Kinds Of Arthropods Research Articles

Methyl Benzoate as a Promising, Environmentally Safe Insecticide: Current Status and Future Perspectives

The widespread use of synthetic chemical pesticides beginning in the late 1930s has contributed to the development of insecticide resistance of many important species of pest insects and plants. Recent trends in pesticide development have emphasized the use of more environmentally benign control methods that take into consideration environmental, food safety, and human health. Biopesticides (e.g., naturally occurring pesticidal compounds) are alternative pest management tools that normally have no negative impact on human health or the environment. Here we review methyl benzoate, a relatively new botanical insecticide that occurs naturally as a metabolite in plants, and whose odor is an attractant to some insects. Since 2016, many studies have shown that methyl benzoate is an effective pesticide against a range of different agricultural, stored product, and urban insect pests. Methyl benzoate has several important modes of action, including as a contact toxicant, a fumigant, an ovicidal toxin, an oviposition deterrent, a repellent, and an attractant. In this review, we summarize various modes of action of methyl benzoate and its toxicity or control potential against various kinds of arthropods, including agricultural pests and their natural enemies, and pollinators. We conclude that methyl benzoate is a very promising candidate for use in integrated pest management under either greenhouse or field conditions.

Survey of insect pests onMoringa oleiferain Samoa

Moringa (Moringa oleifera Lam.) is known as “wonder tree” for its potential health benefits and its ability to cure several diseases in animals and humans. Its extracts have been used for insect pest management. Just like any other plant, M. oleifera is also attacked by various kinds of arthropods and diseases. Our initial literature search and anecdotal information collected from selected Pacific Islands countries (Fiji, Tonga and Samoa), suggests that no pests of M. oleifera are either documented or recorded. Thus, this study endeavoured to survey pests of M. oleifera in the Pacific, especially in Samoa. We examined different parts of the M. oleifera plant, such as flower, fruits (drumsticks and pods), leaves, stems and trunks for signs of insect damage. Samples for pest examination were collected from Apia and nearby area on the Upolu Island, and were examined with the naked eye and also under a stereomicroscope. Our results showed minor damage to the M. oleifera flowers. Plant hoppers (nymphs and adults) were frequently observed on the upper surface of the M. oleifera leaves. Severe stem borer damage was observed as tunnels on the main trunk and branches of the tree. The length of the tunnels observed was up to 45 cm, with a diameter ranging from 8-15 mm. Thus, our preliminary exploratory insect pest survey indicates that M. oleifera in Samoa is attacked by plant hoppers and stem borer. However, their infestations are currently at low levels and no pest management strategy is currently available to manage them. However, a pest management strategy should be developed as M. oleifera is already gaining importance in most Pacific Island countries and territories, in food and nutrition security programmes.

Diel Patterns of Canopy Arthropods Associated with Three Tree Species

Canopy arthropods on dogwood, Cornus florida L.; red maple, Acer rubrum L.; and yellow poplar, Liriodendron tulipifera L., were bag-sampled during the day and night on six dates from July through September 1986 in the southern Appalachians of North Carolina. Diurnal and nocturnal comparisons were made for arthropod community composition and similarity. Overall numbers of canopy arthropod taxa were similar both between and within tree species, as was relative taxon abundance as assessed by community diversity measures. However, there were substantial differences in faunal composition and weighted arthropod numbers between daytime and nighttime canopies. Diel differences in canopy faunal composition is related to differential periods of activity among some canopy arthropods. These data suggest that canopy foliage may support greater densities and kinds of arthropods than those previously reported based on daytime sampling only. Experimental designs that include diel sampling would provide a more complete assessment of the structure and composition of canopy communities by taking into account the dynamic component of these communities.

