Various larvae of Lepidoptera cause severe damage to maize crops. The dynamics these pests have been studied during all stages plant development. trial was carried out on the Institut National Polytechnique Houphouët-Boigny farm plots in Yamoussoukro (central Cote d’Ivoire). study aims were monitor dynamics, determine importance (frequency and abundance), assess Lepidopteran variety EV8728 SR u...

The European Corn Borer (ECB), Ostrinia nubilalis (Hübner), is a major corn insect pest. Estimates of damage in the United States due to ECB range between $1-$2 billion per year from yield loss and control costs (Russnogle). A common rule of thumb suggests that one borer per plant can cause a 5% yield loss if the attack occurs during the corn’s critical early development stages (see sidebar). T...

Ostrinia nubilalis (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) is one of the most damaging insect pests of corn. Studies were conducted to determine whether live larval counts obtained from corn whorls were predictive of the amount of larval tunneling that would result in the stalk of the plant 40 d later at the end of larval development. Whorls from plants treated with Dipel 10G (6,400 IU per whorl) and...

Earlier population genetic spatial analysis of European corn borer Ostrinia nubilalis (Hübner) indicated no genetic differentiation even between locations separated by 720 km. This result suggests either high dispersal resulting in high gene flow or that populations are not in migration–drift equilibrium subsequent to their invasion of the central U.S.A. in the 1940s. To discriminate among thes...

Genes expressed in lepidopteran midgut tissues are involved in digestion and Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxin resistance traits. Five hundred and thirty five unique transcripts were annotated from 1745 high quality O. nubilalis larval midgut expressed sequence tags (ESTs). Full-length cDNA sequence of 12 putative serine proteinase genes and 3 partial O. nubilalis aminopeptidase N protein genes...

We used the cut-sensillum technique to assess the effect of both adult age and egg-to-adult development time on olfactory neuron responses of Z strain moths of the European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis. Compounds tested included the pheromone components, (Z)-11-tetradecenyl acetate and (E)-11-tetradecenyl acetate, the behavioral antagonist, (Z)-9-tetradecenyl acetate, and components of the O....

We developed a microarray based on 2895 unique transcripts assembled from 15,000 cDNA sequences from the European corn borer (Ostrinia nubilalis) larval gut. This microarray was used to monitor gene expression in early third-instar larvae of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt)-susceptible O. nubilalis after 6 h feeding on diet, with or without the Bt Cry1Ab protoxin. We identified 174 transcripts, for ...

The Cry1Fa protein from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is known for its potential to control lepidopteran pests, especially through transgenic expression in maize and cotton. The maize event TC1507 expressing the cry1Fa toxin gene became commercially available in the United States in 2003 for the management of key lepidopteran pests including the European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilal...