In this era of global climate change, intrinsic rapid and evolutionary responses of invasive agricultural pests to thermal variability are of concern given the potential implications on their biogeography and dire consequences on human food security. For insects, chill coma recovery time (CCRT) and critical thermal minima (CTmin), the point at which neuromuscular coordination is lost following cold exposure, remain good indices for cold tolerance. Using laboratory-reared Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), we explored cold tolerance repeated exposure across life stages of this invasive insect pest. Specifically, we measured their CTmin and CCRT across four consecutive assays, each 24 h apart. In addition, we assessed body water content (BWC) and body lipid content (BLC) of the life stages. Our results showed that CTmin improved with repeated exposure in 5th instar larvae, virgin males and females while CCRT improved in 4th, 5th and 6th instar larvae following repeated cold exposure. In addition, the results revealed evidence of cold hardening in this invasive insect pest. However, there was no correlation between cold tolerance and BWC as well as BLC. Our results show capacity for cold hardening and population persistence of S. frugiperda in cooler environments. This suggests potential of fall armyworm (FAW) to withstand considerable harsh winter environments typical of its recently invaded geographic range in sub-Saharan Africa.

The collection contained no new species; but, as little is known of the COCCIDAE inhabiting the Fiji Islands, it will be useful to place the names on record.

Experiments were carried out to remove existing doubts about the toxicity (and therefore cost per unit killing power) of malathion to adults of Schistocerca gregaria (Forsk.) which have arisen from earlier field and laboratory tests. Malathion is shown to be almost as toxic to these insects as γ-BHC, but superior in speed of action. These observations are in agreement with the performance of these two compounds in the field.

Subdivision of a dose of malathion with simultaneous application at two loci increased its toxicity. This, as well as other factors, brings the value of LD50 determinations into question. Recommendations for large-scale use of new insectsicides, based only on laboratory data, may not always be reliable.

Nymph and adult populations of Diclidophlebia eastopi Vondráček and D. harrisoni Osisanya were counted weekly on 3- or 4-year-old trees, Triplochiton scleroxylon, in Nigeria during 1966–71. D. eastopi showed successively larger peaks in late January or early February, mid-August, and early or mid-September; the smallest populations were in mid or late March. D. harrisoni showed peaks in February, late July or early August, and late October or early November, the second peak being the largest. Multiple regression analysis of Diclidophlebia populations against rainfall, saturation deficit, temperature and time showed that temperature had the greatest, although slight, effect on D. eastopi, while saturation deficit, through the host-plant, had a marked effect on D. harrisoni. D. harrisoni populations were dependent on the availability of young leaves. It is concluded that, to avoid attack by Diclidophlebia, transplanting of Triplochiton seedlings should be in late February or early March.

The larvae of Culicoides circumscriptus Kieff. are mostly negatively phototactic when extracted from mud and placed in water. Experiments show, however, that if kept without food over a period of time a large proportion becomes positively phototactic. The provision of food causes them to revert to a photonegative taxis which may be permanent as long as suitable food is given, or temporary if the food does not satisfy their nutritional requirements. On the other hand, the provision of a completely non-nutritive medium does not bring about such a reversion. The significance of this behaviour is discussed in the light of the habits of the larvae in the field.

Most of the experiments were carried out with batches of fourth-instar larvae, but in a few, third-instar larvae and fourth-instar larvae near to pupation were used. From the results it is suggested that the processes of ecdysis and pupation may bring about a reversal from photonegative to photopositive taxis independent of the need for food.

The significance of the behaviour of the larvae towards light stimuli is discussed in relation to their habits in the field. It is assumed that its function is to maintain the larvae on the surface of the mud while feeding and to drive them below when they have fed, and that some other type of tropism must initially drive them to the surface or keep them below according to their nutritional needs.

It is shown that the behaviour towards light stimuli of the larvae of C. maritimus Kieff. differs somewhat from that of C. circumscriptus and reasons are suggested for this.

A second series of experiments designed to throw some light on the food requirements of the larvae is described. In a discussion on the results of these it is shown that the larvae feed on material both on the surface of the mud and below the surface, and it is suggested that larvae which have fed on sub-surface food become positively phototactic when they require food from the surface and, having fed there, revert to photonegative behaviour. If, however, photopositive larvae have not previously had the opportunity to feed on sub-surface material they continue to act as completely starved larvae and remain photopositive in spite of their having fed on surface material.

