Pink bollworm, Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders), is one of the most economically important insect pests of cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., in the world. Losses in the U.S. before widespread use of Bt cotton were estimated at $32 million per year. Eradication programs were initiated in the El Paso/Trans Pecos area of Texas in 2001 and South Central New Mexico in 2002. In 2009, 669 pink bollworm moths were captured in the El Paso/Trans Pecos eradication zone after two consecutive years of no captures. A study in 2010–2011 determined the source might be nearby areas of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico outside of eradication zones. A likely source of pink bollworm moths was identified in southern Midland County. In 2010, 1,438 moths were captured, with 85% trapped in two fields of non-Bt organic cotton. More than 99% were collected within an 8-km radius of that epicenter. Only 0–10 pink bollworms were captured in each of three other areas monitored in 2010.

In 2011, no pink bollworm moths were caught in any area surveyed, except in a small area in southern Midland County. Pink bollworm moths were captured in seven fields in the area, with a total of 119 moths from May-August 2011. Seventy-two percent of pink bollworm moths captured were from the two fields of non-Bt, organic cotton. Trapping in the fall, September through early November 2011, detected pink bollworm activity in the area. Seven hundred twenty-nine moths were captured from seven fields, 97% from the two non-Bt, organic fields. Because most fields in the region are planted to Bt cotton, it is likely that reproducing pink bollworms in the two fields, less than 40 hectares, were the only source of wild pink bollworm moths in the El Paso/Trans Pecos eradication zone (526,091 hectares of cotton) in 2009. Eradication efforts in 2012 resulted in no additional moths captured that fall, suggesting the localized population was eradicated.

Field capture of boll weevils, Anthonomus grandis Boheman, in pheromone traps adjacent to fields of cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., and along fence lines and roads is an important tool used by Boll Weevil Eradication Programs to monitor abundance of the insect pest. For quality control, previously collected and frozen boll weevils are marked with fingerprint powder. Program supervisors randomly spike boll weevil traps with marked boll weevils to monitor recovery by program trappers. One problem, however, is that dead boll weevils placed in traps desiccate rapidly, rendering them fragile and prone to breakage, which makes identification difficult. This study evaluated methods for marking and rehydrating desiccated boll weevils by measuring the length of time boll weevils remain pliable and intact. An alcohol-based hand sanitizer was used for rehydration, and three fluorescing markers were tested to determine the duration of boll weevil pliability and fluorescence. Boll weevils treated with hand sanitizer were pliable significantly longer than were dried weevils, P < 0.0001, and remained intact 2 to 4 days longer All boll weevils retained the three applied fluorescent markers throughout each experiment.

In a laboratory test, we compared diapausing adult tarnished plant bugs, Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois), from Stoneville, MS, and Springfield, IL, for their ability to break diapause when kept at 25°C on a nutritious food source (broccoli, Brassica oleracea variety botrytis L.) under a diapause-maintaining photoperiod of 10:14 light:dark hours. The temperature, photoperiod, and food simulated environmental conditions in the mid-South region during December when overwintering tarnished plant bugs on blooming winter hosts break diapause. It was unknown if plant bugs from areas such as Springfield (upper Midwest) in which the winters are too cold for hosts to be available also had the ability to break diapause under a diapause-maintaining daylength. One-day-old diapausing adults from Stoneville and Springfield were kept in environmental cabinets for 5 weeks. Males and females from both locations were dissected at weekly intervals to determine their reproductive status. Diapausing adults from both colonies and both sexes terminated diapause. Greater percentages of males and females from Stoneville terminated diapause each week compared to those from Springfield, and the differences were significant in four of the 5 weeks for males and three of the 5 weeks for females. The results showed that the presence of winter hosts in the mid-South has probably selected tarnished plant bugs for more rapid emergence from diapause. The importance of more rapid emergence from diapause to plant bug populations in the mid-South is discussed.

Recently the redbanded stink bug, Piezodorus guildinii (Westwood), has become a major pest of soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merrill, in Louisiana and has begun to infest soybeans throughout the Mid-South. Soybean industry and cooperative extension personnel have reported differential susceptibility between the southern green stink bug, Nezara viridula L., and redbanded stink bug treated with currently labeled insecticides in commercial production fields. To address their concern, we evaluated susceptibility of southern green stink bug and redbanded stink bug to insecticides in field and laboratory experiments. Insecticide field efficacy experiments during 5 years indicated control with pyrethroids was 94.4 ± 1.3% for southern green stink bug and 75.1 ± 1.9% for redbanded stink bug, with organophosphates, 89.8 ± 2.7% for southern green stink bug, and 84.8 ± 1.7% for redbanded stink bug, and with neonicotinoid insecticides, 78.0 ± 5.6 and 63.2 ± 6.0%, respectively. Insecticide pre-mixtures or product combinations provided 98.6 ± 0.6 and 83.8 ± 2.4% control, respectively. Bioassays of adults in vials validated results in the field. Pyrethroid and organophosphate LC50 values ranged from 0.02 to 2.36 µg per vial for southern green stink bug and 0.21 to 4.86 µg per vial for redbanded stink bug. The redbanded stink bug was four to eight-fold less susceptible to pyrethroids and two to eight-fold less susceptible to organophosphates than was the southern green stink bug.

