Zeugodacus tau Walker (Diptera: Tephritidae) is a quarantine pest of cucurbit crops in China. In recent years, the damage it has caused to Trichosanthes kirilowii (Cucurbitales: Cucurbitaceae) has increased, but evidence for host adaptation and population growth on this plant remains limited. We investigated the suitability of T. kirilowii as a host plant for Z. tau, compared with the known suitable host Cucurbita moschata, by examining adult olfactory preference, oviposition choice, and demographic performance using an age-stage, two-sex life table. Females preferred T. kirilowii significantly more than C. moschata in cases of both peeled and unpeeled fruits, whereas males showed no significant difference. Oviposition was also higher on T. kirilowii and further increased on peeled fruit. Developmental duration, total longevity, ovipositing days, oviposition period, and hatching rate did not differ between the two host species. However, Z. tau reared on T. kirilowii exhibited significantly shorter APOP and TPOP, along with higher fecundity and increased pupal weight. Life table parameters indicated higher intrinsic (r = 0.1028 ± 0.0040 d-1) and finite rates of increase (λ = 1.1083 ± 0.0044 d-1) on T. kirilowii, whereas R0 was similar and mean generation time was shortened by 11.61 d. A 100-day projection predicted 11,980 adults from T. kirilowii compared to 1231 from C. moschata. Overall, T. kirilowii is a highly suitable host that supports the rapid population growth of Z. tau.

Bactrocera tau Walker, a well-known pest in various agricultural regions, poses a significant threat to Trichosanthes kirilowii Maxim (TK), commonly known as "Gualou" (Chinese Snake Gourd/Chinese Cucumber), a traditional Chinese medicinal plant. This study aimed to explore a novel management strategy that employs mixtures of entomopathogenic nematode (EPN) species with high virulence to soil-dwelling larvae and pupae of B. tau and their behavioral mechanisms. Laboratory bioassays identified Steinernema carpocapsae (Sc) and Heterorhabditis indica (Hi), that were highly virulent to B. tau larvae, achieving up to 100 % mortality at 25 infective juveniles (IJs) /larva. However, pupal mortality was significantly lower across all tested EPN species, with S. feltiae showing the highest efficacy at 1600 IJs/pupa, resulting in a 60.00 + 4.52 % mortality rate. Pan experiments, simulating field conditions, indicated a synergistic interaction in Sc + Sf mixtures, which caused the highest corrected mortality of 79.50 + 1.27 % against B. tau. Field trials demonstrated that EPN mixtures of Sc + Sf when applied twice, resulted in a 58.71 % reduction in adult fly populations and protected 76.82 % of TK fruits from decay compared to the insecticide emamectin benzoate. Behavior bioassays revealed EPN mixtures of Sc + Sf and Hi + Sf exhibited higher dispersal, aggregation, and invasion rates than single EPN species, with Sc + Sf outperforming Hi + Sf. This study highlights the potential of using EPN mixtures to target both larval and pupal stages of B. tau, providing a sustainable and effective pest management strategy. The enhanced behavioral mechanisms observed between mixed EPN species could further improve the application and efficacy of EPNbased biocontrol in agricultural systems.

The mason bee Osmia excavata Alfken is an apple pollinating insect widely distributed in northern China, in order to effectively utilize the mason bee and improve the pollination rate of apples, there is a need to evaluate the pollination efficiency of the bees. This study evaluated the pollination efficiency of the mason bee on apple orchards in Jinan and Yantai, Shandong Province, China. The study compared natural pollination areas and pollination areas with different release densities of O. excavata in terms of the effects of bee density, timing of pollination, and distance effects on fruit set rate, fruit shape index, fruit shape skewness, fruit soluble solids content, and fruit firmness. The optimal release density of bees was 6000 cocoons per hectare, resulting in the highest fruit setting rate of apple lateral flowers. From 07:00 to 14:00 was the best time for bee pollination. The optimal distance of hives from apple trees for pollination by O. excavata was 60 m. Single fruit weight was significantly higher and fruit unsymmetrical rate, partial slope and hardness were all significantly lower at the release densities of 6000 or 12000 cocoons per hectare compared with 3000 cocoons per hectare or under natural pollination conditions. There was no significant difference in the content of soluble solids under different release densities. Thus, the radius of 60 m from the hive was the effective pollination range and 6000 cocoons per hectare of mason bees could ensure the fruit quality of apple.