The Effect of Hurricane Hugo on Bird Populations in the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico

Hurricane Hugo caused severe but short-term disruption of the avian community of a subtropical wet forest site in the Luquillo Mountains of Puerto Rico. Nectarivorous and frugivorous bird species were greatly reduced in numbers immediately after the hurricane. The single granivore species studied decreased in numbers more slowly. Insectivores and omnivores increased after the hurricane. All species except the granivore returned to their prehurricane abundance levels prior to the following breeding season, suggesting that population changes were a result of movement in search of food rather than mortality. Mist net captures and observations indicated that birds occupied a reduced vertical foraging range after the hurricane, and stomach contents from birds captured 6-10 months after the hurricane showed that different foods were being consumed. Fewer and different kinds of arthropods were found in stomachs after the hurricane. These findings, coupled with the frequent occurrence of hurricanes in the Caribbean, suggest that there is pressure on bird populations in this region to maintain plasticity in habitat and dietary requirements.

Public Attitudes Toward Urban Arthropods in Minnesota

Residents of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area were surveyed for their attitudes about arthropods. Nonentomology students interviewed 447 home dwellers via telephone, asking which arthropods they saw in the yard and in the home, which of these they considered to be pests, whether they obtained information about them, and what the extent of their tolerances toward these insects is. The most commonly seen yard arthropods were ants, mosquitoes, and spiders. Mosquitoes, bees and wasps, and ants were listed most commonly as yard pests. Spiders, ants, and flies were seen in homes most commonly and were named as household pests most frequently. Only 10.3% of the respondents obtained information about the arthropods seen. The University of Minnesota was the most frequent source for this information. Most respondents (69.2%) liked or tolerated arthropods seen in the yard, and 85.9% disliked or were afraid of indoor arthropods. Loglinear analysis revealed that significantly more homeowners and younger people (<50 yr old) reported seeing arthropods in the yard than did renters and older people, respectively. Females, homeowners, and younger people were more likely than males, renters, and older people, respectively, to see arthropods indoors. More-educated people were more likely than less-educated people to like or tolerate yard arthropods. Fewer females than males tolerated arthropods found either indoors or outdoors. When survey results were compared with records of concurrent inquiries at the university's diagnostic clinic, the clinic detected more kinds of arthropods.

ARTHROPOD COLONIZATION OF PRE-AGED AS COMPARED WITH FRESH FECES

AbstractA field study was designed to compare the attractiveness of pre-aged (laboratory incubated) and fresh rabbit feces to potential arthropod colonists. Laboratory collected rabbit feces were incubated on moist peat for intervals of 0, 10, 20, 30, and 40 days before exposure (48 h) in one of four field sites in northwestern Pennsylvania. Greater numbers and kinds of arthropods were attracted to 0-day-old dung samples than to fecal pellets that were preincubated for 10 or more days in the laboratory. Furthermore, numbers and kinds of arthropods attracted to fecal pellets increased with increasing habitat complexity. The results indicate that loss in attractiveness of aged feces to potential arthropod colonists cannot be attributed entirely to the drying of the substrate or to prior arthropod colonization. It is suggested that microfloral activity contributes to chemical changes in the incubating feces which render them less attractive to potential early colonists.

Canonical correlation between groups of acarine, fungal and environmental variables in bulk grain ecosystems

SummaryInterrelations among acarine, fungal, and environmental components of bulk grain ecosystems were determined by canonical correlation analyses. Twenty‐seven variables were measured monthly in samples collected from 2 identical grain bulks in a granary in Winnipeg during the years 1959–67. The relationships between 9 kinds of arthropods and 6 environ mental variables, and between the same arthropods and 12 kinds of actinomycetes and fungi were examined. The maximum canonical correlation between arthropods and environmental factors was 0.35, and between arthropods and microorganisms was 0.28; both are highly significant (p&lt;0.001). In the first analysis correlations of the variables with the canonical variates revealed that correlations of the variables with the canonical variates revealed that sampling location, depth, and temperature are the primary environmental antecedents involved, and the criterion is primarily composed of mites Tarsonemus spp.,Tydeus interruptus and the psocid, Lepinotus reticulatus. In the second analysis the fungi Nigrospora sphaerica, Aspergillus spp., and Cochliobolus sativus are involved with the mites Cheyletus eruditus and Acarus siro. Generally, the results of these analyses complement the findings of factor and regression analyses of the same data reported earlier.