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.

Applications of entomopathogenic nematodes in the families Steinernematidae and Heterorhabditidae have traditionally been targeted against soil insects. Nonetheless, research over the last two decades highlights the potential of such agents against above-ground pests under certain circumstances. A general linear model was used to test for patterns in efficacy among 136 published trials with Steinernema carpocapsae Weiser, the most common species applied against foliar and other above-ground pests. The focus was on field and greenhouse assessments, rather than laboratory assays where relevant ecological barriers to infection are typically removed. The model showed differences in nematode treatment efficacy depending on the pests’ target habitat (bore holes > cryptic foliage > exposed foliage) and trial location (greenhouse > field studies). Relative humidity and temperature during and up to 8 h post-application were also predicted to influence rates of nematode infection obtained. Conversely, spray adjuvants (both wetting agents and anti-desiccants) and nematode dosage applied (both concentration and use of consecutive applications 3–4 days apart) did not explain a significant amount of variance in nematode performance. With reference to case studies the model is used to discuss the relative importance of different factors on nematode efficacy and highlight priorities for workers considering using entomopathogenic nematodes to target pests in novel environments.

While lures of plant origin are vital tools in dacine (Diptera: Tephritidae) pest management, the ecological and evolutionary significance of this lure response remains enigmatic. Two hypotheses (the ancestral host hypothesis and sexual selection by female choice) have been invoked to explain the functional significance of these chemicals to dacine fruit flies. These hypotheses are often treated as alternatives to one another and evidence favouring one is used to reject the other. This review highlights that these two hypotheses are not logical alternatives to each other as the ancestral host hypothesis attempts to explain the ultimate function of the response of Dacinae to these plant-derived parapheromones while the sexual selection hypothesis provides a proximate explanation for lure response. Research on lure response, dacine mating behaviour, functional significance of lures, plant phylogeny and biochemistry and dacine pheromone chemistry are used to evaluate the evidence in relation to both these hypotheses. Some of the key findings are that there is evidence both in support of and against these two hypotheses. Response of fruit flies to related phenyl propanoids to those commonly used as lures in pest management and distribution of phenyl propanoids attractive to dacines among plant orders strongly support the ancestral host hypothesis. Evidence from pheromone chemistry, dacine mating behaviour and the functional significance of lures both support and contradict the sexual selection hypothesis. Lures appear to have different proximate functions in different dacine species. Considerably greater research is needed to clarify the functional role of phytochemical lures to dacine fruit flies. The two prevalent hypotheses should be investigated independently. Specific research on dacine phylogeny and distribution of lures in plants in relation to ecological roles played by adult dacines is required to elucidate the ultimate roles of the chemicals. Exploration of female response to lures and the behavioural consequences of dacine response to these chemicals to both the insect and plant may shed light on the proximate functions of these chemicals.

Neotropical grass-feeding spittlebugs of several genera are important pests of pasture grasses from the southeastern USA to northern Argentina, and of sugarcane from southern Mexico to southern Brazil, causing estimated reductions of up to 70% in yield and estimated monetary losses of US $840–2100 million annually. With few exceptions, the species badly damaged by these spittlebugs are introduced C4 grasses that exhibit associative nitrogen fixation. This study synthesizes evidence that the pest status of many tropical and subtropical grass-feeding spittlebugs is linked to associative N-fixation in their C4 hosts. Recognition that associative N-fixation is a major factor in spittlebug host preferences should deepen understanding of spittlebug agricultural ecology and facilitate efforts to combat spittlebug pests. In particular, spittlebugs should be susceptible to manipulation of xylem transport solutes. However, reduction of nitrate fertilizer rates, increase in ammonium fertilizer rates, or enhancement of associative N-fixation as a consequence of genetic engineering could make hosts more susceptible to spittlebug attack. Because of their predilection for C4 grasses, spittlebugs present a clear counterexample to the hypothesis that herbivores prefer C3 plants to C4 plants. Finally, it appears that declines in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels during recent geological history promoted the proliferation of C4 grasses. This, compounded by human agricultural activities, has driven an ecological and evolutionary radiation of grass-feeding spittlebugs that presents continuing opportunities for the evolution of spittlebug pests.

