More than 2600 Eutrombicula alfreddugesi larvae were taken from 40 of 596 individual small mammals of 20 species over a 23 month period. Mammals were infested during June, July, and August only, with maximum rate of infestation in June and severity of infestation in July. Male and female Sigmodon hispidus had equal rates and severities of infestation during the chigger season. Infrapopulations of E. alfreddugesi are positively associated with host body size. Amount of time spent in arboreal activity by mammal species played no role in determining pest chigger infestation.

Fenvalerate (cyano(3-phenoxyphenyl)methyl 4-chloro-α-(l-methylethyl)benzeneacetate) applied to woolen cloth as a pressurized solvent-based formulation protected the cloth against feeding damage by larvae of the black carpet beetle, Attagenus unicolor (Brahm), of the furniture carpet beetle, Anthrenus flavipes LeConte, and of the webbing clothes moth, Tineola bisselliella (Hummel), both initially and after the treatments had aged for 15 months. The fenvalerate treatments that had aged for 6 months were also effective against the adults of the above species of fabric insects.

Two recently released sweet corn inbreds, ‘GTS1’ and ‘GTS2,’ were evaluated as inbreds and in hybrid combination for their resistance to the corn earworm, Heliothis zea (Boddie). Based on the weight of 6-day-old larvae and on damage to corn ears in the field at 15 days after silking, the level of resistance to the corn earworm was slightly altered from the original ‘471-U6’ and ‘81-1.’ A slight change in the mechanisms of resistance was shown in that GTS1 showed a slight antibiotic effect which apparently enhanced the performance of its hybrid.

Acephate (1%), acephate (1%) plus 0.16% zinc ricinoleate (a deodorant) and 0.08% Tryfac 910-K^® (a surfactant), and avermectins (0.02 and 0.1%) were applied in kitchens of single-family dwellings infested with Blattella germanica (L.). All gave control at 2, 4, and 8 weeks after initial application. There was no significant difference in control between insecticides or concentrations.

Several sanitary procedures were employed and the fungicides benomyl, captan, maneb-zinc, zinc ion-maneb complex, and triphenyltin hydroxide in autoclaved vermiculite were evaluated for control Aspergillus niger van Tieghem in rearing the lesser cornstalk borer, Elasmopalpus lingnosellus (Zeller). Sanitary procedures reduced the incidence of mold only slightly. Benomyl, at 0.25 g/100 g of vermiculite, had minimal detrimental effects on the biology of lesser cornstalk borer larvae and was highly effective in controlling A. niger. Triphenyltin hydroxide was highly toxic to lesser cornstalk borer larvae at all levels evaluated.

Insecticide sprays were applied to conventionally spaced (76.2 cm) soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merrill, by aerial and ground equipment. Drop penetration (no. drops/cm² and mean percent coverage) and drop size (number median diameter) were measured within and between the two treatments. Larval mortality was determined at each of three vertical strata of the canopy for the soybean looper, Pseudoplusia includens (Walker), in central Mississippi and for a pest complex of the soybean looper, green cloverworm, Plathypena scabra (F.), and velvetbean caterpillar, Anticarsia gemmatalis Hubner, in south Mississippi. At both locations aerial equipment deposited a drop size in successively decreasing numbers/unit area from the top down within the upper two-thirds of the canopy. Conversely, ground equipment generally delivered successively smaller and fewer drops to each lower level within the canopy at both locations. Significantly more spray droplets were deposited at each sample location in the soybean canopy by ground equipment than by aerial equipment. Mortality data indicated that permethrin (0.11 kg AI/ha) provided better control of the soybean looper when applied with ground equipment than with aerial equipment in central Mississippi, while methyl parathion (0.28 kg Al/ha) was equally effective when applied by air or ground in south Mississippi for control of the pest complex. Largest mortality was observed within the upper one-third of the soybean canopy for both methods of application at the two locations.

Pecan weevil larvae, in the 4th instar, held at 20°C showed a rapid decline in fatty acids, carbohydrates and proteins with time. Regression analysis of the fatty acid data (with time) gave a best fit for a polynomial expression, whereas both protein and carbohydrate fit a logarithmic curve. The larvae at 20°C pupated in an average of 42 days. The average life span of adults fed sucrose water was 82 days.

Megaselia halterata (Wood) (Diptera: Phoridae) is a pest of commercial mushroom production in North America and Europe. Compost or casing materials treated with experimental insecticides were placed in commercial mushroom growing rooms that were heavily infested with M. halterata. Control was determined by comparing emergence from treated material with that from untreated material. As a compost treatment, the following were ineffective: resmethrin, fenvalerate, permethrin, Lily-7063, and triflumuron. Diflubenzuron was effective only at high doses. Acephate, chlorpyrifos, deltamethrin, diazinon, dimethoate, ethoprop, fenitrothion, and methoprene were effective. As casing treatments malathion, triflumuron, and diflubenzuron were ineffective. Dimethoate, diazinon, acephate, chlorpyrifos, deltamethrin, ethoprop, fenitrothion, and methoprene were effective.

