A new species of Typhlodromus (Anthoseius) De Leon and redescription of T. (A.) montanus Chant & Yoshida-Shaul from Russia

Typhlodromus (Anthoseius) tetraporus sp. nov., collected on grasses in Crimea, is proposed as a new species for science. The new species can be separated from all known species of Typhlodromus (Anthoseius) by the combination of following characters; peritreme extending almost to level of setae j1, four pairs of solenostomes on dorsal shield, two pairs of setae on sternal shield, a sclerotised v-shaped plate posterior to sternal shield, four pairs of pre-anal setae, a pair of small rounded pre-anal solenostomes, differentiated and larger atrium of spermatheca and eight setae on genu II. In addition, T. (A.) montanus Chant & Yoshida-Shaul (Acari: Phytoseiidae), a species only known based on its original description from Canada is reported for the first time in Russia. The new record is redescribed and illustrated based on female specimens collected from Prunus padus L. (Rosaceae) where it was associated with eriophyid mites in Pereval Seminskiy, Altai Republic. This species may be an important predator as a potential biological control agent of eriophyid mites.

The functional response and predatory ability of the reduviid Coranus fuscipennis Reuter (Heteroptera: Reduviidae)) fed on the rice meal moth Corcyra cephalonica (Stainton)

The reduviid Coranus fuscipennis Reuter (Heteroptera: Reduviidae) is an important predator for biological control the pests of vegetables in Vietnam. The functional response of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th nymphal instars and adult male and female of the predator C. fuscipennis to the larvae of rice meal moth Corcyra cephalonica (Stainton) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) was evaluated in laboratory conditions (temperature 30±2ºC; relative humidity 75±5%; and 14:10 h Light:Dark). The results show that the nymph and adult of C. fuscipennis responded to different densities of prey. They killed more number of prey at higher prey densities and less prey at lower prey densities that produced a curve linear type II functional response (Holling 1959). The maximum consumption was always found restricted when rearing the C. fuscipennis at high prey densities. The relationship between the predation rate of the C. fuscipennis and the prey densities was negative correlation (R is between 0.70 and 0.98), but between the number prey killed and the prey density is positive correlation. The searching time prey of the C. fuscipennis decreased when the prey densities increased that was confirmed by the negative correlation (R between 0.85 and 0.98). The reduviid C. fuscipennis bred by the C. cephalonica in laboratory and they can use for biological control some pests of vegetables (P rapae, S. litura and P. xylostella) in Vietnam.

Infection and transmission of the facultative endosymbiont Arsenophonus in the spider Pardosa pseudoannulata

Background The infection of insect pests and their parasitoids with the facultative endosymbiont Arsenophonus has been well studied, whereas the infection of the predators of insect pests with this symbiont is less well understood. We studied this symbiont in the spider Pardosa pseudoannulata, an important predator of rice planthoppers, collected from rice paddies in 8 geographical regions in China.Results Diagnostic PCR showed that Arsenophonus was present in 4 of the 8 sampled populations of spiders. In these 4 populations, the infection incidence was between 2.1% and 16.7% and significantly differed between the Lishui population and the other three populations. Investigation of symbiont infection in both females and their offspring indicated that Arsenophonus can be vertically transmitted in P. pseudoannulata; the average transmission rate was approximately 25%. Remarkably, Arsenophonus was present in approximately 11% of the offspring of uninfected females, indicating that nonmaternal transmission occurs in this spider.Conclusions Populations of the spider P. pseudoannulata are infected at low rates with the symbiont Arsenophonus. This symbiont can be vertically transmitted from female spiders to offspring but may also be transmitted by male spiders or other vectors. Arsenophonus populations from different geographical regions exhibit genetic differentiation.

Genome sequencing and neurotoxin diversity of a wandering spider Pardosa pseudoannulata (pond wolf spider)

Spiders constitute an extensive and diverse branch of the phylum Arthropoda. Whereas the genomes of four web-weaver spider species and a single cave-living spider have been determined, similar studies have not been reported previously for a wandering spider. The pond wolf spider, Pardosa pseudoannulata, is a wandering hunter that immobilizes prey using venom rather than a web. It is also an important predator against a range of agriculturally important insect pests. The increasing interest in its wandering lifestyle and in the potential of spider venom as a tool for pest control have prompted a detailed study on this wandering spider species. We have generated a high-quality genome sequence of P. pseudoannulata and analysed genes associated with the production of silk and venom toxins. Sequencing reveals that P. pseudoannulata has a large genome of 4.26 Gb. The presence of only 16 spidroin genes and four types of silk glands is consistent with the moderate use of silk and the lack of a prey-catching web. A large number of genes encode neurotoxins and there is evidence that the majority are highly selective for invertebrates. Comparison between spider species reveals a correlation between spider neurotoxin selectivity for target organisms and spider prosoma size, suggesting a possible coevolution of these two features. The genome data provides valuable insights into the biology of P. pseudoannulata and its potential role as a natural enemy in pest control.

