Crops producing insecticidal toxins from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) are widely planted and enable management of key insect pests while reducing the use of conventional insecticides. However, the evolution of Bt resistance could diminish these benefits. Fitness costs of Bt resistance occur in the absence of Bt toxin when individuals with resistance alleles show a reduction in fitn...

The sugarcane borer Diatraea saccharalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) has been controlled by Cotesia flavipes (Hymenoptera: Braconidae); however, very little is known about the effect of the parasitism in the host organs, including the midgut. This work aims to verify mitochondrial alteration in the different midgut epithelial cells of D. saccharalis parasitized by C. flavipes. Midgut fragments (an...

Cotesia chilonis (Munakata, 1912) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae, Microgastrinae) is a species used widely for biological control of several species of Chilo (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) stem borers. The genus name, species author and year of publication associated with this parasitoid wasp species have varied historically. Based on the available evidence, a complete account of the history and nomenclatu...

In the present study, we report five complete and one nearly complete mitochondrial genomes of the Pyraloidea including the first representatives from the Pyralinae (Pyralidae) and Glaphyriinae (Crambidae). We also conduct a comparative analysis of mitogenomic features of this group. Our results show that Pyraloidea mitogenomes evolved under a common trend found in lepidopteran mitogenomes and ...

The European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), is a major pest of corn, Zea mays L., in North America, Europe and Asia. Before the introduction of transgenic Bt corn targeting lepidopteran pests, the European corn borer was responsible for over $1 billion in damage and control measures annually in the U.S. alone (Mason et al. 1996). Management of this insect historically ...

We describe a new species of Cordyligaster Macquart (Diptera: Tachinidae) from Area de Conservacion Guanacaste (ACG) in northwestern Costa Rica. Cordyligastercapellii sp. n., is described and photographed. All specimens of C.capellii were reared from Syngamiaflorella (Stoll, 1781) (Lepidoptera, Crambidae, Spilomelinae), a leaf-rolling caterpillar collected in ACG rain forest. By coupling morpho...

The legume pod borer, Maruca vitrata (Lepidoptera: Crambidae; syn. M. testulalis), is a serious pantropical insect pest of grain legumes. Comparative studies of M. vitrata female sex pheromone components in two different geographic populations in China, Wuhan and Huazhou, confirmed that (E,E)-10,12-hexadecadienal (E10,E12-16:Ald) and (E)-10-hexadecenal (E10-16:Ald) were present in variable rati...

Asiatic rice borer, Chilo suppressalis (Walker), larvae cause extensive crop losses worldwide. Because chemical control is problematic, and sex pheromone applications are a valuable management tactic in China, judicious timing of a minimal density of pheromone dispensers is important in developing a cost-effective C. suppressalis IPM program. During June-October in 2011, 20, 30, 40, and 50 disp...

Laboratory selection with Cry1Ab, the predominant Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxin in transgenic corn, Zea mays L., produced >1000-fold resistance in two laboratory strains of European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis (Hübner). We tested the offspring of various crosses to determine the mode of inheritance of resistance to Cry1Ab. Patterns of inheritance of resistance were similar in the two res...