Insect populations and damage in three plantings (early, mid-, and late-season) of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) transgenic sweet corn were compared to a non-transgenic isoline at Charleston, SC, during 2000. The transgenic corn was expressing the crylA(b) gene from B. thuringiensis var. kurstaki. No fall armyworms, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith), were present in the early-planted crop, and numbers of corn earworms, Heliocoverpa zea (Boddie), were significantly reduced in the Bt-transgenic corn compared to the non-Bt isoline. The non-Bt isoline had 65% H. zea infested ears compared to only 10% ears from the Bt-transgenic line. Damage and numbers of H. zea and S. frugiperda also were significantly higher in the non-Bt sweet corn planted in mid- and late-season plantings. Percent damaged ears by H. zea was 77% in the non-transgenic sweet corn and 21% in the Bt-sweet corn during the mid-season crop. In the late-planted crop, populations of H. zea averaged 15 per 120 ears in the non-BT isoline compared to less than 2 per 120 ears in the Bt-transgenic crop. Whorl damage by fall armyworms significantly reduced plant height in both mid-season and late-season non-transgenic crops but not in Bt-transgenic sweet corn. Numbers of other insects and spiders were low and not significantly different between the two treatments. Bt transformed sweet corn will play a major role in reducing populations of H. zea, S. frugiperda and limiting pesticides in this crop.

A study was initiated in commercial pecan orchards located near Monroe and Natchitoches, LA, to determine the emergence pattern of the adult nut curculio, Conotrachelus hicoriae Schoof, from hibernation. The duration of emergence was found to be approximately 75 d, with initial emergence beginning as early as 18 May. No statistically significant differences were observed in the number of adults trapped between trees and sites; however, statistically significant differences in the number of adults trapped from year-to-year were observed. The wire cone traps proved to be effective in capturing the adults emerging from the soil.

The impact of insecticide application and mass trapping on the level of infestation by the strawberry sap beetle, Stelidota geminata Say (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae), was assessed in cultivated strawberry. In total, more than 17,000 adults were captured in traps baited with whole wheat bread dough. Early in the season, captures were similar for traps at the periphery of and within the strawberry field, whereas captures were lowest within the field after fruits had begun to ripen. The presence of peripheral traps slightly increased captures of adults within the strawberry planting, suggesting that mass trapping of adults with food-baited traps may not be a viable management strategy. Applications of fenpropathrin at dusk or mid-day, between the appearance of ripe fruits and the first harvest, reduced infestation of fruits by sap beetle larvae. Fruits located on the ground were more heavily infested by sap beetles than fruits in the plant canopy, which either is due to foraging movements of adults on the ground or reflects differential suitability of strawberry fruits as a food resource for sap beetles. A positive relationship between captures of adults in traps and the abundance of ripe fruits suggests that the spatial distribution of foraging adults is influenced by the availability of food resources.

Field experiments were conducted in 1997–1999 in Washington Co., NC, to examine how cotton, Gossypium hirsutum, is affected by thrips species composition and abundance, environmental factors, and insecticide applications. Populations of adult and juvenile thrips were monitored in seedling cotton treated with insecticide applications of either imidacloprid as a seed treatment, acephate as a foliar spray, or aldicarb applied in-furrow. The number of plants per 3.05 row-m, location of the first fruiting branch, number of open bolls per 1.52 row-m, yields, accumulated degree-d 60′s (DD60′s), and accumulated rainfall were recorded each year the studies were conducted. Aldicarb and acephate provided better thrips control than did imidacloprid in all 3 yrs. Thrips species ratios differed among years. In 1997, the aldicarb treatment resulted in a better “earliness profile” (lower fruit set and more early opening bolls) than either acephate or imidacloprid, while in 1998 and 1999 there were few differences in these plant parameters. In 1997, all insecticide treatments resulted in statistically higher yields compared with the untreated check. Accumulated DD60′s were consistently higher in 1998 and 1999 than in 1997 after the first thrips sampling date. Cumulative rainfall appeared to be inversely associated with juvenile thrips populations.

