The spotted wing Drosophila, Drosophila suzukii, is a new pest in Europe and America which causes severe damages, mostly to stone fruit crops. Temperature and humidity are among the most important abiotic factors governing insect development and fitness. In many situations, temperature can become stressful thus compromising survival. The ability to cope with thermal stress depends on basal leve...

BACKGROUND Up-regulation of tryptophan (Trp) conversion into kynurenine (Kyn) and increased formation of down-stream metabolites of Kyn is one of the mechanisms of aging and neurodegenerative disorders. Kyn is an immediate precursor of kynurenic acid (KYNA), an antagonist to NMDA and α7nAChR receptors and activator of aryl hydrocarbon receptor. Increased formation of KYNA ameliorates neurodegen...

Butterflies such as the atala hairstreak, Eumaeus atala Poey, and the frosted elfin, Callophrys irus Godart, are restricted to frequently disturbed habitats where their larval host plants occur. Pupae of these butterflies are noted to reside at the base of host plants or in the leaf litter and soil, which may allow them to escape direct mortality by fire, a prominent disturbance in many areas t...

To monitor the quality of male tsetse for use in the sterile insect technique (SIT), a field cage test was developed and evaluated. Mating competitiveness was tested with male Glossina pallidipes Austen that emerged from pupae stored for different periods at 15 degrees C. Control males emerged from pupae stored at 23-24 degrees C and emerged at 26.5 degrees C. Each sample of test males was divi...

The fungus Fusarium solani (Mart.) Sacc. was discovered as a native entomopathogen of the sugarbeet root maggot, Tetanops myopaeformis (Röder), in the Red River Valley of North Dakota during the 2004 sugarbeet production season. This is the first report of a native pathogen affecting the pupal stage of T. myopaeformis. Forty-four percent of larvae collected from a field site near St. Thomas (Pe...

Prothoracic glands from diapausing pupae of the tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta, synthesize markedly less ecdysone in vitro in response to prothoracicotropic hormone (PTTH) than do glands from non-diapausing pupae. Impaired steroidogenesis is also observed in glands from diapausing animals exposed to agents that enhance ecdysone synthesis in non-diapausing pupal glands by increasing intracellul...

The efficacy of the larvicidal and pupicidal agent (Agnique) MMF was evaluated against larvae of An. arabiensis and Culex (Diptera: Culicidae) under field conditions in Bahary Locality, Khartoum, Sudan. At an applied dosage of 0.25 ml/m2, MMF resulted in 89.4, 79.8 and 88.2% reductions in L3-L4 instars An. arabiensis and 63.5% in Culex larvae (all stages) 24 to 72 hours post-treatment. Pupae we...

Background: Insect diapause is associated with physiological dormancy, extension of life span and an altered developmental programme. Reactive oxygen species, oxidative damaged products and antioxidants are being increasingly linked to such processes in insects. Tropical tasar silkworm, Antheraea mylitta Drury (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae), has an impressive pupal diapause and exhibits a distinct ...