Genetic engineering technology for the improvement of the sterile insect technique. Proceedings of a final research co-ordination meeting

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1998-01-01

Since the beginning of the joint FAO/IAEA programme on the research and development of insect pest control methodology, emphasis has been placed on the basic and applied aspects of implementing the sterile insect technique (SIT). Special emphasis has always been directed at the assembly of technological progress into workable systems that can be implemented in developing countries. The general intention is to solve problems associated with insect pests that have an adverse impact on production of food and fibre. For several insect species SIT has proven to be a powerful method for control. This includes the New World screwworm fly (Cochliomyia hominivorox), the Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata), the melon fly (Bactrocera cucurbitae), the Queensland fruit fly (Bactrocera tryoni) and one tsetse fly species (Glossina austeni). Improvements of the SIT are possible, especially through the use of molecular techniques. The final report of the Co-ordinated Research Programme on ``Genetic Engineering Technology for the Improvement of the Sterile Insect Technique`` highlights the progress made towards the development of transformation systems for non-drosophilid insects and the research aimed at the identification and engineering of potential target genes or traits. Refs, figs, tabs.

Genetic engineering technology for the improvement of the sterile insect technique. Proceedings of a final research co-ordination meeting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1998-01-01

Since the beginning of the joint FAO/IAEA programme on the research and development of insect pest control methodology, emphasis has been placed on the basic and applied aspects of implementing the sterile insect technique (SIT). Special emphasis has always been directed at the assembly of technological progress into workable systems that can be implemented in developing countries. The general intention is to solve problems associated with insect pests that have an adverse impact on production of food and fibre. For several insect species SIT has proven to be a powerful method for control. This includes the New World screwworm fly (Cochliomyia hominivorox), the Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata), the melon fly (Bactrocera cucurbitae), the Queensland fruit fly (Bactrocera tryoni) and one tsetse fly species (Glossina austeni). Improvements of the SIT are possible, especially through the use of molecular techniques. The final report of the Co-ordinated Research Programme on ''Genetic Engineering Technology for the Improvement of the Sterile Insect Technique'' highlights the progress made towards the development of transformation systems for non-drosophilid insects and the research aimed at the identification and engineering of potential target genes or traits

Insects, isotopes and radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lindquist, D.A.

1987-01-01

The article describes the increased use of nuclear techniques in controlling harmful insects. The sterile insect technique (SIT), which uses radiation to sexually sterilize insects and prevent reproduction, is particularly effective in eradication programmes. At the present time, there are approximately 10 species of insect pests being attacked by the SIT. Research and development is being conducted on other insect species and it is anticipated that the technology will be more widely used in the future

Thematic Plan for the Sterile Insect Technique for Old and New World Screwworm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1998-01-01

Objective: To support livestock development programmes aiming at controlling or eradicating key insect pests. This involves the application of the sterile insect technique (SIT) into area wide integrated pest management and eradication systems. The sustainability of eradication activities has been demonstrated for a number of insect pests under various national settings where the application of SIT has produced significant impact on socio-economic development, in terms of both cost-savings and environmental quality. In line with the TC strategy, this thematic plan reviews best practices and experience gained in field operations, identifies stakeholders and common objectives in New World Screwworm, Cochliomya hominivorax (NWS) and Old World Screwworm, Chrysomya bezziana (OWS), control and outlines a strategy for implementing integrated pest control programmes at the regional, sub-regional and national level. Synergies are sought with partner organisations to expand the knowledge base and capabilities for SIT based pest control activities and to strengthen TCDC.

Genetic basis of the sterile insect technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Robinson, A.S.

2005-01-01

The use of the sterile insect technique (SIT) for insect control relies on the introduction of sterility in the females of the wild population. This sterility is produced following the mating of these females with released males carrying, in their sperm, dominant lethal mutations that have been induced by ionizing radiation. The reasons why the SIT can only be effective when the induced sterility in the released males is in the form of dominant lethal mutations, and not some form of sperm inactivation, are discussed, together with the relationship of dominant lethal mutations to dose, sex, developmental stage and the particular species. The combination of genetic sterility with that induced by radiation is also discussed in relation to the use of genetic sexing strains of the Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) in area-wide integrated pest management (AW-IPM) programmes that integrate the SIT. A case is made to lower the radiation dose used in such programmes so as to produce a more competitive sterile insect. Increased competitiveness can also be achieved by using different radiation environments. As well as radiation-induced sterility, natural mechanisms can be recruited, especially the use of hybrid sterility exemplified by a successful field trial with tsetse flies Glossina spp. in the 1940s. Genetic transformation will make some impact on the SIT, especially regarding the introduction of markers for released flies, and the construction of genetic sexing strains. It is concluded that using a physical process, such as radiation, will always have significant advantages over genetic and other methods of sterilization for the large-scale application of the SIT. (author)

FAO/IAEA international conference on area-wide control of insect pests integrating the sterile insect and related nuclear and other techniques. Programme book of abstracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1998-06-01

The organization of this International Conference on the Areawide Approach to the Control of Insect Pests is appropriate and timely. There is increasing interest in the holistic approach to dealing with major insect pest problems. This interest has been prompted by the steady progress scientists have made in the development of the sterile insect technique for eliminating the screwworm from North America, the melon fly from Okinawa, the elimination and containment of the medfly in various countries and the progress that scientists have made in eradicating tsetse fly populations from isolated areas. Increased interest has also been shown by agriculturalists because of the realization that the farm-to-farm reactive method of insect control is only a temporary solution to problems and that pests continue to be about as numerous as ever from year-to-year. In the meantime, there is increasing public concern over the environmental hazards created by the use of broad-spectrum insecticides to deal with insect pest problems. The sterile insect technique provides a feasible way to manage total insect pest populations. However, other techniques and strategies appropriately integrated into management programs can increase the effectiveness and efficiency of area-wide management programs. These include the augmentation of massproduced biological organisms and the use of semiochemicals such as the insect sex pheromones. This conference will give pest management scientists from many countries the opportunity to exchange information on the area-wide approach to insect pest management - an approach that if fully developed can be highly effective, low in cost and at the same time make a major contribution to alleviating the environmental concerns associated with primary reliance on broad-spectrum insecticides for controlling insect pests. This document contains 200 abstracts of papers presented at the conference

Guidelines for the Use of Mathematics in Operational Area-Wide Integrated Pest Management Programmes Using the Sterile Insect Technique with a Special Focus on Tephritid Fruit Flies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barclay, H.L.; Enkerlin, W.R.; Manoukis, N.C.; Reyes-Flores, J.

2016-01-01

This guideline attempts to assist managers in the use of mathematics in area-wide Integrated Pest Management (AW-IPM) programmes using the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT). It describes mathematical tools that can be used at different stages of suppression/eradication programmes. For instance, it provides simple methods for calculating the various quantities of sterile insects required in the intervention area so that more realistic sterile: fertile rates to suppress pest populations can be achieved. The calculations, for the most part, only involve high school mathematics and can be done easily with small portable computers or calculators. The guideline is intended to be a reference book, to be consulted when necessary. As such, any particular AW-IPM programme using the SIT will probably only need certain sections, and much of the book can be ignored if that is the case. For example, if the intervention area is relatively small and well isolated, then the section on dispersal can safely be ignored, as the boundedness of the area means that dispersal should not be a problem, and so the section on diffusion equations can be ignored. An overview is given in each chapter to try to let the programme manager make a decision about where to put the programme efforts. On the other hand, most SIT programmes have an information system (many of them based on GIS) that produces reliable profiles of historic information. Based on the results of past activities they describe what has happened in the last days or weeks but usually do not explain, or barely explain, what is expected in the following days or weeks. Current AW-IPM progammes using the SIT have produced over many years a vast amount of every-day data from the field operations and from the mass rearing facility and packing and sterile insect releasing centres. With the help of this guideline, that information can be used to develop predictive models for their particular conditions to better plan control measures.

The sterile-insect technique for the control of fruit flies: a survey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harris, E.J.

1975-01-01

Some advantages of the sterile-insect technique (SIT) are its minimum contribution to environmental pollution and its minimum adverse effect on non-target organisms. A review is made of the melon fly and sterile Mediterranean fruit fly release programmes, the accomplishments, and the implications. Recommendations are made for research leading to development of methods for practical use of the SIT. (author)

A spatial model with pulsed releases to compare strategies for the sterile insect technique applied to the mosquito Aedes aegypti.

Science.gov (United States)

Oléron Evans, Thomas P; Bishop, Steven R

2014-08-01

We present a simple mathematical model to replicate the key features of the sterile insect technique (SIT) for controlling pest species, with particular reference to the mosquito Aedes aegypti, the main vector of dengue fever. The model differs from the majority of those studied previously in that it is simultaneously spatially explicit and involves pulsed, rather than continuous, sterile insect releases. The spatially uniform equilibria of the model are identified and analysed. Simulations are performed to analyse the impact of varying the number of release sites, the interval between pulsed releases and the overall volume of sterile insect releases on the effectiveness of SIT programmes. Results show that, given a fixed volume of available sterile insects, increasing the number of release sites and the frequency of releases increases the effectiveness of SIT programmes. It is also observed that programmes may become completely ineffective if the interval between pulsed releases is greater that a certain threshold value and that, beyond a certain point, increasing the overall volume of sterile insects released does not improve the effectiveness of SIT. It is also noted that insect dispersal drives a rapid recolonisation of areas in which the species has been eradicated and we argue that understanding the density dependent mortality of released insects is necessary to develop efficient, cost-effective SIT programmes. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Sterile insect technique: a field evaluation of the quality of mass-reared fruit flies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1985-01-01

To optimize the use of the sterile insect technique it is essential to establish precise programmes for the evaluation of mass-reared flies in comparison with the natural population. This video presents a programme carried out at the island of Prosida which represents an extremely favourable habitat for the development of the flies; the flies are a new strain mass-reared in the IAEA's Laboratory at Seibersdorf, Austria. The technique employed is the Marked Release Recapture Technique, which consists of colouring a predetermined number of flies with fluorescent powder before they are released, and then recapturing them. This method provides valuable data about the flies' adaptability, orientation to the habitat, motility, sexual activity and reproduction

Sterile insect technique: a field evaluation of the quality of mass-reared fruit flies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1986-12-31

To optimize the use of the sterile insect technique it is essential to establish precise programmes for the evaluation of mass-reared flies in comparison with the natural population. This video presents a programme carried out at the island of Prosida which represents an extremely favourable habitat for the development of the flies; the flies are a new strain mass-reared in the IAEA`s Laboratory at Seibersdorf, Austria. The technique employed is the Marked Release Recapture Technique, which consists of colouring a predetermined number of flies with fluorescent powder before they are released, and then recapturing them. This method provides valuable data about the flies` adaptability, orientation to the habitat, motility, sexual activity and reproduction

Insect and pest control newsletter. No. 53

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1999-07-01

This Newsletter announces research coordination meetings, status of existing research coordinated research programmes on the use of nuclear applications such as the sterile insect technique (SIT) in insect and pest control. Training courses as well as new coordinated research programmes in the pipeline are also highlighted

Insect and pest control newsletter. No. 56

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2001-01-01

This Newsletter announces research coordination meetings, status of existing research coordinated research programmes on the use of nuclear applications such as the sterile insect technique (SIT) in insect and pest control. Training courses as well as new coordinated research programmes in the pipeline are also highlighted.

Insect and pest control newsletter. No. 55

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2000-07-01

This Newsletter announces research coordination meetings, status of existing research coordinated research programmes on the use of nuclear applications such as the sterile insect technique (SIT) in insect and pest control. Training courses as well as new coordinated research programmes in the pipeline are also highlighted.

Insect and pest control newsletter. No. 55

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2000-07-01

This Newsletter announces research coordination meetings, status of existing research coordinated research programmes on the use of nuclear applications such as the sterile insect technique (SIT) in insect and pest control. Training courses as well as new coordinated research programmes in the pipeline are also highlighted

Insect and pest control newsletter. No. 54

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2000-01-01

This Newsletter announces research coordination meetings, status of existing research coordinated research programmes on the use of nuclear applications such as the sterile insect technique (SIT) in insect and pest control. Training courses as well as new coordinated research programmes in the pipeline are also highlighted

Insect and pest control newsletter. No. 56

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2001-01-01

This Newsletter announces research coordination meetings, status of existing research coordinated research programmes on the use of nuclear applications such as the sterile insect technique (SIT) in insect and pest control. Training courses as well as new coordinated research programmes in the pipeline are also highlighted

Insect and pest control newsletter. No. 52

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1998-12-01

This Newsletter announces research coordination meetings, status of existing research coordinated research programmes on the use of nuclear applications such as the sterile insect technique (SIT) in insect and pest control. Training courses as well as new coordinated research programmes in the pipeline are also highlighted

Insect and pest control newsletter. No. 50

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-10-01

This Newsletter announces research coordination meetings, status of existing research coordinated research programmes on the use of nuclear applications such as the sterile insect technique (SIT) in insect and pest control. Training courses as well as new coordinated research programmes in the pipeline are also highlighted

Insect and pest control newsletter. No. 51

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1998-06-01

This Newsletter announces research coordination meetings, status of existing research coordinated research programmes on the use of nuclear applications such as the sterile insect technique (SIT) in insect and pest control. Training courses as well as new coordinated research programmes in the pipeline are also highlighted

Insect and pest control newsletter. No. 51

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1998-06-01

This Newsletter announces research coordination meetings, status of existing research coordinated research programmes on the use of nuclear applications such as the sterile insect technique (SIT) in insect and pest control. Training courses as well as new coordinated research programmes in the pipeline are also highlighted.

Applying the sterile insect technique to the control of insect pests

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

LaChance, L.E.; Klassen, W.

1991-01-01

The sterile insect technique involves the mass-rearing of insects, which are sterilized by gamma rays from a 60 Co source before being released in a controlled fashion into nature. Matings between the sterile insects released and native insects produce no progeny, and so if enough of these matings occur the pest population can be controlled or even eradicated. A modification of the technique, especially suitable for the suppression of the moths and butterflies, is called the F, or inherited sterility method. In this, lower radiation doses are used such that the released males are only partially sterile (30-60%) and the females are fully sterile. When released males mate with native females some progeny are produced, but they are completely sterile. Thus, full expression of the sterility is delayed by one generation. This article describes the use of the sterile insect technique in controlling the screwworm fly, the tsetse fly, the medfly, the pink bollworm and the melon fly, and of the F 1 sterility method in the eradication of local gypsy moth infestations. 18 refs, 5 figs, 1 tab

The Sterile Insect Technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kiragu, J.

2006-01-01

Insect pests have caused an increasing problem in agriculture and human health through crop losses and disease transmission to man and livestock. Intervention to ensure food security and human health has relied on Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies to keep the pests population below economic injury levels. IPM integrate a variety of methods, but there has been over-reliance on chemical control following the discovery of insecticidal properties of DDT. It is now realized that, maintaining pest populations at controlled levels is unsustainable and eradication options is now being considered. Although the Sterile Insect Technique(SIT) could be used for insect suppression, it is gaining favour in the elimination (eradication) of the target pest population through Areawide-based IPM (Author)

Madeira-Med, a sterile insect technique programme for control of the Mediterranean fruit fly in Madeira, Portugal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pereira, R.; Barbosa, A.; Silva, N.; Caldeira, J.; Dantas, L.; Pacheco, J.

2000-01-01

The islands of Madeira are located 980 km west-southwest from mainland Portugal and have a population of approximately 255,000. The islands are volcanic with very little level land suitable for large agricultural production. Approximately 47% of the land area is above 700 m. Thus the area likely to require Medfly control is about half of the islands. Agricultural production is on small scale, frequently part-time and mostly terraced because of the volcanic nature of the land. Grapes for wine and bananas are the predominant fruit crops. Neither are primary Medfly hosts. Citrus and tropical fruits are not produced in large quantities and are generally not of high quality. This is, to a large extent, because intensive Mediterranean fruit fly (Medfly), Ceratitis capitata (Wied.), attack has prevented the establishment of citrus and tropical fruit production. Medflies are present the year round on land below 300 m, resulting in the necessity of continuous control measures, usually insecticide bait sprays. Current annual losses from the Medflies in Madeira are estimated at US$3 million. In 1992, the agricultural officials of Madeira applied for an European Union (EU) grant to eliminate the Medfly from Madeira using the sterile insect technique (SIT). After extensive discussions, the project was changed from eradication to control and approved in late 1993 with EU support of about 8 million ECU over a 7-year period. Subsequently, the Madeira officials applied for, and received, a technical assistance project from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The IAEA support is primarily for training and consultant services. Sterile female Medflies puncture fruits when they try to lay eggs. These punctures, called 'sterile stings', result in a reduced crop value. For this reason, the Madeira-Med programme will use only sterile male Medflies in its SIT programme. This not only eliminates the sterile sting problem but also increases the efficacy of the sterile males from

The basic principles of the application of sterile insect technique for area-wide insect pest control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Singgih Sutrisno

2006-01-01

Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) is a new insect pest control technique, potential, and compatible to other techniques. This technique includes irradiation of insect colony in the laboratory using gamma, n, or x-rays and then release them in the field periodically to obtain the increase of sterility probability level from the first generation to the dependence as the result the decrease of the fertility level in the field. The effect the release of sterile insects ( 9:1 ratio to the male indigenous and reproductive potential every single female of each generation reproduce 5 females ) to the insect reduction population model is conceptually discussed. From one million of the female parental decrease to be 26, 316; 1,907; 10; and 0 insects at the first, second, third, and the forth progeny respectively. Then if sterile insect technique integrated with chemical technique (insecticide) 90% kill, it will be much more effective compared to the application sterile insect technique only. From the number of one million population of insects will decrease to be 2,632; 189; and 0 insects at the first, second, and the third progeny respectively. In the Lepidoptera insects was found a phenomenon of inherited sterility. According to Knipling (1970) the inherited sterility in the first offspring caused by chromosome translocation in the gamete . In the individual of heterozygote will be die and in the homozygotes is still alive. Interspecific hybrid sterility first time was found by Laster (1972) from a cross between males Heliothis virescens (F) and females Heliothis subflexa Guenee. Male moths of the first offspring from the cross between H. virescens and H. subflexa is sterile and the females still remain fertile. If the female moths of the first offspring back crossed with male H. virescens the phenomenon of sterility always found will same situation as mention earlier the male offspring is sterile and the females is fertile ( the male F2 will be sterile and the females will

Consultants Group Meeting on Production System Analysis and Economics for Tsetse Fly Mass-Rearing and the Use of the Sterile Insect Technique in Eradication Programmes in Africa

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1991-07-01

A consultants' group met in Vienna from 23 September - 3 October 1991 to explore 'Production System Analysis and Economics for Tsetse Fly Mass-rearing and the Use of the Sterile Insect Technique in Eradication Programmes in Africa'. This report is based on their observations during working visits to the Entomology Unit of the IAEA Agricultural Laboratory at Seibersdorf, and on information supplied by the tsetse team and staff of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division's Insect and Pest Control Section. The consultants conducted a technical, operational and financial review of present rearing methods, equipment, philosophies and production capacities, taking into account one of the recommendations made at the 6th Session of the ''FAO Commission on African Animal Trypanosomiasis'' held in June 1991 in Harare, Zimbabwe. This recommendation, related to the use of the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT), states that {sup F}AO, through the Joint FAO/IAEA Division, should further investigate and improve the use of sterile insects to strengthen the efficacy of tsetse surveys and, where applicable, consider teh use of the SIT to support eradication campaigns where other techniques on their own will not achieve this objective''. In investigating the potential for improved tsetse mass-rearing and analyzing the present costs of pupa/distributable sterile fly production, the consultants noted that: 1. The Seibersdorf Tsetse Unit is conducting an effective research and development programme which strives to emulate a production facility while continuing to pursue R and D. The capacity of the present facility in Seibersdorf is practically limited to a colony size of about 150,000 breeding females. The release of sterile males in an eradication campaign of economical relevance would require a colony containing more than 500,000 female flies. Such a population can only be maintained in an organizational, operational and financially justifiable manner if the rearing technology is transferred from an

Genetic basis of the sterile insect technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Robinson, A.S.

2014-01-01

The use of the sterile insect technique for insect control relies on the introduction of sterility in the females of the wild population. This sterility is produced following the mating of these females with released males carrying, in their sperm, dominant lethal mutations that have been induced by ionizing radiation. As well as radiation-induced sterility, natural mechanisms can be recruited, especially the use of hybrid sterility. Radiation is usually one of the last procedures that insects undergo before leaving mass-rearing facilities for release in the field. It is essential that the dosimetry of the radiation source be checked to ensure that all the insects receive the required minimum dose. A dose should be chosen that maximizes the level of introduced sterility in the wild females in the field. Irradiation in nitrogen can provide protection against the detrimental somatic effects of radiation. Currently, the development of molecular methods to sterilize pest insects in the field, by the release of fertile insects carrying trans genes, is very much in vogue. It is concluded that using a physical process, such as radiation, will always have significant advantages over genetic and other methods of sterilization for the large-scale application of the sterile insect technique. (author)

Sterilizing insects with ionizing radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bakri, A.; Mehta, K.; Lance, D.R.

2005-01-01

Exposure to ionizing radiation is currently the method of choice for rendering insects reproductively sterile for area-wide integrated pest management (AW-IPM) programmes that integrate the sterile insect technique (SIT). Gamma radiation from isotopic sources (cobalt-60 or caesium-137) is most often used, but high-energy electrons and X-rays are other practical options. Insect irradiation is safe and reliable when established safety and quality-assurance guidelines are followed. The key processing parameter is absorbed dose, which must be tightly controlled to ensure that treated insects are sufficiently sterile in their reproductive cells and yet able to compete for mates with wild insects. To that end, accurate dosimetry (measurement of absorbed dose) is critical. Irradiation data generated since the 1950s, covering over 300 arthropod species, indicate that the dose needed for sterilization of arthropods varies from less than 5 Gy for blaberid cockroaches to 300 Gy or more for some arctiid and pyralid moths. Factors such as oxygen level, and insect age and stage during irradiation, and many others, influence both the absorbed dose required for sterilization and the viability of irradiated insects. Consideration of these factors in the design of irradiation protocols can help to find a balance between the sterility and competitiveness of insects produced for programmes that release sterile insects. Many programmes apply 'precautionary' radiation doses to increase the security margin of sterilization, but this overdosing often lowers competitiveness to the point where the overall induced sterility in the wild population is reduced significantly. (author)

History of the sterile insect technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klassen, W.; Curtis, C.F.

2005-01-01

During the 1930s and 1940s the idea of releasing insects of pest species to introduce sterility (sterile insect technique or SIT) into wild populations, and thus control them, was independently conceived in three extremely diverse intellectual environments. The key researchers were A. S. Serebrovskii at Moscow State University, F. L. Vanderplank at a tsetse field research station in rural Tanganyika (now Tanzania), and E. F. Knipling of the United States Department of Agriculture. Serebrovskii's work on chromosomal translocations for pest population suppression could not succeed in the catastrophic conditions in the USSR during World War II, after which he died. Vanderplank used hybrid sterility to suppress a tsetse population in a large field experiment, but lacked the resources to develop this method further. Knipling and his team exploited H. J. Muller's discovery that ionizing radiation can induce dominant lethal mutations, and after World War II this approach was applied on an area-wide basis to eradicate the New World screwworm Cochliomyia hominivorax (Coquerel) in the USA, Mexico, and Central America. Since then very effective programmes integrating the SIT have been mounted against tropical fruit flies, some species of tsetse flies Glossina spp., the pink bollworm Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders), and the codling moth Cydia pomonella (L.). In non-isolated onion fields in the Netherlands, the onion maggot Delia antiqua (Meigen) has since 1981 been suppressed by the SIT. In the 1970s there was much research conducted on mosquito SIT, which then went into 'eclipse', but now appears to be reviving. Development of the SIT for use against the boll weevil Anthonomus grandis grandis Boheman and the gypsy moth Lymantria dispar (L.) has ended, but it is in progress for two sweetpotato weevil species, Cylas formicarius (F.) and Euscepes postfasciatus (Fairmaire), the false codling moth Cryptophlebia leucotreta (Meyrick), the carob moth Ectomyelois ceratoniae

Modern insect control: Nuclear techniques and biotechnology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1988-01-01

The Symposium dealt primarily with genetic methods of insect control, including sterile insect technique (SIT), F 1 sterility, compound chromosomes, translocations and conditional lethals. Research and development activities on various aspects of these control technologies were reported by participants during the Symposium. Of particular interest was development of F 1 sterility as a practical method of controlling pest Lepidoptera. Genetic methods of insect control are applicable only on an area wide basis. They are species specific and thus do not reduce populations of beneficial insects or cause other environmental problems. Other papers presented reported on the potential use of radiation as a quarantine treatment for commodities in international trade and the use of radioisotopes as ''tags'' in studying insects

Insect Pest Control Newsletter, No. 81, July 2013

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2013-07-01

In response to requests from our readers, this introduction is mainly dedicated to the ongoing efforts to develop alternatives for insect reproductive sterilization and blood sterilization for their use in insect pest control programmes with a sterile insect technique (SIT) component. Radioisotope irradiators that are loaded with either cobalt-60 or caesium-137 producing gamma rays have been routinely used for many decades and have proven to be extremely reliable and safe for these purposes in successful area-wide insect eradication or suppression programmes. These include industrial panoramic-type irradiators in larger programmes, all the way to smaller self-contained irradiators. Nevertheless, the transboundary shipment of self-contained gamma irradiators or radioactive material has become logistically more complex due to security issues. This situation was exacerbated when the production of the Gamma Cell 220 (GC220), the source most commonly used for irradiating insects for sterilization purposes, was discontinued. These events may have created the impression that the use of gamma radiation has become a less viable option, unattainable for insect pest control programmes that want to integrate the SIT. Nevertheless, some of the biggest SIT operational programmes have in recent years been equipped with new self-contained cobalt-60 sources, including the SIT programme against the pink bollworm in Phoenix, Arizona; El Pino Mediterranean fruit fly facility in Guatemala; and the screwworm programme in Panama. Thus these larger and more expensive irradiators, together with panoramic units (that are also costlier than self-contained gamma irradiators) have remained over the years a valid option, especially for larger operational programmes. In addition, the reloading of smaller units with new cobalt or the purchase of refurbished used self-contained irradiators remain viable alternatives

Insect Pest Control Newsletter, No. 81, July 2013

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2013-07-15

In response to requests from our readers, this introduction is mainly dedicated to the ongoing efforts to develop alternatives for insect reproductive sterilization and blood sterilization for their use in insect pest control programmes with a sterile insect technique (SIT) component. Radioisotope irradiators that are loaded with either cobalt-60 or caesium-137 producing gamma rays have been routinely used for many decades and have proven to be extremely reliable and safe for these purposes in successful area-wide insect eradication or suppression programmes. These include industrial panoramic-type irradiators in larger programmes, all the way to smaller self-contained irradiators. Nevertheless, the transboundary shipment of self-contained gamma irradiators or radioactive material has become logistically more complex due to security issues. This situation was exacerbated when the production of the Gamma Cell 220 (GC220), the source most commonly used for irradiating insects for sterilization purposes, was discontinued. These events may have created the impression that the use of gamma radiation has become a less viable option, unattainable for insect pest control programmes that want to integrate the SIT. Nevertheless, some of the biggest SIT operational programmes have in recent years been equipped with new self-contained cobalt-60 sources, including the SIT programme against the pink bollworm in Phoenix, Arizona; El Pino Mediterranean fruit fly facility in Guatemala; and the screwworm programme in Panama. Thus these larger and more expensive irradiators, together with panoramic units (that are also costlier than self-contained gamma irradiators) have remained over the years a valid option, especially for larger operational programmes. In addition, the reloading of smaller units with new cobalt or the purchase of refurbished used self-contained irradiators remain viable alternatives.

Insect population control by the sterile-male technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lindquist, A.W.

1963-01-01

The successful use of the sterile male technique to eradicate the screw worm fly from the Southeastern part of the United States showed that a new biological method using radiation-sterilized insects could not only control but also eradicate harmful insect pests. A panel of experts met at the IAEA in Vienna in October 1962 to discuss the various aspects and applications of this new technique and to assess its usefulness and limitations. This report summarizes the panel proceedings. 42 refs, 18 figs, 1 tab

Insect population control by the sterile-male technique

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lindquist, A W

1963-10-01

The successful use of the sterile male technique to eradicate the screw worm fly from the Southeastern part of the United States showed that a new biological method using radiation-sterilized insects could not only control but also eradicate harmful insect pests. A panel of experts met at the IAEA in Vienna in October 1962 to discuss the various aspects and applications of this new technique and to assess its usefulness and limitations. This report summarizes the panel proceedings. 42 refs, 18 figs, 1 tab.

The Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) against tsetse flies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1984-01-01

The video gives general information on the reproductive anatomy and the reproductive cycles of tsetse flies, shows in detail the steps to make a membrane for food supply of mass-reared flies, and explains how their feed is prepared and processed. The different stages of mass-rearing of flies, including their irradiation and the effects of irradiation on eggs and spermatozoa, are demonstrated. The video also introduces the insect sterilization programme BICOT carried out in Nigeria

The Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) against tsetse flies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1985-12-31

The video gives general information on the reproductive anatomy and the reproductive cycles of tsetse flies, shows in detail the steps to make a membrane for food supply of mass-reared flies, and explains how their feed is prepared and processed. The different stages of mass-rearing of flies, including their irradiation and the effects of irradiation on eggs and spermatozoa, are demonstrated. The video also introduces the insect sterilization programme BICOT carried out in Nigeria

The sterile insect technique [videorecording]: An environment-friendly method of insect pest suppression and eradication

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2003-01-01

Using graphic displays and clips of actual laboratory and field activities related to the sterile insect technique (SIT), the video covers various topics on the principles and applications of this technique

Management of insect pests: Nuclear and related molecular and genetic techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-01-01

The conference was organized in eight sessions: opening, genetic engineering and molecular biology, genetics, operational programmes, F 1 sterility and insect behaviour, biocontrol, research and development on the tsetse fly, and quarantine. The 64 individual contributions have been indexed separately for INIS. Refs, figs and tabs

Sterile insect technique: A model for dose optimisation for improved sterile insect quality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parker, A.; Mehta, K.

2007-01-01

The sterile insect technique (SIT) is an environment-friendly pest control technique with application in the area-wide integrated control of key pests, including the suppression or elimination of introduced populations and the exclusion of new introductions. Reproductive sterility is normally induced by ionizing radiation, a convenient and consistent method that maintains a reasonable degree of competitiveness in the released insects. The cost and effectiveness of a control program integrating the SIT depend on the balance between sterility and competitiveness, but it appears that current operational programs with an SIT component are not achieving an appropriate balance. In this paper we discuss optimization of the sterilization process and present a simple model and procedure for determining the optimum dose. (author) [es

The Sterile Insect Technique as a method of pest control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Argiles Herrero, R.

2011-01-01

In the Valencia community is doing one of the most ambitious project in the field of plant protection at European level: the fight against fruit fly, one of the most damaging pests of citrus and fruit; by Insect Technique Sterile. This technique consists of laboratory breeding and release into the fields of huge quantities of insects of the pest species that have previously been sterilized. Sterile insect looking for wild individuals of the same species to mate with them and the result is a clutch of viable eggs, causing a decrease in pest populations. After three years of application of the technique on an area of 150,000 hectares, the pest populations have been reduced by 90%. Other benefits have been the reduced used of insecticides and improved the quality of exported fruit. (Author)

When Eggs Don't Hatch. The Benefits of the Sterile Insect Technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kilian, Lizette

2012-01-01

Insect pests, such as the medfly, tsetse flies and carob moth can devastate crops and infect herds, causing severe economic hardship. To suppress the insect pest population and protect their livestock and crops, farmers usually use large quantities of pesticides. However, these pesticides are expensive, a risk to public health and cause environmental damage. Another technique, however, can reduce the insect pest population using natural means that do not require toxic chemicals: the sterile insect technique, or SIT. When female insect pests mate with male partners that have been radiation sterilized, the insemination produces eggs that cannot hatch. Since mating does not produce offspring, the insect population decreases naturally. The pest population can be suppressed with little or no use of pesticides. With the help of the IAEA, farmers have applied SIT successfully in over 20 countries on five continents, for over 15 insect species worldwide.

Use of sterile male technique for insects to eradicate red palm weevil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Al-Turaihi, E.H.

2012-01-01

The date palm plantations in the Middle East countries are infested by a devastating insect which is called red palm weevil originally from India and spread firstly into the Arab Gulf countries through imported palm trees. Red palm weevil is mainly controlled by using synthetic chemical pesticides and aggregative pheromone traps. Use of chemical pesticides has dramatically increased during recent years and posed many poisoning cases, pollution of environment, killed beneficial and non-target insects. The aim of this study is to highlight the application of Sterile Insect Technique to suppress or eradicate red palm weevil. The results revealed that the application of Sterile Insect Technique to control cotton boll weevil (Anthonomus grandis) in USA could be considered as an ideal example to apply the Sterile Insect Technique against red palm weevil because both species have similarities such as : both are exotic pests; have protected larval and pupal stages; have limited hosts; have economic importance; have an aggregative pheromone that attracts males and females; that can be used for detection and survey; and finally both insects are Coleopterans belonging to the same family.

Status of the Caribbean fruit fly, Anastrepha suspensa (Loew), sterile insect technique programme in the state of Florida, USA - November 1996

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holler, T.C.; Harris, D.L.; Burns, R.E.

1999-01-01

Status of the Caribbean fruit fly, Anastrepha suspensa, Loew, sterile insect technique program in the state of Florida, USA - November 1996. Application of sterilization techniques to Anastrepha suspensa in Florida was conducted as early as 1970 in Key West. In 1988-1990, releases of sterile flies were made in a 20 km 2 urban area in southwestern Florida adjacent to commercial citrus. With the intent to integrate a sterile insect technique system within a fly-free management program for the caribfly, additional tests are being conducted both within a major citrus production area and in an isolated urban location of the mid to lower Florida peninsula. Tests at the former site measures the synergistic effect of augmenting sterile fly releases with parasitoids, whereas the latter studies will define the efficacy of reduced numbers of sterile flies released per acre than is standard in medfly and medfly eradication and suppression programs. Discussed here is the progress of an ongoing project to measure the benefits of SIT as it applies to caribfly export protocols. (author)

Combining the Sterile Insect Technique with Wolbachia-Based Approaches: II--A Safer Approach to Aedes albopictus Population Suppression Programmes, Designed to Minimize the Consequences of Inadvertent Female Release.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dongjing Zhang

Full Text Available Due to the absence of a perfect method for mosquito sex separation, the combination of the sterile insect technique and the incompatible insect technique is now being considered as a potentially effective method to control Aedes albopictus. In this present study first we examine the minimum pupal irradiation dose required to induce complete sterility in Wolbachia triple-infected (HC, double-infected (GUA and uninfected (GT female Ae. albopictus. The HC line is a candidate for Ae. albopictus population suppression programmes, but due to the risk of population replacement which characterizes this triple infected line, the individuals to be released need to be additionally irradiated. After determining the minimum irradiation dose required for complete female sterility, we test whether sterilization is sufficient to prevent invasion of the triple infection from the HC females into double-infected (GUA populations. Our results indicate that irradiated Ae. albopictus HC, GUA and GT strain females have decreased fecundity and egg hatch rate when irradiated, inversely proportional to the dose, and the complete sterilization of females can be acquired by pupal irradiation with doses above 28 Gy. PCR-based analysis of F1 and F2 progeny indicate that the irradiated HC females, cannot spread the new Wolbachia wPip strain into a small cage GUA population, released at a 1:5 ratio. Considering the above results, we conclude that irradiation can be used to reduce the risk of population replacement caused by an unintentional release of Wolbachia triple-infected Ae. albopictus HC strain females during male release for population suppression.

Insect and Pest Control Newsletter, No. 78, January 2012

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2012-01-01

The IPC Newsletter is prepared twice per year by the Insect Pest Control Subprogramme, Joint FAO/IAEA Programme of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture. Contents: To Our Readers; Staff; Forthcoming Events; Past Events; Technical Cooperation Projects; Coordinated Research Projects and Research Coordination Meetings; Developments at the Insect Pest Control Laboratory; Reports; Announcements; In Memoriam; Other News; Relevant Published Articles; Papers in Peer Reviewed Journals; Priced and Unpriced Publications

Insect and Pest Control Newsletter, No. 78, January 2012

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2012-01-15

The IPC Newsletter is prepared twice per year by the Insect Pest Control Subprogramme, Joint FAO/IAEA Programme of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture. Contents: To Our Readers; Staff; Forthcoming Events; Past Events; Technical Cooperation Projects; Coordinated Research Projects and Research Coordination Meetings; Developments at the Insect Pest Control Laboratory; Reports; Announcements; In Memoriam; Other News; Relevant Published Articles; Papers in Peer Reviewed Journals; Priced and Unpriced Publications

Status of the control of mediterranean fruit fly, ceratitis capitata (WIED.) using the sterile insect technique (SIT). Vol. 1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wakid, A M [Biological Application Department, Nuclear Research Center, Atomic Energy Authority, Cairo (Egypt)

1996-03-01

This note presents the importance of the medfly, ceratitis capitata (Wied.) in the world especially in the med east region including egypt. Evaluation of the control methods used and the application of the sterile insect technique (SIT) as a successful and safe method for the fly eradication or control in many countries are considered. Moreover, the important requirements for a successful SIT programme and the trial for improvement of this technique are discussed including the improvement of the larval rearing media, male only release, trapping and attracting systems of the adult fly, and the current research on genetic sexing for elimination of females that cause great losses to after release.

Status of the control of mediterranean fruit fly, ceratitis capitata (WIED.) using the sterile insect technique (SIT). Vol. 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wakid, A.M.

1996-01-01

This note presents the importance of the medfly, ceratitis capitata (Wied.) in the world especially in the med east region including egypt. Evaluation of the control methods used and the application of the sterile insect technique (SIT) as a successful and safe method for the fly eradication or control in many countries are considered. Moreover, the important requirements for a successful SIT programme and the trial for improvement of this technique are discussed including the improvement of the larval rearing media, male only release, trapping and attracting systems of the adult fly, and the current research on genetic sexing for elimination of females that cause great losses to after release

Sterile insect supply, emergence, and release

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dowell, R.V.; Worley, J.; Gomes, P.J.

2005-01-01

Insect mass-rearing for a sterile insect technique (SIT) programme is designed to move beyond the large-scale rearing of insects in a laboratory to the industrial production of consistently high-quality insects for sterilization and release. Each facility reflects the unique biology of the insect reared within it, but there are some generalities for all rearing facilities. Rearing insects in self-contained modules offers flexibility, and increased safety from catastrophic occurrences, compared with using a single building which houses all facets of the rearing process. Although mechanizing certain aspects of the rearing steps helps provide a consistently high-quality insect, successful mass-rearing and delivery depends largely upon the human component. Besides production in centralized facilities, insects can be produced from purchased eggs, or nowadays, adult insects are often obtained from specialized satellite emergence/collection facilities. Interest in commercializing insect production and release is increasing. Shipping sterile insects, sometimes over long distances, is now common practice. Procedures for handling and chilling adult insects, and providing food and water prior to release, are continually being improved. Sterile insects are released via static-release receptacles, ground-release systems, or most commonly from the air. The aerial release of chilled sterile insects is the most efficient method of release, especially when aircraft flight paths are guided by a Global Positioning System (GPS) linked to a computer-controlled release mechanism. (author)

Control of dengue vector by the sterile insect technique considering logistic recruitment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Esteva, L.; Yang, H.M.

2006-01-01

We propose a mathematical model to assess the effects of irradiated male insects introduction in a previously infested region, taking into account the logistic recruitment of sterile male insects. The release of sterile male insects aims to displace gradually the natural (or wild) insect from the habitat. We discuss the suitability of this release technique when applied to peridomestic adapted Aedes aegypyti mosquitoes which are transmitters of Yellow Fever and Dengue disease. (author)

Control of dengue vector by the sterile insect technique considering logistic recruitment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Esteva, L. [Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico, D.F. (Mexico). Facultad de Ciencias. Dept. de Matematicas; Lab-Epifisma, Mexico, D.F. (Mexico); Yang, H.M. [Universidade Estadual de Campinas, SP (Brazil). Inst. de Matematica, Estatistica e Ciencia da Computacao. Dept. de Matematica Aplicada; Lab-Epifisma, Campinas, SP (Brazil)

2006-07-01

We propose a mathematical model to assess the effects of irradiated male insects introduction in a previously infested region, taking into account the logistic recruitment of sterile male insects. The release of sterile male insects aims to displace gradually the natural (or wild) insect from the habitat. We discuss the suitability of this release technique when applied to peridomestic adapted Aedes aegypyti mosquitoes which are transmitters of Yellow Fever and Dengue disease. (author)

Integrated programme to eradicate the old world screwworm fly from the Middle East

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Al-Izzy, M. A. J.; Al-Taweel, A. A.

2011-01-01

The Old World Screwworm fly is one of the most destructive insect pests of livestock, humans and wildlife. It was recognized by World Organization for Animal Health as a notifiable disease. The outbreak of Old World Screwworm in Iraq in the late 1996 led to a joint regional/international meeting under the umbrella of the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development to demonstrate the feasibility of eradicating Old World Screwworm from the gulf region by using the sterile insect technique as an agent of the Area- Wide Integrated Pest Management campaign. The programme approved by Arab Organization for Agricultural Development , Food and Agriculture Organization and International Atomic Energy Agency included identification of different stages of Old World Screwworm, Chrysomya bezziana, increasing the awareness of the animal breeder against the danger of this pest, the possibility of rearing this pest in the laboratory for carrying different studies such as the effect of gamma rays on different insect stages, induced sterility, competitiveness,.. etc. Furthermore, the programme included genetic diversity studies on the Old World Screwworm, Chrysomya bezziana strain which was found in different Arab Gulf countries to demonstrate if this diversity has any effect on using sterile insect technique to eradicate this pest from the gulf region. Finally the programme demonstrated the economic feasibility of using sterile insect technique for eradicating this pest from the gulf countries. (author)

Quality in mass-produced insects: definition and evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chambers, D.L.

