Augmentative biological control is not commonly used in commercial orchards. We used an exclusion system to evaluate the potential of early-season releases of the European earwig (Forficula auricularia L., Dermaptera: Forficulidae) for control of the rosy apple aphid (Dysaphis plantaginea Passerini, Hemiptera: Aphididae) in the spring of 2009 in two pesticide-free apple orchards. In order to conduct this experiment we successfully reared earwigs with a high survival rate of nymphs (more than 96%) which may have commercial application. There were three treatments in the study: (i) a ‘release treatment’ where we confined the released earwigs in the canopy by using a barrier system; (ii) an ‘exclusion treatment’ where we blocked free access of earwigs into the canopy using the same barrier system; and (iii) a ‘control treatment’ that represented the natural situation. Contrary to expectations, earwig releases did not reduce D. plantaginea populations. In general, the abundance of natural enemies and their groups did not differ significantly among treatments, except for earwigs. We observed that the exclusion systems we used successfully kept both earwigs and ants away from tree canopies; total numbers on trees in the ‘exclusion treatment’ were significantly lower than on the other two treatments. Due to the complexity and difficulty of evaluating augmentative releases of natural enemies in open orchard conditions, we conclude that new technical approaches to control site conditions are needed when conducting such studies.

In experiments at Slough, southern England, one hundred tonnes of wheat at about 14% moisture content were divided between six similar metal bins, three of which were aerated during the winter. Observations were made on the mite and fungal populations and physical conditions for an uninterrupted storage period of three years. During the winter, the wheat in the aerated bins was 2–4°C cooler than that in the unaerated bins and it always had a moisture content 0·5–1% higher, except at the surface where it was usually drier. Aeration appeared to delay the increase of Acarus siro L. and Lepidoglyphus destructor (Schr.) for 4–6 months after harvest, but few individuals survived into the second year of storage in any bin. Cheyletus eruditus (Schr.) and Tydeus interruptus Thor were present after one year and were most numerous in the aerated bins. The distribution within the bins of the different species of mites varied with season. A greater increase in storage fungi occurred in the aerated bins than the unaerated. Members of the Aspergillus glaucus and A. restrictus groups, Penicillium spp. and Wallemia sebi were the commonest fungi.

Over the temperature range 5° to 25°C, fecundity of Panolis flammea (Denis & Schiffermüller) showed a non-linear response, the optimal temperature for fecundity being 15°C. At 6°C females laid 17 eggs each whilst at 15°C they laid 166 eggs. Pre-oviposition period showed a significantly negative response, being shortest at 25°C (2.5 days). Adult longevity was significantly affected by temperature, being 20 days at 8°C and 6.8 days at 25°C. Egg hatch and development in the laboratory was linearly and positively related to temperature over the range of 2° to 20°C, ranging from 39.9 days at 5°C to 6 days at 25°C. The lethal limit for egg viability was 25°C. The theoretical threshold for egg development was calculated to be 2.79°C. Storage of eggs at temperatures of 2°C for periods in excess of 10 days had a significant effect on the percentage of eggs hatching. The significance of these findings in implementing control operations is discussed.

Ten nominal species of DELPHACIDAE have hitherto been regarded as synonymous with Sogata, furcifera (Horv.), which is notorious as a pest of Graminaceous crops in eastern Asia. In a recent study it was established that two members of this complex represented distinct species, and it was accordingly considered necessary to re-examine the status of the remainder: the results of such a study are reported in this paper. The members of this complex now recognised as distinct species number more than twenty: some are restored from synonymy and others are described as new, and all, as appropriate, are referred to one of three genera, Matutinus Distant, Sogatella Fennah (here accorded generic status) and a new genus, Sogatodes. Most of the species in the complex are redescribed and a key is given for the separation of all.

