The red turpentine beetle (RTB), Dendroctonus valens LeConte (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), which is native to North America, is an invasive wood-boring insect species in China with disastrous consequences. Plant quarantine is an important method to hinder the invasion of this species. In order to distinguish RTB from the other four closely related bark beetles, Scolytus schevyrewi Semenov, Xyleborus artecomans Schedl, Xyleborus interjectus Blandford and Blastophagus minor Hartig, which are frequently intercepted at Chinese ports, we developed a nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. The specificity of the nested PCR primers to recognize RTB was confirmed by the failure to amplify genomic DNA from the other four Scolytinae species. The sensitivity was approximately 40 pg of a recombinant RTB plasmid. We evaluated the validity of the assay by analyzing bark beetles intercepted at quarantine stations. Our findings demonstrate that this specific molecular method allows for the rapid identification of D. valens for pest risk assessment and plant quarantine.

Aphids in the genus Uroleucon Mordvilko (Hemiptera: Aphididae) are native herbivores that feed on goldenrod (Solidago spp.) and other Asteraceae in North America. The aphids are potential prey for a wide variety of natural enemies, including native and non-native species of lady beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae). Non-native lady beetles were introduced to aid control of pest aphids in cropland, but some (e.g. Coccinella septempunctata L. and Harmonia axyridis [Pallas]) are known to prey upon Uroleucon aphids in natural and semi-natural settings, raising concerns about their nontarget effects on native aphids. The objective of this study was to estimate non-target risk to Uroleucon aphids from non-native lady beetles. Risk was estimated by evaluating consumption of Uroleucon aphids by lady beetles in no-choice laboratory tests, and by determining incidence of non-native lady beetles within naturally occurring patches of goldenrod and giant sumpweed (Cyclachaena xanthifolia (Nutt.) Fresen.) used by U. nigrotuberculatum (Olive) and U. ambrosiae (Thomas), respectively, in eastern South Dakota during 2009 and 2011. Although lady beetles substantially lowered populations of Uroleucon aphids in no-choice laboratory tests, they were infrequently associated with natural occurrences of the aphids, with incidence comprised of only four native Hippodamia convergens Guérin-Méneville and one non-native C. septempunctata on 185 aphid-infested sample units in relatively small patches of goldenrod and giant sumpweed. Despite consumption of aphids in laboratory tests, the particularly low incidence of lady beetles in field surveys indicates an empirically small risk of their predation on U. nigrotuberculatum and U. ambrosiae under field conditions.

The common bed bug, Cimex lectularius L., is an obligate blood-feeding ectoparasite that readily feeds on humans, resulting in rashes, dermatitis, and psychological distress. Bed bug populations have increased exponentially in the last twenty years due to increased pesticide resistance and international travel. Despite their blood-feeding and ubiquity in human habitations, bed bugs are not vectors of any known pathogen. Recent isolates of antibiotic resistant bacteria from bed bugs in a homeless shelter prompted us to identify bacteria from bed bugs in low-income housing in Maryland and Colorado and from a laboratory colony, commonly known as the Harlan strain. Using standard bacteriological techniques and amplification of the 16s ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene, four species of Gram-positive bacteria were identified from surface swabs and whole body homogenates of bed bugs. Staphylococcus arlettae and Staphylococcus epidermidis were identified from the Harlan strain; Micrococcus and Kocuria kristinae were identified from the Colorado samples. Micrococcus species have been previously identified from bed bugs, but this is the first report of K. kristinae, S. epidermidis, and S. arlettae from this insect. As an internal control for the 16s rRNA amplification, a sequence specific to Wolbachia, the bacterial endosymbiont commonly found in bed bugs, was amplified. Using these techniques, no bacteria from the gut contents were isolated. Bacteria found commonly on human skin are closely associated with bed bugs and do not pose a risk to human health. Despite their habitats and blood-feeding behavior, bed bugs from these sites were devoid of pathogenic aerobic bacteria. The mechanisms underlying bed bug resistance to exogenous bacterial infection merit further investigation.

Supplemental data and addenda are provided to complement and correct the work of Polhemus (2011) dealing with Hawaiian Orthotylus species. The following new species are described, accompanied by illustrations of key morphological characters, distribution maps, and color dorsal habitus photographs: O. erythrinae from Oahu, which feeds on Erythrina sandwicensis, and O. broussaisiae from Kauai, which feeds on Broussaisia arguta. Additional distribution records are provided for O. dubautiae D. Polhemus, O. hedyotivorus D. Polhemus, and O. kopikoides D. Polhemus. The name Orthotylus perrottetioides is proposed as a replacement name for Orthotylus perrottetiopsis Polhemus 2011, which due to a lapsus is a primary homonym of Orthotylus perrottetiopsis Polhemus 2003, and addenda to Polhemus (2011) related to this change are detailed. A revised key to Hawaiian species of Orthotylus occurring on Perrottetia is provided, accompanied by color dorsal habitus photographs of the males and females of the four known Perrottetia-feeding Hawaiian species. A revised checklist and updated of Hawaiian Orthotylus species, host plants, and islands of occurrence is also provided.