First Record of \u3ci\u3eHippodamia variegata\u3c/i\u3e (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) in Illinois, U.S.A., and Relation to Its Other Midwestern Collection Records

Hippodamia variegata (Goeze) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) is an Afro-Eurasian lady beetle first discovered in North America near Montreal, Canada, in 1984. Subsequent records of H. variegata have occurred over a gradually expanding area radiating from the initial detection site and also include a disjunct record from British Columbia. Here, we report the first Illinois specimen of H. variegata, collected in 2004, and discuss this in relation to previous reports of H. variegata in North America

Advantages of Understanding the Lady Beetle Diet

Understanding the feeding behavior of lady beetles will help agronomists develop cropping systems that best use these important beneficial insects as biological controls of insect pests, such as aphids and Colorado potato beetles. Agricultural Research Service entomologist Jonathan Lundgren at the North Central Agricultural Research Laboratory in Brookings, South Dakota, and former ARS entomologist Michael Seagraves were part of a team of ARS and university scientists that examined how lady beetle diets alter their feeding patterns and physiology. Appreciated for their ability to eat insect pests, lady beetles also consume nectar, pollen, and other plant tissue. Indeed, most beneficial predators eat both prey and non-prey foods, and understanding the factors that affect what they eat is important to using them in biological control of crop pests. The foods they consume determine where and when they can be found in a farm field and whether they decide to eat crop pests. Also, since many field crops are treated with insecticides, an important step in assessing the risk to beneficial species is to know how much insecticide these insects consume when they feed on plants. For laboratory feeding tests, the team chose a native lady beetle species, Coleomegilla maculata. The results of the tests reveal that this lady beetle consumes two to three times more plant tissue after being fed a prey-only diet than after being fed a mixed diet of prey and plant tissue. “This suggests that plant material is providing some key nutrients lacking in prey-only diets,” says Lundgren. “It is important to recognize that non-prey foods contain different nutrients from insect prey, and predators fed mixed diets are often more fit than those fed only prey.

Non-target Effects of Clothianidin on Monarch Butterflies

Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) frequently consume milkweed in and near agroecosystems and consequently may be exposed to pesticides like neonicotinoids. We conducted a dose response study to determine lethal and sublethal doses of clothianidin using a 36-h exposure scenario. We then quantified clothianidin levels found in milkweed leaves adjacent to maize fields. Toxicity assays revealed LC10, LC50, and LC90 values of 7.72, 15.63, and 30.70 ppb, respectively. Sublethal effects (larval size) were observed at 1 ppb. Contaminated milkweed plants had an average of 1.14 ±0.10 ppb clothianidin, with a maximum of 4 ppb in a single plant. This research suggests that clothianidin could function as a stressor to monarch populations

Crop Choice, Non-Target Pest Levels, Yield Loss and Their Effect on Insecticide Use in South Dakota

Agriculturally, South Dakota is a unique state possessing the highest rate of adoption for genetically modified crop varieties. In 2009 ninety-six percent of corn acres planted in South Dakota were genetically modified compared with eighty-five percent nationally (Economic Research Service). Additionally, South Dakota has seen a dramatic increase in the number of acres treated with insecticide over the past 20 years. These two situations taken together seem to be counterintuitive. Some genetically modified varieties, such as Bt corn, are equipped with genetic defenses so that they can protect the plant from target pests. Intuitively, one would expect to see a decrease in insecticide use as adoption of genetically modified varieties increase. Recent studies have found that there is a reduction in herbicides applied to herbicide tolerant varieties. Here in South Dakota, though, producers have expressed the opinion that the increase in insecticide use is the result of the emergence and spread of the soybean aphid in the state. This research seeks to address the underlying causes of the increase in insecticide use.Bt corn,GM crops,insecticide

Re-Designing Infrastructure as a Strategy for Crafting Coherence Across Three Networks Focused on the Implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards

