Plant age, crop stage and surrounding habitats: their impact on sucking pests and predators complex in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) field plots in arid climate at district Layyah, Punjab, Pakistan

Sucking pests are major threat to cotton field crop which cause unbearable losses to the crop yield. Aim of the current study was to record seasonal dynamics of major sucking insect pests including whitefly, jassid, thrips and their natural arthropod predators i.e. green lacewings and spiders in cotton field plots. The effects of surrounding field crops on pests’ density and predatory efficiency of predators were also recorded. For sampling and survey of insects, the visual counting was found to be the most efficient method for recording the abundance of insects, trailed by net sweeping and tapping. Whitefly was the most dominant sucking pest found on the vegetative stage of cotton, followed by jassid and thrips. Fluctuated populations of predatory arthropods, spiders and green lacewings were also recorded during whole cropping season however, the densities of pests and predators varied with crop phenology. Spiders’ population was encouraging at both vegetative and flowering stage and also the same trend of jassid and whitefly were observed at both stages of the crop. Surrounding habitats showed non-significant effect on population densities of insect pests and predators. For abiotic factors, the spiders showed strong positive correlation with humidity and temperature. However, green lacewing was only positively correlated with humidity. On the other hand, the populations of whitefly, jassid and thrips showed non-significant correlation with both temperature and humidity. Overall densities of sucking insect pests were found above economic threshold level. The plant age, crop stage and surrounding habitats effect on the population fluctuation of pests as well as the predators’ abundance. The future studies are also warranted to investigate the altered habitats and multiple trap cropping to find out their impact on unattended insect predators and parasitoids in cotton crop.

Elevational Diversity Patterns of Green Lacewings (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) Uncovered With DNA Barcoding in a Biodiversity Hotspot of Southwest China

Elevational diversity patterns can reflect the responses of biodiversity to climate change spatially. We investigate the species diversity patterns of green lacewings (an important predatory group of insects) along the gradient of elevation from the Shaluli Mountains (Mts. Shaluli), which belong to the Hengduan Mountains in southwestern China, one of the important hotspots of global biodiversity. We combined multiple approaches, including Automatic Barcode Gap Discovery (ABGD), Assemble Species by Automatic Partitioning analysis (ASAP), General Mixed Yule Coalescent (GMYC), Poisson tree processes (bPTP), multi-rate Poisson tree processes (mPTP), to delimit the green lacewings species based on the standard barcoding region of cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI). The α-diversity and β-diversity patterns of green lacewings from the Mts. Shaluli along the gradient of elevation were analyzed, with further exploration on how the temperature effect elevational-diversity pattern on broad-scale (county scale) elevational gradients. The DNA barcoding reference library consisted of 40 green lacewing species from the Mts. Shaluli. The α-diversity of green lacewings decreased with the increasing elevation. The temperature was found to have a significant effect on the abundance and Shannon-Wiener diversity index but not on the species richness. Nestedness replaced turnover as the main component of Sørensen’s dissimilarity with the increasing elevation, and greater nestedness occurred at low temperature areas. The combination of a reliable DNA barcoding database could improve the accuracy and efficiency to investigate the species diversity patterns of green lacewings. Temperature, resource, and resultant interspecific competitions may have important roles in explaining the species diversity patterns of green lacewings from the Mts. Shaluli. Priority of conservation should be given to the species at low elevation, middle elevation, and relatively high temperature regions under the background of global climate warming.

Low-Coverage Whole Genomes Reveal the Higher Phylogeny of Green Lacewings

Green lacewings are one of the largest families within Neuroptera and are widely distributed all over the world. Many species within this group are important natural predators that are widely used for the biological control of pests in agricultural ecosystems. Several proposed phylogenetic relationships among the three subfamilies of Chrysopidae have been extensively debated. To further understand the higher phylogeny as well as the evolutionary history of Chrysopidae, we newly sequenced and analyzed the low-coverage genomes of 5 species (Apochrysa matsumurae, Chrysopa pallens, Chrysoperla furcifera, Italochrysa pardalina, Nothochrysa sinica), representing 3 subfamilies of Chrysopidae. There are 2213 orthologs selected to reconstruct the phylogenetic tree. Phylogenetic reconstruction was performed using both concatenation and coalescent-based approaches, based on different data matrices. All the results suggested that Chrysopinae were a monophyletic sister group to the branch Apochrysinae + Nothochrysinae. These results were completely supported, except by the concatenation analyses of the nt data matrix, which suggested that Apochrysinae were a sister group to Chrysopinae + Nothchrysinae. The different topology from the nt data matrix may have been caused by the limited sampling of Chrysopidae. The divergence time showed that Chrysopinae diverged from Apochrysinae + Nothochrysinae during the Early Cretaceous period (144–151 Ma), while Aporchrysinae diverged from Nothochrysinae around 117–133 Ma. These results will improve our understanding of the higher phylogeny of Chrysopidae and lay a foundation for the utilization of natural predators.

