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Aedes albopictus, ever since, its distribution from country to country, has been known to transmit many viruses (like dengue) to human. The vector possesses enormous plasticity in habitat adoptability. The distribution pattern revealed that maximum population was collected from rural areas during rainy season, at temperature 31-40 oC and RH 41-50 %. The population was collected from clear water having plastic bottom. The small quite places are more productive breeding places having EC (≤ 1000 µS/m), TDS (≤ 500 ppm) and DO (2-5 mg/l). The larval population was mostly established in the areas having exposed shady conditions and have less distance from human habitation. Flora such as spirogyra, grasses and algae, and predators such as damselfly, water bugs and beetles showed affinity with Ae. albopictus population. Stagnant clear water bodies are considered as potential breeding sites for dengue vector.

Aedes aegypti L. and Culex quinquefasciatus Say, which are the major vectors of dengue and yellow fever, respectively, could be managed in an effective way by targeting their immature stages. In the present study, we evaluated the effects of interspecific competition between Ae. aegypti and Cx. quinquefasciatus on their fitness and biology. This experiment consisted of three treatments: Ae. aegypti and Cx. quinquefasciatus together (interspecific competition treatment abbreviated as In-Aa and In-Cq), only Ae. aegypti (Aa), and only Cx. quinquefasciatus (Cq). Larval development was significantly slower in In-Aa as compared to Aa and that of In-Cq compared with Cq. The pupal weight of In-Aa (2.25 mg) was significantly lower as compared to Aa (2.45 mg) while there was no difference in pupal weight between In-Cq (2.55 mg) and Cq (2.37 mg). Fecundity of In-Aa females was significantly lower than Aa females but no difference was found between In-Cq and Cq. The hatching percentage of In-Aa (52.65) compared with Aa (67.83) and In-Cq (67.17) compared with Cq (71.30) was similar. Importantly, the intrinsic rate as well as biotic potential in co-habitating insects was significantly lower than their respective non-co-habitants. Therefore, it could be concluded that co-occurrence of Ae. aegypti and Cx. quinquefasciatus has a strong potential to induce negative impact on their life history traits due to interspecific competition.

Wheat Triticum aestivum L. is grown on broad range of climatic conditions because of edible grains, cereal crop and stable food of about 2 Billion peoples worldwide. Additionally, it is the rich source of carbohydrates (55–60%), vegetable proteins and contributed 50–60% daily dietary requirement in Pakistan. Globally, wheat crops is grown over 90% area of total cultivated area; facing devastating biotic and abiotic factors. The estimated economic losses in wheat quantity and quality are about 4 thousands per tonne per year including physical crop losses and handling. Economic losses of about 80–90 million USD in Pakistan are recorded due to inadequate production and handling losses. Wheat agro-ecosystem of the world colonizes many herbivore insects which are abundant and causing significant losses. The feeding style of the insects made them dispersive from one habitat to another imposing significant crop loss. Areas of maximum wheat production are encountered with either insect which chew the vegetative as well as reproductive part or stem and root feeders. This chapter provides the pest’s taxonomic rank, distribution across the globe, biology and damage of chewing and sucking insect pest of wheat. It is very important to study biology of the pest in accordance with crop cycle to forecast which insect stage is economically important, what the proper time to manage pest is and what type of control is necessary to manage crop pest. The chapter will provide management strategies well suited to pest stage and environment.

