Rice-feeding insects and selected natural enemies in West Africa: Biology, ecology, identification

FOREWORD • ACKNOWLEDGMENTS • INTRODUCTION • RICE IN AFRICA • RICE-FEEDING INSECTS • CLIMATIC ZONES AND RICE ECOSYSTEMS AS HABITATS • CONSTRAINTS TO RICE PRODUCTION • SPECIES IN WEST AFRICA • DIRECT DAMAGE • ROLE IN DISEASE TRANSMISSION BIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY OF RICE-FEEDING INSECTS ROOT FEEDERS : Mole crickets, Gryllotalpa africana Palisot de Beauvois; Orthoptera: Gryllotalpidae • Root aphids, Tetraneura nigriabdominalis (Sasaki); Hemiptera (suborder Homoptera): Aphididae • Termites, Macrotermes, Microtermes, and Trinervitermes spp.; Isoptera: Termitidae • Black beetles, Heteronychus mosambicus Peringuey (= H. oryzae Britton); Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Dynastinae • Rice water weevils, Afroryzophilus djibai Lyal; Coleoptera: Curculionidae • STEM BORERS : Stalk-eyed fly, Diopsis longicornis Macquart; Diptera: Diopsidae • Stalk-eyed fly, Diopsis apicalis Dalman; Diptera: Diopsidae • Stem borer, Pachylophus beckeri Curran; Diptera: Chloropidae • African striped rice borer, Chilo zacconius Bleszynski; Lepidoptera: Pyralidae • African white borer, Maliarpha separatella Ragonot; Lepidoptera: Pyralidae • Scirpophaga spp.; Lepidoptera: Pyralidae • African pink borers, Sesamia calamistis Hampson and S. nonagrioides botanephaga Tams and Bowden; Lepidoptera: Noctuidae AFRICAN RICE GALL MIDGE : Orseolia oryzivora Harris and Gagne; Diptera: Cecidomyiidae LEAFHOPPERS AND PLANTHOPPERS : Green leafhoppers, Nephotettix afer Ghauri and Nephotettix modulatus Melichar; Hemiptera: Cicadellidae • White rice leafhoppers, Cofana spectra (Distant) and C. unimaculata (Signoret); Hemiptera: Cicadellidae • White-winged planthopper, Nisia nervosa (Motschulsky); Hemiptera: Meenoplidae • Brown planthopper, Nilaparvata maeander Fennah; Hemiptera: Delphacidae • Rice delphacid, Tagosodes cubanus (Crawford); Hemiptera: Delphacidae • Spittlebugs, Locris maculata maculata Fabricius and L. rubra Fabricius; Hemiptera: Cercopidae FOLIAGE FEEDERS : Rice caseworm, Nymphula depunctalis (Guenée); Lepidoptera: Pyralidae • Rice leaffolders, Marasmia trapezalis (Guenée); Lepidoptera: Pyralidae • Green-horned caterpillar, Melanitis leda ismene Cramer; Lepidoptera: Satyridae • African rice hispids; Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae Flea beetles, Chaetocnema spp.; Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae • Ladybird beetle, Chnootriba similis (Mulsant); Coleoptera: Coccinellidae • Leaf miner, Cerodontha orbitona (Spencer); Diptera: Agromyzidae • Rice whorl maggot, Hydrellia prosternalis Deeming; Diptera: Ephydridae • Rice grasshoppers : Short-horned grasshoppers, Hieroglyphus daganensis; Orthoptera: Acrididae • Short-horned grasshoppers, Oxya spp.; Orthoptera: Acrididae • Meadow grasshoppers, Conocephalus spp.; Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae • Variegated grasshopper, Zonocerus variegatus (L.); Orthoptera: Pyrgomorphidae • Whitefly, Aleurocybotus indicus David and Subramaniam; Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae • Spider mites, Oligonychus pratensis Banks, O. senegalensis Gutierrez and Etienne, Tetranychus neocaledonicus Andre; Acari: Tetranychidae INSECTS THAT ATTACK PANICLES : Earwigs, Diaperasticus erythrocephalus (Olivier); Dermaptera: Forficulidae • Blister beetles; Coleoptera: Meloidae • Panicle thrips, Haplothrips spp.; Thysanoptera: Phlaeothripidae • Stink bugs, Aspavia spp.; Hemiptera: Pentatomidae • Green stink bugs, Nezara viridula (L.); Hemiptera: Pentatomidae • Alydid bugs, Stenocoris spp., Mirperus spp. • and Riptortus; Hemiptera: Alydidae • Cotton stainers, Dysdercus spp.; Hemiptera: Pyrrhocoridae NATURAL ENEMIES OF WEST AFRICAN RICE-FEEDING INSECTS : INVENTORY OF NATURAL ENEMIES OF WEST AFRICAN RICE-FEEDING INSECTS: Predators • Parasitoids AN ILLUSTRATED KEY TO THE IDENTIFICATION OF SELECTED WEST AFRICAN RICE INSECTS AND SPIDERS: SECTION I: ORDERS BASED ON ADULTS • SECTION II: INSECTS • SECTION III: SPIDERS REFERENCES SUBJECT INDEX FOR THE BIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY AND NATURAL ENEMIES SECTION

Brown Planthopper (N. lugens Stal) Feeding Behaviour on Rice Germplasm as an Indicator of Resistance