Nearly 2000 Phlebotomine sandflies collected in caves in Belize were examined for flagellate infections in the gut. Infections were found in 4% of Lutzomyia trinidadensis (Newst.) and in 42% of L. beltrani (Belize form). The two species of sandflies were infected with different species of parasites. The sources of infections in L. trinidadensis were not established, but females probably became infected when taking blood-meals on a vertebrate. One specimen of L. trinidadensis infected with flagellates was also infected with filaria worms. Circumstantial evidence suggests that L. beltrani is the insect host of Trypanosoma leonidasdeanei, a parasite in the blood of insectivorous bats. An account is given of the physiological condition of infected and uninfected L. beltrani, of the distribution of flagellates in the gut and of differences in the incidence of infections. The presence of the parasites in the gut disturbs some physiological processes in the fly and it is suggested that the presumed Chiroptera/T. leonidasdeanei/L. beltrani association is a recent evolutionary development. A model of population structure for a community of New World Phlebotominae, derived from observations on L. beltrani, is presented.

The performance of native and laboratory-bred Glossina morsitans morsitans Westw. was observed in Kariba, Rhodesia, the original natural habitat of the colonised Langford strain. After two years in captivity, the Langford strain was similar to the native strain in survival, dispersal, and rate of recovery in the field. No differences were detected in laboratory studies of the mating behaviour of the two strains. Native-strain males sterilised in the pupal stage with tepa were similar to untreated males in dispersal, survival, and rate of recovery. Also, both the released laboratory-bred flies and the released native strain flies compared favourably with the native population.

In the course of entomological investigations in Malaya between 1965 and 1967, it was found that Calyptra eustrigata (Hmps.) (Noctuidae) frequently pierces the skin of mammals to feed on blood, and in this respect differs from those Noctuids that marely imbibe blood from an open wound. Other species of Calyptra are known as fruit-piercing moths, and C. minuticornis (Gn.) which was taken in Cambodia on one occasion at the eye of a buffalo, is also one of the eye-frequenting moths, which imbibe lachrymal secretions of Ungulata, Proboscidea and occasionally of man. C. eustrigata has been observed imbibing blood after piercing the skin of buffalo, Sambar deer, Malayan tapir and nilgai antelope. Caged adults in the laboratory were observed piercing the skin of human fingers offered to them; and imbibition of blood continued for up to and hour. The proboscis, which ends in a sclerotised and strongly barbed point, can penetrate about six millimetres below the surface. The two halves of the proboscis work like two paralled saws moving alternately. While feeding is in progress, droplets of saliva exude at the base of the probiscis and run down the outside. Often some blood is regurgitated, then reabsorbed. The puncture causes itching, which can last for up to an hour, and local hardening of the tissue, which can persist for five weeks. By reason of its mode of feeding, C. eustrigata would appear to be a potential vector of disease, as the saliva and regurgitated fluids might transmit pathogenic agents.

The potential non-target effects of genetically modified crops are some of the more debated topics within applied biotechnologies in agriculture and environmental risk assessment. The objective of the present research was to study the potential Bt-toxin uptake by the non-target herbivore Myzus persicae Sulzer (Hemiptera: Aphididae) feeding on transgenic oilseed rape plants (Brassica napus cv. ‘Westar’ lines GT 2–4) expressing the Cry1Ac endotoxin. A specific aim was to replicate our previous experiment in controlled laboratory conditions to avoid or minimize the risk of contamination leading to potential false positive results. The toxin levels in vernalized (V) and not-vernalized (not-V) transgenic oilseed rape plants was also monitored to better clarify the role of physiological processes on Bt-toxin expression. Cry1Ac expression in not-V plants (mean concentration±SE=167.8±5.7 μg kg−1 FW) showed a pattern of large variability, in comparison with V plants whose expression (mean concentration±SE=227.7±1.9 μg kg−1 FW) was significantly more stable. Cry1Ac toxin was detected in three aphid samples reared on V plants with a mean toxin concentration±SE of 4.8±0.6 μg Kg−1 FW and in three out of six samples of aphids reared on not-V plants (mean toxin concentration±SE=7.1±1.2 μg kg−1 FW). The mean Bt-toxin concentration of all the positive aphid samples was 5.9±1.0 μg kg−1 FW. Our results confirmed the findings of our previous experiment and highlighted the potential for Cry1Ac toxin uptake by aphids feeding on transgenic oilseed rape plants.