This design-based research project reports on three multilevel networks that were focused on implementing the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Given the recent attention to understanding infrastructure to craft coherence in NGSS implementation, this research investigated how these networks iteratively re-designed infrastructure as they engaged in implementing the NGSS. This focus is particularly important in the current context of NGSS implementation since needed infrastructure did not accompany the dissemination of the standards. The three networks were the following: mentor teachers, district specialists, and interim assessment specialists. Qualitative cases based on recordings of network working sessions, interviews with members, and artifacts of their work were generated for each network and then compared and contrasted. Findings show the work on infrastructure re-design across the networks not only involved identifying useful NGSS-designed resources and frameworks, but also translating these into meaningful supports or scaffolds that could ultimately lead to productive forms of engagement for either supporting teacher professional learning or student learning. Also, collegial workspaces were beneficial for institutionalizing networks\u27 foci by creating spaces for all actors to share their experiences, challenges, and needs. This meant focusing on curriculum and instructional routines for mentor teachers, focusing on NGSS instructional principles for district leaders, and focusing on the development of an interim assessment practice brief for interim assessment leaders—foci identified as central to and immediately applicable in the day-to-day work of the respective network members

Detection of Predation Using qPCR: Effect of Prey Quantity, Elapsed Time, Chaser Diet, and Sample Preservation on Detectable Quantity of Prey DNA

Using quantitative PCR that amplified a prey-specific mtDNA 214 bp amplicon from the COI mitochondrial gene of the Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), prey eggs of known age and number were fed to larvae of the generalist predator lady beetle Coleomegilla maculata (De Geer) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), to elucidate the effects of time and diet since consumption, number of prey eggs, and methods for sample fixation and preservation, on the quantity of target DNA detected. Signal was strongly attenuated directly after cessation of feeding, even when predators were immediately frozen at -20°C. However, the quantity of target detected was significantly related to the number of eggs consumed and the time elapsed since eating. Decrease in detected prey DNA was consistent with a negative exponential model. The target DNA sequence disappeared from starved predators (quantitative half-life estimate of 59 min) more slowly than those fed potato aphids after consuming the target prey eggs (half-life estimate 16 min), whereas those fed C. maculata eggs as a chaser were intermediate in the rate at which they degraded the target prey DNA sequence. Fixative protocols are of critical importance in proper use of the qPCR technique. Among seven methods tested, storing the predator immediately in 70% ethanol prechilled to -20°C yielded the highest amount of target sequence, 22.8% of that recovered directly from a single intact prey egg. Samples frozen without solvent at -80°C and -20°C yielded only 6.0% and 2.3% of the target DNA respectively, and room temperature ethanol and ethylene glycol-based antifreeze averaged below 1% recovery of target DNA. Nevertheless, target prey was detected in more than 80% of antifreeze-stored predators. Predators killed and held at room temperature for 4 h or 5 days yielded no target prey DNA in 18 of 20 cases. These results emphasize both the value and the complexities of application of the qPCR technique to field predation studies

Crop Choice, Non-Target Pest Levels, Yield Loss and Their Effect on Insecticide Use in South Dakota

Agriculturally, South Dakota is a unique state possessing the highest rate of adoption for genetically modified crop varieties. In 2009 ninety-six percent of corn acres planted in South Dakota were genetically modified compared with eighty-five percent nationally (Economic Research Service). Additionally, South Dakota has seen a dramatic increase in the number of acres treated with insecticide over the past 20 years. These two situations taken together seem to be counterintuitive. Some genetically modified varieties, such as Bt corn, are equipped with genetic defenses so that they can protect the plant from target pests. Intuitively, one would expect to see a decrease in insecticide use as adoption of genetically modified varieties increase. Recent studies have found that there is a reduction in herbicides applied to herbicide tolerant varieties. Here in South Dakota, though, producers have expressed the opinion that the increase in insecticide use is the result of the emergence and spread of the soybean aphid in the state. This research seeks to address the underlying causes of the increase in insecticide use.Bt corn, GM crops, insecticide, Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Q1, Q2, Q5,