BACKGROUND: The brown planthopper (BPH) Nilaparvata lugens (Stal) is a serious pest of rice in Asia. Development of novel control strategies can be facilitated by comparison of BPH feeding behaviour on varieties exhibiting natural genetic variation, and then elucidation of the underlying mechanisms of resistance. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: BPH feeding behaviour was compared on 12 rice varieties over a 12 h period using the electrical penetration graph (EPG) and honeydew clocks. Seven feeding behaviours (waveforms) were identified and could be classified into two phases. The first phase involved patterns of sieve element location including non penetration (NP), pathway (N1+N2+N3), xylem (N5) [21] and two new feeding waveforms, derailed stylet mechanics (N6) and cell penetration (N7). The second feeding phase consisted of salivation into the sieve element (N4-a) and sieve element sap ingestion (N4-b). Production of honeydew drops correlated with N4-b waveform patterns providing independent confirmation of this feeding behaviour. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Overall variation in feeding behaviour was highly correlated with previously published field resistance or susceptibility of the different rice varieties: BPH produced lower numbers of honeydew drops and had a shorter period of phloem feeding on resistant rice varieties, but there was no significant difference in the time to the first salivation (N4-b). These qualitative differences in behaviour suggest that resistance is caused by differences in sustained phloem ingestion, not by phloem location. Cluster analysis of the feeding and honeydew data split the 12 rice varieties into three groups: susceptible, moderately resistant and highly resistant. The screening methods that we have described uncover novel aspects of the resistance mechanism (or mechanisms) of rice to BPH and will in combination with molecular approaches allow identification and development of new control strategies

An expert-curated global database of online newspaper articles on spiders and spider bites

Mass media plays an important role in the construction and circulation of risk perception associated with animals. Widely feared groups such as spiders frequently end up in the spotlight of traditional and social media. We compiled an expert-curated global database on the online newspaper coverage of human-spider encounters over the past ten years (2010-2020). This database includes information about the location of each human-spider encounter reported in the news article and a quantitative characterisation of the content-location, presence of photographs of spiders and bites, number and type of errors, consultation of experts, and a subjective assessment of sensationalism. In total, we collected 5348 unique news articles from 81 countries in 40 languages. The database refers to 211 identified and unidentified spider species and 2644 unique human-spider encounters (1121 bites and 147 as deadly bites). To facilitate data reuse, we explain the main caveats that need to be made when analysing this database and discuss research ideas and questions that can be explored with it.Peer reviewe

The global spread of misinformation on spiders

Non peer reviewe

An expert-curated global database of online newspaper articles on spiders and spider bites

Mass media plays an important role in the construction and circulation of risk perception associated with animals. Widely feared groups such as spiders frequently end up in the spotlight of traditional and social media. We compiled an expert-curated global database on the online newspaper coverage of human-spider encounters over the past ten years (2010–2020). This database includes information about the location of each human-spider encounter reported in the news article and a quantitative characterisation of the content—location, presence of photographs of spiders and bites, number and type of errors, consultation of experts, and a subjective assessment of sensationalism. In total, we collected 5348 unique news articles from 81 countries in 40 languages. The database refers to 211 identified and unidentified spider species and 2644 unique human-spider encounters (1121 bites and 147 as deadly bites). To facilitate data reuse, we explain the main caveats that need to be made when analysing this database and discuss research ideas and questions that can be explored with it. </p

The global spread of misinformation on spiders

In the internet era, the digital architecture that keeps us connected and informed may also amplify the spread of misinformation. This problem is gaining global attention, as evidence accumulates that misinformation may interfere with democratic processes and undermine collective responses to environmental and health crises. In an increasingly polluted information ecosystem, understanding the factors underlying the generation and spread of misinformation is becoming a pressing scientific and societal challenge. Here, we studied the global spread of (mis-)information on spiders using a high-resolution global database of online newspaper articles on spider–human interactions, covering stories of spider–human encounters and biting events published from 2010–2020. We found that 47% of articles contained errors and 43% were sensationalist. Moreover, we show that the flow of spider-related news occurs within a highly interconnected global network and provide evidence that sensationalism is a key factor underlying the spread of misinformation. </p

Fig. 97. Male Alaeho linoi n in Family Clubionidae Wagner- Genera Alaeho, Castianeira, Agroeca, Phrurolithus & Scotinella

Fig. 97. Male Alaeho linoi n. sp. (a); cheliceral teeth (b); sternum, labium, and maxillae (c); and ventral view of palp (d

Illustrated Guide to Integrated Pest Management in Rice in Tropical Asia

In the past, farmers in tropical Asia grew traditional rice cultivars and either relied primarily on cultural, mechanical, and physical methods of pest control or practiced no pest control. Pesticide application was limited because the yield potential of traditional varieties was too low to justify additional investments. Although pests destroyed part of each crop, severe outbreaks or epidemics were rare. The widespread introduction of high-yielding rice cultivars in Asia in the last two decades and the associated changes in production practices have improved conditions for insects, diseases, weeds, and rodents. The higher yield potential of the new rices also made increased pesticide application economically attractive to farmers. The replacement of traditional control methods by pesticides could increase hazards to nontarget organisms, however, and lead to the development of pesticide resistance and environmental contamination. To minimize such problems, Asian farmers must again diversify their pest control practices — a strategy that scientists now term integrated pest management (IPM). Recently, scientists working in national rice production programs and at international agricultural research centers have written extensively about IPM for tropical rice. Many of the publications are research-oriented, fragmented, and too technical for nonscientists. Furthermore, much of the highly specialized information often focuses on a single species or a small group of pests. This publication provides practical and comprehensive information to IPM workers in rice fields throughout tropical Asia. It briefly discusses rice plant structure and growth stages and stresses their relation to pest management. There are separate sections on cultural control of rice pests, resistant rice varieties, natural enemies of rice insect pests, and pesticides. The biology and management of the major groups of rice pests — insects, diseases, weeds, and rodents — are discussed in separate sections. Finally, integrated control measures for the entire rice pest complex and the implementation of IPM strategies at the farmer level are described