An examination of the sensitivity of the tufted apple budmoth, Platynota idaeusalis (Walker), larval instars to a diapause-inducing photoperiod at a constant 21C revealed that maximum expression of diapause occurred only when all five instars were exposed to a short daylength. No intermediate instar was found in which the developmental program could be switched from a diapause to a non-diapause one, or vice versa.

Cotton, Gossypium hirsutum (L.), infested with relatively low populations (untreated range: 0.3 – 0.7 larva/plant) of Heliothis spp. larvae was treated with varying mixtures of the nuclear polyhedrosis viruses from Heliothis zea or Autographa California (dosages: 2.97 and 5.93 × 10¹¹ polyhedral inclusion bodies/ha) and the bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner (dosages: 0.14 – 0.56 kg/ha of Thuricide®). The bacterium when mixed with a spray and adjuvant was as effective as a chemical standard in reducing plant damage and low populations of Heliothis. Applying mixtures of the viruses with the bacterium did not increase efficacy. In a commercial 16-ha field, four aerial applications of a microbial mixture of 150 g Elcar® and 560 g Thuricide plus 3.36 kg adjuvant resulted in a ca. 76% viral infection and sufficiently controlled the larval infestation and protected the fruit from damage. The Heliothis population in another 16-ha field was controlled using four applications of chemical insecticides. Natural viral disease prevalence was ca. 3%. Although Heliothis egg numbers ranged from ca. 20 – 80 eggs/100 plants in both fields during the test, boll damage in the microbially treated field was only 0.5% compared to 0.6% in the chemically treated field. Further, yields from both fields were ca. 3 × 10³ kg/ha, indicated similar control.

The diel activity of Ophion flavidus Brulle (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) was determined by observing the movement of two-day-old mated female parasitoids confined with 4th-instar larvae of Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) on R4-R5-stage peanut plants. Observations were made for 1-h periods at 0600, 1200, 1830, and 2400 h CST. Fourteen O. flavidus adult females were used in the study. Movement of O. flavidus was greater (P = 0.05) at 0600 and 2400 h than at 1200 or 1830 h. Attacking and/or ovipositing occurred more frequently (P = 0.05) at 0600 and 2400 h than at 1200 or 1830 h.

Elcar® and Coax® suspensions were manually painted on soybean leaves or stems, pods and flowers in the field. Suspension deposits on stems, pods and flowers caused ca 7 × more mortality than deposits on leaves. In a second study, a 1 × suspension deposit on stems, pods and flowers caused approximately the same bioassay mortality (i.e. 58 vs 52%) as a 2 × deposit on soybean leaves. Data from equipment evaluations in the field indicated that a deflector shield mounted immediately in front of the spray boom and positioned to contact the upper 16 – 20 cm of the soybean plants caused higher Heliothis zea (Boddie) mortalities than other treatments evaluated.

Carabidae (Coleoptera) were monitored from pitfall trap catches in four soybean cropping systems in Westmoreland Co., Virginia during the summer of 1982. Harpalus pensylvanicus DeGeer, Poecilus chalcites Say, Amara spp., and Agonum octopunctatum Fabricius were the most commonly encountered among the 39 species collected. These four species were more abundant in drill-planted and double-cropped soybean fields which were conservation tillage systems as compared to conventionally plowed fields. Significantly more species per field and more carabids per trap were found during June than in later summer months. The Shannon-Weaver diversity and Berger-Parker dominance indices showed no significant differences in species diversity among the cropping systems. The total number of carabids present in soybeans is more important in comparisons than either species number of species evenness.

Folpet and a combination with folpet, benomyl, citral, sodium propionate, and sorbic acid were fed or exposed to honey bee, Apis mellifera L., field colonies to: 1) determine their long-term toxic effects on the bees; and 2) to determine if chalkbrood (CB) disease, Ascosphaera apis (Maassen ex Claussen) Olive et Spiltor, is inhibited or controlled by the compounds.

When folpet was fed to honey bee colonies in sucrose syrup, the group fed the highest rate (1000 ppm) never differed significantly (P > 0.05) from the control colonies. There was an equal number of adult bees, an equal amount of sealed brood, and mortality was identical. Analysis indicated significantly (P < 0.05) fewer CB mummies in treatment groups fed 10 or 1000 ppm folpet, but this apparent benefit may have been due to seasonal changes of reduced CB infection that occur in late summer.

Folpet or a combination of folpet, benomyl, citral, sodium propionate, and sorbic acid (1000 ppm each, total 5000 ppm) incorporated into lipid/sucrose extender patties produced no significant (P > 0.05) effect of any kind on colonies to which they were applied, including CB infection. However, when the combination of five fungicides (5000 ppm) was impregnated into beeswax foundation and exposed to honey bee colonies, only a small amount of comb was drawn on the test foundation, indicating a repellent effect. Otherwise, the test foundation had no significant (P > 0.05) effect on the honey bees or the CB infection.

