scholarly journals Studies on evaluation of Nesidiocoris tenuis (Reuter) (Hemiptera: Miridae) preying on invasive insect pest Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) and its damage to tomato plant

2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 69-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
RICHA VARSHNEY ◽  
CHANDISH R. BALLAL ◽  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Tomato Plant ◽  
Insect Pest ◽  
Tuta Absoluta ◽  
Invasive Insect ◽  
Nesidiocoris Tenuis

scholarly journals dsRNA-Mediated Pest Management of Tuta absoluta Is Compatible with Its Biological Control Agent Nesidiocoris tenuis

Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 274
Author(s):  
Nomi Sarmah ◽  
Athanasios Kaldis ◽  
Clauvis Nji Tizi Taning ◽  
Dionysios Perdikis ◽  
Guy Smagghe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biological Control ◽  
Integrated Pest Management ◽  
Pest Management ◽  
Biological Control Agent ◽  
Insect Pest ◽  
Tuta Absoluta ◽  
Oral Exposure ◽  
Worst Case ◽  
Insect Management ◽  
Nesidiocoris Tenuis

RNAi-mediated insect pest management has recently shown promising results against the most serious pest of tomato, the tomato leafminer, Tuta absoluta. This study aimed to investigate whether dsRNA (dsTa-αCOP) designed to target the T. absoluta-αCOP gene could cause adverse effects to its biocontrol agent, the mirid predator, Nesidiocoris tenuis. Oral exposure of N. tenuis to dsRNA (dsNt-αCOP) designed to target N. tenuis-αCOP resulted in a 61%, 67% and 55% reduction in its transcript level in comparison to the sucrose, dsGFP and dsTa-αCOP treatments, respectively. In addition, significantly higher mortality of 57% was recorded in dsNt-αCOP-treated N. tenuis when compared to the sucrose (7%), dsGFP (10%) and dsTa-αCOP (10%) treatments. Moreover, the predation rate of ~33–39 Ephestia kuehniella eggs per N. tenuis adult dramatically reduced to almost half in the surviving dsNt-αCOP-treated N. tenuis. This worst-case exposure scenario confirmed for the first time that the RNAi machinery is functional in this species and that the risk of exposure through the oral route is possible. In contrast, dsTa-αCOP did not cause any sub-lethal effects to N. tenuis upon oral exposure. Oral exposure of T. absoluta to dsTa-αCOP resulted in 50% mortality. In the context of a biosafety risk assessment of RNAi-mediated insect management, investigating the effects on non-target organisms is essential in order to include this method as part of an integrated pest management strategy. Based on our laboratory assays, RNAi-mediated control is compatible with the biological control of T. absoluta by its natural enemy N. tenuis, adding the RNAi approach in the armoire of integrated pest management of T. absoluta.

Distribution, abundance and natural enemies of the invasive tomato leafminer, Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) in Kenya

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
G. Kinyanjui ◽  
F. M. Khamis ◽  
F. L. O. Ombura ◽  
E. U. Kenya ◽  
S. Ekesi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Enemies ◽  
Sustainable Management ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Tuta Absoluta ◽  
Macrolophus Pygmaeus ◽  
Larval Parasitoids ◽  
Parasitism Rates ◽  
Nesidiocoris Tenuis ◽  
Sentinel Plants ◽  
Open Fields

Abstract Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) has become a serious menace to sustainable production of tomato in Kenya. A survey was conducted between April 2015 and June 2016 to determine its distribution, abundance, infestation, and damage levels on tomato, and associated natural enemies. Trap counts of T. absoluta moths were recorded in all surveyed 29 counties, which indicated its nationwide distribution irrespective of altitude. Tuta absoluta was present in both open fields and greenhouses. The highest moth/trap/day was 115.38 ± 15.90. Highest leaf infestation was 92.22% and the highest number of mines and larvae per leaf were 3.71 ± 0.28 and 2.16 ± 0.45, respectively. Trap captures in terms of moth/trap/day were linearly and positively related to leaf infestations in open fields (R2 = 0.81) and greenhouses (R2 = 0.61). Highest fruits’ infestation and damage were 60.00 and 59.61%, respectively, while the highest number of mines per fruit was 7.50 ± 0.50. Nesidiocoris tenuis (Reuter) and Macrolophus pygmaeus (Rambur) were identified as predators of T. absoluta larvae. Nine species of larval parasitoids were recovered from infested foliage, with a combined parasitism of 7.26 ± 0.65%. Hockeria species was the most dominant (31.25%) and accounted for 12.88 ± 1.47% parasitism. Two species of larval parasitoids, Hockeria and Necremnus were obtained from sentinel plants with an average parasitism of 1.13 ± 0.25. The overall abundance and parasitism rates of recovered natural enemies were low to effectively control the field populations of T. absoluta. These findings form the basis of researching and developing effective and sustainable management strategies for the pest.

