Pebrine disease, caused by Nosema bombycis (Nb) infection in silkworms, is a severe and long-standing disease that threatens sericulture. As parasitic pathogens, a complex relationship exists between microsporidia and their hosts at the mitochondrial level. Previous studies have found that the translocator protein (TSPO) is involved in various biological functions, such as membrane potential regulation, mitochondrial autophagy, immune responses, calcium ion channel regulation, and cell apoptosis. In the present study, we found that TSPO expression in silkworms (BmTSPO) was upregulated following Nb infection, leading to an increase in cytoplasmic calcium, adenosine triphosphate, and reactive oxygen species levels. Knockdown and overexpression of BmTSPO resulted in the promotion and inhibition of Nb proliferation, respectively. We also demonstrated that the overexpression of BmTSPO promotes host cell apoptosis and significantly increases the expression of genes involved in the immune deficiency and Janus kinase-signal transducer and the activator of the transcription pathways. These findings suggest that BmTSPO activates the innate immune signalling pathway in silkworms to regulate Nb proliferation. Targeting TSPO represents a promising approach for the development of new treatments for microsporidian infections.

The desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria) is a destructive migratory pest, posing great threat to over 60 countries globally. In the backdrop of climate change, the habitat suitability of desert locusts is poised to undergo alterations. Hence, investigating the shifting dynamics of desert locust habitats holds profound significance in ensuring global agricultural resilience and food security. In this study, we combined the maximum entropy modelling and geographic information system technology to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the impact of climate change on the distribution patterns and habitat adaptability of desert locusts. The results indicate that the suitable areas for desert locusts (0.2976 × 108 km2) are concentrated in northern Africa and southwestern Asia, accounting for 19.97% of the total global land area. Key environmental variables affecting the desert locust distribution include temperature annual range, mean temperature of the coldest quarter, average temperature of February, and precipitation of the driest month. Under the SSP1–2.6 and SSP5–8.5 climate scenarios, potential suitable areas for desert locusts are estimated to increase from 2030 (2021–2040) to 2090 (2081–2100). By 2090, highly suitable areas for SSP1–2.6 and SSP5–8.5 are projected to be 0.0606 × 108 and 0.0891 × 108 km2, respectively, reflecting an expansion of 1.84 and 2.77% compared to existing ones. These research findings provide a theoretical basis for adopting prevention and control strategies for desert locusts.

The following is a summary of the conclusions arrived at in the foregoing paper:—

(1) the species sinensis, barbirostris, umbrosus, albotaeniatus and asiatica have been considered valid;

(2) the species vanus, annularis, minutus, paeditaeniatus and separatus have been rejected as invalid;

(3) certain new characters of the valid species have been noticed;

(4) the descriptions of the species have been revised;

(5) the genus Patagiamyia has been rejected, as also the genus Lophoscelomyia, both having been included in the genus Myzorhynchus;

(6) it is suggested that the Myzorhynchus group forms a series sufficiently distinct from other Anophelines to make it advisable to give it a separate generic title.

Very late on a dark Saturday night in 1953, in the town of Kumasi in what was then the Gold Coast (Ghana), a semi-literate Tribal Policeman accosted a totally illiterate and inebriated employee of mine called Awuni Farafara, with the words ‘Who be You’. Awuni's reply of ‘I be Me’, caused the policeman to retort ‘You Lie!’ and the luckless Awuni was incarcerated for ‘failing to identify himself and thereby hindering the police in the performance of their duty’.

My plea, on his behalf, that Awuni's reply to the policeman was perfectly correct was rejected on the grounds that, ‘Me was not his given name; Me was not the name by which he was known; and Me was not the name by which the police could check their records to see what was known about him’. It further transpired that even if Awuni had given his correct name he would still have been arrested, ‘because it could have been a false name leading the police to false information in their records’. Awuni it seemed was destined to remain in jail until ‘he had been properly identified by someone with the authority to do so’. I had such authority; I did properly identify him; and he was released.

Mosquitoes are vectors of several diseases of medical concern such as malaria or dengue and can also negatively affect tourism and the life-quality of the neighbourhood. The species Aedes mariae (Sergent and Sergent, 1903) is a poorly studied mosquito that breeds in rock-pools of the Mediterranean coast. General Linear Mixed Models (GLMM) were used to determine drivers affecting the presence and abundance of this species. Abiotic and biotic factors were recorded in rock-pools with the presence of Ae. mariae sub-adults across a supralittoral area of Majorca Island (Balearic Islands, Spain) from July 2018 to June 2019. We tested how abiotic factors affected the presence of larvae, while the biotic factors were used to check their effect on larvae abundance. human landing collection was also conducted to assess the adult activity of this species. Valuable data were recorded to improve our knowledge about the bioecology of Ae. mariae in a touristic area of the island of Majorca. Salinity and pH were the most explanatory variables for the presence of Ae. mariae larvae. The presence of Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile 1813 leaves negatively affected the abundance of Ae. mariae larvae while the presence of other fauna enhanced it. Adult females of Ae. mariae were active for 26 min after sunset in June and its host-seeking activity decreased during autumn months. Control methods against this species should be focussed on rock-pools and planning treatments according to tides, waves and precipitation.