Selected grasses, ‘Coastal,’ ‘Tifton 10,’ and ‘Tifton 292’ bermudagrass, Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers., ‘common centipedegrass,’ Eremochola ophiuroides (Munro) Hack, zoysiagrass, Zoysia sp., and corn, Zea mays L., were evaluated in the laboratory as hosts for the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith), in forced-feeding tests to delineate more clearly the expressions of antibiosis. Data were recorded at 5, 7, and 9 days on weights of larvae, days to pupation, weights of pupae, pupal duration and survival on the various host grasses. Corn was the most suitable host for development of fall armyworm larvae, followed by Tifton 10 and Coastal bermudagrass. Larval development was slower on common centipedegrass than on Coastal bermudagrass. Tifton 292 bermudagrass and zoysiagrass were unsuitable hosts because of nonpreference and antibiosis. Wing pad deformities in pupae and/or serious lessions in adult wings were observed when resistant grasses (e.g., centipedegrass and Tifton 292 bermudagrass) were incorporated into pinto bean diet and fed to fall armyworm larvae.

Populations of egg parasites, Ablerus clisiocampae Ashmead and Ooencyrtus clisiocampae Ashmead, of the forest tent caterpillar, Malacosoma disstria Hbn., were found to be 73% and 55% females, respectively. These parasities emerged a mean of 31 days after the beginning of forest tent caterpillar eclosion under controlled laboratory conditions. Percent parasitism was highest in the upper tree crowns, in 1980 – 81 averaging 33.6%, and was highest at the middle crown levels in 1981 – 82, averaging 20.3%.

Pro-Drone, an insect growth regulator (IGR) with juvenile hormone activity, was aerially applied twice at the rates of 11.86 g AI/ha in large-scale field trials for control of the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren. Although Pro-Drone applications produced no significant effect at 3- and 8-months posttreatment, the IGR significantly reduced fire ant infestation after 10 months in southeastern Texas. This product represents the first registered, aerially applied IGR effective against the red imported fire ant.

Comparisons were made between uninfested adult Mexican bean beetles and those infested with the ectoparasitic mite Coccipolipus epilachnae Smiley. No significant differences were found based on longevity, fecundity, or food consumption of beetles fed lima beans and held at 22°C on a 16 hr light - 8 hr dark day.

The Nantucket pine tip moth, Rhyacionia frustrana (Comstock), oviposited preferentially on loblolly pine in plantings of adjacent blocks of 4-year-old loblolly and slash pines. Ninety-three percent of 719 eggs found were on loblolly pine. More eggs were deposited on the needles than on shoots. Fifty-six and 64 percent of the eggs were deposited on needles of loblolly pine during the first and fourth generations, respectively. Sixty-one and 100 percent of the eggs were deposted on needles of slash pine during the first and fourth generations, respectively.

Locust borer attack rates were studied in relation to stand mixtures in Appalachian Maryland. Current (active) attacks, as opposed to past attacks, were utilized to evaluate present stand composition. Current attack density increased with increased percent black locust on the plots. The trend was significant in 2 of 3 study areas (P < 0.05). Current and past attack density were not correlated with each other, nor was current attack correlated with indices of tree thrift or size.

Adult carabid beetles (Calosoma sayi DeJean) were allowed to feed on fall armyworm larvae [Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith)] infected with either a nuclear polyhedrosis virus or a microsporidian protozoan (Vairimorpha sp.). Subsequent longevity of the beetles was monitored and fecal material was bioassayed to determine pathogen infectivity. Beetles fed infected larvae lived at least as long as beetles fed noninfected larvae. Both pathogens were highly infective when voided in beetle feces within 24 hours of ingestion. Concentration of pathogens and infectivity declined in subsequent fecal samples, with some infectivity detected in feces voided 13 – 15 days after consumption of infected larvae.

Pupae of the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith), placed on the soil surface or partially buried under laboratory conditions, were readily consumed by adult Calosoma sayi DeJean. Predation did not occur when pupation in the soil occurred naturally or when pupae were artificially buried in the soil at various depths.

A scale is described for reporting the painfulness of stings received from aculeate hymenoptera under uncontrolled conditions. The applicability and limitations of the scale are discussed, and examples are given of ranked stings. The usefulness of the pain scale in studying mimetic associations between stinging insects is discussed, with an example.

Moths of the soybean looper (SBL), Pseudoplusia includens (Walker), were released into 1.8 × 3.7 m field cages (10 male:female moth pairs/cage) containing nectaried (floral and extrafloral nectaries) or nectariless (no extrafloral nectaries) cotton cultivars. Cages containing moths were left undisturbed for 7 days, at the end of which time, plants within cages were sampled for SBL eggs. In three separate tests conducted in 1982, 1983, and 1984, moths oviposited significantly more eggs/plant in caged nectaried cotton than in caged nectariless cotton. High larval SBL populations in cotton-soybean agroecosystems are attributed to SBL moth utilization of cotton nectars to increase fertility and fecundity prior to oviposition in nearby soybean fields. Thus, use of nectariless cotton cultivars may reduce SBL pest populations on soybean by decreasing the amount of cotton nectar available.