Forager population sizes of colonies of Coptotermes lacteus(Froggatt) in New South Wales were estimated using two methods: mark–recapture and constant removal, in two disturbed habitats: a pine plantation and cleared farmland. Mark–recapture population estimates were unrealistic and unreliable: they could be improbably large, over 200 million foragers, and they varied enormously between samples for each colony without any pattern. The constant removal population estimates could also be unrealistic: they could be negative or quite different when calculated using regression and maximum likelihood methods. However, the unrealistic results could be predicted reliably, and explained by the lack of re-contact with the sampling devices (bait stations) – a violation of an assumption of the method. This happened more frequently in the plantation than in the farmland, probably because of the greater abundance of alternative food sources in the plantation. Of the two methods, constant removal provided reasonable forager population estimates, relative to direct counts, at least some of the time, plus a mechanism by which reliability could be tested, whereas mark–recapture provided neither. Further refinement and testing of constant removal methods are urged to provide a more reliable population estimation technique for termites.

Mounting levels of insecticide resistance within Australian Helicoverpa spp. populations have resulted in the adoption of non-chemical IPM control practices such as trap cropping with chickpea, Cicer arietinum (L.). However, a new leaf blight disease affecting chickpea in Australia has the potential to limit its use as a trap crop. Therefore this paper evaluates the potential of a variety of winter-active legume crops for use as an alternative spring trap crop to chickpea as part of an effort to improve the area-wide management strategy for Helicoverpa spp. in central Queensland's cotton production region. The densities of Helicoverpa eggs and larvae were compared over three seasons on replicated plantings of chickpea, Cicer arietinum (L.), field pea Pisum sativum (L), vetch, Vicia sativa (L.) and faba bean, Vicia faba from the plants after oviposition. Plantings of field pea as a replacement trap crop for chickpea under commercial conditions confirmed the high level of attractiveness of this crop to ovipositing moths. The use of field pea as a trap crop as part of an area-wide management programme for Helicoverpa spp. is discussed.

The population densities of Aedes aegypti Linneaus in four towns in Trinidad were studied using standard house-to-house inspections of all water-holding containers to determine whether persistently positive containers and premises existed over a three-month period in the wet season, from May to July 2002. From a total of 1503 houses inspected, 223 were positive with 41 persistently positive over the three month period and classified as ‘key premises’. The definition of the term key premises is described and the rationale for its utilization discussed. A total of 24,439 containers was inspected from Santa Margarita (6407), Mt Lambert (5709), St Augustine (5384) and Curepe (6939) of which 1.3% or 334 containers were positive for A. aegypti larvae and pupae. A total of 16,507 immatures of A. aegypti were retrieved from these containers which comprised 17 container types but when these were ranked according to productivity levels, only water drums (average 53.5%), buckets (22.2%), tubs and basins (8.0%), water tanks (5.4%), brick holes (4.2%) and tyres (2.0%) were significant (P < 0.001) producers. The role that key premises play in the introduction and re-infestation of A. aegypti-free communities is described and illustrated. These results suggest that A. aegypti control programmes could be more cost effective and sustainable by concentrating efforts on key premises and key containers to control mosquito densities and Dengue transmission while reducing manpower needs and insecticide use.

The quantification of host–parasite associations from field data is a fundamental step towards understanding host–parasite and host-parasite–pathogen dynamics. For parasites that are not rigid host specialists, exemplified in this paper by ticks, the interpretation of host–parasite association data is difficult. Interpretations of tick collection records have largely assumed that off-host collection records offer a valid basis from which to make claims about the host specificity or generality of tick species. A simple simulation analysis of rudimentary tick–host interactions in a hypothetical 50 × 50-cell habitat demonstrates that perceptions of tick–host relationships can be strongly biased by spatial patterns. Regardless of their true level of host specificity or generality, it seems that: (i) more abundant ticks will be perceived as generalists, while rarer species will be considered specialists; and (ii) tick species that have patchy, strongly aggregated distributions will be more likely to be perceived as host specialists than species that have more dispersed or uniform distributions. Since all available evidence suggests that abundances and spatial patterns vary between tick species, there is no way of assessing the true validity of claims about host specificity without first undertaking detailed research on the relative abundances and spatial and temporal patterns of both tick and host distributions.