1975-01-01

The insect that is mass-produced and released in a control programme is in effect a biological bullet, a self-guided missile designed to deliver a beneficial effect against a pest insect. The ability of the released insect to achieve this objective may be influenced in many ways. The control of the quality of mass-produced insects must include an understanding of the behavioural components critical to their success and an evaluation of their performance based upon these behavioural components. The paper discusses some of the principles and techniques being used and developed to study behavioural performance and quality. Included are discussions of tests of: vigour, irritability, activity, sound production, response thresholds, reproductive preference and drive, biotic potential, and others. (author)

Insect pest control newsletter. No. 65

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2005-07-01

The concept of Area-wide Integrated Pest Management (AW-IPM) is defined as IPM applied against an entire pest population within a delimited geographic area. Area-wide intervention strategies require more planning and ecological understanding, longer-term commitment, a minimum infrastructure and a coordinated implementation by farmers and all other stakeholders. The spatial distribution of the pest population has to be considered not only in surrounding cultivated areas, but also in non-cultivated areas. It also involves considering the temporal distribution of the pest to determine the periods when the pest is most susceptible to preventive, rather than remedial, interventions. In 1998 FAO and the Agency sponsored the First International Conference on 'Area-Wide Control of Insect Pests, Integrating the Sterile Insect and Related Nuclear and other Techniques' in Penang, Malaysia. This Conference greatly increased the interest and awareness concerning the AW-IPM approach to insect pest control. Since then, many new technical innovations have been introduced; a better regulatory framework is being developed to encourage the involvement of the private sector, and more FAO and Agency Member States are integrating insect pest control methods on an areawide basis. Over the past months we have been heavily involved in preparing for the Second FAO/IAEA International Conference on 'Area-Wide Control of Insect Pests: Integrating the Sterile Insect and Related Nuclear and Other Techniques', which was held from 9-13 May in Vienna. The response and interest of scientists and governments, as well as the private sector and sponsors were once more very encouraging. The conference took place with the participation of over 300 delegates from 86 countries, nine international organization, and eight exhibitors. It covered the area-wide approach again in a very broad sense, including the development and integration of many non-SIT technologies, as well as genetic research on cytoplasmic

Insect pest control newsletter. No. 65

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2005-07-01

The concept of Area-wide Integrated Pest Management (AW-IPM) is defined as IPM applied against an entire pest population within a delimited geographic area. Area-wide intervention strategies require more planning and ecological understanding, longer-term commitment, a minimum infrastructure and a coordinated implementation by farmers and all other stakeholders. The spatial distribution of the pest population has to be considered not only in surrounding cultivated areas, but also in non-cultivated areas. It also involves considering the temporal distribution of the pest to determine the periods when the pest is most susceptible to preventive, rather than remedial, interventions. In 1998 FAO and the Agency sponsored the First International Conference on 'Area-Wide Control of Insect Pests, Integrating the Sterile Insect and Related Nuclear and other Techniques' in Penang, Malaysia. This Conference greatly increased the interest and awareness concerning the AW-IPM approach to insect pest control. Since then, many new technical innovations have been introduced; a better regulatory framework is being developed to encourage the involvement of the private sector, and more FAO and Agency Member States are integrating insect pest control methods on an areawide basis. Over the past months we have been heavily involved in preparing for the Second FAO/IAEA International Conference on 'Area-Wide Control of Insect Pests: Integrating the Sterile Insect and Related Nuclear and Other Techniques', which was held from 9-13 May in Vienna. The response and interest of scientists and governments, as well as the private sector and sponsors were once more very encouraging. The conference took place with the participation of over 300 delegates from 86 countries, nine international organization, and eight exhibitors. It covered the area-wide approach again in a very broad sense, including the development and integration of many non-SIT technologies, as well as genetic research on cytoplasmic

Mass rearing and radiation sterilization of tsetse flies. Part of a coordinated programme on control and eradication of tsetse flies by the sterile insect technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Offori, E.

1980-12-01

Studies were conducted with the tsetse flies Glossina palpalis palpalis, G.p. gambiensis and G. tachinoides to evaluate the practicality in Ghana of various laboratory and field procedures used to conduct a sterile insect release programme. Investigations revealed that in colony rearing rabbits, guinea pigs and goats could be used as host animals and that alternation of hosts had little effect on colony performance. Over 90% sterility in 10-day-old males irradiated at 12 kR was obtained with little or no effect on survival. At 15 kR, 98% sterility was obtained but with some loss in viability observed. In mating experiments, G. p. palpalis and G. p. gambiensis mated readily with each other and indicated that sterile males of one sub-species could be released with advantage into an area predominantly occupied by the other sub-species. In field tests, the moving vehicle traps proved most efficient of the various sampling techniques evaluated. It was noted that in spite of the rapid expansion of the city of Accra, tsetse flies were still present within a distance of 4 km of the city

The role of nuclear techniques in the control of agricultural pests and stored grains insects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mansour, M.

2012-01-01

Peaceful applications of nuclear techniques in agriculture in general, and pest control specifically, are very numerous. Although this field of science is over a century old, its rapid developments occurred only in the last few decades. In fact, the contribution of nuclear techniques to insect pest control during the last half century is one of the most important developments in this science. This article is devoted to discuss the most important and widely used applications of nuclear techniques, particularly ionizing radiation, in insect pest control. In particular, it deals with the subject of sterilizing insects for the purpose of insect pest control and/or eradication in the field and storage, irradiation disinfestation of sorted products, particularly cereals and pulses, facilitating international trade by avoiding quarantine barriers and its role in biological control of insect pests. (author)

Insect pest control newsletter. No. 63

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2004-07-01

The Second International Conference on Areawide Insect Pest Control sponsored by FAO and IAEA will be held from 9 to 13 May, 2005 in Vienna, Austria. This conference will provide a forum for the presentation of scientific papers dealing with areawide insect management programmes, including those applying the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) and will include significant time for plenary discussion. The framework of the conference is being developed and the announcement with details of the Conference can be found under http://www.pub.iaea.org/MTCD/Meetings/Meetings2005.asp. It is planned to hold several Research Coordination Meetings in conjunction with this meeting. The Interregional Training Course on The Use of the Sterile Insect and Related Techniques for the Integrated Areawide Management of Insect Pests, was held from 4 May to 1 June 2004 in Gainesville, Florida, USA. This is a unique course that provides participants with a complete overview of all aspects related to areawide and SIT operational programmes. Both USA and external lecturers participated with an adequate balance between theory and practical laboratory and field exercises. Third, the SIT programme in Madeira is in negotiations with a private company regarding some type of partnership to ensure sustainability of the programme when EC funding comes to an end. These developments have been followed very closely by the sub-programme and we have been involved in providing advice, developing collaborative links and interacting at the R and D and technology transfer levels. There will be ample scope for further collaboration when these initiatives become fully realized. The fifth meeting of the Working Group on Fruit Flies of the Western Hemisphere (WGFFWH) took place in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, from 16 to 21 May 2004 and more than 200 participants attended. The meeting has a very unique format where scientists, action programme managers and the industry interact, greatly encouraging discussions and

Product quality control, irradiation and shipping procedures for mass-reared tephritid fruit flies for sterile insect release programmes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1999-05-01

This document represents the recommendations, reached by consensus of an international group of quality control experts, on the standard procedures for product quality control (QC) for mass reared tephritid flies that are to be used in Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) programs. In addition, the manual describes recommended methods of handling and packaging pupae during irradiation and shipment. Most of the procedures were designed specifically for use with Mediterranean fruit flies, Ceratitis capitata (Wied.), but they are applicable, with minor modification in some cases, for other tephritid species such as Caribbean fruit fly Anastrepha suspense, Mexican fruit fly A. ludens, and various Bactrocera species. The manual is evolving and subject to periodic updates. The future additions will include other fruit flies as the need is identified. If followed, procedures described in this manual will help ensure that the quality of mass-produced flies is measured accurately in a standardised fashion, allowing comparisons of quality over time and across rearing facilities and field programmes. Problems in rearing, irradiation and handling procedures, and strain quality can be identified and hopefully corrected before control programmes are affected. Tests and procedures described in this document are only part of a total quality control programme for tephritid fly production. The product QC evaluations included in this manual are, unless otherwise noted, required to be conducted during SIT programmes by the Field programme staff not the production staff. Additional product QC tests have been developed and their use is optional (see ancillary test section). Production and process QC evaluations (e.g., analysis of diet components, monitoring the rearing environment, yield of larvae, development rate, etc.) are not within the scope of this document. Quality specifications are included for minimum and mean acceptability of conventional strains of C. capitata, A. ludens, and A

Strategic options in using sterile insects for area-wide integrated pest management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hendrichs, J.; Vreysen, M.J.B.; Enkerlin, W.R.; Cayol, J.P.

2005-01-01

The four strategic options, 'suppression', 'eradication', 'containment' and 'prevention', in which the sterile insect technique (SIT) can be deployed as part of area-wide integrated pest management (AW-IPM) interventions, are defined and described in relation to the contexts in which they are applied against exotic or naturally occurring major insect pests. Advantages and disadvantages of these strategic options are analysed, and examples of successful programmes provided. Considerations of pest status, biology and distribution affecting decision-making in relation to strategy selection are reviewed and discussed in terms of feasibility assessment, and programme planning and implementation. Unrealistic expectations are often associated with applying the SIT, resulting in high political costs to change a strategy during implementation. The choice of strategy needs to be assessed carefully, and considerable baseline data obtained to prepare for the selected strategy, before embarking on an AW-IPM programme with an SIT component. (author)

Evidence for inhibition of cholinesterases in insect and mammalian nervous systems by the insect repellent deet

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dimitrov Mitko

2009-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background N,N-Diethyl-3-methylbenzamide (deet remains the gold standard for insect repellents. About 200 million people use it every year and over 8 billion doses have been applied over the past 50 years. Despite the widespread and increased interest in the use of deet in public health programmes, controversies remain concerning both the identification of its target sites at the olfactory system and its mechanism of toxicity in insects, mammals and humans. Here, we investigated the molecular target site for deet and the consequences of its interactions with carbamate insecticides on the cholinergic system. Results By using toxicological, biochemical and electrophysiological techniques, we show that deet is not simply a behaviour-modifying chemical but that it also inhibits cholinesterase activity, in both insect and mammalian neuronal preparations. Deet is commonly used in combination with insecticides and we show that deet has the capacity to strengthen the toxicity of carbamates, a class of insecticides known to block acetylcholinesterase. Conclusion These findings question the safety of deet, particularly in combination with other chemicals, and they highlight the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to the development of safer insect repellents for use in public health.

Automation for tsetse mass rearing for use in sterile insect technique programmes. Final report of a co-ordinated research project 1995-2001

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2003-05-01

The rearing of tsetse flies for the sterile insect technique has been a laborious procedure in the past. The purpose of this co-ordinated research project (CRP) 'Automation for tsetse mass rearing for use in sterile insect technique programmes' was to develop appropriate semiautomated procedures to simplify the rearing, reduce the cost and standardize the product. Two main objectives were accomplished. The first was to simplify the handling of adults at emergence. This was achieved by allowing the adults to emerge directly into the production cages. Selection of the appropriate environmental conditions and timing allowed the manipulation of the emergence pattern to achieve the desired ratio of four females to one male with minimal un-emerged females remaining mixed with the male pupae. Tests demonstrated that putting the sexes together at emergence, leaving the males in the production cages, and using a ratio of 4:1 (3:1 for a few species) did not adversely affect pupal production. This has resulted in a standardized system for the self stocking of production cages. The second was to reduce the labour involved in feeding the flies. Three distinct systems were developed and tested in sequence. The first tsetse production unit (TPU 1) was a fully automated system, but the fly survival and fecundity were unacceptably low. From this a simpler TPU 2 was developed and tested, where 63 large cages were held on a frame that could be moved as a single unit to the feeding location. TPU 2 was tested in various locations, and found to satisfy the basic requirements, and the adoption of Plexiglas pupal collection slopes resolved much of the problem due to light distribution. However the cage holding frame was heavy and difficult to position on the feeding frame and the movement disturbed the flies. TPU 2 was superseded by TPU 3, in which the cages remain stationary at all times, and the blood is brought to the flies. The blood feeding system is mounted on rails to make it

Advances in insect population control by the sterile-male technique

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1965-06-01

The sterile male technique has been successfully used in the control or eradication of at least eight species of insects in experimental or field trials. In view of the importance of the method the IAEA convened a Panel of experts in July 1964 to review the progress made in research on the application of the technique and to suggest future actions. The findings of the Panel are published in this Technical Report. 52 refs, 10 figs, 10 tabs.

Advances in insect population control by the sterile-male technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1965-01-01

The sterile male technique has been successfully used in the control or eradication of at least eight species of insects in experimental or field trials. In view of the importance of the method the IAEA convened a Panel of experts in July 1964 to review the progress made in research on the application of the technique and to suggest future actions. The findings of the Panel are published in this Technical Report. 52 refs, 10 figs, 10 tabs

Comparison of Techniques for Sampling Adult Necrophilous Insects From Pig Carcasses.

Science.gov (United States)

Cruise, Angela; Hatano, Eduardo; Watson, David W; Schal, Coby

2018-02-06

Studies of the pre-colonization interval and mechanisms driving necrophilous insect ecological succession depend on effective sampling of adult insects and knowledge of their diel and successional activity patterns. The number of insects trapped, their diversity, and diel periodicity were compared with four sampling methods on neonate pigs. Sampling method, time of day and decomposition age of the pigs significantly affected the number of insects sampled from pigs. We also found significant interactions of sampling method and decomposition day, time of sampling and decomposition day. No single method was superior to the other methods during all three decomposition days. Sampling times after noon yielded the largest samples during the first 2 d of decomposition. On day 3 of decomposition however, all sampling times were equally effective. Therefore, to maximize insect collections from neonate pigs, the method used to sample must vary by decomposition day. The suction trap collected the most species-rich samples, but sticky trap samples were the most diverse, when both species richness and evenness were factored into a Shannon diversity index. Repeated sampling during the noon to 18:00 hours period was most effective to obtain the maximum diversity of trapped insects. The integration of multiple sampling techniques would most effectively sample the necrophilous insect community. However, because all four tested methods were deficient at sampling beetle species, future work should focus on optimizing the most promising methods, alone or in combinations, and incorporate hand-collections of beetles. © The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Basic studies on the efficacy of gamma irradiation as insect disinfestation and sterilising techniques for stored rice insects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abdul Rahim Muda.

1987-01-01

Basic laboratory evaluations on the efficacy of gamma irradiation on the insect sitophilus zeamais, Motch. showed this method of insect control is effective to disinfest both internal and surface infestations in stored milled rice, and substantially reduced reproductive potentials of the weevil. Adult emergence of treated larvae developing within the rice kernel reduced by an average of 82% for treatment doses of 0.05 to 1 kGy. All emerged adults died within 16 days upon emergence at all tested doses. Radiated adult insects showed 100% mortality within 18 days at doses above 0.15 kGy; 26 days at 0.1 kGy and 33 days at 0.05 kGy. However none of the tested doses recorded total immediate mortality after treatment. Significant sterility effects through 93% reduction in F 1 progenies can be achieved by sterilising both parents; but none of the tested doses showed potential for employment as male sterilising technique alone. (author)

Insect and Pest Control Newsletter. No. 46

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1991-08-01

This newsletter lists the FAO/IAEA meetings in the field of pest control held between September 1990 and February 1991 and provides very brief summaries of their contents. It also features a special report on the New World Screwworm in North Africa. An eradication programme, organized by the IAEA and the FAO and based on the sterile insect technique, was implemented, and as a result it is expected that the area will be declared free of the pest during autumn 1991

Laboratory training manual on the use of nuclear techniques in insect research and control. 3. ed.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-01-01

Isotopes are commonly used in agricultural research in developed countries, but because of a lack of both training and equipment isotopic techniques are not frequently used in developing countries. This manual has been prepared with the aim of helping entomologists and others responsible for the control of insects in developing countries become familiar with the potential uses of isotopes and radiation in solving some of their research and insect control problems. After chapters dealing with radiation safety, the general properties of radiation and isotopes (especially those used by entomologists), and radiation detection and assay of radioactivity, two further chapters discuss applications to entomological problems and the sterile insect technique. Numerous case studies are described, and the final chapter also includes a description of eight laboratory exercises to investigate the effects of gamma irradiation and chemosterilants on insects. Refs, figs and tabs

Insect pest intervention using the sterile insect technique. Current status on research and on operational programs in the world

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Enkerlin, Walther; Bakri, Abdel; Caceres, Carlos

2003-01-01

The area-wide integrated approach to insect pest management (AWIPM) is increasingly gaining acceptance for major insect pests in view that agriculture and medical/veterinary pests cannot be controlled effectively at the local level, without the systematic use of conventional insecticides which disrupt the environment, affect human health and preclude access to low pesticide or organic markets. The Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) is amongst the most non-disruptive pest control methods, however, it is only effective when implementation is coordinated over larger contiguous areas to address whole target pest populations. Over the last four decades the Joint FAOI/IAEA has been promoting the AWIPM concept and supporting the development and application of the SIT against various key insect pests including fruit files, moths, screwworms and tsetse flies. There has been considerable progress in the development and integrated use of the SIT against a number of such pests, as reflected by operational programs on all five continents for eradication, for prevention, and lately increasingly for suppression. There is however, considerable scope for improving the efficiency of SIT, an indispensable requirement for increased involvement of the livestock and horticultural industry and biocontrol producers in any future application. (author)

Dipping of Eggs, Use of Low Temperature and Aeration to Improve Fruit Fly Bactrocera Carambolae (Drew and Hancock) Mass Rearing in Sterile Insect Technique Programme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nasution, Indah Arastuti; Achmad Nasroh Kuswadi

2004-01-01

In the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) programme a large number of homogenous age of pupae should be produced to be sterilized and released into the field. A methodology to preserve eggs which at the same time delay the egg hatch is needed in the production of a large number of pupae with homogenous age. The study on method of preserving fruit fly eggs the effect of dipping, low temperature, on the viability of eggs, the quality of larvae hatched from the eggs, and the quality of pupae produced were observed. Viability of eggs were observed as percent of egg hatch, quality of larvae as number of pupae produced from 0.5 ml of eggs when reared on artificial diet, and quality of pupae as percent of the flies number emerged and flew from the pupae. In room temperature (26 o C) dipping did not preserve fruit fly eggs and aeration did not improve the preservation. Although after one day dipping the viability of eggs only decreased from 90 % (control) to 80.5 %, (without aeration) and 81.5 % (with aeration) it decreased the number of pupae been produced from 1447 pupae (control) to 382 pupae (without aeration) and 616 pupae (with aeration). Low temperature successfully preserved the egg up to 24 hours. After 24 hour dipping in low temperature (16 o C) the viability of eggs were decreased up to 84.75 % (without aeration) and able to produce 1104 pupae. Aeration during dipping in low temperature did not improve the preservation. (author)

The smart aerial release machine, a universal system for applying the sterile insect technique.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ruben Leal Mubarqui

Full Text Available Beyond insecticides, alternative methods to control insect pests for agriculture and vectors of diseases are needed. Management strategies involving the mass-release of living control agents have been developed, including genetic control with sterile insects and biological control with parasitoids, for which aerial release of insects is often required. Aerial release in genetic control programmes often involves the use of chilled sterile insects, which can improve dispersal, survival and competitiveness of sterile males. Currently available means of aerially releasing chilled fruit flies are however insufficiently precise to ensure homogeneous distribution at low release rates and no device is available for tsetse.Here we present the smart aerial release machine, a new design by the Mubarqui Company, based on the use of vibrating conveyors. The machine is controlled through Bluetooth by a tablet with Android Operating System including a completely automatic guidance and navigation system (MaxNav software. The tablet is also connected to an online relational database facilitating the preparation of flight schedules and automatic storage of flight reports. The new machine was compared with a conveyor release machine in Mexico using two fruit flies species (Anastrepha ludens and Ceratitis capitata and we obtained better dispersal homogeneity (% of positive traps, p<0.001 for both species and better recapture rates for Anastrepha ludens (p<0.001, especially at low release densities (<1500 per ha. We also demonstrated that the machine can replace paper boxes for aerial release of tsetse in Senegal.This technology limits damages to insects and allows a large range of release rates from 10 flies/km2 for tsetse flies up to 600,000 flies/km2 for fruit flies. The potential of this machine to release other species like mosquitoes is discussed. Plans and operating of the machine are provided to allow its use worldwide.

First results in the use of sterile insect technique against Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Homoptera: Aleyroididae) in greenhouses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Calvitti, M.; Remotti, P.C.; Pasquali, A.; Cirio, U.

1998-01-01

Trials for the evaluation of the effectiveness of the sterile insect technique for the suppression of greenhouse whitefly, Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Westwood), both in cage and in greenhouse conditions are described. The results show a significant reduction of the reproductive capacity of the untreated whitefly populations interacting with sterile insects. Untreated whiteflies, co-existing in a mixed population together with sterile insects, attained less than the half (44%) of their potential reproductive capacity. This trend was also evident in the cage test where the untreated whitefly population, crossed with the sterile whiteflies, increased without exceeding 2/3 of the density recorded in the control cages. These results may be based on 2 joint sterile insect technique effects: primarily a drastic reduction of the progeny of normal untreated females, when mating with sterile males, carriers of dominant lethal mutations, and secondarily a progressive reduction of the females in the population due to an increasing rate of unsuccessful matings resulting in a condition of forced arrhenotoky. No deleterious effects, on plant health and fruit quality, were observed on plants exposed to high sterile whitefly pressures

Suppression of oriental fruit moth (Grapholita molesta, Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) populations using the sterile insect technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Genchev, N.

2002-01-01

The Oriental fruit moth (OFM) is a major insect pest of peaches in Bulgaria. Its control usually requires several insecticide treatments per season. This, however, gives rise to serious toxic residue problems. A program for suppression of OFM populations involving the use of sterile-insect technique (SIT) has been developed as an alternative to the chemical methods for OFM. Relevant information regarding laboratory rearing, radiation and basic biology are presented here. Expected effects of some release programs are modelled using appropriate mathematical simulations. Results obtained in a small field experiment showed high efficacy of a program integrating F 1 male sterility technique and classic SIT. (author)

Genetic sexing strains in Mediterranean fruit fly, an example for other species amenable to large-scale rearing for the sterile insect technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Franz, G.

2005-01-01

Through genetic and molecular manipulations, strains can be developed that are more suitable for the sterile insect technique (SIT). In this chapter the development of genetic sexing strains (GSSs) is given as an example. GSSs increase the effectiveness of area-wide integrated pest management (AW-IPM) programmes that use the SIT by enabling the large-scale release of only sterile males. For species that transmit disease, the removal of females is mandatory. For the Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), genetic sexing systems have been developed; they are stable enough to be used in operational programmes for extended periods of time. Until recently, the only way to generate such strains was through Mendelian genetics. In this chapter, the basic principle of translocation-based sexing strains is described, and Mediterranean fruit fly strains are used as examples to indicate the problems encountered in such strains. Furthermore, the strategies used to solve these problems are described. The advantages of following molecular strategies in the future development of sexing strains are outlined, especially for species where little basic knowledge of genetics exists. (author)

Developing methods of measuring competitiveness of sterilized laboratory insects. Part of a coordinated programme on the use of the sterile male technique for control of Lepidopterous insects attacking fruit and forest trees

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Szalay-Marzso, L.

1978-08-01

Optical and acoustical equipment were developed and tested for measuring insect activity, one of the parameters used to assess insect quality. The acoustical equipment which recorded the sound generated by moving insects performed well in the laboratory but was either unsuitable to measure the activity of populations as opposed to pairs or was unsuitable under field conditions. The optical equipment, however, based on light interception, performed well in the field also. In other studies the fitness of insects receiving various treatments was assessed on the basis of release-recapture experiments, number of matings and percentage sperm transfer. These methods proved very sensitive but were more laborious compared to automated recordings

Standardization of Ceratitis capitata Wied. (Diptera: Tephritidae) female trapping for use in sterile insect programmes. Catamarca, Argentina, 1995-1997

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vattuone, M.

1999-01-01

The main objective of the study was to assess Ceratitis capitata Wied. (medfly) female trapping with new traps and attractants in varying ecological conditions as part of a co-ordinated international programme. Trials were carried out between 1995 and 1997, using seven types of traps baited with the various combination of sexual and food attractants. Different methods for insects retention were also tested. For these trials, protocols established by the International Atomic Energy Agency were followed. The Jackson Trap with Trimedlure plugs proved to be the most efficient for capture of medfly males, while International Pheromone's McPhail Trap was the most efficient for the capture of females, when used with a combination of all three new attractants (FA-3) consisting of ammonium acetate, putrescine, and trimethylamine plus the toxicant DDVP for insect retention. The new traps and attractants also captured flies belonging to genus Anastrepha (Diptera: Tephritidae). (author)

Insect Pest Control Newsletter, No. 82, January 2014

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2014-01-01

Microbes have been the dominating forms of life, almost since the birth of our planet about 4.5 billion years ago. Being masters of chemical reactions, they regulate the recycling of all major chemicals relevant to life; manage energy sources and the production of fuels; determine the aerobic conditions of our atmosphere and influence our climate; are the catalytic factors of soil fertility, thus affecting agricultural production; and have also been of paramount importance for the health of ecosystems and of all living organisms including humans. Last, but not least, they have been the driving force of the on-going 'biotechnological revolution', which promises to produce more and healthier food, drugs and 'green' fuels. Because of all their unique metabolic properties, microbes have been driving the evolution of life on earth, either by being free-living or by establishing symbiotic associations with diverse organisms including insects. Insects are the most abundant and species-rich animal group on earth, occupying most available ecological niches. Conservative estimates suggest that about 85% of all described animal species are insects; estimates range between 2-30 million insect species and about 10 quintillion (1018) individual insects being alive at any given time (http://www.si.edu/Encyclopedia_SI/nmnh/ buginfo/bugnos.htm). During recent years it has become evident that the ecological and evolutionarily success of insects greatly depends on the sophisticated symbiotic associations they have established with diverse microorganisms, which influence all aspects of their biology, physiology, ecology and evolution. The few examples presented below aim to underline the importance of these symbiotic associations and indicate that the characterization, exploitation and management of insect-bacterial symbiotic associations can significantly contribute to the support and enhancement of sterile insect technique (SIT) programmes against agricultural pests and disease

Insect Pest Control Newsletter, No. 82, January 2014

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2014-01-15

Microbes have been the dominating forms of life, almost since the birth of our planet about 4.5 billion years ago. Being masters of chemical reactions, they regulate the recycling of all major chemicals relevant to life; manage energy sources and the production of fuels; determine the aerobic conditions of our atmosphere and influence our climate; are the catalytic factors of soil fertility, thus affecting agricultural production; and have also been of paramount importance for the health of ecosystems and of all living organisms including humans. Last, but not least, they have been the driving force of the on-going 'biotechnological revolution', which promises to produce more and healthier food, drugs and 'green' fuels. Because of all their unique metabolic properties, microbes have been driving the evolution of life on earth, either by being free-living or by establishing symbiotic associations with diverse organisms including insects. Insects are the most abundant and species-rich animal group on earth, occupying most available ecological niches. Conservative estimates suggest that about 85% of all described animal species are insects; estimates range between 2-30 million insect species and about 10 quintillion (1018) individual insects being alive at any given time (http://www.si.edu/Encyclopedia{sub S}I/nmnh/ buginfo/bugnos.htm). During recent years it has become evident that the ecological and evolutionarily success of insects greatly depends on the sophisticated symbiotic associations they have established with diverse microorganisms, which influence all aspects of their biology, physiology, ecology and evolution. The few examples presented below aim to underline the importance of these symbiotic associations and indicate that the characterization, exploitation and management of insect-bacterial symbiotic associations can significantly contribute to the support and enhancement of sterile insect technique (SIT) programmes against agricultural pests and disease

Risks in teaching manipulation techniques in master programmes.

Science.gov (United States)

Pool, Jan; Cagnie, Barbara; Pool-Goudzwaard, Annelies

2016-09-01

High Velocity Techniques (HVT) in the (high) cervical spine are part of the standard curricula of manual therapy educational programmes. Little is known about the risk or the presence of adverse events during skills training sessions. This article describes two cases of students with both being at risk for an adverse event; one with a congenital artery aberration and one with cancer in the high cervical region. Teachers and educational programme developers should take risk management into account when teaching HVT. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The IAEA isotope and radiation programme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Danesi, P.R.

1988-01-01

The IAEA isotope and radiation programme is characterized by the very large number of topics dealt with and the broad range of activities where nuclear methods and techniques are utilized. The main activities of the programme can be grouped into: food and agriculture, human health and life science, industry and physical science, and laboratory services. Radioisotope and radiation based techniques are applied to such areas as plant breeding, insect and pest control, soil fertility studies, animal health and production, studies on the fate of pesticide residues and radionuclides in the food chain, and food preservation. General objectives of the second group of activities are to assist hospitals and research institutes in developing member states in the introduction and development of radionuclide tracers in medical diagnosis and research, to promote use of radiation therapy for cancer treatment, etc. The major objective of the third group is to foster research and application of nuclear methodologies for industrial applications in developing countries. The Agency's Laboratories at Seibersdorf and in Vienna and the Monaco Laboratory play a relevant role in providing laboratory services as a back-up for various programmes, and in the training of scientists from developing countries. (Nogami, K.)

Insect and Pest Control Newsletter, No. 77, July 2011

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2011-07-01

As reported in some previous newsletters, both FAO and IAEA have been undergoing considerable transformation as a result of a major on-going reform process of FAO that started in 2009 and which is scheduled to be fully implemented by 2013. In addition, the IAEA has seen a complete change of senior management and in January 2011 Mr Daud Mohamad was appointed Deputy Director General Nuclear Sciences and Applications and Head of the Department which includes the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture. The IAEA has been implementing AIPS, a new IAEA wide Information System for Programme Support, representing a drastic transformation of processes. Until recently there were over 60 different and independent internal information systems and AIPS is replacing most of them with one Oracle product. AIPS also entails the adoption of IPSAS, the International Public Sector Accounting Standards, which is used in a majority of international organizations, involving independentlymaintained standards for financial reporting, considered best practice for organizations like ours. AIPS is being introduced in stages or 'plateaus'. The first plateau is devoted to Finance, Procurement, Transportation and the operational parts of Programme and Project Management. This went live in January 2011, in tandem with our adoption of IPSAS. Plateau 2 is scheduled for 2012. In terms of new publications, a special issue of Genetica on 'Molecular Technologies to Improve the Effectiveness of the Sterile Insect Technique' was recently published. A second publication, 'Rearing Codling Moth for the Sterile Insect Technique' is a text book that was published under the FAO Plant Production and Protection Paper series.

Insect and Pest Control Newsletter, No. 77, July 2011

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2011-07-15

As reported in some previous newsletters, both FAO and IAEA have been undergoing considerable transformation as a result of a major on-going reform process of FAO that started in 2009 and which is scheduled to be fully implemented by 2013. In addition, the IAEA has seen a complete change of senior management and in January 2011 Mr Daud Mohamad was appointed Deputy Director General Nuclear Sciences and Applications and Head of the Department which includes the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture. The IAEA has been implementing AIPS, a new IAEA wide Information System for Programme Support, representing a drastic transformation of processes. Until recently there were over 60 different and independent internal information systems and AIPS is replacing most of them with one Oracle product. AIPS also entails the adoption of IPSAS, the International Public Sector Accounting Standards, which is used in a majority of international organizations, involving independentlymaintained standards for financial reporting, considered best practice for organizations like ours. AIPS is being introduced in stages or 'plateaus'. The first plateau is devoted to Finance, Procurement, Transportation and the operational parts of Programme and Project Management. This went live in January 2011, in tandem with our adoption of IPSAS. Plateau 2 is scheduled for 2012. In terms of new publications, a special issue of Genetica on 'Molecular Technologies to Improve the Effectiveness of the Sterile Insect Technique' was recently published. A second publication, 'Rearing Codling Moth for the Sterile Insect Technique' is a text book that was published under the FAO Plant Production and Protection Paper series.

Developing Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) as a tool Mosquito Control Districts can use for integrated Aedes aegypti control

Science.gov (United States)

New tools are clearly needed for integrated mosquito management of Ae. aegypti. We describe the sterile insect technique (SIT) that we are developing as a method to control Ae. aegypti by partnering with two prominent Florida mosquito control districts (MCD) and the FAO/IAEA Insect Pest Control Sub...

Light microscopy with differential staining techniques for the characterisation and discrimination of insects versus marine arthropods processed animal proteins.

Science.gov (United States)

Ottoboni, Matteo; Tretola, Marco; Cheli, Federica; Marchis, Daniela; Veys, Pascal; Baeten, Vincent; Pinotti, Luciano

2017-08-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of light microscopy with differential staining techniques for the discrimination of insect material from marine arthropods - classified as fishmeal. Specifically, three samples of single-species insect material, Hermetia illucens (HI), Bombyx mori (BM) and Tenebrio molitor (TM), and two samples of marine arthropods, shrimp material and krill, were analysed and compared after staining by two reagents to enhance fragment identification. Alizarin Red (AR) and Chlorazol Black (CB), which react respectively with calcium salts and chitin, were tested for their potential efficacy in distinguishing between insect and marine materials. Results indicated that AR failed to stain HI, BM and TM materials. By contrast, the three insect species materials tested were stained by CB. When shrimp fragments and krill were considered, AR and CB stained marine materials reddish-pink and light blue to black, respectively. By combining these results, it can be suggested that CB staining may efficiently be used to mark insect materials; AR does stain shrimp fragments but does not stain the tested insect material, indicating a possible approach for discriminating between insects and marine arthropods. However, since the present study was performed on pure materials and a small set of samples, possible implementation of this technique still needs to be confirmed in complex matrices such as compound feed.

The smart aerial release machine, a universal system for applying the sterile insect technique: Manuscript Draft

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mubarqui, Leal Ruben; Perez, Rene Cano; Klad, Roberto Angulo; Lopez, Jose L. Zavale; Parker, Andrew; Seck, Momar Talla; Sall, Baba; Bouyer, Jeremy

2014-01-01

Beyond insecticides, alternative methods to control insect pests for agriculture and vectors of diseases are needed. Management strategies involving the mass-release of living control agents have been developed, including genetic control with sterile insects and biological control with parasitoids, for which aerial release of insects is often required. Aerial release in genetic control programmes often involves the use of chilled sterile insects, which can improve dispersal, survival and competitiveness of sterile males. Currently available means of aerially releasing chilled fruit flies are however insufficiently precise to ensure homogeneous distribution at low release rates and no device is available for tsetse. Here we present the smart aerial release machine, a new design by the Mubarqui Company, based on the use of vibrating conveyors. The machine is controlled through Bluetooth by a tablet with Android Operating System including a completely automatic guidance and navigation system (MaxNav software). The tablet is also connected to an online relational database facilitating the preparation of flight schedules and automatic storage of flight reports. The new machine was compared with a conveyor release machine in Mexico using two fruit flies species (Anastrepha ludens and Ceratitis capitata) and we obtained better dispersal homogeneity (% of positive traps, p < 0.001) for both species and better recapture rates for Anastrepha ludens (p < 0.001), especially at low release densities (<1500 per ha). We also demonstrated that the machine can replace paper boxes for aerial release of tsetse in Senegal.This technology limits damages to insects and allows a large range of release rates from 10 flies/km"2 for tsetse flies up to 600 000 flies/km"2 for fruit flies. The potential of this machine to release other species like mosquitoes is discussed. Plans and operating of the machine are provided to allow its use worldwide.

Risks in teaching manipulation techniques in master programmes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pool, Jan J.M.; Cagnie, B.; Pool-Goudzwaard, A.L.

2016-01-01

High Velocity Techniques (HVT) in the (high) cervical spine are part of the standard curricula of manual therapy educational programmes. Little is known about the risk or the presence of adverse events during skills training sessions. This article describes two cases of students with both being at

Standardization of medfly trapping for use in sterile insect technique programmes. Final report of a co-ordinated research programme 1986-1992

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-05-01

As different trapping systems are often applied in different countries or regions, it becomes difficult to compare population data from these regions. Also, population measurements taken with the same trap but in different climates are again difficult to compare. Given the cosmopolitan nature of the medfly and the area-wide control programmes developed against it, it is necessary to be able to estimate or compare fly population levels even when measured with different traps and in different environments. In view of the above, the Joint FAO/IAEA Division, which has long been involved in medfly eradication and/or control activities in different regions, organized a co-ordinated research programme with the objective to compare and to standardize several of the most common medfly traps under different weather, host-tree and population density conditions. Tests were carried out in eight different countries and climates in northern Africa, southern Europe and Central America. Production of fruits preferred by the medfly is important in all eight countries. Refs, figs, tabs

A Programme for the Eradication of the New World Screwworm from North Africa

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1990-04-15

The recent establishment of the New World Screwworm (NWS), Cochliomyia hominivorax, in North Africa poses an enormous threat to that continent, as well as the Mediterranean Basin and the Middle East. Because of the urgent need to initiate an eradication programme as soon as possible, three consultants met in Vienna from 8 to 19 January 1990 to prepare a programme outlining the eradication of the NWS from North Africa. Emphasis was placed on the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) portion of an eradication programme. At the time the report was prepared the NWS had been reported only from Libya, therefore the report deals with eradication from that country. The document will be used by the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture as a guide to assist FAO in NWS eradication from North Africa.

A Programme for the Eradication of the New World Screwworm from North Africa

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1990-04-01

The recent establishment of the New World Screwworm (NWS), Cochliomyia hominivorax, in North Africa poses an enormous threat to that continent, as well as the Mediterranean Basin and the Middle East. Because of the urgent need to initiate an eradication programme as soon as possible, three consultants met in Vienna from 8 to 19 January 1990 to prepare a programme outlining the eradication of the NWS from North Africa. Emphasis was placed on the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) portion of an eradication programme. At the time the report was prepared the NWS had been reported only from Libya, therefore the report deals with eradication from that country. The document will be used by the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture as a guide to assist FAO in NWS eradication from North Africa.

Modelling Aedes aegypti mosquito control via transgenic and sterile insect techniques: Endemics and emerging outbreaks

KAUST Repository

Seirin Lee, S.

2013-08-01

The invasion of pest insects often changes or destroys a native ecosystem, and can result in food shortages and disease endemics. Issues such as the environmental effects of chemical control methods, the economic burden of maintaining control strategies and the risk of pest resistance still remain, and mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue fever prevail in many countries, infecting over 100 million worldwide in 2010. One environmentally friendly method for mosquito control is the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT). This species-specific method of insect control relies on the mass rearing, sterilization and release of large numbers of sterile insects. An alternative transgenic method is the Release of Insects carrying a Dominant Lethal (RIDL). Our objective is to consider contrasting control strategies for two invasive scenarios via SIT and RIDL: an endemic case and an emerging outbreak. We investigate how the release rate and size of release region influence both the potential for control success and the resources needed to achieve it, under a range of conditions and control strategies, and we discuss advantageous strategies with respect to reducing the release resources and strategy costs (in terms of control mosquito numbers) required to achieve complete eradication of wild-type mosquitoes. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.

Modelling Aedes aegypti mosquito control via transgenic and sterile insect techniques: Endemics and emerging outbreaks

KAUST Repository

Seirin Lee, S.; Baker, R.E.; Gaffney, E.A.; White, S.M.

2013-01-01

The invasion of pest insects often changes or destroys a native ecosystem, and can result in food shortages and disease endemics. Issues such as the environmental effects of chemical control methods, the economic burden of maintaining control strategies and the risk of pest resistance still remain, and mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue fever prevail in many countries, infecting over 100 million worldwide in 2010. One environmentally friendly method for mosquito control is the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT). This species-specific method of insect control relies on the mass rearing, sterilization and release of large numbers of sterile insects. An alternative transgenic method is the Release of Insects carrying a Dominant Lethal (RIDL). Our objective is to consider contrasting control strategies for two invasive scenarios via SIT and RIDL: an endemic case and an emerging outbreak. We investigate how the release rate and size of release region influence both the potential for control success and the resources needed to achieve it, under a range of conditions and control strategies, and we discuss advantageous strategies with respect to reducing the release resources and strategy costs (in terms of control mosquito numbers) required to achieve complete eradication of wild-type mosquitoes. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.

Insect and Pest Control Newsletter, No. 88, January 2017

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2017-01-01

In our NL 84, we reported on the ground-breaking for the ReNuAL project (Renovation of the Nuclear Applications Laboratories), which includes the FAO/IAEA Agriculture & Biotechnology Laboratories. The laboratories are unique within the United Nations system in providing Member States with direct access to scientific training, technology and analytical services. ReNuAL is getting under way with the construction of a new Insect Pest Control Laboratory (IPCL), pictured on the previous page, due for completion by the end of 2017. In 2016, we also reported on the increasing demands from our FAO and IAEA Member States to expand our focus from developing and transferring the SIT for major crop and livestock insect pests to major disease-transmitting mosquitoes. Looking to the year ahead, we are organizing the Third FAO/IAEA International Conference on Area-wide Management of Insect Pests: Integrating the Sterile Insect and Related Nuclear and Other Techniques, at the IAEA Headquarters in Vienna, Austria, from 22–26 May 2017. The programme that is being prepared looks very promising and will cover relevant current scientific and applied topics. A number of prominent speakers have been invited to debate new developments and trends. We expect around 400 scientists from all continents and look forward to a successful conference and your active participation.

Thematic Plan for Fruit Fly Control Using the Sterile Insect Technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1999-01-01

This thematic plan for fruit flies is the summation of ideas and recommendations put forth by a group of experts composed of fruit fly program managers and workers, stakeholders from the affected industry, a commodity specialist from the FAO, and technical, planning and policy specialists from the IAEA and the FAO. This document provides strategic guidance and direction on how and where the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) can most effectively be applied to control or eradicate fruit flies in the future.

Modelling the effects of the sterile insect technique applied to Eldana saccharina Walker in sugarcane

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L Potgieter

2012-12-01

Full Text Available A mathematical model is formulated for the population dynamics of an Eldana saccharina Walker infestation of sugarcane under the influence of partially sterile released insects. The model describes the population growth of and interaction between normal and sterile E.saccharina moths in a temporally variable, but spatially homogeneous environment. The model consists of a deterministic system of difference equations subject to strictly positive initial data. The primary objective of this model is to determine suitable parameters in terms of which the above population growth and interaction may be quantified and according to which E.saccharina infestation levels and the associated sugarcane damage may be measured. Although many models have been formulated in the past describing the sterile insect technique, few of these models describe the technique for Lepidopteran species with more than one life stage and where F1-sterility is relevant. In addition, none of these models consider the technique when fully sterile females and partially sterile males are being released. The model formulated is also the first to describe the technique applied specifically to E.saccharina, and to consider the economic viability of applying the technique to this species. Pertinent decision support is provided to farm managers in terms of the best timing for releases, release ratios and release frequencies.