The detailed constituents of the larval diet have not been worked out. The larvae appear to be detritus feeders, feeding mainly on vegetable matter and bacteria obtained on or below the surface of the mud, though green algae are not an important part of their diet. They are carnivorous on occasion but are normally not so when other food is readily available. They are selective in their choice of food and at least three factors, sapidity, texture and the size of particles, appear to influence this selection.

The number of wind-borne female Simulium damnosum Theobald sensu lato migrating across territory devoid of breeding populations (the Onchocerciasis Control Programme, OCP) were monitored daily at widely separated sites downwind. The seasonal curves of numbers recorded each day were remarkably similar in pattern at each site with little blurring (although numbers lessened as distance from source increased). The uniformity suggests that each daily batch of S. damnosum moved downwind en bloc with but a small proportion of laggards. To test this hypothesis, model curves were generated, with different proportions of daily laggards, from the data at each sampling site and compared by chi-squared tests with the observed curve at the next site downwind. It was found that, in general, those models that most closely resembled the downwind curves were those with the smallest proportion of laggards. Other aspects of the migration were also considered, notably the factors affecting loss of numbers as distance increased and the interaction between laggards and loss where it was shown that the greater the proportion of laggards the greater will be the daily loss.

An investigation of the “ fly-belts ” in the Ol Orokuti area of the Masai Reserve was carried out early in April 1934, in response to a request from the European farmers of the Sotik district.

The cross-resistance characteristics of a dieldrin-resistant strain of Aedes aegypti (L.) from Puerto Rico were investigated by comparative tests on the adults of this and of a normal strain, using various insecticides. A resistance spectrum typical of that associated with resistance to BHC/dieldrin in other insects was revealed, characterised by slight or negligible cross-resistance to DDT, malathion and diazinon.

The mode of inheritance of dieldrin-resistance was studied by determining resistance levels in the progeny of direct crosses of the resistant and normal strains and of back-crosses. The F1 generation of the direct cross was of intermediate resistance, and the F1 generation showed 1:2:1 segregation into normal, intermediate and resistant individuals. Both back-crosses showed 1:1 segregation into susceptible and intermediate individuals when the back-cross was to the susceptible parent, or into intermediate and resistant individuals when it was to the resistant parent, and these results were confirmed when one genotype was eliminated and the back-cross was repeated. These results indicate monofactorial inheritance of an autosomal gene with intermediate dominance, which is typical of the BHC/dieldrin type of resistance.

The gene encoding juvenile hormone response (Krüppel homolog1, Kr-hl) in Coccinella septempunctata was investigated by cloning and analysing expression profiles in different developmental stages and tissues by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). C. septempunctata Kr-hl (CsKr-hl) encoded a 1338 bp open reading frame (ORF) with a predicted protein product of 445 amino acids; the latter showed high similarity to orthologs in other species and contained eight highly-conserved Zn-finger motifs for DNA-binding. CsKr-hl was expressed in different developmental stages of C. septempunctata. The expression levels of CsKr-hl in eggs, 2nd, 3rd, 4th instar larvae, and pupa were 3.31, 2.30, 7.09, 0.58, and 7.48 times the number of 1st instar larvae, respectively. CsKr-hl expression levels in female adults gradually increased at 25–30 days and were significantly higher than expression at 1–20 days. CsKr-hl expression in 20–30 days-old male adults was significantly higher than males aged 1–15 days. CsKr-hl expression levels in heads of male and female adults were significantly higher than expression levels in the thorax, adipose, and reproductive system. Interestingly, CsKr-hl expression levels in the adipose and reproductive system of female adults were significantly higher than in adult male corresponding organs, which suggest that CsKr-hl plays an important role in regulating reproductive development in C. septempunctata.

The Pentatomid bug, Scotinophara lurida (Burm.), is a serious pest of the rice crop in certain areas of Ceylon. Five or six generations develop on the two annual rice crops, and that which attains the adult stage at the time of harvest of either crop ‘aestivates’ and does not become sexually mature until later. The generations that become adult earlier in each crop season become sexually mature forthwith, and mate and oviposit.

In 1952, laboratory experiments to ascertain the susceptibility of adults of S. lurida to a range of modern organic insecticides, and field experiments on insecticidal control, were initiated. The insecticides tested were DDT, BHC, endrin, dieldrin, malathion, Chlorthion, Guthion, Dipterex, diazinon and parathion.

