BACKGROUND As a major stored-product pest insect, Liposcelis entomophila has developed high levels of resistance to various insecticides in grain storage systems. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying resistance and environmental stress have not been characterized. To date, there is a lack of genomic information for this species. Therefore, studies aimed at profiling the L. entomophila t...

The recent recognition of psocids as a major concern in stored products and also the reemergence of heat treatment as a control tactic of stored-product insects led to the present investigation. The objectives of this study were to determine whether there are differences in heat shock tolerance of two species of stored-product psocids--Lepinotus reticulatus Enderlein (Trogiidae) and Liposcelis ...

Invertebrates can be primed to enhance their protection against pathogens they have encountered before. This enhanced immunity can be passed maternally or paternally to the offspring and is known as transgenerational immune priming. We challenged larvae of the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum by feeding them on diets supplemented with Escherichia coli, Micrococcus luteus or Pseudomonas ento...

BACKGROUND The psocids Liposcelis bostrychophila and L. entomophila (Psocoptera: Liposcelididae) are found throughout the world and are often associated with humans, food stores and habitations. These insects have developed high levels of resistance to various insecticides in grain storage systems. However, the population genetic structure and gene flow of psocids has not been well categorized,...

Serratia entomophila and Serratia proteamaculans cause amber disease in the grass grub Costelytra zealandica (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), an important pasture pest in New Zealand. Larval disease symptoms include cessation of feeding, clearance of the gut, amber coloration, and eventual death. A 115-kb plasmid, pADAP, identified in S. entomophila is required for disease causation and, when introd...

Psocids are an emerging problem in grain storage, handling, and processing facilities in the United States. We used data from two steel bins each containing 32.6 metric tonnes of wheat, Triticum aestivum L., to develop sampling plans for Liposcelis entomophila (Enderlein), Liposcelis decolor (Pearman) (both Psocoptera: Liposcelididae), and a mixture of the two species. Taylor's coefficients a (...

Dietary restriction (DR), limiting calories or specific nutrients without malnutrition, extends lifespan across diverse taxa. Traditionally, this extension has been explained as a result of diet-mediated changes in the trade-off between and reproduction, with survival favored when resources are scarce. However, recently proposed alternative suggests that selective benefit response to DR is main...