We developed new methods for analyzing inheritance of insecticide resistance in haplodiploid arthropods and applied them to elucidate resistance of the whitefly Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) to an insect growth regulator, pyriproxyfen. Two invasive biotypes of this devastating crop pest, the B biotype in Arizona and the Q biotype in Israel, have evolved resistance to pyriproxyfen. Here, we incorporated data from laboratory bioassays and crossing procedures exploiting haplodiploidy into statistical and analytical models to estimate the number of loci affecting pyriproxyfen resistance in strains of both biotypes. In tests with models of one to ten loci, the best fit between expected and observed mortality occurred with a two-locus model for the B biotype strain (QC-02) and for one- and two-locus models for the Q biotype strain (Pyri-R). The estimated minimum number of loci affecting resistance was 1.6 for the B biotype strain and 1.0 for the Q biotype strain. The methods used here can be applied to insecticide resistance and other traits in haplodiploid arthropods.

In a study in the Gambia on the relationship between wind direction and the direction of flight of mosquitoes, high-voltage electric grids were used as screens in conjunction with suction traps. Mosquitoes contacting or attempting to fly through the grids were electrocuted. The screening efficiency of the grids was estimated to be 75–80%, and the grids had no demonstrable effect on wind speed. The traps were set up in pairs with their mouths at ground level, one trap in each pair being screened on the upwind and the other on the downwind side. In this way, the mosquitoes could be segregated into those that were flying predominantly upwind and predominantly downwind, respectively. The results indicated that some 64% were flying upwind at this level, but this proportion varied considerably over a period of days, with nightly extremes of 87 and 43%; there was little difference between species. This variation was not correlated with wind speed, but there was some evidence that the presence of moonlight led to a greater degree of upwind flight.

Larvae of the African midge, Chironomus brevibucca (Kieff.), are abundant in the littoral zone of Lake Bangweulu, Northern Rhodesia, where, at certain times of the year, imagines emerge in vast numbers shortly after the appearance of the full moon. Attracted by light, the imagines fly to houses and alight on the protective gauze screenings, which, at peak periods of emergence, become covered with a solid mass of midges. They have not been seen at other phases of the lunar cycle, so the adult life is certainly not more than ten days and is usually much less.

Imagines, which are inactive by day, tend to settle in different situations according to their sex. On the gauze screenings there was a marked preponderance of females (4·68:1) on the day following a night's swarming but, on several adjoining whitewashed walls, males predominated (2·92:1). On grasses near the lake margin females outnumbered the males.

When, the gauze screening of a house was diffusely illuminated, imagines were attracted to it during the early hours of darkness. The first flies to arrive were almost invariably males, but females followed on rapidly and finally constituted the bulk of the population. On one evening the percentage of males fell in three hours from 95·4 at 1844 hr. to 29·5 at 2145 hr. The percentage of males reaches a minimum between 1900 and 2000 hr. and thereafter shows some rise, probably due to a secondary influx of males which are thought to have been resting during the day and not to be newly emerged.

An indication of the adult age of males seems to be given by the condition of the antennae during the early part of their adult life.

Some miscellaneous observations on the behaviour of C. brevibucca are recorded.

Some aspects of the phenomena recorded are discussed. The recent hypothesis of Korringa, which seeks to explain the periodíc swarming of certain polychaetes just after the time of full moon as being the result of an additive effect of exposure to nocturnal illumination on the maturation of organisms that are not subjected to sunlight by day, is examined and shown to be applicable to C. brevibucca.

The aim of this study was to develop and optimize silverleaf bioassay, esterase analysis and PCR-based techniques to distinguish quickly and reliably biotype B of the whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius), from Indian indigenous biotypes. Zucchini and squash readily develop silverleaf symptoms upon feeding by the B biotype, but they are not readily available in Indian markets. A local pumpkin variety ‘Big’ was, therefore, used in silverleaf assay, which developed symptoms similar to those on zucchini and squash and can be used reliably to detect B biotype. Analysis of non-specific esterases of B and the indigenous biotypes indicated both quantitative and qualitative differences in esterase patterns. Two high molecular weight bands were unique to B biotype and they occurred in abundance. These esterases were used to develop quick and field-based novel detection methods for differentiating B from the indigenous biotypes. Development of these simple and cost-effective protocols has wider application as they can be potentially used to identify other agricultural pests. Mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I gene sequences and randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) polymorphisms, generated using the primer OpB11, were also found useful for detecting B. tabaci biotypes. A B biotype-specific RAPD band of 800 bp was sequenced, which was used to a develop sequence characterized amplified region (SCAR) marker. The SCAR marker involved the development of B biotype-specific primers that amplified 550 bp PCR products only from B biotype genomic DNA. Silverleaf assay, esterases, RAPDs or a SCAR marker were used in combination to analyse whitefly samples collected from selected locations in India, and it was found that any of these techniques can be used singly or in combination to detect B biotype reliably. The B biotype was found in southern parts of India but not in the north in 2004–06.