Discriminant function and cluster analyses were performed on 19 morphometric variables of the aculeus, wing and mesonotum to determine whether populations of Anastrepha fraterculus (Wiedemann) from different parts of Mexico could be distinguished from populations from South America., Samples were collected from seven localities across Mexico, two from Brazil, and one each from Colombia and Argentina. Results showed there were statistically significant differences between Mexican and South American populations with respect to the aculeus (tip length, length of serrated section, mean number of teeth) and wing (width of S-band and connection between S- and V-bands). The degree of morphological variation observed among Mexican populations was extremely low, and as a consequence, the Mexican populations were identified as a single morphotype by discriminant analysis. The ‘Andean morphotype’ consisting of the Colombian population, and the ‘Brazilian morphotype’ consisting of the two Brazilian populations plus the single Argentinian population were also distinguished. It was concluded that the macro-geographical morphotypes from Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil plus Argentina correspond to three distinct taxonomic entities. Comparisons of results with those obtained from behavioural, karyotypic, isozyme and DNA studies suggest that sufficient evidence now exists to name a new Mexican species from within the A. fraterculus complex. This will be done in a separate publication. A provisional key to the morphotypes of A. fraterculus studied is provided.

Feeding and oviposition in the pine weevil Hylobius abietis (Linnaeus) were monitored under laboratory conditions in two long-term experiments lasting over an extended breeding season. Data were also collected from weevils under semi-natural conditions outdoors. In addition, the effects of crowding and starvation were studied in separate experiments. During the main peak oviposition period, female H. abietis consumed 50% more bark tissue than males. When oviposition ceased, the feeding rate of the females declined to the same level as in the males. The rates and spatial distribution patterns of oviposition and feeding were clearly affected by climatic conditions and the degree of crowding. Females were estimated to lay on average 0.8 eggs per day during the season under outdoor conditions. The realized fecundity of a female weevil during the first season was estimated to be approximately 70 eggs. The estimated average rate of feeding was 23 mm2 of Scots pine bark per weevil per day. This implies that planted seedlings can only constitute a minor part of the food resources needed to sustain H. abietispopulations of the size that usually appear on fresh clear-cuttings in northern Europe.

The arthropod species richness of pastures in three Azorean islands was used to examine the relationship between local and regional species richness over two years. Two groups of arthropods, spiders and sucking insects, representing two functionally different but common groups of pasture invertebrates were investigated. The local–regional species richness relationship was assessed over relatively fine scales: quadrats (= local scale) and within pastures (= regional scale). Mean plot species richness was used as a measure of local species richness (= α diversity) and regional species richness was estimated at the pasture level (= γ diversity) with the ‘first-order-Jackknife’ estimator. Three related issues were addressed: (i) the role of estimated regional species richness and variables operating at the local scale (vegetation structure and diversity) in determining local species richness; (ii) quantification of the relative contributions of α and β diversity to regional diversity using additive partitioning; and (iii) the occurrence of consistent patterns in different years by analysing independently between-year data. Species assemblages of spiders were saturated at the local scale (similar local species richness and increasing β-diversity in richer regions) and were more dependent on vegetational structure than regional species richness. Sucking insect herbivores, by contrast, exhibited a linear relationship between local and regional species richness, consistent with the proportional sampling model. The patterns were consistent between years. These results imply that for spiders local processes are important, with assemblages in a particular patch being constrained by habitat structure. In contrast, for sucking insects, local processes may be insignificant in structuring communities.

The tobacco-feeding race of Myzus persicae (Sulzer), formerly known as M. nicotianae Blackman, was introduced into Chile during the last decade. In order to evaluate the genetic diversity and insecticide resistance status of Chilean tobacco aphid populations, a field survey was conducted in 35 tobacco fields covering a 300 km latitudinal survey. The populations sampled were characterized using microsatellite markers and morphometric multivariate analysis. Insecticide resistance levels were assessed through a microplate esterase assay and the mutation status of the kdr gene. All samples collected corresponded to the same anholocyclic aphid genotype, and showed morphological variation within the range expected for the tobacco-feeding race of M. persicae. Esterase activity showed the level and variability expected for an R1 clone lacking mutations in the sodium channels (susceptible kdr), thus corresponding to a type slightly resistant to organophosphate and carbamate, and susceptible to pyrethroid insecticides.

