Bronze birch borer (Agrilus anxius Gory) (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), a specialist wood-borer endemic to North America, is prone to periodic outbreaks that have caused widespread mortality of birch (Betula spp.) in boreal and north temperate forests. It is also the key pest of birch in ornamental landscapes. Amenity plantings have extended the distribution of birch in North America, for which we...

The effects of biotic and abiotic factors on stem borer parasitoid diversity, abundance, and parasitism were studied in cultivated and natural habitats in four agroecological zones in Kenya. Comparing habitat types, we found partial support for the "natural enemy" hypothesis, whereby, across all localities, parasitoid diversity was higher in more diverse host plant communities in natural habita...

Plant resistance is a promising control method for the two most damaging insect pests of maize, Zea mays L.: the European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis (Hübner), and the western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte. Fifteen experimental lines of maize, derived from a backcross breeding program designed to introgress resistance to European corn borer from Peruvian maize into tw...

The response of potato, Solanum tuberosum L., tuber yield to stem injury by European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis (Hübner), larvae was investigated in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States for 3 yr. This response was described for 'Superior', 'Atlantic', and 'Snowden' potato, which are early-season, midseason, and late-season maturing cultivars, respectively. To model the yield/injury ...

Leaf-feeding damage by first generation larvae of fall armyworm, Spodopter frugiperda (J. E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), and southwestern corn borer, Diatraea grandiosella Dyar (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), cause major economic losses each year in maize, Zea mays L. A previous study identified quantitative trait loci (QTL) contributing to reduced leaf-feeding damage by these insects in the mai...

The emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), is an exotic woodborer first detected in 2002 in Michigan and Ontario and is threatening the ash resource in North America. We examined the effects of light exposure and girdling on green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica Marsh) volatile production, and effects of light exposure, girdling, and leaf age on emerald ash bore...

Surveys were conducted in the major apple growing regions of New York state to determine the incidence of borers infesting burrknots on clonal apple rootstocks. Dogwood borer, Synanthedon scitula (Harris), was generally prevalent throughout the state, but American plum borer, Euzophera semifuneralis (Walker), was limited to western New York apple orchards near infested stone fruit trees. Insect...

Rice (Oryza staiva L.) is one of the world's most important crops, providing a stable food for nearly half of the global population (FAO 2004). Almost 90% of the rice is growing and consumed in Asia. The striped stem borer (Chilo suppressalis Walker) is one of the most important rice pests in Asia. Rice stem borers cause damage to the crop at the larval stages. Larvae borer in to the plant stem...

Transgenic rice to control stem borer damage is under development in China. To assess the potential of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) transgenes in stem borer control, the toxicity of five Bt protoxins (Cry1Aa, Cry1Ab, Cry1Ac, Cry1Ba and Cry1Ca) against two rice stem borers, Sesamia inferens (pink stem borer) and Chilo suppressalis (striped stem borer), was evaluated in the laboratory by feeding n...

Oak-hickory forests of the Arkansas Ozarks recently incurred extensive tree mortality due in part to a native wood-boring beetle, the red oak borer Enaphalodes rufulus (Haldeman) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae). Historically, red oak borer has existed throughout southeastern U.S. forests at relatively low population levels, but Arkansas infestation estimates in 2001 and 2003 reported much higher pop...