Presence of insect pests was assessed at eight pecan, Carya illinoensis (Wang.) Koch, storage facilities in Oklahoma (six) and Texas (two). Two types of insect traps were used within each facility. Floor-situated STORGARD® Beetle Dome™ traps were baited with a combination of pheromone and oil to monitor beetle pests of stored products, and hanging Pherocon 1C™ moth sticky traps were used to monitor moths. Trap data were collected and traps replaced twice monthly for 1 year. For all sites combined, 11,653 insects of 19 species were collected. The most commonly trapped insect pests were lndianmeal moth, Plodia interpunctella (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), 61.2%, and lesser grain borer, Rhyzopertha dominica (F.) (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae), 12.3%. Results of this study will be distributed to pecan facility owners to facilitate stored-product pest management.

An insectary mixture of flowering annuals suitable for use in the high desert irrigated agriculture of New Mexico was developed over 3 years using pumpkins, Cucurbita moschata L., as a model cropping system. Plant establishment, survival, and flowering phenology were assessed in both clay and sandy soils by using weekly quadrat samples. Abundance of beneficial insects and spotted cucumber beetle, Diabrotica undecimpunctata howardi Barber, were monitored with yellow sticky cards (Trécé Inc., Adair, OK). Abundance of squash bug, Anasa tristis (DeGeer), was monitored weekly by sampling eggs and nymphs. Establishment of the flowering mixture was significantly better in clay than sandy soils in each of the 3 years. Of the fifteen plant species tested, California bluebell (Phacelia campanularia A. Gray), buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench), dill (Anethum graveolens L.), Plains coreopsis (Coreopsis tinctoria Nuttall), garden cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus Cavanilles), and sweet alyssum (Lobularia maritima (L.) Desvaux) are suggested as a core mixture for insectary plantings based on their establishment record and bloom periods. Effects on pests and beneficiais varied with taxon and year. Parasitic Hymenoptera showed the most consistent response, being found in significantly higher numbers in plots with insectary plantings than in check plots in all cases except for one field in 2009. Abundance of predatory anthocorids and chrysopids showed the same trend in two of the three years, and the coccinellid Hippodamia convergens Guérin-Menéville in one of the three years. Abundance of spotted cucumber beetles was significantly less in plots with insectary plantings in two of the three years, but squash bug abundance was not influenced in a consistent way by insectary plantings, and there was no effect on the level of parasitism of squash bug eggs.

The effect of surface soil temperature on attraction of foraging red imported fire ants, Solenopsis invicta Buren, to a food lure in centrifuge vials with access 2.54, 5.08, and 7.62 cm below the surface compared with vials horizontally at the soil surface or in the soil with the opening at the soil surface was monitored in the Coachella Valley of California. Analysis of variance showed no significant differences in the mean numbers of ants collected in the three strata, indicating a 2.54-cm opening as preferable, or when compared with vials horizontally placed at the soil surface or with the opening at the soil surface. However, during summer days, vials baited with subsurface food lure attracted 10–30 more foraging worker ants compared with vials horizontally placed at the soil surface or with the opening at the soil surface. Use of this method could provide more consistent data on monitoring ant foraging and result in fewer false negatives.

An alternative to chemical barriers to protect structures from infestation by subterranean termites is the use of aggregate particles as a physical barrier to termite incursion into structures. Such physical barriers are less likely to threaten non-target organisms than are chemical termiticides applied to soil. Glass-tube bioassays of individual aggregate particle sizes retained on American Standard of Testing Materials (ASTM) sieve sizes 8, 10, and 12 were optimal for inhibiting subterranean termite incursion into structures. A factorial combination of numbers 8, 10, and 12 was generated to use all three sizes in physical barriers against subterranean termites. Engineering analysis of the aggregate particles (numbers 8, 10, and 12) indicated that angularity, fineness modulus, and weighted particle size were variables related to the success of physical particle barriers against subterranean termites. This study showed that all aggregate ratios of particle sizes 8, 10, and 12 were effective in inhibiting tunneling by subterranean termites. In the context of the critical aggregate particle sizes, angularity, weighted particle size, and fineness modulus, there was zero penetration by subterranean termites in 12 of the 19 ratios of numbers 8, 10, and 12.

