Lobesia arzilae sp. n. and Willibaldiana culatrae sp. n. new species from Portugal (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae: Olethreutinae)

Lobesia arzilae sp. n. and Willibaldiana culatrae sp. n. (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae: Olethreutinae) found in Portugal are described. The new species were collected respectively in Paúl de Arzila, a nature reserve located in central-west Portugal, close to the city of Coimbra and in Ilha da Culatra, which lies in the Parque Natural da Ria Formosa, in the region of Faro, situated in the extreme south of Portugal. L. arzilae differs from other species of the genus Lobesia by male genitalia; socius is lateral, developed extending upwards; sacculus has a group of long spines apically dentate and is armed with strong dorsal thorn. W. culatrae differs from other species of the genus Willibaldiana by genitalia: in male valva is simple, in female cingulum is long and developed. Images of the holotypes and the genitalia are provided

Isotrias penedana sp. n. a new species of Lepidoptera (Tortricidae: Chlidanotinae: Polyorthini) from Portugal

A new species of Tortricidae (Lepidoptera: Chlidanotinae: Polyorthini), Isotrias penedana sp. n., is described. The new species was collected in Serra da Peneda, in the Peneda-Gerês National Park located in the north-western region of Portugal. I. penedana differs from other species of the genus Isotrias by shape of the forewing and the male genitalia. In the new species forewing markings are completely atrophied or indistinct. The socii are short and broad, covered with long setae, and the costa of the valva is hardly concave basally. The imago and male genitalia are illustrated

Contribution of the light filth method to the Integrated Pest Management of a flour mill

An important contribution to Integrated Pest Management in stored-product protection can be provided by the light-filth method since it gives particular attention to the extraneous particles contaminating food (such as insects, insect fragments, mites, hairs, feather barbules, etc.), extending to the identification of the material from which they have originated or the animals and vegetables from which they derive or have been part of in the past. In this regard, semolina produced by an industrial mill (processing 500 t of durum wheat per day) located in South Italy was examined for light filth according to the method established by Italian regulation. During the investigations we verified the presence of insect fragments in 250 semolina samples collected from June 2008 to July 2009. Our results show that the number of insect fragments found in the samples (from 0 to 15 fragments per 50 g semolina) remained below the limit of 75 fragments per 50 g flour established by the Italian regulation. The fragments of arthropods found in the semolina samples had different origins. Numerous fragments came from both immature and adult insects infesting plants of wheat in fields (thrips and aphids); many other fragments belong to internal feeding insects and external feeding insects (Sitophilus spp., Rhyzopertha dominica, Tribolium spp., Cryptolestes spp., Oryzaephilus spp., and Nemapogon granellus) which are able to infest cereals during post-harvest processing or to colonize millrooms in which dusts, cereal debris, and flour residues are present. We also found fragments associable to structural pests like flies and psocids that are present in environments contaminated by mould spores and fungal hyphae. The results revealed that the fumigation of the mill realized in August 2008 did not modify the number of fragments contaminating the semolina, which remained at the same level during the 14 months of the experiment. Keywords: Light filth, Semolina, IPM, Flour mill, Italy

Mass trapping of Ephestia kuehniella Zeller in a traditional flour mill

Results obtained by mass trapping method, using the synthetic pheromone (Z,E)-9,12-tetradecadienyl acetate (TDA), to control the population of Ephestia kuehniella Zeller in a large traditional flour mill are reported. The surveys were carried out over a period of five years. Forty-two funnel traps, each baited with 2 mg of TDA, were placed in the mill on March 2004 and kept until November 2008. Eight additional traps were located around the exterior of the facility, especially in the wheat silo area and near loading equipment. In almost five years, the pheromone traps attracted a total of 54,170 male E. kuehniella. Considering only the catch data obtained from the traps located in the internal departments of the mill, 28,360 specimens were captured. Outside the plant, 1,975 males were trapped. From the trap counts obtained it was possible to identify the locations of the main foci of infestation. With regard to the pest control attained by mass trapping techniques, trap catches of E. kuehniella inside the mill revealed a conspicuous decrease in the population density (of about 92.2%) comparing the data obtained in 2008 with that from 2004. The population density of the pest outside the mill also decreased from the first until the last year of the surveys. The infestation was maintained at a low level, especially during the last two years of the study, when the Integrated Pest Management program applied in the plant did not include general fumigations but only localized insecticide treatments and careful cleaning of the various departments (wheat storage bins, processing and packaging areas, milling products warehouses and the loading zone) and the interior of all equipment.Keywords: Mediterranean flour moth, Mass trapping, IPM, Flour mill, Italy

The Crambinae from Ethiopia and Mozambique collected by the University of Molise expeditions in 2008 and 2009 (Lepidoptera: Pyraloidea: Crambidae, Crambinae)

This study stems from samples of Crambinae specimens collected in Ethiopia and Mozambique by the University of Molise, Italy. A list species with their known distribution is given; Ancylolomia parentii Bassi, sp. n., Angustalius casandra Bassi, sp. n., Calamotropha dagamae Bassi, sp. n., Calamotropha virginiae Bassi, sp. n., and Crambus bellinii Bassi, sp. n. are described. The new synonymy Chrysocatharylla agraphellus (Hampson, 1919)=Chrysocatharylla fusca Bassi, 1999, syn. n. and Angustalius malacellus (Duponchel, 1936)=Crambus hapaliscus Zeller, 1852, syn. rev. are established. A lectotype for Crambus hapaliscus Zeller, 1852 is designated and the female genitalia of Ancylolomia melanothoracia Hampson, 1919 and Ancylolomia obscurella de Joannis, 1927 are illustrated for the first time

Four Olethreutinae new to the Italian fauna from Tuscan-Romagnol Appennines (Lepidoptera, Tortricidae)

Lobesia andereggiana (Herrich-Schäffer), Ancylis rhenana (Müller-Rutz), Eucosma agnatana (Christoph) and Lathronympha balearici Diakonoff (Lepidoptera, Olethreutinae) are reported for first time from the Italian fauna. The four species of Lepidoptera Tortricidae were collected from the Tuscan-Romagnol Appennines in the upper Acerreta Valley

Odour-mediated orientation of beetles is influenced by age, sex and morph

The behaviour of insects is dictated by a combination of factors and may vary considerably between individuals, but small insects are often considered en masse and thus these differences can be overlooked. For example, the cowpea bruchid Callosobruchus maculatus F. exists naturally in two adult forms: the active (flight) form for dispersal, and the inactive (flightless), more fecund but shorter-lived form. Given that these morphs show dissimilar biology, it is possible that they differ in odour-mediated orientation and yet studies of this species frequently neglect to distinguish morph type, or are carried out only on the inactive morph. Along with sex and age of individual, adult morph could be an important variable determining the biology of this and similar species, informing studies on evolution, ecology and pest management. We used an olfactometer with motion-tracking to investigate whether the olfactory behaviour and orientation of C. maculatus towards infested and uninfested cowpeas and a plant-derived repellent compound, methyl salicylate, differed between morphs or sexes. We found significant differences between the behaviour of male and female beetles and beetles of different ages, as well as interactive effects of sex, morph and age, in response to both host and repellent odours. This study demonstrates that behavioural experiments on insects should control for sex and age, while also considering differences between adult morphs where present in insect species. This finding has broad implications for fundamental entomological research, particularly when exploring the relationships between physiology, behaviour and evolutionary biology, and the application of crop protection strategies