Termites are a significant pest of buildings, agriculture, and trees, and are mainly controlled by baiting. However, baiting systems are available for only lower termites (Rhinotermitidae) not for higher termites (Termitidae). Termite foraging behavior associated with baiting systems varies among species and families, and plays a significant role in baiting success. Here, foraging behavior ofOdontotermes obesus(Blattodea: Termitidae: Macrotermitinae), a fungus-growing higher termite, was investigated relative to three bait-station sizes (small, medium, and large) containing different quantities of food. Significantly more workers recruited to large stations (470/station) compared to medium (246/station) and small (124/station) stations. Abundance ofO. obesusin large and medium stations significantly positively correlated with relative humidity whereas negative but non-significant correlations were observed with temperature in large and medium stations. Total and continuous contacts with the stations increased with time and were greater in large stations. Station abandonment due to disturbance was significantly less in large stations (3%) followed by medium (9%) and small stations (20%). Our results suggest that large stations (≈8 litres volume) work best for population management ofO. obesusand other related fungus-growing higher termites.

Snails are the second largest group of invertebrates after insects and make a major part of the world's fauna. There are 35,000 described species of land snails (subclass: Pulmonata) from class gastropods in the world. With the present scenario of climate change, their occurrence has been observed many-fold. Despite their economic importance, population diversity and distribution of these creatures on different host crops in Punjab Pakistan is not much more studies. For this purpose, the present study was conducted to identify the snail species and their diversity on different hosts in the agroecosystems of Multan. The snails were collected from different crops like wheat, vegetable (spinach), fodder, citrus orchard, and plant nurseries. A total of 8264 specimens were collected and preserved in the form of a dry shell and 70% alcohol in Ecology Lab, MNS - the University of Agriculture, Multan for identification purpose. The preserved specimens were identified under microscope using available taxonomic keys. Ariophanta bistrialis ceylanica, Ariophanta bistrialis cylix, Ariophanta solata, Oxychilus draparnaudi, Monacha catiana, Cernuella virgata, Pupoides abilabris and Oxyloma elegans were identified during the study. The highest and lowest population of Ariophanta bistrialis cylix (1592) and Ariophanta solata (446), respectively was recorded. The population diversity was found maximum in plant nurseries followed by fodder crop (Berseem) and citrus orchard while least in vegetable (Spinach) and wheat crop. The maximum population was found in July and August, while least in March and May. In the rainy season, the population of snails was recorded maximum as compared to the dry season.

Oxycarenus hyalinipennis Costa (Lygaeidae: Hemiptera) has attained the status of major insect pest drastically affecting the value and production of the cotton crop. The main objective of the study is to estimate losses caused by O. hyalinipennis (10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 pairs release / boll) identified on boll weight, fiber characteristics (mike, staple length, staple strength, lint index and Ginning Out Turn), seed index and seed germination, under semi opened bolls of two Bt genotypes (MNH-886 and MNH-456). The offered O. hyalinipennis density is directly proportional to GOT while inversely proportional to boll weight, seed index, germination, lint index, mike, staple length and staple strength. All morphological parameters revealed highly significant but negative correlation with offered densities of O. hyalinipennis. Linear regression model showed that fiber characteristics affected significantly by O. hyalinipennis. Thus, a long term sustainable IPM strategy must be implemented to curtail this bug population under check.

Ticks are blood-sucking ecto-parasites and transmit pathogens to humans, wild and domesticated animals. Ticks also serve as a vector of many zoonotic diseases such as Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fev...

In current study, extensive field surveys are carried out to explore the fauna of assassin bugs of family Reduviidae, along with their habitats and prey records from different localities in the Pothohar region of Pakistan. The quantitative web structure is constructed for better understanding species habitat linkage and is represents a total of twelve different assassin bug species, of which five were identified as new country records i.e., Tribelocephala indica (Stal, 1853), Coranus spiniscutis (Reuter, 1881), Oncocephalus schioedtei (Reuter, 1882), Scadra annulipes (Reuter, 1881) and Ectrychotes dispar (Reuter, 1881). The result of diversity indices, Shannon-Weiner’s and Simpson’s index showed that Trail-5 (Islamabad), Taxilla (Rawalpindi), Sohawa (Jehlum) have maximum values (1.092, 0.662; 1.75, 0.82 and 1.69, 0.78) respectively. The assassin bug species i.e., Rhynocoris marginatus and R. fuscipes are found to predate maximum number of economically important pests of various crops. The diversity indexes of assassin bugs from the Pothohar region indicated that the species have uneven distribution in the five districts. The variation in richness of assassin bug population was recorded in the selected three districts of the Pothohar region. The species richness showed almost same pattern in Islamabad and Jehlum demonstrated by minute difference in Shannon’s equitability index (0.65-0.929 and 0.77-0.87) respectively.

