New ecological, distributional, behavioral, and host-association data are presented for 156 species and subspecies of longhorned beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) from Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Oklahoma, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, and Texas. Detailed observations reveal extended developmental plasticity in Eupogonius pauper LeConte, variable pre-pupal behavior in Lagocheirus araneiformis stroheckeri Dillon, new girdling and oviposition hosts for Oncideres cingulata cingulata (Say) and Oncideres rhodosticta Bates, the importance of Heracleum maximum W. Bartram as an early-summer floral resource, and report northward range extensions in three cerambycid species — Leptostylus cretatellus Bates, Lypsimena fuscata Haldeman and Polymitoleiopus sandersoni (Gilmour) — potentially associated with climate change. Atrypanius irrorellus Bates is recorded for the first time from the United States. A review of BugGuide and iNaturalist records yielded four new state records for Missouri and 13 for Texas, underscoring the value of citizen-science data when coupled with expert verification. Predators of cerambycid larvae are newly documented from Cleridae: Chariessa vestita (Chevrolat), Enoclerus quadrisignatus (Say), Monophylla pallipes (Schaeffer), Pelonides humeralis (Horn); Trogossitidae: Temnoscheila acuta (LeConte); and Aves (Picidae).

Fitchiella robertsonii Fitch is a historically rare insect that has been associated with native grasslands in North America. Fewer than 20 collection sites have been reported in the scientific literature, and very little is known about its biology and ecology, including botanical hosts. Here, we report the collection of 219 nymphs and adults from 35 tallgrass prairie remnants, and 1 reconstructed grassland, in Iowa over a 12-yr period. Data are provided on distribution, longevity, fecundity, seasonality, motility, parasitism by Dryinidae, and a confirmed graminaceous host plant: Indian grass, Sorghastrum nutans (L.), and a potential secondary host, big bluestem, Andropogon gerardii Vitman. Additionally, the first macropterous adults are reported for this species, which had previously been reported as brachypterous. The greatest abundance of F. robertsonii at a single location was on a reconstructed native grassland that had frequent burns from fire and heavy grazing by cattle.

Two fermenting bait types of sweet red wine and a mixture of beer/molasses/water, and two trap types, were assessed as to how they influenced the abundance and diversity of longhorned beetles caught in woodlands of Iowa, Missouri, and the Florida Keys, USA. Traps of two sizes, 3.8 L (Iowa bucket) or 2 L (Missouri bucket) in size, were predominantly used to trap beetles. Baits were evaluated for five years in Iowa, four years in Missouri, and in a short duration study in Florida. Clear plastic bottles, 3 L and 2 L, were also evaluated during one-year studies. The baited traps captured 3,969 beetles of 60 species in the Cerambycidae subfamilies Cerambycinae, Lamiinae, Lepturinae, Parandrinae, and Prioninae, and one species in the family Disteniidae. The two species caught in the largest numbers were the cerambycines Elaphidion mucronatum (Say) and Eburia quadrigeminata (Say), representing 69.1% and 69.0% of all beetles collected in Iowa and Missouri, respectively. In Iowa, 19 of the 39 species encountered were collected in numbers sufficient for analysis, 13 of which were significantly more attracted to sweet red wine bait than the beer/molasses/water bait. In the Missouri experiments, 13 of the 27 species encountered were collected in numbers sufficient for analysis. Only one of these was significantly more attracted to sweet red wine bait than the beer/molasses/water bait, while three species were significantly more attracted to the beer/ molasses/water bait. Our findings indicate that both sweet red wine and beer/molasses/water can be highly attractive baits for certain species of longhorned beetles.

Aggregation-sex pheromones, that attract both sexes, are produced by male cerambycid beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) of the subfamilies Cerambycinae, Lamiinae, and Spondylidinae. Here, we present the results of a field experiment conducted at multiple sites in southern Texas, primarily near the border with the state of Tamaulipas, Mexico. At each site, we deployed traps baited with a 6-component blend of known pheromones of cerambycine and lamiine species + an ethanol lure, a 5-component blend of lamiine pheromones + an ethanol lure, an ethanol lure alone, and a solvent control. Over a ~3-wk period, 846 beetles of 51 species were trapped, representing 36 cerambycine, 14 lamiine, and one prionine species, and one species in the closely related family Disteniidae. For species collected from at least 5 study sites, nonparametric tests of treatment effects revealed that the generic 6-component blend + ethanol attracted significant numbers of one cerambycine species, while the lamiine blend + ethanol attracted one cerambycine species and 2 lamiine species. The ethanol lure attracted 2 additional cerambycine species in significant numbers. For species that were captured at fewer sites, chi-square goodness-of-fit tests showed that the 2 pheromone blends + ethanol attracted significant numbers of another 6 species of cerambycines and 4 species of lamiines. Captures noteworthy from the standpoint of collection records include the rare species Leptostylopsis lutea Dillon, and Lochmaeocles cornuticeps cornuticeps (Schaeffer) and Thryallis undatus (Chevrolet), 2 species which have rarely been reported outside Sabal Palm Sanctuary in Cameron County, Texas.