Genes involved in melanin production directly impact insect pigmentation and can affect diverse physiology and behaviours. The role these genes have on sex behaviour, however, is unclear. In the present study, the crucial melanin pigment gene black was functionally characterised in an urban pest, the German cockroach, Blattella germanica. RNAi knockdown of B. germanica black (Bgblack) had no effect on survival, but did result in black pigmentation of the thoraxes, abdomens, heads, wings, legs, antennae, and cerci due to cuticular accumulation of melanin. Sex-specific variation in the pigmentation pattern was apparent, with females exhibiting darker coloration on the abdomen and thorax than males. Bgblack knockdown also resulted in wing deformation and negatively impacted the contact sex pheromone-based courtship behaviour of males. This study provides evidence for black function in multiple aspects of B. germanica biology and opens new avenues of exploration for novel pest control strategies.

The brown planthopper Nilaparvata lugens Stål (BPH) can be found year-round in tropical region and causes severe damage to rice. Although there has been documented BPH damage to rice crops in the past decade in Cambodia, the extent of this epidemic is poorly understood. Here, we examined the time variation of BPH population in the abundance of morphotypes in 13 main rice-producing provinces (86 sites) by aspirator method and in the Takeo Province (five sites) by yellow sticky trap method. At least three generations were observed during the 3-month collection period in the rainy growing season. Regarding the occurrence of BPH morphotypes, in July the macropterous adults were restricted to south Cambodia and in August all morphotypes, adults (macropterous and brachypterous) and nymphs, appeared in all sampling sites. To explain the difference of regional distribution, the genetic differentiation was analyzed in south and northwest Cambodia (three sites) by using single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) analysis via genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) using next-generation sequencing. The 2455 SNPs obtained by GBS clarified the three sub-populations and they corresponded to the expected dissemination patterns. These results provide a clue to understand the differentiation and epidemic of BPH in Cambodia.

The southern harvester termite, Microhodotermes viator, is ecologically important due to its nutrient cycling activities and trophic interactions. Additionally, M. viator appears to have very long-lived colonies, which amplifies their effect on the environment. In order to estimate the longevity of a colony it is necessary to understand colony genetic structure. However, intra- and intercolonial genetic structure and levels of relatedness have not yet been examined in this species, likely due to a lack of microsatellite markers that effectively hybridize in this species. Here we describe the identification and characterization of seven microsatellite loci for M. viator, using an enriched approach and a preliminary test of their suitability for studies of fine-scale population genetic structure. Seven polymorphic loci were identified, none of which deviated from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. The loci had an average of 5.8 alleles per locus (range: 2–14) and an overall mean heterozygosity of 0.51 ± 0.3. Across all loci, population level pairwise FST values showed significant genetic differentiation. The loci described and preliminary genetic data presented here provide an invaluable tool for future studies of population structure and longevity in M. viator colonies.

The fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is a highly destructive polyphagous pest that primarily damages maize. Maize is considered a most versatile crop for growing intercrops due to the wide row it needs. Maize–pea intercropping is preferred by small and marginal farmers worldwide due to various advantages including higher yield and improved economic benefits. However, the success of this intercropping system may be hampered if pea could sustain the FAW population. Thus, to clarify the fitness and potential effect of S. frugiperda on pea, we analysed the survival and development of S. frugiperda fed on pea leaves in the laboratory and constructed age-stage and two-sex life tables. Results showed that FAW successfully completed its life cycle when fed on pea and produced fertile offspring. The pre-adult duration was significantly higher on pea than maize. The net reproductive rate, intrinsic and finite rate of population increase on pea (135.06 offspring per individual, 0.12 offspring per individual per day and 1.13 times per day) were all significantly different from those on maize (417.64 offspring per individual, 0.19 offspring per individual per day and 1.21 times per day). The probability of survival of S. frugiperda at each stage was lower when fed on pea leaves than that of maize-fed larvae. Due to the overlapping growth periods of the maize and pea, S. frugiperda can easily proliferate throughout the year by shifting between adjacent crops. Thus, this study revealed the adaptability of S. frugiperda for pea and provides the foundation for further assessment of FAW risk to other inter-crops.