The indiscriminate application of synthetic pesticides on horticultural plants for the management of Bactrocera zonata has both economic and environmental implications due to the biomagnification of harmful residues in humans via the food chain. This necessitates the use of some eco-friendly control measures such as insect growth regulators (IGRs) as an alternative. A laboratory experiment was laid out to determine the potential chemosterilant effect of five IGRs including pyriproxyfen, novaluron, lufenuron, buprofezin, and flubendiamide at six different concentrations on B. zonata after treating adult diet. Using the oral bioassay, B. zonata were fed on IGRs impregnated diet (50–300 ppm/5 mL diet) which was replaced with the normal diet after 24 h of feeding. Ten pairs of B. zonata were placed in a separate plastic cage accommodating an ovipositor attractant guava for eggs collection and calculation. An analysis of the result revealed that fecundity and hatchability were higher at a low dose and vice versa. Lufenuron at 300 ppm/5 mL of diet significantly decreased the fecundity rate (31.1%) as compared to pyriproxyfen, novaluron, buprofezin and flubendiamide, which had 39.3%, 39.3%, 43.8%, and 47.5%, respectively. The lowest hatchability (19.9%) was noted in lufenuron treated diet followed by pyriproxyfen, novaluron, buprofezin, and flubendiamide, which had 22.1%, 25.0%, 30.9%, and 31.6%, respectively. Furthermore, in a population of crosses between the lufenuron treated male and female, a significant decrease in fecundity (45.5%) and hatchability (51.7%) was noted as compared to other IGRs. Overall, this study identified the chemosterilant potential of lufenuron on the population of B. zonata which can be integrated for its management strategy.

Ficus benjamina is an important ornamental plant in many countries of the world. Recently, this plant is attacked by a lepidopteran insect pest known as Trilocha varians (Bombucidae: Lepidoptera) in Pakistan. This pest eats the leaves making the plant unaesthetic. In the current study, toxicity of four insecticides (deltamethrin, chlorantraniliprole, fipronil and emamectin benzoate) was evaluated against T. varians. Different concentrations of these insecticides were prepared in distilled water and 3rd instar larvae were exposed using leaf dip bioassay method. The results showed that deltamethrin was more toxic to T. varians followed by emamectin benzoate, fipronil, and chlorantraniliprole. The LC50 of deltamethrin after 12, 24, 36, 48, and 60 h were 18.04, 16.67, 5.74, 2.46, and 1.79 ppm respectively. The results will be useful for management of T. varians. Keywords: Chlorantraniliprole, Deltamethrin, Fipronil, Ficus, Ornamental plant