Using flower strips to promote green lacewings to control cabbage insect pests

Habitat management improves biological control by increasing the abundance and fitness of natural enemies through the provision of floral resources along field edges or between crops. Among the natural enemies reliant on flower resources, green lacewings often stand out due to their abundance, predation capacity and polyphagy. We evaluated the impact of tailored flower strips on the enhancement of natural enemies, especially green lacewings, in three organic cabbage (Brassica oleracea) farms in Southern Sweden. Insects were sampled from the flower strips, and cabbage pests and predators were visually recorded in the crop. In a laboratory assay, the pollen feeding preferences of Chrysoperla carnea (Stephens, 1836) were evaluated in a dual-choice test. The pollen consumed by the Chrysopidae was extracted from laboratory and field specimens, then quantified and identified. Flower strips were found to attract predators and parasitoids, whose abundance increased as flowers bloomed. Cabbage plants next to the flower strips showed lower pest infestation as compared to cabbage plant control, although no significant differences were observed in the number of predators. Chrysopidae used flower strips as feeding, reproduction and shelter sites and mainly consumed pollen from Phacelia tanacetifolia Benth. Under laboratory conditions, C. carnea showed a preference for P. tanacetifolia and Coriandrum sativum L. pollen over Borago officinalis L. and Fagopyrum esculentum Moench. We show that tailored flower strips could be an efficient tool for enhancing beneficial arthropods and should be considered in integrated pest management for cabbage crops.

The Neotropical green lacewing genus Ceraeochrysa Adams (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae)—new synonymies and combinations, a new species, and an updated key to species

Ceraeochrysa Adams, 1982, with ~60 species, is a diverse and relatively well studied New World genus of green lacewings. However, nomenclatural problems and misidentifications persist; undescribed species continue to be found; and species determinations remain difficult. Here, we address several problematic issues within the genus, and we justify the following taxonomic changes: Part 1 synonymizes Ceraeochrysa rafaeli Adams & Penny syn. n. and Chrysopodes (Chrysopodes) nigropictus Freitas & Penny syn. n. with Ceraeochrysa discolor (Navás). Part 2 identifies Ceraeochrysa adynatos (Freitas & Penny) comb. n. as the new name for Chrysopodes (Chrysopodes) adynatos Freitas & Penny. Part 3 renames Chrysopa sarta Banks as Ceraeochrysa sarta (Banks) comb. n, and identifies it as conspecific with Ceraeochrysa berlandi (Navás) syn. n. Part 4 names Chrysopa poujadei Navás as Ceraeochrysa poujadei (Navás) comb. n. and also identifies its new synonyms—Chrysopodes (Chrysopodes) laevus (Navás) syn. n. and Ceraeochrysa forcipata Freitas & Penny syn. n. Part 5 redescribes the enigmatic Ceraeochrysa silvanoi (Navás) and recognizes Ceraeochrysa tucumana (Navás) syn. n. as its junior synonym. Part 6 describes a new Ceraeochrysa species: Ceraeochrysa paraensis Sosa sp. n. from Brazil. Finally, to help facilitate species identifications, Part 7 incorporates all new species and all taxonomic changes made since the last revision of the genus (2009) into an updated key to the currently valid species of Ceraeochrysa. Lectotypes are designated for three species: C. discolor Navás, C. sarta Banks, and C. tucumana Navás.

New record of Brachycyrtus Kriechbaumer, 1880 (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) from Venezuela and notes about their association with some chrysopid species

Brachycyrtus pretiosus Cushman, 1936 is recorded from Venezuela for the first time. The green-lacewings species Ceraeochrysa valida (Banks, 1851) and Ceraeochrysa fairchildi (Banks, 1946) are considered as the first known recorded hosts of Brachycyrtus cosmetus (Walkley, 1956). Illustrations of the studied Brachycyrtus spp. Adults, final larval instar cephalic structures of B. cosmetus and maps with geographical distribution are provided.