(1) Two host-plants of Antestia lineaticollis in addition to Coffea arabica are Psychotria nairobiensis and Pavetta elliottii.

(2) Laboratory experiments showed that red berries and large green berries are favoured foods, but feeding will also take place on small green berries, on shoots, and on leaves.

(3) Feeding trials showed that large green berry food is essential for normal length of life and normal egg production.

(4) Antestia was reared to adult stage when fed exclusively on large green berries, on small green berries, and on shoots, but not on red berries or leaves.

(5) In large green berries and small green berries the endosperm becomes infected with rots, usually caused by the fungi Nematospora coryli or Nematospora gossypii, which are introduced by Antestia, but in the case of ripe red berries the endocarp is seldom if ever pierced and rotting of the endosperm is not initiated at this stage.

(6) The amount of damage caused to the crop by rotting of the beans is related to the number of Antestia present, and a formula which is considered to represent this relationship is given. In practice as high a proportion as 97 per cent. of the beans have been found rotted when Antestia is numerous. The figures also show that even when Antestia population is low, an economically important amount of damage to the crop may occur.

(7) Antestia was proved to cause a dropping of young green berries. This seems not to be due to the insect feeding on the stalk, but to be a response by the plant to an interruption of normal growth of the bean due to insect feeding. A similar shedding has been noticed of berries damaged by other insects when it is known that no feeding on the stalk can have taken place.

(8) Feeding experiments in cages and sleeves showed that Antestia must rank as one of the important causes of the non-setting of flowers ; this form of damage has been neglected or minimised in the past.

(9) As a result of Antestia feeding on the growing point, leaves become scarred and distorted.

(10) A useful form of cage for experimental work of this kind is described.

(11) Definite confirmation was obtained that well-known abnormalities of the vegetative growth characterised by multiple branching are produced by the feeding of Antestia.

(12) It is shown that the growth is stopped or much reduced by the feeding of Antestia, and when this is associated, as it usually is, with multiple branching, a “ bunchy ” or “ matted ” growth results, which increases pruning costs and much reduces the cropping ability of the tree.

(13) A short discussion follows which indicates certain practical conclusions that can be drawn from the above results.

Homoptera were assessed by examining branches from mature cocoa trees in an Upper-Amazon 3 × 33 shade × nitrogen, phosphate and potash fertilizer experiment at Tafo, Ghana. Trees in territories of the ants Crematogaster clariventris Mayr and Acantholepis capensis Mayr were sampled. Planococcoides njalensis (Laing), Planococcus citri (Risso), Phenacoccus hargreavesi (Laing), Pseudococcus concavocerarii James, Maconellicoccus ugandae (Laing) and Mesohomotoma tessmanni (Aulm.) were more abundant on unshaded trees than on shaded ones. Steatococcus sp. and Stictococcus sjostedti Ckll. also occurred most frequently on unshaded trees. The abundance of five other infrequently recorded species was unaffected by overhead shade. A species of Gascardia near G. zonata (Newst.) was more common as shade increased. Planococcus citri increased with increasing nitrogen where A. capensis was dominant, and decreased with increasing potassium on heavily shaded trees where C. clariventris was dominant. M. tessmanni decreased with increasing potassium both on unshaded trees where A. capensis was dominant and on trees which had received most phosphate where C. clariventris was dominant. No responses to fertilizers were detected among other species. An estimated 100, 99 and 83%, respectively, of unshaded, lightly and heavily shaded trees were infested with mealybugs, vectors of cocoa swollen shoot virus. These estimates presage little change in the rate of spread of virus due to the continued shade thinning over cocoa in Ghana.

