The toxicity of 2 reduced-risk pesticides, 2% horticultural oil with 0.05% Silwet L-77 and Grandevo (Chromobacterium subtsugae Strain PRAA4-1T), to 2 predators: Metaseiulus occidentalis (Nesbitt) (Acari: Phytoseiidae) and Hemicheyletia wellsina DeLeon (Acari: Cheyletidae), and 3 orchid pests: the two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae Koch (Prostigmata: Tetranychidae), the phalaenopsis mit...

Chemical insecticides produce the risk of developing pest resistance, side effects to non-target species, and long lived residues in the environment. Generalist Predators can be effective agents of bio-control against Musca domestica L. (house fly). Spiders, particularly assemblages of species, have been shown to be effective in reducing pest insects. Common house fly catcher (Plexippus petersi...

The present study was carried out at the research field of Department Entomology, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Gazipur, Bangladesh, during tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) growing seasons 2021 and 2022 to evaluate pest management benefit 4 insecticides, viz. Karate 2.5 ec (λ-cyhalothrin), Ripcord 10 (cypermethrin), Marshal 20 (carbosulfan), Shobicron 425 (profenofo...

Farming activity severely impacts the invertebrate food resources of farmland birds, with direct mortality to populations of above-ground arthropods thorough mechanical damage during crop harvests. In this study we assessed the effects of phenological periods, including the timing of harvest, on the composition and biomass of prey consumed by three species of aerial insectivorous birds. Common ...

Proteinase inhibitors (PIs) are anti-metabolic proteins, which interfere with the digestive process of insects. It is one of the important defence strategies existing in plants against predators. The use of the plant-derived PI genes for developing insect-resistant transgenic crops has come of age. Several transgenic plants expressing PIs have been created and these plants have shown enhanced r...

Anti-predator behaviors are essential to survival for most animals. The neural bases of such behaviors, however, remain largely unknown. Although honeybees commonly use their stingers to counterattack predators, the Japanese honeybee (Apis cerana japonica) uses a different strategy to fight against the giant hornet (Vespa mandarinia japonica). Instead of stinging the hornet, Japanese honeybees ...

Corn (Zea mays L.) that has been genetically engineered to produce the Cry1Ab protein (Bt corn) is resistant to lepidopteran pests. Bt corn is widely planted in the midwestern United States, often adjacent to headwater streams. We show that corn byproducts, such as pollen and detritus, enter headwater streams and are subject to storage, consumption, and transport to downstream water bodies. Lab...

Asopines are predators of insects, with several species with potential as biocontrol agents of a number of pests. Metrogaleruca obscura (Degeer), a neotropical species of Galerucini, was introduced in Malaysia, Asia, and Mauritius, Africa, to control the spread of Cordia curassavica (Boraginaceae), a native plant of the neotropics. The occurrence of Podisus nigrispinus (Dallas) preying on M. ob...

In this paper we propose a positive linear control law for the stabilization of positive equilibria in predator-prey systems. This problem is motivated by the introduction, which is by essence positive, of predators in biological control applications, to prevent excessive levels of prey (pests). We build a linear controller that we saturate at zero and prove, under some conditions, the global a...

We summarize the economic importance, biology, and management of soft scales, focusing on pests of agricultural, horticultural, and silvicultural crops in outdoor production systems and urban landscapes. We also provide summaries on voltinism, crawler emergence timing, and predictive models for crawler emergence to assist in developing soft scale management programs. Phloem-feeding soft scale p...