation of the underlying mechanisms of resistance. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS BPH feeding behaviour was compared on 12 rice vari...