Osmia excavata is an excellent pollinator in nature and plays a vital role in the conservation of agro-ecosystems and food security. Given the important role of the gut bacterial community in host health and regulation of host growth and development, using 16S rRNA gene sequencing data, the present study explored the composition of the gut bacterial community and its diversity at different life stages (eggs, young larvae, old larvae, young pupae, old pupae, and 1-day-old adults in cocoons) of the solitary bee Osmia excavata. The results showed that the core phyla in the gut of O. excavata at different life stages were Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Bacteroidota, and Actinobacteriota, and the core genera were Sodalis, Tyzzerella, and Ralstonia. The highest intestinal bacterial diversity was found in the Egg period, and the lowest bacterial alpha diversity was found in the 1-day-old Adult period; the bacterial diversity of O. excavata showed a process of decreasing, as it was growing from the Egg period to the 1-day-old Adult period. Our study found that O. excavata undergoes a significant change in the structure of the gut flora when it grows from the young pupae to old pupae stage, a period of growth that coincides with the process of cocooning and isolation from the external environment after food depletion. This suggests that food and environmental factors are key contributors to the structure of the bacterial community in the gut of solitary bees.

Osmia solitary bees are important pollinators of various crops worldwide. Refrigeration has been widely used to synchronize the emergence time of Osmia species from cocoons with the blooming time of different crops, but the fitness of Osmia after refrigeration remains unknown. Here, the effects of long-term refrigeration at 0 °C on the vitality, flight ability, and metabolism of Osmia excavata, which is known as the "king of pollination" in China, were studied. The survival rate (>90% before 120 d), weight loss rate (<15% after 170 d), and mean flight speed of O. excavata were not greatly affected after long-term refrigeration. The content of fats, which have antifreeze and energy storage properties, was not significantly altered in O. excavata before 130 d of refrigeration, which might explain why the survival rates and flight speed of O. excavata remained high after long-term refrigeration. However, the flight duration and distance decreased significantly (P < 0.05), and both were positively correlated with the reduced trehalose levels in O. excavata (r = [+0.69] - [+0.71]; P < 0.05). Overall, these findings indicate that the pollination potential of O. excavata for various crops with different flowering periods is high after long-term refrigeration; however, long-term refrigeration may decrease pollination efficiency. Our findings highlight new research directions that could improve the ecological service function of refrigerated O. excavata.

The timing of decocooning and nesting during the flowering period are crucial for the reproduction and pollination activities of Osmia excavata. In order to improve the pollination efficiency of O. excavata, it is crucial to find a way to break the cocoon quickly. Our results showed that the decocooning rates at 6, 12, 24, 36, 48, and 72 h after 30 min of water immersion (WI) were 28.67%, 37.33%, 37.33%, 41.33%, 44.33%, and 53.00%, respectively. The decocooning rate fold of 6 h was 14.33 compared with the control group. Transcriptome sequencing resulted in 273 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) being identified between the WI and control groups. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis showed that muscle-related functions play important roles in O. excavata decocooning in response to WI. Cluster analysis also showed that DEGs in cardiac muscle contraction and adrenergic signaling in cardiomyocytes were up-regulated in response to WI-promoted decocooning. In conclusion, the rate of decocooning can be improved by WI in a short time. During WI-promoted decocooning, muscle-related pathways play an important role. Therefore, the application of this technology will improve the pollination effect of O. excavata.

The solitary mason bee Osmia excavata Alfken (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) is an important pollinator of fruit trees in northern China. This stduy compared and studied the flight ability of O. excavata at different temperatures both during and post diapause, with the aim of exploring the feasibility of using O. excavata prematurely released from diapause for pollination. The flight capacity of male and female O. excavata during diapause and post diapause was measured at 3 degrees C intervals from 10 to 31 degrees C by using a computer-monitored flight-mill system. The results showed that as the temperature increased, the flight ability also increased until an optimal temperature was reached, whereupon it gradually decreased regardless of the further increase in temperature. Temperature had a highly significant impact on flight ability (P < 0.01), whereas gender only had a significant effect on average flight distance (P = 0.034). Diapause status had significant effects on average flight distance, average flight speed and maximum flight speed, and the interaction between diapause and temperature had a highly significant impact on average flight distance and average flight speed (P < 0.01). Post diapause, the flying ability of bees was significantly improved; however, diapausing O. excavata demonstrated a sufficient flying ability and so could be used as auxiliary pollinators for fruits in greenhouses during winter and early spring, when there is a shortage of pollinators.