Insects comprise the largest group of animal kingdom and play vital role in providing various ecosystem services. Some of these tiny creatures serve as notorious and serious pests of crops including cotton. Cotton is an important fibre crop which being succulent, is observed to be attacked by various chewing and sucking insects. Due to anthropogenic activities, climate on the earth is being chaged since last century that leads to global warming. Under this situation of climate change, abiotic factors like temperature, humidity, rainfall and atmospheric gases (especially CO2), and biotic factors like parasites, predators, competition are dominant factors that govern population dynamics and proliferation of insect pests of cotton. Insects being poikilothermic in nature have temperature of their bodies is approximately the same as that of the environment. Therefore, the developmental rates of their life stages are strongly dependent on temperature. So with the increase in temperature, almost all insects are affected to some degrees by changes in temperature due to global warming and there may be multiple effects upon insect life histories. These effects exert impact on crop insect pests’ populations in several complex ways like extension of geographical range, increased over-wintering, changes in population growth rate, increased number of generations, extension of developmental season, changes in interspecific interactions, changes in crop pest synchrony, increased risks of invasions by migrant pests, introduction of alternative hosts and over-wintering hosts. The various methods such as culturals, physicals, biologicals, botanicals, entomopathogenic fungi and synthetic chemicals are adopted by farmers and researchers at national and international level to control pest population. Among all above mentioned methods, the main emphasis in insect pest management in cotton crop is use of synthetic pesticieds. These are although cheap, effective and having faster action but have much side effects like environmental pollution and health hazards due to their penetration in food chain. Due to excessive and non-judicious use of these chemicals on high infestation of cotton pests, resistance and resurgence of these pests are now being recorded as more serious. Such situation leads in integration of all possible alternate measures like resistant cultivars, GMOs, genetic controls, use of biocontrol agents, use of biopesticides, use of insect pheromones and many others for effective control. So, effects of climate change on insect pests of cotton crop and management tectics in this scenario are being reviewed in this chapter that will provide a ready reference for policy makers and researchers to improve management practices of cotton pests in various geographical areas, in ecofriendly and efficient way.

Honey bees are considered as critical beneficial insects in the term of honey production and pollination of crops. One of the essential honey bee species in Pakistan is Apis florea Fabricius (Hymenoptera: Apidae). These make nests on trees near human dwellings and agriculture crops. During foraging in the field for nectar and pollen collection from agriculture flowering plants, honey bees may be exposed to pesticide sprays which may cause a change in their foraging behavior and the death of their workers. The current study evaluates the toxicity of six insecticides (emamectin benzoate, spinetoram, chlorantraniliprole, fipronil, flonicamid, and imidacloprid) against workers of A. florea. There were six concentrations of each insecticide (causing > 0% to

Phalsa is an important berry fruit in Asia, but little is known of its postharvest characteristics and especially changes in fruit composition during storage. Investigations were made for nutritional and antioxidative enzymatic changes in the juice extracted from two different maturity stages (M1: pink to red or M2: dark red to purple) during low temperature storage for 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 days at 5 ± 1 °C and 65 ± 5% RH. The fruit showed significant gradual declines in ascorbic acid (Vitamin C), total phenolics (TPC), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), total carotenoids, anthocyanins, moisture%, crude protein, crude fiber and fat content and the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) during storage. However, the total soluble solids (TSS), pH, ash content, and the activity of catalase (CAT) and peroxidase (POD) increased significantly. The polynomial regression analysis indicated that these changes were either quadratic or linear; and the Pearson's correlation among the studied parameters was significant. More mature fruit had higher concentrations of TSS, ascorbic acid, TPC, TAC, total carotenoids and anthocyanins, more juice and less weight-loss compared with less mature fruit. Overall, significant nutritive functions and antioxidative enzymes were found in both maturity stages of phalsa fruit, which experienced significant changes during postharvest storage.

In developed and underdeveloped countries, ticks are important vectors transmitting various pathogens that cause diseases of veterinary and public health importance, like babesiosis, theileriosis, Crimean‑Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) and many more. Many species of ticks have been reported in scientific literature from Pakistan, which need to be listed for ready reference. For this purpose, a checklist of tick species recorded in Pakistan is presented here after comprehensive review of the available literature on the subject. Overall, nine genera and 53 species of ticks infesting animals in Pakistan are presented in this checklist.