Male cerambycid beetles of the large subfamilies Cerambycinae and Lamiinae produce aggregation-sex pheromones that attract both sexes. The pheromones of many species are conserved among both closely related species (e.g., congeners) and more distantly related species (e.g., different subfamilies), including those endemic to different continents. This parsimony in pheromone structures suggests that multiple species may be attracted to traps baited with blends of pheromones, and such blends are finding use in delineating geographic ranges of native species and in surveillance programs for incursions of exotic species. Here, we present the results of a field experiment conducted at multiple sites in Iowa that tested the effects of deploying ethanol lures in tandem with a 6-component blend of common pheromone components for cerambycine and lamiine species and a 5-component blend that specifically targeted lamiines. Eight cerambycine species showed significant treatment effects, most of which were attracted to the 6-component blend, and ethanol increased attraction for half of these species. Two cerambycine species were attracted only by ethanol. Seven lamiine species were attracted by the lamiine-specific blend, alone or when combined with ethanol, and 3 of these species also were attracted to the 6-component blend. Taken together, these findings provide further evidence that carefully crafted blends of pheromones can be used to monitor the presence or abundance of multiple cerambycid species. Ethanol either increased the number of beetles attracted by pheromones or had no effect, so there is no apparent downside to deploying ethanol lures in combination with pheromones.

Journal Article Tom Myers: Shooting Insects and Wildlife Get access Marlin E Rice Marlin E Rice Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar American Entomologist, Volume 70, Issue 1, Spring 2024, Pages 16–22, https://doi.org/10.1093/ae/tmae019 Published: 21 March 2024

Corn is one of the major commodities in the United States, and is grown for fuel, feed, and food around the world. Much of the production is centered in the Midwest, but corn is grown throughout the country and has a national production value of $91.7 billion. Because of the substantial national economic impact of corn production, as well as the profitability of individual farming operations, crop protection from pests is critical. Corn is most vulnerable during ear and kernel formation, and pest infestations during this time can have a substantial impact on grain quality and yield. Detecting pests is one of the most important components of integrated pest management, and regular scouting can allow farmers to make timely management decisions for pests in corn. However, farmers and crop consultants sometimes do not notice ear-feeding pests of corn until the fall, or near harvest, when pests are nearly done feeding or have vacated the ear. When this happens, it can be difficult to diagnose the problem, which can be important for assessing management tactics that were used in the field during the current growing season or making decisions for the following growing season based on pest activity in the field. This article provides profiles of common ear-feeding pests, with written descriptions and photographs of typical injury to corn ears for those pests.

BACKGROUNDThe western corn rootworm (WCR), Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), is one of the most serious pests of corn (Zea mays L.) In 2017 and 2018, studies were conducted in fields with and without known unexpected root injury to Cry3Bb1, to determine root protection by Bt corn hybrids expressing both mCry3A and eCry3.1Ab insecticidal crystal proteins, and hybrids expressing either mCry3A or eCry3.1Ab only against the WCR root injury. Node injury was evaluated using the Iowa State University 0-3 node-injury scale (NIS), and the consistency of root protection was also determined. RESULTSIn 2017, with medium to high larval feeding pressure, the Bt corn hybrids expressing both mCry3A and eCry3.1Ab in the breeding stack, molecular stack, and Bt corn hybrid expressing eCry3.1Ab only, sustained low node injury compared with Bt corn hybrid expressing mCry3A only, and the non-Bt corn. In 2018, with low larval feeding pressure in most of the locations, node injury was not different for the Bt and Non-Bt corn hybrids. Across all locations in both years, the Bt corn hybrids expressing both mCry3A and eCry3.1Ab provided better and consistent node injury protection. CONCLUSIONBt corn hybrids expressing both mCry3A and eCry3.1Ab proteins provided better root protection and consistency than the Bt corn hybrid expressing mCry3A only, and non-Bt. Therefore, stacking of Bt traits will be the best option for managing insect resistance. & COPY; 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Avicious sting from a sweat bee as a child did not deter Mary Jane West-Eberhard from embracing a lifelong passion for Hymenoptera. Her research has pursued a deeper and richer understanding of natural history and behavior of tropical social wasps, including kin selection, sexual selection, phenotypic plasticity, and evolutionary change. Best known for her book on how evolution works, Developmental Plasticity and Evolution, she won the Hawkins Award from the American Association of Publishers for the best scholarly book in 2003. West-Eberhard was named one of the top fifty women in STEM by TheBestSchools.org, which stated that her book has been “considered by many to be a seminal document in the revolutionary rethinking of evolutionary theory” known as “the Third Way of Evolution” (TheBestSchools 2022). West-Eberhard has three earned degrees in zoology (B.A., 1963; M.S., 1964; Ph.D., 1967), all from the University of Michigan, where she was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa honor society. As an undergraduate, she took summer courses and conducted field research at Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory. Her doctoral research focused on the social behavior of polistine wasps, which included field work in Cali, Colombia. After earning her terminal degree, she accepted a postdoc at Harvard University with Howard Ensign Evans, whom she described as “one of the finest entomologists of all time.” With Evans, she co-authored her first book on Hymenoptera, The Wasps, which was a comprehensive popular overview of solitary and social wasp behavior and evolution.

