M. Parsons & S. Clancy. Pyralidae and Crambid Moths of Britain and Ireland

Crambid moths are major crop pests across the globe. The gene pyramiding has been successfully achieved in crambids. The transgenics against crambid moths have been developed in over a dozen crops. The effects of transgenics on the behavior of crambid moths have been studied. Seven new satellite DNA’s work using RNAi , characterization of the catalase gene involved in resistance to thermal stress have been identified in crambid moths. Bt genes have proved effective against crambid moth pests, making them ideal for pest suppression. Transgenic rice expressing the bt gene cry2AX1 exhibited increased resistance to multiple lepidopteran pests. However, some of the pests have recently developed resistance to overcome the effects of bt crops under field conditions. So bt crops expressing a fusion protein of Cry1Ab and VipA3 were found resistant to crambid pests. The evolutionary modification of hearing sensitivity is related to acoustics conspicuousness based on moth wing area.KeywordsCrambid mothsFunctional genomicsMolecular toolsGenetics

As moths of the geometrid group usually live in forests and do not move long distances, they are considered to be valuable as environmental bio‐indicators. Biodiversity data based on voucher specimens should have high quality and reliability. Here, we publish the records of the family Geometridae and the superfamily Pyraloidea (Pyralidae and Crambidae) with time of collection and location information, that is, latitude and longitude on the basis of the collection of Dr. Hiroshi Inoue deposited at Institute for Agro‐Environmental Sciences, NARO (NIAES). The collection of Geometridae covers 653 records from 615 species, collected from 1926 to 1979. The collection of Pyraloidea covers 447 records from 418 species, collected from 1949 to 1985. For the purpose, all users can access the data from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) portal site with open data license CC BY 4.0; all data is published in the GBIF through the Japan node of GBIF (JBIF). The detailed Metadata for this abstract published in the Data Paper section of the journal is available in MetaCat in JaLTER at http://db.cger.nies.go.jp/JaLTER/metacat/metacat/ERDP-2020-21.1/jalter-en .

With the discovery of insect pheromones in intra-species communication in insects several decades back, the R&D on deploying synthetic insect pheromones as mimics of these olfactory signals is being increasingly explored for eco-friendly management of insect pests in major Agri-horticultural and forestry ecosystems. The focus of this paper is on the twin dimensions of pheromone deployment, namely monitoring the pest/vector populations and their utility in mass trapping for population suppression. The relevant pheromone trapping systems R&D scenario in India is illustrated with outcomes mainly from our on-going collaborative research. In particular, it has opened up the scope to identify more efficient pheromone trap design by clarifying that funnel/sleeve trap seems adequate to trap noctuid moths, while a modified Delta trap (Delta-Plus) is clearly superior for at least three Crambid moths, with focus on trap attributes to improve male moth arrivals and/ or minimize their escape tendency. The scope for integration of pheromone technology with biological control towards bio-intensive IPM is indicated. Further, the policy support environment and future requirements are also covered in this paper.

Hearing sensitivity is more relevant to acoustic conspicuousness than to mechanical constraints in crambid moths

Maruca vitrata (Fabricius, 1787) is a cryptic pantropical species of Lepidoptera that are comprised of two unique strains that inhabit the American continents (New World strain) and regions spanning from Africa through to Southeast Asia and Northern Australia (Old World strain). In this study, we de novo assembled the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of the New World legume pod borer, M. vitrata, from shotgun sequence data generated on an Illumina HiSeq 2000. Phylogenomic comparisons were made with other previously published mitochondrial genome sequences from crambid moths, including the Old World strain of M. vitrata. The 15,385 bp M. vitrata (New World) sequence has an 80.7% A+T content and encodes the 13 protein-coding, 2 ribosomal RNA and 22 transfer RNA genes in the typical orientation and arrangement of lepidopteran mitochondrial DNAs. Mitochondrial genome-wide comparison between the New and Old World strains of M. vitrata detected 476 polymorphic sites (4.23% nucleotide divergence) with an excess of synonymous substitution as a result of purifying selection. Furthermore, this level of sequence variation suggests that these strains diverged from ~1.83 to 2.12 million years ago, assuming a linear rate of short-term substitution. The de novo assemblies of mitochondrial genomes from next-generation sequencing (NGS) reads provide readily available data for similar comparative studies.

Research on male courtship behavior of moths has focused on documenting stereotyped sequences for successful copulation. We characterized successful male courtship behavior among 126 virgin mating pairs of Ostrinia nubilalis. Using Markov analysis, stereotypy indices, and a novel application of ecological network analysis, we found high variability in these sequences. Fifteen courtship behaviors were described and 96 behavioral transitions were observed, 39 of which occurred only once. The number of courtship bouts ranged from one to ten, the number of behavioral transitions ranged from four to 41, and the number of copulation attempts ranged from one to 29. Only 23% of males used a common, simple behavioral sequence. Females exhibited acceptance or rejection behaviors in 40% of the sequences, but these did not explain the high variability in male courtship sequences. About half of the transitions occurred non-randomly, and stereotypy was low. Network analysis revealed that the courtship sequences started and ended with stereotyped behaviors and the high variability occurred in the middle of the sequences. Whole system analysis showed that the courtship sequences were more variable than for optimal transfer of information. Overall, these results suggest that the sequence of behaviors may be less important than the occurrence of certain behavioral elements for successful mating.