The popular literature abounds with design suggestions for creating successful butterfly gardens. In many of these sources of information, the implication is made that greater numbers of butterflies will be attracted to gardens having large masses of single, or similar, color flowers than to those having either several colors mixed together in an area, or those with single colors planted in narrow rows. In this study we used a variety of color forms of Zinnia elegans N. J. von Jacquin ‘Peter Pan’ to examine these two aspects of butterfly gardening. We found that changing the design of plots from blocks to rows to random placement of colors had no effect on butterfly visitation. We also found that increasing the size of single color plots resulted in increased numbers of butterflies visiting those plots.

Slide dip bioassays were conducted to determine the direct toxicity of insecticides, acaricides, fungicides, and herbicides commonly used in vineyards in Virginia to Neoseiulus fallacis (Garman) (Acari: Phytoseiidae), a predatory mite under consideration as a biological control agent for spider mites (Acari: Tetranychidae). Among the insecticides and acaricides tested in the laboratory, carbaryl, azinphos-methyl, phosmet, cyhexatin, and pyridaben caused significantly (P ≤ 0.05) higher mortality than the control treatment. None of the fungicides tested were toxic to the predator, but three herbicides caused high mortality. Glufosinate caused 100% mortality after 24 h, and both oxyfluorfen and paraquat had adverse effects on N. fallacis. The use of materials that were found to be toxic to the predator may not be compatible with releases of N. fallacis into Virginia vineyards. However, incorporating materials that appear to have no direct toxicity to the predator into an integrated pet management program could improve the survival rate of released N. fallacis while still protecting this high value crop from other pests.

The effect of Aspergillus niger (USDA, ARS Robert T. Gast Rearing Laboratory, Mississippi State, MS isolate) contaminated artificial diet on Lygus hesperus Knight (Heteroptera: Miridae) is described. A standard number of A. niger spores was inoculated into an artificial diet used to rear L. hesperus, and the effect on biological fitness of the insect was measured. Biological fitness was defined as total number of surviving adults, mean biomass (dry weight) accumulated per cage over the total test period, egg production, time to adult emergence, and time to the beginning of egg laying. These measurements were all significantly different for insects reared on the inoculated diet from those reared on the control diet. The insects reared on the diet inoculated with A. niger showed a high mortality of nymphs, a decrease in mean biomass, delayed development time, and a decrease in egg production. This study demonstrates the devastating effect A. niger diet contamination can have on a laboratory colony of L. hesperus and emphasizes the need for constant vigilance and adherence to strict sanitation methods in an insect rearing facility.

Most information on the black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens (L.), is limited to its use as a biological control and waste management agent. Little is known about its mating and oviposition activities. Latency from emergence to mating and oviposition for colony-reared black soldier flies placed in a 1.5 × 1.5 × 3 m nylon cage located in a greenhouse was determined. Sixty-nine percent of mating occurred 2 d after eclosion and 70% of oviposition 4 d after eclosion. Time of day and light intensity significantly correlated with mating (r² = 0.49; P < 0.0001), while time of day, temperature, and humidity significantly correlated with oviposition (r² = 0.58; P < 0.0001). Latency after emergence significantly correlated with mating (r² = 0.99; P < 0.0001) and oviposition (r² = 0.99; P < 0.0001). A second experiment was conducted to examine oviposition preference of the black soldier fly. Adults were allowed to oviposit in Gainesville house fly, Musca domestica L., larval media with and without 5-d-old black soldier fly larvae. Based on sign non-parametric Mests, numbers of egg clutches deposited in each treatment were not significantly different.

Spray-dried animal blood cells were evaluated as a protein source for mass rearing adult screwworms, Cochliomyia hominiorax Coquerel. Males and females were fed control diets of either a corn syrup carrageenan-gelled diet (Control 1) or corn syrup carrageenan-gelled diet plus 0.05% vitamins (Control 2). Three tests compared these control diets with eight concentrations of protein similarly formulated as the Control 2: 0.16, 0.20 or 0.24% (Test 1), 2, 4 or 6% (Test 2) and 1.25, 2.0 or 2.75% (Test 3). Differences in mean egg production, mortality, fertility and egg hatch were not significant (P = 0.05) in Test 1. The higher concentrations of protein in Test 2, concentrations of 2 and 4% protein laid significantly greater number of eggs than those fed the control diets or 6% protein. In Test 3, flies fed protein laid more eggs than did those fed the control diets. A diet of 2% protein from spray-dried-animal blood cells for may be used as an alternative to the diet used for rearing adult screwworms.