Attractiveness of host plant volatile extracts to the Asian citrus psyllid, diaphorina citri, is reduced by terpenoids from the non-host cashew

Diaphorina citri is a vector of the bacterial causative agent of Huanglongbing (HLB = Citrus greening), a severe disease affecting citrus crops. As there is no known control for HLB, manipulating insect behaviour through deployment of semiochemicals offers a promising opportunity for protecting citrus crops. The behavioural responses of D. citri to plant volatiles, and the identity of these plant volatiles were investigated. Volatiles were collected from host plants Murraya paniculata, Citrus sinensis, C. reshni, C. limettioides, Poncirus trifoliata, and from non-host plants Psidium guajava, Mangifera indica, Anacardium occidentale. In behavioural assays, female D. citri spent more time in the arms containing volatiles from either M. paniculata or C. sinensis compared to the control arms. When D. citri was exposed to volatiles collected from A. occidentale, they preferred the control arm. Volatiles emitted from the other studied plants did not influence the foraging behaviour of D. citri. Chemical analyses of volatile extracts from C. sinensis, M. paniculata, and A. occidentale revealed the presence of the terpenoids (E)-4,8-dimethylnona-1,3,7–triene (DMNT) and (E,E)-4,8,12-trimethyltrideca-1,3,7,11-tetraene (TMTT) in higher amounts in A. occidentale. In further behavioural bioassays, female D. citri spent less time in arms containing a synthetic blend of DMNT and TMTT compared to the control arms. Female D. citri also spent less time in arms containing the synthetic blend in combination with volatile extracts from either M. paniculata or C. sinensis compared to the control arms. Results suggest that higher release of the two terpenoids by A. occidentale make this species unattractive to D. citri, and that the terpenoids could be used in reducing colonisation of citrus plants and therefore HLB infection

Reproductive Biology, Mating Behavior, and Vibratory Communication of the Brown-Winged Stink Bug, Edessa meditabunda

We describe different aspects of the reproductive biology, mating behavior, and vibratory communication of the pentatomid Edessa meditabunda (Fabr.). This species shows lower copulation frequency and reproductive potential with longer sexual maturation period compared to other species of pentatomids. Females with multiple mating show increased fecundity when compared with single-mated females and both increased fecundity and reduced longevity when compared with virgin females. Courtship and mating behavior and vibratory signals are typical and similar to what was observed in other species of pentatomids, except that males started the courtship. These results constitute the first paper on biology, behavior, and vibratory communication among species of the subfamily Edessinae

Revisiting the male-produced aggregation pheromone of the lesser mealworm, Alphitobius diaperinus (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae): identification of a six-component pheromone from a Brazilian population

The lesser mealworm, Alphitobius diaperinus Panzer 1797 (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), is a cosmopolitan insect pest affecting poultry production. Due to its cryptic behavior, insecticide control is usually not efficient. Thus, sustainable and effective methods would have an enormous and positive impact in poultry production. The aim of this study was to confirm the identity of the male-produced aggregation pheromone for a Brazilian population of A. diaperinus and to evaluate its biological activity in behavioral assays. Six male-specific compounds were identified: (R)-limonene (1), (E)-ocimene (2), 2-nonanone (3), (S)-linalool (4), (R)-daucene (5), all described before in an American population, and a sixth component, (E,E)-α-farnesene (6), which is apparently exclusive to a Brazilian population. Y-Tube bioassays confirmed the presence of a male-produced aggregation pheromone and showed that all components need to be present in a similar ratio and concentration as emitted by male A. diaperinus to produce a positive chemotactic response

Development of pull and push–pull systems for management of lesser mealworm, Alphitobius diaperinus, in poultry houses using alarm and aggregation pheromones

BACKGROUND: The lesser mealworm, Alphitobius diaperinus (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), is the most important insect pest affecting poultry production around the world, with all life stages being susceptible to infection by bacteria, viruses and fungi. Control of A. diaperinus in poultry houses using intensive insecticide application is not effective due to the cryp-tic behaviour of this pest. Here, we evaluated the potential of recently identified A. diaperinus alarm (1,4-benzoquinone, 2-methyl-1,4-benzoquinone and 2-ethyl-1,4-benzoquinone) and aggregation [(R)- limonene, 2-nonanone, (E)-ocimene, (S)-linalool, (R)-daucene and (E,E)- -farnesene] pheromones as tools for the management of this pest in poultry houses in Brazil. RESULTS: Laboratory arena assays with synthetic alarm pheromone confirmed A. diaperinus repellency. In an initial field assay, traps baited with synthetic aggregation pheromone captured significantly more insects than control traps. In further field assays that compared a pull (aggregation pheromone) and a push–pull (simultaneous alarm/aggregation pheromone deployment) system, a higher number of A. diaperinus were captured in aggregation pheromone-baited traps in the push–pull system. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that alarm and aggregation pheromones can be deployed in poultry houses to trap significant numbers of adult A. diaperinus. Studies are underway to determine the potential for using these components as part of an integrated A. diaperinus management strategy