AbstractAgricultural intensification affects natural and crop ecosystems, and increases the risk of agricultural pests in agroecosystems. Helicoverpa armigera Hübner (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is an important pest that damages a wide range of crops. However, the effect of agricultural intensification on the genetic diversity of this pest is still unclear. In this study, we investigated the effects of the composition and configuration of the landscape on the genetic diversity of the agricultural pest H. armigera based on cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) analyses. In total, 10 haplotypes were found in 2016 and 15 haplotypes in 2021 based on COI genes. The haplotype diversity and nucleotide diversity were the highest in the Anqiu (AQ) region during 2016 and in the Bincheng (BC) region during 2021. Haplotype 2 and haplotype 3 (Hap2 and Hap3) were the dominant haplotypes in the H. armigera population. Agricultural intensification had no effect on the genetic diversity of H. armigera between 2016 and 2021. Our study highlights the effect of agricultural intensification on the genetic diversity of H. armigera. Understanding the genetic consequences of agricultural intensification is essential for the green control of agricultural pests and the sustainable development of agriculture.

Endophytic mycobiomes are an integral part of crops in agricultural systems. Fertilization is a conventional practice to improve agricultural crops and may alter the mycobiomes of soil and plant systems. In agroecosystems, Nature Based Solutions (NBS) are key strategies for agricultural suitability. Investigating mycobiomes under N flux can provide fundamental data for constructive NBS strategies. In this study, the effects of nitrogen (N) fertilizer treatments on fungal compositions of the soil-maize systems were systematically investigated in field experiments at six N rates (F0, F72, F126, F180, F234, F280 kg N/ha) in northern China. Meta-omics amplicon sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region was employed to study community dynamics, network correlation, metabolic functional assemblies, abundance patterns and core fungi. This study found that fungal communities were significantly higher at 72 kg N/ha compared with control and other treatments. Network topology increased in maize fungi (R2 = 0.69) but decreased in the soil (R2 = 0.51). Abundances of carbon–nitrogen metabolizing functional genes (Ure, AMT, gdhA and GDH) were significantly correlated with maize fungal communities and were assembled by stochastic processes. Additionally, the relative abundance of Ascomycota (67.26 %) was dominant in the soil, whereas Basidiomycota (61. 73 %) prevailed in maize samples at 72 kg N/ha. Moreover, Sporidiobolus, Alternaria, Fusarium, and Penicillium served as conserved core genera and were positively correlated with NH4+-N mg/kg, NO2–-N mg/kg and NO3–-N mg/kg, and pH components. Furthermore, selective genera were tested and confirmed to increase the growth rate and nitrogen utilization in maize. The study highlights the promising role of associated endophytes as Nature-Based Solution for optimizing fertilization to improve crop production in maize-agroecosystem.

Maize is one of the major crops cultivated in northern Shandong Province and contributes significantly to China's maize production, and nitrogen (N) application to the soil can have a marked impact on maize yield and soil microbial productivity. The current environmental challenge, which needs urgently to be addressed, is to effectively utilize fertilizer nitrogen to improve crop production without causing environmental stress in sustainable agroecosystems. Soil fungi can improve plant health and crop performance through improved nutrient uptake and reducing plant stress levels. How soil N influences fungal diversity and maize yield at spatial patterns remains unclear. In this study, the influences of different soil N treatments on maize yields and fungal diversity were investigated in maize fields at five N rates (from 0 to 120 kg ha−1). High-throughput sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region revealed that α- and β-diversities of fungi significantly increased at 80 kg N ha−1 (N80) but decreased significantly in the control (N0) and other N treatments. Variations in the NC model predicted strong fungal distribution patterns (R2 = 0.60) among all the treatments. The highest proportion of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) (68.99 %) was observed at N80. The study also found that the complexity of the co-occurrence network significantly stabilized at N80, but a decrease in network complexity was observed at N120. The study showed that, relative to the control, the addition of N to the soil significantly increased the abundance of Ascomycota at the phylum level and Chaetomium, Fusarium, and Mortierella at the genus levels, with average abundances of 5.82 %, 1.67 %, and 19.58 %, respectively. Functional ecology analysis indicated that soil N upregulated the composition of ecological fungal communities by stochastic processes. The composition of major fungal sub-communities was positively correlated with nitrogen/carbon cycling at N80. Moreover, results also indicated that the yields (3.14 t ha−1) and other agronomic effects at N80 were significantly higher than those in the other treatments. This study demonstrates that optimal nitrogen application achieves increases in both fungal diversity and yield, contributing to improved crop production and sustainability at spatial scales.

