Gravimetric Method for Determining Stage of an Obligate Internally Feeding Stored-Product Insect Pest, the Cowpea Weevil

Stored-grain Insect Areawide Pest Management

Gene Disruption Technologies Have the Potential to Transform Stored Product Insect Pest Control

Stored product insects feed on grains and processed commodities manufactured from grain post-harvest, reducing the nutritional value and contaminating food. Currently, the main defense against stored product insect pests is the pesticide fumigant phosphine. Phosphine is highly toxic to all animals, but is the most effective and economical control method, and thus is used extensively worldwide. ...

Obligate symbiont involved in pest status of host insect.

The origin of specific insect genotypes that enable efficient use of agricultural plants is an important subject not only in applied fields like pest control and management but also in basic disciplines like evolutionary biology. Conventionally, it has been presupposed that such pest-related ecological traits are attributed to genes encoded in the insect genomes. Here, however, we report that p...

An inexpensive feeding bioassay technique for stored-product insects.

ABSTRACT We used the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum Herbst (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), to compare three feeding bioassay techniques using flour disks. The area (scanner or digital photographs) and mass (sensitive balance) of the same flour disks were measured daily for 1 or 2 wk to assess feeding by insects. The loss in mass and area over 4 h was measured, as some variation over time wa...

Hydroprene: Mode of action, current status in stored-product pest management, insect resistance, and future prospects

The insect growth regulator (IGR) hydroprene is a juvenile hormone analogue used in urban and stored-product insect control programs in the United States and in other developed countries. Hydroprene can be considered as an alternative to conventional insecticides because of its specific activity against immature insect stages, low persistence in the environment, and virtually non-toxic effects ...