Influence of Insecticides on Useful Entomofauna in Corn Crops

Goal. of research is to specify species composition of coccinellids of corn agrocenosis, to define insecticides influence on useful entomofauna, to estimate the profitability level of used preparation. Methods. Are the following: field accounting of insects in corn crops in accordance with the generally accepted methodology; experiment on the influence of insecticides on useful entomofauna in corn. Laboratory method that means identification of species composition of ladybirds. Results. Specified species composition of coccinellids in present conditions on corn crops. Educed six species of ladybirds, among them Coccinella septempunctata Linnaeus, 1758 was marked as dominant species, while Propylea quatuordecimpunctata Linnaeus, 1758 as subdominant species. Presented mean quantity of coccinellids, green lacewings, syrphids on the 3rd, 7th, 14th and 21st days after spraying of insecticides on corn. Specified correlation of coccinellids species before and after insecticide application. Presented correlation of entomophages (ladybirds, green lacewings, syrphids) on corn crops. Determined technical and economic efficiency after spraying of corn with insecticides Ampligo 150 ZC (Chlorantraniliprole, 100g/l+Lambda-Cyhalothrin, 50g/l), Belt 480 SC (Flubendiamide, 480 g/l), Coragen 20 SC (Chlorantraniliprole, 200 g/l). Conclusions. After insecticides application the highest mean quantity of coccinellids was observed in case of Coragen 20 SC — 2,4 exemplars/m2, after Ampligo 150 ZC it was 0,4 exemplars/m2, after Belt 480 SC — 0,7 exemplars/m2. The mean quantity of green lacewings and syrphids was low for all variants. The least toxic effect on quantity of entomophages had an insecticide Coragen 20 SC. The percentage of dead insects after its usage was the following: for imago of coccinellids — 43.4%, larvae — 79.5%, pupas — 54.2%; green lacewings — 68.2%, syrphids — 75.0%. Spraying of preparation Coragen 20 SC provided the level of profitability 440.16%, whereas profitability after Ampligo 150 ZC was 289.33%, after Belt 480 SC — 126.81%.

Temporal variation of Brown and Green Lacewings (Neuroptera: Hemerobiidae and Chrysopidae) collected with McPhail traps from a fruit orchard in Southeast Brazil

This study was aimed at the identification of the Neuroptera (Insecta) obtained with McPhail traps in an orchard of native and exotic fruits in Jaboticabal, SP, Brazil (21°14’S / 48°17’W). Weekly sampling took place between May 2009 and April 2010. 187 specimens of Neuroptera were obtained: Nusalala tessellata (Gerstaecker, 1888) (Hemerobiidae) (176 specimens / 94.1% of the total), Leucochrysa cruentata (Schneider, 1851) (6 / 3.2%), Ceraeochrysa cubana (Hagen, 1861), Ceraeochrysa everes (Banks, 1920), Chrysoperla externa (Hagen, 1861), Leucochrysa affinis Freitas & Penny, 2001 and Leucochrysa rodriguezi (Navás, 1913) (Chrysopidae) (1 / 0.5%, each species). Nusalala tessellata was the most abundant species, with the highest frequencies recorded in August 2009 and March 2010; such frequencies coincided with the fructification of Vangueria madagascariensis Gmelin (Rubiaceae) and Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck (Rutaceae), respectively. The use of McPhail traps can assist in the detection of beneficial insects in agroecosystems and establishment of better sustainable control measures.

Genetic Variability of Ceraeochrysa cincta, Ceraeochrysa claveri, and Ceraeochrysa cubana (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) Populations in Agroecosystems of Southeast Brazil

The species of the genus Ceraeochrysa, known as green lacewings or trash-carriers, are widely distributed along the Americas and its islands. In Brazil, 28 species are found, including Ceraeochrysa cincta (Schneider), Ceraeochrysa claveri (Navás), and Ceraeochrysa cubana (Hagen). These species are recorded on many crops, where they are often used for biological control. For this use, knowledge of the genetic features of the species is extremely important because they are associated to the species’ ability to withstand different conditions in new environments, such as variations of temperature and presence of pathogens. However, little is known about the genetic features of Ceraeochrysa species. Here, we analyze and compare the distribution of the genetic variability of C. cincta, C. claveri, and C. cubana in agroecosystem populations of southeast Brazil. We found a high genetic diversity in each of the three species, and no strong genetic structure was detected, such that genetic diversity is broadly shared among the crops and localities analyzed. We can conclude that there was a high gene flow among the sampled Ceraeochrysa populations (natural or driven by anthropic action) since the exchange of seedlings among crops can lead to the distribution of the specimens.