Traditionally the major risk environment for transmission of dengue virus has been assumed to be households. In Mexico, dengue outbreaks continue year after year despite intense control efforts. Nonresidential sites (public and private spaces) infested with Aedes aegypti (L.) were evaluated. In total, 141 nonresidential sites were sampled for the presence of potential and active oviposition sites and adult mosquitoes. Eighty percent of the sites were oviposition sites; Ae. aegypti adults were recovered at 94.7% of nonresidential sites. Most female Ae. aegypti, 21.6 and 10.4, were at schools and recreational sites, respectively. Chi-squared indicated no significant differences in the dengue vector to categories of sample sites (X² = 17.76, df = 9, P = 0.38). Indoor-use patterns of adult mosquitoes indicated bathrooms and classrooms were preferred resting sites. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay did not identify dengue virus nucleic acids from a group of 221 pools containing 1,521 female Ae. aegypti. Daytime human activities; e.g., school and work, synchronize with the bimodal biting pattern of Ae. aegypti, increasing the chance of transferring dengue virus.

In Oaxaca, Mexico, Agave spp. is produced as the main raw matter of the mezcal (distilled alcoholic beverage) industry. Agave weevil, Scyphophorus acupunctatus Gyllenhal, in adult agave plants causes rot and death, which in turn affects production and quality of mezcal. Five amounts of damage by the agave weevil were analyzed in relationship to total reducing sugars and nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium nutrient content of mature A. angustifolia Haw plants. A significant (p ≤ 0.05) relationship was found between the amount of damage to a mature plant and numbers of lesions (r = 0.981), adult insects (r = 0.908), and larvae (r = 0.994). Severely damaged agave plants had more lesions on the leaves (33.2) and more agave weevil larvae (40) and adults (30.5). Likewise, the greater the amount of damage, was reduced 52 % the weight of the plant, and 68% total reducing sugars. Nutrient content (NPK) in severely damaged plants were 0.7, 0.36 y 2.37 % in contrast to healthy plants was 2.8, 0.60 y 3.48 % respectively.

A laboratory study was used to compare the food consumption and survival of Oncideres pustulata LeConte adults that fed on huisache, Acacia farnesiana (L.) Willd., leucaena, Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit, or both host plants. Longevity and food consumption differed significantly only among food plants, and no significant two- or three-way interactions were found. Longevity of O. pustulata was significantly greater on leucaena (77.6 days) than huisache (35.4 days). However, adults fed both host plants survived longer (90.3 days) than those that fed on either host plant alone. Total food consumption was more than two-fold greater in leucaena alone and leucaena huisache than in huisache alone. However, daily consumption did not differ significantly among food regimes. When both huisache and leucaena were provided simultaneously, leucaena comprised an average of 67% of the total food consumed. Adult size was positively associated with average daily consumption, but not with longevity. Greater survival of O. pustulata on leucaena was attributed to better nutritional value and greater energy content compared to huisache. The greater longevity of O. pustulata fed on both leucaena and huisache probably reflects complementarity among amino acids and minerals contained in each host plant.

Three new Nearctic fungus gnat species were discovered in western Michigan. Adult males and females of Tetragoneura caliga n. sp., adult males of Ectrepesthoneura vacca n. sp., and three adult males of Ectrepesthoneura complexa n. sp. flew to a Malaise trap in an ecotone between swamp and second-growth forest dominated by black ash (Fraxinus nigra Marshall), paper birch (Betula papyrifera Marshall), red maple (Acer rubrum L.), and black cherry (Prunus serotina Ehrhart). Adult females of E. vacca and E. complexe and juvenile stages of all three species remain unknown.

Herein I summarize what is known about Cockerell's bumblebee, Bombus cockerelli Franklin, a New Mexican bumblebee species whose existence has been largely overlooked for decades because of a combination of rarity, geographic restriction, and taxonomic confusion. It is noteworthy that the known distribution covers only about 777 km², giving it the smallest known range of any bumblebee in the world. There are 34 known specimens, and I present historical details regarding their collection (dates, places, and host plants), deposition, and identification; hopefully, this information will allow others to locate additional specimens of this species. It is further notable that most of the known specimens are late-season queens, and males remain unknown, suggesting that the species may nest and forage in areas of dense forest.

The efficacy of Trichogramma platneri Nagarkatti to control the pecan nut casebearer, Acrobasis nuxvorella Neunzig, and the hickory shuckworm, Cydia caryana (Fitch), in pecan, Carya illinoinensis (Wangenh.) K.Koch, orchards was assessed. Wing IC traps baited with Trece's sexual pheromones to capture moths were used to predict the optimal release time for T. platneri. Approximately 10,000 T. platneri per tree were liberated in four releases based on moth captures and the biology of A. nuxvorella and C. caryana. The amount of pecan clusters damaged by A. nuxvorella was 2.3 to 3.0 times less than in the check trees, and 1.5 to 2.0 times fewer pecans were damaged by C. caryana in trees where wasps were released. The efficacy of T. platneri in pecan orchards with different. A. nuxvorella and C. caryana are effective when the abundance of the pests is low to moderate. When the pests are abundant, T. platneri was not able to bring the damage below the economic threshold of 5% damaged pecan clusters.