Late season insecticide-based control strategies against the foliar pecan aphid complex which controlled populations of the 3 aphid species, prevented early defoliation of the tree and did not reduce pistillate flower production the following Spring. Pecan trees treated with insecticides which were less efficacious against the pecan aphid complex, defoliated early and had reduced pistillate flower production.

A portable Geiger counter was evaluated for tracing the movements of radiolabeled Heliothis zea (Boddie) larvae in cotton and corn. In cotton, larvae used were labeled by injection of the parent females and phosphorus-32. These could easily be located using the Geiger counter. In corn, larvae were labeled topically so that pupation sites in the soil could be labeled. The percentage of these that could be located proved variable.

A corn, Zea mays L., hybrid with loose-husk characteristics developed for the Corn Belt and a hybrid with tight-husk characteristics developed for the South were evaluated in field plots for relative levels of corn earworm [Heliothis zea (Boddie)] feeding damage, visible Aspergillus flavus sporulation, and aflatoxin contamination in 1980 and 1981. Supplemental corn earworm eggs and A. flavus spores were applied to silks of all ears. Water treatments consisted of an untreated check and a water spray (simulated heavy morning dew) applied to developing ears either once or 3 times per week for 4 weeks. Water was applied to ears with a hand-held garden sprayer until runoff occurred. The southern-adapted hybrid with good husk cover sustained significantly less insect damage and aflatoxin contamination than the Corn Belt-adapted hybrid during both years. Significant differences between hybrids (5% level) in visible A. flavus sporulation were obtained only in 1981. Corn plots treated with 3 water sprays per week for 4 weeks tended to sustain more insect damage, visible A. flavus, and aflatoxin than plots sprayed with water once a week for 4 weeks, although significant differences at the 5% level were obtained for aflatoxin concentrations only in 1981. These data demonstrate significant levels of insect resistance and resistance to aflatoxin development between two corn genotypes. Also, heavy morning dews that frequently occur in the Southeast may be involved in the elevation of aflatoxin contamination in this area.

A preliminary behavioral catalogue of the adult green stink bug, Acrosternum hilare (Say), was developed from observations taken in a field of senescing soybeans. A total of 20 behaviors were described, and the effects of sex and time of day on these behaviors were quantified. Behaviors were categorized as resting, componential movements, grooming, feeding, excretion, positional orientation, and locomotion. Sex significantly influenced the duration of time spent in lifted and tilted postures and resting both on pods and with conspecifics and the proportion of time spent in a lifted posture, resting on all substrates, antennal waving, shifting, and walking. Time of day significantly influenced the duration of time spent in a tilted posture, basking, and walking and the proportion of time spent in a lifted posture, resting on all substrates, antennal waving and quivering, shifting, walking, and flying. The functions of the behaviors were either implicit or inferred from current understanding of pentatomid biology.

Four noctuid larvae, Heliothis zea (Boddie), Spodoptera exigua (Hubner), Pseudoplusia includens (Walker), and S. ornithogalli (Guenee) were reared on semi-synthetic diet in which varying concentrations of the carbamate fungicide benomyl were incorporated. These larvae were exposed to parasitization by Cotesia (= Apanteles) marginiventris (Cresson), and the effect of the fungicide on parasitism and host survival determined. Successful parasite emergence from H. zea, S. exigua, and P. includens was significantly reduced (P = 0.01) as benomyl concentration increased. Parasite emergence from S. ornithogalli was reduced, but a significantly significant dosage response was not evident. Implications of these findings, including a possible deleterious effect on natural biological control following benomyl application, are discussed.

Chlorpyrifos-methyl-treated polymer film produced residues of the insecticide in cornmeal from small bags wrapped in the film for 3 months. Residues increased during 6 - 9 months storage of the bags in the film bundles, but decreased between 9 and 12 months. Residues persisted during 6 to 12 months storage in jars following 3 to 12 months of storage in the treated film bundles. In the cornmeal, the higher residues tested (ca. 9 - 1 6 ppm) remained toxic to adults of the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum (Herbst), for up to 52 weeks.

The influence of within-plant distribution of Heliothis zea (Boddie) eggs on ovicide efficacy in cotton was investigated. Eggs were placed on different parts of cotton plants in the field, and an ovicide was applied as a broadcast spray. Eggs in more sheltered sites and lower on the plants suffered significantly lower mortality. Similar results were obtained using both methomyl and chlordimeform.

