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The sterile insect technique (SIT) involves releasing large numbers of sterile males to outcompete wild males in mating with females, leading to a decline in pest populations. In the current study, we conducted a suppression trial in Greece against the invasive dengue vector mosquito Aedes albopictus (Skuse) through the weekly release of sterile males for 22 weeks from June to September 2019. Our approach included the long-distance transport of sterile mosquitoes, and their release at a density of 2,547 ± 159 sterile males per hectare per week as part of an area-wide integrated pest management strategy (AW-IPM). The repeated releases of sterile males resulted in a gradual reduction in egg density, reaching 78% from mid-June to early September. This reduction remained between 70% and 78% for four weeks after the end of the releases. Additionally, in the SIT intervention area, the ovitrap index, representing the percentage of traps containing eggs, remained lower throughout the trial than in the control area. This trial represents a significant advance in the field of mosquito control, as it explores the viability and efficacy of producing and transporting sterile males from a distant facility to the release area. Our results provide valuable insights for future SIT programmes targeting Ae. Albopictus, and the methodology we employed can serve as a starting point for developing more refined and effective release protocols, including the transportation of sterile males over long distances from production units to intervention areas.

The Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly), Ceratitis capitata, is considered one of the most destructive fruit pests worldwide. Female medflies prefer to lay eggs in ripening, ripe, or overripe fruits. In deciduous orchards of temperate regions, fruitlets (juvenile fruits) of early cultivars could represent the earliest spring resource with a potential host function for medflies. However, little is known about the medfly female's ability to ovipositing and complete breeding in fruitlets. To clarify the possible role of fruitlets, the suitability of key-host fruitlets for the oviposition of medflies and the further development of immature stages were examined in laboratory conditions and an attempt was made to assess the degree of infection of fruitlets collected in the field. Additionally, the development of the overwintering medfly population and the putative use of fruitlets as a resource for early population growth were simulated using the PESTonFARM model optimized to reflect specific features of medfly biology and behavior. Our laboratory data demonstrate that nectarine and pear fruitlets can support the full development of medfly offspring. However, no medfly pupae were obtained from a sample of 14,000 fruitlets collected at the farm. The simulation showed that the sample number needed to detect with at least 95% certainty rare cases of medfly pupae or adults emerging from infected fruitlets is several tens of thousands, which is several times more than the actual number of fruitlets used in our study. Our research suggests that the fruitlets of some cultivated fruit species can potentially constitute a viable food resource for the development of the earliest generation of spring medflies, with implications for medfly Integrated Pest Management (IPM). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Citrus is a global fruit crop and one of the most destructive citrus diseases is the Citrus Variegated Chlorosis (CVC) caused by the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa Wells et al. The pathogen is usually transmitted by xylem sap-feeding insects. Given the tremendous impact that a X. fastidiosa CVC invasion could have in the Mediterranean and the consequent catastrophic scenarios, we offer robust data about the potential vector's bionomics in citrus groves. Throughout 2022, we sampled two citrus groves with sweet orange trees, Citrus × sinensis (L.) Osbeck, in central Greece plus a nearby natural area with pine trees, Pinus halepensis Miller, and lentisk shrubs, Pistacia lentiscus L., to study the presence, seasonal occurrence and population dynamic of potential insect vectors of X. fastidiosa. Additionally, another thirty-five citrus fields were single sampled in 2023 to gain more reliable results about the presence and relative abundance of the potential vectors of the bacterium in a wide area. Seven potential insect vectors were recorded. Philaenus spumarius L. and Neophilaenus campestris (Fallen) were the most frequently found and abundant species in all the citrus groves. Spittlebug nymphs were observed between late March and mid-May, whereas adults were present in spring, autumn and early winter. In the natural area, N. campestris observed from summer to early autumn on the pines, suggesting that pines are among the food plants for the species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), also known as the Mediterranean fruit fly, is one of the most serious pests for several fresh fruit commodities causing extensive fruit losses worldwide. The response of C. capitata adults to fruit and nonfruit volatiles has been extensively studied. However, the linkage between fruit volatiles and the female ovipositional choice has not been fully elucidated. The present study focused on identifying the volatile organic compounds emitted by detached intact fresh fruits (oranges, lemons, bergamots, and apples) and citrus essential oils and evaluate their effect on Mediterranean fruit fly oviposition. There were more than 130 and 45 volatiles compounds detected in fruits odors and citrus essential oils, respectively. The volatile profile of fruits was dominated either from terpenes and terpenoids or from esters of butanoic, hexanoic, and octanoic acids while limonene was by far the most abundant compound in all citrus essential oils. Oviposition of C. capitata was strongly affected by volatiles emanated from both intact fruit and the citrus essential oils. Regarding the volatiles of the intact fruits, the odor of sweet orange elicited strong oviposition responses to females, while bergamot had the least stimulatory effect on oviposition. Bergamot oil also elicited the least oviposition stimulation compared to sweet orange and lemon essential oils. Our discussion elaborates on the role of fruit volatiles on host finding behavior and fruit susceptibility to C. capitata infestation and includes possible practical implication of the above findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]