In the laboratory, freshly emerged, sexually mature and aestivating bugs were tested separately by topical application on the abdomen, and it was found that the insecticides could be arranged in the following descending order of toxicity, based on the LD50, against the sexually mature adult:— γ BHC, endrin, dieldrin, parathion, Dipterex, Chlorthion, diazinon, Guthion, malathion, DDT. The adults of the aestivating generations, at least prior to becoming sexually mature, were markedly more resistant to all the insecticides tested than were sexually mature bugs of uninterrupted development, the resistance ranging from two-fold to nineteen-fold that of the latter.

There is some indication that tolerance to every insecticide does not necessarily increase with increasing age and sexual maturity of the normal adult bug. Thus, whereas with the organophosphorus insecticides increasing sexual maturity is associated with an increase in tolerance, with DDT and endrin the bugs appear to become more susceptible with increasing sexual maturity, while with γ BHC and dieldrin there is little change.

The chlorinated hydrocarbon insecticides DDT, toxaphene, chlordane, aldrin, dieldrin, endrin, isodrin and γ BHC and the organophosphorus insecticides malathion, diazinon, Dipterex, Chlorthion, Guthion and parathion have been tested as emulsion sprays against S. lurida in the field. DDT and toxaphene gave the poorest results with about 85 per cent, control of the pest in 24 hours when applied at and above a concentration of 0·045 per cent, active ingredient. The other insecticides are arranged thus in descending order of efficacy against the pest considering the minimum dosage required to give 100 per cent, or near 100 per cent, control within 24 hours of application of the treatment: —parathion 0·02 per cent.→ endrin 0·03 per cent. = Chlorthion 0·03 per cent.→ Dipterex 0·03–0·04 per cent.=Guthion 0·02 per cent.→ dieldrin 0·06 per cent.= malathion 0·06 per cent.= γ BHC 0·06 per cent. → diazinon 0·07 per cent. Aldrin and isodrin were of about equal effectiveness giving about 90 per cent, control of the pest within 24 hours when applied at a concentration of 0·06 per cent, active ingredient.

Of the dusts tested, both γ BHC at 1·3 per cent, and dieldrin at 2·5 per cent, gave 100 per cent, control of the pest in 24 hours when applied under still and dewy conditions obtaining in the morning. Under dry, windy conditions however, γ BHC at 1·3 per cent, and 3 per cent, gave better control of the pest than did dieldrin or aldrin dusts.

Parathion, dieldrin, endrin, Metasystox and Ekatin were tested for residual action against S. lurida on the rice crop. Parathion was the most effective residually for a period of two days with dieldrin coming next in order of residual effectiveness.

Metasystox and Ekatin were tested for their systemic action against S. lurida on three-week-old and ten-week-old rice plants as foliar sprays and as root treatments. Systemic action of a low order of effectiveness against the pest was demonstrated in all cases but the poor results achieved and the high rates of application involved did not warrant their consideration for practical field use.

The egg, five larval instars and pupa of Milionia isodoxa Prout are described, and the adult is redescribed. Setal maps for the first and fifth larval instars are presented.

Of 11 chemosterilants tested on adult males of Ephestia kuehniella Zell., only tepa induced complete sterility. It also induced complete sterility in females of E. kuehniella. Hempa showed weak sterilising activity against adult males and had no sterility effect against the females, even at dose levels that induced high mortality. Cycloheximide induced slight sterility in the males. Carbaryl was inactive as a sterilising agent but induced some of the males to produce spermatophore sacs without mating. The latter effect was also induced in a few males by injection of tri-, penta- or hexamethylmelamines, which also induced significant infertility in eggs of untreated females mated with treated males. No structure-activity relationship existed in this group of compounds. Hemel also induced two mating aberrations: permanent copulation and sterile mating. A juvenile hormone analogue (a mixture of 3 hydrochlorinated farnesoates with activity about 1% of that of natural juvenile hormone) induced significant sterility in adult females of E. kuehniella when applied topically. It also caused 38–41% reduction in oviposition at 50–80 μg/adult. However, at 100 μg/adult, the analogue completely inhibited mating in the females. Injected doses of melatonin also caused significant reduction in oviposition. At 5·3 μg/adult, it induced most of the eggs laid to undergo incomplete development. The effects of these compounds are discussed. The sterility indices of tepa against adult male and female E. kuehniella were 19·5 and 9·2, respectively; that for hemel against males was 1·4.

The following species and varieties have been found in the Malay Archipelago*:—

Myzomyia: ludlowi, rossii, vaga (indefinita), flava, minima, minima var. aconita.

Neomyzomyia: leucosphyra.. punctulata var. tesselata.

Cellia: kochi.

