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Mites of the family Pyemotidae are reported as ectoparasites of a large number of arthropods He et al., 2019; Sousa et al., 2020; Chen et al. 2021), mainly insects of the orders Lepidoptera (Cunha et al., 2006; Oliveira et al., 2007; He et al. 2012, 2014; Liu et al, 2020; Tian et al. 2020), Hemiptera (Han, 2016; Li et al. 2019; Yu et al. 2019), and Coleoptera (Cunha et al. 2006; Guo et al. 2009; Oliveira et al., 2010). Pyemotes spp., also known as ?straw itch mites?, are of particular interest in applied acarology, both for their behavior as insect parasites and for their medical importance (Tomczyk-Socha et al. 2017; He et al., 2019). Adult females of this mite attach themselves to the host to feed, undergoing physogastry, the expansion of the posterior portion of their body (opisthosoma) to facilitate offspring development (Cunha et al. 2006). According to Tomalski et al. (1988), approximately 200 to 350 sexually mature mites are produced per female. Males are the first to be born, as adults, immediately copulating with their adult sisters. The newborn females immediately seek new hosts, which once parasitized, become paralyzed by the release of toxins (Sousa et al., 2020). Neurotoxins from a single female are sufficient to paralyze an insect host up to 150,000 times the size of the mite (Mullen and Oconnor, 2019). Studies on the potential of Pyemotes zhonghuajia as a biological control agent for eggs, larvae and pupae of the fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda (Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) and the oriental armyworm Mythimna separata (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) demonstrated that a female is capable of killing more than 50% of first to third instar larvae of S. frugiperda and M. separata within 72 h under laboratory conditions (Liu et al., 2020; Tian et al., 2020). Made available in DSpace on 2022-09-26T15:05:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 A-QUATERLY-JOURNAL-ACAROLOGY-10.pdf: 951941 bytes, checksum: 919daf06fdbcd1810120aeaea2bf618a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2022

Population dynamics of aphids have been studied in sole and intercropping systems. These studies have required the use of more precise analytical tools in order to better understand patterns in quantitative data. Mathematical models are among the most important tools to explain the dynamics of insect populations. This study investigated the population dynamics of aphids Aphis gossypii and Aphis craccivora over time, using mathematical models composed of a set of differential equations as a helpful analytical tool to understand the population dynamics of aphids in arrangements of cotton and cowpea. The treatments were sole cotton, sole cowpea, and three arrangements of cotton intercropped with cowpea (t1, t2 and t3). The plants were infested with two aphid species and were evaluated at 7, 14, 28, 35, 42, and 49 days after the infestations. Mathematical models were used to fit the population dynamics of two aphid species. There were good fits for aphid dynamics by mathematical model over time. The highest population peak of both species A. gossypii and A. craccivora was found in the sole crops, and the lowest population peak was found in crop system t2. These results are important for integrated management programs of aphids in cotton and cowpea. Made available in DSpace on 2018-11-25T23:32:45Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Populationdynamicsof.pdf: 1479910 bytes, checksum: 8876cdf50862959fc6cf5a754f6eb14c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-11-22

The functional response of a predator to the density of its prey is affected by several factors, including the prey?s developmental stage. This study evaluated the functional response of Podisus nigrispinus (Dallas) (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) females to fourth instars and pupae of Alabama argillacea (H?ubner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), an important pest of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L., Malvaceae) in Brazil. The prey were exposed to the predator for 12 and 24 h, and in densities of 1, 6, 12, 18, 24, and 30 items per predator female. The predation data were subjected to polynomial regression logistic analysis to determine the type of functional response. Holling and Rogers? equations were used to estimate parameters such as attack rate and handling time. Podisus nigrispinus females showed functional response types II and III by preying on larvae and pupae, respectively. The attack rate and handling time did not differ between the 12 and 24 h exposure times. Predation rate was higher at higher larval and pupal densities; predation was highest at a density of 30 prey items per female, and it was similar at 18 and 24 prey per predator. Understanding the interaction of predators and their food resources helps to optimize biological control strategies. It also helps the decisionmaking and the improvement of release techniques of P. nigrispinus in the field.

The functional response of a predator to the density of its prey is affected by several factors, including the prey?s developmental stage. This study evaluated the functional response of Podisus nigrispinus (Dallas) (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) females to fourth instars and pupae of Alabama argillacea (H?ubner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), an important pest of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L., Malvaceae) in Brazil. The prey were exposed to the predator for 12 and 24 h, and in densities of 1, 6, 12, 18, 24, and 30 items per predator female. The predation data were subjected to polynomial regression logistic analysis to determine the type of functional response. Holling and Rogers? equations were used to estimate parameters such as attack rate and handling time. Podisus nigrispinus females showed functional response types II and III by preying on larvae and pupae, respectively. The attack rate and handling time did not differ between the 12 and 24 h exposure times. Predation rate was higher at higher larval and pupal densities; predation was highest at a density of 30 prey items per female, and it was similar at 18 and 24 prey per predator. Understanding the interaction of predators and their food resources helps to optimize biological control strategies. It also helps the decisionmaking and the improvement of release techniques of P. nigrispinus in the field.