Migratory insect pests pose serious challenges to food production and security all over the world. The migratory pests can be monitored and captured using searchlight traps. One of the most important techniques for migratory pest forecasting is to identify the migratory species. However, in most cases, it is difficult to get the information just by appearance. Therefore, using knowledge acquired by systematic analysis of the female reproductive system can help to understand the combined anatomic morphology of the ovarian mating sac and ovary developmental grading of wild-type migratory insects captured with searchlight traps. To demonstrate the applicability of this method, ovarian development status and egg grain development stages were directly assessed in Helicoverpa armigera, Mythimna separata, Spodoptera litura, and Spodoptera exigua for the ovarian anatomy, and the ovarian mating sacs were studied in Agrotis ipsilon, Spaelotis valida, Helicoverpa armigera, Athetis lepigone, Mythimna separata, Spodoptera litura, Mamestra brassicae, and Spodoptera exigua, to explore their relationships. This work shows the specific dissection method to predict wild-type migratory insects, comparing the unique reproductive system of different migratory insects. Then, both tissues, namely, the ovary and mating sacs, were further investigated. This method helps to predict the dynamics and the structural development of reproductive systems in wild-type female migratory insects.

Summary Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN) as an environmentally-friendly biocontrol agent in combination with low toxic insecticides can increase control efficacy against insect pests. In this study, Steinernema carpocapsae All (Sc-All) combined with four common insecticides was used to evaluate the control efficacy against chive root gnat (Bradysia odoriphaga), an important pest of vegetables, e.g., chive, onion or garlic. The compatibility of nematodes with insecticides and host-seeking behaviour were also evaluated by the laboratory bioassay. The results showed three insecticides (matrine, imidacloprid and chlorpyrifos) at the recommended concentrations (RC), 10% RC or 2% RC and insecticide phoxim at 10% RC or 2% RC had no effect on nematodes survival. Sc-All at 50 infective juveniles (IJ) per insect larva in the presence of the four insecticides at 10% RC demonstrated a potentiated, additive or a synergistic effect on the corrected mortality rates of insect up to 100% (imidacloprid) when compared with the corresponding insecticide and Sc-All alone. A synergistic effect resulting in lethal effect was found as early as at 24 h when 200 IJ of Sc-All per insect larva were combined with 10% RC imidacloprid, whilst only 9.4% and 0 corrected mortality were detected, respectively, when exposed to the same amount of imidacloprid and Sc-All alone. For the first time a Pluronic gel system assay revealed that the presence of insecticides significantly improved Sc-All host-seeking ability as early as 30 min post exposure. The results indicated that low doses of Sc-All-imidacloprid combination would be an effective strategy to control chive root gnat.

Migratory insect pests pose serious challenges to food production and security all over the world. The migratory pests can be monitored and captured using searchlight traps. One of the most important techniques for migratory pest forecasting is to identify the migratory species. However, in most cases, it is difficult to get the information just by appearance. Therefore, using knowledge acquired by systematic analysis of the female reproductive system can help to understand the combined anatomic morphology of the ovarian mating sac and ovary developmental grading of wild-type migratory insects captured with searchlight traps. To demonstrate the applicability of this method, ovarian development status and egg grain development stages were directly assessed in Helicoverpa armigera, Mythimna separata, Spodoptera litura, and Spodoptera exigua for the ovarian anatomy, and the ovarian mating sacs were studied in Agrotis ipsilon, Spaelotis valida, Helicoverpa armigera, Athetis lepigone, Mythimna separata, Spodoptera litura, Mamestra brassicae, and Spodoptera exigua, to explore their relationships. This work shows the specific dissection method to predict wild-type migratory insects, comparing the unique reproductive system of different migratory insects. Then, both tissues, namely, the ovary and mating sacs, were further investigated. This method helps to predict the dynamics and the structural development of reproductive systems in wild-type female migratory insects.