Genetic technologies to enhance the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alphey, Luke; Baker, Pam; Condon, George C.; Condon, Kirsty C.; Dafa'alla, Tarig H.; Fu, Guoliang; Jin, Li; Labbe, Genevieve; Morrison, Neil M.; Nimmo, Derric D.; O'Connell, Sinead; Phillips, Caroline E.; Plackett, Andrew; Scaife, Sarah; Woods, Alexander; Burton, Rosemary S.; Epton, Matthew J.; Gong, Peng

2006-01-01

The Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) has been used very successfully against range of pest insects, including various tephritid fruit flies, several moths and a small number of livestock pests. However, modern genetics could potentially provide several improvements that would increase the cost-effectiveness of SIT, and extend the range of suitable species. These include improved identification of released individuals by incorporation of a stable, heritable, genetic marker; built-in sex separation (genetic sexing); reduction of the hazard posed by non-irradiated accidental releases from mass-rearing facility (fail-safe); elimination of the need for sterilization by irradiation (genetic sterilization). We discuss applications of these methods and the state of the art, at the time of this meeting, in developing suitable strains. We have demonstrated, in several key pest species, that the required strains can be constructed by introducing a repressible dominant lethal genetic system, a method known as RIDL(trade mark). Based on field experience with Medfly, incorporation of a genetic sexing system into SIT programs for other tephritids could potentially provide a very significant improvement in cost-effectiveness. We have now been able to make efficient female-lethal strains for Medfly. One advantage of our approach is that it should be possible rapidly to extend this technology to other fruit fly species; indeed we have recently been able also to make genetic sexing strains of Medfly (Anastrepha ludens). (author)

Genetic technologies to enhance the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alphey, Luke; Baker, Pam; Condon, George C; Condon, Kirsty C; Dafa' alla, Tarig H; Fu, Guoliang; Jin, Li; Labbe, Genevieve; Morrison, Neil M; Nimmo, Derric D; O' Connell, Sinead; Phillips, Caroline E; Plackett, Andrew; Scaife, Sarah; Woods, Alexander [Oxitec Ltd., Oxford (United Kingdom); Burton, Rosemary S; Epton, Matthew J; Gong, Peng [University of Oxford (United Kingdom). Dept. of Zoology

2006-07-01

The Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) has been used very successfully against range of pest insects, including various tephritid fruit flies, several moths and a small number of livestock pests. However, modern genetics could potentially provide several improvements that would increase the cost-effectiveness of SIT, and extend the range of suitable species. These include improved identification of released individuals by incorporation of a stable, heritable, genetic marker; built-in sex separation (genetic sexing); reduction of the hazard posed by non-irradiated accidental releases from mass-rearing facility (fail-safe); elimination of the need for sterilization by irradiation (genetic sterilization). We discuss applications of these methods and the state of the art, at the time of this meeting, in developing suitable strains. We have demonstrated, in several key pest species, that the required strains can be constructed by introducing a repressible dominant lethal genetic system, a method known as RIDL(trade mark). Based on field experience with Medfly, incorporation of a genetic sexing system into SIT programs for other tephritids could potentially provide a very significant improvement in cost-effectiveness. We have now been able to make efficient female-lethal strains for Medfly. One advantage of our approach is that it should be possible rapidly to extend this technology to other fruit fly species; indeed we have recently been able also to make genetic sexing strains of Medfly (Anastrepha ludens). (author)

Using GPS instruments and GIS techniques in data management for insect pest control programs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2006-01-01

This interactive tutorial CD entitled 'Using GPS Instruments and GIS Techniques in Data Management for Insect Pest Control Programs' was developed by Micha silver of the Arava Development Co., Sapir, Israel, and includes step-by-step hands on lessons on the use of GPS/GIS in support of area-wide pest control operations

Radioactive labelling of insects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thygesen, Th.

Experiments are described with the internal contamination of insects with phosphorus 32 introduced previously in plants of the brassica type using three different techniques. The intake of radioactivity from the plants to the insects is shown. (L.O.)

The Sterile Insect Technique:Current and Future Prospects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

ALRubeai, H.F.

2004-01-01

Considering the importance of the Key insect pests and their potential for economic and environmental impact, such species are the targets for area-wide approaches including in some cases the use of SIT. At the heart of the SIT is genetic sterility that is introduced into the target population by releasing large numbers of sterile insects . The development of an SIT package for a Key pest, involving mass rearing and aerial dispersion, as well as field monitoring and a suppression system. Losses caused by insect pests throughout the developing world will continue to be unacceptably high in the foreseeable future. Therefore, the economic feasibility of non-chemical pest control tools, including biologically -based methods such as SIT, will become increasingly apparent . This study include an overview of the basic scientific principles of SIT , is successful applications and related mass rearing and irradiation facilities over the world. (author)

The Agency programme for the development of safeguards techniques and instrumentation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lopez-Menchero, E.; Waligura, A.J.

1976-01-01

The programme of the Division of Development concentrates attention upon a variety of technical problems and tasks to enable the Agency safeguards system to achieve its safeguards objectives most economically for the Agency, the Member States and the nuclear facility operators. The programme must take into account the changes which may occur in the Agency's tasks as a consequence of implementation of safeguards in States with important nuclear activities. This paper attempts to summarize where the Agency methods and techniques development programme stands on meeting defined technical objectives, to point out where the main problems lie and to offer some guidelines for their solution. (author)

Recombinant DNA technology and insect control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seawright, J.A.; Cockburn, Andrew F.

1989-01-01

In the past, the most successful avenue for the use of genetics in insect control has been the employment of the sterile insect technique, in which huge numbers of a species are produced in a factory, sterilized by exposure to ionizing radiation and released into the native habitat. this method is suitable for some species, but for logistical, economical, and biological reasons this control technique is not suitable for many economically important species. Our ability to use genetic approaches to cope with the myriad of insect pests will improve in the near future because of progress in the biochemical manipulation of genes. Molecular geneticists have created bacteria, plants, animals, and fungi that have useful new properties, and many of these are being used or tested for commercial use. A reasonable forecast is that a virtual revolution will occur in the way that we currently practice and perceive the genetic control of insects. Using genetic engineering manipulations to develop control techniques for insects of agricultural and public health importance is an exciting prospect and a highly desirable goal

Recombinant DNA technology and insect control

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Seawright, J A; Cockburn, Andrew F [Insects Affecting Man and Animals Laboratory, Agric. Res. Serv., U.S. Department of Agriculture, Gainesville, FL (United States)

1989-08-01

In the past, the most successful avenue for the use of genetics in insect control has been the employment of the sterile insect technique, in which huge numbers of a species are produced in a factory, sterilized by exposure to ionizing radiation and released into the native habitat. this method is suitable for some species, but for logistical, economical, and biological reasons this control technique is not suitable for many economically important species. Our ability to use genetic approaches to cope with the myriad of insect pests will improve in the near future because of progress in the biochemical manipulation of genes. Molecular geneticists have created bacteria, plants, animals, and fungi that have useful new properties, and many of these are being used or tested for commercial use. A reasonable forecast is that a virtual revolution will occur in the way that we currently practice and perceive the genetic control of insects. Using genetic engineering manipulations to develop control techniques for insects of agricultural and public health importance is an exciting prospect and a highly desirable goal.

Integration of the sterile insect technique (SIT) and autosterilisation lethality in the eradication of Glossina fuscipes fuscipes Newst. (Diptera, Glossinidae) in Buvuma Islands in Lake Victoria, Uganda

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oloo, F.P.; Langley, P.A.; Luyimbazi, F.; Ogwal, L.M.

2000-01-01

The years of 1970s to 1990s saw the development of bait technology for the control of tsetse flies from their infancy to their optimum levels. The technology relies on attracting the flies to trapping and killing devices, relying on olfactory and visual cues to artificial and natural objects which the flies probably perceive as their hosts. Despite the present level of improvement, the catching or trapping efficiency is low, averaging 20-35%, and some tsetse species hardly respond to these techniques. This makes sustaining control programmes to a level where economic development can proceed effectively elusive, leading to the re-invasion and collapse of many tsetse control projects. Efforts are therefore being made to incorporate different killing methods into the trapping systems. Lethal insect techniques (LIT) with pathogens, insect growth regulators and other chemosterilants are incorporated into bait technology to amplify their effectiveness as the flies can transfer them to other members of the species which cannot get access to the attractive devices. They are compatible with the sterile insect technique. Prospects for autosterilisation of the tsetse flies have been reviewed by Langley and Coates (1982) who also assessed the incorporation of sex pheromones and bisazir in the field. Encouraging field results were obtained with Pyroprxyfen (Sumitomo Chemical Co.) which is a juvenile hormone mimic that allows the larvae of G. morsitans morsitans to be produced normally but on pupation, further development was arrested after twenty days of the thirty day intrapupal period, 'effectively' making the females sterile (Hargrove and Langley 1990). However, when triflumuron is applied at doses of 0.5 micrograms per tsetse fly the following reproductive cycle was arrested with no recovery over four reproductive cycles (forty five days). Birth products of the sterilised flies ranged from abortion of eggs to fully grown larvae which formed non-viable puparia. The aim of

Mathematical models for the use of sterile insects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barclay, H.J.

2005-01-01

This chapter begins with a consideration of simple population models. The sterility formulation proposed by Knipling is then included into the population models, and these are elaborated in systematic fashion to include the major biological factors that will affect the success of the sterile insect technique (SIT) control programme. These factors include residual fertility, differential competitive ability of wild and sterilized males, mating patterns, immigration, and various combinations of these features. Also examined are density-dependence, age structure, population aggregation, biotic interactions with other species, and then integration of the SIT with other control methods. It was found that combinations of factors are synergistic: combinations of detrimental factors such as residual fertility and inferior competitive ability put severe limits on the probable success of the control programme, while combinations of control methods are much more likely to succeed than single control methods. This is because each control method needs only to account for a smaller proportion of the total mortality when combined with other methods than when acting alone. (author)

Development of mass production, gamma sterilization and release of the codling moth, Laspeyresia pomonella L. Part of a coordinated programme on the use of the sterile male technique for control of lepidopterous insects attacking fruit and forest trees

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suski, Z.W.

1979-03-01

Research on codling moths was conducted from Spring 1973 to Autumn 1978 and included rearing of larvae on thinning apples and artificial diet ecology, radiation sterilization and the effect of field releases of sterile moths in suppressing the wild population. Field releases of irradiated with 30 Krad unsexed insects were conducted in two consecutive seasons, namely in 1977 and 1978 and aimed at a sterile to wild ratio of 97:1 and 233:1 respectively. The experimentally obtained ratio, however, based on catches in traps baited with sex attractant was 24:1 and 79:1 respectively. Examination of fruit infestation at harvest revealed an increase in infestation by 9% in the 1977 sterile release programme and by 56% in the 1978 programme. Likely causes of the failure of the SIT programme were the immigration of fertile females from the surrounding area and inadequate mating competitiveness of the released moths due to somatic damage caused by the irradiation and laboratory adaptation. The sharp increase of fruit infestation in 1978 was very likely the result of a six fold increase in yield which provided a better chance of survival for hatching larvae

Sterile insect technique for the management of the oriental fruit fly in Guimaras iasland

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Golez, H.; Manoto, E.

1996-01-01

Mango is an important fruit crop in the country as shown by increasing demand for the fruit both in local and domestic markets. In particular, the island of Guimaras is now being developed as the mango province of the country since the soil and climate are highly suitable for its growth and development. Today, there are more than 250,000 trees grown in the island and the local government plans to plant more than 1 million trees by the year 2000. The production of quality fruits is however, hampered by the presence of fruit flies. A new strategy in fruit fly control is the sterile insect technique which will be implemented in the island of Guimaras. SIT involves mass rearing, sterilization and release of sterile fruit flies in target areas to stop native flies from reproducing. Preparatory phase of the project include campaigns launched to inform growers, government officials and private sectors on the objectives and mechanics of SIT through press releases, workshops and meetings. Basic ecological studies which involved determination of host fruits, degree of fruit infestation, population dynamics and fruit fly dispersal are presented. Estimates of fruit fly population showed that more insects were present in natural vegetation as compared to mix plantation and low population was recorded in pure orchards. Preliminary results of male annihilation technique using a bait consisting of methyl eugenol and malathion placed in fiber boards also revealed that male populations were reduced to low levels, provided that wide area approach is considered. Otherwise, reinfestation of limited areas by flies will occur. Continuous monitoring of flies in the whole island is now being undertaken. Sterile insect technique was demonstrated in the small islet of Naoay, south west of the main island of Guimaras. Results of several releases showed that no unmarked flies were captured from monitoring traps, indicating that sterile flies suppressed the population of wild flies in the area

Respiratory symptoms in insect breeders.

Science.gov (United States)

Harris-Roberts, J; Fishwick, D; Tate, P; Rawbone, R; Stagg, S; Barber, C M; Adisesh, A

2011-08-01

A number of specialist food suppliers in the UK breed and distribute insects and insect larvae as food for exotic pets, such as reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates. To investigate the extent of work-related (WR) symptoms and workplace-specific serum IgE in workers potentially exposed to a variety of biological contaminants, including insect and insect larvae allergens, endotoxin and cereal allergens at a UK specialist insect breeding facility. We undertook a study of respiratory symptoms and exposures at the facility, with subsequent detailed clinical assessment of one worker. All 32 workers were assessed clinically using a respiratory questionnaire and lung function. Eighteen workers consented to provide serum for determination of specific IgE to workplace allergens. Thirty-four per cent (11/32) of insect workers reported WR respiratory symptoms. Sensitization, as judged by specific IgE, was found in 29% (4/14) of currently exposed workers. Total inhalable dust levels ranged from 1.2 to 17.9 mg/m(3) [mean 4.3 mg/m(3) (SD 4.4 mg/m(3)), median 2.0 mg/m(3)] and endotoxin levels of up to 29435 EU/m(3) were recorded. Exposure to organic dusts below the levels for which there are UK workplace exposure limits can result in respiratory symptoms and sensitization. The results should alert those responsible for the health of similarly exposed workers to the potential for respiratory ill-health and the need to provide a suitable health surveillance programme.

The study of insect blood-feeding behaviour: 2. Recording techniques and the use of flow charts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. J. B. Smith

1987-01-01

Full Text Available This paper continues a discussion of approaches and methodologies we have used in our studies of feeding in haematophagous insects. Described are techniques for directly monitoring behaviour: electrical recording of feeding behaviour via resistance changes in the food canal, optical methods for monitoring mouthpart activity, and a computer technique for behavioural event recording. Also described is the use of "flow charts" or "decision diagrams" to model interrelated sequences of behaviours.

Plant breeding for resistance to insect pests: Considerations about the use of induced mutations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1978-01-01

The Panel was intended to stimulate proposals on specific plant breeding objectives, for immediate and long term solution. Nine papers considered the host plant resistance to particular insect pests in a variety of cases. The desirability of achieving some measure of pest control via the development of disease-resistant mutants was discussed. In its conclusions, the Panel stressed the need to consider host plant resistance as one of the primary lines of defense in all pest management programmes. Consequently, resistance to insects was recommended to become an integral part of plant breeding programmes. Preference might need to be given to developing insect resistance in those crop plants for which practical control is lacking or where current methods of pest control present critical environmental hazards. The roles of the IAEA and FAO in such projects is outlined. Guidelines and recommendations on mutation breeding for resistance to insects are given in an appendix

Nuclear techniques for a cleaner environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-01-01

Highlights of the major IAEA programme for nuclear techniques and research which have direct contribution towards improvement of the environment are presented. These include topics in the areas of food and agriculture, hydrology, environmental monitoring, and marine sciences. Joint IAEA and FAO programmes in food and agriculture covers topics such as: control of insects and pests, monitoring of pesticides in ecosystem and food irradiation. In hydrology, development and management of water resources, water pollution assessment, cleaning of flue gases and sewage sludge, etc are being undertaken primarily in developing countries. Environmental monitoring is conducted with particular emphasis to when there is an accidental release of radioactivity into the environment, as happened to the Chernobyl accident

Insect pests management of bt cotton through the manipulation of different eco-friendly techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahmad, N.; Khan, M.H.; Tofique, M.

2011-01-01

This study was designed to manage insect pests of Bt cotton through the manipulation of different eco-friendly techniques. A perusal of data, based on the overall performance of different treatments reflected that lowest population of jassids (0.29) was observed in bio-control treated Bt cotton followed by bio-control treated conventional cotton (0.41). Mean per leaf population of thrips was found lowest in insecticide treated Bt cotton (0.97) which was statically at par with bi-control treated conventional cotton (0.95), biocontrol treated Bt cotton (1.09) and colour traps treated Bt cotton (1.50). In case of white flies, bio-control treated Bt cotton and bio-control treated conventional cotton again proved effective in maintaining the population at lower levels per leaf (0.33 and 0.35 respectively). No bollworms infestation was recorded in transgenic cotton whereas higher attack of the same was observed in the untreated conventional cotton block. The best results were achieved with the application of bio-control agents in combination with Bt cotton resulting in least infestation by insect pests and maximum seed yield of 3657 kg/ha. The population of Chrysoperla carnea was significantly higher in Bt and conventional cotton treated with bio-control agents as compared to the other treatments. The parasitism percentage of Trichogramma chilonis was observed significantly higher in bio-control treated conventional cotton. The studies manifested that combination of bio-control technology with Bt cotton effectively preserves the local beneficial insect fauna indicating its potential to be used as integrated management system against different insect pests of cotton. (author)

RAF-5074: Enhancing Capacity for Detection, Surveillance and Suppression of Exotic and Established Fruit Fly Species through Integration of Sterile Insect Technique with Other Suppression Methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Musyoki, M.; Kasina, M.

2017-01-01

Fruit flies (Family Tephritidae) is one of the most destructive and economically challenging pest insect of fruits and vegetables. It is responsible for loss of export markets and poor farm gate prices of fruits and vegetables. Fruit flies are insects (Diptera) and undergoes complete metamorphosis: eggs- larva- pupa- adult. Only larva (maggots) are extremely damaging and the Adults in addition cause economic injury through stippling. The purpose of this project is to build capacity of African countries in the management of fruit flies using area wide approach and incorporating sterile insect technique (SIT ). sterile insect technique is a method that uses sterile insects (males) to flood them in the wild, and by so doing they mate with wild fertile individuals, resulting to no progeny. KALRO looking forward to develop mass rearing facility for fruit flies and SIT facility

IAEA/FAO interregional training course on use of radiation in insect control and entomology with special emphasis on the sterile insect technique. Final report, May 4 - June 15, 1994

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-01-01

The principal focus of the course was the application of Radiation in Entomology to achieve Area Wide Pest Suppression or Eradication. To achieve this objective formal lectures, discussion groups, laboratory exercises and field trips were held covering the details of: (1) principles, programs and research of all aspects of the Sterile Insect Technique; (2) insect biology and control; (3) integrated pest management; (4) population dynamics and models related to the development of SIT and insect population suppression; (5) fundamentals of computers for helping in development of SIT; (6) the importance of economic considerations in formulating area wide pest management programs. The course included tours of local laboratories of the University, USDA, and the State Division of Plant Industry (DPI), and a site visit to a citrus production area in which the pest-free zone concept of pest management for fruit export is utilized

Optimal barrier zones for stopping the invasion of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes via transgenic or sterile insect techniques

KAUST Repository

Lee, S. Seirin

2013-03-27

Biological invasions have dramatically altered the natural world by threatening native species and their communities. Moreover, when the invading species is a vector for human disease, there are further substantive public health and economic impacts. The development of transgenic technologies is being explored in relation to new approaches for the biological control of insect pests. We investigate the use of two control strategies, classical sterile insect techniques and transgenic late-acting bisex lethality (Release of Insects carrying a Dominant Lethal), for controlling invasion of the mosquito Aedes aegypti using a spatial stage-structured mathematical model. In particular, we explore the use of a barrier zone of sterile/transgenic insects to prevent or impede the invasion of mosquitoes. We show that the level of control required is not only highly sensitive to the rate at which the sterile/transgenic males are released in the barrier zone but also to the spatial range of release. Our models characterise how the distribution of sterile/transgenic mosquitoes in the barrier zone can be controlled so as to minimise the number of mass-produced insects required for the arrest of species invasion. We predict that, given unknown rates of mosquito dispersal, management strategies should concentrate on larger release areas rather than more intense release rates for optimal control. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.

Considering Mindfulness Techniques in School-based Anti-bullying Programmes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mairead Foody

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Schools have a duty of care to all students and to directly prevent and intervene with bullying amongst children and adolescents. The emergence of cyberbullying escalates this responsibility as the strategies that have become appropriate at national levels for bullying do not always parallel over to online environments. The impact on mental health is the most obvious concern for those responsible for reducing bullying, however, input from psychologists and mental health professionals is scant and often limited on this topic. This paper outlines what bullying is and the devastating impact it can have on the mental health of those involved. It will outline the most common anti-bullying initiatives as well as the current psychological and educational techniques, which could also be used to alleviate distress associated with bullying involvement. We will focus specifically on the role of mindfulness techniques and argue for more of such exercises to be included in whole-school bullying programmes. We conclude by arguing the need to investigate components relevant to both mindfulness and anti-bullying programmes (e.g., empathy, perspective-taking as active ingredients for reducing the impact of bullying on mental health.

Using a Voltage Domain Programmable Technique for Low-Power Management Cell-Based Design

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ching-Hwa Cheng

2011-09-01

Full Text Available The Multi-voltage technique is an effective way to reduce power consumption. In the proposed cell-based voltage domain programmable (VDP technique, the high and low voltages applied to logic gates are programmable. The flexible voltage domain reassignment allows the chip performance and power consumption to be dynamically adjusted. In the proposed technique, the power switches possess the feature of flexible programming after chip manufacturing. This VDP method does not use an external voltage regulator to regulate the supply voltage level from outside of the chip but can be easily integrated within the design. This novel technique is proven by use of a video decoder test chip, which shows 55% and 61% power reductions compared to conventional single-Vdd and low-voltage designs, respectively. This power-aware performance adjusting mechanism shows great power reduction with a good power-performance management mechanism.

Genetics of the Mediterranean fruit fly in the sterile insect technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roessler, Y.

1997-01-01

Altogether 27 morphological mutations on the five autosomes of the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wied.), have been isolated and studied in the author's laboratory during 22 years of research on the genetics of this species. Of the 27 loci, 18 were located on chromosomes 4 and 5. No mutant loci were identified on the sex chromosome in the laboratory. Linkage relations, map distances and linear arrangements on the respective chromosomes were established for most of the 27 mutant traits. The wp and dp traits were utilized in the construction of genetic sexing lines in laboratories involved in studies of the sterile insect technique. The occurrence and consequences of male recombination are discussed. (author)

Insect pest control newsletter. No. 62

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2004-01-01

The year 2003 has again been a very intense period for all of us working at the Insect Pest Control Sub-programme of the Joint FAO/IAEA Agriculture Programme. This issue reports normative activities, and the application of area-wide control and SIT. One that stands out during 2003 is the recent publication of 'Trapping Guidelines for Area-wide Fruit Fly Programmes', which responds to the request by Member States to harmonize internationally trapping procedures for Tephritid fruit flies of economic importance. These pest insects have a major impact on the international trade of fresh fruits and vegetables, and the guidelines provide strategic guidance and direction to NPPOs, RPPOs and industry on where and how to implement fruit fl y surveys. Using these guidelines in the implementation of surveys will support FAO and IAEA Member States in obtaining international recognition of their fruit fly control and quarantine activities. A new project is a world-directory of fruit fly workers. A tremendous amount of information is made available each year on Tephritid fruit flies: new technologies developed, new information on their biology and ecology; new control methods made available, new species identified, new outbreaks recorded and new operational control programmes launched. This site will attempt to collate this information and allow Tephritid fruit fly workers worldwide to keep up-to-date on the most recent developments. Another activity has been the development of more scientific methods for determining when an area achieves a pest-free status. A consultants meeting focused on this topic and a generic procedure has been developed for declaring an area to be 'pest-free' following an eradication campaign against an insect pest. This involves a probability model to deal with null trapping results and also a growth model to help verify that pest specimen were not present when control was stopped. Other normative and promotional activities under development include

Non-Destructive Techniques in the Tacis and Phare Nuclear Safety Programmes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bieth, Michel

2002-01-01

Decisions regarding the verification of design plant lifetime and potential license renewal periods involve a determination of the component and circuit condition. In Service Inspection of key reactor components becomes a crucial consideration for continued safe plant operation. The determination of the equipment properties by Non Destructive Techniques during periodic intervals is an important aspect of the assessment of fitness-for-service and safe operation of nuclear power plants The Tacis and Phare were established since 1991 by the European Union as support mechanisms through which projects could be identified and addressed satisfactorily. In Nuclear Safety, the countries mainly concerned are Russia, Ukraine, Armenia, and Kazakhstan for the Tacis programme, and Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovak Republic, Lithuania, Romania and Slovenia for the Phare programme. The Tacis and Phare programs concerning the Nuclear Power Plants consist of: - On Site Assistance and Operational Safety, - Design Safety, - Regulatory Authorities, - Waste management, and are focused on reactor safety issues, contributing to the improvement in the safety of East European reactors and providing technology and safety culture transfer. The main parts of these programmes are related to the On-Site Assistance and to the Design Safety of VVER and RBMK Nuclear power plants where Non Destructive Techniques for In Service Inspection of the primary circuit components are addressed. (authors)

Insect Capital

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrew Pilsch

2015-12-01

Full Text Available In this note, Pilsch address William Gibson’s use of insect imagery in to trouble the common understanding of the novel Neuromancer, its commentary on corporate culture, and its relationship to a then-emergent posthumanism. Further, he concludes by suggesting that, for Gibson, the insect hive as an image for the corporate body shows that corporate culture is, in contrast to the banal image the term brings to mind, a set of nefarious cultural techniques derived for interfacing human bodies with the corporation’s native environment in the postmodern era: the abstractions of data.

The FAO/IAEA interactive spreadsheet for design and operation of insect mass rearing facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Caceres, Carlos; Rendon, Pedro

2006-01-01

An electronic spreadsheet is described which helps users to design, equip and operate facilities for the mass rearing of insects for use in insect pest control programmes integrating the sterile insect technique. The spreadsheet was designed based on experience accumulated in the mass rearing of the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), using genetic sexing strains based on a temperature sensitive lethal (tsl) mutation. The spreadsheet takes into account the biological, production, and quality control parameters of the species to be mass reared, as well as the diets and equipment required. All this information is incorporated into the spreadsheet for user-friendly calculation of the main components involved in facility design and operation. Outputs of the spreadsheet include size of the different rearing areas, rearing equipment, volumes of diet ingredients, other consumables, as well as personnel requirements. By adding cost factors to these components, the spreadsheet can estimate the costs of facility construction, equipment, and operation. All the output parameters can be easily generated by simply entering the target number of sterile insects required per week. For other insect species, the biological and production characteristics need to be defined and inputted accordingly to obtain outputs relevant to these species. This spreadsheet, available under http://www-naweb.iaea.org/nafa/ipc/index.html, is a powerful tool for project and facility managers as it can be used to estimate facility cost, production cost, and production projections under different rearing efficiency scenarios. (author)

The FAO/IAEA interactive spreadsheet for design and operation of insect mass rearing facilities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Caceres, Carlos, E-mail: carlos.e.caceres@aphis.usda.co [International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Seibersdorf (Austria). Agency' s Labs. Programme of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture; Rendon, Pedro [U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA/APHIS/CPHST), Guatemala City (Guatemala). Animal and Plant Health Inspection. Center for Plant Health Science and Technology

2006-07-01

An electronic spreadsheet is described which helps users to design, equip and operate facilities for the mass rearing of insects for use in insect pest control programmes integrating the sterile insect technique. The spreadsheet was designed based on experience accumulated in the mass rearing of the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), using genetic sexing strains based on a temperature sensitive lethal (tsl) mutation. The spreadsheet takes into account the biological, production, and quality control parameters of the species to be mass reared, as well as the diets and equipment required. All this information is incorporated into the spreadsheet for user-friendly calculation of the main components involved in facility design and operation. Outputs of the spreadsheet include size of the different rearing areas, rearing equipment, volumes of diet ingredients, other consumables, as well as personnel requirements. By adding cost factors to these components, the spreadsheet can estimate the costs of facility construction, equipment, and operation. All the output parameters can be easily generated by simply entering the target number of sterile insects required per week. For other insect species, the biological and production characteristics need to be defined and inputted accordingly to obtain outputs relevant to these species. This spreadsheet, available under http://www-naweb.iaea.org/nafa/ipc/index.html, is a powerful tool for project and facility managers as it can be used to estimate facility cost, production cost, and production projections under different rearing efficiency scenarios. (author)

Mass-rearing for sterile insect release

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parker, A.G.

2005-01-01

As the sterile insect technique (SIT) relies upon released sterile male insects efficiently competing with wild males to mate with wild females, it follows that mass-rearing of insects is one of the principal steps in the process. Mass-rearing for the SIT presents both problems and opportunities due to the increased scale involved compared with rearing insects for most other purposes. This chapter discusses facility design, environmental concerns, strain management, quality control, automation, diet, sex separation, marking, and storage in relation to rearing for the SIT. (author)

Recent trends on sterile insect technique and area-wide integrated pest management. Economic feasibility, control projects, farmer organization and Bactrocera dorsalis complex control study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2003-03-01

We have invited professional papers from over the world, including Okinawa, for compilation of recent trends on Sterile Insect Techniques and Area-Wide Integrated Pest Management to further pursue environment friendly pest insects control measures in agricultural production in the Asia-Pacific region. Pest insects such as the tephritid fruit flies have long been and are still today causing serious damage to agricultural products in the Asia-Pacific region and farmers in the region apply such insecticides that are no longer allowed or being subjected to strict usage control in Japan. This, in return, may endanger the health of the very farmers, food safety and the ecosystem itself. The purpose of this report is, therefore, to clarify keys for technology transfer of so called SIT/AWIPM to potential recipients engaged in agricultural production in the region. This report focused on several topics, which make up important parts for the effective Sterile Insect Technique and Area-Wide Integrated Pest Management: economic feasibility; pest insects control projects; farmers' education; research progress in Bactrocera dorsalis complex issues specific to the Asia-Pacific region. The 12 of the papers are indexed individually. (J.P.N.)

Breeding and maintaining high-quality insects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Kim; Kristensen, Torsten Nygård; Heckmann, Lars-Henrik

2017-01-01

Insects have a large potential for sustainably enhancing global food and feed production, and commercial insect production is a rising industry of high economic value. Insects suitable for production typically have fast growth, short generation time, efficient nutrient utilization, high...... reproductive potential, and thrive at high density. Insects may cost-efficiently convert agricultural and industrial food by-products into valuable protein once the technology is finetuned. However, since insect mass production is a new industry, the technology needed to efficiently farm these animals is still...... in a starting phase. Here, we discuss the challenges and precautions that need to be considered when breeding and maintaining high-quality insect populations for food and feed. This involves techniques typically used in domestic animal breeding programs including maintaining genetically healthy populations...

Exploring miniature insect brains using micro-CT scanning techniques

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Dylan B.; Bernhardt, Galina; Raine, Nigel E.; Abel, Richard L.; Sykes, Dan; Ahmed, Farah; Pedroso, Inti; Gill, Richard J.

2016-01-01

The capacity to explore soft tissue structures in detail is important in understanding animal physiology and how this determines features such as movement, behaviour and the impact of trauma on regular function. Here we use advances in micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) technology to explore the brain of an important insect pollinator and model organism, the bumblebee (Bombus terrestris). Here we present a method for accurate imaging and exploration of insect brains that keeps brain tissue free from trauma and in its natural stereo-geometry, and showcase our 3D reconstructions and analyses of 19 individual brains at high resolution. Development of this protocol allows relatively rapid and cost effective brain reconstructions, making it an accessible methodology to the wider scientific community. The protocol describes the necessary steps for sample preparation, tissue staining, micro-CT scanning and 3D reconstruction, followed by a method for image analysis using the freeware SPIERS. These image analysis methods describe how to virtually extract key composite structures from the insect brain, and we demonstrate the application and precision of this method by calculating structural volumes and investigating the allometric relationships between bumblebee brain structures. PMID:26908205

Perspective of using the sterile insect technique for Tobacco Budworms Heliothis virescens (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) and Cotton Bollworm Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in cotton crop as an alternative method of control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haddad, Gianni Queiroz

2017-01-01

Since the 1950s, scientists have used ionizing radiation to sterilize insects, which are released in nature to mate, but without any progeny. Known as the sterile insect technique (TIE), this method of insect control has traditionally used ionizing radiation to sterilize insects, a technique that does not generate residues, and can act in synergy with the other techniques within integrated pest management. For several years, Brazil has been fighting against the increase of pests, introducing new tactics and techniques within the IPM programs, to overcome the resistance of chemical products, such as: reducing the residues of agrochemicals; For some important crops of our country, we have a wide spectrum of pests occurring from the beginning to the end of the harvest, one of them is the cotton crop and among the key pests of this crop, we have some extremely important caterpillars, among them Heliothis virescens and Helicoverpa armigera These species are morphologically similar, the second being identified a few years ago in Brazil. There are still no studies in Brazil using TIE as an additional tool for Lepidoptera, therefore the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of doses of gamma radiation in the different phases of the evolutionary cycle of Heliothis virescens and Helicoverpa armigera, as well as to evaluate the sterility in generation P And the ability of insects to irradiate with non-irradiated insects. The pupal phase presented the best result because 75 Gy achieved sterility in Heliothis virecens and 100 Gy sterilized Helicoverpa armigera, therefore it contemplated the phase and dose chosen to evaluate the competition between the irradiated insects and the normal insects of both species. Both Heliothis virecens and Helicoverpa armigera presented a satisfactory result, as the irradiated insects managed to significantly reduce the viability of the eggs in a ratio of 9: 1: 1. (author)

Structure elucidation of some insect pheromones : a contribution to the development of selective pest control agents

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Persoons, C.J.

1977-01-01

The use of pheromones is one of the methods currently being investigated intensively as an alternative method of insect control. The various ways in which pheromones might be used in insect control programmes are briefly discussed in Chapter 1.

Chapter 2 gives a detailed description of the

Insect Pest Control Newsletter, No. 75, July 2010

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2010-07-01

In our last newsletter we reported that the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture is experiencing important changes as part of a major reform process that is ongoing at FAO since 2009, and which will be fully implemented by 2013, resulting in a more responsive and modern organization. Also at IAEA restructuring is taking place as a result of IAEA's new leadership and external reviews that made positive recommendations. These changes directly affect the operations of the Joint Division. Up to the end of 2009, the IAEA Laboratories in Seibersdorf and Monaco were administratively under separate management, although programmatically they always have been part of their respective Divisions at headquarters. This double leadership in the management structure was a source of inefficiencies in what should be seamless programme operations. As of 1 January 2010, in order to streamline, simplify and harmonize lines of authority and accountability, laboratory activities and staff have been aligned with their respective programmes. In the case of the FAO/IAEA Agriculture and Biotechnology Laboratories in Seibersdorf, this means that its five units (including the Entomology Unit) have been fully integrated into the respective subprogrammes under the Director of the Joint Division, who was given full authority and accountability for all programmatic and administrative functions regarding the management of the activities of the FAO/IAEA Laboratories. It is expected that this streamlining will lead to more opportunities for Seibersdorf staff to play a greater role in programme development and will result in improved programme delivery to our Member States. You will notice in this newsletter that, as part of the streamlining, the name of the Entomology Unit, which has been in use since the 1960s, has been officially changed to Insect Pest Control Laboratory (IPCL). Aside from the name change we do not anticipate any real changes in the implementation

Insect Pest Control Newsletter, No. 75, July 2010

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2010-07-15

In our last newsletter we reported that the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture is experiencing important changes as part of a major reform process that is ongoing at FAO since 2009, and which will be fully implemented by 2013, resulting in a more responsive and modern organization. Also at IAEA restructuring is taking place as a result of IAEA's new leadership and external reviews that made positive recommendations. These changes directly affect the operations of the Joint Division. Up to the end of 2009, the IAEA Laboratories in Seibersdorf and Monaco were administratively under separate management, although programmatically they always have been part of their respective Divisions at headquarters. This double leadership in the management structure was a source of inefficiencies in what should be seamless programme operations. As of 1 January 2010, in order to streamline, simplify and harmonize lines of authority and accountability, laboratory activities and staff have been aligned with their respective programmes. In the case of the FAO/IAEA Agriculture and Biotechnology Laboratories in Seibersdorf, this means that its five units (including the Entomology Unit) have been fully integrated into the respective subprogrammes under the Director of the Joint Division, who was given full authority and accountability for all programmatic and administrative functions regarding the management of the activities of the FAO/IAEA Laboratories. It is expected that this streamlining will lead to more opportunities for Seibersdorf staff to play a greater role in programme development and will result in improved programme delivery to our Member States. You will notice in this newsletter that, as part of the streamlining, the name of the Entomology Unit, which has been in use since the 1960s, has been officially changed to Insect Pest Control Laboratory (IPCL). Aside from the name change we do not anticipate any real changes in the implementation

ENSEIGNEMENT TECHNIQUE : Programmation automate Schneider TSX Premium 2ème niveau - French version only

CERN Multimedia

2003-01-01

If you wish to participate in one of the following courses, please discuss with your supervisor and apply electronically directly from the course description pages that can be found on the Web at: http://www.cern.ch/Training/ or fill in an "application for training" form available from your Divisional Secretariat or from your DTO (Divisional Training Officer). Applications will be accepted in the order of their receipt. ENSEIGNEMENT TECHNIQUE Monique Duval Tel./Tél. 74924 technical.training@cern.ch CERN Technical Training 2003: Learning for the LHC ! Annonce de nouvelle formation - cours avancé Dans le cadre du programme de l'Enseignement Technique 2003, et en collaboration avec le GUAPI (Groupe des Utilisateurs d'Automates Programmables Industriels du CERN), une nouvelle formation a été organisée afin de perfectionner les connaissances sur l'outil PL7 de programmation des Automates PREMIUM de Schneider. Ce nouveau cours (niveau 2) s'...

Broadening insect gastronomy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Halloran, Afton Marina Szasz; Münke, Christopher; Vantomme, Paul

2015-01-01

In recent years there has been a trend among chefs to diversify their ingredients and techniques, drawing inspiration from other cultures and creating new foods by blending this knowledge with the flavours of their local region. Edible insects, with their plethora of taste, aromatic, textural and...

Field population studies of the Oriental fruit fly Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) for the SIT programme in Thailand

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keawchoung, P.; Limohpasmanee, V.; Dokmaihom, R.; AImyim, A.; Meecheepsom, S.

2000-01-01

Pakchong district is a large area in the Nakornrajchasima province in Thailand which produces many kinds of tropical fruits. As fruit flies are serious pests in fruit plantations in the area, the Department of Agriculture Extension has tried to control them by using the sterile insect technique (SIT) with complementary technology from the Office of Atomic Energy for Peace (OAEP). In order to obtain data required to plan the SIT programme to eradicate the fruit flies, subsequent field population studies were conducted

Use of steril insect technique to control the medfly Ceratitis capitata wiedmann (Diptera)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fadhel, Selma

2005-01-01

The autocide struggle against fruit fly consists in making a raising in mass of the stump to genetic sexing of the fruit fly, to radiate males with gamma rays and then to set free them in orchards of citrus fruits. This technique permitted a reduction of the rate of stings of 50% in relation to the witness although its production of pupae in 2004, either enough feeble, not passing the 9 millions of pupae per week. But, it remains even efficient in relation to the chemical struggle (respectively 12% and 7%). One preliminary survey of the profitability of autocide struggle and the chemical struggle (rate of profitability to 181.020) is more profitable than autocide struggle (rate of profitability to 43.450) for the first year to release. This relativity weak profitability for the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) is the consequence of a bad interview of citrus fruits and unconsciousness of farmer of the importance of built in struggle technique . However, autocide struggle permits to preserve the quality of fruit, to reduce the toxics residues and to preserve parasitoides. therefore, there is increase of selling prices of the product. (author). 12 refs

Estimating Aquatic Insect Populations. Introduction to Sampling.

Science.gov (United States)

Chihuahuan Desert Research Inst., Alpine, TX.

This booklet introduces high school and junior high school students to the major groups of aquatic insects and to population sampling techniques. Chapter 1 consists of a short field guide which can be used to identify five separate orders of aquatic insects: odonata (dragonflies and damselflies); ephemeroptera (mayflies); diptera (true flies);…

Area-wide integrated pest management and the sterile insect technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klassen, W.

2005-01-01

Area-wide integrated pest management (AW-IPM) focuses on the preventive management of pest populations throughout the ecosystem. It seeks to treat all habitats of the pest population so that none produces migrants to re-establish significant infestations in areas of concern. In contrast, the conventional strategy focuses narrowly on defending the valued entity (crop, livestock, people, buildings, etc.) from direct attack by pests. AW-IPM requires multiyear planning, and an organization dedicated exclusively to its implementation, whereas conventional pest management involves minimal forward planning, tends to be reactive, and is implemented independently by individual producers, businesses, or households. AW-IPM tends to utilize advanced technologies, whereas the conventional strategy tends to rely on traditional tactics and tools. The sterile insect technique (SIT) is a species-specific form of birth control imposed on the pest population. It is a powerful tool for 'mopping up' sparse pest populations, and is most efficient when applied as a tactic in a system deployed on an area-wide basis. On environmental, economic and biological grounds, the case for the SIT is compelling. (author)

Use of sterile insect technique in Brazil by the sterilization of Ceratitis capitata (Wied., 1824)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Okeese, G.O.; Kitomer, T.J.; Gayaradus, L.B.; Etrigan, M.; Jansen, C.W.J.H.; Houlahar, H.L.

2006-01-01

The Sterile Insect Technique is a method of pest control allowed in Integrated Pest Management programs in fruit growing, where sterile insects released compete in mate process against fertile wild ones, generating a gradative population reduction. The most used sterilization method is using ionizing radiation from 60 Co or 137 Cs. For efficient application of SIT, an important item is the sterilizing dose. This must be as lower as possible in order to preserve insect behavior. In this work, it was studied the reproductive potential of fruit fly Ceratitis capitata, tsl VIENNA 8 strain, irradiated with different doses of gamma radiation. This strain has been used in population suppression programs at fruit-growing areas from Northeast of Brazil, through a partnership between CENA and Bio factory MOSCAMED Brazil, intending only sterile male releases. Radiation source used was a 60 Co irradiator, with 17.2 x 1012 Bq. Individualized couples were distributed in a randomized delineament with 10 replicates for each treatment and eggs were collected for fifteen days. With 9 and 10 days old, pupae were irradiated with doses ranging from 30 to 120 Gy. All averages of emerged adult's percentages were higher than 90%. In regards to fecundity, different doses did not affect the number of eggs laid, being the overall mean around 30 eggs/couple/day. Fertility data showed that as radiation dose increases, sterility increases. It was concluded that the dose of 90 Gy can be used in Brazil, since to SIT programs a dose is chosen witch prevents an egg hatch higher than 1%. (author)

Role of population and behavioural ecology in the sterile insect technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ito, Y.; Yamamura, K.

