Euwallacea interjectus, a recently discovered pest in poplar plantations, poses a significant economic threat due to its role in causing widespread tree mortality. This pest's cryptic behaviour has hindered research and control efforts, making laboratory rearing a valuable tool for studying its development and biology. We investigated the development period and biological characteristics of E. interjectus using artificial diets and fungal medium. Our findings revealed that the development time for eggs, larvae, and pupae averages approximately 6, 18, and 6 days, respectively. Notably, first and second instar larvae displayed peak moulting periods at 3.45 ± 0.64 SD and 7.92 ± 1.77 SD days, respectively. Furthermore, we measured head capsule widths of postmolt larvae, yielding values of 318.02 ± 7.38 SD μm for first-instar larvae, 403.01 ± 11.08 SD μm for second-instar larvae, and 549.54 ± 20.74 SD μm for third-instar larvae. Our research also uncovered a positive correlation between the number of progeny (eggs, larvae, pupae, and adults) and the mean length of the gallery system. Interestingly, the haplodiploid reproductive strategy did not significantly affect the number of offspring produced by the foundress. Additionally, we observed that foundresses displayed higher fecundity when subjected to nutrient-rich diets as compared to nutrient-poor diets. Our results will deepen our understanding of the biology of E. interjectus and provide criteria for larval instar classification. Additionally, managing nutrient availability within the colony could be considered a viable approach to regulating population size.

Platypus cylindrus is an important wood borer of cork oak trees (Quercus suber) in the Mediterranean region, namely Portugal, Morocco and Algeria where its presence has drastically increased in the past few decades. On the contrary, the insect is not a relevant pest in Tunisia. The aim of this work is to analyze morphological and genetic differences among Tunisian and Portuguese populations in order to understand their role in the diverse population dynamics (e.g., aggressiveness) of the insect. The information could be used as a novel tool to implement protective measures. Insects were collected from cork oak stands in Tunisia (Ain Beya, Babouch and Mzara) and Portugal (Chamusca and Crato). Morphological traits of female and male mycangial pits were determined, using scanning electron microscopy but no significant differences were found. Genetic differences were analyzed using nuclear (internal simple sequence repeat polymerase chain reaction) and mitochondrial (cytochrome oxidase I (COI)) molecular markers. The results showed a very low level of intraspecific polymorphism and genetic diversity. The alignment of COI sequences showed high percentage of identical sites (99%) indicating a very low variation in nucleotide composition. Other variables related with the ecology of the insect and its associated fungi must be studied for a better understanding of the differences in the insect population's dynamic in Mediterranean countries.

The analysis of microsatellite loci has allowed significant advances in evolutionary biology and pest management. However, until very recently, the potential benefits have been compromised by the high costs of developing these neutral markers. High-throughput sequencing provides a solution to this problem. We describe the development of 13 microsatellite markers for the eusocial ambrosia beetle, Austroplatypus incompertus, a significant pest of forests in southeast Australia. The frequency of microsatellite repeats in the genome of A. incompertus was determined to be low, and previous attempts at microsatellite isolation using a traditional genomic library were problematic. Here, we utilised two protocols, microsatellite-enriched genomic library construction and high-throughput 454 sequencing and characterised 13 loci which were polymorphic among 32 individuals. Numbers of alleles per locus ranged from 2 to 17, and observed and expected heterozygosities from 0.344 to 0.767 and from 0.507 to 0.860, respectively. These microsatellites have the resolution required to analyse fine-scale colony and population genetic structure. Our work demonstrates the utility of next-generation 454 sequencing as a method for rapid and cost-effective acquisition of microsatellites where other techniques have failed, or for taxa where marker development has historically been both complicated and expensive.