Development of an attract-and-infect device for biological control of lesser mealworm, Alphitobius diaperinus (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) in poultry houses

The lesser mealworm, Alphitobius diaperinus Panzer (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), is the most important pest in poultry production systems worldwide. Adults and larvae serve as alternative low-quality food for chickens and as a vehicle for animal pathogens resulting in significant economic losses for farmers. Control of this pest is usually performed through insecticide application during the interval between chicken flocks. However, due to the cryptic behaviour of this pest, chemical control is usually not effective. With the aim of developing a sustainable approach to control A. diaperinus, we evaluated integration of the A. diaperinus aggregation pheromone with a highly virulent strain (Unioeste 04) of the fungus Beauveria bassiana (Bals.) Vuill. (Ascomycota: Cordycipitaceae) using an attract-and-infect device. Significant levels of A. diaperinus mortality and lower numbers of offspring (larvae) were observed in laboratory experiments using Unioeste 04. Horizontal transmission of the Unioeste 04 strain through contaminated living A. diaperinus and cadavers was also observed. In field experiments in commercial poultry houses, a significant level of A. diaperinus mortality was observed in Unioeste 04-treated arenas. The results show that the A. diaperinus aggregation pheromone can be used as an attractant in a device impregnated with infective fungal propagules, increasing adult infection and enhancing disease spread. In addition, the use of the microbial control agent inside the device allows the fungus to remain effective for longer periods in the adverse conditions of the poultry house environment

Screening of entomopathogenic Metarhizium anisopliae isolates and proteomic analysis of secretion synthesized in response to cowpea weevil (callosobruchus maculatus) exoskeleton

Cowpea crops are severely attacked by Callosobruchus maculatus, a Coleopteran that at the larval stage penetrates into stored seeds and feeds on cotyledons. Cowpea weevil control could be based in utilization of bacteria and fungi to reduce pest development. Entomopathogenic fungi, such as Metarhizium anisopliae, are able to control insect-pests and are widely applied in biological control. This report evaluated ten M. anisopliae isolates according to their virulence, correlating chitinolytic, proteolytic and α-amylolytic activities, as well proteomic analysis by two dimensional gels of fungal secretions in response to an induced medium containing C. maculatus shells, indicating novel biotechnological tools capable of improving cowpea crop resistance

Revisiting the Male-Produced Aggregation Pheromone of the Lesser Mealworm, Alphitobius diaperinus (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae): Identification of a Six-Component Pheromone from a Brazilian Population

The lesser mealworm, Alphitobius diaperinus Panzer 1797 (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), is a cosmopolitan insect pest affecting poultry production. Due to its cryptic behavior, insecticide control is usually not efficient. Thus, sustainable and effective methods would have an enormous and positive impact in poultry production. The aim of this study was to confirm the identity of the male-produced aggregation pheromone for a Brazilian population of A. diaperinus and to evaluate its biological activity in behavioral assays. Six male-specific compounds were identified: (<i>R</i>)-limonene (<b>1</b>), (<i>E</i>)-ocimene (<b>2</b>), 2-nonanone (<b>3</b>), (<i>S</i>)-linalool (<b>4</b>), (<i>R</i>)-daucene (<b>5</b>), all described before in an American population, and a sixth component, (<i>E</i>,<i>E</i>)-α-farnesene (<b>6</b>), which is apparently exclusive to a Brazilian population. Y-Tube bioassays confirmed the presence of a male-produced aggregation pheromone and showed that all components need to be present in a similar ratio and concentration as emitted by male A. diaperinus to produce a positive chemotactic response

Transcriptome-Based Identification of Highly Similar Odorant-Binding Proteins among Neotropical Stink Bugs and Their Egg Parasitoid - Fig 6

<p>Alignment of the deduced amino acid sequences of OBPs from the parasitoid <i>T</i>. <i>podisi</i> and the most similar OBPs obtained from GenBank by BLASTx: (a) TpodOBP1; (b) TpodOBP2; (c) TpodOBP3. Similarity is scored by matrix Blosum62 where the black color indicates 100% identity, darker grey 100% > identity ≥ 80%, lighter grey 80% > identity ≥ 60% and white color identity <60%. The sequence logo is at the top of the alignment. The amino acid percentage identity matrix is presented in Table H in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0132286#pone.0132286.s002" target="_blank">S2 File</a>. The conserved Cys are indicated by sequence logo. The species names are abbreviated with four letters, and their full names with all accession numbers of the OBP amino acid sequences are provided in Table I in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0132286#pone.0132286.s002" target="_blank">S2 File</a>.</p

Most frequent biological processes (a) and molecular functions (b) categories from the antennae of 12 day-old virgin adults of stink bugs and whole body of 20 day-old parasitoid.

<p>The number of transcripts for a particular GO term (at lower hierarchy level) in each category was normalized by the total number of classified transcripts.</p

Number of GO categories exclusive and common to each species: (a) biological process, and (b) molecular function.

<p>A species was considered to have the category if it had more than 10 transcripts. The radii of the circles are proportional to the number of categories.</p