Surveys for egg-parasitoid wasps were conducted in Rafsanjan, Iran, on two species of Pentatomidae (Hemiptera) found pistachio orchards, Acrosternum arabicum Wagner and Brachynema signatum Jakovlev. Five Scelionidae (Platygastroidea) recovered, including one that is here described as new: Psix saccharicola (Mani), Trissolcus colemani (Crawford), T. darreh Talamas sp. nov. , perepelovi (Kozlov),...

Plant sucking heteropteran bugs feed regularly on small amounts of K(+)-rich plant material, in contrast to their hematophagous relatives which imbibe large volumes of Na(+)-rich blood. It was anticipated that this would be reflected in the endocrine control of Malpighian tubule (MT) secretion. To explore this, neuroendocrine factors known to influence MT secretion were tested on MT of the pent...

Members of the Miridae (Lygus lineolaris Palisot de Beauvois and Pseudatomoscelis seriatus Reuter) and Pentatomidae (Acrosternum hilare Say, Euschistus servus (Say), Euschistus tristigmus (Say), Euschistus quadrator Rolston, Oebalus pugnax (F.), Piezodorus guildinii (Westwood), and Thyanta custator accerra McAtee) comprise a piercing-sucking insect complex that continues to plague multiple crop...

Spined soldier bugs, Podisus maculiventris, are heteropteran insects that feed voraciously on other insects, particular the soft bodied larval forms of Lepidoptera and Coleoptera. The response of P. maculiventris Malpighian tubules (MTs) to serotonin and known diuretic and antidiuretic peptides has been investigated, and is compared with that of MT from the hematophagous and phytophagous hetero...

The invasive stink bug Halyomorpha halys, native to East Asia, is a severe agricultural pest of worldwide importance, and chemical insecticides are largely sprayed for its control. Negative impact failures management led consider classical biological control as one the most promising methods in long-term perspective. Asian egg parasitoid Trissolcus japonicus main candidate biocontrol agent H. b...