Myzorhynchus: sinensis, sinensis var. vanus and var. separatus, barbiiostris, barbirostris var. pallidus, albotaeniatus, mauritianus, umbrosus, gigas

Nyssorhynchus: fuliginosus, maculatus, schiifEneri, karwari, jamesi, annulipes var. moluccensis.

Stethomyia: aitkenii, aitkenii var. insulae-florum and var. papuae.

Closely allied to Ceratitis, MacLeay, and agreeing therewith in thoracic chætotaxy† and, venation : differing in general facies of body, in shape of scutellum, and in that of ovipositor, the first segment of which, instead of being flattened and truncate triangular in shape, is thickened and tubular, resembling that of Urophora.

During initial screening of the synthetic pyrethroid lamdacyhalothrin (PP 321) at a concentration of 44 and 22 mg/l and applied as a 30 ml drench over each plant against third to fourth instar cutworms, Agrotis segetum (Denis & Schiffermüller) in microplots, few died but they did not damage the plants. Reducing the concentrations to 11 and 5.5 mg/l increased mortality and plant damage. When A. segetum were confined on soil treated with the insecticide at concentrations of 22, 11 and 5.5 mg/l and sprayed at an equivalent rate of 500 l/ha, they all died within one day. The higher concentrations appeared to have a repellent and/or antifeedant effect, and it has been possible to reduce the concentration of lamdacyhalothrin to 12.5 mg/l (≡5.6g a.i./ha) for the drench treatment without risking economic plant damage. For insecticides that have repellent and/or antifeedant properties, it should be possible to balance lower concentrations with adequate protection of plants from pest damage.

The oriental armyworm Mythimna separata (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is a major migratory pest of cereal crops in East Asia, South Asia and Australia. To comprehensively understand the ecological tolerance of M. separata, we collected life table data of individuals from four consecutive generations reared under outdoor natural fluctuating temperatures from 15 April to 17 October 2018 in Yangling, Shaanxi, China. The results showed that the immature stage in early summer and summer were shorter than in spring and autumn. High mortality in late larval instar and pupal stages was observed in the summer generation. The adult pre-oviposition period in autumn was longer than the other seasons. The population in the earlier two seasons had heavier pupae and higher fecundity than the population in the latter two seasons. The intrinsic rate of increase and the finite rate of increase was the highest in early summer (r = 0.1292 day−1, λ = 1.1391 day−1), followed by spring (r = 0.1102 day−1, λ = 1.1165 day−1), and was the lowest in summer (r = 0.0281 day−1, λ = 1.0293 day−1). The results of this study would be useful to predict the population dynamics of M. separata and deepen our standing of the adaptiveness of this migratory pest in natural fluctuating ambient environments.

In biological control, successful establishment of a natural enemy species depends on its adaptability in the introduced range including its ability to re-establish desired ecological interactions with the pest. These are affected by genetic parameters hitherto largely unresolved in biological control. The larger grain borer (LGB), Prostephanus truncatus, an invasive species from meso-America, is the most important post-harvest pest of maize in Africa. We studied the genetic structure of Teretrius nigrescens, a predatory beetle previously released for the control of the pest in Africa, to test the hypothesis that establishment patterns were a result of ecotype–environment mismatch and to follow up on our earlier reports of distinct lineages of the predator. We studied 13 populations of T. nigrescens, using 16 polymorphic microsatellite markers. Five genetic populations with a hierarchical structure and significant isolation by distance were detected. The most diverse population was found in southern Mexico, consistent with earlier lineage coexistence observations. Populations introduced to Africa maintained genetic similarity to local geographic populations of their area of origin. The more successful Benin releases were also more genetically diverse. Loss of rare alleles and a higher frequency of existing private alleles in some populations indicated population expansions following bottleneck events. Sustainable biological control should accommodate pest and natural enemy species, and monitor genetic changes associated with introduction and release.

The ability to insert foreign genes into arthropod genomes has led to a diverse set of potential applications for transgenic arthropods, many of which are designed to advance public health or improve agricultural production. New techniques for expressing foreign genes in arthropods have now been successfully used in at least 18 different genera. However, advances in field biology are lagging far behind those in the laboratory, and considerable work is needed before deployment in nature can be a reality. A mechanism to drive the gene of interest though a natural population must be developed and thoroughly evaluated before any field release, but progress in this area has been limited. Likewise, serious consideration of potential risks associated with deployment in nature has been lacking. This review gives an overview of the most promising techniques for expressing foreign genes in arthropods, considers the potential risks associated with their deployment, and highlights the areas of research that are most urgently needed for the field to advance out of the laboratory and into practice.