BACKGROUND The species diversity of aphids and seasonal timing of their flight activity can have significant impacts on crop production, as aphid species differ in their ability to transmit plant viruses and flight timing affects virus epidemiology. The aim of the study was to characterise the species composition and phenology of aphid fauna in Finland in one of the northernmost intensive crop ...

Between 1914 and 2007, a quarantine protected California avocado, Persea americana Mill., groves from pests that might be introduced into the state along with fresh, imported avocados. Soon after Mexican avocados were first allowed entry on 1 February 2007, live specimens of several species of armored scales (Hemiptera: Diaspididae) not believed to be present in California were detected on 'Has...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has two federal (Section 3) vertebrate pesticide registrations with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for gas cartridges to control damage to American agricultural resources and reduce threats to public health and safety. The gas cartridges are pyro-fumigant devices that produce primarily carbon ...

Eighteen hosts were inoculated with each of four races of Heterodera glycines. A discriminant function analysis of the reactions of these races to these hosts demonstrated that these races could be separated but not consistently. Then 33 H. glycines populations collected from 13 states and five obtained from Japan were tested on differential hosts. The number of variants discriminated within th...

Tests were conducted to determine if age of mass reared adult female Mediterranean fruit flies, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), affected the viability of their offspring. Samples of eggs (0.4 g each) were collected on five consecutive days (4 to 8 d past adult emergence) from individual 660-liter adult colony screen cages and were reared in separate trays containing 0.5 liter of artificial diet...