Understanding the fundamental life cycle and reproductive behavior of a pest insect is essential for developing efficient control strategies; however, much of this knowledge remains elusive for a multitude of insects, including the cotton seed bug, Oxycarenus hyalinipennis. Here, we report the results of our comprehensive study on the cotton seed bug's life cycle, including mating behavior, adult lifespan, and egg-to-adulthood development. Our findings showed that adult males and females began mating as early as three days after emerging (75%), and the frequency of mating increased to 100% by the fifth day. Mated females commenced oviposition on cotton seeds as early as two days after mating, with a cumulative mean number of 151 fertile eggs oviposited during the first oviposition cycle. Furthermore, around 10% of eggs from both mated and unmated females remained unfertilized. The first instar nymphs began emerging approximately seven days following oviposition. To track their development, we monitored the newly hatched nymphs daily until they reached adulthood. There were five nymphal stages, which cumulatively took roughly 28 to 30 days. Notably, mating positively influenced the survivorship and lifespan of adult O. hyalinipennis. Mated males and females exhibited median lifespans of 28 and 25 days, respectively. In contrast, unmated males and females only lived for a median lifespan of 9.5 days, about one-third that of the mated O. hyalinipennis. Our study provides key insights into the O. hyalinipennis life history for new IPM strategies.

Bed bug infestations are on the rise globally, and remediation efforts are becoming more expensive and difficult to achieve due to rising insecticide resistance in the pest populations. This study evaluates Cimex lectularius behavior in the presence of attractive elements-aggregation pheromone or food source (human blood)-and the reported botanical repellent methyl benzoate (MB), several MB analogs, as well as the well-known insect repellent, N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET). Utilizing EthoVision, a video tracking system, we now report that MB and several of its analogs exhibit strong spatial repellency against C. lectularius, with methyl 2-methoxybenzoate (M2MOB) and methyl 3-methoxybenzoate (M3MOB) exhibiting the strongest repellent effects. Further, our data showed that MB, M2MOB, M3MOB, and DEET exhibit repellency against a pyrethroid resistant strain of C. lectularius.

Drosophila suzukii, more commonly known as the spotted-wing drosophila (SWD), is an invasive pest of soft, thin-skinned fruit responsible for significant economic losses for growers worldwide. To detect and monitor this pest, several host attractants have been developed for use in trapping SWD; however, they lack selectivity. Therefore, there is a significant need for more selective monitoring devices to enable growers to make timely pest management decisions to properly protect vulnerable crops. Previous studies identified a quinary blend (QB), based on fermenting apple juice odors, which offers significantly higher selectivity by reducing non-target captures compared with the standard apple cider vinegar bait commonly used by growers in the orchards. In this study, the selectivity and efficacy of a home-made QB dispenser was compared to an industry formulated version of the QB components (ChemTica) and two commercially available (Scentry and Trécé) SWD dispensers across blueberry and raspberry fields in Maryland, West Virginia, and New Jersey in different seasons. Controlled-release dispensers of the QB (home-made and ChemTica) consistently had higher selectivity within the blueberry and raspberry field sites compared with the two commercial dispensers; although efficacy was compromised such that total SWD captures per trap tended to be lower. The selectivity ratio range of SWD to non-targets (all non-SWD) for a QB-based (ChemTica) dispenser averaged from 15 to 57% compared with other commercial dispensers that ranged from 1 to 30% based on location and year. Due to high selectivity of the controlled-release dispenser of the QB, the potential for this dispenser to be utilized by growers as a SWD detection and monitoring tool is high.

Spotted wing drosophila (SWD) causes significant economic loss in fruit crops to growers worldwide. There is immediate need for efficacious and selective monitoring tools that can detect infestations early. Previously, volatile organic compounds derived from apple were studied and a quinary chemical component blend (QB) was identified as the key SWD attractant in a blueberry orchard in the United States. This study’s aim was to determine whether previously observed QB efficacy, selectivity, and early detection levels could be attained within raspberry and cherry fields in the USA and Europe. Results demonstrated that sticky trap baited QB dispenser provided earlier SWD detection potential than the usually adopted apple cider vinegar (ACV) trap. The number of SWD captured/trap by QB baited trapping systems was significantly lower than that of the ACV trap. However, percent SWD/trap of QB baited traps was same within cherry. Lower non-target capture will save farmer/grower’s labor and time allocated to traps installation and drosophila species identification. Within the USA, SWD selectivity of QB baited liquid traps was consistently greater than sticky trap in raspberry field, suggesting that the QB dispenser can be an alternative to the standard ACV lure and that trap design could improve selectivity further.

The spotted wing drosophila (SWD), Drosophila suzukii, is an exotic vinegar fly originating from South-East Asia and has invaded many American and European countries. This devastating pest has caused severe damage on soft-skinned fruit crops, which has resulted in large economic losses. Although many D. suzukii detection devices have been developed and used by growers/farmers in orchards, most of them did not meet their expectation. More simple, convenient, and efficient detection tools are still urgently needed so that growers/farmers can make timely management decision. In our previous study a quinary blend, containing acetoin, as a long-range, and ethyl octanoate, as a short-range attractant for SWD, had been identified. In this study, a controlled-release polyethylene dispenser containing five identified attractants: acetoin, ethyl octanoate, ethyl acetate, phenethyl alcohol, and acetic acid, was tested in laboratory conditions for release rates, as well as in a blueberry field and an adjacent wooded area for trapping activity. Release of the most D. suzukii attractants from the polyethylene dispenser was constant. In the laboratory, release rates of ethyl acetate (0.3 g/day over 14 days), phenethyl alcohol (0.0054 g/day over 36 days), and acetic acid (0.13 g/day over 36 days) followed zero order kinetics. Acetoin and ethyl octanoate were blended together and had a varied release rate. In the field, dry and liquid traps baited with the optimized controlled-release dispenser were evaluated and compared with liquid traps baited with apple cider vinegar (ACV). During blueberry harvest season in 2018, the liquid traps containing drowning solution baited with the optimized controlled-release dispenser caught both male and female D. suzukii 2 weeks earlier and had significantly higher selectivity than that of ACV traps in the field. Additionally, in 2019 field tests, dry traps baited with the controlled-release dispenser demonstrated earlier detection compared to the ACV traps. Due to the simplicity of the dry trap design and easy processing, it has great potential to be an efficient and convenient D. suzukii detection tool for growers/farmers.