The resistance, negative impacts on non-target organisms, and residues in food of synthetic pesticides necessitates the development of environmentally safe products for use in pest control. The objective of this research was to evaluate feeding and oviposition of Anticarsia gemmatalis Hübner (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) with sublethal concentrations of essential oils of condiments from ten plants, neem oil emulsion (Azamax®), and pyrethroid (Keshet® 25 EC). Bioassays were conducted in the laboratory and in a greenhouse setting using leaf disks (10.25 cm2 diameter) and soybean plants in the vegetative stage V3 with and without choice. The rate of feeding deterrence (IDF) and oviposition (IDO) of A. gemmatalis were calculated after 24 and 48 h of exposure to treatments, respectively. The cinnamon essential oils showed moderate antifeeding effect with IDF >50% of cinnamon mint thyme and garlic essential oils and high repellence of oviposition activity with IDO >80%. The velvetbean moth were attracted to synthetic mustard oil. The essential oils of garlic were most effective in reducing the feeding of velvetbean moth and oviposition of A. gemmatalis females and are therefore of interest in integrated pest management. Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-17T06:51:21Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 FeedingandovipositionofAnticarsiagemmatalis....pdf: 325612 bytes, checksum: ce90a6bde1c9037238c9f3f49bccfb9e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-03-16

Eucalyptus cloeziana F. Muell. (Myrtales: Myrtaceae) and the tropical almond Terminalia catappa L. (Myrtales: Combretaceae) are widely cultivated in urban and forest areas of many countries where biological control is the most-preferred method to control insects. Aximopsis sp. (Hymenoptera: Eurytomidae) is reported for the first time in Brazil in a new group of lepidopteran hosts. Individuals of this species emerged from the pupae of Thyrinteina arnobia arnobia Stoll (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) and Thagona tibialis Walker (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) that developed from larvae defoliating E. cloeziana and T. catappa plants on the campus of the Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV) in Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Aximopsis sp. was identified by comparing it with species of this group as described for the Neotropical region. Voucher specimens were deposited in the Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (CIRAD), France. Twenty new pupae each of Anticarsia gemmatalis Hübner (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) and Tenebrio molitor L. (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) were held individually in test tubes with a drop of honey as food and 3 mated Aximopsis sp. females for 2 d. Aximopsis sp. parasitized 20% of the T. molitor pupae but none of the A. gemmatalis pupae. The duration of the life cycle (egg to adult), parasitism and emergence rates, total individuals emerged from each pupa, sex ratio, length of the body and width of the head capsule, and the longevities of Aximopsis sp. males and females that emerged from parasitized T. molitor pupae were evaluated. The duration of the life cycle of Aximopsis sp. was 14 ± 2 d. An average of 62 ± 5 Aximopsis sp. individuals emerged from each T. molitor pupa, and their sex ratio was 0.96 ± 0.02. The total number of parasitoids that emerged was 248 individuals. Measurements of characters of progeny Aximopsis sp. females (n = 10) and males (n = 5), respectively, were as follows: body length: 3.50 mm (2.40?3.80 mm) and 1.99 mm (1.97?2.02 mm); head capsule width: 0.63 mm (0.58?0.72 mm) and 0.48 mm (0.46?0.51 mm), and longevity: 6 ± 1 d and 4 ± 1 d. These results open prospects for investigations of biological control of pests with this natural enemy.

Aphids cause significant damage to crop plants. Studies regarding predator-prey relationships in fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) and cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) crops are important for understanding essential ecological interactions in the context of intercropping and for establishing pest management programs for aphids. This study evaluated the association among Hyadaphis foeniculi (Passerini) (Hemiptera: Aphididae), Aphis gossypii Glover (Hemiptera: Aphididae) and Cycloneda sanguinea (L.) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) in cotton with coloured fibres, fennel and cotton intercropped with fennel. Association analysis was used to investigate whether the presence or absence of prey and predator species can indicate possible interactions between aphids and ladybugs. Significant associations among both apterous and alate H. foeniculi and C. sanguinea were observed in both the fennel and fennel-cotton intercropping systems. The similarity analysis showed that the presence of aphids and ladybugs in the same system is significantly dependent on the type of crop. A substantial amount of evidence indicates that the presence of the ladybug C. sanguinea, is associated with apterous or alate A. gossypii and H. foeniculi in fennel-cotton intercropping system. We recommend that future research vising integrated aphid management taking into account these associations for take decisions. Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-16T08:02:48Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Interspecificassociationsbetweencyclonedasanguinea....pdf: 595585 bytes, checksum: 9b0f18a1b117bc07eb7fc9fb8352a0a4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-03-15