learning host or prey-related olfactory cues may lead to increase efficiency and foraging capacity of biocontrol agents such as trichogramma egg parasitoid wasps in nature. the egg parasitoids, trichogramma species (hym., chalcidoidea, trichogrammatidae), are most commonly and important biocontrol agents that have successfully been utilized against several lepidopteran pests, especially through...

Phytosanitary agencies conduct plant biosecurity activities, including early detection of potential introduction pathways, to improve control and eradication of pest and pathogen incursions. For such actions, analytical tools based on solid scientific knowledge regarding plant-pest or pathogen relationships for pest risk assessment are needed. Recent evidence indicating that closely related spe...

Beneficial associations between plants and microbes play an important role in both natural and agricultural ecosystems. For example, associations between fungi of the genus Epichloë, and cool-season grasses are known for their ability to increase resistance to insect pests, fungal pathogens and drought. However, little is known about the molecular changes induced by endophyte infection. To stud...

Examples of immunological reactions to arthropod parasites include responses by hosts to the following stimuli: excretory and secretory antigens produced by myiasis-producing larvae or skin-dwelling (mange) mites salivary antigens of blood-sucking arthropods. In many cases, these are hypersensitivity reactions, which often appear not to produce very deleterious effects on the parasites. However...

anthocoris nemoralis (f.) (hemiptera: anthocoridae) is one of the most prominent predators of the pear psylla, cacopsylla pyricola (forster) (hemiptera: psyllidae) and is considered as a biological control agent against this pest. in order to investigate the effects of plant varieties on predation of c. pyricola by a. nemoralis, the functional response of both the sexes of a. nemoralis to pear ...

BACKGROUND Among herbivorous insects that have exploited agro-ecosystems, the peach-potato aphid, Myzus persicae, is recognized as one of the most important agricultural pests worldwide. Uses over 400 plant species and has evolved different insecticides resistance mechanisms. As M. persicae feeds upon a huge diversity of hosts, it has been exposed to a wide variety of plant allelochemicals, whi...

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 ...

Many insects compete with us humans for agricultural resources, feed on us, or act as disease vectors. Current control efforts rely mostly on the use of insecticides. The use of chemicals to either repel or kill insect pests is the oldest and most commonly used method of pest control. However, with the massive use of insecticides four major problems have arisen. First, many pests have developed...