scholarly journals Genomewide transcriptional signatures of migratory flight activity in a globally invasive insect pest

2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (19) ◽  
pp. 4901-4911 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher M. Jones ◽  
Alexie Papanicolaou ◽  
George K. Mironidis ◽  
John Vontas ◽  
Yihua Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Insect Pest ◽  
Flight Activity ◽  
Invasive Insect ◽  
Migratory Flight

The combined use of Bacillus thuringiensis and Nesidiocoris tenuis against the tomato borer Tuta absoluta

BioControl ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 56 (6) ◽  
pp. 883-891 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oscar Mollá ◽  
Joel González-Cabrera ◽  
Alberto Urbaneja
Keyword(s):  
Bacillus Thuringiensis ◽  
Tuta Absoluta ◽  
Combined Use ◽  
Nesidiocoris Tenuis ◽  
Tomato Borer

Efficacy of sulphur on Tuta absoluta and its side effects on the predator Nesidiocoris tenuis

2011 ◽  
Vol 136 (6) ◽  
pp. 401-409 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Zappalà ◽  
G. Siscaro ◽  
A. Biondi ◽  
O. Mollá ◽  
J. González-Cabrera ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Side Effects ◽  
Tuta Absoluta ◽  
Nesidiocoris Tenuis

Implications of using two natural enemies of Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) toward tomato yield enhancement

2019 ◽  
Vol 109 (05) ◽  
pp. 617-625
Author(s):  
M.A. Mirhosseini ◽  
Y. Fathipour ◽  
M. Soufbaf ◽  
G.V.P. Reddy
Keyword(s):  
Total Yield ◽  
Egg Parasitoid ◽  
Tuta Absoluta ◽  
Yield Enhancement ◽  
Leaf Miner ◽  
Trichogramma Brassicae ◽  
Tomato Yield ◽  
Nesidiocoris Tenuis ◽  
Mirid Bug ◽  
Predatory Mirid

AbstractTomato leaf miner (TLM), Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) is one of the most destructive tomato pests worldwide. We tested quantity and quality of tomato fruits after simultaneous use of two biological control agents, the predatory mirid bug Nesidiocoris tenuis (Reuter) and the egg parasitoid Trichogramma brassicae Bezdenko against TLM. We varied the timing of predator releases (before or after pest establishment) and the number of parasitoids released (ten or 30 females per week per m2). The highest number of fruits per cage, percentage of undamaged fruits, total yield weight, and undamaged yield weight were all obtained with predator-in-first treatments, with or without parasitoid releases. Furthermore, measures of fruit quality were also highest in predator-in-first treatments, including, highest percentage of water, greatest proportional fresh weight of carbohydrates, most lycopene, most β-carotene, most flavonoids, and highest total chlorophyll. Thus, our findings support a predator-in-first augmentation approach for management of TLM.

Reproductive Plasticity of an Invasive Insect Pest, Rice Water Weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

2017 ◽  
Vol 110 (6) ◽  
pp. 2381-2387
Author(s):  
Yunshang Huang ◽  
Yan Ao ◽  
Mingxing Jiang
Keyword(s):  
Insect Pest ◽  
Invasive Insect ◽  
Rice Water Weevil ◽  
Reproductive Plasticity ◽  
Rice Water

scholarly journals Predicting Insect Invasiveness With Whole-genome Sequencing Data

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cong Huang ◽  
Nianwan Yang ◽  
Shuping Wang ◽  
Xiaodan Fan ◽  
Cong Pian ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Insect Pest ◽  
Genomic Analysis ◽  
Gene Families ◽  
Insect Species ◽  
Whole Genome Sequencing Data ◽  
Comparative Genomic ◽  
Nucleic Acid Metabolism ◽  
Sequencing Data ◽  
Invasive Insects ◽  
Invasive Insect

Abstract Background Invasive alien insects threaten agriculture, biodiversity, and human livelihoods globally. Unfortunately, insect invasiveness still cannot be reliably predicted. Empirical policies of insect pest quarantine and inspection are mainly designed against species that are already problematic. Results We conducted a comparative genomic analysis of 37 invasive insect species and six non-invasive insect species, showing that the gene families associated with defense, protein and nucleic acid metabolism, chemosensory function, and transcriptional regulation were significantly expanded in invasive insects, suggesting that enhanced abilities in self-protection, nutrition exploitation, and locating food or mates are intrinsic features conferring invasiveness in insects. By using these intrinsic genome features, we proposed an invasiveness index and estimated the invasiveness of 99 other insect species with genome data, classifying them as highly, moderately, or minimally invasive. Insects possessing all these aforementioned enhanced abilities are predicted to be highly invasive, and vice versa. Next, a logistic-regression classifier was trained to predict insect invasiveness, achieving 93.2% accuracy. Conclusions We present evidence that several traits may confer invasiveness in insects and these features can be used to predict insect invasiveness accurately, and we quantify insect invasiveness with an invasiveness index.

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