Indian siris, Albizia lebbeck (L.) Benth. (Fabaceae: Mimosoideae) has significant importance to human beings for its multipurpose use. Insects play a crucial role in the pollination biology of flowering plants. In the current study, we studied the pollination biology of A. lebbeck with special reference to insect floral visitors. The effectiveness of floral visitors was investigated in term of visitation frequency, visitation rate and pollen load during 2012 and 2013. In the second experiment, effect of pollinators on yield of A. lebbeck was studied in open and cage pollination experiments. Floral visitor fauna of A. lebbeck included eight-bees, two wasps, two flies, and two butterflies species. Among them, Apis dorsata, Apis florea, Amegilla cingulata, and Nomia oxybeloides had maximum abundance ranging from 349–492, 339–428, 291–342 and 235–255 numbers of individuals, respectively during two flowering seasons. A. dorsata had the highest visitation frequency (6.44 ± 0.49–8.78 ± 0.48 visits/flower/5min) followed by Amegilla cingulata (6.03 ± 0.43–7.99 ± 0.33 visits/flower/5min) and A. florea (3.61 ± 0.31–4.44 ± 0.18 visits/flower/5min). A. dorsata, N. oxybeloides, and Amegilla cingulata had the highest visitation rates (18.904 ± 1.53–11.43 ± 1.17 flower visited/min) and pollen load (15333 ± 336.22–19243 ± 648.45 pollen grains). The open pollinated flowers had significantly higher capsule weight (4.97 ± 0.21 g), seed weight (1.04 ± 0.05 g), seed numbers per pod (9.80 ± 0.34) and seed germination percentage (84.0 ± 1.78%) as compared to caged flowers. The results suggested bees especially A. dorsata, N. oxybeloides and Amegilla cingulata could be effective pollinators of A. lebbeck. Keywords: Bees, Floral visitors, Open pollination, Visitation frequency, Visitation rate

Background: Dengue fever (DF) has become a major public health concern globally. It is an infection caused by a virus of the family Flaviviridae, with five serotypes (DENV 1–5). Recent years have seen an increase in the preva­lence of the disease in Pakistan. The current study was carried out to evaluate the clinical features, laboratory find­ings and demographic information of the patients reported during the dengue outbreak in Multan of Pakistan in 2015. Methods: The hospital documentation-based data of confirmed DF cases were collected for the 6 months period from a Tertiary Care Hospital in Multan, Pakistan. The patients were labeled as confirmed on the basis of NS1 and IgM positivity by ELISA. The data collected were analyzed using SPSS. Results: Overall, 361 patients were investigated (78.67% males and 21.33% females), with maximum infection rate in the age group of 18–35yr (50.41%). Mean hospital stay was 2.64d (SD 1.2), while mean fever duration was 5.27 (SD 1.57). Outbreak occurred during the months from Jul–Dec, while maximum patients were reported in Oct (287). No mortality was reported, and all patients recovered. Conclusion: Better management practices and timely reporting can reduce the risk factors associated with the dis­ease.

Pakistan is a place where only pesticides is considered as an effective source for control of pests and diseases, and we are using these deliberately by involving wide range of pesticides. Majority of chemicals are used in agriculture as data suggests that about 49399 million metric tons of pesticides had been used only in agriculture sector in 2010 in the country. Use of pesticides in other fields such as public health, fisheries, forestry and food industry is not included in the data. Though pesticides are useful in managing pest populations but these have adverse effects on humans, animals and ecosystems. The current work exhibits the effects of pesticides on human health in the country. Acute poisoning is one of the key issues resulted by unsafe handling and storage of pesticides in on-farm and off-farm premises in developing economies. From various areas in the country, pesticides are reported to be used as tool for suicide by teen agers due to easy access. According to department of Plant Protection (Karachi), total of 200 workers get affected showing low enzyme activity in their blood. In Multan, an adverse situation was observed as elevated levels (87.5 %) of acetylcholinesteras (AchE) activity was recorded in female cotton pickers as compared to males which have low (36 %) AchE activity because cotton is picked mostly by women in Pakistan. The aim of this work is to sum-up the weaknesses in practicing / implementing current policies and legislations for safe handling, storage and judicious use of pesticides. The acquired knowledge will later be used in making and improving the existing regulations for the subject