KEMAMPUAN PREDATOR (Sycanus annulicornis Dhorn) DALAM MENGENDALIKAN HAMA ULAT API (Setothosea asigna) DI PERKEBUNAN KELAPA SAWIT

Sycanus annulicornis is an important predator for palm leaf-eating caterpillars (UPDKS) from the Limacodidae family. Therefore, these predators need to be propagated and disseminated in the area of ​​oil palm plantations so that they can become a mortality factor in biological control (UPDKS). Predator S. annulicornis is a predator that is very useful for controlling caterpillar pests in oil palm plantations. His ability to prey on fire caterpillars in the field, as well as his short life cycle and high reproductive ability make this predator very potential to be applied in fire caterpillar pest control. This research was carried out at Sycanus House Afdeling V Tanah Raja PT. Perkebunan Nusantara III Serdang Bedagai North Sumatra. The time of the study was carried out in August - September 2018. The results showed that fire caterpillar (Setothosea asigna) was able to be controlled by predators (Sycanus annulicornis) in F1 treatment (1 Sycanus annulicornis), F2 (2 Sycanus annulicornis) and F3 on the first day after application, the highest mortality seen in the treatment F3 (3 Sycanus annulicornis).

The Impact of Cryptolaemus montrouzieri Mulsant (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) on Control of Dysmicoccus neobrevipes Beardsley (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae)

Cryptolaemus montrouzieri (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) is an important predator of the mealybug Dysmicoccus neobrevipes (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae), a major pest of Agave sisalana in China. Limited reports on the efficacy of C. montrouzieri against D. neobrevipes are available. This study reports the predatory efficacy and functional response of C. montrouzieri against D. neobrevipes under laboratory conditions. The prey consumption rate per day of 4th instar larvae of C. montrouzieri feeding on 1st instar D. neobrevipes nymphs (241.3 mealybugs) was the highest among the different larval life stages of the beetle. For C. montrouzieri, the prey consumption per day of adult females (19.8 mealybugs) was significantly higher compared to males (15.2 mealybugs) when feeding on 3rd instar D. neobrevipes nymphs. The functional responses of C. montrouzieri on 1st and 2nd instar D. neobrevipes nymphs were determined as Holling type II. The search rates of C. montrouzieri 4th instar larvae towards the 1st and 2nd instar nymphs of D. neobrevipes were higher than those of the other beetle life stages. In addition, the handling times of 4th instar larvae were shorter than those of the other beetle life stages. The results from this study indicate that C. montrouzieri can be used as a predator of D. neobrevipes and, therefore, it should be evaluated further for use as a biocontrol agent in D. neobrevipes management programs.

De novo transcriptome sequencing of Serangium japonicum (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) and application of two assembled unigenes

The ladybird beetle Serangium japonicum is an important predator of whiteflies. Although some ecological and biological characteristics of this predator have been studied, the only molecular data for the ladybird beetle at the NCBI website has been submitted by us. To yield gene sequences of the ladybird beetle, paired-end sequencing was used to sequence its transcriptome. Real-time PCR was used to validate differences in the quantity of RNA expressed by the Krueppel homolog 1 (Kr-h1) gene in summer versus winter samples. To find the effective molecular barcode, the annotated cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COX1) gene fragments were amplified from several ladybird beetle populations. Analysis yielded 191,246 assembled unigenes, of which 127,016 (66.4%) were annotated. The differential expression of Kr-h1 in summer versus winter suggests that S. japonicum can successfully overwinter because the adults enter diapause. The annotated COX1 gene can be used to distinguish S. japonicum from other ladybird species. These gene sequences are currently available in the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), and will facilitate the study of molecular mechanism in S. japonicum.

Mating system, age, and reproductive performance inTenuisvalvae notata, a long-lived ladybird beetle

The long-lived polygynandrous ladybird beetleTenuisvalvae notata(Mulsant) found in Brazil was evaluated in the laboratory for the effects of multiple mating and aging on its reproductive performance. This species is native to South America and is an important predator of mealybugs. Specifically studied were partner choice, female reproductive success, adult longevity, male virility, and offspring development. Young (5–10 days old) and older virgin females (95–100 days old) were subjected to either a single mate or multiple mating with the same or different males of various mating status (virgin or previously mated once, twice, and thrice). Results revealed a preference in both genders to mate with previously known partners. Additionally, younger females had higher fecundity and greater longevity when mated only once in comparison to those mated multiple times. Fecundity, fertility, and offspring development were similar across the treatments regardless of the number of mating or male mating history. Fecundity and fertility decreased throughout the oviposition period regardless of mating treatment.