2005-01-01

The principles of population and behavioural ecology in relation to the application of the sterile insect technique (SIT) for eradication of a pest are explained. These include: (1) a logistic population model for estimation of the population fluctuation of target animals and the number of sterile males to be released for successful eradication, (2) mark-recapture estimations of density and mortality rate of the target population, especially for remote areas, where repeated releases and recaptures are difficult, (3) models of dispersal to assess dispersal distance of target animals, and (4) equations for estimating the decrease of sexual competitiveness of mass-reared strains under field conditions. The method to estimate dispersal distance curves when attraction areas of traps are overlapping, and changes in mate-choice of wild females resulting from inadvertent selection when the SIT is applied, are explained. The necessity of field estimation of sexual competitiveness of released sterile males is also emphasized. (author)

The sterile insect technique in the integrated pest management of whitefly species in greenhouses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Calvitti, M.; Remotti, P.C.; Cirio, U.

2000-01-01

Insect pests commonly known as whiteflies are Hemiptera belonging to the family of Aleyrodidae Trialeurodes vaporariorum Westwood (greenhouse whitefly) and the B-biotype of Bemisia tabaci Gennadius (=Bemisia argentifolii Bellows and Perring) are pests whose economic importance is constantly increasing within the European agriculture. The B-biotype of B. tabaci, in particular, has become more problematic by causing damage over a wide range, from the temperate climates of Californian squash fields to European greenhouses and field crops. In the absence of valid alternatives, many growers have resorted to intensive application of insecticides to control these pests, creating a severe environmental and health hazard. Several new environmentally safe technologies are currently available and have opened up new opportunities in the integrated pest management (IPM) of whiteflies under greenhouse conditions. In particular, biological or biologically-based control means, including a number of fungi, insects, and compounds have been recently developed. However, the limitation of whitefly population outbreaks in greenhouses is a problem that needs to be solved. The idea to extend the use of sterile insect technique (SIT) to a confined environment against whitefly species is novel, and especially when we consider that the target species undergo arrhenotoky (unfertilised females generate only male progenies). The possibility to join this approach to the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) of the whitefly species in the greenhouse may open new perspectives in the safe application of nuclear technology for pest control. The present work reviews recent advances in research and practice related to the development of SIT for the control of whiteflies in greenhouses. Explanations on whitefly radiation biology, with data on Bemisia spp. radio-sterilisation, methods for whitefly mass rearing and collection, and the definition of a complete SIT procedure tested against the greenhouse

Potential impact of tsetse fly control involving the sterile insect technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feldmann, U.; Dyck, V.A.; Mattioli, R.C.; Jannin, J.

2005-01-01

sterile insect technique (SIT), as a component of area-wide integrated pest management (AW-IPM) programmes to create tsetse-free zones, has been demonstrated in Zanzibar and other locations. This chapter (1) outlines the causal relationship between the T and T problem and food insecurity, malnutrition, poverty, and related disease and development constraints, (2) describes the impact of the problem on African rural communities and the overall economy, and (3) indicates the potential benefits of a reduced T and T burden, or even of its zonal elimination from selected priority areas in support of sustainable rural development. (author)

Detection of steam leaks into sodium in fast reactor steam generators by acoustic techniques - An overview of Indian programme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prabhakar, R.; Vyjayanthi, R.K.; Kale, R.D.

1990-01-01

Realising the potential of acoustic leak detection technique, an experimental programme was initiated a few years back at Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) to develop this technique. The first phase of this programme consists of experiments to measure background noise characteristics on the steam generator modules of the 40 MW (thermal) Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR) at Kalpakkam and experiments to establish leak noise characteristics with the help of a leak simulation set up. By subjecting the measured data from these experiments to signal analysis techniques, a criterion for acoustic leak detection for FBTR steam generator will be evolved. Second phase of this programme will be devoted to developing an acoustic leak detection system suitable for installation in the 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR). This paper discusses the first phase of the experimental programme, results obtained from measurements carried out on FBTR steam generators and results obtained from leak simulation experiments. Acoustic leak detection system being considered for PFBR is also briefly described. 4 refs, 8 figs, 1 tab

Insect pest control newsletter. No. 67, July 2006

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2006-07-01

This issue of the Newsletter reports on status of technical cooperation projects, research coordination meetings and training courses offered on insect pest control, as well as news items on other activities of the Insect Pest Control Section of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture

Insect pest control newsletter, No. 71, July 2008

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2008-07-01

This issue of the Newsletter reports on status of technical cooperation projects, research coordination meetings and training courses offered on insect pest control, as well as news items on other activities of the Insect Pest Control Section of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture

Insect pest control newsletter. No. 66, January 2006

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2006-01-01

This issue of the Newsletter reports on status of technical cooperation projects, research coordination meetings and training courses offered on insect pest control, as well as news items on other activities of the Insect Pest Control Section of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture

Insect pest control newsletter, No. 72, January 2009

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2009-01-01

This issue of the Newsletter reports on status of technical cooperation projects, research coordination meetings and training courses offered on insect pest control, as well as news items on other activities of the Insect Pest Control Section of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture

Insect pest control newsletter. No. 69, July 2007

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2007-07-01

This issue of the Newsletter reports on status of technical cooperation projects, research coordination meetings and training courses offered on insect pest control, as well as news items on other activities of the Insect Pest Control Section of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture

Insect pest control newsletter. No. 68, January 2007

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2007-01-01

This issue of the Newsletter reports on status of technical cooperation projects, research coordination meetings and training courses offered on insect pest control, as well as news items on other activities of the Insect Pest Control Section of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture

Insect pest control newsletter, No. 70, January 2008

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2008-01-01

This issue of the Newsletter reports on status of technical cooperation projects, research coordination meetings and training courses offered on insect pest control, as well as news items on other activities of the Insect Pest Control Section of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture

Report of the Advisory Group Meeting on Genetic Methods of Insect Control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1987-01-01

in bringing together leading genetics and molecular biology laboratories and continue to support their research on general gene transfer techniques and the development of genetic sexing methods for insects that are amenable to genetic control. The action of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division in co-ordinating the use of F-1 sterility for the control of lepidopteran pests was also regarded as an important initiative. The advisory group strongly supports the continuance of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division's activities in co-ordinating research programmes, promoting information flow through the newsletter and in providing training fellowships.

Report of the Advisory Group Meeting on Genetic Methods of Insect Control

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1987-07-01

in bringing together leading genetics and molecular biology laboratories and continue to support their research on general gene transfer techniques and the development of genetic sexing methods for insects that are amenable to genetic control. The action of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division in co-ordinating the use of F-1 sterility for the control of lepidopteran pests was also regarded as an important initiative. The advisory group strongly supports the continuance of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division's activities in co-ordinating research programmes, promoting information flow through the newsletter and in providing training fellowships.

Nuclear techniques for toxic elements in foodstuffs. Report on an IAEA co-ordinated research programme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-01-01

The document includes 10 final reports on the IAEA Co-ordinated Research Programme on Nuclear Techniques for Toxic Elements in Foodstuffs. A separate abstract was prepared for each report. Refs, figs and tabs

Nuclear techniques for toxic elements in foodstuffs. Report on an IAEA co-ordinated research programme

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1994-12-31

The document includes 10 final reports on the IAEA Co-ordinated Research Programme on Nuclear Techniques for Toxic Elements in Foodstuffs. A separate abstract was prepared for each report. Refs, figs and tabs.

Irradiation of dates: insect disinfestation, microbial and chemical assessments, and use of thermoluminescence technique

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Al-Kahtani, Hassan A.; Abu-Tarboush, Hamza M.; Ahmed, Mohamed A.; Bajaber, Adnan S. [Food Science and Nutrition Department, College of Agriculture, King Saud University, Riyadh (Saudi Arabia); Al-Dryhim, Yousif N.; Adam, El-Shami E. [Plant Protection Department, College of Agriculture, King Saud University, Riyadh (Saudi Arabia); El-Mojaddidi, Mohamed A. [King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh (Saudi Arabia)

1998-08-01

Irradiation of dates (Khalas variety) at 0.9 kGy was sufficient to eliminate single insect infestation (Oryzaephilus surinamensis) and mixed infestation (O. surinamensis and Tribolium castaneum), whereas 0.3 kGy was effective only in controlling single infestation. Sensory properties were not affected but irradiation contributed to some reduction in microbial counts immediately after irradiation and counts remained low till the end of 6 months storage period. All sugars were significantly reduced immediately after irradiation but they increased gradually with increasing storage time. Thermoluminescence (TL) technique was useful in discriminating between irradiated and unirradiated dates during the entire storage period but was less sensitive as far as the dose estimation is concerned.

Irradiation of dates: insect disinfestation, microbial and chemical assessments, and use of thermoluminescence technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Al-Kahtani, Hassan A.; Abu-Tarboush, Hamza M.; Ahmed, Mohamed A.; Bajaber, Adnan S.; Al-Dryhim, Yousif N.; Adam, El-Shami E.; El-Mojaddidi, Mohamed A.

1998-01-01

Irradiation of dates (Khalas variety) at 0.9 kGy was sufficient to eliminate single insect infestation (Oryzaephilus surinamensis) and mixed infestation (O. surinamensis and Tribolium castaneum), whereas 0.3 kGy was effective only in controlling single infestation. Sensory properties were not affected but irradiation contributed to some reduction in microbial counts immediately after irradiation and counts remained low till the end of 6 months storage period. All sugars were significantly reduced immediately after irradiation but they increased gradually with increasing storage time. Thermoluminescence (TL) technique was useful in discriminating between irradiated and unirradiated dates during the entire storage period but was less sensitive as far as the dose estimation is concerned

Nuclear techniques to assess irrigation schedules for field crops. Results of a co-ordinated research programme

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1996-06-01

This TECDOC summarizes the results of a Co-ordinated Research Programme on The Use of Nuclear and Related Techniques in Assessment of Irrigation Schedules of Field Crops to Increase Effective Use of Water in Irrigation Projects. The programme was carried out between 1990 and 1995 through the technical co-ordination of the Soil Fertility, Irrigation and Crop Production Section of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Fourteen Member States of the IAEA and FAO carried out a series of field experiments aimed at improving irrigation water use efficiency through a type of irrigation scheduling known as deficit irrigation. Refs, figs, tabs.

Nuclear techniques to assess irrigation schedules for field crops. Results of a co-ordinated research programme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-06-01

This TECDOC summarizes the results of a Co-ordinated Research Programme on The Use of Nuclear and Related Techniques in Assessment of Irrigation Schedules of Field Crops to Increase Effective Use of Water in Irrigation Projects. The programme was carried out between 1990 and 1995 through the technical co-ordination of the Soil Fertility, Irrigation and Crop Production Section of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Fourteen Member States of the IAEA and FAO carried out a series of field experiments aimed at improving irrigation water use efficiency through a type of irrigation scheduling known as deficit irrigation. Refs, figs, tabs

Sustainable protein technology : an evaluation on the STW Protein programme and an outlook for the future

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Voudouris, Panagiotis; Tamayo Tenorio, Angelica; Lesschen, Jan Peter; Kyriakopoulou, Konstantina; Sanders, Johan P.M.; Goot, van der Atze Jan; Bruins, Marieke E.

2017-01-01

In 2013 a new STW research programme was started on sustainable protein recovery. This STW Protein Programme consisted of five sustainable protein technology projects, which aimed at developing innovative methods to extract proteins from plant leaves, microalgae and insects to meet the increasing

Role of radioisotopes in the study of insect pests

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mansour, M.

2013-01-01

Although the use of nuclear techniques, particularly radioisotopes, in entomological research is less than a century old, the contribution of radioisotopes to the science of studying insects (Entomology) is indispensable. In fact, radioisotopes provided a very important and sometimes a unique tool for solving many research problems in entomology. This article discusses the most important and widely used applications of radioisotopes in studying insect pests. In particular, it concentrates on the subject of radioisotopes used in entomological research, methods of labeling insect with radioisotopes, half life of radioisotopes, and the role of radioisotopes in physiological, ecological, biological and behavioral studies of insects. (author)

Combining the Sterile Insect Technique with the Incompatible Insect Technique: III-Robust Mating Competitiveness of Irradiated Triple Wolbachia-Infected Aedes albopictus Males under Semi-Field Conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Dongjing; Lees, Rosemary Susan; Xi, Zhiyong; Bourtzis, Kostas; Gilles, Jeremie R L

2016-01-01

Combination of the sterile insect technique with the incompatible insect technique is considered to be a safe approach to control Aedes albopictus populations in the absence of an accurate and scalable sex separation system or genetic sexing strain. Our previous study has shown that the triple Wolbachia-infected Ae. albopictus strain (wAlbA, wAlbB and wPip) was suitable for mass rearing and females could be completely sterilized as pupae with a radiation dose of at least 28 Gy. However, whether this radiation dose can influence the mating competitiveness of the triple infected males was still unknown. In this study we aimed to evaluate the effects of irradiation on the male mating competitiveness of the triple infected strain under laboratory and semi-field conditions. The results herein indicate that irradiation with a lower, female-sterilizing dose has no negative impact on the longevity of triple infected males while a reduced lifespan was observed in the wild type males (wAlbA and wAlbB) irradiated with a higher male-sterilizing dose, in small cages. At different sterile: fertile release ratios in small cages, triple-infected males induced 39.8, 81.6 and 87.8% sterility in a wild type female population at 1:1, 5:1 and 10:1 release ratios, respectively, relative to a fertile control population. Similarly, irradiated triple infected males induced 31.3, 70.5 and 89.3% sterility at 1:1, 5:1 and 10:1 release ratios, respectively, again relative to the fertile control. Under semi-field conditions at a 5:1 release ratio, relative to wild type males, the mean male mating competitiveness index of 28 Gy irradiated triple-infected males was significantly higher than 35 Gy irradiated wild type males, while triple infected males showed no difference in mean mating competitiveness to either irradiated triple-infected or irradiated wild type males. An unexpected difference was also observed in the relative male mating competitiveness of the triple infected strain after

Viruses of insects reared for food and feed

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Maciel Vergara, Gabriela; Ros, Vera I.D.

2017-01-01

The use of insects as food for humans or as feed for animals is an alternative for the increasing high demand for meat and has various environmental and social advantages over the traditional intensive production of livestock. Mass rearing of insects, under insect farming conditions or even...... with large-scale sequencing techniques, new viruses are rapidly being discovered. We discuss factors affecting the emergence of viruses in mass rearing systems, along with virus transmission routes. Finally we provide an overview of the wide range of measures available to prevent and manage virus outbreaks...... for the productivity and the quality of mass rearing systems. Prevention and management of viral diseases imply the understanding of the different factors that interact in insect mass rearing. This publication provides an overview of the known viruses in insects most commonly reared for food and feed. Nowadays...

Application of radiation and radioisotopes for the management of insect pests of economic importance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dongre, T.K.

2001-01-01

This article gives brief account of radiation and radioisotope applications in the field of insect pest management. Radiation has a direct application in controlling insect pests, through sterile insect techniques (SIT) and radiation disinfestations of food grains, whereas radioisotopes can be used in basic as well as applied studies in the field of insect physiology, ecology and metabolism. The successful implementation of SIT against New world screwworm fly and different fruit fly species has clearly demonstrated the usefulness of radiation in agriculture. Over the past 35 years, the joint FAO/IAEA committee has played a critical role in supporting member states in the development and application of SIT for the management of various economically important insect pests. BARC has developed SIT for the management of red palm weevil, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus Oliv, the most serious pest of coconut in India and date palms in Arabian countries. Now, through thematic BRNS project this technique is being evaluated under field conditions in collaboration with three Indian agricultural universities. Present status and future prospects of sterile insect technique for the area wide control of different insect species will be discussed in detail. (author)

Rapid assessment of insect fauna based on local knowledge: comparing ecological and ethnobiological methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Lima, Daniele Cristina de Oliveira; Ramos, Marcelo Alves; da Silva, Henrique Costa Hermenegildo; Alves, Angelo Giuseppe Chaves

2016-03-01

The rapid assessment of biodiversity making use of surveys of local knowledge has been successful for different biological taxa. However, there are no reports on the testing of such tools for sampling insect fauna. The present study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of different ethnobiological techniques for rapid sampling of insect fauna. Field research for the conventional survey of insect fauna was conducted on a private farm (9 ° 43'38.95 "S, 37 ° 45'11.97" W) , where there was intensive cultivation of okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L. (Moench)). The survey of local entomological knowledge was conducted among all the producers of okra living in the rural villages Pereira, Santa Luzia, and Nassau de Souza, within the Jacaré Curituba irrigated settlement scheme. The combined use of the techniques "free list" and projective interviews was analyzed, using two types of visual stimuli: stock photos and an entomological box. During the conventional survey of insect fauna, the species Bemisia tabaci biotype B, Aphis gossypii, Phenacoccus sp., Icerya purchasi and Lagria villosa were the primary pests found in the okra crop. Regarding the survey of insect pests, the results were convergent  in both techniques (conventional sampling and free list). Comparing the interview with visual stimuli (pictures) and specimen witnesses (entomological box) revealed that the latter was more effective. Techniques based on the recording and analysis of local knowledge about insects are effective for quick sampling of pest insects, but ineffective in sampling predator insects. The utilization of collected insects, infested branches, or photos of the symptoms of damage caused by pests in projective interviews is recommended.

Anatomy of adult Megaphragma (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae, one of the smallest insects, and new insight into insect miniaturization.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexey A Polilov

Full Text Available The body size, especially in cases of extreme reduction, is an important characteristic that strongly determines the morphology, physiology, and biology of animals. Miniaturization is a widespread trend in animal evolution and one of the principal directions of evolution in insects. Miniaturization-related features of insect morphology have been subject to intensive studies during the last few years, but the structure of the smallest insects remains insufficiently known. It is especially important to study hymenopterans of the genus Megaphragma, which include the smallest flying insects and a species in which an almost anucleate nervous system was recently discovered. This article is the first detailed study of the external and internal morphology of adults of Megaphragma mymaripenne and M. amalphitanum using histological methods, 3D computer modeling and other techniques. It is shown that in spite of the extremely small size the organization of Megaphragma retains a considerkable level of structural complexity. On the other hand, miniaturization leads to re-organizations of several organ systems. Unique structural features related to miniaturization have been found in both species: lysis of cell bodies and nuclei of neurons at late stages of pupal development, absence of the heart, and considerable reductions in the set of muscles. Comparative analysis of structure in the smallest insects representing different taxa has revealed common features of the evolutionary process of miniaturization in insects.

Social insects and selfish genes.

Science.gov (United States)

Bourke, A F

2001-10-01

Sometimes science advances because of a new idea. Sometimes, it's because of a new technique. When both occur together, exciting times result. In the study of social insects, DNA-based methods for measuring relatedness now allow increasingly detailed tests of Hamilton's theory of kin selection.

Processing insect abundance: trading and fishing of zazamushi in Central Japan (Nagano Prefecture, Honshū Island).

Science.gov (United States)

Césard, Nicolas; Komatsu, Seiji; Iwata, Akihisa

2015-11-11

This article presents the links between technique, commerce and consumption in fishing for zazamushi, a mixture of aquatic insect larvae sold as food souvenirs in Japan. Since zazamushi are mainly collected for economic reasons, we suggest that demand for them has incited technical development among collectors in order to fish more insects. Several fishermen and traders were interviewed in semi-directed interviews about their practices and knowledge. To understand the passage from a faunal composition to a commercial composition, our research follows a fishing session closely, as well as the selection of insects that follows it. The insects collected were separated from inanimate matter, then identified, counted and weighed at each stage of the process. Our results suggest that the current technique corresponds to an evolution in subsistence and recreational collecting towards a more systematic fishing of the insects, the aim of which is commercial. In their response to trade issues, the collectors have moved away from the banks to fish the insects in the river current, thus increasing the amount of one species captured compared to another. Although the technique is efficient (and similar to other harvesting techniques), it requires the thorough sorting of organic debris and insects (in our example, the catch contains approximately 78 % of inanimate matter and 22 % of insects, of which 3.29 % are retained for consumption, i.e., less than 2 out of 100 insects). The selection of insects to be consumed takes place mainly during cleaning. This stage depends on traders and reflects the different compositions sold as souvenirs. Our research shows that the consumption of insects is not explained just by ecological factors that are favourable or unfavourable, but also by technological and economic factors related to their commerce. It suggests that the traders have gradually established the insects that are currently sold as zazamushi and that this commercial development

Development of a mathematical model for sugar cane borer population, Diatrea sacharalis (Fabr., 1794) and simulation of the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sgrillo, R.B.

1979-08-01

The determination of the theoretical possibility of applying the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) to control sugar cane borer, Diatraea saccharalis (Fabricius, 1794), population in the State of Sao Paulo was aimed at. This has been achieved with the development of a mathematical model of the insect population dynamics after simulation of the SIT. The model was constructed based on a field survey made in 1976 in four sugar cane regions of the State. With the surveys, data relative to insect population density of larvae and pupae was obtained. Data regarding fluctuation of adults and of some predators population were obtained using light traps. Through mathematical analysis of the data from the surveys it was noted that diapause occurred in large larvae. The percentage of larvae in diapause showed correlation with photoperiod and temperature. It was established that the number of degree days necessary for the insect to complement a generation is 954. A method was proposed to utilize the thermic constant concept equally for diapause conditions. A laboratory experiment showed that male adults irradiated at 50 krad gamma radiation ( 60 Co) produced a non-viable generation. Monthly mortality in each stage was estimated. From these data, sub-models were developed, correlating mortality with climatic and biological variables. The sub-models when grouped formed a model that permitted the simulation of the SIT. It was concluded that release of sterile insects in a number equal to those existing in the field, during the first three generations, would be an efficient method to control insect populations. Theoretically, a profit would be obtained if the cost for application of the method was up to Cr$ 1,355 per hectare. Release of sterile insects in a number nine times larger than those existing in the field during the first generation, would be equally efficient and a profit would be obtained if the cost for application of the method was Cr$ 975 per hectare. (Author) [pt

Culture of insect tissues

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cestari, A.N.; Simoes, L.C.G.

1978-01-01

Several aspects are discussed related to the behavior of politenic chromosomes from Rhyncosciara salivary glands kept in culture during different periods of time, without interference of insect hormones. Nucleic acid-and protein synthesis in isolated nuclei and chromosomes are also investigated. Autoradiographic techniques and radioactive precursors for nucleic acids and proteins are used in the research. (M.A.) [pt

Feeding Studies of Irradiated Foods with Insects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Loaharanu, Srisan

1978-06-15

Insects are of value to man in many scientific studies. Microsomal detoxication systems exist in both insects and mammals. In the preliminary investigations it was found that irradiated cocoa beans and white and red kidney beans (Phaseolus spp.) did not significantly change the percentage of egg-hatch in the insects tested. In more detailed investigations food samples that are susceptible to insect spoilage and are representatives of widely consumed human foods were fed to various insect species. The development, sex distortion and reproductivity of the insects were investigated. Cytogenetic aberrations as related to dominant lethality were studied in insects with reasonably clear chromosomal patterns. The meiosis stage was examined, using the squash technique and Aceto-orcein staining. Black beans, Phaseolus spp., irradiated with up to 200 krad of gamma rays did not apparently change the percentage of survival and the sex ratio of the bean weevil, Zabrotes subfasciatus. Dominant lethality in the German cockroach, Blatella germanica, fed on irradiated black beans did not apparently occur when considering the results of cytological investigation and the number of offspring obtained. Dried sardine samples irradiated with up to 400 krad of gamma rays neither apparently affected the survival nor caused sex distortion in the cheese skipper, Piophila casei. This irradiated product apparently did not induce dominant lethality in the German cockroach as tested. Coffee processed from coffee beans that had been irradiated with up to 100 krad of gamma rays did not apparently cause adverse effects on the experimental insects. (author)

Feeding studies of irradiated foods with insects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loaharanu, S.

1978-01-01

Insects are of value to man in many scientific studies. Microsomal detoxication systems exist in both insects and mammals. In the preliminary investigations it was found that irradiated cocoa beans and white and red kidney beans (Phaseolus spp.) did not significantly change the percentage of egg-hatch in the insects tested. In more detailed investigations food samples that are susceptible to insect spoilage and are representatives of widely consumed human foods were fed to various insect species. The development, sex distortion and reproductivity of the insects were investigated. Cytogenetic aberrations as related to dominant lethality were studied in insects with reasonably clear chromosomal patterns. The meiosis stage was examined, using the squash technique and Aceto-orcein staining. Black beans, Phaseolus spp., irradiated with up to 200 krad of gamma rays did not apparently change the percentage of survival and the sex ratio of the bean weevil, Zabrotes subfasciatus. Dominant lethality in the German cockroach, Blatella germanica, fed on irradiated black beans did not apparently occur when considering the results of cytological investigation and the number of offspring obtained. Dried sardine samples irradiated with up to 400 krad of gamma rays neither apparently affected the survival nor caused sex distortion in the cheese skipper, Piophila casei. This irradiated product apparently did not induce dominant lethality in the German cockroach as tested. Coffee processed from coffee beans that had been irradiated with up to 100 krad of gamma rays did not apparently cause adverse effects on the experimental insects. (author)

Insect Cell Culture

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Oers, van M.M.; Lynn, D.E.

2010-01-01

Insect cell cultures are widely used in studies on insect cell physiology, developmental biology and microbial pathology. In particular, insect cell culture is an indispensable tool for the study of insect viruses. The first continuously growing insect cell cultures were established from

The sterile-male technique for control of the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata Wied., in the Mediterranean basin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Serghiou, C.

1975-01-01

Certain problems caused by the use of insecticides in the management of agricultural pests, such as environmental pollution, insecticide resistance and disturbance of biological balance, has led to the development of selective pest control methods. A prominent place among these for the control of the Mediterranean fruit fly has been attained by the species specific sterile-insect technique (SIT). This study reviews the status of field programmes in countries of the Mediterranean basin, and of related mass rearing, irradiation and field release methodology. The SIT has been successfully tested in Spain, Italy, Israel and Cyprus. In all these cases, however, tests were conducted in small semi-isolated areas where at best a high degree of suppression but not eradication of the fly could be obtained since immigration of gravid females was always possible. The SIT programme in Cyprus and data on medfly ecology in the island is here reviewed in more detail. A proposal is make for the eradication of medfly from Cyprus by the use of an integration of methods, namely bait spraying, cultural practices and sterile-insect releases. (author)

RF and microwave dielectric properties of stored-grain insects and their implications for potential insect control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nelson, S.O.; Bartley, P.G. Jr.; Lawrence, K.C.

1998-01-01

The permittivities of bulk samples of adult insects of the rice weevil, red flour beetle, sawtoothed grain beetle, and lesser grain borer were measured at single frequencies of 9.4 and 11.7 Ghz in X-band waveguide at about 23 degrees C, and permittivities of homogenized samples of the same species were measured from 0.2 to 20 GHz at temperatures from 10 to 70 degrees C with an open-ended coaxial-line probe and network analyzer. Sample densities for the coaxial-line probe measurements were determined from the X-band measurements with a linear relationship between the cube root of the dielectric constant and sample bulk density determined from permittivity measurements on bulk samples of the adult insects in a waveguide sample holder taken with the short-circuited line technique. Since linearity of the cube root of the dielectric constant with bulk density is consistent with the Landau and Lifshitz, Looyenga dielectric mixture equation, this equation was used to calculate estimated dielectric constants and loss factors of the insects from measured permittivities and volume fractions determined from measured bulk density and adult insect density determined by air-comparison pycnometer measurements. Estimated dielectric constants and loss factors of the insects are presented graphically for temperatures from 10 to 70 degrees C, and tabulated data are provided for range information and comparative purposes

Optical characterization of agricultural pest insects: a methodological study in the spectral and time domains

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Y. Y.; Zhang, H.; Duan, Z.; Lian, M.; Zhao, G. Y.; Sun, X. H.; Hu, J. D.; Gao, L. N.; Feng, H. Q.; Svanberg, S.

2016-08-01

Identification of agricultural pest insects is an important aspect in insect research and agricultural monitoring. We have performed a methodological study of how spectroscopic techniques and wing-beat frequency analysis might provide relevant information. An optical system based on the combination of close-range remote sensing and reflectance spectroscopy was developed to study the optical characteristics of different flying insects, collected in Southern China. The results demonstrate that the combination of wing-beat frequency assessment and reflectance spectral analysis has the potential to successfully differentiate between insect species. Further, studies of spectroscopic characteristics of fixed specimen of insects, also from Central China, showed the possibility of refined agricultural pest identification. Here, in addition to reflectance recordings also laser-induced fluorescence spectra were investigated for all the species of insects under study and found to provide complementary information to optically distinguish insects. In order to prove the practicality of the techniques explored, clearly fieldwork aiming at elucidating the variability of parameters, even within species, must be performed.

Application of the sterile-insect technique for control of Mediterranean fruit flies in Israel under field conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kamburov, S.S.; Yawetz, A.

1975-01-01

A large-scale field experiment, carried out in 1973 in Israel, employing the sterile-insect technique against the Mediterranean fruit fly and conducted over a 10 000 dunam area containing commercial citrus groves, is discussed. The release area was surrounded by a 500-m-wide low-volume (LV) bait spray barrier. Sterile flies were released from the ground and by air twice weekly. Results indicate successful control of the wild fly population for several months only and a clear suppression until July; thereafter, wild fertile females immigrated into the release area through the LV barrier. (author)

Male-killing bacteria as agents of insect pest control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berec, Ludek; Maxin, Daniel; Bernhauerová, Veronika

2016-01-01

1. Continual effort is needed to reduce the impact of exotic species in the context of increased globalization. Any innovation in this respect would be an asset. 2. We assess the potential of combining two pest control techniques: the well-established sterile insect technique (SIT) and a novel male-killing technique (MKT), which comprises inoculation of a pest population with bacteria that kill the infected male embryos. 3. Population models are developed to assess the efficiency of using the MKT for insect pest control, either alone or together with the SIT. We seek for conditions under which the MKT weakens requirements on the SIT. 4. Regarding the SIT, we consider both non-heritable and inherited sterility. In both cases, the MKT and SIT benefit one another. The MKT may prevent the SIT from failing when not enough sterilized males are released due to high production costs and/or uncertainty on their mating ability following a high irradiation dose. Conversely, with already established SIT, pest eradication can be achieved after introduction of male-killing bacteria with lower vertical transmission efficiency than if the MKT was applied alone. 5. For tephritid fruit flies with non-heritable sterility, maximal impact of the SIT is achieved when the released males are fully sterile. Conversely, for lepidopterans with inherited sterility, maximal impact of the SIT is achieved for intermediate irradiation doses. In both cases, increasing vertical transmission efficiency of male-killing bacteria benefits the SIT; high enough vertical transmission efficiency allows for pest eradication where the SIT is absent or induces only pest suppression when used alone. 6. Synthesis and applications. While both techniques can suppress or eliminate the pest on their own, combined application of the male-killing technique and the sterile insect technique substantially increases pest control efficiency. If male-killing bacteria are already established in the pest, any assessment of

Consultants' Group Meeting on Tsetse Genetics in Relation to Tsetse/Trypanosomiasis Control/Eradication

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1992-07-01

The FAO and IAEA have long recognized the need for methods for insect and pest control based upon approaches other than simply the widespread use of insecticides. Through the past several years the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture has expended a considerable amount of effort in the development of a SIT programme applicable to tsetse. Such programmes have proved to be a highly successful component of the integrated control of tsetse flies. However, the pilot programmes undertaken to date have been applied to areas of limited size and future integrated control programmes for tsetse must cover much larger regions. The Consultants' Group was cognisant of the continued need for improvements in the cost effectiveness in the mass production of tsetse, particularly for SIT programmes. The Consultants' Goup recognized also that FAO/IAEA plays an important leadership role in the development of new technologies for the control of insect pest populations, and in the transfer of such technologies to assist in the improvement of agricultural production, particularly in developing countries. In addition to research on the development of methods for insect control (emphasizing application of the Sterile Insect Technique), the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture has established and implemented five 'Co-ordinated Research Programmes' on tsetse and has, from time to time, convened groups of consultants to discuss and make recommendations on specific subjects. At least two such meetings (in July 1975 and November 1987) focused on genetic methods of insect control. The recent, rapid developments in molecular biology have stimulated interest in the application of genetic techniques to the problem of tsetse and trypanosomiasis control in Africa.

Consultants' Group Meeting on Tsetse Genetics in Relation to Tsetse/Trypanosomiasis Control/Eradication

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-01-01

The FAO and IAEA have long recognized the need for methods for insect and pest control based upon approaches other than simply the widespread use of insecticides. Through the past several years the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture has expended a considerable amount of effort in the development of a SIT programme applicable to tsetse. Such programmes have proved to be a highly successful component of the integrated control of tsetse flies. However, the pilot programmes undertaken to date have been applied to areas of limited size and future integrated control programmes for tsetse must cover much larger regions. The Consultants' Group was cognisant of the continued need for improvements in the cost effectiveness in the mass production of tsetse, particularly for SIT programmes. The Consultants' Goup recognized also that FAO/IAEA plays an important leadership role in the development of new technologies for the control of insect pest populations, and in the transfer of such technologies to assist in the improvement of agricultural production, particularly in developing countries. In addition to research on the development of methods for insect control (emphasizing application of the Sterile Insect Technique), the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture has established and implemented five 'Co-ordinated Research Programmes' on tsetse and has, from time to time, convened groups of consultants to discuss and make recommendations on specific subjects. At least two such meetings (in July 1975 and November 1987) focused on genetic methods of insect control. The recent, rapid developments in molecular biology have stimulated interest in the application of genetic techniques to the problem of tsetse and trypanosomiasis control in Africa.

Insect biofuel cells using trehalose included in insect hemolymph leading to an insect-mountable biofuel cell.

Science.gov (United States)

Shoji, Kan; Akiyama, Yoshitake; Suzuki, Masato; Hoshino, Takayuki; Nakamura, Nobuhumi; Ohno, Hiroyuki; Morishima, Keisuke

2012-12-01

In this paper, an insect biofuel cell (BFC) using trehalose included in insect hemolymph was developed. The insect BFC is based on trehalase and glucose oxidase (GOD) reaction systems which oxidize β-glucose obtained by hydrolyzing trehalose. First, we confirmed by LC-MS that a sufficient amount of trehalose was present in the cockroach hemolymph (CHL). The maximum power density obtained using the insect BFC was 6.07 μW/cm(2). The power output was kept more than 10 % for 2.5 h by protecting the electrodes with a dialysis membrane. Furthermore, the maximum power density was increased to 10.5 μW/cm(2) by using an air diffusion cathode. Finally, we succeeded in driving a melody integrated circuit (IC) and a piezo speaker by connecting five insect BFCs in series. The results indicate that the insect BFC is a promising insect-mountable battery to power environmental monitoring micro-tools.

Genetic sexing strains for four species of insects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seawright, J.A.

1990-01-01

Genetic sexing strains were assembled by using classical genetic and cytogenetic techniques for four medically important species of insects. Male linked reciprocal translocations were used to impose pseudolinkage of sex and selectable genes (shown in parentheses) for Anopheles albimanus (propoxur resistance), Anopheles quadrimaculatus sp. A (malathion resistance), Stomoxys calcitrans (dieldrin resistance; malathion resistance, and black pupa), and Musca domestica (black pupa). These strains would be of great value in implementation of the sterile insect technique for control of these species because the females can either be killed in the egg stage (in the case of insecticide resistance as the selectable gene) or they can be separated from the males and thus excluded from releases. (author). 13 refs

Using mass-release of engineered insects to manage insecticide resistance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alphey, Nina; Coleman, Paul G.; Donnelly, Christl A.

2006-01-01

Transgenic crops expressing insecticidal toxins derived from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) are widely used to control insect pests. The benefits of such crops would be lost if resistance to the toxins spread to a significant proportion of the pest population. The main resistance management method, mandatory in the US, is the high-dose/refuge strategy, requiring nearby refuges of toxin-free crops, and the use of toxin doses sufficiently high to kill not only wild type insects but also insects heterozygous for a resistance allele, thereby rendering the resistance functionally recessive. We propose that mass-release of harmless toxin-sensitive insects could substantially delay or even reverse the spread of resistance. Mass-release of such insects is an integral part of RIDL, a genetics-based method of pest control related to the Sterile Insect Technique. We used a population genetic mathematical model to analyze the effects of releasing male insects homozygous for a female-specific dominant lethal genetic construct, and concluded that this RIDL strategy could form an effective component of a resistance management scheme for insecticidal plants and other toxins. (author)

Using mass-release of engineered insects to manage insecticide resistance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alphey, Nina [University of Oxford (United Kingdom). Dept. of Zoology; Alphey, Luke [Oxitec Limited, Oxford (United Kingdom); Coleman, Paul G [London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (United Kingdom). Dept. of Infectious and Tropical Diseases; Donnelly, Christl A [Imperial College Faculty of Medicine, London (United Kingdom). Dept. of Infectious Disease Epidemiology

2006-07-01

Transgenic crops expressing insecticidal toxins derived from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) are widely used to control insect pests. The benefits of such crops would be lost if resistance to the toxins spread to a significant proportion of the pest population. The main resistance management method, mandatory in the US, is the high-dose/refuge strategy, requiring nearby refuges of toxin-free crops, and the use of toxin doses sufficiently high to kill not only wild type insects but also insects heterozygous for a resistance allele, thereby rendering the resistance functionally recessive. We propose that mass-release of harmless toxin-sensitive insects could substantially delay or even reverse the spread of resistance. Mass-release of such insects is an integral part of RIDL, a genetics-based method of pest control related to the Sterile Insect Technique. We used a population genetic mathematical model to analyze the effects of releasing male insects homozygous for a female-specific dominant lethal genetic construct, and concluded that this RIDL strategy could form an effective component of a resistance management scheme for insecticidal plants and other toxins. (author)

Beneficial Insects and Insect Pollinators on Milkweed in South Georgia

Science.gov (United States)

Insect pollinators are essential for the reproduction of more than two-thirds of the world’s crops, and beneficial insects play an important role in managing pest insects in agricultural farmscapes. These insects depend on nectar for their survival in these farmscapes. The flowers of tropical milkwe...

Evaluation of the efficiency of various medfly female trapping combinations in Costa Rica in support of the sterile insect technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Camacho, H.

1999-01-01

This report contains information from a four-year research programme co-ordinated by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The objective of the programme was to develop a trapping system for females of the Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly), Ceratitis capitata (Diptera: Tephritidae), for practical use in Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) programs and to design and evaluate a trap to obtain eggs from wild female medflies in order to estimate sterility induction in the field population. The study was carried out at two different Agricultural Research Stations of the University of Costa Rica, the Fabio Baudrit Agricultural Research Station (FBS) and Laguna de Fraijanes Agricultural Research Station (LFS), and in a privately-owned coffee and orange plantation in Grecia canton (Coope-Victoria Farm). Female medfly attractants tested were three food based 'female' attractants (FA-3), namely ammonium acetate (AA), 1,4 diaminobutane (putrescine) and trimethylamine, all formulated to last at least one month. These attractants were evaluated either in combinations of two (AA + putrescine, termed FA-2) or all three (termed FA-3). The attractants were tested in various traps including the plastic International Pheromone's McPhail traps (IPMT) and Tephri traps, a Spanish trap similar to the IPMT. Traps were used either as a dry trap (provided with DDVP) or a wet trap (provided with water and 0.01% surfactant). Jackson traps with Trimedlure (JT,TML), a routinely used male medfly trapping system, was also used. Trapping experiments conducted in the citrus plantation of the FBS resulted in the following fly/trap/day indices (F/T/D): 7.18 with JT,TML; 4.62 with open bottom dry traps (OBDT) baited with FA-3; 4.18 with OBDT (PVC) baited with FA-3; 7.73 with IPMT baited with FA-3, wet; 8.245 with IPMT baited with FA-3, dry; 5.27 with IPMT baited with NuLure; 4.79 with Tephri baited with FA-3, wet; and 5.42 with Tephri, FA-3, dry. The F/T/D indices at the Coope-Victoria Farm, in coffee

Evaluation of the efficiency of various medfly female trapping combinations in Costa Rica in support of the sterile insect technique

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Camacho, H [Laboratorio de Investigacion en Mosca del Mediterraneo, Escuela de Biologia, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Jose (Costa Rica)

1999-07-01

This report contains information from a four-year research programme co-ordinated by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The objective of the programme was to develop a trapping system for females of the Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly), Ceratitis capitata (Diptera: Tephritidae), for practical use in Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) programs and to design and evaluate a trap to obtain eggs from wild female medflies in order to estimate sterility induction in the field population. The study was carried out at two different Agricultural Research Stations of the University of Costa Rica, the Fabio Baudrit Agricultural Research Station (FBS) and Laguna de Fraijanes Agricultural Research Station (LFS), and in a privately-owned coffee and orange plantation in Grecia canton (Coope-Victoria Farm). Female medfly attractants tested were three food based `female` attractants (FA-3), namely ammonium acetate (AA), 1,4 diaminobutane (putrescine) and trimethylamine, all formulated to last at least one month. These attractants were evaluated either in combinations of two (AA + putrescine, termed FA-2) or all three (termed FA-3). The attractants were tested in various traps including the plastic International Pheromone`s McPhail traps (IPMT) and Tephri traps, a Spanish trap similar to the IPMT. Traps were used either as a dry trap (provided with DDVP) or a wet trap (provided with water and 0.01% surfactant). Jackson traps with Trimedlure (JT,TML), a routinely used male medfly trapping system, was also used. Trapping experiments conducted in the citrus plantation of the FBS resulted in the following fly/trap/day indices (F/T/D): 7.18 with JT,TML; 4.62 with open bottom dry traps (OBDT) baited with FA-3; 4.18 with OBDT (PVC) baited with FA-3; 7.73 with IPMT baited with FA-3, wet; 8.245 with IPMT baited with FA-3, dry; 5.27 with IPMT baited with NuLure; 4.79 with Tephri baited with FA-3, wet; and 5.42 with Tephri, FA-3, dry. The F/T/D indices at the Coope-Victoria Farm, in coffee

Status report on 'The integrated fruit fly management based on the Sterile Insect Technique in Guimaras Island, Philippines'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Covacha, S.A.; Bignayan, H.G.; Gaitan, E.G.; Zamora, N.F.; Maranon, R.P.; Manoto, E.C.; Obra, G.B.; Resilva, S.S.; Reyes, M.R.

2000-01-01

Western Visayas has a large area planted with mangoes and is considered the major mango producing region of the country. As of 1992, about 10,000 hectares were devoted to the crop with a total production of 88,727 metric tons. The bulk of mango production comes from Guimaras Island with 54,944 bearing and 165,852 non-bearing trees. Major markets for Philippine mangoes are Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore. The country accounts for more than 90% of Japan's fresh mango imports. Exports to Japan also show an average increase of 20% yearly while those to Hong Kong have increased by 23%. However, expansion in the market of mangoes and other fruits is greatly restricted by the presence of Bactrocera philippinensis, a sibling species of the Oriental fruit flies, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel), in the country. The pests cause large economic losses to producers and are a major deterrent to the free movement of fresh fruits in the world market. The control of B. philippinensis pests using insecticides cannot be relied upon because of problems like development of insect resistance, undesirable environmental contamination and resurgence of secondary pests. On the other hand, disinfestation treatments for fresh fruits are either expensive or not accepted by importing countries. Japan, for instance, accepts only vapour heat treated fruits from the Philippines (Merino et al. 1986). To facilitate the growth of the fruit industry, an effective area-wide eradication of fruit flies as achieved by Japan in its southern island is therefore needed. This involves the use of the male annihilation technique (MAT) and the sterile insect technique (SIT). The probability of having similar success in the use of the male annihilation technique and the sterile insect technique in eradicating fruit flies from the island of Guimaras is not far from reality. Fulfilling requirement of an 'isolated area', the geographical location of Guimaras is therefore a unique feature that will satisfy the

The use of semiochemical-based devices and formulations in area-wide programmes - A commercial perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jones, Owen T.; Casagrande, Enzo D.