Adults and immatures of Aedes mosquito populations were collected at temperatures between 40 and 44°C (summer), while larvae were collected at 0°C (winter). Major mosquito activities were observed from February to mid-December at various collection sites that yielded high populations of Aedes spp. from May to September, and high populations of Culex spp. and Anopheles spp. from March to September. In June to July, mosquito activity was suspended because the relative humidity was high (70%); a result of the monsoon rains. In August, with temperature ranging from 38 to 42°C, the populations of Culex, Anopheles and Aedes began to increase (36.8, 32.1 and 26.3%, respectively). Population estimates (through standard prototype Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Biogents (BG)-sentinel) and species composition of Aedes in forest habitats indicated a rapid increase in the populations of Ae. albopictus (52.3%), Ae. aegypti (19.1%) and Ae. vittatus (28.5%) following the rainy season in July. Areas positive for Ae. albopictus had identical population levels and distribution ranges of Ae. vittatus, however, there were no Ae. aegypti in Ae. albopictus areas from August to September. The population level, seasonal distribution, habitat and areas of adult activity marked by global positioning system (GPS) coordinates are being used for reference and for species composition data of Anopheles spp. (2), Culex spp. (10) and Aedes spp. (5) in addition to associated temperature, relative humidity and physico-chemical factors of larval habitat. Global meteorological changes have caused an expansion of the active period, leading to the mosquito's possibility of being a vector of disease increasing, resulting in the spread of dengue fever.

The house fly, Musca domestica L., is an important ectoparasite with the ability to develop resistance to insecticides used for their control. Thiamethoxam, a neonicotinoid, is a relatively new insecticide and effectively used against house flies with a few reports of resistance around the globe. To understand the status of resistance to thiamethoxam, eight adult house fly strains were evaluated under laboratory conditions. In addition, to assess the risks of resistance development, cross-resistance potential and possible biochemical mechanisms, a field strain of house flies was selected with thiamethoxam in the laboratory. The results revealed that the field strains showed varying level of resistance to thiamethoxam with resistance ratios (RR) at LC50 ranged from 7.66-20.13 folds. Continuous selection of the field strain (Thia-SEL) for five generations increased the RR from initial 7.66 fold to 33.59 fold. However, resistance declined significantly when the Thia-SEL strain reared for the next five generations without exposure to thiamethoxam. Compared to the laboratory susceptible reference strain (Lab-susceptible), the Thia-SEL strain showed cross-resistance to imidacloprid. Synergism tests revealed that S,S,S-tributylphosphorotrithioate (DEF) and piperonyl butoxide (PBO) produced synergism of thiamethoxam effects in the Thia-SEL strain (2.94 and 5.00 fold, respectively). In addition, biochemical analyses revealed that the activities of carboxylesterase (CarE) and mixed function oxidase (MFO) in the Thia-SEL strain were significantly higher than the Lab-susceptible strain. It seems that metabolic detoxification by CarE and MFO was a major mechanism for thiamethoxam resistance in the Thia-SEL strain of house flies. The results could be helpful in the future to develop an improved control strategy against house flies.