Recognition of Orthoptera species by means of their song is widely used in field work but requires expertise. It is now possible to develop computer-based systems to achieve the same task with a number of advantages including continuous long term unattended operation and automatic species logging. The system described here achieves automated discrimination between different species by utilizing a novel time domain signal coding technique and an artificial neural network. The system has previously been shown to recognize 25 species of British Orthoptera with 99% accuracy for good quality sounds. This paper tests the system on field recordings of four species of grasshopper in northern England in 2002 and shows that it is capable of not only correctly recognizing the target species under a range of acoustic conditions but also of recognizing other sounds such as birds and man-made sounds. Recognition accuracies for the four species of typically 70–100% are obtained for field recordings with varying sound intensities and background signals.

Species richness and abundance of staphylinid and carabid beetles overwintering in winter wheat fields and 1- to 3-year-old wildflower areas were investigated during 2000/2001 on 16 study sites in Switzerland. Abundance and species richness of overwintering staphylinids significantly increased with successional age of the wildflower areas and were always higher in older wildflower areas than in winter wheat. A similar but less distinct pattern was observed for the abundance and species richness of carabid beetles. The influence of habitat parameters (vegetation cover, fine sand content, organic matter, pH, soil pore volume, surrounding landscape structure, habitat area) on the staphylinid and carabid assemblages based on the number of individuals per species and site was analysed using canonical correspondence analysis. Vegetation cover was the most significant parameter significantly characterizing both staphylinid and carabid assemblages. The amount of vegetation cover explained 15.7% of the variance, fine sand content accounted for 13.3% and surrounding landscape structure for 10.9% of the variance in the staphylinid assemblage. In the carabid assemblage, vegetation cover was the only significant factor, explaining 24.7% of the variance. This study showed for the first time that the significance of wildflower areas as a reservoir for hibernation for generalist predatory beetles increases with progressing successional age.

The sudden decline following the peak in population abundance of aphids on crops of small grain cereals is attributed to the joint effect of natural enemies and plant senescence. To distinguish between these causes, a four year experiment was established in which the numbers of Metopolophium dirhodum (Walker) infesting spring wheat plots sown from April to June at c. 14 day intervals were determined. Aphid abundance in replicates sown at successive dates peaked within a period of 5–9 days (106–171 day degrees above a base temperature of 0°C) although their sowing dates varied by 62–97 days (727–1106 day degrees). At the time of the aphid population peaks, plants in the different sowings differed in age (11–99 days), developmental stage (stage 15–65 on the Zadoks scale), leaf nitrogen content and shoot mass. Maximum abundance of M. dirhodum decreased with sowing date because the time available for its population increase was shorter on late than early sowings. The abundance of M. dirhodum on spring wheat was similar to its abundance on winter wheat. After reaching peak abundance, aphids declined in numbers within 3–7 days. The effect of host plant ageing on the M. dirhodumdecline thus appeared small. Natural enemies (largely mycoses), and timing of alata production may have contributed to the aphid decline.

The accumulation and transmission of tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) was examined in second instar larvae and adults of two thrips genera, Frankliniella and Thrips. The species tested were F. occidentalis (Pergande), F. intonsa (Trybom), T. tabaciLindeman, T. setosus Moulton, T. palmi Karny and T. hawaiiensis (Morgan). In a standard petunia leaf disc assay, the efficiencies of TSWV transmission by two species of Frankliniella were higher than those of any Thrips species in the adult stage. A triple antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (TAS-ELISA) showed that large amounts of the TSWV-nucleocapsid (N) protein were present in the ELISA-positive larvae of each species, with the exception of T. palmi. The ELISA titre of and the proportion of virus-infected individuals of the two Frankliniella species increased or did not significantly change from the larval to the adult stages, whereas those of the four Thrips species decreased significantly. These results show that the specificity of virus transmission by adult thrips is probably affected by the amount of viral N protein accumulation in the adults and that the accumulation pattern from the larval to the adult stages is in between the two genera tested in the present study.