2000-01-01

It is now almost 40 years since the first insect pheromone was isolated and identified and many authors have referred over the years to their commercial potential. Although much progress has been made during those years in terms of scientific and technological advances related to semiochemicals, the 'progress' that has actually been made in the commercial exploitation of pheromones and other semiochemicals has been rather limited when viewed in terms of their share of the agrochemical market. Based on published data and unpublished information which has been made available to the authors, semiochemical-based products are estimated to have world-wide sales in the US$70-80 million range at the manufacturers' level. This compares with a world-wide insecticide market of nearly US$8 billion in 1995 so that it therefore constitutes less than 1% of that market. In terms of the biopesticide market (bacteria, viruses, botanical insecticides, entomopathogenic nematodes and beneficial insects) on the other hand, semiochemicals constitute a much higher percentage (ca. 30%) and probably are third in importance after bacterial and botanical products. The industry has taken over 20 years to achieve its current size and has been pioneered mostly by small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Several technical and biological factors have played a part in determining the rate at which semiochemical-based technology has been adopted commercially in the field but one factor in particular has greatly influenced this technology transfer process, namely, area-wide programmes. These have often been government-backed programmes that have demonstrated the effectiveness of the semiochemical-based technique being implemented and have convinced the farmers and growers of the benefits that these novel techniques can bring. Several strategies have been developed where semiochemicals have been used either alone or in combination with other control technologies but three in particular stands out

A new approach to quantify semiochemical effects on insects based on energy landscapes.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rory P Wilson

Full Text Available Our ability to document insect preference for semiochemicals is pivotal in pest control as these agents can improve monitoring and be deployed within integrated pest management programmes for more efficacious control of pest species. However, methods used to date have drawbacks that limit their utility. We present and test a new concept for determining insect motivation to move towards, or away from, semiochemicals by noting direction and speed of movement as animals work against a defined energy landscape (environmentally dependent variation in the cost of transport requiring different powers to negotiate. We conducted trials with the pine weevils Hylobius abietis and peach-potato aphids Myzus persicae exposed to various attractants and repellents and placed so that they either moved up defined slopes against gravity or had to travel over variously rough surfaces.Linear Mixed Models demonstrated clear reductions in travel speed by insects moving along increasingly energetically taxing energy landscapes but also that responses varied according to different semiochemicals, thus highlighting the value of energy landscapes as a new concept to help measure insect motivation to access or avoid different attractants or repellents across individuals.New sensitive, detailed indicators of insect motivation derived from this approach should prove important in pest control across the world.

Influence of Pupation Substrate on Mass Production and Fitness of Adult Anastrepha obliqua Macquart (Diptera: Tephritidae) for Sterile Insect Technique Application.

Science.gov (United States)

Aceituno-Medina, Marysol; Rivera-Ciprian, José Pedro; Hernández, Emilio

2017-12-05

Tephritid mass-rearing systems require an artificial substrate for pupation. Pupation substrate characteristics influence the quality of insects produced. Coconut fiber, as an alternative to the conventional pupation substrate vermiculite, was evaluated for Anastrepha obliqua Macquart (Diptera: Tephritidae) pupation behavior (pupation patterns, distribution, respiration rate, and pupal weight) and adult fitness (adult eclosion time, flight ability, and male mating competitiveness). Pupation percentage at 24 h, pupal weight, and flight ability were not significantly affected by substrate type. Adult eclosion levels of 50% were reached at 29.7 and 41.6 h for coconut fiber and vermiculite, respectively. Pupae distribution patterns differed between substrates because the larval aggregation level was reduced during the pupation process in coconut fiber. The pupae aggregation was three times greater in vermiculite than in coconut fiber. A higher respiratory rate in the last days of pupation and adult eclosion were recorded in the insects maintained in coconut fiber. Coconut fiber suitability as a pupation substrate for quality mass production of pupae and its implications for sterile insect technique are discussed. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Viruses of insects reared for food and feed.

Science.gov (United States)

Maciel-Vergara, Gabriela; Ros, Vera I D

2017-07-01

The use of insects as food for humans or as feed for animals is an alternative for the increasing high demand for meat and has various environmental and social advantages over the traditional intensive production of livestock. Mass rearing of insects, under insect farming conditions or even in industrial settings, can be the key for a change in the way natural resources are utilized in order to produce meat, animal protein and a list of other valuable animal products. However, because insect mass rearing technology is relatively new, little is known about the different factors that determine the quality and yield of the production process. Obtaining such knowledge is crucial for the success of insect-based product development. One of the issues that is likely to compromise the success of insect rearing is the outbreak of insect diseases. In particular, viral diseases can be devastating for the productivity and the quality of mass rearing systems. Prevention and management of viral diseases imply the understanding of the different factors that interact in insect mass rearing. This publication provides an overview of the known viruses in insects most commonly reared for food and feed. Nowadays with large-scale sequencing techniques, new viruses are rapidly being discovered. We discuss factors affecting the emergence of viruses in mass rearing systems, along with virus transmission routes. Finally we provide an overview of the wide range of measures available to prevent and manage virus outbreaks in mass rearing systems, ranging from simple sanitation methods to highly sophisticated methods including RNAi and transgenics. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Use of Nuclear Techniques in Biological Control: Managing Pests, Facilitating Trade and Protecting the Environment. Report of a Consultants Group Meeting. Working Material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1999-01-01

High-priority opportunities are proposed for use of nuclear techniques to effect improved production and shipping of augmentative biological control agents. Proposed subprojects include use of ionizing radiation to improve the production of insect natural enemies on natural hosts/prey or on artificial diets. Other subprojects pertain to improving the ability to move beneficial organisms in international trade, and in using them in the field. Additional high priority activities were identified proposing use of nuclear techniques to produce sterile and/or substerile F-1 weed biological control agents to help evaluate potential impact on non-target species in the pre-release phase, integration of augmentative releases and F-1 sterility in IPM and area-wide pest management programmes, and utilization of by-products from SIT mass-rearing facilities in augmentative biological control programmes. (author)

Edible Insects

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Huis, van A.; Dunkel, F.V.

2016-01-01

The interest in insects as human food in the Western world is increasingly considered as a viable alternative to other protein sources. In tropical countries it is common practice and about 2000 insect species are eaten. Insects emit low levels of greenhouse gases, need little water, and require

Insects: A nutritional alternative

Science.gov (United States)

Dufour, P. A.

1981-01-01

Insects are considered as potential food sources in space. Types of insects consumed are discussed. Hazards of insect ingestion are considered. Insect reproduction, requirements, and raw materials conversion are discussed. Nutrition properties and composition of insects are considered. Preparation of insects as human food is discussed.

Parametric structural modeling of insect wings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mengesha, T E; Vallance, R R; Barraja, M; Mittal, R

2009-01-01

Insects produce thrust and lift forces via coupled fluid-structure interactions that bend and twist their compliant wings during flapping cycles. Insight into this fluid-structure interaction is achieved with numerical modeling techniques such as coupled finite element analysis and computational fluid dynamics, but these methods require accurate and validated structural models of insect wings. Structural models of insect wings depend principally on the shape, dimensions and material properties of the veins and membrane cells. This paper describes a method for parametric modeling of wing geometry using digital images and demonstrates the use of the geometric models in constructing three-dimensional finite element (FE) models and simple reduced-order models. The FE models are more complete and accurate than previously reported models since they accurately represent the topology of the vein network, as well as the shape and dimensions of the veins and membrane cells. The methods are demonstrated by developing a parametric structural model of a cicada forewing.

The use of radiation in quarantine on insects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Al-Oraby, M. N. A.

2012-01-01

With world trade in agricultural commodities increasing, the introduction of exotic insects into new areas, where they become pests, will increase. The development and application of quarantine treatments or other mitigation approaches to prevent pest introduction in traded commodities raise many research and regulatory issues. The probit 9 standard for quarantine treatment efficacy has given way to risk based alternatives. Development of generic treatments to control broad groups of insects or insects in all commodities can expedite new trade in agricultural products. An innovative technique using radio-frequency (RF) and Microwave (MW) heating treatments was proposed as an alternative quarantine treatment in nuts. The practical future application in industry should be possible after solving their problems of high cost, non-uniform heating and quality damage. (author)

Integrated pest management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

LaBrecque, G.C.

1981-01-01

An effective Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programme requires a thorough knowledge of the biology of the target species, namely information on the dispersal, population densities and dynamics as well as the ecology of the natural enemies of the pest. Studies on these can be accomplished by radiolabelling techniques. In the event that conditions prevent the use of radioisotopes the insects can be labelled with either a rare earth or stable isotopes. All insects treated with the rare earths, once captured, are exposed to neutrons which produce radioactivity in the rare earths. There are two other approaches in the practical application of radiation to the problem of insect control: the exposure of insects to lethal doses of radiation and the release of sterile insects. The Insect and Pest Control Section contributes to all aspects of the sterile insect technique (SIT) and it is involved in the Agency's Coordinated Research Programme which permits scientists from the developing countries to meet to discuss agricultural problems and to devise means of solving crop-pest infestation problems by using isotopes and radiation. The success of radiation in insect pest control was underlined and reviewed at the international symposium on the sterile insect technique and the use of radiation in genetic insect control jointly organized by the FAO and the IAEA and held in the FRG in 1981. Another important action is the BICOT programme in Nigeria between the IAEA and the Government of Nigeria on the biological control of tsetse flies by SIT

Consuming insects

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Roos, N.; Huis, van A.

2017-01-01

How healthy are insects? This is a highly relevant question in view of the global interest in the potential of insects as a sustainable food source in food systems and diets. Edible insects, like other foods, can provide nutrients and dietary energy to meet the requirements of the human body as a

Development of quality control procedures for mass produced and released Bactrocera Philippinensis (Diptera: Tephritidae) for sterile insect technique programs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Resilva, S.; Obra, G.; Zamora, N.; Gaitan, E.

2007-01-01

Quality control procedures for Bactrocera philippinensis Drew and Hancock 1994 (Diptera: Tephritidae) used in sterile insect technique (SIT) programs were established in the mass rearing facility at the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute. Basic studies on pupal irradiation, holding/packaging systems, shipping procedures, longevity, sterility studies, and pupal eye color determination in relation to physiological development at different temperature regimes were investigated. These studies will provide baseline data for the development of quality control protocols for an expansion of B. philippinensis field programs with an SIT component in the future. (author) [es

Radiography as a tool in understanding soil insect behavior in turfgrass

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Villani, M.G.; Wright, R.J.

1987-01-01

In an effort to gain a more realistic picture of the events that occur within the soil matrix an x-ray technique has been developed that has been used to study seed insects, parasitized cocoons, and wood boring insects in trees to study soil insect movement and behavior. This technique makes it possible to study the movement of the target insects within simulated or natural soil blocks over time. This method also shows physical properties of the soil matrix: particle size, extent of compaction, differences in soil moisture, horizons, and random soil heterogeneity. Blocks of soil up to 14'' x 17'' x 5'' have been removed from the field and x-rayed in my laboratory using this technique. These radiographs are of sufficient quality to determine the movement of white grubs in situ. Such blocks retain their field characteristics and therefore allow for the careful monitoring and manipulation of the system over relatively long (several months) periods of time. Radiographic data are presented which document the behavior of several white grub species in response to dynamic soil ecosystem processes such as moisture and temperature flux. Additional data on the effects of specific soil insecticides on the behavior of white grubs in the soil and the movement of these insecticides through the soil profile are also presented. The importance of understanding the dynamic interaction of soil insect and soil insecticide provided through x-ray technology, both in understanding white grub behavior in the field and maximizing management efforts is discussed

Guide for dosimetry for sterile insect release programs. 2. ed.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2004-01-01

This guide outlines dosimetric procedures to be followed for the radiation sterilization of live insects for use in pest management programs. The primary use of irradiated, reproductively sterile insects is in the Sterile Insect Technique, where large numbers of sterile insects are released into the field to mate with and thus control pest populations of the same species. A secondary use of sterile insects is as benign hosts for rearing insect parasitoids. The procedures outlined in this guide will help ensure that insects processed with ionizing radiation from gamma, electron, or X-ray sources receive absorbed doses within a predetermined range. Information on effective dose ranges for specific applications of insect sterilization, or on methodology for determining effective dose ranges, is not within the scope of this guide. Note: Dosimetry is only one component of a total quality control program to ensure that irradiated insects are adequately sterilized and sufficiently competitive or otherwise suitable for their intended purpose. This guide covers dosimetry in the irradiation of insects for these types of irradiators: self-contained dry-storage 137 Cs or 60 Co irradiators, large-scale gamma irradiators, and electron accelerators. Additional, detailed information on dosimetric procedures to be followed in installation qualification, operational qualification, performance qualification, and routine product processing can be found in ISO/ASTM Practices 51608 (X-ray [bremsstrahlung] facilities), 51649 (electron beam facilities), 51702 (large-scale gamma facilities), and ASTM Practice E 2116 (self-contained dry-storage gamma facilities). The absorbed dose for insect sterilization is typically within the range of 20 Gy to 600 Gy

Gut microbes may facilitate insect herbivory of chemically defended plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Hammer, Tobin J; Bowers, M Deane

2015-09-01

The majority of insect species consume plants, many of which produce chemical toxins that defend their tissues from attack. How then are herbivorous insects able to develop on a potentially poisonous diet? While numerous studies have focused on the biochemical counter-adaptations to plant toxins rooted in the insect genome, a separate body of research has recently emphasized the role of microbial symbionts, particularly those inhabiting the gut, in plant-insect interactions. Here we outline the "gut microbial facilitation hypothesis," which proposes that variation among herbivores in their ability to consume chemically defended plants can be due, in part, to variation in their associated microbial communities. More specifically, different microbes may be differentially able to detoxify compounds toxic to the insect, or be differentially resistant to the potential antimicrobial effects of some compounds. Studies directly addressing this hypothesis are relatively few, but microbe-plant allelochemical interactions have been frequently documented from non-insect systems-such as soil and the human gut-and thus illustrate their potential importance for insect herbivory. We discuss the implications of this hypothesis for insect diversification and coevolution with plants; for example, evolutionary transitions to host plant groups with novel allelochemicals could be initiated by heritable changes to the insect microbiome. Furthermore, the ecological implications extend beyond the plant and insect herbivore to higher trophic levels. Although the hidden nature of microbes and plant allelochemicals make their interactions difficult to detect, recent molecular and experimental techniques should enable research on this neglected, but likely important, aspect of insect-plant biology.

All insects are equal, but some insects are more equal than others

OpenAIRE

Fischer, Arnout R.H.; Steenbekkers, L.P.A.

2018-01-01

Purpose: Lack of acceptance of insects as food is considered a barrier against societal adoption of the potentially valuable contribution of insects to human foods. An underlying barrier may be that insects are lumped together as one group, while consumers typically try specific insects. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the ways in which Dutch consumers, with and without insect tasting experience, are more or less willing to eat different insects. Design/methodology/approach: In a ...

Microbial ecology-based methods to characterize the bacterial communities of non-model insects.

Science.gov (United States)

Prosdocimi, Erica M; Mapelli, Francesca; Gonella, Elena; Borin, Sara; Crotti, Elena

2015-12-01

Among the animals of the Kingdom Animalia, insects are unparalleled for their widespread diffusion, diversity and number of occupied ecological niches. In recent years they have raised researcher interest not only because of their importance as human and agricultural pests, disease vectors and as useful breeding species (e.g. honeybee and silkworm), but also because of their suitability as animal models. It is now fully recognized that microorganisms form symbiotic relationships with insects, influencing their survival, fitness, development, mating habits and the immune system and other aspects of the biology and ecology of the insect host. Thus, any research aimed at deepening the knowledge of any given insect species (perhaps species of applied interest or species emerging as novel pests or vectors) must consider the characterization of the associated microbiome. The present review critically examines the microbiology and molecular ecology techniques that can be applied to the taxonomical and functional analysis of the microbiome of non-model insects. Our goal is to provide an overview of current approaches and methods addressing the ecology and functions of microorganisms and microbiomes associated with insects. Our focus is on operational details, aiming to provide a concise guide to currently available advanced techniques, in an effort to extend insect microbiome research beyond simple descriptions of microbial communities. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Model business plan for a sterile insect production facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2008-01-01

For over 50 years the sterile insect technique (SIT) is a pest control strategy which has been used for eradication, and more recently for suppression, containment and prevention, of unwanted insect pest populations. Examples of successful applications of SIT, almost always applied in conjunction with other control methods in an area-wide integrated approach, are available from around the world. The development and application of SIT has relied overwhelmingly on public or donor initiative and funding throughout its history, although the private sector has always been involved as participants, cooperators or partners in funding. The demand for SIT, and therefore the market for sterile insects, has increased in recent years. This increase coincides with the introduction of new pests through the expansion of global trade and, at the same time, widespread pressure to find alternatives to pesticides. Recent improvements in the technology supporting SIT facilitate its application and suggest lower costs can be achieved. The conditions are therefore met for a greater commercialization of the technique to bring it in line with other pest control approaches that are fully integrated into a market approach. Several challenges arise, however, in pursuing sterile insect production as a commercial venture, ranging from intellectual property protection to pricing of the product. Routine insurance requirements, for instance, are complicated by the biological aspects of the business. This report is aimed at facilitating private sector involvement in the production of sterile insects for use in pest control. It provides guidelines and tools to support the development of specific business plans for a new SIT venture. By providing an international perspective on such issues as initial capital costs and recurring operational expenditures for a sterile insect facility, it may be used to evaluate the feasibility of proceeding with the construction or expansion of a sterile insect

Guidance for packing, shipping, holding and release of sterile flies in area-wide fruit fly control programmes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Enkerlin, W.

2007-01-01

This guidance represents the recommendations, reached by consensus of an international group of experts, on the standard procedures for the packing, shipping, holding and release of mass reared and sterilized tephritid flies that are to be used in area-wide programmes that include the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT). The majority of the procedures were initially designed specifically for the Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (or Medfly), but they are applicable, with minor modifications, for other tephritid species such as those in the genera Anastrepha, Bactrocera and Dacus. The guidance is designed to be a working document that can be subject to periodic updates due to technological developments and research contributions. Future editions will endeavour to include more specific recommendations for other species of fruit flies as the relevant data become available. The procedures described in this guidance will help ensure that released sterile fruit flies will be of optimal quality and that the resulting field density of these flies will be as closely aligned to the individual programme needs. It is hoped that this guidance will help to quickly identify and correct problems in programme effectiveness, resulting from less than optimal emergence and release conditions

The novel programmable riometer for in-depth ionospheric and magnetospheric observations (PRIAMOS) using direct sampling DSP techniques

OpenAIRE

Dekoulis, G.; Honary, F.

2005-01-01

This paper describes the feasibility study and simulation results for the unique multi-frequency, multi-bandwidth, Programmable Riometer for in-depth Ionospheric And Magnetospheric ObservationS (PRIAMOS) based on direct sampling digital signal processing (DSP) techniques. This novel architecture is based on sampling the cosmic noise wavefront at the antenna. It eliminates the usage of any intermediate frequency (IF) mixer stages (-6 dB) and the noise balancing technique (-3 dB), providing a m...

Genetic basis of triatomine behavior: lessons from available insect genomes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jose Manuel Latorre-Estivalis

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Triatomines have been important model organisms for behavioural research. Diverse reports about triatomine host search, pheromone communication in the sexual, shelter and alarm contexts, daily cycles of activity, refuge choice and behavioural plasticity have been published in the last two decades. In recent times, a variety of molecular genetics techniques has allowed researchers to investigate elaborate and complex questions about the genetic bases of the physiology of insects. This, together with the current characterisation of the genome sequence of Rhodnius prolixus allows the resurgence of this excellent insect physiology model in the omics era. In the present revision, we suggest that studying the molecular basis of behaviour and sensory ecology in triatomines will promote a deeper understanding of fundamental aspects of insect and, particularly, vector biology. This will allow uncovering unknown features of essential insect physiology questions for a hemimetabolous model organism, promoting more robust comparative studies of insect sensory function and cognition.

Signal processing techniques for the acoustic detection of boiling in LMFBRs: preliminary results of an IAEA collaborative research programme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Macleod, I.D.

1988-01-01

A specialist meeting organised by the International Working Group on Fast Reactors (IWGFR) of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was held at Chester in the United Kingdom in 1981 to discuss techniques for the detection of acoustic noise from boiling. This meeting recommended that a benchmark test should be carried out to evaluate and compare signal processing methods for use in the detection of the acoustic noise produced by boiling sodium. In response to this recommendation the IAEA set up a collaborative research programme to examine and compare the processing techniques used in the laboratories of member countries. Eight laboratories in six countries have taken part in the programme which will be completed in 1988. This paper summarises the results obtained so far. (author)

Insects and Scorpions

Science.gov (United States)

... insects or scorpions can be hazardous to outdoor workers. Stinging or biting insects include bees, wasps, hornets, and fire ants. The health effects of stinging or biting insects or scorpions range ...

The sterile insect technique: Cost-effective control of the Mediterranean fruit fly

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gomez Riera, Pablo

2001-01-01

occur and must be dealt with in Florida and California, Mexico and Chile. Fruit flies, like any other pest, have been attacked with biocides at the farm level. Citrus is an instructive example. Citrus flowers and fruits twice a year, and various species and varieties provide year-round harvests. Biocides are typically applied to citrus every 10-15 days. Even so, the effectiveness is usually only 70-80%, due to uncontrolled neighboring farms, untreated hosts, problems with the spraying equipment, dose miscalculations, etc. Aerial applications of bait sprays to wider areas are more expensive, require a regional plan, and can represent a major impact to the environment. All means of application can leave pesticide residues in the fruit. Trade in fresh fruits and vegetables is being liberalized on a world-wide basis as part of globalization. At the same time, local consumption of fresh products is increasing in the search for a healthier life. Pesticides are increasingly less acceptable in both the export trade and local markets. Newly adopted food safety and phytosanitary standards require the establishment of either low prevalence or entirely fruit fly-free areas. Environmental considerations reinforce the already favorable cost-benefit picture for the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) as an alternative to controls that use chemicals alone. The SIT has been in use since the 1950s. The aim of the technique is to disrupt the life cycle of the fly, mating the wild population with sterile flies reared at a 'fly factory'. Sterilization is accomplished by exposing insects to a specific dose of gamma radiation emitted by radioisotopes (cobalt-60 or cesium-137). Irradiation is a central and indispensable part of the total SIT process: every insect among millions produced each week must to be sterilized. No other method is available to achieve sterilization; chemosterilants, linear accelerators and the like have proven less cost-effective

The sterile insect technique: Cost-effective control of the Mediterranean fruit fly

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gomez Riera, Pablo [INTA La Consulta, Mendoza (Argentina)

2001-07-01

occur and must be dealt with in Florida and California, Mexico and Chile. Fruit flies, like any other pest, have been attacked with biocides at the farm level. Citrus is an instructive example. Citrus flowers and fruits twice a year, and various species and varieties provide year-round harvests. Biocides are typically applied to citrus every 10-15 days. Even so, the effectiveness is usually only 70-80%, due to uncontrolled neighboring farms, untreated hosts, problems with the spraying equipment, dose miscalculations, etc. Aerial applications of bait sprays to wider areas are more expensive, require a regional plan, and can represent a major impact to the environment. All means of application can leave pesticide residues in the fruit. Trade in fresh fruits and vegetables is being liberalized on a world-wide basis as part of globalization. At the same time, local consumption of fresh products is increasing in the search for a healthier life. Pesticides are increasingly less acceptable in both the export trade and local markets. Newly adopted food safety and phytosanitary standards require the establishment of either low prevalence or entirely fruit fly-free areas. Environmental considerations reinforce the already favorable cost-benefit picture for the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) as an alternative to controls that use chemicals alone. The SIT has been in use since the 1950s. The aim of the technique is to disrupt the life cycle of the fly, mating the wild population with sterile flies reared at a 'fly factory'. Sterilization is accomplished by exposing insects to a specific dose of gamma radiation emitted by radioisotopes (cobalt-60 or cesium-137). Irradiation is a central and indispensable part of the total SIT process: every insect among millions produced each week must to be sterilized. No other method is available to achieve sterilization; chemosterilants, linear accelerators and the like have proven less cost-effective.

Optimal barrier zones for stopping the invasion of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes via transgenic or sterile insect techniques

KAUST Repository

Lee, S. Seirin; Baker, Ruth E.; Gaffney, Eamonn A.; White, Steven M.

2013-01-01

(Release of Insects carrying a Dominant Lethal), for controlling invasion of the mosquito Aedes aegypti using a spatial stage-structured mathematical model. In particular, we explore the use of a barrier zone of sterile/transgenic insects to prevent

Arriving at the age of pest insect transgenesis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Atkinson, Peter W.; O'Brochta, David A.

2000-01-01

Technologies that enable the stable genetic transformation of insects other than the vinegar fly, Drosophila melanogaster Meigen, have been sought since D. melanogaster was initially transformed using the P transposable element (Rubin and Spradling 1982). D. melanogaster transformation can now be achieved by using Type II eukaryotic transposable elements such as P, hobo, Hermes, mariner, Minos and piggyBac (Blackman et al. 1989, Lidholm et al. 1993, Loukeris et al. 1995a, O'Brochta et al. 1996, Rubin and Spadling 1982, A. M. Handler, personal communication). The success of this strategy led to many attempts to extend it into non-drosophilid insects and this approach has recently been successful with the use of four different transposable elements to transform two non-drosophilid insect species, the Medfly, Ceratitis capitata Wied. and the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti L. (Coates et al. 1998, Handler et al. 1998, Jasinskiene et al. 1998, Loukeris et al. 1995b). The generation of these transgenic insects has, in part, arisen through the adoption of two approaches. One has been the isolation of new transposable elements from non-drosophilid insects. The second has been the implementation of mobility assays that have quickly enabled the mobility properties of these new elements in the target pest species to be determined. The success of these approaches will most likely be extended to other pest insect species over the next five years and will increase our ability to use modern genetic techniques to develop new strategies to control pest insects

Guidelines for the use of mathematics in operational area-wide integrated pest management programs using the sterile insect technique with a special focus on Tephritid Fruit Flies

Science.gov (United States)

Pest control managers can benefit from using mathematical approaches, particularly models, when implementing area-wide pest control programs that include sterile insect technique (SIT), especially when these are used to calculate required rates of sterile releases to result in suppression or eradica...

All insects are equal, but some insects are more equal than others

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fischer, Arnout R.H.; Steenbekkers, L.P.A.

2018-01-01

Purpose: Lack of acceptance of insects as food is considered a barrier against societal adoption of the potentially valuable contribution of insects to human foods. An underlying barrier may be that insects are lumped together as one group, while consumers typically try specific insects. The purpose

Co-ordinated research programme on the use of nuclear and nuclear-related techniques in the study of environmental pollution associated with solid wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1988-01-01

A co-ordinated research programme on the use of nuclear and nuclear-related techniques in the study of environmental pollution associated with solid wastes was started by the Agency in December 1987 and now comprises nineteen participants from seventeen countries. Topics of interest in this programme include studies of atmospheric aerosols, coal fly ash, incinerator ash, sewage sludge and a variety of other environmental specimens contaminated with solid wastes. The analytical techniques being used in this programme include neutron activation analysis (NAA), particle induced X-ray emission (PIXE) and energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (ED-XRF). This report summarizes the discussions that took place during the first research co-ordination meeting. Working papers presented by the participants are included as annexes. The main outcome of the meeting was agreement to include a ''core'' programme comprising studies of (1) aerosols collected from areas of low and high pollution, (2) coal fly ash composition, and (3) leaching of toxic elements from coal fly ash

Insect Repellents: Protect Your Child from Insect Bites

Science.gov (United States)

... Español Text Size Email Print Share Choosing an Insect Repellent for Your Child Page Content Mosquitoes, biting ... sunscreen needs to be reapplied often. Reactions to Insect Repellents If you suspect that your child is ...

Nuclear energy against insect pests

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1963-07-15

The paper presents the main topics discussed at the scientific symposium on the Use and Application of Radioisotopes and Radiation in the Control of Plant and Animal Insect Pests, held in Athens last April, jointly organized by IAEA and FAO with the co-operation of the Greek Government. The sterile male technique is discussed in details and some results from the applications are given

Harnessing Insect-Microbe Chemical Communications To Control Insect Pests of Agricultural Systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Beck, John J; Vannette, Rachel L

2017-01-11

Insect pests cause serious economic, yield, and food safety problems to managed crops worldwide. Compounding these problems, insect pests often vector pathogenic or toxigenic microbes to plants. Previous work has considered plant-insect and plant-microbe interactions separately. Although insects are well-understood to use plant volatiles to locate hosts, microorganisms can produce distinct and abundant volatile compounds that in some cases strongly attract insects. In this paper, we focus on the microbial contribution to plant volatile blends, highlighting the compounds emitted and the potential for variation in microbial emission. We suggest that these aspects of microbial volatile emission may make these compounds ideal for use in agricultural applications, as they may be more specific or enhance methods currently used in insect control or monitoring. Our survey of microbial volatiles in insect-plant interactions suggests that these emissions not only signal host suitability but may indicate a distinctive time frame for optimal conditions for both insect and microbe. Exploitation of these host-specific microbe semiochemicals may provide important microbe- and host-based attractants and a basis for future plant-insect-microbe chemical ecology investigations.

A nuclear insect appears

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shin, Gi Hwal

1989-06-01

This book is dairy of a nuclear insect in A. F. era. It consists of 6 parts, which have fun pictures and titles. The contents are the letter that is sent the Homo sapiens by insect, exodus of nuclear insect F 100 years latter. The time that a nuclear insect is attacked in F 101, the time that a nuclear dinosaur is beat in AF 102, the time that a nuclear insect struggles in AF 104 and the time that a nuclear insect drifts in AF 104.

New Technologies for Insect-Resistant and Herbicide-Tolerant Plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Lombardo, Luca; Coppola, Gerardo; Zelasco, Samanta

2016-01-01

The advent of modern molecular biology and recombinant DNA technology has resulted in a dramatic increase in the number of insect-resistant (IR) and herbicide-tolerant (HT) plant varieties, with great economic benefits for farmers. Nevertheless, the high selection pressure generated by control strategies for weed and insect populations has led to the evolution of herbicide and pesticide resistance. In the short term, the development of new techniques or the improvement of existing ones will provide further instruments to counter the appearance of resistant weeds and insects and to reduce the use of agrochemicals. In this review, we examine some of the most promising new technologies for developing IR and HT plants, such as genome editing and antisense technologies. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Forest insect and disease conditions, Vancouver forest region, 1987. Annual publication

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Humphreys, N; Ferris, R L

1988-01-01

The Forest Insect and Disease Survey (FIDS) is a nation-wide network within Forestry Canada with the responsibility of producing an overview of forest pest conditions and their implications; maintaining records and surveys to support quarantine and facilitate predictions; supporting forestry research with records, insect collections and herbaria; providing advice on forest insect and disease conditions; developing and testing survey techniques; and conducting related biological studies. This report outlines the status of forest pest conditions in the Vancouver Forest Region, and forecasts population trends of some potentially damaging pests. Pests are listed by host in order of importance.

Mediterranean fruit fly female attractant studies in support of the sterile insect technique: trapping experiments conducted on the island of Chios, Greece

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Katsoyannos, B.I.; Papadopoulos, N.T.; Kouloussis, N.A.

1999-01-01

This paper contains information on a four-year research programme co-ordinated by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The main objective of the programme was to develop a trapping system for females of the Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly), Ceratitis capitata (Diptera: Tephritidae), for practical use in Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) programs and to design and evaluate a trap to obtain eggs from wild female medflies in order to estimate sterility induction in the field population. The experiments were conducted from July to September 1994-1997 on the island of Chios, Greece, in citrus orchards with low to medium medfly populations. Different trap types and several trap treatments consisting of sex and food based attractants were tested, following a standard coordinated experimental protocol. The most extensively tested were three food based 'female' attractants (FA-3), namely ammonium acetate (AA), 1,4 diaminobutane (putrescine) and trimethylamine, all formulated in dispensers lasting one month. These attractants were evaluated in combinations of two (AA + putrescine, termed FA-2) or three (FA-3) dispensers in various traps, including dry (provided with DDVP) or wet (provided with water and 0.01% surfactant) plastic International Pheromone's McPhail traps (IPMT). Among the various traps and treatments tested, the most effective for medfly capture was the wet IPMT, baited with FA-3 attractants. This treatment captured predominantly females and was relatively selective for medflies. In dry IPMT traps, the FA-3 were as effective as the standard 300 ml aqueous solution of 9% of the protein NuLure and 3% borax, but much more medfly selective. Dry IPMT traps were also more selective than wet ones. FA-3 baited wet Tephri traps (a Spanish modification of the McPhail trap), performed somewhat poorer than IPMT traps. Other dry trap types tested were not effective. Additional experiments showed that certain insecticide formulations used in dry traps may have a repellent

Stinging Insect Matching Game

Science.gov (United States)

... for Kids ▸ Stinging Insect Matching Game Share | Stinging Insect Matching Game Stinging insects can ruin summer fun for those who are ... the difference between the different kinds of stinging insects in order to keep your summer safe and ...

Marine insects

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Cheng, Lanna

1976-01-01

.... Not only are true insects, such as the Collembola and insect parasites of marine birds and mammals, considered, but also other kinds of intertidal air-breathing arthropods, notably spiders, scorpions...

Recent Advances in Developing Insect Natural Products as Potential Modern Day Medicines

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Norman Ratcliffe

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Except for honey as food, and silk for clothing and pollination of plants, people give little thought to the benefits of insects in their lives. This overview briefly describes significant recent advances in developing insect natural products as potential new medicinal drugs. This is an exciting and rapidly expanding new field since insects are hugely variable and have utilised an enormous range of natural products to survive environmental perturbations for 100s of millions of years. There is thus a treasure chest of untapped resources waiting to be discovered. Insects products, such as silk and honey, have already been utilised for thousands of years, and extracts of insects have been produced for use in Folk Medicine around the world, but only with the development of modern molecular and biochemical techniques has it become feasible to manipulate and bioengineer insect natural products into modern medicines. Utilising knowledge gleaned from Insect Folk Medicines, this review describes modern research into bioengineering honey and venom from bees, silk, cantharidin, antimicrobial peptides, and maggot secretions and anticoagulants from blood-sucking insects into medicines. Problems and solutions encountered in these endeavours are described and indicate that the future is bright for new insect derived pharmaceuticals treatments and medicines.

Synthetic analogues of natural semiochemicals as promising insect control agents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ujvary, Istvan; Toth, Miklos; Guerin, Patrick

2000-01-01

After decades of research and development, insect pheromones and other semiochemicals became indispensable tools of ecologically based agricultural pest and disease vector management programmes with main uses as: 1) detection and population monitoring of emerging and migrating insects, 2) mass trapping of insects, 3) combined formulation of semiochemicals and insecticides ('lure-and-kill'), and 4) mating disruption with specially formulated pheromone components. In spite of their demonstrated safety and biodegradability, the direct application of these semiochemicals for pest control has not fulfilled initial expectations. Nonetheless considerable field experience has been accumulated (Carde and Minks 1995). Evidently, two important factors limit the practical potential of these substances: 1) inherent in their particular mode of action, semiochemicals, especially pheromones, are effectively cleared by specific enzymes in the insect antennae, and 2) some of these compounds contain labile functional moieties that are prone to degradation (oxidation, isomerisation and polymerisation) under field conditions. Appropriate chemical modifications of these natural compounds, however, can circumvent these problems by providing synthetic analogues (sometimes also called parapheromones or antipheromones; for early studies, see Roelofs and Comeau 1971, Payne et al. 1973) which in ideal cases are not only more potent and environmentally acceptable but more economical as well. It should also be mentioned that many effective attractants have been discovered through the empirical screening of synthetic chemicals, some of which have actually turned out to be structural relatives of natural semiochemicals of the particular insect. In this paper, selected case studies of analogues of sex pheromones and kairomones will be presented. The examples from our work include nitrile bioisosteres of labile aldehyde pheromone components of the cranberry girdler moth, Chrysoteuchia topiaria

Nuclear techniques for food and agricultural development: 1964-94

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sigurbjoernsson, B.; Vose, P.

1994-01-01

Over the past 30 years, programmes of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division have helped countries solve practical, and costly, problems in areas of soil fertility, irrigation, and crop production; plant breeding and genetics; animal production and health; insect and pest control; agrochemicals and residues; and food preservation. The Division's overall objectives are to exploit the potential for application of isotopes and radiation techniques in agricultural research and development; to increase and stabilize agricultural production; to reduce production costs; to improve the quality of food; to protect agricultural products from spoilage and losses; and to minimize pollution of food and the agricultural environment. On the occasion of the Joint Division's 30th anniversary year, this article highlights selected achievements over the past three decades

Nuclear science fights malaria. Radiation and molecular techniques can play targeted roles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Groth, Steffen; Khan, Baldip; Robinson, Alan; Hendrichs, Jorge

2001-01-01

Malaria is the most important insect transmitted disease. Globally there are 300 to 500 million clinical cases of malaria a year. They result in two million deaths per year (one every 30 seconds), more than 90% of which occur in sub-Saharan Africa. More than 90% of those affected are children less than five years old. The economic impact of the disease is felt disproportionately by poor families who may spend a fourth of their annual income on prevention and control measures. The causative agents are parasites of the genus Plasmodium and they are transmitted only by female mosquitoes of the genus Anopheles. Among key strategies to control malaria are the surveillance of anti-malarial drug efficacy through monitoring the levels of drug resistance, and the reduction of mosquito populations. Nuclear techniques can play important roles in these efforts to combat malaria. This article reports on IAEA activities associated with drug-resistant malaria and describes how molecular methods making use of radioactive isotopes can provide a great advantage in the diagnosis of resistance. The article further presents the IAEA's plans for initiating a research programme to assess the feasibility of developing the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) as a complementary method to control the vector of malaria

Biodiversity of Aquatic Insects of Zayandeh Roud River and Its Branches, Isfahan Province, Iran.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mansoreh Shayeghi

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Aquatic insects are the major groups of arthropods that spend some parts of their life cycle in the water. These insects play an important role for transmission of some human and animal diseases. There is few information about the aquatic insects fauna of Iran.To study the aquatic insects fauna, adult, nymphal and larval collections were carried out from different habitats using the standard technique in Zayandeh Roud River, Isfahan Province,central Iran, during summer 2011.In total, 741 speimens of aquatic insects were collected and morphologically identified. They include 7 families and 12 genera representing 2 Orders. The order of Diptera (92.31% and Coleoptera (7.69%. The families Culicidae, Syrphidae and Chironomidae from Diptera order, Gyrinidae, Dytiscidae, Haliplidae, Hydrophilidae from Coleoptera order were identified.Some aquatic insects play an important role for transmission of human and animal diseases. These insects also are important for biological control. Therefore ecological study on aquatic insects can provide information about ecology of insects in an area for any decision making.

Use of nuclear technique in agriculture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wah, C.K.

1981-01-01

A brief description is given of the main activities of the Department of Agriculture, Kuala Lumpur, in using isotopes in radiation in agricultural research, i.e. soil-water-plant relationships, plant breeding, crop protection, biological and ecological studies of insects, use of radiation in pest control programmes and use of radioisotopes in pesticide study. (author)

Elemental concentrations of aquatic insect larvae and attached algae on tone surfaces in an uncontaminated stream

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Momoshima, N.; Sugihara, S.; Hibino, K.; Nakamura, Y.

2009-01-01

Elemental concentrations of aquatic insect larvae and attached algae in an uncontaminated river were analyzed by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) via the k 0 -standardization method. The aquatic insect larvae found were all intolerant species. No significant difference was observed int he elemental concentrations of aquatic insect larvae and attached algae long the river. Similar elemental concentrations were observed in the aquatic insect larvae collected at a fixed sampling point for two years. An analysis by the ratio-matching technique indicated a higher generic relationship between aquatic insect larvae and attached algae than river water. (author)

Economic evaluation of damage caused by, and methods of control of, the Mediterranean fruit fly in the Maghreb. An analysis covering three control options, including the sterile insect technique. Report of an expert group

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1995-10-01

Fruit and vegetable production is an important agricultural sector throughout the Mediterranean Basin, which is dependent on aerial or ground insecticide applications to protect commercial crops against the Mediterranean fruit fly. Pesticide applications are required up to twelve times a year, costing large sums of money. This study assesses for the four North African countries the economics of different pest control/eradication alternatives: insecticide application and the more environmentally friendly alternatives based on the Sterile Insect Technique. It is concluded that Sterile Insect Technique, not only very attractive from environmental point of view, but is also a feasible option from economic point of view. 40 refs, 3 figs, 37 tabs.

Economic evaluation of damage caused by, and methods of control of, the Mediterranean fruit fly in the Maghreb. An analysis covering three control options, including the sterile insect technique. Report of an expert group

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-10-01

Fruit and vegetable production is an important agricultural sector throughout the Mediterranean Basin, which is dependent on aerial or ground insecticide applications to protect commercial crops against the Mediterranean fruit fly. Pesticide applications are required up to twelve times a year, costing large sums of money. This study assesses for the four North African countries the economics of different pest control/eradication alternatives: insecticide application and the more environmentally friendly alternatives based on the Sterile Insect Technique. It is concluded that Sterile Insect Technique, not only very attractive from environmental point of view, but is also a feasible option from economic point of view. 40 refs, 3 figs, 37 tabs

Marketing insects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schiemer, Carolin; Halloran, Afton Marina Szasz; Jespersen, Kristjan

2018-01-01

In entering Western markets, edible insects are typically framed as the ‘solution’ to a number of challenges caused by unsustainable global food systems, such as climate change and global health issues. In addition, some media outlets also frame insects as the next ‘superfood’. Superfood is a mar......In entering Western markets, edible insects are typically framed as the ‘solution’ to a number of challenges caused by unsustainable global food systems, such as climate change and global health issues. In addition, some media outlets also frame insects as the next ‘superfood’. Superfood...... is a marketing term for nutrient-packed foods, which are successfully promoted to Western consumers with the promises of health, well-being and beauty. However, the increase in the demand in the West is argued to cause negative social, environmental, economic and cultural consequences – externalities – felt...