Peach-potato aphids, Myzus persicae Sulzer (Hemiptera:Aphididae), and cabbage aphids, Brevicoryne brassicae Linnaeus (Hemiptera:Aphididae), are herbivorous insects of significant agricultural importance. Aphids can harbour a range of non-essential (facultative) endosymbiotic bacteria that confer multiple costs and benefits to the host aphid. A key endosymbiont-derived phenotype is protection against parasitoid wasps, and this protective phenotype has been associated with several defensive enodsymbionts. In recent years greater emphasis has been placed on developing alternative pest management strategies, including the increased use of natural enemies such as parasitoids wasps. For the success of aphid control strategies to be estimated the presence of defensive endosymbionts that can potentially disrupt the success of biocontrol agents needs to be determined in natural aphid populations. Here, we sampled aphids and mummies (parasitised aphids) from an important rapeseed production region in Germany and used multiplex PCR assays to characterise the endosymbiont communities. We found that aphids rarely harboured facultative endosymbionts, with 3.6% of M. persicae and 0% of B. brassicae populations forming facultative endosymbiont associations. This is comparable with endosymbiont prevalence described for M. persicae populations surveyed in Australia, Europe, Chile, and USA where endosymbiont infection frequencies range form 0–2%, but is in contrast with observations from China where M. persicae populations have more abundant and diverse endosymbiotic communities (endosymbionts present in over 50% of aphid populations).

Invasive species threaten biodiversity on a global scale. The success of invasions depends on the species' adaptation to the different environmental conditions of new territories. Studies show that invasive insects present evolutionary changes in wing morphology in areas they are introduced to in response to abiotic conditions. In the last decade, the Asian Drosophila nasuta fly invaded and spread widely throughout Brazil. This insect has preferences for conserved environments and is related to the likely reduction in the abundance of native drosophilids in the Atlantic Forest. Ecological niche modelling analyses showed that rainfall and temperature are the main factors which delimit the geographic distribution of this species. Herein, we verified the existence of significant differences in the wing sizes of D. nasuta in Brazil and evaluated the influence of abiotic factors (rainfall and temperature) on the observed patterns. We conducted 11 measurements on the right-side wings of 240 D. nasuta males collected in the Amazon Forest, Caatinga, Cerrado and Atlantic Forest. Statistical analyses revealed the existence of two groups: one with larger wings, which brought together samples from locations with the lowest temperatures; and one with smaller wings, which corresponded to places with a hotter climate. One explanation for this result is the fact that large wings favour greater heat capture by flies in colder climates, increasing their survival chances in these environments. These rapid evolutionary changes in D. nasuta in this first decade of invasion in Brazil reveal the enormous adaptive potential of this species in this megadiverse country.

During the past year (1914) the coconut palms in the city of Georgetown have been rather severely attacked hy the larvae of the Coconut Butterfly, Brassolis sophorae, L.

Lutzomyia verrucarum (Townsend) is an abundant anthropophilic phlebotomine sandfly in the Peruvian Andes between 1500 m and 3000 m asl, where it has been incriminated as a vector of both Leishmania peruviana (cutaneous leishmaniasis) and Bartonella bacilliformis (bartonellosis). Previous studies of this vector demonstrated that sandfly activity, measured by sticky traps, was related to crop type. In this paper, we report the results of a field experiment in Peru (Department of Ancash) which show that a single human host in a crop does not attract Lu. verrucarum from distances of 5 m or more, and that there is a positive correlation between the number of Lu. verrucarum collected by sticky traps and the number attracted to a human host in the same field. The results imply that variation in sandfly activity between crop types could lead to differential risk of both leishmaniasis and bartonellosis for humans working at night in different crops.

Descriptions are given of all growth stages of Valanga nigricornis nigricornis (Burm.). The hopper instars (normally six in the male and seven in the female) could be distinguished by the development of the external genitalia. Under laboratory conditions (mean 27–9°C and 80% r.h.), the life-cycle was completed in 6½–8½ months, and the females had a mean fecundity of 158. Crowding slowed the growth rate of the adults, extended the pre-oviposition period from 60 to 65 days at 30–9°C and reduced fecundity. It is concluded that the low fecundity and slow life-cycle preclude the possibility of the species becoming a widespread pest.

Megaselia arietina Disney sp. n. is described from Yugoslavia and Israel. Its larva leaf-mines chickpeas, Cicer arietinum. In Macedonia, recorded rates of infestation varied from 48.5–74.8% of the available leaves on a plant, with more than 60% of the leaves in a plot being typical. These levels of infestation seem to be related to the poor yields from the affected plots. The leaf-spot fungus Ascochyta rabiei (Coelomycetes) and the rust fungus Uromyces ciceri arietini (Uredinales) contribute to these reduced yields. The Uromyces spores are ingested by the female flies, but they are carried on the labella of the males without being ingested.

In the few published accounts of insects belonging to the genus Nysius attacking crops in South Africa, the specific name of the Lygaeid concerned has always been given as binotatus, Germ., known locally as the common stinkvlieg, this species having been recorded as attacking not only fruit, potatoes and sunflower seed-heads, but also as being a household pest.