This study explored the flower visiting behaviors and pollination abilities of mason bees (Osmia excavata Alfken (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae)), bumble bees (Bombus terrestris (Linnaeus, 1758) (Hymenoptera: Apidae)), and Italian honey bees (Apis mellifera ligustica Spinola (Hymenoptera: Apidae)) in apple orchards in early spring in Jinan (located in the central region of Shandong) and Yantai (located in the Peninsula of Shandong). We compared the pollen collection patterns, flower visiting behavior, flying speed, and effects on apple pollination of the 3 types of bees. The frequencies of flower visits were significantly higher for mason bees (12.89/min in Jinan and 10.63/min in Yantai) than bumble bees and Italian honey bees in the 2 regions. The single flower residence times were significantly higher for Italian honey bees (8.22 s in Jinan and 9.43 s in Yantai), but Italian honey bees were most affected by the climate. The 3 bees differed significantly in terms of the amount of apple pollen collected and their effects on the fruit setting rate in apples (mason bees > bumble bees > Italian honey bees). The results showed that the mason bee was the most suitable pollinating species for spring apple orchards; Bumble bees were more suitable as alternative pollinators during cloudy and low temperatures; Italian honey bees were able to take advantage of their large number of worker bees in sunny and warm weather. Compared to individual bee species, a combination of 2 or 3 species of bees might be more advantageous in dealing with complex and variable weather conditions.

The population of Osmia excavata, an important pollinator in commercial orchards, has been in serious decline over recent years. To evaluate the risk of high-temperature stress on O. excavata, we evaluated the high-temperature tolerance and potential physiological and biochemical responses of O. excavata after a series of high-temperature stresses. The results showed that the mortality rates of O. excavata increased gradually with increases in temperature and duration of stress (R2 = 0.88–0.99; p < 0.05). The larvae of O. excavata were more sensitive to temperature stress than adults, and the median lethal time (LT50) value of the former was smaller than the latter in the acute response test. By comparing the results of acute and chronic responses of O. excavata to high-temperature stress, we found that the LT50 values of natural cocoon-break adults at slightly higher temperatures (35°C and 40°C) were smaller than those of artificial cocoon-break adults, but the LT50 values were similar under extreme high-temperature stress (45°C). Furthermore, the acute and chronic responses on the fat content of adult Osmia obtained by artificial and natural cocoon-break methods were significantly different (F = 5.03; p < 0.05). Additionally, the mortalities of the young larvae and artificial cocoon-break adults were both significantly and positively correlated with trehalose content (r = 0.78–0.82, p < 0.05). However, the mortality of the natural cocoon-break adults was negatively related to the acetylcholinesterase activity (r = −0.93, p < 0.001). Overall, these results suggested that O. excavata has a low tolerance to high-temperature stress and provide evidence of causes that could be contributing to the population decline of O. excavata.

The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) was first reported in China in 2019, causing serious damage to maize. Resistance and concealment are the main obstacles to successful use of chemical insecticides against this invasive pest. Environment-friendly and effective alternative strategies are urgently needed in China. Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) have shown great potential as biocontrol agents for their ability to actively search for their host, although information on their field efficacy against S. frugiperda is limited. The present study evaluated the field efficacy of Steinernema carpocapsae (Weiser) strain All against S. frugiperda in maize fields based on bioassay of virulence toward different developmental stages of S. frugiperda. Bioassay results revealed that S. carpocapsae All caused corrected mortalities of 100 % and 62.22 +/- 1.41 % to larvae and pupae, respectively, with nematode yield ranging from 31.67 +/- 1.97 to 59.25 +/- 6.06 IJs/mg. Field experiments indi-cated that S. carpocapsae All applied at 7.5 x 108 IJs/ha into maize leaf whorls by spot-spraying achieved control efficacy (78.98 +/- 2.77 %) similarly to that by chlorantraniliprole (80.72 +/- 3.64 %). Rainfall after application significantly accelerated and enhanced the control efficacy achieved by S. carpocapsae All. Nine days after application, 39.99-53.64 % and 18.27-22.37 % of the initial nematode population was detected in plants and soil, respectively, which indicated marked persistence of the EPNs with the control efficacy <= 41.75 +/- 5.59 % against larvae or pupae. Our findings indicate that S. carpocapsae All has marked potential for achieving the safe biocontrol of S. frugiperda in maize.