Insect (food) allergy and allergens.

Science.gov (United States)

de Gier, Steffie; Verhoeckx, Kitty

2018-05-03

Insects represent an alternative for meat and fish in satisfying the increasing demand for sustainable sources of nutrition. Approximately two billion people globally consume insects. They are particularly popular in Asia, Latin America, and Africa. Most research on insect allergy has focussed on occupational or inhalation allergy. Research on insect food safety, including allergenicity, is therefore of great importance. The objective of this review is to provide an overview of cases reporting allergy following insect ingestion, studies on food allergy to insects, proteins involved in insect allergy including cross-reactive proteins, and the possibility to alter the allergenic potential of insects by food processing and digestion. Food allergy to insects has been described for silkworm, mealworm, caterpillars, Bruchus lentis, sago worm, locust, grasshopper, cicada, bee, Clanis bilineata, and the food additive carmine, which is derived from female Dactylopius coccus insects. For cockroaches, which are also edible insects, only studies on inhalation allergy have been described. Various insect allergens have been identified including tropomyosin and arginine kinase, which are both pan-allergens known for their cross-reactivity with homologous proteins in crustaceans and house dust mite. Cross-reactivity and/or co-sensitization of insect tropomyosin and arginine kinase has been demonstrated in house dust mite and seafood (e.g. prawn, shrimp) allergic patients. In addition, many other (allergenic) species (various non-edible insects, arachnids, mites, seafoods, mammals, nematoda, trematoda, plants, and fungi) have been identified with sequence alignment analysis to show potential cross-reactivity with allergens of edible insects. It was also shown that thermal processing and digestion did not eliminate insect protein allergenicity. Although purified natural allergens are scarce and yields are low, recombinant allergens from cockroach, silkworm, and Indian mealmoth are

Eating insects

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tan, Hui Shan Grace

2017-01-01

In recent years, edible insects have gained global attention due to their nutritional and environmental advantages over conventional meat. While numerous species of edible insects are enjoyed in various cultures around the world, most Western consumers react with disgust and aversion towards

Insect barcode information system.

Science.gov (United States)

Pratheepa, Maria; Jalali, Sushil Kumar; Arokiaraj, Robinson Silvester; Venkatesan, Thiruvengadam; Nagesh, Mandadi; Panda, Madhusmita; Pattar, Sharath

2014-01-01

Insect Barcode Information System called as Insect Barcode Informática (IBIn) is an online database resource developed by the National Bureau of Agriculturally Important Insects, Bangalore. This database provides acquisition, storage, analysis and publication of DNA barcode records of agriculturally important insects, for researchers specifically in India and other countries. It bridges a gap in bioinformatics by integrating molecular, morphological and distribution details of agriculturally important insects. IBIn was developed using PHP/My SQL by using relational database management concept. This database is based on the client- server architecture, where many clients can access data simultaneously. IBIn is freely available on-line and is user-friendly. IBIn allows the registered users to input new information, search and view information related to DNA barcode of agriculturally important insects.This paper provides a current status of insect barcode in India and brief introduction about the database IBIn. http://www.nabg-nbaii.res.in/barcode.

Manual on quality assurance programme auditing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1984-01-01

The objective of this Manual is to provide guidance and illustrative examples of the methodology and techniques of internal and external audits that are consistent with the requirements and recommendations of the Code and the Safety Guide. The methodology and techniques are based on the practices of Member States having considerable experience in auditing QA programmes. This Manual is directed primarily towards QA programme auditors and managers and presents methods and techniques considered appropriate for the preparation and performance of audits and the evaluation of results. Its scope includes the techniques and methods used to carry out QA programme audits variously described as 'System', 'Product' and 'Process' audits. The techniques and methods described here may be used as one approach to the evaluation of suppliers' QA capabilities as defined in 50-SG-QA10. Although the Manual is primarily directed towards purchasers and suppliers, it is also relevant to regulatory organizations, such as government offices responsible for quality assurance, which carry out external audits independent of purchasers and suppliers. In such cases similar methods, procedures and techniques may be used

Successes against insects and parasites

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1967-10-15

With more and more answers being found to intricate problems which have entailed years of research in many parts of the world, some successes can now be claimed in the fight to control insect threats to crops, animals and human beings. Nuclear techniques are playing an important part in world efforts, and recent reports show that they have been effective in pioneer work against crop pests as well as in finding an answer to some diseases caused by parasites

Convergent bacterial microbiotas in the fungal agricultural systems of insects.

Science.gov (United States)

Aylward, Frank O; Suen, Garret; Biedermann, Peter H W; Adams, Aaron S; Scott, Jarrod J; Malfatti, Stephanie A; Glavina del Rio, Tijana; Tringe, Susannah G; Poulsen, Michael; Raffa, Kenneth F; Klepzig, Kier D; Currie, Cameron R

2014-11-18

The ability to cultivate food is an innovation that has produced some of the most successful ecological strategies on the planet. Although most well recognized in humans, where agriculture represents a defining feature of civilization, species of ants, beetles, and termites have also independently evolved symbioses with fungi that they cultivate for food. Despite occurring across divergent insect and fungal lineages, the fungivorous niches of these insects are remarkably similar, indicating convergent evolution toward this successful ecological strategy. Here, we characterize the microbiota of ants, beetles, and termites engaged in nutritional symbioses with fungi to define the bacterial groups associated with these prominent herbivores and forest pests. Using culture-independent techniques and the in silico reconstruction of 37 composite genomes of dominant community members, we demonstrate that different insect-fungal symbioses that collectively shape ecosystems worldwide have highly similar bacterial microbiotas comprised primarily of the genera Enterobacter, Rahnella, and Pseudomonas. Although these symbioses span three orders of insects and two phyla of fungi, we show that they are associated with bacteria sharing high whole-genome nucleotide identity. Due to the fine-scale correspondence of the bacterial microbiotas of insects engaged in fungal symbioses, our findings indicate that this represents an example of convergence of entire host-microbe complexes. The cultivation of fungi for food is a behavior that has evolved independently in ants, beetles, and termites and has enabled many species of these insects to become ecologically important and widely distributed herbivores and forest pests. Although the primary fungal cultivars of these insects have been studied for decades, comparatively little is known of their bacterial microbiota. In this study, we show that diverse fungus-growing insects are associated with a common bacterial community composed of the

Insect transformation with piggyBac: getting the number of injections just right

Science.gov (United States)

Morrison, N. I.; Shimeld, S. M.

2016-01-01

Abstract The insertion of exogenous genetic cargo into insects using transposable elements is a powerful research tool with potential applications in meeting food security and public health challenges facing humanity. piggyBac is the transposable element most commonly utilized for insect germline transformation. The described efficiency of this process is variable in the published literature, and a comprehensive review of transformation efficiency in insects is lacking. This study compared and contrasted all available published data with a comprehensive data set provided by a biotechnology group specializing in insect transformation. Based on analysis of these data, with particular focus on the more complete observational data from the biotechnology group, we designed a decision tool to aid researchers' decision‐making when using piggyBac to transform insects by microinjection. A combination of statistical techniques was used to define appropriate summary statistics of piggyBac transformation efficiency by species and insect order. Publication bias was assessed by comparing the data sets. The bias was assessed using strategies co‐opted from the medical literature. The work culminated in building the Goldilocks decision tool, a Markov‐Chain Monte‐Carlo simulation operated via a graphical interface and providing guidance on best practice for those seeking to transform insects using piggyBac. PMID:27027400

A report on the IAEA co-ordinated research programme on the Application of Isotopic Correlation Techniques to international safeguards 1975-1982

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanatani, S.

1983-01-01

A co-ordinated research programme on the Application of Isotopic Correlation Techniques (ICT) to International Safeguards has just ended in the Agency. During the continuation of the programme, scientists from Belgium, Japan, France, United Kingdom, United States and Euratom, engaged in the development of ICT, met periodically to discuss the results obtained by them from both theoretical and experimental investigations. The paper describes the main features of the alternative approaches developed at participating laboratories as well as procedures developed at the IAEA. At the conclusion of the programme, there was an unanimous recommendation from the participants that ICT is a useful tool for verification of input analysis at a chemical reprocessing plant. After the closure of the co-ordinated research programme, the IAEA is now applying data evaluation procedures developed at the Agency and keeping in contact with the progress of work on ICT carried on in laboratories such as JAERI (Japan), CEA (France) and Euratom, through support programmes and through participation in the ESARDA working group dealing with ICT

RNA interference: Applications and advances in insect toxicology and insect pest management.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Young Ho; Soumaila Issa, Moustapha; Cooper, Anastasia M W; Zhu, Kun Yan

2015-05-01

Since its discovery, RNA interference (RNAi) has revolutionized functional genomic studies due to its sequence-specific nature of post-transcriptional gene silencing. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive review of the recent literature and summarize the current knowledge and advances in the applications of RNAi technologies in the field of insect toxicology and insect pest management. Many recent studies have focused on identification and validation of the genes encoding insecticide target proteins, such as acetylcholinesterases, ion channels, Bacillus thuringiensis receptors, and other receptors in the nervous system. RNAi technologies have also been widely applied to reveal the role of genes encoding cytochrome P450 monooxygenases, carboxylesterases, and glutathione S-transferases in insecticide detoxification and resistance. More recently, studies have focused on understanding the mechanism of insecticide-mediated up-regulation of detoxification genes in insects. As RNAi has already shown great potentials for insect pest management, many recent studies have also focused on host-induced gene silencing, in which several RNAi-based transgenic plants have been developed and tested as proof of concept for insect pest management. These studies indicate that RNAi is a valuable tool to address various fundamental questions in insect toxicology and may soon become an effective strategy for insect pest management. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Edible insects

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Huis, van A.

2017-01-01

Is it an impossible task to convince consumers to eat insects? This does not only apply to western consumers who are less familiar with this food habit than consumers in tropical countries. In the tropics too, many people do not consume insects, even though they are easier to collect as food than

Insects and human nutrition

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Roos, Nanna

2018-01-01

Despite high diversity in species as well as metamorphological life-­stages, edible insects are essentially an animal-source food contributing high quality protein and fat when viewed in the context of human nutrition. The nutritional contribution of insects to diets in populations where insects ...

Insects as food: a cross-cultural comparison of consumers' intention and behaviour

OpenAIRE

Amato, Mario

2017-01-01

Albeit the benefits of switching to an insects’ based diet are set up on nutritional, environmental, economic and ecological benefits, the potential growth of insects as everyday food is still unclear. This work relies on three different papers who share the main objective of exploring consumer behavior towards edible insects, using both direct and indirect methods (computer questionnaires and more daring techniques such as IAT), while linking two European countries that share little in terms...

Pilot application of sterile insect technique for the oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera Philippinensis, in Naoway islet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Manoto, E.C.; Resilva, S.S.; Obra, G.B.; Reyes, M.R.; Golez, H.G.; Covacha, S.A.; Bignayan, H.G.; Zamora, N.F.; Gaitan, E.D.

1996-01-01

The sterile insect technique for the Oriental fruit fly was pilot tested in Naoway, a 12-ha islet about 1.5 km. southeast of Guimaras island. The Oriental fruit fly population (male) in the islet was first estimated at 3,432 using the mark-release-recapture experiments. From August to October 1995, six releases of sterile fruit flies (male and female) at biweekly intervals were conducted in the islet. Except for the 7 wild fruit flies collected by a trap 10 days after the first release, not a single fly was collected from the pilot site thereafter. Furthermore, field collections of infested fruits yield only 6 pupae on the first and zero on the subsequent collections. The results suggested that SIT proved successful in Naoway islet. For Guimaras, an island-wide implementation of SIT could be undertaken after reducing the wild male fruit fly population by field sanitation and the male annihilation method in order to overflood the wild population with sterile fruit flies. (Author)

Insect Detectives

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

2002-08-01

Aug 1, 2002 ... all life stages of insects from and around the corpse. The collected specimens are subjected to further analysis either in the field itself or in the laboratory. A forensic entomologist has three main objectives in his mind while analyzing the insect data: determination of place, time and mode of death, each of.

Insect Keepers

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, Virginia J.; Chessin, Debby A.; Theobald, Becky

2010-01-01

Insects are fascinating creatures--especially when you and your students get up close and personal with them! To that end, the authors facilitated an inquiry-based investigation with an emphasis on identification of the different types of insects found in the school yard, their characteristics, their habitat, and what they eat, while engaging the…

Insect pest control newsletter. No. 61

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2003-07-01

this sexing system, which could be a model for other moth pest insects. Germ-line transformation is quite efficient in the codling moth and the appropriate Notch allele has already been shown by Lisa Neven at ARS/USDA in Wapato, Washington State to express correctly in transformed codling moth lines. If such a sexing system could be developed in codling moth then it would have several advantages, a) only the females would be transgenic, the sterile males to be released as part of SIT operations would carry a completely normal genome, b) as the Notch gene is dominant, any recombinant individuals would also be killed by the temperature treatment and not be accidentally released, c) the fluorescent marker would be very tightly linked to Notch, resulting in strain stability, d) stockpiles of diapausing mass reared males would require only half the storage space, and e) the system should probably be easily transferable to other economically important lepidopteran pests. I would also like to report developments related to medfly control in Europe. Currently, medfly control requires intensive insecticide applications during the whole fruit maturation period. This is also the case of southern Spain, where the largest citrus production areas in Europe are located. Nevertheless, as a result of the detection of medfly-infested cargo at US ports of entry over a year ago, the US phytosanitary authorities banned temporarily the large citrus exports from Valencia, Spain. As the US has expensive programmes in operation to remain medly-free, including various preventive SIT programmes, it cannot tolerate the import of infested fruit. In view of these developments, and in order to reduce insecticide use to protect the environment, the authorities of the Autonomous Province of Valencia decided in 2002 to gradually shift their medfly control strategy from conventional large scale aerial insecticide spraying to an integrated pest control approach including the SIT. In March 2002, FAO

Insects vis a vis radiations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Srivastava, Meera

2014-01-01

Insects have turned out to be much more radiation resistant. For most insects a dose of about 500-700 Gy is required to kill them within a few weeks of exposure; although cockroaches require 900-1000 Gy. Killing insects in less than a few days requires much higher doses. These doses are for mature insects, the immature stages of some insects can be killed by doses as low as 40 Gy. Some insects can be sterilized at even lower doses, and this has application in insect control. Screw-worms, for example, can be sterilized with doses of 25-50 Gy. By contrast, doses as low as 3 Gy caused death of humans in Hiroshima and Nagasaki and doses of about 6 Gy caused death of fire fighters in the Chernobyl accident. It is not exactly certain what the basis is for the resistance of insects to ionizing radiation. It is not animal size by itself, nor lack of penetration. It is also not because of few dividing cells as these are more radiosensitive than non-dividing ones. The speculation that insects might have lower oxygen tensions, and the lack of oxygen is known to protect cells from radiation also does not work. Insect cells might have an enhanced capacity to repair radiation damage also could not be proven. The number of chromosomes influenced radio-sensitivity, and that insects had fewer chromosomes could be true. The radiation resistance is inherent to the cells, since cells derived from insects are also radiation resistant when grown in cell culture. For example, a dose of 60 Gy is required to produce a 80% kill of insect cells, while doses of 1-2 Gy are sufficient to generate this level of killing in mammalian cells. But, nevertheless, according to recent researches, radiation from Japan's leaking Fukushima nuclear plant has caused mutations in some butterflies. It is therefore clear that insects are resistant to ionizing radiation and that this resistance is an inherent property of their cells. But it is not clear exactly what the basis of this cellular resistance is

Pest persistence and eradication conditions in a deterministic model for sterile insect release.

Science.gov (United States)

Gordillo, Luis F

2015-01-01

The release of sterile insects is an environment friendly pest control method used in integrated pest management programmes. Difference or differential equations based on Knipling's model often provide satisfactory qualitative descriptions of pest populations subject to sterile release at relatively high densities with large mating encounter rates, but fail otherwise. In this paper, I derive and explore numerically deterministic population models that include sterile release together with scarce mating encounters in the particular case of species with long lifespan and multiple matings. The differential equations account separately the effects of mating failure due to sterile male release and the frequency of mating encounters. When insects spatial spread is incorporated through diffusion terms, computations reveal the possibility of steady pest persistence in finite size patches. In the presence of density dependence regulation, it is observed that sterile release might contribute to induce sudden suppression of the pest population.

Exploring Sound with Insects

Science.gov (United States)

Robertson, Laura; Meyer, John R.

2010-01-01

Differences in insect morphology and movement during singing provide a fascinating opportunity for students to investigate insects while learning about the characteristics of sound. In the activities described here, students use a free online computer software program to explore the songs of the major singing insects and experiment with making…

Insect Pest Control Newsletter, No. 76, January 2011

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2011-01-01

During the last twelve months the Insect Pest Control Subprogramme hosted an international symposium and co-sponsored another one; organized five research coordination meetings, four regional training courses, three consultants meetings and two workshops; participated in many interesting and successful research activities; provided technical support to over thirty technical cooperation projects in FAO and IAEA Member States, and actively contributed to a number of other international events, panels and advisory committees. In this newsletter you will find information and details about some of the activities enumerated above. These reflect not only our growing commitments and increasing research and normative responsibilities, but also our expanding involvement with additional pest species, although our budget and staff have not increased in proportion. The success of the subprogramme has historically been guaranteed by its focussed approach on a few major pest problems which allowed us to provide our Member States the best support in terms of research, normative assistance and implementation of operational programmes. Despite the continuous demand of FAO and IAEA Member States to expand our support and include more pest insects, we remain conscious that diluting our human and financial resources may jeopardise the high quality service that our Member States deserve

Insect Pest Control Newsletter, No. 76, January 2011

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2011-01-15

During the last twelve months the Insect Pest Control Subprogramme hosted an international symposium and co-sponsored another one; organized five research coordination meetings, four regional training courses, three consultants meetings and two workshops; participated in many interesting and successful research activities; provided technical support to over thirty technical cooperation projects in FAO and IAEA Member States, and actively contributed to a number of other international events, panels and advisory committees. In this newsletter you will find information and details about some of the activities enumerated above. These reflect not only our growing commitments and increasing research and normative responsibilities, but also our expanding involvement with additional pest species, although our budget and staff have not increased in proportion. The success of the subprogramme has historically been guaranteed by its focussed approach on a few major pest problems which allowed us to provide our Member States the best support in terms of research, normative assistance and implementation of operational programmes. Despite the continuous demand of FAO and IAEA Member States to expand our support and include more pest insects, we remain conscious that diluting our human and financial resources may jeopardise the high quality service that our Member States deserve

Radiations: tool for insect pest management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Swami, Kailash Kumar; Kiradoo, M.M.; Srivastava, Meera

2012-01-01

The discovery that X-rays or gamma radiation could cause sufficient genetic damage to insect reproductive systems to induce sterility resulted from work conducted by H.J. Muller starting in the 1920s. The sterilizing effect of radiation was noted by scientists of the US Department of Agriculture who had been seeking a method to sterilize insects for many years. These scientists had theorized that if large numbers of the target insect species were reared, sterilized, and released into the field, the sterile insects would mate with the wild insects. These mating would result in no offspring and thus a decline in the population would be obtained. They calculated that if sufficient numbers of sterile insects were released, reproductive rate for the wild population would rapidly decline and reach zero. In simple language, birth control of insects. Radiation sterilization was the answer. In a SIT operation, radiation is used to sexually sterilize insects. Since the SIT is species specific, the selection the insect pest or group of pests on which to work is of primary importance. The Joint Division of the IAEA Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has been involved in the use of isotopes and radiation in insect control since 1964. Isotopes are used as tags or markers, for instance, of chemical molecules, insects, or plants. For example, with these tags one can follow the fate of insecticides within insects and the environment; the incorporation of nutrients into the insect; and the movements of insects under field conditions. They also can plants on which insects feed so that the quantity of consumed food can be measured and directly correlated with plant resistance. They can be used as well to follow parasites and predators of insects - for example, their movements, numbers, and ability to help control insect pests. Radiations therefore have come as a novel tool to combat insect pest problem and in future could be very helpful in various other ways, of be it be cost

Evolution of the Insects

Science.gov (United States)

Grimaldi, David; Engel, Michael S.

2005-05-01

This book chronicles the complete evolutionary history of insects--their living diversity and relationships as well as 400 million years of fossils. Introductory sections cover the living species diversity of insects, methods of reconstructing evolutionary relationships, basic insect structure, and the diverse modes of insect fossilization and major fossil deposits. Major sections then explore the relationships and evolution of each order of hexapods. The volume also chronicles major episodes in the evolutionary history of insects from their modest beginnings in the Devonian and the origin of wings hundreds of millions of years before pterosaurs and birds to the impact of mass extinctions and the explosive radiation of angiosperms on insects, and how they evolved into the most complex societies in nature. Whereas other volumes focus on either living species or fossils, this is the first comprehensive synthesis of all aspects of insect evolution. Illustrated with 955 photo- and electron- micrographs, drawings, diagrams, and field photos, many in full color and virtually all of them original, this reference will appeal to anyone engaged with insect diversity--professional entomologists and students, insect and fossil collectors, and naturalists. David Grimaldi and Michael S. Engel have collectively published over 200 scientific articles and monographs on the relationships and fossil record of insects, including 10 articles in the journals Science, Nature, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. David Grimaldi is curator in the Division of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History and adjunct professor at Cornell University, Columbia University, and the City University of New York. David Grimaldi has traveled in 40 countries on 6 continents, collecting and studying recent species of insects and conducting fossil excavations. He is the author of Amber: Window to the Past (Abrams, 2003). Michael S. Engel is an assistant professor in the

Medfly Gut Microbiota and Enhancement of the Sterile Insect Technique: Similarities and Differences of Klebsiella oxytoca and Enterobacter sp. AA26 Probiotics during the Larval and Adult Stages of the VIENNA 8D53+ Genetic Sexing Strain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Georgios A. Kyritsis

2017-10-01

Full Text Available The Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata, is a major agricultural pest worldwide. The development of genetic sexing strains (GSSs for this species that allows male-only sterile insects releases has boosted the effectiveness of the environmental friendly pest control method known as the sterile insect technique. The last generation of these strains, the VIENNA 7 and VIENNA 8, are currently used in all mass rearing facilities worldwide and are considered as models for such pest control applications. The sterile insect technique depends on the rearing of sufficient numbers of adequate “biological quality” laboratory flies to be released in the field. Currently, there is an increasing amount of studies focusing on the characterization of the symbiotic communities and development of probiotic diets. In our study, two bacterial isolates, an Enterobacter sp. (strain AA26 and a Klebsiella oxytoca strain, were used as probiotics in larval and adult diet. These strains have been shown to be beneficial, affecting several aspects related to the rearing efficiency and biological quality of the medfly VIENNA 8D53+ GSS. Our results demonstrate the effect of K. oxytoca on the developmental duration of the immature stages and, to some extent, on flight ability. On the other hand, our study does not support the presence of any beneficial effect of (a K. oxytoca on pupal and adult recovery and adults’ survival under stress conditions when provided as a larval diet supplement and (b K. oxytoca and Enterobacter sp. AA26 on mating competitiveness when provided as adult diet supplements. Possible explanations for inconsistencies with previous studies and the need for universalizing protocols are discussed. Our findings, combined with previous studies can support the sterile insect technique, through the improvement of different aspects of mass rearing and biological properties of laboratory reared insect pests.

Towards nano-physiology of insects with atomic force microscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Dokukin, M E; Guz, N V; Sokolov, I

2011-02-01

Little study of insects with modern nanotechnology tools has been done so far. Here we use one of such tool, atomic force microscopy (AFM) to study surface oscillations of the ladybird beetles (Hippodamia convergens) measured in different parts of the insect at picometer level. This allows us to record a much broader spectral range of possible surface vibrations (up to several kHz) than the previously studied oscillations due to breathing, heartbeat cycles, coelopulses, etc. (up to 5-10Hz). Here we demonstrate three different ways with which one can identify the origins of the observed peaks - by physical positioning the probe near a specific organ, and by using biological or chemical stimuli. We report on identification of high frequency peaks associated with H. convergens heart, spiracular closer muscles, and oscillations associated with muscles activated while drinking. The method, being a relatively non-invasive technique providing a new type of information, may be useful in developing "nanophysiology" of insects. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Edible insects are the future?

Science.gov (United States)

van Huis, Arnold

2016-08-01

The global increase in demand for meat and the limited land area available prompt the search for alternative protein sources. Also the sustainability of meat production has been questioned. Edible insects as an alternative protein source for human food and animal feed are interesting in terms of low greenhouse gas emissions, high feed conversion efficiency, low land use, and their ability to transform low value organic side streams into high value protein products. More than 2000 insect species are eaten mainly in tropical regions. The role of edible insects in the livelihoods and nutrition of people in tropical countries is discussed, but this food source is threatened. In the Western world, there is an increasing interest in edible insects, and examples are given. Insects as feed, in particular as aquafeed, have a large potential. Edible insects have about the same protein content as conventional meat and more PUFA. They may also have some beneficial health effects. Edible insects need to be processed and turned into palatable dishes. Food safety may be affected by toxicity of insects, contamination with pathogens, spoilage during conservation and allergies. Consumer attitude is a major issue in the Western world and a number of strategies are proposed to encourage insect consumption. We discuss research pathways to make insects a viable sector in food and agriculture: an appropriate disciplinary focus, quantifying its importance, comparing its nutritional value to conventional protein sources, environmental benefits, safeguarding food safety, optimising farming, consumer acceptance and gastronomy.

Effect of rice husk biochar application to soil insect diversity on potato cultivation

Science.gov (United States)

Meilin, A.; Rubiana, R.

2018-02-01

High intensity of disease infection and the intensive use of fertilizers and pesticidescause saturated fertilizer and pesticide to the land. Remediation using biochar rice husk is one of the technology to decrease fertilizer and pesticide residue. The diversity of soil insects can be used as bioindicators because of their existence dependsg on soil structure and condition. This study was aimed to study the diversity and structure communities of soil insect in potatoes on difference husk rice biochar application. The sampling of soil insects was done on potato farmer’s land with four treatments i.e control (farmers’ technique), trichokompos without biochar, trichokompos + biochar with dose 1 ton/ha, and trichokompos + biochar with dose 2 ton / ha. At each point a single pitfall trap was installed for two nights and then it was taken for identification. The results showed that biochar application had significant effect on the number of soil insect species (P = 0.037). The soil insect species composition pattern also showed significant differences between the four treatments (R: 0.2306, Pvalue = 0.001). This mean that the application of biochar affects the number of insects species and plays a role in the formation of soil insect diversity beta patterns.

Insect bite reactions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sanjay Singh

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods. Insect bite reactions are commonly seen in clinical practice. The present review touches upon the medically important insects and their places in the classification, the sparse literature on the epidemiology of insect bites in India, and different variables influencing the susceptibility of an individual to insect bites. Clinical features of mosquito bites, hypersensitivity to mosquito bites Epstein-Barr virus NK (HMB-EBV-NK disease, eruptive pseudoangiomatosis, Skeeter syndrome, papular pruritic eruption of HIV/AIDS, and clinical features produced by bed bugs, Mexican chicken bugs, assassin bugs, kissing bugs, fleas, black flies, Blandford flies, louse flies, tsetse flies, midges, and thrips are discussed. Brief account is presented of the immunogenic components of mosquito and bed bug saliva. Papular urticaria is discussed including its epidemiology, the 5 stages of skin reaction, the SCRATCH principle as an aid in diagnosis, and the recent evidence supporting participation of types I, III, and IV hypersensitivity reactions in its causation is summarized. Recent developments in the treatment of pediculosis capitis including spinosad 0.9% suspension, benzyl alcohol 5% lotion, dimethicone 4% lotion, isopropyl myristate 50% rinse, and other suffocants are discussed within the context of evidence derived from randomized controlled trials and key findings of a recent systematic review. We also touch upon a non-chemical treatment of head lice and the ineffectiveness of egg-loosening products. Knockdown resistance (kdr as the genetic mechanism making the lice nerves insensitive to permethrin is discussed along with the surprising contrary clinical evidence from Europe about efficacy of permethrin in children with head lice carrying kdr-like gene. The review also presents a brief account of insects as vectors of diseases and ends with discussion of prevention of insect bites and some

Use of synchrotron tomography to image naturalistic anatomy in insects

Science.gov (United States)

Socha, John J.; De Carlo, Francesco

2008-08-01

Understanding the morphology of anatomical structures is a cornerstone of biology. For small animals, classical methods such as histology have provided a wealth of data, but such techniques can be problematic due to destruction of the sample. More importantly, fixation and physical slicing can cause deformation of anatomy, a critical limitation when precise three-dimensional data are required. Modern techniques such as confocal microscopy, MRI, and tabletop x-ray microCT provide effective non-invasive methods, but each of these tools each has limitations including sample size constraints, resolution limits, and difficulty visualizing soft tissue. Our research group at the Advanced Photon Source (Argonne National Laboratory) studies physiological processes in insects, focusing on the dynamics of breathing and feeding. To determine the size, shape, and relative location of internal anatomy in insects, we use synchrotron microtomography at the beamline 2-BM to image structures including tracheal tubes, muscles, and gut. Because obtaining naturalistic, undeformed anatomical information is a key component of our studies, we have developed methods to image fresh and non-fixed whole animals and tissues. Although motion artifacts remain a problem, we have successfully imaged multiple species including beetles, ants, fruit flies, and butterflies. Here we discuss advances in biological imaging and highlight key findings in insect morphology.

Insects used for animal feed in West Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Kenis

2014-10-01

Full Text Available In West Africa, as in many parts of the world, livestock and fish farming suffer from the increasing cost of feed, especially protein ingredients, which are hardly available for village poultry farming and small-scale fish farming. Insects, which are a natural food source of poultry and fish and are rich in protein and other valuable nutrients, can be used to improve animal diets, a practice which is now strongly promoted by the FAO as a tool for poverty alleviation. This paper reviews practices and research on the use of insects as animal feed in West Africa and the perspectives to further develop the techniques, in particular for smallholder farmers and fish farmers. The most promising insects are flies, especially the house fly (Musca domestica (Diptera Muscidae and the black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens (Diptera Stratiomyiidae, which can be mass reared on-farm for domestic use, in small production units at the community or industrial level. Flies have the advantage over most other insects of developing on freely available waste material and could even contribute to rural sanitation. Termites are traditionally used by smallholder farmers to feed village poultry. While their mass production is problematic, methods to enhance populations on-farm and facilitate collection can be developed. In any case, new methods will need to demonstrate their economic profitability, social acceptability and environmental sustainability

Environmental benefits of medfly sterile insect technique in Madeira and their inclusion in a cost-benefit analysis. Study sponsored by the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2005-11-01

-spectrum insecticides affect access to the market because of the long harvest intervals and residues in fruit. High damage to fruit crops leads to the abandonment of agriculture, which has negative social and environmental consequences. In 1998, the Regional Government of Madeira, with the support of the IAEA and FAO, through a technical cooperation project implemented the Madeira-Med project aimed at controlling the medfly using an integrated approach based on the sterile insect technique (SIT). A mass rearing and sterilization facility with a production capacity of 50 million sterile males per week was built and is currently in operation. Madeira-Med was referred to as an essential stepping-stone for Madeira fruit production to be able to withstand future challenges. The present study sets out to quantify the different categories of benefits that would be obtained by effectively controlling the medfly using SIT and the costs of the control programme. The economic analysis will evaluate how Madeira-Med benefits society as a whole and not only fruit producers. It includes gains from increase in production volumes and the reduction of production costs, which are direct benefits for the farmers. In addition it includes improvements in environmental quality and health that will benefit both farmers and fruit consumers. Recent cost benefit analyses for proposed insect pest eradication or suppression programmes have included some environmental factors, but a systematic valuation of these factors is new to this study

Insect anaphylaxis: addressing clinical challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Tracy, James M; Lewis, Elena J; Demain, Jeffrey G

2011-08-01

Few allergic reactions are as potentially life-threatening, or frightening to the patient, as anaphylaxis. Food, medications, and insect stings are the three most common triggers of anaphylaxis, but insect allergy provides the best opportunity to understand the biology of anaphylaxis. If the physician can establish a diagnosis of insect allergy, treatment with nearly 98% effectiveness can be initiated. However, sometimes patients have a compelling history of insect sting anaphylaxis, but negative skin and blood tests. This situation presents us with a fascinating opportunity to understand the biology of insect anaphylaxis. Recent and ongoing work shows that occult mast cell disease may be critical in insect anaphylaxis. Mastocytosis, serum tryptase and basophil biology are key elements; genetic markers may potentially help us diagnose at-risk individuals and determine proper treatment. Understanding basophil activation may play an additional role both in diagnosis and knowing when therapy might be terminated. Mast cell disease, serum tryptase and basophil biology are providing an opportunity to better understand and manage insect allergy. This evolving understanding should improve long-term management of insect anaphylaxis and help us to better understand the clinical dilemma of appropriate management of the history-positive patient in which testing is unable to detect venom-specific IgE. Furthermore, omalizumab's immunomodulatory effects may play a role in difficult-to-treat insect allergy and mastocytosis. Finally, unrelated to these, but still important as an ongoing risk factor, is the continued underutilization of epinephrine for both acute and long-term management of insect anaphylaxis.

Environmental RNAi in herbivorous insects.

Science.gov (United States)

Ivashuta, Sergey; Zhang, Yuanji; Wiggins, B Elizabeth; Ramaseshadri, Partha; Segers, Gerrit C; Johnson, Steven; Meyer, Steve E; Kerstetter, Randy A; McNulty, Brian C; Bolognesi, Renata; Heck, Gregory R

2015-05-01

Environmental RNAi (eRNAi) is a sequence-specific regulation of endogenous gene expression in a receptive organism by exogenous double-stranded RNA (dsRNA). Although demonstrated under artificial dietary conditions and via transgenic plant presentations in several herbivorous insects, the magnitude and consequence of exogenous dsRNA uptake and the role of eRNAi remains unknown under natural insect living conditions. Our analysis of coleopteran insects sensitive to eRNAi fed on wild-type plants revealed uptake of plant endogenous long dsRNAs, but not small RNAs. Subsequently, the dsRNAs were processed into 21 nt siRNAs by insects and accumulated in high quantities in insect cells. No accumulation of host plant-derived siRNAs was observed in lepidopteran larvae that are recalcitrant to eRNAi. Stability of ingested dsRNA in coleopteran larval gut followed by uptake and transport from the gut to distal tissues appeared to be enabling factors for eRNAi. Although a relatively large number of distinct coleopteran insect-processed plant-derived siRNAs had sequence complementarity to insect transcripts, the vast majority of the siRNAs were present in relatively low abundance, and RNA-seq analysis did not detect a significant effect of plant-derived siRNAs on insect transcriptome. In summary, we observed a broad genome-wide uptake of plant endogenous dsRNA and subsequent processing of ingested dsRNA into 21 nt siRNAs in eRNAi-sensitive insects under natural feeding conditions. In addition to dsRNA stability in gut lumen and uptake, dosage of siRNAs targeting a given insect transcript is likely an important factor in order to achieve measurable eRNAi-based regulation in eRNAi-competent insects that lack an apparent silencing amplification mechanism. © 2015 Ivashuta et al.; Published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press for the RNA Society.

Feasibility of eradicating Ceratitis spp. fruit flies from the Western Cape of South Africa by the sterile insect technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barnes, Brian N.; Eyles, David K.

2000-01-01

Fruit production (deciduous fruit, table and wine grapes, and citrus) is a major export-based industry in the Western Cape, with more than 200,000 ha under cultivation. The gross value of these fruits (excluding wine) exceeds US$400 million per annum. Deciduous fruit and table grapes make up the major portion of the industry, with approximately 110,000 ha under production. The Western Cape is host to two species of fruit flies, the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), and the Natal fruit fly, C. rosa Karsch. One or both of these species attack at least 19 species of fruits in this area. Both species have very similar life cycles and habits, and can cause enormous crop losses especially to fruits, but also to some vegetables. Both commercial and resource-limited farmers are affected by fruit flies. Control of fruit flies is currently based on ground applications of insecticides, either as full-cover foliar sprays or low-volume bait sprays. Control costs and crop losses for deciduous fruit and table grapes alone are estimated at US$4 million annually. South Africa is the only southern hemisphere deciduous fruit-exporting country that is not fruit fly-free or is not currently engaged in a project to eradicate fruit flies. Unless similar steps are taken, this situation is likely to threaten the competitiveness of the Western Cape's industry. The Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture of the United Nations recently approved funding for the INFRUITEC Centre of the ARC-Fruit, Vine and Wine Research Institute in Stellenbosch to undertake a study to determine the feasibility of eradicating fruit flies from the Western Cape by the sterile insect technique (SIT). Most fruits in the Western Cape are produced in valley systems, and many valleys are isolated from one another to a greater or lesser extent. The Western Cape is itself well isolated from other areas with fruit fly hosts: by the ocean on the eastern, southern and

Co-ordinated research programme on the use of nuclear and nuclear-related techniques in the study of environmental pollution associated with solid wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1991-01-01

A co-ordinated research programme on the use of nuclear and nuclear-related techniques in the study of environmental pollution associated with solid wastes was started by the IAEA in December 1987 and now comprises twenty-three participants from twenty-one countries. Topics of interest in this programme include studies of atmospheric aerosols, coal fly ash, incinerator ash, sewage sludge and a variety of other environmental specimens contaminated with solid wastes. The analytical techniques used include neutron activation analysis, particle-induced X-ray emission and energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence. This report summarizes the discussions that took place during the second research co-ordination meeting. Working papers presented by the participants are included as annexes and have been indexed separately. Refs, figs and tabs

Co-ordinated research programme on the use of nuclear and nuclear-related techniques in the study of environmental pollution associated with solid wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-01-01

A co-ordinated research programme on the use of nuclear and nuclear-related techniques in the study of environmental pollution associated with solid wastes was started by the IAEA in December 1987 and now comprises nineteen participants from seventeen countries. Topics of interest in this programme include studies of atmospheric aerosols, coal fly ash, incinerator ash, sewage sludge and a variety of other environmental specimens contaminated with solid wastes. The analytical techniques used include neutron activation analysis, particle-induced X-ray emission and energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence. This report summarizes the discussions that took place during the third research co-ordination meeting. Working papers presented by the participants are included as annexes and have been indexed separately. Refs, figs and tabs

Edible insects of Northern Angola

OpenAIRE

Lautenschläger,Thea; Neinhuis,Christoph; Monizi,Mawunu; Mandombe,José Lau; Förster,Anke; Henle,Thomas; Nuss,Matthias

2017-01-01

From 2013–2017, we accompanied and interviewed local people harvesting edible insects in the Northern Angolan province of Uíge. Insect and host plant samples were collected for species identification and nutritive analyses. Additionally, live caterpillars were taken to feed and keep until pupation and eclosion of the imago, necessary for morphological species identification. Altogether, 18 insect species eaten by humans were recorded. Twenty four edible insect species were formerly known from...

Pathogen avoidance by insect predators

OpenAIRE

Meyling, Nicolai V.; Ormond, Emma; Roy, Helen E.; Pell, Judith K.

2008-01-01

Insects can detect cues related to the risk of attack by their natural enemies. Pathogens are among the natural enemies of insects and entomopathogenic fungi attack a wide array of host species. Evidence documents that social insects in particular have adapted behavioural mechanisms to avoid infection by fungal pathogens. These mechanisms are referred to as 'behavioural resistance'. However, there is little evidence for similar adaptations in non-social insects. We have conducted experime...

Enhancing Peer Acceptance of Children with Learning Difficulties: Classroom Goal Orientation and Effects of a Storytelling Programme with Drama Techniques

Science.gov (United States)

Law, Yin-kum; Lam, Shui-fong; Law, Wilbert; Tam, Zoe W. Y.

2017-01-01

Peer acceptance is an important facilitator for the success of inclusive education. The aim of the current study is twofold: (1) to examine how classroom goal orientation is associated with children's acceptance of peers with learning difficulties; and (2) to evaluate the effectiveness of a storytelling programme with drama techniques on…

Insect pest control newsletter. No. 64

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2004-12-01

In October 2004 the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture celebrated 40 years of existence. The creation in October 1964 of this Division, which includes the Insect Pest Control Subprogramme, marked the beginning of what is certainly a unique and arguably the best example of inter-agency cooperation within the whole UN family. The goal was to join the talents and resources of both organizations to obtain better cooperation and less duplication of efforts in assisting their Member States in applying nuclear techniques for providing people with more, better and safer food and other agricultural products, while sustaining the natural resources base. The complete press release is included under 'Special News and Reports'

Edible insects in China: Utilization and prospects.

Science.gov (United States)

Feng, Ying; Chen, Xiao-Ming; Zhao, Min; He, Zhao; Sun, Long; Wang, Cheng-Ye; Ding, Wei-Feng

2018-04-01

The use of edible insects has a long history in China, where they have been consumed for more than 2000 years. In general, the level of acceptance is high for the consumption of insects in China. Many studies on edible insects have been conducted in the last 20 years, and the scope of the research includes the culture of entomophagy and the identification, nutritional value, farming and breeding of edible insects, in addition to food production and safety. Currently, 324 species of insects from 11 orders are documented that are either edible or associated with entomophagy in China, which include the common edible species, some less commonly consumed species and some medicinal insects. However, only approximately 10 to 20 types of insects are regularly consumed. The nutritional values for 174 species are available in China, including edible, feed and medicinal species. Although the nutritional values vary among species, all the insects examined contain protein, fat, vitamins and minerals at levels that meet human nutritional requirements. Edible insects were, and continue to be, consumed by different ethnic groups in many parts of China. People directly consume insects or food products made from insects. The processing of products from insect protein powder, oil and chitin, and the development of healthcare foods has been studied in China. People also consume insects indirectly by eating livestock that were fed insects, which may be a more acceptable pathway to use insects in human diets. Although limited, the data on the food safety of insects indicate that insects are safe for food or feed. Incidences of allergic reactions after consuming silkworm pupae, cicadas and crickets have been reported in China. Insect farming is a unique breeding industry in rural China and is a source of income for local people. Insects are reared and bred for human food, medicine and animal feed using two approaches in China: the insects are either fully domesticated and reared

Insect immunology and hematopoiesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Hillyer, Julián F

2016-05-01

Insects combat infection by mounting powerful immune responses that are mediated by hemocytes, the fat body, the midgut, the salivary glands and other tissues. Foreign organisms that have entered the body of an insect are recognized by the immune system when pathogen-associated molecular patterns bind host-derived pattern recognition receptors. This, in turn, activates immune signaling pathways that amplify the immune response, induce the production of factors with antimicrobial activity, and activate effector pathways. Among the immune signaling pathways are the Toll, Imd, Jak/Stat, JNK, and insulin pathways. Activation of these and other pathways leads to pathogen killing via phagocytosis, melanization, cellular encapsulation, nodulation, lysis, RNAi-mediated virus destruction, autophagy and apoptosis. This review details these and other aspects of immunity in insects, and discusses how the immune and circulatory systems have co-adapted to combat infection, how hemocyte replication and differentiation takes place (hematopoiesis), how an infection prepares an insect for a subsequent infection (immune priming), how environmental factors such as temperature and the age of the insect impact the immune response, and how social immunity protects entire groups. Finally, this review highlights some underexplored areas in the field of insect immunobiology. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The development of new radiation protocols for insect sterilization using long wavelength x-rays

Science.gov (United States)

Urquidi, Jacob; Brar, Ramaninder K.; Rodriguez, Stacy; Hansen, Immo

2015-07-01

Control of insect species for the protection of crops, livestock, and prevention of disease such as dengue fever and malaria is a high priority in today's global economy. Traditional methods such as pesticides have fallen out of favor because its effects are indiscriminate as well as adverse and unpredictable impacts on the environment. Modern novel techniques such as genetic modification have had trouble gaining traction due to ethics concerns and the potential for unforeseen side effects. One approach that has gained traction and has proven its efficacy is the use of ionizing radiation to affect sterility in insect species in order to scale back their population. Known as Sterile Insect Technique (SIT), it has proven very effective in eradicating certain dipteran insect populations. However, when standard sterilization methods developed for dipertans are applied to mosquito populations significant complications arise, such as an inability to compete with non-irradiated males and high mortality rates. We have investigated the effect of treatment with x-rays of different wavelengths on x-ray sterilized mosquito males. Our results have demonstrated that longer wavelength x-rays have a significant effect on the outcome of the sterile males' longevity as well as an increase on the efficacy of sterilization while employing a substantially lower dose.

