Signalling chemicals play an essential role in arthropod life cycles. They provide the means whereby mates, host and oviposition sites are located and recognized. The identification of such semiochemicals (sex pheromones, host location and habitat-related cues) in mosquitoes, midges and sealice of farmed salmon is revealing ways in which such devastating pests may be monitored and controlled by...

In Florida, horses have numerous arthropod pests. Most of these pests are considered external parasites as their attack on the horse is principally external, as opposed to internal parasites such as “worms” or nematodes and bots. The common external parasites include filth flies such as non-biting house flies and biting stable flies and occasionally horn flies, the numerous other blood-feeding ...

Several arthropod species are important vectors of pathogens that cause disease in hu‐ mans, animals, and plants, including protozoa, nematodes, bacteria, and viruses. Arthro‐ pods are also pests competing with humans for food and parasitize farm animals, decreasing their productivity. Historically, arthropod pests and disease vectors affecting public health, crop yields, and livestock producti...

Pyrethroid insecticides target voltage-gated sodium channels, which are critical for electrical signaling in the nervous system. The intensive use of pyrethroids in controlling arthropod pests and disease vectors has led to many instances of pyrethroid resistance around the globe. In the past two decades, studies have identified a large number of sodium channel mutations that are associated wit...

Synthetic sugar esters are a relatively new class of insecticidal compounds that are produced by reacting sugars with fatty acids. The objective of this research was to determine how systematic alterations in sugar or fatty acid components of sugar ester compounds influenced their insecticidal properties. Sucrose octanoate, sorbitol octanoate, sorbitol decanoate, sorbitol caproate, xylitol octa...

Many of the arthropod species that are important pests of agriculture and forestry are impossible to discriminate morphologically throughout all of their life stages. Some cannot be differentiated at any life stage. Over the past decade, DNA barcoding has gained increasing adoption as a tool to both identify known species and to reveal cryptic taxa. Although there has not been a focused effort ...