A population of Glossina palpalis (R.-D.) was studied for three years, between February 1954 and January 1957, at Ugbobigha, on the northern edge of the main rain-forest belt of southern Nigeria. A fly-round was laid out along the banks of a forested stream, running northwards from the forest belt into the savannah woodland, and was divided into four sections representing farmland, wide fringing forest, narrow fringing forest, and the edge of forest.

No major seasonal movements of the fly population from one section to another could be detected; it was found that open farmland and the edge of forest with good visibility always yielded the highest catches, whereas catches inside dense forest were always low. Data from other sources showed that at all seasons of the year G. palpalis may be found in small numbers throughout the savannah woodland, even in the absence of water. This species also occurs in very small numbers within the main forest belt, and in village clearings lying within this belt.

Apart from an increase in the second and third months of the rains (March–April) and a fall during the fourth and fifth months, the population tends to remain steady at a low level throughout the year. The increase in population is associated with a mean temperature of 79–80°F. (26·1–26·7°C.) and an average saturation deficit of 5·5 mb. These figures agree closely with those found to be optimal for G. palpalis by other workers. The decrease in population is associated with a falling temperature, but more especially with a mean saturation deficit that has dropped below 3 mb. These results agree closely with those found near the northern limit of the range of the species in Nigeria. The favourable period for increase during the wet season lasts for four months in northern Nigeria, but only two at Ugbobigha: this is believed to account for the much lower fly density found in the humid south.

Dissections of females showed no seasonal trend in the proportion that were pregnant, nor any cessation of breeding in the heavy rains (August–September). Of 3,130 flies caught, 45·5 per cent, were females, and of the 1,040 females dissected, only 3·6 per cent, were found to be virgin; in northern Nigeria, the comparable figures were 49·1 and 4·0 per cent., respectively. At Ugbobigha, there is no seasonal trend in the percentage of females amongst flies appearing to man. Among the non-teneral males caught, the mean monthly proportion that was hungry ranged from 8 to 22 per cent., but showed no seasonal trend, whereas comparable figures from northern Nigeria ranged from 24 to 43 per cent.; this suggests that G. palpalis requires food less often in the humid conditions of Ugbobigha, or possibly that game is more numerous.

Of 1,635 examples of G. palpalis dissected, 2·1 per cent, were found to have mature infections of trypanosomes; of the latter, about two-thirds belonged to the Trypanosoma vivax group and about one-third to the T. congolense group. There was no difference in the infection rates of males and females.

Very few pupae were found, owing to the low fly population and the extensiveness of the breeding sites under the equable climatic conditions. The temperature of the pupal environment is considerably higher here than in northern Nigeria.

The diurnal rhythm of activity of G. palpalis was investigated both in the dry season and the wet. In both, activity increases steadily between 7 and 10.30 a.m., as the temperature rises, and falls steadily between 3.30 p.m. and dusk; peak activity occurs at various times between noon and 3.30 p.m. The numbers caught before 11 a.m., expressed as a percentage of the day's catch, increases at seasons when the temperature is higher. The flies are equally active in overcast weather and full sunshine, but rain reduces activity by more than a half.

A study of the development and fecundity of the Oriental Fruit Moth, Grapholitha molesta (Busck), under controlled temperatures of 60°, 65°, 75°, 85° and 95°F. and relative humidities of 35, 70 and 100 per cent, was carried out at East Lansing, Michigan, in 1950–51. The technique adopted is described. The incubation period of the eggs decreased from 7–8 days at 60°F. to 2–76 days at 94°F., increasing to 3–56 days at 95°F. A large number of eggs withstood an exposure of 40 hours at 98°F., but an exposure of 48 hours proved fatal. An exposure of 21 hours to 105°F. reduced the viability of eggs to 25–43 per cent, and increased the incubation period by 36–40 hours.