We describe the identification and field testing of 3-methylthiopropan-1-ol (methionol) as a male-produced aggregation-sex pheromone for the cerambycid beetle Knulliana cincta cincta (Drury) (subfamily Cerambycinae, tribe Bothriospilini). The corresponding sulfoxide, 3-methylsulfinylpropan-1-ol, was also produced sex-specifically by males, but its function remains unclear because the measured release rates of this compound from five different types of release devices were very low to undetectable. Unexpectedly, adults of the cerambycine Elaphidion mucronatum (Say) (Elaphidiini), primarily females, also were attracted by methionol, despite males of this species producing an aggregation-sex pheromone of entirely different structure, (2E,6Z,9Z)-2,6,9-pentadecatrienal.

The Vip3A, a vegetative Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) gene, has been introduced into many Cry maize and cotton varieties that can manage the recently occurred Cry1/Cry2 resistance in Noctuidae pests including Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) in the USA. A seed blend refuge has been used for providing susceptible insect populations for Bt maize resistance management. Four field trials were deployed in this study to investigate the effects of Bt protein contamination due to gene flow in seed blend refuges of Viptera maize containing Cry1Ab and Vip3Aa20 genes with 0–30% refuges on the survival, development, and reproduction of the parental and F1 generations of H. zea. Viptera maize is highly effective against H. zea and likely expresses a ‘high dose’ for the insect. Compared to the survival on the structured refuge, seed blends reduced approximately 70% of the pupal and adult productions from refuge ears, and the reductions were not related to the refuge percentage. Pupae from the seed blend refuge weighed 22.1% less than those from the structured refuge, but the body mass reduction did not significantly affect the reproduction per female. All field populations were highly resistant to Cry1Ab, but susceptible to Vip3Aa20. Fitness of the F1 generations from the structured and seed blend refuges in diet rearing was generally similar. Data generated from the study can be used in simulation modeling to evaluate the feasibility of seed blends for resistance management.

The heart of Marvellous Munyire sank as she looked across her small plot of land and saw the destruction to her maize crop. Every plant had leaves that were shredded, and some plants were dead. She and her family had cut thorn limbs and constructed a two-meter-high fence around the plot to deter damage from elephants, but the thorns were ineffective in stopping the devastation caused by this new pest—the fall armyworm. Maize is a staple food for Marvellous and other smallholder farmers in the Savé Valley of southeastern Zimbabwe, and she now knew that her family would be at risk from food shortage for the coming year because of the crop damage. The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith), is a native insect of North and South America, and in 2016, it was first documented in western Africa in Nigeria. It quickly spread from there like a nightmarish...

The wood-boring larvae of longhorned beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) can be important pests of woody plants, particularly as invasive species introduced by international commerce. Previous research has revealed that cerambycid species native to different parts of the world often share the same aggregation-sex pheromones and that pheromones of different species can be combined to create multi-species attractants that would be advantageous for surveillance monitoring for a number of species simultaneously. To explore the extent to which these chemicals can be combined into single lures, we developed four different blends of six to eight compounds and tested their effects as attractants for a community of longhorned beetle species in Iowa. The blends included known pheromones of species native to the study site, as well as pheromones identified from cerambycid species native to other parts of the world. The experiment confirmed that several cerambycid species were attracted by specific blends, in accordance with their known pheromone chemistry, and despite the presence of pheromone components of heterospecifics. This finding lends further support to developing multi-component blends that can effectively monitor for new incursions of multiple exotic species concurrently.