After the tomato leaf miner(Phthorimaea absoluta Meyrick)invaded China,a trend of this pest occurring together with other four common pests,including Liriomyza sativae Blanchard,Bemisia tabaci Gennadius,Thrips palmi Karny and Tetranychus urticae Koch,which posed great threats to the safety produc-tion of tomato in China.In order to screen out the pesticides simultaneously controlling P.absoluta and the oth-er 4 pests,the toxicity of 16 common pesticides to P.absoluta larvae,L.sativae larvae,B.tabaci adults,T.palmi adults and T.urticae adults were determined to comprehensively analyze the simultaneous treatment of these pesticides.The results showed that the pesticides with higher toxicity(LC50＜5.0 mg a.i./L)to P.abso-luta larvae were chlorantraniliprole,abamectin,spinetoram,cyantraniliprole,clorfenapyr,emamectin benzo-ate and tetrazolamide.The pesticides with high toxicity(LC50＜18.0 mg a.i./L)to P.absoluta and L.sativae were cyantraniliprole,spinetoram,abamectin,chlorfenapyr,chlorantraniliprole,emamectin benzoate and tet-razolamide.The pesticides with high toxicity(LC50＜28.0 mg a.i./L)to P.absoluta and B.tabaci were cyan-traniliprole,thiamethoxam,abamectin and emamectin benzoate.The pesticides with high toxicity(LC50＜24.0 mg a.i./L)to P.absoluta,L.sativae and B.taboci mainly included cyantraniliprole,abamectin and emamectin benzoate,which also had high toxicity(LC50＜7.0 mg a.i./L)to T.palmi.Abamectin and emamectin benzoate showed higher toxicity to the five pests with the LC50 of 0.22～9.24 and 0.80～6.90 mg a.i./L,respectively.In toma-to production,the co-treatment pesticides should be chosen according to the species and harm degree of tomato leaf miner and other pests,and their alternate use should be noted.

'Baiwei' (swallowwort root, Cynanchum versicolor Bunge), is a perennial cranberry type of Chinese medicinal herb, and grows in mountains with wide distribution in many provinces including Shandong, Henan, Hebei, Liaoning, Anhui and others. The functions of 'Baiwei' are strengthening myocardial contraction, detoxifying, and as a diuretic; thus it is one of very important herbs in China (Yunsi Su et al. 2021). With the increasing need for this herbal medicine in China, farmers are trying to cultivate the wild type of 'Baiwei'. In 2019, we found severe crop damage in a second-year planting of 'Baiwei' with many dead plants in a field (Fig. S1A, B) in Mengyin County of Shandong Province, China. Root galls were clearly seen in the roots and the typical root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne spp.) symptoms were observed (Fig. S1C). The previous crop was peanut. Peanut is widely planted in Shandong Province and peanut root-knot nematode (M. arenaria) is one of its major root-knot nematode pests. We suspected that the damage was caused by peanut root-knot nematode. The roots were taken to the lab and kept at 10℃ for morphological and molecular identification of root-knot nematodes, and pathogenicity testing. Twenty females were picked up from the infected roots for perineal pattern observation. The perineal pattern had distinct characteristics such as a low dorsal arch and lateral field marked by forked and broken striae and without punctate markings between the anus and tail terminus (Fig. S2A), which is similar to the description of M. arenaria (Eisenback et al., 1981). Eggs were extracted from roots and hatched to second-stage juveniles (J2s). The morphometric characters of J2s (n = 30) demonstrated body length = 437.35 ± SE 3.51 µm, body width = 16.74 ± 0.16 µm, stylet length = 11.31 ± 0.20 µm, DGO = 3.87 ± 0.07 µm, tail length = 53.32 ± 0.99 µm, and hyaline tail terminus = 11.14 ± 0.12 µm. The universal primer 194/195 (5.8S-18S rDNA TTAACTTGCCAGATCGGACG/TCTAATGAGCCGTACGC) for confirmation of Meloidogyne spp. was chosen and the sequence characterized amplified region (SCAR) PCR specific markers for M. incognita (Finc/Rinc GGGATGTGTAAATGCTCCTG/CCCGCTACACCCTCAACTTC), M. javanica (Fjav/Rjav ACGCTAGAATTCGACCCTGG/GGTACCAGAAGCAGCCATGC), M. enterolobii (Fent/Rent GAAATTGCTTTATTGTTACTAAG/TAGCCACAGCAAAATAGTTTTC), M. arenaria (Fare/Rare TCGGCGATAGAGGTAAATGAC/TCGGCGATAGACACTACAACT), M. hapla (Fhap/Rhap TGACGGCGGTGAGTGCGA/TGACGGCGGTACCTCATAG) and M. chitwoodi (Fchi/Rchi TGGAGAGCAGCAGGAGAAAGA/GGTCTGAGTGAGGACAAGAGTA) were utilized for species identification (Mao et al., 2019). PCR products of J2 amplification were run in the agar gel (Fig. S2B). A PCR product of 750 bp was obtained for 194/195 primer pair and a 420 bp band was identified for M. arenaria for all tested J2 samples. There were no bands for other specific primers. The amplicons from 194/195 and M. arenaria primer pairs were sequenced. A 100% identity of the Fare/Rare sequence (MZ522722.1) with M. arenaria KP234264.1 and a 99.8% identity with M. arenaria MW315990.1 were found through NCBI blast. A 100% identity of the 194/195 sequence (MZ555753.1) with both M. arenaria GQ395518.1 and U42342.1 and M. thailandica HF568829.1. To confirm the pathogenicity, 2000 J2s obtained from the same population as described above were used to inoculate each plant of one-month old 'Baiwei' seedlings (n = 5) and of one-month-old tomato cv. 'Zhongshu4' seedlings (n = 5) growing in 15-cm-diameter and 10-cm-height plastic pot containing sand and soil (2:1 ratio) in the glasshouse at 22-28℃ and 16/8 h day/night. Plants without J2s were used as control. Sixty days later, roots were stained with erioglaucine (Omwega et al. 1988) and an average of 107 ± SE 59 and 276 ± SE 31 egg masses per gram root were produced in each infected 'Baiwei' (Fig. S3A) and tomato (Fig. S3B) root, respectively. PCR amplification of the hatched J2s reconfirmed the reproduced nematode in 'Baiwei' and tomato was M. arenaria. This is the first report on M. arenaria parasitizing the medicinal herb C. versicolor in China.

