Pest insects lead to excessive agricultural and therefore economical losses on crops worldwide. These insects have to withstand toxic molecules that are inherent to plant defences, as well as those that are produced and introduced by humans in the form of insecticides. In recent years, research on insect-microbe symbioses has recognized that microbial symbionts may play a role protecting agains...

T h i s pape r assesses ou r state of knowledge of physiological processes involved in the re la t ionships between insects and the i r m e r m i t h i d ne m a tode parasi tes. T h r e e ma jo r componen t s of the host -paras i te relat ionship(s) are reviewed: effects of m e r m i t h i d s on hos t physiology, effects of hos t physiology on mermi th id s , and the physiology of the nema tod...

This article is concerned with the on-line counting of some harmful insects in videos in the framework of in situ video-surveillance that aims at the early detection of pest attacks in greenhouse crops. The challenges mainly concern the tiny resolution and color contrast of the insects of interest in the videos, the outdoor issues and the quasi-real time constraints. Thus, we propose a complete...

Chemical insecticides produce the risk of developing pest resistance, side effects to non-target species, and long lived residues in the environment. Generalist Predators can be effective agents of bio-control against Musca domestica L. (house fly). Spiders, particularly assemblages of species, have been shown to be effective in reducing pest insects. Common house fly catcher (Plexippus petersi...

Pest insects harm crops, livestock and human health, either directly or by acting as vectors of disease. The Sterile Insect Technique (SIT)--mass-release of sterile insects to mate with, and thereby control, their wild counterparts--has been used successfully for decades to control several pest species, including pink bollworm, a lepidopteran pest of cotton. Although it has been suggested that ...

Insects-pest is animal populations, which occurred in every possible environment with a varied number of species. The several insects are vectors of different diseases, and cause damages to crop plants. These have been affecting economy and the yield of crop plant and at national and international market. The crop yield losses caused by insects in agriculture, several chemicals have been applie...

With world trade in agricultural commodities increasing, the introduction of exotic insects into new areas where they become pests will increase. The development and application of quarantine treatments or other mitigation approaches to prevent pest introduction in traded commodities raise many research and regulatory issues. The probit 9 standard for quarantine treatment efficacy has given way...

In moths, which include many agricultural pest species, males are attracted by female-emitted sex pheromones. Although integrated pest management strategies are increasingly developed, most insect pest treatments rely on widespread use of neurotoxic chemicals, including neonicotinoid insecticides. Residual accumulation of low concentrations of these insecticides in the environment is known to b...

USDA-ARS scientists have made important contributions to the molecular genetic analysis of agriculturally important insects, and have been in the forefront of using this information for the development of new pest management strategies. Advances have been made in the identification and analysis of genetic systems involved in insect development, reproduction and behavior which enable the identif...