The development of new radiation protocols for insect sterilization using long wavelength x-rays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Urquidi, Jacob; Brar, Ramaninder K.; Rodriguez, Stacy; Hansen, Immo

2015-01-01

Control of insect species for the protection of crops, livestock, and prevention of disease such as dengue fever and malaria is a high priority in today’s global economy. Traditional methods such as pesticides have fallen out of favor because its effects are indiscriminate as well as adverse and unpredictable impacts on the environment. Modern novel techniques such as genetic modification have had trouble gaining traction due to ethics concerns and the potential for unforeseen side effects. One approach that has gained traction and has proven its efficacy is the use of ionizing radiation to affect sterility in insect species in order to scale back their population. Known as Sterile Insect Technique (SIT), it has proven very effective in eradicating certain dipteran insect populations. However, when standard sterilization methods developed for dipertans are applied to mosquito populations significant complications arise, such as an inability to compete with non-irradiated males and high mortality rates. We have investigated the effect of treatment with x-rays of different wavelengths on x-ray sterilized mosquito males. Our results have demonstrated that longer wavelength x-rays have a significant effect on the outcome of the sterile males’ longevity as well as an increase on the efficacy of sterilization while employing a substantially lower dose

The development of new radiation protocols for insect sterilization using long wavelength x-rays

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Urquidi, Jacob, E-mail: jurquidi@nmsu.edu; Brar, Ramaninder K. [X-ray and Neutron Science Laboratory, Department of Physics, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM (United States); Rodriguez, Stacy; Hansen, Immo [Molecular Vector Physiology Lab, Department of Biology, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM (United States)

2015-07-23

Control of insect species for the protection of crops, livestock, and prevention of disease such as dengue fever and malaria is a high priority in today’s global economy. Traditional methods such as pesticides have fallen out of favor because its effects are indiscriminate as well as adverse and unpredictable impacts on the environment. Modern novel techniques such as genetic modification have had trouble gaining traction due to ethics concerns and the potential for unforeseen side effects. One approach that has gained traction and has proven its efficacy is the use of ionizing radiation to affect sterility in insect species in order to scale back their population. Known as Sterile Insect Technique (SIT), it has proven very effective in eradicating certain dipteran insect populations. However, when standard sterilization methods developed for dipertans are applied to mosquito populations significant complications arise, such as an inability to compete with non-irradiated males and high mortality rates. We have investigated the effect of treatment with x-rays of different wavelengths on x-ray sterilized mosquito males. Our results have demonstrated that longer wavelength x-rays have a significant effect on the outcome of the sterile males’ longevity as well as an increase on the efficacy of sterilization while employing a substantially lower dose.

Detection methods for irradiated mites and insects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ignatowicz, S.

1999-01-01

Results of the study on the following tests for separation of irradiated pests from untreated ones are reported: (a) test for identification of irradiated mites (Acaridae) based on lack of fecundity of treated females; (b) test for identification of irradiated beetles based on their locomotor activity; (c) test for identification of irradiated pests based on electron spin resonance (ESR) signal derived from treated insects; (d) test for identification of irradiated pests based on changes in the midgut induced by gamma radiation; and (e) test for identification of irradiated pests based on the alterations in total proteins of treated adults. Of these detection methods, only the test based on the pathological changes induced by irradiation in the insect midgut may identify consistently either irradiated larvae or adults. This test is simple and convenient when a rapid processing technique for dehydrating and embedding the midgut is used. (author)

Eating insects

OpenAIRE

Tan, Hui Shan Grace

2017-01-01

In recent years, edible insects have gained global attention due to their nutritional and environmental advantages over conventional meat. While numerous species of edible insects are enjoyed in various cultures around the world, most Western consumers react with disgust and aversion towards eating creatures that are not regarded as food. The low consumer acceptance of this culturally inappropriate food is currently considered to be one of the key barriers to attaining the benefits of this po...

Insect Wing Displacement Measurement Using Digital Holography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aguayo, Daniel D.; Mendoza Santoyo, Fernando; Torre I, Manuel H. de la; Caloca Mendez, Cristian I.

2008-01-01

Insects in flight have been studied with optical non destructive techniques with the purpose of using meaningful results in aerodynamics. With the availability of high resolution and large dynamic range CCD sensors the so called interferometric digital holographic technique was used to measure the surface displacement of in flight insect wings, such as butterflies. The wings were illuminated with a continuous wave Verdi laser at 532 nm, and observed with a CCD Pixelfly camera that acquire images at a rate of 11.5 frames per second at a resolution of 1392x1024 pixels and 12 Bit dynamic range. At this frame rate digital holograms of the wings were captured and processed in the usual manner, namely, each individual hologram is Fourier processed in order to find the amplitude and phase corresponding to the digital hologram. The wings displacement is obtained when subtraction between two digital holograms is performed for two different wings position, a feature applied to all consecutive frames recorded. The result of subtracting is seen as a wrapped phase fringe pattern directly related to the wing displacement. The experimental data for different butterfly flying conditions and exposure times are shown as wire mesh plots in a movie of the wings displacement

The promise of insect genomics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Grimmelikhuijzen, Cornelis J P; Cazzamali, Giuseppe; Williamson, Michael

2007-01-01

Insects are the largest animal group in the world and are ecologically and economically extremely important. This importance of insects is reflected by the existence of currently 24 insect genome projects. Our perspective discusses the state-of-the-art of these genome projects and the impacts...

Inherited sterility in insects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carpenter, J.E.; Marec, F.; Bloem, S.

2005-01-01

The unique genetic phenomena responsible for inherited sterility (IS) in Lepidoptera and some other arthropods, as compared with full sterility, provide advantages for pest control. Lepidopteran females are usually more sensitive to radiation than males of the same species. This allows the radiation dose to be adjusted to suit programme requirements. When partially sterile males mate with wild females, the radiation-induced deleterious effects are inherited by the F 1 generation. As a result, egg hatch is reduced and the resulting offspring are both highly sterile and predominately male. Compared with the high radiation required to achieve full sterility in Lepidoptera, the lower dose of radiation used to induce F 1 sterility increases the quality and competitiveness of the released insects as measured by improved dispersal after release, increased mating ability, and superior sperm competition. F 1 sterile progeny produced in the field enhance the efficacy of released partially sterile males, and improve compatibility with other pest control strategies. In addition, F 1 sterile progeny can be used to increase the production of natural enemies, and to study the potential host and geographical ranges of exotic lepidopteran pests. (author)

The Native Hawaiian Insect Microbiome Initiative: A Critical Perspective for Hawaiian Insect Evolution

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kirsten E. Poff

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Insects associate with a diversity of microbes that can shape host ecology and diversity by providing essential biological and adaptive services. For most insect groups, the evolutionary implications of host–microbe interactions remain poorly understood. Geographically discrete areas with high biodiversity offer powerful, simplified model systems to better understand insect–microbe interactions. Hawaii boasts a diverse endemic insect fauna (~6000 species characterized by spectacular adaptive radiations. Despite this, little is known about the role of bacteria in shaping this diversity. To address this knowledge gap, we inaugurate the Native Hawaiian Insect Microbiome Initiative (NHIMI. The NHIMI is an effort intended to develop a framework for informing evolutionary and biological studies in Hawaii. To initiate this effort, we have sequenced the bacterial microbiomes of thirteen species representing iconic, endemic Hawaiian insect groups. Our results show that native Hawaiian insects associate with a diversity of bacteria that exhibit a wide phylogenetic breadth. Several groups show predictable associations with obligate microbes that permit diet specialization. Others exhibit unique ecological transitions that are correlated with shifts in their microbiomes (e.g., transition to carrion feeding from plant-feeding in Nysius wekiuicola. Finally, some groups, such as the Hawaiian Drosophila, have relatively diverse microbiomes with a conserved core of bacterial taxa across multiple species and islands.

Achievements 2006-Activities 2007: Feasibility study on the application of the sterile insect technique for the establishment of a zone free of tsetse flies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sall, Baba

2007-01-01

The Project ''Feasibility study on the application of the sterile insect technique for the creation of a zone free of tsetse flies'' aims to eradicate the tsetse fly and the trypanosomiasis it transmits from the Niayes area and part of the small coast. These areas were re-infested after several decades of lull following the eradication campaigns of the 1970s and 1980s. The project began in 2006 for a period of 4 years.This document presents the achievements of 2006 and the activities planned in 2007 within the framework of the project.

Insects and diseases

Science.gov (United States)

John W. Couston

2009-01-01

Insects and diseases are a natural part of forested ecosystems. Their activity is partially regulated by biotic factors, e.g., host abundance, host quality; physical factors, e.g., soil, climate; and disturbances (Berryman 1986). Insects and diseases can influence both forest patterns and forest processes by causing, for example, defoliation and mortality. These...

Potential use of the sterile insect technique against the South American fruit fly

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ortiz, G.

1999-01-01

The Latin American countries have a strong interest in increasing fruit production and quality to facilitate commercialization within and outside the region. Various fruit fly control programmes in South America and their objectives and benefits are described here. Specific priorities to improve fruit fly control and eradication technologies include strengthening of quarantine, development of pre- and post-phytosanitary measures, and harmonization of the most effective and advanced technical procedures/methodologies to control fruit flies. A subregional strategy to control fruit flies in South America would promote technical co-operation among the South American countries and strengthen the activities of less advanced fruit fly programmes. Effective use can be made of local/regional infrastructure, expertise, sterile fly production and human/technical resources. In Argentina, advanced technology related to the use of medfly genetic sexing strains for SIT programmes has been successfully introduced. Joint efforts between technicians and scientists would contribute to developing new technology to control important pests in South America. (author)

Protecting Yourself from Stinging Insects

Science.gov (United States)

... from St ing in g In sect s Flying Insects Outdoor workers are at risk of being stung by flying insects (bees, wasps, and hornets) and fire ants. While ... If a worker is stung by a stinging insect: ■■ Have someone stay with the worker to be ...

An Integrated Molecular Database on Indian Insects.

Science.gov (United States)

Pratheepa, Maria; Venkatesan, Thiruvengadam; Gracy, Gandhi; Jalali, Sushil Kumar; Rangheswaran, Rajagopal; Antony, Jomin Cruz; Rai, Anil

2018-01-01

MOlecular Database on Indian Insects (MODII) is an online database linking several databases like Insect Pest Info, Insect Barcode Information System (IBIn), Insect Whole Genome sequence, Other Genomic Resources of National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources (NBAIR), Whole Genome sequencing of Honey bee viruses, Insecticide resistance gene database and Genomic tools. This database was developed with a holistic approach for collecting information about phenomic and genomic information of agriculturally important insects. This insect resource database is available online for free at http://cib.res.in. http://cib.res.in/.

Plant defense against insect herbivores

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fürstenberg-Hägg, Joel; Zagrobelny, Mika; Bak, Søren

2013-01-01

, defense compounds. These bioactive specialized plant defense compounds may repel or intoxicate insects, while defense proteins often interfere with their digestion. Volatiles are released upon herbivory to repel herbivores, attract predators or for communication between leaves or plants, and to induce......Plants have been interacting with insects for several hundred million years, leading to complex defense approaches against various insect feeding strategies. Some defenses are constitutive while others are induced, although the insecticidal defense compound or protein classes are often similar...... defense responses. Plants also apply morphological features like waxes, trichomes and latices to make the feeding more difficult for the insects. Extrafloral nectar, food bodies and nesting or refuge sites are produced to accommodate and feed the predators of the herbivores. Meanwhile, herbivorous insects...

Insects: An Interdisciplinary Unit

Science.gov (United States)

Leger, Heather

2007-01-01

The author talks about an interdisciplinary unit on insects, and presents activities that can help students practice communication skills (interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational) and learn about insects with hands-on activities.

Identification of cholinergic synaptic transmission in the insect nervous system.

Science.gov (United States)

Thany, Steeve Hervé; Tricoire-Leignel, Hélène; Lapied, Bruno

2010-01-01

A major criteria initially used to localize cholinergic neuronal elements in nervous systems tissues that involve acetylcholine (ACh) as neurotransmitter is mainly based on immunochemical studies using choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), an enzyme which catalyzes ACh biosynthesis and the ACh degradative enzyme named acetylcholinesterase (AChE). Immunochemical studies using anti-ChAT monoclonal antibody have allowed the identification of neuronal processes and few types of cell somata that contain ChAT protein. In situ hybridization using cRNA probes to ChAT or AChE messenger RNA have brought new approaches to further identify cell bodies transcribing the ChAT or AChE genes. Combined application of all these techniques reveals a widespread expression of ChAT and AChE activities in the insect central nervous system and peripheral sensory neurons which implicates ACh as a key neurotransmitter. The discovery of the snake toxin alpha-bungatoxin has helped to identify nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs). In fact, nicotine when applied to insect neurons, resulted in the generation of an inward current through the activation of nicotinic receptors which were blocked by alpha-bungarotoxin. Thus, insect nAChRs have been divided into two categories, sensitive and insensitive to this snake toxin. Up to now, the recent characterization and distribution pattern of insect nAChR subunits and the biochemical evidence that the insect central nervous system contains different classes of cholinergic receptors indicated that ACh is involved in several sensory pathways.

Insects: Bugged Out!

Science.gov (United States)

Piehl, Kathy

2011-01-01

Insects really need no introduction. They have lived on earth much longer than humans and vastly outnumber people and all other animal species combined. People encounter them daily in their houses and yards. Yet, when children want to investigate insects, books can help them start their explorations. "Paleo Bugs" carries readers back to the time…

Controlling Aedes aegypti population as DHF vector with radiation based-sterile insect technique in Banjarnegara Regency, Central Java

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Siti Nurhayati; Bambang Yunianto; Tri Ramadhani; Bina Ikawati; Budi Santoso; Ali Rahayu

2013-01-01

The control program of dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) in Indonesia is still a problem due to the incomplete integrated handling. Sterile insect technique (SIT) for Aedes aegypti as DHF vector was considered as a potential strategy for controlling the DHF. A preliminary survey was carried out to determine the characteristic of A aegypti population in the study site before the implementation of SIT. The implementation of radiation based-SIT was carried out in Krandegan and Kutabanjar Villages of Banjarnegara Regency, Central Java which involved 99 houses. One hundred gamma rays irradiated male mosquitoes were released to each house up to five times. The eggs, larvae and adult mosquitoes were collected using ovitrap and weekly observed. The initial population density of A. aegypti in the studied area was obtained to be 6 mosquitoes per house with the mean index of house was 15.86% and the mean sterility of sterilized mosquitoes was 79.16%. The SIT effectively reduced A. aegypti population after the fifth release of irradiated mosquitoes into the houses. It can be assumed that the SIT was effective in controlling DHF vector in the studied area, nevertheless, it will be more effective if it is combined with other handling techniques. (author)

Respiration in Aquatic Insects.

Science.gov (United States)

MacFarland, John

1985-01-01

This article: (1) explains the respiratory patterns of several freshwater insects; (2) describes the differences and mechanisms of spiracular cutaneous, and gill respiration; and (3) discusses behavioral aspects of selected aquatic insects. (ML)

Predicting the potential establishment of two insect species using the simulation environment INSIM (INsect SIMulation)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hemerik, Lia; Nes, van Egbert H.

2016-01-01

Degree-day models have long been used to predict events in the life cycle of insects and therewith the timing of outbreaks of insect pests and their natural enemies. This approach assumes, however, that the effect of temperature is linear, whereas developmental rates of insects are non-linearly

Insects and Bugs

Science.gov (United States)

Sutherland, Karen

2009-01-01

They have been around for centuries. They sting, they bite. They cause intense itching or painful sores. They even cause allergic reactions and sometimes death. There are two types of insects that are pests to humans--those that sting and those that bite. The insects that bite do so with their mouths and include mosquitoes, chiggers, and ticks.…

Insects as a Nitrogen Source for Plants

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael J. Bidochka

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Many plants have evolved adaptations in order to survive in low nitrogen environments. One of the best-known adaptations is that of plant symbiosis with nitrogen-fixing bacteria; this is the major route by which nitrogen is incorporated into plant biomass. A portion of this plant-associated nitrogen is then lost to insects through herbivory, and insects represent a nitrogen reservoir that is generally overlooked in nitrogen cycles. In this review we show three specialized plant adaptations that allow for the recovery of insect nitrogen; that is, plants gaining nitrogen from insects. First, we show specialized adaptations by carnivorous plants in low nitrogen habitats. Insect carnivorous plants such as pitcher plants and sundews (Nepenthaceae/Sarraceniaceae and Drosera respectively are able to obtain substantial amounts of nitrogen from the insects that they capture. Secondly, numerous plants form associations with mycorrhizal fungi that can provide soluble nitrogen from the soil, some of which may be insect-derived nitrogen, obtained from decaying insects or insect frass. Finally, a specialized group of endophytic, insect-pathogenic fungi (EIPF provide host plants with insect-derived nitrogen. These soil-inhabiting fungi form a remarkable symbiosis with certain plant species. They can infect a wide range of insect hosts and also form endophytic associations in which they transfer insect-derived nitrogen to the plant. Root colonizing fungi are found in disparate fungal phylogenetic lineages, indicating possible convergent evolutionary strategies between taxa, evolution potentially driven by access to carbon-containing root exudates.

Advanced imaging techniques II: using a compound microscope for photographing point-mount specimens

Science.gov (United States)

Digital imaging technology has revolutionized the practice photographing insects for scientific study. Herein described are lighting and mounting techniques designed for imaging micro Hymenoptera. Techniques described here are applicable to all small insects, as well as other invertebrates. The ke...

Development of serum-free media for lepidopteran insect cell lines.

Science.gov (United States)

Agathos, Spiros N

2007-01-01

Lepidopteran insect cell culture technology has progressed to the point of becoming an essential part of one of the most successful eukaryotic expression systems and is increasingly used industrially on a large scale. Therefore, there is a constant need for convenient and low-cost culture media capable of supporting good insect cell growth and ensuring high yield of baculovirus as well as the strong expression of recombinant proteins. Vertebrate sera or invertebrate hemolymph were essential supplements in first-generation insect cell media. These supplements, however, are cumbersome and expensive for routine large-scale culture; thus, their use is now circumvented by substituting the essential growth factors present in these supplements with serum-free substances. Such non-serum supplements are typically of non-animal origin and include protein hydrolysates, lipid emulsions, and specialized substances (e.g., surfactants and shear damage protecting chemicals). These supplements need to complement the defined, synthetic basal medium to ensure that the fundamental nutritional needs of the cells are satisfied. Although there is a significant number of proprietary serum-free and low-protein or protein-free media on the market, the lack of information concerning their detailed composition is a drawback in their adoption for different applications, including their adaptation to the metabolic and kinetic analysis and monitoring of a given insect cell based bioprocess. Hence, there is wide appeal for formulating serum-free media based on a rational assessment of the metabolic requirements of the lepidopteran cells during both the growth and the production phases. Techniques such as statistical experimental design and genetic algorithms adapted to the cellular behavior and the bioreactor operation mode (batch, fed-batch, or perfusion) permit the formulation of versatile serum- and protein-free media. These techniques are illustrated with recent developments of serum

Polymer-based Drug Delivery Systems Applied to Insects Repellents Devices: A Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Barradas, Thaís Nogueira; Senna, Juliana Perdiz; Ricci, Eduardo; Mansur, Claudia Regina Elias

2016-01-01

Insects-borne diseases constitute a public health concern. Since there is no vaccine or curative treatment for many of these diseases, individual protection is the main approach to prevent them. Nowadays, the search for replacing synthetic molecules for insect repellents from natural sources, such as essential oils, is increasing. However, most of them present low efficiency compared to synthetic repellents. Therefore, decreasing skin permeation of synthetic repellents or yet, increasing effectiveness of natural repellents are challenges that must be overcome during the development of novel insect repellent formulations. In this context, polymer-based formulations allow entrapping active ingredients and provide release control. Encapsulation into polymeric micro/nanocapsules, cyclodextrins, polymeric micelles or hydrogels constitutes an approach to modify physicochemical properties of encapsulated molecules. Such techniques, applied in topical formulations, fabrics modification for personal protection, or food packaging have proved to be more effective in increasing repellency time and also in reducing drug dermal absorption, improving safety profiles of these products. In this work, the main synthetic and natural insect repellents are described as well as their polymeric carrier systems and their potential applications.

Adding guarana powder to medfly diets: an alternative for improving the Sterile Insect Technique

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jamile Câmara de Aquino

2016-06-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Ceratitis capitata (medfly is a globally important horticultural pest that can be controlled using the sterile insect technique (SIT, but the success of SIT depends on the sexual performance of mass-reared males when released into the field. We added “guarana” (Paullinia cupana powder (derived from an Amazonian fruit that is considered to be a stimulant with aphrodisiac effects, capable of improving human physical stamina to the diets of adult male medflies to determine whether it increased their sexual performance. The basic diet of a protein extract + sucrose (1:3 was enriched with guarana powder (3 % on a volume basis. Experiments examining sexual competitiveness were performed using lab-reared males fed with the enriched diet vs. lab-reared males fed on the basic diet (and lab-reared females fed on the basic diet, as well as lab-reared males fed with the enriched diet vs. wild males fed on the basic diet (and wild females fed on the basic diet. The results of both experiments indicated that males maintained on diets enriched with guarana powder showed higher copulation successes than males fed only with the basic diet. Guarana powder therefore contributed to the greater mating success of lab-reared males (probably because of its stimulant properties, and may represent a new and viable option for increasing SIT effectiveness.

Limited mobility of target pests crucially lowers controllability when sterile insect releases are spatiotemporally biased.

Science.gov (United States)

Ikegawa, Yusuke; Himuro, Chihiro

2017-05-21

The sterile insect technique (SIT) is a genetic pest control method wherein mass-reared sterile insects are periodically released into the wild, thereby impeding the successful reproduction of fertile pests. In Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, the SIT has been implemented to eradicate the West Indian sweet potato weevil Euscepes postfasciatus (Fairmaire), which is a flightless agricultural pest of sweet potatoes. It is known that E. postfasciatus is much less mobile than other insects to which the SIT has been applied. However, previous theoretical studies have rarely examined effects of low mobility of target pests and variation in the spatiotemporal evenness of sterile insect releases. To theoretically examine the effects of spatiotemporal evenness on the regional eradication of less mobile pests, we constructed a simple two-patch population model comprised of a pest and sterile insect moving between two habitats, and numerically simulated different release strategies (varying the number of released sterile insects and release intervals). We found that spatially biased releases allowed the pest to spatially escape from the sterile insect, and thus intensively lowered its controllability. However, we showed that the temporally counterbalancing spatially biased releases by swapping the number of released insects in the two habitats at every release (called temporal balancing) could greatly mitigate this negative effect and promote the controllability. We also showed that the negative effect of spatiotemporally biased releases was a result of the limited mobility of the target insect. Although directed dispersal of the insects in response to habitats of differing quality could lower the controllability in the more productive habitat, the temporal balancing could promote and eventually maximize the controllability as released insects increased. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Insect Bites and Stings

Science.gov (United States)

Most insect bites are harmless, though they sometimes cause discomfort. Bee, wasp, and hornet stings and fire ant bites usually hurt. Mosquito and flea bites usually itch. Insects can also spread diseases. In the United States, ...

Proposal for a coordination research programme (CRP) of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on stable isotope tracer techniques for studies on protein-energy interactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shetty, P.; James, W.P.T.

1993-01-01

This Report provides a rationale and justification for the initiation of a Coordinated Research programme to support studies using stable isotopic tracer techniques to address priority areas of human protein-energy interactions with special emphasis on the problems of human nutrition in developing countries. The Report suggests a modus for establishing such a practically oriented Coordinated Research Programme under the aegis of the International Atomic Energy Agency with concrete suggestions for its organization and the identification of probable participants in such a programme. The likely sources of additional funding to sustain such an activity viable for a period of 4 to 5 years are also indicated. 8 refs

The Curious Connection Between Insects and Dreams.

Science.gov (United States)

Klein, Barrett A

2011-12-21

A majority of humans spend their waking hours surrounded by insects, so it should be no surprise that insects also appear in humans' dreams as we sleep. Dreaming about insects has a peculiar history, marked by our desire to explain a dream's significance and by the tactic of evoking emotions by injecting insects in dream-related works of art, film, music, and literature. I surveyed a scattered literature for examples of insects in dreams, first from the practices of dream interpretation, psychiatry, and scientific study, then from fictional writings and popular culture, and finally in the etymology of entomology by highlighting insects with dream-inspired Latinate names. A wealth of insects in dreams, as documented clinically and culturally, attests to the perceived relevance of dreams and to the ubiquity of insects in our lives.

Multiorganismal insects: diversity and function of resident microorganisms.

Science.gov (United States)

Douglas, Angela E

2015-01-07

All insects are colonized by microorganisms on the insect exoskeleton, in the gut and hemocoel, and within insect cells. The insect microbiota is generally different from microorganisms in the external environment, including ingested food. Specifically, certain microbial taxa are favored by the conditions and resources in the insect habitat, by their tolerance of insect immunity, and by specific mechanisms for their transmission. The resident microorganisms can promote insect fitness by contributing to nutrition, especially by providing essential amino acids, B vitamins, and, for fungal partners, sterols. Some microorganisms protect their insect hosts against pathogens, parasitoids, and other parasites by synthesizing specific toxins or modifying the insect immune system. Priorities for future research include elucidation of microbial contributions to detoxification, especially of plant allelochemicals in phytophagous insects, and resistance to pathogens; as well as their role in among-insect communication; and the potential value of manipulation of the microbiota to control insect pests.

Monitoring of a tsetse and trypanosomosis control programme in plateau and Bauchi State, Nigeria, using antigen ELISA and parasitological techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ajayi, S.A.; Ogedengbe, J.D.; Dogo, G.I.; Frame, I.A.

1997-01-01

Between July 1994 and January 1995 a total of 1153 samples were collected from cattle in Plateau and Bauchi State, Nigeria, and analyzed for the presence of trypanosome infections using parasitological (Buffy Coat Technique [BCT] and blood film smears) and serological techniques (Ag-ELISA). A simple random sampling technique was employed. Tsetse flies and other insects were trapped during the same period using NITSE and biconical traps. Twenty two tsetse flies (6 Glossina p. palpalis, 3 G. longipalpis and 13 G. tachinoides) were caught, identified and dissected to check for trypanosomal infections. The results obtained using parasitological techniques showed an average prevalence rate in the two states surveyed of 3.4%. The antigen-capture ELISA technique (Ag-ELISA) was used to analyze 280 serum samples which were negative for trypanosomes when checked by BCT. Of these samples none were positive for T. congolense and 4 (1.4%) were detected positive for T. brucei. A subset of 120 samples was analyzed for the presence of T. vivax and 3 (2.5%) were found to be positive. The relative specificity of the Ag-ELISA for T. brucei, T. congolense and T. vivax was 98.5% 100% and 97.5%, respectively. (author). 8 refs, 1 fig., 3 tabs

Monitoring of a tsetse and trypanosomosis control programme in plateau and Bauchi State, Nigeria, using antigen ELISA and parasitological techniques

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ajayi, S A; Ogedengbe, J D; Dogo, G I [National Veterinary Research Inst., Vom, Plateau State (Nigeria). Parasitology Div.; Frame, I A [London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London (United Kingdom). Dept. of Med. Parasitol

1997-02-01

Between July 1994 and January 1995 a total of 1153 samples were collected from cattle in Plateau and Bauchi State, Nigeria, and analyzed for the presence of trypanosome infections using parasitological (Buffy Coat Technique [BCT] and blood film smears) and serological techniques (Ag-ELISA). A simple random sampling technique was employed. Tsetse flies and other insects were trapped during the same period using NITSE and biconical traps. Twenty two tsetse flies (6 Glossina p. palpalis, 3 G. longipalpis and 13 G. tachinoides) were caught, identified and dissected to check for trypanosomal infections. The results obtained using parasitological techniques showed an average prevalence rate in the two states surveyed of 3.4%. The antigen-capture ELISA technique (Ag-ELISA) was used to analyze 280 serum samples which were negative for trypanosomes when checked by BCT. Of these samples none were positive for T. congolense and 4 (1.4%) were detected positive for T. brucei. A subset of 120 samples was analyzed for the presence of T. vivax and 3 (2.5%) were found to be positive. The relative specificity of the Ag-ELISA for T. brucei, T. congolense and T. vivax was 98.5% 100% and 97.5%, respectively. (author). 8 refs, 1 fig., 3 tabs.

Advances on polyphenism in insects.

Science.gov (United States)

Xue, Xian-Ci; Yu, Li

2017-09-20

Polyphenism denotes that one genome produces two or more distinct phenotypes due to environmental inductions. Many cases have been reported in insects, for example, metamorphosis, seasonal polyphenism, the caste of eusocial insects and so on. Polyphenism is one of the most important reasons for insects to survive and thrive, because insects can adapt and use the environmental cues around them in order to avoid predators and reproduce by changing their phenotypes. Polyphenism has received growing attentions, ranging from the earlier description of this phenomenon to the exploration of possible inducing factors. With the recent advent of the genomic era, more and more studies based on next generation sequencing, gene knockout and RNA interference have been reported to reveal the molecular mechanism of polyphenism. In this review, we summarize the progresses of the polyphenism in insects and envision prospects of future researches.

Consuming insects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Roos, Nanna; van Huis, A.

2017-01-01

as a part of a varied diet. They also have the potential to provide bioactive compounds that have health benefits beyond simple nutritional values, as is the case for other food groups such as fruits and vegetables. Various recent studies have indicated such bioactivity in different insect species....... The enormous number of edible insect species may be a source of novel bioactive compounds with health benefits addressing global health challenges. However, any identified health benefits need to be confirmed in human studies or in standardised assays accepted in health research prior to making health claims....

The Curious Connection Between Insects and Dreams

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Barrett A. Klein

2011-12-01

Full Text Available A majority of humans spend their waking hours surrounded by insects, so it should be no surprise that insects also appear in humans’ dreams as we sleep. Dreaming about insects has a peculiar history, marked by our desire to explain a dream’s significance and by the tactic of evoking emotions by injecting insects in dream-related works of art, film, music, and literature. I surveyed a scattered literature for examples of insects in dreams, first from the practices of dream interpretation, psychiatry, and scientific study, then from fictional writings and popular culture, and finally in the etymology of entomology by highlighting insects with dream-inspired Latinate names. A wealth of insects in dreams, as documented clinically and culturally, attests to the perceived relevance of dreams and to the ubiquity of insects in our lives.

The Curious Connection Between Insects and Dreams

Science.gov (United States)

Klein, Barrett A.

2011-01-01

A majority of humans spend their waking hours surrounded by insects, so it should be no surprise that insects also appear in humans’ dreams as we sleep. Dreaming about insects has a peculiar history, marked by our desire to explain a dream’s significance and by the tactic of evoking emotions by injecting insects in dream-related works of art, film, music, and literature. I surveyed a scattered literature for examples of insects in dreams, first from the practices of dream interpretation, psychiatry, and scientific study, then from fictional writings and popular culture, and finally in the etymology of entomology by highlighting insects with dream-inspired Latinate names. A wealth of insects in dreams, as documented clinically and culturally, attests to the perceived relevance of dreams and to the ubiquity of insects in our lives. PMID:26467945

Effect of gamma irradiation on scent gland development and pheromone production in Spodoptera Littoralis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hazaa, M.A.M.

1995-01-01

The cotton leaf worm, Spodoptera Littoralis (Boisd) is one of the important pests of cotton and many other crops in egypt. Several methods have been tried for its control. Among these, the sterile insect technique and the application of sex attractant pheromones appeared to be promissing in an integrated programme for the control of this and other serious insect pests. The high doses of gamma radiation required in such technique may affect some physiological and biological aspects of the insect as well; specially its reproductive potential. This effect may disturb the intraspecific communication between males and females by adversely affecting pheromone glands and hence pheromone production (Stimman et al., 1972; abdu et al., 1985 and El - Degwi, 1990). Insect sex pheromones are chemical substances secreted by either sex to attract the other sex and get them together for copulation. Trials to seek some of the factors that can prevent such communication in the cotton leaf worm may be of importance in its integrated control programme. This stimulated the present study to investigate the effect of gamma radiation doses on sex pheromone gland and pheromone production in this economically important insect pest.8 tabs., 14 figs., 92 refs

Insects of the riparian

Science.gov (United States)

Terrence J. Rogers

1996-01-01

This paper describes life histories, defoliation problems and other activities of insects associated with forest tree species growing along high elevation streams and river banks. In addition, examples of insects and diseases associated with lower elevation riparian areas are given.

Organic farming favours insect-pollinated over non-insect pollinated forbs in meadows and wheat fields.

Science.gov (United States)

Batáry, Péter; Sutcliffe, Laura; Dormann, Carsten F; Tscharntke, Teja

2013-01-01

The aim of this study was to determine the relative effects of landscape-scale management intensity, local management intensity and edge effect on diversity patterns of insect-pollinated vs. non-insect pollinated forbs in meadows and wheat fields. Nine landscapes were selected differing in percent intensively used agricultural area (IAA), each with a pair of organic and conventional winter wheat fields and a pair of organic and conventional meadows. Within fields, forbs were surveyed at the edge and in the interior. Both diversity and cover of forbs were positively affected by organic management in meadows and wheat fields. This effect, however, differed significantly between pollination types for species richness in both agroecosystem types (i.e. wheat fields and meadows) and for cover in meadows. Thus, we show for the first time in a comprehensive analysis that insect-pollinated plants benefit more from organic management than non-insect pollinated plants regardless of agroecosystem type and landscape complexity. These benefits were more pronounced in meadows than wheat fields. Finally, the community composition of insect-pollinated and non-insect-pollinated forbs differed considerably between management types. In summary, our findings in both agroecosystem types indicate that organic management generally supports a higher species richness and cover of insect-pollinated plants, which is likely to be favourable for the density and diversity of bees and other pollinators.

Organic Farming Favours Insect-Pollinated over Non-Insect Pollinated Forbs in Meadows and Wheat Fields

Science.gov (United States)

Batáry, Péter; Sutcliffe, Laura; Dormann, Carsten F.; Tscharntke, Teja

2013-01-01

The aim of this study was to determine the relative effects of landscape-scale management intensity, local management intensity and edge effect on diversity patterns of insect-pollinated vs. non-insect pollinated forbs in meadows and wheat fields. Nine landscapes were selected differing in percent intensively used agricultural area (IAA), each with a pair of organic and conventional winter wheat fields and a pair of organic and conventional meadows. Within fields, forbs were surveyed at the edge and in the interior. Both diversity and cover of forbs were positively affected by organic management in meadows and wheat fields. This effect, however, differed significantly between pollination types for species richness in both agroecosystem types (i.e. wheat fields and meadows) and for cover in meadows. Thus, we show for the first time in a comprehensive analysis that insect-pollinated plants benefit more from organic management than non-insect pollinated plants regardless of agroecosystem type and landscape complexity. These benefits were more pronounced in meadows than wheat fields. Finally, the community composition of insect-pollinated and non-insect-pollinated forbs differed considerably between management types. In summary, our findings in both agroecosystem types indicate that organic management generally supports a higher species richness and cover of insect-pollinated plants, which is likely to be favourable for the density and diversity of bees and other pollinators. PMID:23382979

Procedures for the systematic appraisal of operational radiation protection programmes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1987-09-01

The purpose of this document is to give guidance to management and regulators of organisations using ionizing radiations on a technique for systematically appraising their operational radiation protection programme in order that its adequacy and effectiveness can be objectively determined. The appraisal technique is based on analytical trees and can be used to examine either a whole programme, to determine its completion and adequacy or to examine one component of a programme in considerable detail. This document will not develop technical recommendations on particular radiation protection programmes. These will be found in the appropriate Safety Series document on operational radiation protection. 8 refs, figs

40 CFR 161.590 - Nontarget insect data requirements.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... pollinators (4) CR CR CR CR CR CR TEP TEP 141-5 Nontarget insect testing—aquatic insects Acute toxicity to aquatic insects (5) 142-1 Aquatic insect life-cycle study (5) 142-1 Simulated or actual field testing for aquatic insects (5) 142-3 Nontarget insect testing—predators and parasites (5) 143-1thru 143-3 Key: CR...

Insect pests of stored grain products

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chuaqui-Offermanns, N.

1987-01-01

The presence of insects in stored products is a worldwide recognized problem. In this report chemical and physical methods to control insect infestations in stored products are discussed. Special attention is given to the use of ionizing radiation to control insect pests in stored grains. The radiosensitivity of the most common insect pests at their different developmental stages is presented and discussed. The conclusions of this review are compiled in an executive summary. 62 refs

Molecular approaches to the modification of insect pest populations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Crampton, J.M.; Stowell, S.; Parkes, R.; Karras, M.; Sinden, R.E.

2000-01-01

After considerable research effort over the last decade or more, the ability to routinely introduce specific genes and other DNA constructs (such as linked promoter:gene cassettes) into a range of pest insect genomes at high efficiency using transgenic approaches is fast becoming a reality. The critical issue that now needs to be addressed is how best to incorporate these techniques into SIT in order to improve its effectiveness or efficiency. Manipulation of insect pest genomes using transgenic approaches may be used in two ways. It may be used as an analytical tool, or to introduce or modify either endogenous or heterologous genes and their expression in the pest insect of choice. In this way, new strains may be generated with a set of desired characteristics beneficial to SIT. In order to realise the full potential of the technology, a number of issues and research areas is being explored and progress to date is reviewed below. Specific examples are drawn from work on mosquito systems in order to illustrate the approaches available to identify genes and promoters of interest and the potential applications to SIT

Impact of Government Anti-Poverty Programme on Development of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Impact of Government Anti-Poverty Programme on Development of Rural Areas of ... of National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP) among rural population in ... different statistical techniques such as descriptive statistics among others.

Insect Residue Contamination on Wing Leading Edge Surfaces: A Materials Investigation for Mitigation

Science.gov (United States)

Lorenzi, Tyler M.; Wohl, Christopher J.; Penner, Ronald K.; Smith, Joseph G.; Siochi, Emilie J.

2011-01-01

Flight tests have shown that residue from insect strikes on aircraft wing leading edge surfaces may induce localized transition of laminar to turbulent flow. The highest density of insect populations have been observed between ground level and 153 m during light winds (2.6 -- 5.1 m/s), high humidity, and temperatures from 21 -- 29 C. At a critical residue height, dependent on the airfoil and Reynolds number, boundary layer transition from laminar to turbulent results in increased drag and fuel consumption. Although this represents a minimal increase in fuel burn for conventional transport aircraft, future aircraft designs will rely on maintaining laminar flow across a larger portion of wing surfaces to reduce fuel burn during cruise. Thus, insect residue adhesion mitigation is most critical during takeoff and initial climb to maintain laminar flow in fuel-efficient aircraft configurations. Several exterior treatments investigated to mitigate insect residue buildup (e.g., paper, scrapers, surfactants, flexible surfaces) have shown potential; however, implementation has proven to be impractical. Current research is focused on evaluation of wing leading edge surface coatings that may reduce insect residue adhesion. Initial work under NASA's Environmentally Responsible Aviation Program focused on evaluation of several commercially available products (commercial off-the-shelf, COTS), polymers, and substituted alkoxy silanes that were applied to aluminum (Al) substrates. Surface energies of these coatings were determined from contact angle data and were correlated to residual insect excrescence on coated aluminum substrates using a custom-built "bug gun." Quantification of insect excrescence surface coverage was evaluated by a series of digital photographic image processing techniques.

A clearer view of the insect brain – combining bleaching with standard whole-mount immunocytochemistry allows confocal imaging of pigment-covered brain areas for 3D reconstruction.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna Lisa Stöckl

2015-09-01

Full Text Available In the study of insect neuroanatomy, three-dimensional reconstructions of neurons and neuropils have become a standard technique. As images have to be obtained from whole-mount brain preparations, pigmentation on the brain surface poses a serious challenge to imaging. In insects, this is a major problematic in the first visual neuropil of the optic lobe, the lamina, which is obstructed by the pigment of the retina as well as by the pigmented fenestration layer. This has prevented inclusion of this major processing center of the insect visual system into most neuroanatomical brain atlases and hinders imaging of neurons within the lamina by confocal microscopy. It has recently been shown that hydrogen peroxide bleaching is compatible with immunohistochemical labeling in insect brains, and we therefore developed a simple technique for removal of pigments on the surface of insect brains by chemical bleaching. We show that our technique enables imaging of the pigment-obstructed regions of insect brains when combined with standard protocols for both anti-synapsin-labeled as well as neurobiotin-injected samples. This method can be combined with different fixation procedures, as well as different fluorophore excitation wavelengths without negative effects on staining quality. It can therefore serve as an effective addition to most standard histology protocols used in insect neuroanatomy.

RNAi Technology for Insect Management and Protection of Beneficial Insects from Diseases: Lessons, Challenges and Risk Assessments.