Background House flies are of major public health concerns in areas with poor sanitation and hygienic conditions. Unfortunately, sanitation and hygiene have always been ignored in dairy farms particularly in the developing or low-income countries. Management of these flies mostly depends on the awareness regarding associated hazards and protective measures taken by the people to minimize risks associated with flies. The present study therefore explores the knowledge, attitude and practices taken by dairy farmers in Punjab, Pakistan against house flies. Methods The present study was based on a cross sectional self administered survey to a convenience sample of 173 small scale dairy farmers in four localities – Multan, Lahore, Shorkot and Faisalabad – of Pakistan. The relationships between socio-demographics, knowledge and preventive practices were investigated through logistic regression analysis and chi-square test of association. Results Considerable number of dairy farmers 71/173 (41.04%) had no idea about the problems associated with house flies. Although 77/173 (44.51%) dairy farmers reported house flies as disease transmitters, only 23 (29.87%) farmers were familiar with diseases and 22 (28.57%) had somewhat idea of the mode of disease transmission. We found a positive association between dairy farmer’s education level and overall knowledge of house flies in multivariate analysis. Farmer’s education level and knowledge of the house flies breeding sites had a positive association with the adoption of house fly prevention practices by the respondents. However, knowledge of the problems associated with house flies and preventive measures had no association with house fly prevention practices. Conclusion The present ethnoentomological survey provides information about knowledge, attitude and practices of dairy farmers related to house flies in Punjab, Pakistan. We conclude that the farmers’ education level and knowledge of the breeding sites had a positive association with the adoption of prevention practices against house flies. The study also highlights the need of targeting the lack of knowledge of dairy farmers for the successful management of house flies.

Background Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are the main vectors of dengue viruses to humans. Understanding their biology and interactions with the pathogen are prerequisites for development of dengue transmission control strategies. Mosquito salivary glands are organs involved directly in pathogen transmission to vertebrate hosts. Information on the spatial distribution of gene expression in these organs is expected to assist in the development of novel disease control strategies, including those that entail the release of transgenic mosquitoes with impaired vector competence. Results We report here the hybridization in situ patterns of 30 transcripts expressed in the salivary glands of adult Ae. aegypti females. Distinct spatial accumulation patterns were identified. The products of twelve genes are localized exclusively in the proximal-lateral lobes. Among these, three accumulate preferentially in the most anterior portion of the proximal-lateral lobe. This pattern revealed a salivary gland cell type previously undescribed in Ae. aegypti, which was validated by transmission electron microscopy. Five distinct gene products accumulate in the distal-lateral lobes and another five localize in the medial lobe. Seven transcripts are found in the distal-lateral and medial lobes. The transcriptional product of one gene accumulates in proximal- and distal-lateral lobes. Seven genes analyzed by quantitative PCR are expressed constitutively. The most abundant salivary gland transcripts are those localized within the proximal-lateral lobes, while previous work has shown that the distal-lateral lobes are the most active in protein synthesis. This incongruity suggests a role for translational regulation in mosquito saliva production. Conclusions Transgenic mosquitoes with reduced vector competence have been proposed as tools for the control of dengue virus transmission. Expression of anti-dengue effector molecules in the distal-lateral lobes of Ae. aegypti salivary glands has been shown to reduce prevalence and mean intensities of viral infection. We anticipate greater efficiency of viral suppression if effector genes are expressed in all lobes of the salivary glands. Based on our data, a minimum of two promoters is necessary to drive the expression of one or more anti-dengue genes in all cells of the female salivary glands.

Grains of five different maize varieties (MMRI Yellow, Pearl White, Malka-2016, YH-1898 and Sadaf) were evaluated for their comparative resistance to Tribolium castaneum under laboratory conditions (30+2°C and 70+5 R.H). Data of percent mortality were taken after 30, 60 and 90 days. Significantly, the maximum mortality of adults was observed in MMRI Yellow (28.57%, 33.67% and 41.61%) in sound seeds and lowest mortality was noted in Sadaf (14.88, 21.33% and 24.99%) during observation period. The seed germination was highest in MMRI Yellow which was 90% while lowest was noted in Sadaf as 50%. The highest protein contents were recorded in Malka-2016 (12.83% and 11.60%) and lowest in YH-1898 (3.90% and 2.50%) in both sound and cracked seeds. However, maximum fiber contents were observed in Malka-2106 (2.76% and 2.16%), while lowest (0.43% and 0.30%) in YH-1898 for both seed types. Consequently, MMRI Yellow variety was proved to be resistance as compared to other varieties with maximum germination. It can be concluded that resistant varieties of maize could be utilized in breeding program to reduce the post-harvest losses of grains.