The reproductive performance of the parasitoid Habrobracon hebetor (Say) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) against the moths Anagasta kuehniella Zeller and Plodia interpunctella (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) was studied in the laboratory. The analysis was based on the comparison of parasitoid's life table parameters related to those of its hosts at various conditions of host density (daily supply o...

The types and numbers of insect species associated with eight Kansas retail stores belonging to a pet store chain were surveyed during February to August 2001. Insects were monitored at 1-3-wk intervals using food- and pheromone-baited pitfall traps for beetles and pheromone-baited sticky traps for moths. Thirty traps of each type were placed within a store. Thirty insect species belonging to 2...

Insects are subject to attack from a range of natural enemies. Many natural enemies, such as parasitoids, do not immediately, or ever, kill their victims but they are nevertheless important in structuring biological communities. The lag that often occurs between attack and host death results in mixed populations of healthy and parasitised hosts. However, little is understood about how the effec...

Stored-product insects are a perennial problem in retail stores, where they damage and contaminate susceptible merchandise such as food products and animal feed. Historically, pest management in these stores has relied heavily on chemical insecticides, but environmental and health issues have dictated use of safer methods, and these require better monitoring. A monitoring procedure that employs...

Xenorhabdus and Photorhabdus are gram-negative bacteria that produce a range of proteins that are toxic to insects. We recently identified a novel 42-kDa protein from Xenorhabdus nematophila that was lethal to the larvae of insects such as Galleria mellonella and Helicoverpa armigera when it was injected at doses of 30 to 40 ng/g larvae. In the present work, the toxin gene txp40 was identified ...

Sex chromosomal dose difference between sexes is often normalized by a gene regulatory mechanism called dosage compensation (DC). Studies indicate that DC mechanisms are generally effective in XY rather than ZW systems. However, DC studies in lepidopterans (ZW system) gave bewildering results. In Manduca sexta, DC was complete and in Plodia interpunctella, it was incomplete. In Heliconius speci...