Diagnostic Alleles From Electrophoresis Distinguish Two Noctuid Pest Species, \u3ci\u3eHydraecia Immanis\u3c/i\u3e and \u3ci\u3eH. Micacea\u3c/i\u3e (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae).

Native hop vine borer (Hydraecia immanis) and introduced potato stem borer (H. micacea) populations in Midwest corn have reached noticeable levels near the Great Lakes plant community ecotone between boreal forests and temperate deciduous forests. The hop vine borer is more specialized in its diet and occurs in corn generally south of the plant community ecotone, whereas the potato stem borer is polyphagous and occurs in corn mostly north of the Great Lakes plant transition zone. We analyzed the genetic composition of each species using cellulose acetate electrophoresis and resolved 19 loci of which 6 exhibited fixed or nearly fixed allelic differences. We expect that this will be useful in determining the degree of hybridization where the two species become sympatric due to expected continued range expansions in Michigan, Wisconsin, and New York State

Apparent Resilience to Fire of Native Bee (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) Communities From Upland Longleaf Pine Forests in Louisiana and Mississippi

Controlled burning is an essential tool for restoration and management of Pinus palustris (Longleaf Pine) habitats, yet effects of controlled burning on insect species, including pollinators, are rarely considered in conservation planning. We used blue vane traps to sample native bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) at recently burned and unburned sites in 2 Longleaf Pine upland forests in Mississippi and Louisiana. Our objective was to quantify short-term effects of controlled burns given fire-return intervals of 1-2 years are now regularly employed to manage Longleaf Pine woodlands. We sampled during 2016 and 2017 and collected 1777 native bees, representing 43 species. Recent fire was found to have no clear effect on species composition, richness, or community structure. Overall, bee communities from burned and unburned sites were similar. Even the community collected from a site that had remained unburned for 8 years was only marginally different from the others. These results suggest that native bee communities may be resilient to low intensity burns

Egg parasitoids of Homalodisca coagulata (Homoptera: Cicadellidae)

A survey of egg parasitoids of the leafhopper Homalodisca coagulata was conducted in California, Florida and Louisiana. The mymarid wasp Gonatocerus ashmeadi was found to be the most common natural enemy in all locations sampled; G. fasciatus and the trichogrammatid Zagella sp. are recognized as potential biological control agents for introduction into southern California

The Bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) of Louisiana: An Updated, Annotated Checklist

© 2018 Entomological Society of Washington. All rights reserved. An annotated checklist is provided for 243 species and subspecies of bees collected from or thought to occur in the state of Louisiana, where 163 are confirmed records, 46 are probable records, and 34 are possible records. We also list twelve records considered to be dubious because of the absence of supporting collection data and extralimital reported ranges. Data on parish localities, seasonality, and floral records are provided when available. Specimen data are provided from two separate surveys in the state, one focusing on the fauna of longleaf pine savannas and another focusing on Cajun prairie habitat in southwestern Louisiana. Data from a previous annotated checklist of bees from longleaf pine savannas (Bartholomew et al. 2006) are included, as well as online records from the Discover Life checklist (Ascher and Pickering 2016), and bee holdings of the Louisiana State Arthropod Museum (LSAM, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA).We highlight the role that this museum and similar small institutional insect collections play in documenting faunas on local and regional scales