Abstract Background The tobacco cutworm, Spodoptera litura [Fab.] (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is a devastating insect pest of several crops. Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) the families Heterorhabditidae and Steinernematidae are used as an alternative control measure in lieu hazardous synthetic chemical applications. Results A survey naturally occurring EPNs was conducted across province Cotaba...

In this study we produced transgenic tobacco plants by overexpressing a serine proteinase inhibitor gene, SaPIN2a, from the American black nightshade Solanum americanum under the control of the CaMV 35S promoter using Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation. SaPIN2a was properly transcribed and translated as indicated by Northern blot and Western blot analyses. Functional integrity of...

Both Microplitis prodeniae Rao and Chandry (Hymenoptera: Bracondidae) and Campoletis chlorideae Uchida (Hymenoptera: Ichnumonidae) are major parasitoids of Spodoptera litura (Fabricious) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in tobacco, Nicotiana tabacum L. (Solanales: Solanaceae) at Nanxiong, Guangdong Province, South China. The niches and interspecific competition relationships of the two species were stu...

Certain essential plant oils, widely used as fragrances and #avors in the perfume and food industries, have long been reputed to repel insects. Recent investigations in several countries con"rm that some plant essential oils not only repel insects, but have contact and fumigant insecticidal actions against speci"c pests, and fungicidal actions against some important plant pathogens. As part of ...

Based on morphological and molecular data we investigated the species boundaries in genus Ochraethes Chevrolat, 1860. The delimitation with cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) supports some synonymies highlights existence of a high phenotypic plasticity species. following are considered as new junior synonyms: O. virescens (Chevrolat, 1860) syn. nov. brevicornis 1860), octomaculata Chemsak &am...

BACKGROUND Due to problems with chemical control, there is increasing interest in the use of microsporidia for control of lepidopteran pests. However, there have been few studies to evaluate the susceptibility of exotic species to microsporidia from indigenous Lepidoptera. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS We investigated some biological characteristics of the microsporidian parasite isolated fr...