Lesquerella fendleri is a new crop being cultivated in the arid Southwest for the hydroxy fatty acids found in its seed oils; however, little is know about the agricultural pests that will affect the seed production of this crop or the role the crop may have as a possible source or sink for current agricultural pests in the Arizona landscape. In the early spring, lygus bugs, some of our most im...

www.frontiersinecology.org © The Ecological Society of America T the world, humans compete with a multitude of pest species for food, fiber, and timber, although natural predators greatly reduce the densities of many of these pests. Loss of natural pest control services could have important economic, environmental, and human health consequences (Daily 1997). The Brazilian free-tailed bat (Tadar...

Pyridalyl is a novel synthetic insecticide discovered by Sumitomo Chemical Co. Ltd. and has been developed globally as the trade names, Pleo, or Sumipleo. The compound is highly effective against various pests of Lepidoptera, Thysanoptera, Diptera and certain Acari, including resistant strains that are less susceptible or resistant to existing insecticides. The lepidopterous larvae treated with...

Invasive insect pests cost the agricultural industry billions of dollars annually in crop losses. Timely detection of pests is critical for management efficiency. Innovative pest detection strategies, such as environmental DNA (eDNA) techniques, combined with efficient predators, maximize sampling resolution across space and time and may improve surveillance. We tested the hypothesis that tempe...

Experimental and Natural Variation in Hovering Flight Capacity in Bees, Hymenoptera: Apidae By Jason Thomas Vance Dr. Stephen Roberts, Examination Committee Chair Associate Professor of Biological Sciences University of Nevada, Las Vegas In honey bees, the capacity for flight underlies many behaviors which impact fitness and longevity, such as the ability to forage or evade predators. However, ...

Chemical communication occurs when both originator (signaller) and one or more receiver(s) possess specializations for chemical exchange of information. Chemical information can be used by a wide variety of species to locate food and mates, avoid predators and engage in social interactions. In this review, we focus on chemical signalling between mates or cues from nest sites or hosts by selecte...

The nitro-substituted neonicotinoid insecticides, which include imidacloprid, thiamethoxam and clothianidin, are widely used to control a range of important agricultural pests both by foliar applications and also as seed dressings and by soil application. Since they exhibit systemic properties, exposure of bees may occur as a result of residues present in the nectar and/or pollen of seed- or so...

Maintaining bee-friendly habitats in cities and suburbs can help conserve the vital pollination services of declining bee populations. Despite label precautions not to apply them to blooming plants, neonicotinoids and other residual systemic insecticides may be applied for preventive control of lawn insect pests when spring-flowering weeds are present. Dietary exposure to neonicotinoids adverse...

Abstract Stingless bees (Apidae: Meliponini) provide pollination services to crops and produce high–quality honey. The application of agrochemicals during the management crop pests is an increasing threat pollinators ecosystem they provide. Biopesticides are considered as better alternatives; however, there limited evidence their impact on stingless bees. We evaluated effect most widely used Af...