High duty cycle pulses suppress orientation flights of crambid moths

Decapitation-initiated oviposition in Crambid moths

A new crambid moth, Haimbachia spartina Solis and Canepuccia, new species is described from Argentina and images of the adults and their genitalia are provided. The larvae were discovered feeding on species of saltmarsh cordgrass or Spartina Schreb. (Spartinaceae). This is the first description and illustration of a Haimbachia Dyar larva. Twelve species have been described in the Western Hemisphere, but only Haimbachia maroniella Dyar and Heinrich, has been previously described from South America. The new species is compared to H. maroniella and images are provided of its type specimen, labels, and male genitalia.

Crambid Moths and Light

The importance of insects in our ecosystems is undeniable. The indiscriminate use of broad-spectrum insecticides is a factor in the decline in insect biomass. We identify and sequence a prominent neuropeptide hormone in insects with an overarching goal to elucidate relatedness and create a database of bioactive peptides that could inform possible cross-activity in biological assays for the identification of a biorational lead compound. The major task of an adipokinetic hormone (AKH) in an insect is the regulation of metabolic events, such as carbohydrate and lipid breakdown in storage tissue during intense muscular work. From genomic and/or transcriptomic information one may predict the genes encoding neuropeptides such as the AKHs of insects. Definite elucidation of the primary structure of the mature peptide with putative post-translational modifications needs analytical chemical methods. Here we use high-resolution mass spectrometry coupled with liquid chromatography to identify unequivocally the AKHs of five insect species (one cockroach, two moths, and two flies) of which either genomic/transcriptomic information was available or sequences from related species. We confirm predicted sequences and discover novel AKH sequences, including one with a post-translational hydroxyproline modification. The additional sequences affirm an evolutionary pattern of dipteran AKHs and a conserved pattern in crambid moths.

Responses of aquatic macrophytes to leaf herbivory may differ from those documented for terrestrial plants, in part, because the potential to maximize growth following herbivory may be limited by the stress of being rooted in flooded, anaerobic sediments. Herbivory on aquatic macrophytes may have ecosystem consequences by altering the allocation of nutrients and production of biomass within individual plants and changing the quality and quantity of aboveground biomass available to consumers or decomposers. To test the effects of leaf herbivory on plant growth and production, herbivory of a dominant macrophyte, Nymphaea odorata, by chrysomelid beetles and crambid moths was controlled during a 2-year field experiment. Plants exposed to herbivory maintained, or tended to increase, biomass and aboveground net primary production relative to controls, which resulted in 1.5 times more aboveground primary production entering the detrital pathway of the wetland. In a complementary greenhouse experiment, the effects of simulated leaf herbivory on total plant responses, including biomass and nutrient allocation, were investigated. Plants in the greenhouse responded to moderate herbivory by maintaining aboveground biomass relative to controls, but this response occurred at the expense of belowground growth. Results of these studies suggest that N. odorata may tolerate moderate levels of herbivory by reallocating biomass and resources aboveground, which in turn influences the quantity, quality and fate of organic matter available to herbivores and decomposers.

Epitranus Walker, the only representative genus of the Subfamily Epitraninae (Hymenoptera: Chalcididae) is represented by 68 species worldwide. Host record of the genus is limited to a few species parasitising crambid, pyralid and tineid moths with very little definitive records. A new species Epitranus uterellophagus Binoy & Santhosh, sp. nov. parasitising pupae of Phereoeca uterella (Walsingham, 1897) (Lepidoptera: Tineidae) is described with illustrations from India. http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:01040126-83A9-4253-B0F9-08EA2D89EC25

Light trap collections of Crambus trisectus Walker; the bluegrass webworm, C. teterrellus (Zincken); C. mutabilis Clemens; the corn root webworm, C. caliginosellus Clemens; C. hortuellus Hubner; and the vagabond cram-bus. C. vulgivagellus Clemens, were made during the summers of 1963 and 1964 to determine flight activity for each species and for males and females of each species. A series of dusk-to-dawn collections of cram bid moths made at light traps showed a sex difference in time of peak flight activity. Females were found to be most responsive in the premidinight period and males in the post midnight period. Maximum flight activity of female moths came within 1½ to 2 hours after sunset. Following the hours of first abundance in the evening, the catches of female moths declined but increased slightly between 1 and 4 AM. The post midnight flight of males was larger and more prolonged than the female flight earlier in the evening. Flight activity of males and females was similar for all species.

Reconstructing a robust phylogenetic framework is key to understanding the ecology and evolution of many economically important taxa. The crambid moth genus Ostrinia contains multiple agricultural pests, and its classification and phylogeny has remained controversial because of the paucity of characters and the lack of clear morphological boundaries for its species. To address these issues, we inferred a molecular phylogeny of Ostrinia using a phylogenomic dataset containing 498 loci and 115 197 nucleotide sites and examined whether traditional morphological characters corroborate our molecular results. Our results strongly support the monophyly of one of the Ostrinia species groups but surprisingly do not support the monophyly of the other two. Based on the extensive morphological examination and broadly representative taxon sampling of the phylogenomic analyses, we propose a revised classification of the genus, defined by three species groups ( Ostrinia nubilalis species group, Ostrinia obumbratalis species group, and Ostrinia penitalis species group), which differs from the traditional classification of Mutuura & Munroe (1970). Morphological and molecular evidence reveal the presence of a new North American species, Ostrinia multispinosa Yang sp.n. , closely related to O . obumbratalis . Our analyses indicate that the Ostrinia ancestral larval host preference was for dicots, and that O . nubilalis (European corn borer) and Ostrinia furnacalis (Asian corn borer) independently evolved a preference for feeding on monocots (i.e., maize). Males of a few Ostrinia species have enlarged, grooved midtibiae with brush organs that are known to attract females to increase mating success during courtship, which may represent a derived condition. Our study provides a strong evolutionary framework for this agriculturally important insect lineage.