Many studies have paid particular attention to the role of either secondary plant compounds or amino acids as determinants of host-plant range in phytophagous insects. Here we examine the relative importance of both of these classes of compound in host acceptance by generalist and specialist morphs of the black bean aphid, Aphis fabae, that are morphologically similar and genetically identical....

Plants are prone to various biotic stresses in nature by bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites, harmful insects and weeds. The biggest percentage loss (70%) in plants is attributed to insects. Lepidoptera is one such diversified phytophagous insect group, which include Helicoverpa armigera, a key pest of many food crops including chickpea, pigeonpea, pea, lentil, chillies, sunflower, tomato, toba...

Stylet sheath formation is a common feature among phytophagous hemipterans. These sheaths are considered essential to promote a successful feeding event. Stylet sheath compositions are largely unknown and their mode of solidification remains to be elucidated. This report demonstrates the formation and solidification of in āere (in air) produced stylet sheaths by six hemipteran families: Diaphor...

Phytoseiid mites have been considered the most promising predators for control of pest and small insects. Their use in solanaceous crops biological major mite pests represents an important challenge requires continued research. This study aimed at investigating phytoseiid species their associated phytophagous on eggplant (Solanum melongena), tomato lycopersicum) black nightshade nigrum) Syrian ...

Microorganisms represent the largest component of biodiversity in our world. For millions of years, prokaryotic microorganisms have functioned as a major selective force shaping eukaryotic evolution. Microbes that live inside and on animals outnumber the animals' actual somatic and germ cells by an estimated 10-fold. Collectively, the intestinal microbiome represents a "forgotten organ," functi...

Abstract The study of ecological interactions between plants, phytophagous insects and their natural enemies is an essential but challenging component for understanding ecosystem dynamics. Molecular methods such as DNA barcoding can help elucidate these interactions. In this study, we employed to establish hostplant parasitoid with hesperiid butterflies, using a complete reference library Hespe...

Pasture areas have been decreasing over the years in Brazil, largely due to expansion of agricultural areas, mainly Southeast region. Natural or planted pastures are subject attack by insects that can become pests depending on their level infestation and among them Scarabaeidae beetles. The scarce information species this family existing region Bálsamo (São Paulo) makes a study occurrence these...

Cellulose is an important nutritional resource for a number of insect herbivores. Digestion of cellulose and other polysaccharides in plant-based diets requires several types of enzymes including a number of glycoside hydrolase (GH) families. In a previous study, we showed that a single GH45 gene is present in the midgut tissue of the western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera (Coleo...

Little is known about bacteria associated with Lepidoptera, the large group of mostly phytophagous insects comprising the moths and butterflies. We inventoried the larval midgut bacteria of a polyphagous foliivore, the gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar L.), whose gut is highly alkaline, by using traditional culturing and culture-independent methods. We also examined the effects of diet on microbial ...