Sharpnosed leafhoppers, Scaphytopius magdalensis (Provancher), exhibit a diel periodicity characterized by morning and evening peaks of flight activity. Adults are most commonly found on blueberry plants at night; they apparently seek shelter during the day and return to their host plants around dusk. Flight activity during midday and early afternoon is usually correlated with high temperature and low humidity. Most local flight activity occurs from 0 to 50 cm above the soil surface and is significantly affected by bush height.

In surveying the thrips of Georgia, a gall-making species, Catinathrips vaccinophilus (Hood), was discovered for the first time in the State. This species produces marginal leaf galls on the terminal leaves of Calycanthus floridus L. and C. fertilis Walt.

Dry bark and oil of Cinnamomum cassia Blume were evaluated for their biological activity against the adults of Callosobruchus maculatus (F.), Sitophilus oryzae (L.), Lasioderma serricorne (F.) and Tribolium confusum Jacquelin du Val. The acetone extract of the bark provided practically no contact toxicity to C. maculatus and T. confusum up to 50 μg/insect, but gave weak toxicity to S. oryzae and L. serricorne at 48 h after topical treatment, while the oil showed no toxicity to C. maculatus, very weak toxicity to T. confusum, and moderate toxicity to S. oryzae and L. serricorne at 30 and 50 μg/insect, respectively.

Both the extract and the oil, applied to wheat at 0.2, 0.1 and 0.05% by weight, showed significant repellency against S. oryzae adults with the oil providing greater repellency than the extract. The repellency decreased as the concentration of treatment decreased. Both the extract and the oil provided the repellency to T. confusum when applied to paper. At the application rates of 600 and 400 μg/cm², the extract showed a class III average repellency for 4 months. Repellency of the oil deteriorated at a faster rate, and showed only a class II average repellency for 4 months at the same dosages.

2-Alkyl-6-methylpiperidines have been identified in the venoms of workers of five species of ants in the genus Solenopsis. S. (Euophthalma) globularia pacifica Wheeler produces cis-and trans-2-nonyl-6-methylpiperidine whereas S. (Diplorhoptrum) steinheili Forel and S. (Diplorhoptrum) sp. PR synthesize N-methyl-2-nonyl-6-methylpiperidine as well. Workers of S. (Solenopsis) geminata rufa (Jerdon) produce cis- and trans-2s-undecyl-6-methylpiperidine as do workers of S. (Solenopsis) maniosa Wheeler. Phenol and salicylaldehyde have been identified in extracts of workers of Monomorium (Parholcomyrmex) destructor (Jerdon) in contrast to 2,5-dialkylpyrrolidines that are considered to be characteristic natural products of this genus.

Larvae of Psyrassa unicolor (Randall) tunneled basally in 2- to 4-mm-diameter pecan twigs for distances of 12 to 36 cm until intersecting a larger branch, which they girdled. Branches 10 to 50 mm in diameter and 0.6 to 3.6 m long were severed with a smooth concentric cut, and they fell from late January through May. Twenty-nine percent of the larvae were in the severed portion of the branch, 13% were in the branch stub, and the remaining larvae were dislodged and lost during the break. Branches pruned by P. unicolor were distinguished from those pruned by other species by the kind of girdle, time of year, and size of pruned branches.

Nearly 200 varieties of cowpea, Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp, were screened for resistance to the cowpea aphid, Aphis craccivora Koch. Three varieties known to be resistant in West Africa were highly susceptible to an aphid population from the southern United States. Four other varieties, however, inhibited growth of the southern United States population both in the laboratory and in the field. Life-table comparisons using a resistant and a susceptible variety revealed a three-fold difference in the intrinsic rate of increase and a more than twenty-fold difference in the net reproductive rate. High nymphal mortality and low fecundity on resistant plants were largely responsible for these differences.

Southern pine beetles, Dentroctonus frontalis Zimmermann, treated to remove their mycangial fungi, were infected with Ceratocystis minor (Hedgcock) Hunt spores and placed in freshly-cut pine bolts. Galleries constructed by beetles without mycangial fungi were significantly shorter and contained significantly more bluestain than galleries constructed by beetles with mycangial fungi. It was concluded that southern pine beetle mycangial fungi limit the distribution of bluestain in southern pine beetle-infested trees. Inhibition of the spread of the bluestain fungus by mycangial fungi may be necessary for optimal beetle development.

The development of Rhinocyllus conicus Froelich was evaluated on 52 artificial diets. Selected diet constituents were varied to determine their effects on weevil development. High mortality without initial feeding on diets with cholesterol suggested that phytosterol is essential as a phagostimulant. Only nine of the diets supported development of first instar larvae to the adult stage; sitosterol was present in each of the successful diets. The low yields of adult weevils indicate inadequacies in the diets.