The probablity that tsetse flies (Glossina spp.) cross a barrier of odour-baited targets is calculated for barriers of different widths and target density, and for tsetse flies with varying natural rates of survival, daily step lengths (d) and probabilities of being killed by an odour-baited target. If the barrier is only as wide as d, and for a species which has a 2% natural daily mortality and a further 2% mortality due to each target per unit area, tsetse flies have probability (P) of ca. 0.1 of penetrating the barrier even if the target density is 64 per unit area. To ensure that P < 0.001 the barrier must be about 4d wide for target densities 32 per unit area; doubling the width to 8d means that target densities could be cut by about 75%, and total numbers of targets in the barrier by 50%. These biological considerations and the economic costs of different target barriers suggest that, for all tsetse fly species, a safe and relatively inexpensive barrier is achieved with barrier width 8d when the optimum target density is roughly the same as for normal operational areas. This has the important practical consequence that there is no need to treat barriers as a special case. Practical results from research and control operations in Zimbabwe are in accord with the theoretical findings, but further work is required to ascertain whether the safety margin, and hence costs, can be reduced.

The distribution and bionomics of the species of Phlebotomus in N.W. Persia are described.

The distribution of Leishmania in this area and the possible relations of sandflies to it are discussed.

Observations on the quite distinct and well-defined hours of activity of the different species are recorded.

P. chinensis is recorded from Persia for the first time.

The diagnosis of the female of P. caucasicus is established.

P. wenyoni, sp. n., P. kandelaki, Schour., and P. perniciosus var. tobbi, var. n., are described.

A simple method of breeding sandflies while travelling is described.

P. perniciosus var. tobbi was infected by feeding on cultures of L. donovani of Mediterranean origin.

P. caucasicus was infected by feeding on cultures of L. tropica.

Two years of field trials in Nigeria with the synthetic pyrethroids permethrin, cypermethrin and decamethrin against Glossina palpalis (R.-D.) and G. tachinoides Westw. are described. Laboratory tests were also made against G. morsitans submorsitans Newst. The three pyrethroids were applied successfully from the ground at 0·5%, 0·3% and 0·075%, respectively, to fly resting sites on vegetation using pressurised knapsack sprayers, populations of both species being eradicated after a single application of one insecticide. Following residual spraying from a helicopter, only decamethrin at 30 g/ha achieved complete eradication. It was thought that, with permethrin wettable powder at 200 g/ha, by modifying the spraying equipment and, with cypermethrin, by increasing the dosage to over 150 g/ha, both could be successful in the future. A new ‘sideways’ spraying technique tested using the helicopter gave promising results. Comparatively little harm was done to non-target organisms in the environment after spraying with any of the three pyrethroids, and it is expected that they may gradually replace the chlorinated hydrocarbons in future routine anti-tsetse operations.

The soft scales (Hemiptera: Coccoidea: Coccidae) are a group of sap-sucking plant parasites, many of which are notorious agricultural pests. The quarantine and economic importance of soft scales necessitates rapid and reliable identification of these taxa. Nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene (barcoding region) and 28S rDNA were generated from 340 individuals of 36 common soft scales in China. Distance-based [(best match, Automated Barcode Gap Discovery (ABGD)], tree-based (neighbor-joining, Bayesian inference), Klee diagrams, and general mixed Yule coalescent (GMYC) models were used to evaluate barcoding success rates in the data set. Best match showed that COI and 28S sequences could provide 100 and 95.52% correct identification, respectively. The average interspecific divergences were 19.81% for COI data and 20.38% for 28S data, and mean intraspecific divergences were 0.56 and 0.07%, respectively. For COI data, multiple methods (ABGD, Klee, and tree-based methods) resulted in general congruence with morphological identifications. However, GMYC analysis tended to provide more molecular operational taxonomic units (MOTUs). Twelve MOTUs derived from five morphospecies (Rhodococcus sariuoni, Pulvinaria vitis, Pulvinaria aurantii, Parasaissetia nigra, and Ceroplastes rubens) were observed using the GMYC approach. In addition, tree-based methods showed that 28S sequences could be used for species-level identification (except for Ceroplastes ceriferus – Ceroplastes pseudoceriferus), even with low genetic variation (<1%). This report demonstrates the robustness of DNA barcoding for species discrimination of soft scales with two molecular markers (COI and 28S) and provides a reliable barcode library and rapid diagnostic tool for common soft scales in China.