Field enclosure and laboratory cage experiments designed to measure the impact of the parasitoid Microctonus hyperodae Loan on the Argentine stem weevil, Listronotus bonariensis (Kuschel) have shown that under high parasitoid pressure, there is significant weevil mortality without obvious parasitism. Parasitoid-exposed, but unparasitized portions of caged populations died at rates significantly higher than both the parasitized weevils from the same population and the unexposed controls. Unexpectedly, parasitized weevils had the lowest mortality rates (prior to larval parasitoid emergence). It was of ecological significance that this mortality effect was detected under field conditions using several years of empirically-collected population dynamics data. Under both field and laboratory conditions this mortality was found to occur within shorter time intervals than that required for full parasitoid larval development; thus it could not be attributed to the mortality that occurs after the emergence of prepupal parasitoids. The mechanism for this mortality remains undetermined, although it could possibly be linked to pseudoparasitism.

Day and night sampling of windborne arthropods at a height of 200 m above ground was undertaken at Cardington, Bedfordshire, UK, during July 1999, 2000 and 2002, using a net supported by a tethered balloon. The results from this study are compared with those from the classic aerial sampling programmes carried out by Hardy, Freeman and colleagues over the UK and North Sea in the 1930s. In the present study, aerial netting was undertaken at night as well as daytime, and so the diel periodicity of migration could be investigated, and comparisons made with the results from Lewis and Taylor’s extensive survey of flight periodicity near ground level. In some taxa with day-time emigration, quite large populations could continue in high-altitude flight after dark, perhaps to a previously underrated extent, and this would greatly increase their potential migratory range. Any trend towards increases in night temperatures, associated with global warming, would facilitate movements of this type in the UK. Observations on the windborne migration of a variety of species, particularly those of economic significance or of radar-detectable size, are briefly discussed.

The distribution of aphid predators within arable fields has been previously examined using pitfall traps. With this technique predominantly larger invertebrate species are captured, especially Carabidae, but the technique provides no estimate of density unless mark–recapture is used. However, many other numerically important aphid predators occur in arable fields and relatively little is known about their distribution patterns nor whether they exhibit a density-dependent response to patches of cereal aphids. Identification of the most effective predators can allow management practices to be developed accordingly. In this study, the distribution of cereal aphids and their predators was examined by suction sampling within a field of winter wheat in Devon, UK, along with visual estimates of weed patchiness. Sampling was conducted on four occasions in 1999 across a grid of 128 sample locations. The distribution of 11 predatory taxa from the Carabidae, Staphylinidae and Linyphiidae was examined. Additionally, the total number of aphid predators and a predation index were used in these analyses. Carabid adults and larvae, along with staphylinid larvae showed the strongest aggregation into patches and the most temporal stability in their distribution. Other taxa had more ephemeral distributions as did the cereal aphids. The distribution of carabid larvae was disassociated from the distribution of cereal aphids for the first two sampling occasions indicating biocontrol was occurring. Other predatory groups showed both association and disassociation. Carabid larvae, Bathyphantes and total numbers of Linyphiidae showed a strong correlation with weed cover for two of the sample dates. Cereal aphids were disassociated from weed cover on three sampling occasions.

The term ‘dead-end trap cropping’ has recently been proposed to identify a plant that is highly attractive for oviposition by an insect pest, but on which offspring of the pest cannot survive. The potential of the wild crucifer Barbarea vulgaris R. Br. to allure and serve as a dead-end trap crop for the diamondback moth Plutella xylostella (L.), an important pest of cruciferous crops worldwide, was examined in laboratory experiments. When P. xylostella adults were provided with a dual-choice of plants of B. vulgaris, and Chinese cabbage Brassica campestris (L.), in one arena, adult moths laid 2.5–6.8 times more eggs on the former than on the latter. When P. xylostella adults were provided with a dual-choice of plants of B. vulgaris and common cabbage Brassica oleracea L., adult moths laid virtually all their eggs on the former and ignored the latter. Nearly all P. xylostella eggs laid on the three species of plants hatched successfully, but nearly all individuals on plants of B. vulgaris died as neonates or early instar larvae, while 87–100% of the larvae on Chinese cabbage and common cabbage survived to pupation. Dual choice tests with a Y-tube olfactometer showed that volatiles from B. vulgaris were much more attractive to P. xylostella adults than those from common cabbage. The results demonstrate that B. vulgaris has a great potential as a dead-end trap crop for improving management of P. xylostella. Factors that may influence the feasibility of using B. vulgaris as a trap crop in the field are discussed, and ways to utilize this plant are proposed.