Integrated pest management of Tuta absoluta: practical implementations across different world regions

The South American tomato pinworm, Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), has invaded most Afro-Eurasian countries and is threatening worldwide tomato production. Various strategies have been developed and implemented to manage this pest. Here, we present a timely review on the up-to-date development and practical implementation of integrated pest management (IPM) programs for tomato crops across different world regions infested by T. absoluta. While insecticide resistance is a growing concern, biological control via releasing or conserving arthropod natural enemies and sex pheromone-based biotechnical control are the most successful management practices. Agronomic control-related research is an emerging area where the soil fertilization and/or irrigation, as well as breeding of resistant cultivars, has the potential to enhance IPM effectiveness. Grower survey responses in the native areas (i.e., South America), early-invaded areas (i.e., first report between 2006 and 2012) and newly invaded areas (i.e., first report after 2012) showed that the control programs evolved along with the areas and time since invasion. Growers in the early-invaded areas shifted more rapidly from chemical control to biological control compared to those from the native area. In all concerned regions, the pest control failure risk following chemical insecticide applications and the high cost associated with either biological or biotechnical control methods have been the greatest concerns for growers. The information gathered from the native and/or early-invaded areas may help achieve a more effective management in newly invaded areas. Lastly, researchers are expected to break the bottlenecks of some key issues that would enable lowering application cost of novel biorational alternative management options

Two new species records of Lecithoceridae (Gelechioidea: Lepidoptera) from India

Pathania, Prakash C., Shashank, Pathour R., Park, Kyu-Tek (2021): Two new species records of Lecithoceridae (Gelechioidea: Lepidoptera) from India. Zootaxa 4920 (4): 595-599, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4920.4.

A new genus Vittaliana belonging to the tribe Opsiini (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) from India and its molecular phylogeny

The new leafhopper genus Vittalianareticulata gen. nov., sp. nov., is described from India, and placed in the tribe Opsiini based on ocelli close to eyes, without carina on anterior margin of the face and bifurcate aedeagus with two gonopores. Phylogenetic analysis with maximum likelihood (ML) using IQtree v1.4.1 of combined data (Histone H3 and 28S rDNA) reveals that the new genus Vittaliana belongs to a clade consisting of Opsius versicolor (Distant, 1908), Opsiini gen. sp., Libengaia sp., Hishimonus phycitis (Distant, 1908) and Yinfomibus menglaensis Du, Liang & Dai (2019) with good branch support, and that the tribe Opsiini is paraphyletic. This resolves the placement of a new genus in the tribe Opsiini under Deltocephalinae

First report of the poplar leaf miner, Phyllonorycter populifoliella (Treitschke) (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae) from India

Shashank, Pathour R., Singh, Narendra, Harshana, Anand, Sinha, Twinkle, Kirichenko, Natalia (2021): First report of the poplar leaf miner, Phyllonorycter populifoliella (Treitschke) (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae) from India. Zootaxa 4915 (3): 435-450, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4915.3.1

A new genus of leafhopper subtribe Paraboloponina (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) with molecular phylogeny of related genera

<div><p>A new leafhopper genus <i>Chandra</i> and species <i>Chandra dehradunensis</i> <b>gen. nov., sp. nov</b>. are described, illustrated from India and placed in the subtribe Paraboloponina (Cidadellidae: Deltocephalinae: Drabescini). This genus is closely associated with the genus <i>Parabolopona</i> Webb but differs in shape of the head, placement of antennae, male genitalia and molecular analysis using Histone <i>H3</i> and <i>COI</i> genes confirmed the difference. The taxonomic and phylogenetic position of <i>Chandra</i> is discussed using morphological characters and preliminary molecular evidence of the new genus and related genus <i>Parabolopona</i>.</p></div

Phylogram of the analysed genera Deltocephalinae showing relationships of <i>Chandra dehradunensis</i> Meshram gen. nov., sp. nov. with related genera of tribe drabescini inferred using by neighbor-joining (NJ) tree method and the kimura 2-parameter distances of Histone H3 sequences.

<p>Phylogram of the analysed genera Deltocephalinae showing relationships of <i>Chandra dehradunensis</i> Meshram gen. nov., sp. nov. with related genera of tribe drabescini inferred using by neighbor-joining (NJ) tree method and the kimura 2-parameter distances of Histone H3 sequences.</p

Showing GenBank Accession Numbers, along with locality data for mtCOI.

<p>Showing GenBank Accession Numbers, along with locality data for mtCOI.</p

A new genus of leafhopper subtribe Paraboloponina (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) with molecular phylogeny of related genera - Fig 2

<p><i>Chandra dehradunensis</i> Meshram gen. nov., sp. nov., male genitalia A. Pygofer; B. Style; C. Connective; D-E. Aedeagus, lateral and dorsal view; F. Subgenital plate.</p

Phylogram of the analysed genera Deltocephalinae showing relationships of <i>Chandra dehradunensis</i> Meshram gen. nov., sp. nov. with related species of tribe drabescini inferred using by neighbor-joining (NJ) tree method and the kimura 2-parameter distances mitochondrial COI sequences.

<p>Phylogram of the analysed genera Deltocephalinae showing relationships of <i>Chandra dehradunensis</i> Meshram gen. nov., sp. nov. with related species of tribe drabescini inferred using by neighbor-joining (NJ) tree method and the kimura 2-parameter distances mitochondrial COI sequences.</p

First record of occurrence of Dervishiya cadambae on grapevine, Vitis vinifera, along with its morphological and molecular identification and pathogenicity evaluation potential of Metarhizium brunneum as its biocontrol agent

Not AvailableIncreasing demand for grapes (Vitis vinifera L.) worldwide makes it a high-value crop and also an important, valuable export commodity for India. In February 2016, a vineyard from Maharashtra, India was identified with entirely new insect damage symptoms from those observed earlier. After, further inspection, a new type of wood borer was noticed which was later identified as Dervishiya cadambae (Moore) (Lepidoptera Cossidae). D. cadambae is known as a major pest of Tectona grandis L.f. plantations in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu states of India and causes extensive damage to the timber. Surveys were conducted in affected vineyards to assess the extent of infestation from 2016 to 2018. In 20 infested vineyards located in Sangli and Nashik districts of Maharashtra, 12-72% of grapevines were found to have active infestations. Young larvae fed under the bark and later instars bored inside and made galleries. D. cadambae caused extensive damage to the sapwood and heartwood of grapevine stem and reduced both vitality and productivity of the vines. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) barcode for this new pest of grapevines was also provided. The DNA barcode grouped D. cadambae in the clade of Cossidae samples supported with a bootstrap value of 85% in phylogenetic analysis. To our knowledge, this is the first record of D. cadambae occurrence on V. vinifera. A green muscardine fungus was isolated from the field infected larvae of D. cadambae. The pathogenicity test confirmed Koch’s postulates. The fungus was identified as Metarhizium brunneum (Petch), which proved to be an efficient antagonist of this pest in laboratory bioassays.Not Availabl