为明确山东平邑地区金银花田蛴螬种类、发生及为害情况,本研究于 2021 年通过灯光诱集及土壤取样方式对金银花田金龟子、蛴螬种类、发生动态进行系统调查,并统计蛴螬对金银花的为害率.结果表明,平邑地区金银花田金龟子种类主要为铜绿丽金龟(Anomala corpulenta)和暗黑鳃金龟(Holotrichia parallela),蛴螬主要种类为东方绢金龟(Serica orientalis)、福婆鳃金龟(Brahmina faldermanni)和华北大黑鳃金龟(H.obli-ta).在金银花田中,蛴螬发生量达到 1～3 头/m2的中度发生指标,高峰期集中在 7-9 月,对金银花植株的为害率为 48.33％～81.67％.

Increasing crop biodiversity, such as by adjacent managed crops, is recognized as an effective biological control measure. However, few studies have focused on the mechanisms involved in how adjacent managed crops increase natural enemy populations, leading to reduced pest numbers. This study investigated the hypothesis that cotton grown adjacent to sorghum would positively influence the feeding and oviposition preferences of the ladybug Propylaea japonica, which predates cotton aphids, leading to enhanced pest control. The populations of Aphis gossypii were significantly lower and those of P. japonica were significantly higher in cotton grown adjacent to sorghum compared with monoculture cotton fields. Regardless of diet on which the larva of P. japonica were reared (Melanaphis sacchari, A. gossypii, and 50% M. sacchari + 50% A. gossypii), the adults always consumed significantly more M. sacchari compared with A. gossypii. P. japonica also showed significantly higher feeding and oviposition preferences for host plants bearing aphids to only host plants. P. japonica fed M. sacchari preferred to lay eggs on cotton, whereas those fed A. gossypii preferred to lay eggs on sorghum. These results suggest that the habitat of natural enemies can be expanded by influencing their feeding and oviposition preferences to achieve pest control in adjacent cropping systems. This research, which incorporates field and laboratory studies, suggests an approach for the successful conservation and biological control of cotton aphids using adjacent managed cotton and sorghum crops.