Adults of the scavenger beetles Ateuchus histeroides Weber and Trox suberosus F. (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) were fed 4 meals in the laboratory over a 3-wk interval, of either dead fall armyworm larvae killed by nuclear polyhedrosis virus (NPV) or non-infected fall armyworm larvae killed in hot water. The beetles were held without additional food for 87 d and the time to death was compared with that of beetles unfed during the test period. For both species, there were no statistically significant differences between the longevity of beetles consuming virus-infected carcasses and those consuming uninfected carcasses. Consequently, the application of fall armyworm NPV in row crop situations would have little negative effect on populations of these scavenger beetles.

Serial dilutions of technical material of eleven different insecticides dissolved in acetone were applied topically to tarnished plant bugs, Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvoir), collected from three mid-Delta counties in Mississippi, which represented an area commonly experiencing high levels of insecticide use, and from a county in north Arkansas, representing an area with low levels of insecticide use. Tolerance of tarnished plant bugs to six of the eleven materials was significantly greater in most cases in those collected from the mid-Delta counties of Mississippi than those collected in north Arkansas.

Sprays of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. thuringiensis (B.t.t.), which contained the beta-exotoxin, were applied to small-scale field plots of tomatoes infested with the Colorado potato beetle [Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say)] and to bean plots infested with the Mexican bean beetle (Epilachna varivestis Mulsant). Two parasitic wasps of the family Eulophidae were used in conjunction with the B.t.t. in an effort to reduce beetle populations. Treatments on tomatoes consisted of either B.t.t. alone, B.t.t. plus releases of the egg parasite Edovum puttleri Grissell, E. puttleri releases alone, or untreated controls. Treatments on beans were similar except the larval parasite Pediobius foveolatus (Crawford) was released instead of E. puttleri.

Treatments in which B.t.t. was used, either alone or in combination with the parasite, significantly reduced adults and 3rd and 4th instar larvae of both species of beetles. The egg parasite, E. puttleri, was unable to significantly reduce the CPB population by itself, however P. foveolatus was able to significantly reduce both 3rd and 4th instar larval and adult populations of the MBB.

The beta-exotoxin of an experimental preparation of Bacillus thuringiensis var. thuringiensis was bioassayed against neonate Colorado potato beetle larvae and its lethal concentrations determined. The amount of active ingredient in the preparation was determined by liquid chromatography. The Escherichia coli DNA Repair Assay was used to determine the DNA damaging potential of the beta-exotoxin, which was found to be negative in this system.

Feeding of diflubenzuron to different-aged larvae of banana fruitfly, Zaprionus paravittiger (Godble and Vaidya), produced a differential susceptibility. The first-instar larvae were significantly more susceptible than the second- and third-instar larvae. The ID 50 (50% inhibitory dose) values for adult emergence were 0.16, 0.32 and 0.95 ppm for first-, second-, and third-instar larvae, respectively. The frequency of morphological abnormalities increased and F₁ adults failed to reproduce. Furthermore, the total body glycogen increased and total body proteins decreased after feeding diflubenzuron to second-instar larvae for 24 h.

Eggs, inert deutonymphs and young, virgin adults of Rhizoglyphus echinopus (Fumouze and Robin) and Aleuroglyphus ovatus (Troupeau) were treated with 5, 10, 15, 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100 krad of gamma radiation. Fecundity, egg viability, oviposition period, survival of developmental stages, and longevity of females were compared. Doses ≥ 40 krad completely inhibited egg development. Eggs of A. ovatus were more resistant to gamma radiation than those of R. echinopus. The effect of irradiation on the inert deutonymphs was more detrimental than it was on young adults. Effect of irradiation on the life span of females of both species was stimulatory at doses of up to 60 krad and inhibitory at higher doses. The oviposition period varied inversely with the irradiation dose. Irradiation with 5 krad caused, in both mite species, at least a 50% decrease in fecundity.

Eleven insecticides were evaluated against the threecornered alfalfa hopper, Spissistilus festinus (Say), the potato leafhopper, Empoasca fabae (Harris), and the tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois), in alfalfa. Control of S. festinus was extended to 28 d post-treatment with a single application of cypermethrin applied to the alfalfa stubble. Control of E. fabae was achieved with the majority of the insecticides evaluated, but control of L. lineolaris was more difficult to obtain.

A total of 89 Fraser fir, Abies fraseri Pursh. (Poir.), from seven locations in the southern Appalachians were tested for non-suberized impervious tissue (NIT) at artificial wound sites. All trees except one formed NIT in a time period that was considered normal (3 weeks), with no delays due to tree age, location or presence of balsam woolly adelgid, Adelges piceae (Ratz.). Although most Fraser fir react to adelgid attack by forming “rotholz” (red wood), a number of infested trees showed no visual signs of rotholz formation.