Science.gov (United States)

Zotti, M J; Smagghe, G

2015-06-01

The time has passed for us to wonder whether RNA interference (RNAi) effectively controls pest insects or protects beneficial insects from diseases. The RNAi era in insect science began with studies of gene function and genetics that paved the way for the development of novel and highly specific approaches for the management of pest insects and, more recently, for the treatment and prevention of diseases in beneficial insects. The slight differences in components of RNAi pathways are sufficient to provide a high degree of variation in responsiveness among insects. The current framework to assess the negative effects of genetically modified (GM) plants on human health is adequate for RNAi-based GM plants. Because of the mode of action of RNAi and the lack of genomic data for most exposed non-target organisms, it becomes difficult to determine the environmental risks posed by RNAi-based technologies and the benefits provided for the protection of crops. A better understanding of the mechanisms that determine the variability in the sensitivity of insects would accelerate the worldwide release of commercial RNAi-based approaches.

Exploitation of the Medfly Gut Microbiota for the Enhancement of Sterile Insect Technique: Use of Enterobacter sp. in Larval Diet-Based Probiotic Applications.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antonios A Augustinos

Full Text Available The Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly, Ceratitis capitata, is a pest of worldwide substantial economic importance, as well as a Tephritidae model for sterile insect technique (SIT applications. The latter is partially due to the development and utilization of genetic sexing strains (GSS for this species, such as the Vienna 8 strain, which is currently used in mass rearing facilities worldwide. Improving the performance of such a strain both in mass rearing facilities and in the field could significantly enhance the efficacy of SIT and reduce operational costs. Recent studies have suggested that the manipulation of gut symbionts can have a significant positive effect on the overall fitness of insect strains. We used culture-based approaches to isolate and characterize gut-associated bacterial species of the Vienna 8 strain under mass rearing conditions. We also exploited one of the isolated bacterial species, Enterobacter sp., as dietary supplement (probiotic to the larval diet, and we assessed its effects on fitness parameters under the standard operating procedures used in SIT operational programs. Probiotic application of Enterobacter sp. resulted in improvement of both pupal and adult productivity, as well as reduced rearing duration, particularly for males, without affecting pupal weight, sex ratio, male mating competitiveness, flight ability and longevity under starvation.

Exploitation of the Medfly Gut Microbiota for the Enhancement of Sterile Insect Technique: Use of Enterobacter sp. in Larval Diet-Based Probiotic Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Papadopoulos, Nikos T.; Abd-Alla, Adly M. M.; Cáceres, Carlos; Bourtzis, Kostas

2015-01-01

The Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly), Ceratitis capitata, is a pest of worldwide substantial economic importance, as well as a Tephritidae model for sterile insect technique (SIT) applications. The latter is partially due to the development and utilization of genetic sexing strains (GSS) for this species, such as the Vienna 8 strain, which is currently used in mass rearing facilities worldwide. Improving the performance of such a strain both in mass rearing facilities and in the field could significantly enhance the efficacy of SIT and reduce operational costs. Recent studies have suggested that the manipulation of gut symbionts can have a significant positive effect on the overall fitness of insect strains. We used culture-based approaches to isolate and characterize gut-associated bacterial species of the Vienna 8 strain under mass rearing conditions. We also exploited one of the isolated bacterial species, Enterobacter sp., as dietary supplement (probiotic) to the larval diet, and we assessed its effects on fitness parameters under the standard operating procedures used in SIT operational programs. Probiotic application of Enterobacter sp. resulted in improvement of both pupal and adult productivity, as well as reduced rearing duration, particularly for males, without affecting pupal weight, sex ratio, male mating competitiveness, flight ability and longevity under starvation. PMID:26325068

Exchange and fellowship programme

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1959-04-15

By February 1959, the IAEA had received and considered nearly 300 nominations from 31 countries for nuclear science fellowships. More than 200 of the candidates - from 29 countries - had been selected for placement in centres of training in 21 countries. The programme covers three types of training: 1. General techniques training: to develop skills in the use of some fundamental techniques in the field of nuclear energy; 2. Specialist training: to prepare specialists in the theoretical and experimental aspects of the science and technology of nuclear energy; 3. Research training: to provide advanced training, including active participation in research work; this is for persons potentially qualified to develop and carry out research programmes in the basic sciences and engineering. The duration of training varies from some weeks to five or six years. The long-duration training is given at universities or educational establishments of university level, and is of special interest to Member States lacking personnel with the requisite university education. Under its 1959 exchange and fellowship programme, the Agency will be in a position to award over 400 fellowships. Some of these will be paid out of the Agency's operating fund, while 130 fellowships have been offered directly to IAEA by Member States for training at their universities or institutes. There are two new features in the Agency's 1959 programme. One provides for fellowships for scientific research work, the other is the exchange of specialists

Agricultural production - Phase 2. Indonesia. Insect ecology studies and insect pest control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Butt, B.

1992-01-01

This document reviews the activities of the Pest Control Research Group in Indonesia. Pests under study are the diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella), the rice stem borer (Chilo suppressalis), the sugar cane borer (Chilo auricilius), bean flies (Agromyza spp.), tobacco insects (Heliothis armigera and Spodoptera litura) and cotton insects, especially the pink bollworm

Potential applications of insect symbionts in biotechnology.

Science.gov (United States)

Berasategui, Aileen; Shukla, Shantanu; Salem, Hassan; Kaltenpoth, Martin

2016-02-01

Symbiotic interactions between insects and microorganisms are widespread in nature and are often the source of ecological innovations. In addition to supplementing their host with essential nutrients, microbial symbionts can produce enzymes that help degrade their food source as well as small molecules that defend against pathogens, parasites, and predators. As such, the study of insect ecology and symbiosis represents an important source of chemical compounds and enzymes with potential biotechnological value. In addition, the knowledge on insect symbiosis can provide novel avenues for the control of agricultural pest insects and vectors of human diseases, through targeted manipulation of the symbionts or the host-symbiont associations. Here, we discuss different insect-microbe interactions that can be exploited for insect pest and human disease control, as well as in human medicine and industrial processes. Our aim is to raise awareness that insect symbionts can be interesting sources of biotechnological applications and that knowledge on insect ecology can guide targeted efforts to discover microorganisms of applied value.

21 CFR 1250.95 - Insect control.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Insect control. 1250.95 Section 1250.95 Food and... SANITATION Sanitation Facilities and Conditions on Vessels § 1250.95 Insect control. Vessels shall be... generally accepted methods of insect control. ...

Herbivory increases diversification across insect clades.

Science.gov (United States)

Wiens, John J; Lapoint, Richard T; Whiteman, Noah K

2015-09-24

Insects contain more than half of all living species, but the causes of their remarkable diversity remain poorly understood. Many authors have suggested that herbivory has accelerated diversification in many insect clades. However, others have questioned the role of herbivory in insect diversification. Here, we test the relationships between herbivory and insect diversification across multiple scales. We find a strong, positive relationship between herbivory and diversification among insect orders. However, herbivory explains less variation in diversification within some orders (Diptera, Hemiptera) or shows no significant relationship with diversification in others (Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, Orthoptera). Thus, we support the overall importance of herbivory for insect diversification, but also show that its impacts can vary across scales and clades. In summary, our results illuminate the causes of species richness patterns in a group containing most living species, and show the importance of ecological impacts on diversification in explaining the diversity of life.

Beneficial Insects: Beetles

OpenAIRE

Hodgson, Erin W.; Patterson, Ron

2007-01-01

There are many beneficial beetles in Utah besides lady beetles or ladybugs. Beetles can significantly reduce common insect and weed problems and in some cases eliminate the need for chemical control. Examples of beneficial beetles include: ground beetles, rove beetles, tiger beetles and tortoise beetles. Many of these beetles are native to Utah, while others have been purposely introduced to help control damage from exotic insect and weed pests.

Insect Peptides - Perspectives in Human Diseases Treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Chowanski, Szymon; Adamski, Zbigniew; Lubawy, Jan; Marciniak, Pawel; Pacholska-Bogalska, Joanna; Slocinska, Malgorzata; Spochacz, Marta; Szymczak, Monika; Urbanski, Arkadiusz; Walkowiak-Nowicka, Karolina; Rosinski, Grzegorz

2017-01-01

Insects are the largest and the most widely distributed group of animals in the world. Their diversity is a source of incredible variety of different mechanisms of life processes regulation. There are many agents that regulate immunology, reproduction, growth and development or metabolism. Hence, it seems that insects may be a source of numerous substances useful in human diseases treatment. Especially important in the regulation of insect physiology are peptides, like neuropeptides, peptide hormones or antimicrobial peptides. There are two main aspects where they can be helpful, 1) Peptides isolated from insects may become potential drugs in therapy of different diseases, 2) A lot of insect peptide hormones show structural or functional homology to mammalian peptide hormones and the comparative studies may give a new look on human disorders. In our review we focused on three group of insect derived peptides: 1) immune-active peptides, 2) peptide hormones and 3) peptides present in venoms. In our review we try to show the considerable potential of insect peptides in searching for new solutions for mammalian diseases treatment. We summarise the knowledge about properties of insect peptides against different virulent agents, anti-inflammatory or anti-nociceptive properties as well as compare insect and mammalian/vertebrate peptide endocrine system to indicate usefulness of knowledge about insect peptide hormones in drug design. The field of possible using of insect delivered peptide to therapy of various human diseases is still not sufficiently explored. Undoubtedly, more attention should be paid to insects due to searching new drugs. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

Insects, isotopes and radiations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lingkvist, D.A.

1987-01-01

The IAEA activity on coordinating the IAEA member-state efforts in the field of pest control is considered. A complex program of agricultural pest control (IPM), applied in many parts of the world is developed. The program provides for the use of natural means of control and cases of critical pest numbers-the use of insecticides. When controlling certain types of insects it is advisable to apply the 'large area control' methods which provide for the insect destruction in places of their concentration prior to migration. Methods of pest control over large areas also include radiation sexual sterilization method (SSM), application of insect phoromons (sexual attractants) to prevent mating, other types of chemical attractants, traps, mass cultivation and reproduction of parasite plants and animals, destroying insects, as well as improvement of host-plant resistance. A great attention is paid to isotope and radiation application in pest control (labelling, sexual sterilization using ionising radiation, radiation application in genetic engineering, mutant plant cultivation)

Design techniques for a stable operation of cryogenic field-programmable gate arrays

Science.gov (United States)

Homulle, Harald; Visser, Stefan; Patra, Bishnu; Charbon, Edoardo

2018-01-01

In this paper, we show how a deep-submicron field-programmable gate array (FPGA) can be operated more stably at extremely low temperatures through special firmware design techniques. Stability at low temperatures is limited through long power supply wires and reduced performance of various printed circuit board components commonly employed at room temperature. Extensive characterization of these components shows that the majority of decoupling capacitor types and voltage regulators are not well behaved at cryogenic temperatures, asking for an ad hoc solution to stabilize the FPGA supply voltage, especially for sensitive applications. Therefore, we have designed a firmware that enforces a constant power consumption, so as to stabilize the supply voltage in the interior of the FPGA. The FPGA is powered with a supply at several meters distance, causing significant resistive voltage drop and thus fluctuations on the local supply voltage. To achieve the stabilization, the variation in digital logic speed, which directly corresponds to changes in supply voltage, is constantly measured and corrected for through a tunable oscillator farm, implemented on the FPGA. The impact of the stabilization technique is demonstrated together with a reconfigurable analog-to-digital converter (ADC), completely implemented in the FPGA fabric and operating at 15 K. The ADC performance can be improved by at most 1.5 bits (effective number of bits) thanks to the more stable supply voltage. The method is versatile and robust, enabling seamless porting to other FPGA families and configurations.

Attention-like processes in insects.

Science.gov (United States)

Nityananda, Vivek

2016-11-16

Attention is fundamentally important for sensory systems to focus on behaviourally relevant stimuli. It has therefore been an important field of study in human psychology and neuroscience. Primates, however, are not the only animals that might benefit from attention-like processes. Other animals, including insects, also have to use their senses and select one among many stimuli to forage, avoid predators and find mates. They have evolved different mechanisms to reduce the information processed by their brains to focus on only relevant stimuli. What are the mechanisms used by insects to selectively attend to visual and auditory stimuli? Do these attention-like mechanisms achieve the same functions as they do in primates? To investigate these questions, I use an established framework for investigating attention in non-human animals that proposes four fundamental components of attention: salience filters, competitive selection, top-down sensitivity control and working memory. I discuss evidence for each of these component processes in insects and compare the characteristics of these processes in insects to what we know from primates. Finally, I highlight important outstanding questions about insect attention that need to be addressed for us to understand the differences and similarities between vertebrate and insect attention. © 2016 The Author(s).

Enabling technologies to improve area-wide integrated pest management programmes for the control of screwworms.

Science.gov (United States)

Robinson, A S; Vreysen, M J B; Hendrichs, J; Feldmann, U

2009-06-01

The economic devastation caused in the past by the New World screwworm fly Cochliomyia hominivorax (Coquerel) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) to the livestock industry in the U.S.A., Mexico and the rest of Central America was staggering. The eradication of this major livestock pest from North and Central America using the sterile insect technique (SIT) as part of an area-wide integrated pest management (AW-IPM) programme was a phenomenal technical and managerial accomplishment with enormous economic implications. The area is maintained screwworm-free by the weekly release of 40 million sterile flies in the Darien Gap in Panama, which prevents migration from screwworm-infested areas in Columbia. However, the species is still a major pest in many areas of the Caribbean and South America and there is considerable interest in extending the eradication programme to these countries. Understanding New World screwworm fly populations in the Caribbean and South America, which represent a continuous threat to the screwworm-free areas of Central America and the U.S.A., is a prerequisite to any future eradication campaigns. The Old World screwworm fly Chrysomya bezziana Villeneuve (Diptera: Calliphoridae) has a very wide distribution ranging from Southern Africa to Papua New Guinea and, although its economic importance is assumed to be less than that of its New World counterpart, it is a serious pest in extensive livestock production and a constant threat to pest-free areas such as Australia. In the 1980s repeated introductions and an expansion of Old World screwworm populations were reported in the Middle East; in the 1990s it invaded Iraq and since late 2007 it has been reported in Yemen, where a severe outbreak of myiasis occurred in 2008. Small-scale field trials have shown the potential of integrating the SIT in the control of this pest and various international organizations are considering using the release of sterile insects as part of an AW-IPM approach on a much wider scale

Plant responses to insect egg deposition

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hilker, M.; Fatouros, N.E.

2015-01-01

Plants can respond to insect egg deposition and thus resist attack by herbivorous insects from the beginning of the attack, egg deposition. We review ecological effects of plant responses to insect eggs and differentiate between egg-induced plant defenses that directly harm the eggs and indirect

Evaluation of hazardous chemicals in edible insects and insect-based food intended for human consumption.

Science.gov (United States)

Poma, Giulia; Cuykx, Matthias; Amato, Elvio; Calaprice, Chiara; Focant, Jean Francois; Covaci, Adrian

2017-02-01

Due to the rapid increase in world population, the waste of food and resources, and non-sustainable food production practices, the use of alternative food sources is currently strongly promoted. In this perspective, insects may represent a valuable alternative to main animal food sources due to their nutritional value and sustainable production. However, edible insects may be perceived as an unappealing food source and are indeed rarely consumed in developed countries. The food safety of edible insects can thus contribute to the process of acceptance of insects as an alternative food source, changing the perception of developed countries regarding entomophagy. In the present study, the levels of organic contaminants (i.e. flame retardants, PCBs, DDT, dioxin compounds, pesticides) and metals (As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Sn, Zn) were investigated in composite samples of several species of edible insects (greater wax moth, migratory locust, mealworm beetle, buffalo worm) and four insect-based food items currently commercialized in Belgium. The organic chemical mass fractions were relatively low (PCBs: 27-2065 pg/g ww; OCPs: 46-368 pg/g ww; BFRs: up to 36 pg/g ww; PFRs 783-23800 pg/g ww; dioxin compounds: up to 0.25 pg WHO-TEQ/g ww) and were generally lower than those measured in common animal products. The untargeted screening analysis revealed the presence of vinyltoluene, tributylphosphate (present in 75% of the samples), and pirimiphos-methyl (identified in 50% of the samples). The levels of Cu and Zn in insects were similar to those measured in meat and fish in other studies, whereas As, Co, Cr, Pb, Sn levels were relatively low in all samples (consume these insect species with no additional hazards in comparison to the more commonly consumed animal products. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

ORAL INSECT REPELLENTS - INSECT TASTE RECEPTORS AND THEIR ACTION,

Science.gov (United States)

CULICIDAE, * CHEMORECEPTORS ), INSECT REPELLENTS, ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY, STIMULATION(PHYSIOLOGY), ELECTROLYTES(PHYSIOLOGY), BLOOD, INGESTION(PHYSIOLOGY), REPRODUCTION(PHYSIOLOGY), NUTRITION, ENTOMOLOGY, AEDES, MOUTH

Co-ordinated research programme on nuclear techniques for toxic elements in foodstuffs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1990-01-01

This Co-ordinated Research Programme (CRP) was started by the Agency in 1985, within the framework of the Regional Cooperative Agreement for Research, Development and Training Related to Nuclear Science and Technology in the Asia and Pacific Region (RCA). Its main purpose has been to obtain comparative data on existing elemental concentrations of potentially toxic elements in foodstuffs in various Asian countries. The elements to be studied include the potentially most toxic trace elements (As, Cd, Hg, Pb, Se) as well as others of relevance to national monitoring programmes, such as Br, Cr, Cu, Fe, I, Mn, Sb, Tl, and Zn. An important supplementary purpose of the programme is to help establish analytical expertise for work of this kind in the individual countries. Scientists from several RCA Member States have participated in it, namely from Australia, Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Thailand, and also from institutes in several countries outside the region, i.e., Argentina, Brazil, Jamaica and The Netherlands. This report summarizes the discussions that took place during the third and final Research Co-ordination Meeting (RCM) for the programme from 20-24 November 1989, in Jakarta, Indonesia. This document includes the progress reports presented by the participants as well as discussions and conclusions drawn from the meeting

Evidence required for establishing the absence of tsetse and trypanosomosis associated with tsetse eradication programmes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McDermott, J.J.

2000-01-01

This paper considers entomological and epidemiological criteria for establishing the absence of tsetse and trypanosomosis associated with tsetse eradication programmes. The sampling goal is simple - to maximise the probability of detecting tsetse flies in the field or trypanosomes in hosts, if they exist. Sampling strategies cannot guarantee the absence of tsetse and trypanosomes but they can be used to estimate the probability of their eradication. Because tsetse eradication programmes are targeted at defined areas, geographical information system (GIS) tools are very useful in guiding spatial sampling strategies. Two approaches to assess tsetse eradication are discussed. The first depends only on information on the sensitivity of tsetse trapping methods used. The second combines information on pre-eradication tsetse trapping and the proportion of time during which no tsetse have been trapped, assuming either a stable or declining (preferred) pre-eradication tsetse population. For establishing the absence of trypanosomosis in host populations, there are standard sampling techniques that can be adjusted for the sensitivity and specificity of the trypanosome detection methods used. Required sample sizes can be calculated for both direct trypanosome detection methods of 100% specificity or indirect tests with imperfect sensitivity and specificity. For the latter, both the sample size and the number of reactors (assumed to be false positive) are estimated for the required confidence level. These entomological and epidemiological methods were then applied to assess the eradication of tsetse and trypanosomosis from Unguja island of Zanzibar using the sterile insect technique (SIT). Pre- and post-eradication data collected were sufficient to establish with 95% confidence that both tsetse and trypanosomosis were eradicated. (author)

Insects on pig carcasses as a model for predictor of death interval in forensic medicine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sunny Wangko

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Background: Forensic entomology has not been acknowledged in Indonesia so far. Indonesian carrion insects are very rarely reported. The aim of this study was to obtain the types of insects on pig carcasses that could be used for the estimation of post-mortem interval.Methods: Four domestic pigs sacrificed with different methods were used as a model. The carcasses were observed twice daily (around 9 a.m and 4 p.m during 15 days to assess the stages of decomposition and to collect insects, both in mature and immature stages. The immature insects were reared and the mature insects were indentified in the Laboratory of Pests and Plant Diseases, University of Sam Ratulangi, Manado. Chrysomya megacephala and C. rufifacies were identified both morphologically and with deoxyribose-nucleic acid (DNA techniques.Results: Five stages of decomposition (fresh, bloated, active decay, post-decay, and skeletonization were observed. A total of 11 Diptera and 8 Coleoptera species were found during a 15-days succession study. Chrysomya megacephala, C. rufifacies and Hermetia illucens colonized in all carcasses.Conclusion: Insects found on four different pig carcasses consisted mainly of widespread Diptera and Coleoptera. Chrysomya megacephala, C. rufifacies and Hermetia illucens seemed to be primary candidates for the estimation of the post-mortem interval.

Designing and implementing a geographical information system: A guide for managers of area-wide pest management programmes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2006-04-01

Over the past two decades, the use of computer software and mapping methods known as geographical information systems (GIS) has been adopted by an ever growing variety of professionals. Every activity that deals with location dependent information can use GIS, and agriculture is no exception. The potential of GIS and remote sensing (RS) to facilitate the planning and implementation of areawide integrated pest management (AW-IPM) programmes is enormous but unfortunately, these methods are still much underused. AW-IPM programmes, especially those that integrate the sterile insect technique (SIT) with other surveillance and control methods, would benefit considerably by drawing on GIS/RS. These programmes are often implemented over large areas of even tens of thousands of square kilometres, where surveillance methods are deployed and large data sets are systematically generated on a daily basis. The acquisition of geo-referenced data sets on pest presence/absence, relative abundance, disease prevalence, crop damage, etc., that will allow accurate spatial and temporal analysis is important for proper and timely decision making to efficiently plan and implement any operational pest management programme. Animal health and plant protection officials and pest control programme managers might be intuitively aware of the importance of employing GIS as an analytical tool. However, they often lack a deeper understanding of its capabilities. Since GIS is a desk exercise using computers, data analysis is often left to the computer staff without proper directives from the programme managers on programmatic needs. This is unfortunate as it will usually NOT bring the desired GIS-processed information to the decision makers. This manual targets area-wide pest control programme administrators and managers of FAO and IAEA Member States in an attempt to demonstrate the type of data processing and spatial analysis that can be expected of GIS. The manual does not aim to provide

Insects diversity in lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

WIWIN SETIAWATI

2005-10-01

Full Text Available Lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus is a vegetable which usually made as a home yard plant for Indonesian people to fulfill their daily needs. This plant has not been produced in the large number by the farmer. So it is hard to find in the market. Lima bean is light by many kind of insect. Inventory, identification and the study of insect taxon to this plant is being done to collect some information about the insect who life in the plant. The research was done in Balitsa experiment garden in the district of Lembang in Bandung regency on November 2003-February 2004, the experiment start at 4 weeks age, at the height of 1260 m over the sea level. The observation was made systematically by absolute method (D-vac macine and relative method (sweeping net. The research so that there were 26 species of phytofagous insect, 9 species of predator insect, 6 species of parasitoid insect, 4 species of pollinator and 14 species of scavenger insect. According to the research the highest species number was got in the 8th week (3rd sampling, which had 27 variety of species, so the highest diversity was also got in this with 2,113 point. Aphididae and Cicadellidae was the most insect found in roay plant. The research also had high number of species insect so the diversity of insect and evenness become high. A community will have the high stability if it is a long with the high diversity. High evenness in community that has low species dominance and high species number of insect so the high of species richness.

Nuclear techniques in agriculture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bhagwat, S.G.

2012-01-01

Crops provide us food grains and many other products. Demand for food and other agricultural products is increasing. There is also need for improvement of quality of the agricultural produce. There are several technologies in use for achieving the goal of increasing the quantity and quality of agricultural produce. Nuclear techniques provide us with an option which has certain advantages. The characteristics of crop plants are determined by the genetic make up of the plant. Traditionally the genetic make up was modified using conventional breeding techniques such as cross breeding to improve crops for yield, disease resistance, stress tolerance, resistance to insect pests or to improve quality. New varieties of crops are produced which replace the earlier ones and thus the demands are met. The process of development of new varieties is long and time consuming. Nuclear technique called mutation breeding provides an efficient way of breeding new varieties or improving the older ones. This technique merely enhances the process of occurrence of mutations. In nature mutations occur at a rate of approximately one in a million, while when mutations are induced using radiations such as gamma rays the efficiency of inducing mutations is enhanced. Useful mutations are selected, the mutants are evaluated and developed as a new variety. In the Nuclear Agriculture and Biotechnology Division (NA and BTD) this technique has been used to develop mutants of many crop plants. The mutants can be used to develop a variety directly or by using it in further breeding programme. Using these approaches the NA and BTD has developed 40 new varieties of crops such as groundnut, mungbean, urid, pigeon pea, mustard, soybean, sunflower, cowpea, jute. These varieties are developed in collaboration with other agricultural institutions and are popular among the farming community. The method of mutation breeding can be applied to many other crops for improvement. There is increasing interest among

Stiffness distribution in insect cuticle: a continuous or a discontinuous profile?

Science.gov (United States)

Rajabi, H; Jafarpour, M; Darvizeh, A; Dirks, J-H; Gorb, S N

2017-07-01

Insect cuticle is a biological composite with a high degree of complexity in terms of both architecture and material composition. Given the complex morphology of many insect body parts, finite-element (FE) models play an important role in the analysis and interpretation of biomechanical measurements, taken by either macroscopic or nanoscopic techniques. Many previous studies show that the interpretation of nanoindentation measurements of this layered composite material is very challenging. To develop accurate FE models, it is of particular interest to understand more about the variations in the stiffness through the thickness of the cuticle. Considering the difficulties of making direct measurements, in this study, we use the FE method to analyse previously published data and address this issue numerically. For this purpose, sets of continuous or discontinuous stiffness profiles through the thickness of the cuticle were mathematically described. The obtained profiles were assigned to models developed based on the cuticle of three insect species with different geometries and layer configurations. The models were then used to simulate the mechanical behaviour of insect cuticles subjected to nanoindentation experiments. Our results show that FE models with discontinuous exponential stiffness gradients along their thickness were able to predict the stress and deformation states in insect cuticle very well. Our results further suggest that, for more accurate measurements and interpretation of nanoindentation test data, the ratio of the indentation depth to cuticle thickness should be limited to 7% rather than the traditional '10% rule'. The results of this study thus might be useful to provide a deeper insight into the biomechanical consequences of the distinct material distribution in insect cuticle and also to form a basis for more realistic modelling of this complex natural composite. © 2017 The Author(s).

A special evaluation: The ARCAL programme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-01-01

The Regional Co-operative Arrangements for the Promotion of Nuclear Science and Technology in Latin America, ARCAL, came into being in 1983. At a meeting held in Vienna in September 1984, ten Latin American countries agreed to participate in the programme, the Guidelines setting up the structure of the programme were approved and nine areas of development were identified to initiate project activities. The programme, which is now in its second phase and in its ninth year of implementation, has 17 Member States and includes fifteen projects. Total disbursements under the ARCAL programme during the period 1983 - 1991 amounted to $8.5 million, including $5.4 million from the Technical Assistance and Co-operation Fund (TACF), $2.2 million from extrabudgetary sources, and some $0.9 million in the form of in-kind contributions. As of September 1992, equipment totaling $3.5 million, 385 man-months of expert services, and 108 fellowships for approximately 150 man-months of training had been provided to ARCAL Member States within the context of fifteen ARCAL projects. In addition, 1844 Latin Americans were trained in 194 ARCAL training courses. The evaluation concluded that, as a result of the ARCAL programme, there is now better knowledge in participating countries about nuclear techniques and technology, as well as greater awareness at most levels of the importance of radiological safety and of the need to implement radiation protection measures, both a the national and at the regional level. The programme has contributed to developing and/or improving capabilities in the region in various applications of nuclear techniques through training activities. The programme has further allowed the establishment of regional collaborative links, particularly between countries with similar interests, in important fields of application, such as agriculture and nuclear medicine. Figs and tabs

The Potential of the Sterile Insect Technique and other Genetic Methods for Control of Malaria-Transmitting Mosquitoes. Report of a Consultants Meeting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-01-01

This report updates information provided by a 1993 consultant group on the use of genetic methods for control of malaria-transmitting mosquitoes. Human malaria parasites of the genus Plasmodium are exclusively transmitted by mosquitoes of the genus Anopheles. Where these two groups co-exist, the transmission of the parasite to humans can create a major health problem. Malaria currently causes 2 million deaths world-wide and approximately 400 million clinical cases annually. There are ca. 15 major vector species and 30-40 vectors of lesser importance. This report considers the practicality of developing the sterile insect technique (SIT) or other genetic mechanisms in order to eradicate mosquito vectors from specific areas. This would interrupt transmission and eliminate malaria in those areas.

Perspective of using the sterile insect technique for Tobacco Budworms Heliothis virescens (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) and Cotton Bollworm Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in cotton crop as an alternative method of control; Perspectiva de utilizacao da Tecnica do Inseto Esteril para lagarta da maca Heliothis virescens (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) e lagarta do velho mundo Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) na cultura do algodoeiro como um metodo alternativo de controle

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Haddad, Gianni Queiroz

2017-07-01

Since the 1950s, scientists have used ionizing radiation to sterilize insects, which are released in nature to mate, but without any progeny. Known as the sterile insect technique (TIE), this method of insect control has traditionally used ionizing radiation to sterilize insects, a technique that does not generate residues, and can act in synergy with the other techniques within integrated pest management. For several years, Brazil has been fighting against the increase of pests, introducing new tactics and techniques within the IPM programs, to overcome the resistance of chemical products, such as: reducing the residues of agrochemicals; For some important crops of our country, we have a wide spectrum of pests occurring from the beginning to the end of the harvest, one of them is the cotton crop and among the key pests of this crop, we have some extremely important caterpillars, among them Heliothis virescens and Helicoverpa armigera These species are morphologically similar, the second being identified a few years ago in Brazil. There are still no studies in Brazil using TIE as an additional tool for Lepidoptera, therefore the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of doses of gamma radiation in the different phases of the evolutionary cycle of Heliothis virescens and Helicoverpa armigera, as well as to evaluate the sterility in generation P And the ability of insects to irradiate with non-irradiated insects. The pupal phase presented the best result because 75 Gy achieved sterility in Heliothis virecens and 100 Gy sterilized Helicoverpa armigera, therefore it contemplated the phase and dose chosen to evaluate the competition between the irradiated insects and the normal insects of both species. Both Heliothis virecens and Helicoverpa armigera presented a satisfactory result, as the irradiated insects managed to significantly reduce the viability of the eggs in a ratio of 9: 1: 1. (author)

The use of radiation induced sterility for the control of the codling moth. Part of a coordinated programme on the use of the sterile male technique for the control of lepidopterous insects attacking fruit and forest trees

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jermy, T.

1977-12-01

Studies were conducted from 1973 - 1977 in Hungary to obtain background information necessary for the implementation of sterile insect techniques (SIT) and pest management systems. The flight of the codling moth (CM), monitored by sex-pheromone traps, lasted from May to September. The two peaks (corresponding to the two generations per year) and the break between the two flights appeared blurred, i.e. control measures should be carried out nearly continuously during the whole season. The number of CM pairs was estimated by the release-recapture method as 100 to 500 per ha in mid-summer in an untreated orchard. Such naturally occurring low population levels could help initiating successful SIT against the CM even in not thoroughly treated apple stands. Mixed house gardens containing abandoned host trees have to be considered in Hungary as the main reservoir of the supposed ''semiwild type'' CM. Oak forests proved to harbour autonomous ''wild type'' CM populations on wild apple and sorb trees. The chemically well treated apple orchards have generally very low ''farm type'' CM populations. Natural occurrence of the CM granulosis virus in larvae developing in wild apples has been found. Transmission of the virus in laboratory rearings by the mite Tyrophagus putrescentiae was detected. Spraying with virus suspensions fully protected apples against the CM; however, no spread of the virus to neighbouring untreated trees was observed. Surveys for other major insect pests (Lepidoptera, aphids and scales) of apples were also made and the high population levels of several species in the untreated apple stands have been found indicating that (1) natural control generally cannot reduce these populations to an economically acceptable level, and (2) the SIT against the CM must be combined with chemical treatments or with selective methods against these species. Based on a theoretical analysis of economic aspects of the SIT for codling moth control, it was found that in Hungary

Radioisotopes and food preservation against insects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hachem Ahmad, M.S.

1998-01-01

The book describes how to preserve food from harmful insects by using radioisotopes. It focusses on the impact of ionized radiation on the different stages of insect growth and on its metabolism and immunity. It also discusses the relationship between radiation doses and insect reproduction. It explains the various methods to detect the irradiated foods

Microbiology of processed edible insect products - Results of a preliminary survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Grabowski, Nils Th; Klein, Günter

2017-02-21

Little is known of the microbiology of processed insect products. The present survey analysed a total of n=38 samples of deep-fried and spiced (Acheta domesticus, Locusta migratoria, and Omphisa fuscidentalis), cooked in soy sauce ("tsukudani"; Oxya yezoensis, Vespula flaviceps, and Bombyx mori), dried (A. domesticus, L. migatoria, Alphitobius diaperinus, Tenebrio molitor, B. mori, Hermetia illucens, and Musca domestica), powdered (H. illucens, T. molitor) and other (incl. deep-frozen B. mori and honeybee pollen) insect products microbiologically (total bacterial count [TBC], Enterobacteriaceae, staphylococci, bacilli, and yeasts and moulds counts, salmonellae, Listeria monocytogenes, and Escherichia coli). Although each product type revealed a microbiological profile of its own, dried and powdered insects ("class I") displayed markedly higher counts than the deep-fried and cooked ones ("class II"). Thresholds between class I and II products were estimated at 4.0 (TBC), 1.0 (Enterobacteriaceae, yeasts and moulds), 2.5 (staphylococci), and 3.0lgcfu/g (bacilli). All samples were negative for salmonellae, L. monocytogenes, E. coli and Stapyhlococcus aureus, but dried and powdered insects, as well as pollen, contained B. cereus, coliforms, Serratia liquefaciens, Listeria ivanovii, Mucor spp., Aspergillus spp., Penicillium spp., and Cryptococcus neoformans. Comparing the results with the hygiene criteria for edible insects proposed by Belgium and the Netherlands, class I products failed to comply with many bacterial count limits despite the absence of classical food pathogens. Therefore, class I products should always be consumed after another heating step as indicated by the manufacturer, until drying techniques are able to ensure lower bacterial counts. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Postharvest processes of edible insects in Africa: A review of processing methods, and the implications for nutrition, safety and new products development.

Science.gov (United States)

Mutungi, C; Irungu, F G; Nduko, J; Mutua, F; Affognon, H; Nakimbugwe, D; Ekesi, S; Fiaboe, K K M

2017-08-30

In many African cultures, insects are part of the diet of humans and domesticated animals. Compared to conventional food and feed sources, insects have been associated with a low ecological foot print because fewer natural resources are required for their production. To this end, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations recognized the role that edible insects can play in improving global food and nutrition security; processing technologies, as well as packaging and storage techniques that improve shelf-life were identified as being crucial. However, knowledge of these aspects in light of nutritional value, safety, and functionality is fragmentary and needs to be consolidated. This review attempts to contribute to this effort by evaluating the available evidence on postharvest processes for edible insects in Africa, with the aim of identifying areas that need research impetus. It further draws attention to potential postharvest technology options for overcoming hurdles associated with utilization of insects for food and feed. A greater research thrust is needed in processing and this can build on traditional knowledge. The focus should be to establish optimal techniques that improve presentation, quality and safety of products, and open possibilities to diversify use of edible insects for other benefits.

Diseases in insects produced for food and feed

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Eilenberg, Jørgen; Vlak, J.M.; Nielsen-Leroux, C.

2015-01-01

Increased production of insects on a large scale for food and feed will likely lead to many novel challenges, including problems with diseases. We provide an overview of important groups of insect pathogens, which can cause disease in insects produced for food and feed. Main characteristics of each...... pathogen group (viruses, bacteria, fungi, protists and nematodes) are described and illustrated, with a selection of examples from the most commonly produced insect species for food and feed. Honeybee and silkworm are mostly produced for other reasons than as human food, yet we can still use them...... as examples to learn about emergence of new diseases in production insects. Results from a 2014 survey about insect diseases in current insect production systems are presented for the first time. Finally, we give some recommendations for the prevention and control of insect diseases. Key words: disease...

The extraembryonic serosa protects the insect egg against desiccation

Science.gov (United States)

Jacobs, Chris G. C.; Rezende, Gustavo L.; Lamers, Gerda E. M.; van der Zee, Maurijn

2013-01-01

Insects have been extraordinarily successful in occupying terrestrial habitats, in contrast to their mostly aquatic sister group, the crustaceans. This success is typically attributed to adult traits such as flight, whereas little attention has been paid to adaptation of the egg. An evolutionary novelty of insect eggs is the serosa, an extraembryonic membrane that enfolds the embryo and secretes a cuticle. To experimentally test the protective function of the serosa, we exploit an exceptional possibility to eliminate this membrane by zerknüllt1 RNAi in the beetle Tribolium castaneum. We analyse hatching rates of eggs under a range of humidities and find dramatically decreasing hatching rates with decreasing humidities for serosa-less eggs, but not for control eggs. Furthermore, we show serosal expression of Tc-chitin-synthase1 and demonstrate that its knock-down leads to absence of the serosal cuticle and a reduction in hatching rates at low humidities. These developmental genetic techniques in combination with ecological testing provide experimental evidence for a crucial role of the serosa in desiccation resistance. We propose that the origin of this extraembryonic membrane facilitated the spectacular radiation of insects on land, as did the origin of the amniote egg in the terrestrial invasion of vertebrates. PMID:23782888

Insect Consumption to Address Undernutrition, a National Survey on the Prevalence of Insect Consumption among Adults and Vendors in Laos.

Science.gov (United States)

Barennes, Hubert; Phimmasane, Maniphet; Rajaonarivo, Christian

2015-01-01

Insect consumption (entomophagy) is a potentially high nutritious and healthy source of food with high fat, protein, vitamin, fiber and micronutrient content. At least 2 billion people globally eat insects (over 1900 edible species) though this habit is regarded negatively by others. There is a limited amount of data on the perception and consumption of insects. We conducted a national cross-sectional survey in the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Laos) to assess the prevalence and characteristics of insect consumption among adult lay people and insect vendors. We conducted a multi stage randomized national survey in 1303 households in 96 villages in 16 Lao provinces. Three insect vendors or collectors per village were also included. A standardized pretested questionnaire addressed the following issues: socioeconomic characteristics, type of insects consumed and frequency of consumption, reasons and trends in consumption as well as reports on side effects, over the last 10 years. A total of 1059 adults (Sex ratio F/M: 1.2, 30 ethnic groups), and 256 vendors were enrolled. A total of 1025 (96.8%) lay people were currently insect consumers, 135 (13.0%) daily or weekly consumers, and 322 (31.1%) consumed several times per month. For the majority (575, 55.6%) the consumption was infrequent (less than a few times per year) and only 22 (2%) had never eaten insects. Consumption started in childhood. Insect availability was seasonal (670, 63.2%) and respondents would have eaten more insects, if they had been more available (919, 86.7%). Hmong and Leu ethnic groups had significantly lower consumption levels than the general population. Eggs of weaver ants, short-tailed crickets, crickets, grasshoppers, and cicadas were the top 5 insects consumed. Consumption had decreased in the last decade, mostly due to less availability (869; 84.0%) and change of life (29; 5.5%). Of 1059, 80 (7.5%) reported allergy problems and 106 (10.0%) reported some use in traditional medicine. A

Insect Consumption to Address Undernutrition, a National Survey on the Prevalence of Insect Consumption among Adults and Vendors in Laos.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hubert Barennes

Full Text Available Insect consumption (entomophagy is a potentially high nutritious and healthy source of food with high fat, protein, vitamin, fiber and micronutrient content. At least 2 billion people globally eat insects (over 1900 edible species though this habit is regarded negatively by others. There is a limited amount of data on the perception and consumption of insects. We conducted a national cross-sectional survey in the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Laos to assess the prevalence and characteristics of insect consumption among adult lay people and insect vendors.We conducted a multi stage randomized national survey in 1303 households in 96 villages in 16 Lao provinces. Three insect vendors or collectors per village were also included. A standardized pretested questionnaire addressed the following issues: socioeconomic characteristics, type of insects consumed and frequency of consumption, reasons and trends in consumption as well as reports on side effects, over the last 10 years.A total of 1059 adults (Sex ratio F/M: 1.2, 30 ethnic groups, and 256 vendors were enrolled. A total of 1025 (96.8% lay people were currently insect consumers, 135 (13.0% daily or weekly consumers, and 322 (31.1% consumed several times per month. For the majority (575, 55.6% the consumption was infrequent (less than a few times per year and only 22 (2% had never eaten insects. Consumption started in childhood. Insect availability was seasonal (670, 63.2% and respondents would have eaten more insects, if they had been more available (919, 86.7%. Hmong and Leu ethnic groups had significantly lower consumption levels than the general population. Eggs of weaver ants, short-tailed crickets, crickets, grasshoppers, and cicadas were the top 5 insects consumed. Consumption had decreased in the last decade, mostly due to less availability (869; 84.0% and change of life (29; 5.5%. Of 1059, 80 (7.5% reported allergy problems and 106 (10.0% reported some use in traditional medicine. A

Bugs, butterflies, and spiders: children's understandings about insects

Science.gov (United States)

Shepardson, Daniel P.

2002-06-01

This article explores elementary children's ideas about insects. The study involved 20 children from each grade level, kindergarten through fifth-grade, for a total of 120 children. The data collection procedure was designed to investigate what an insect means to children, through the use of three different tasks: draw and explain, interview about instances, and the formulation of a general rule. Considering children's responses to the three tasks, I found that their ideas about insects reflect understandings based on physical characteristics of size and shape, arthropod characteristics, insect characteristics, human-insect interactions, life habits of insects, feeding habits of insects, and means of locomotion. Children's understandings are juxtaposed to that of a scientific perspective, elucidating implications for curriculum development and instructional practice.

Testing mechanistic models of growth in insects.

Science.gov (United States)

Maino, James L; Kearney, Michael R

2015-11-22

Insects are typified by their small size, large numbers, impressive reproductive output and rapid growth. However, insect growth is not simply rapid; rather, insects follow a qualitatively distinct trajectory to many other animals. Here we present a mechanistic growth model for insects and show that increasing specific assimilation during the growth phase can explain the near-exponential growth trajectory of insects. The presented model is tested against growth data on 50 insects, and compared against other mechanistic growth models. Unlike the other mechanistic models, our growth model predicts energy reserves per biomass to increase with age, which implies a higher production efficiency and energy density of biomass in later instars. These predictions are tested against data compiled from the literature whereby it is confirmed that insects increase their production efficiency (by 24 percentage points) and energy density (by 4 J mg(-1)) between hatching and the attainment of full size. The model suggests that insects achieve greater production efficiencies and enhanced growth rates by increasing specific assimilation and increasing energy reserves per biomass, which are less costly to maintain than structural biomass. Our findings illustrate how the explanatory and predictive power of mechanistic growth models comes from their grounding in underlying biological processes. © 2015 The Author(s).

Histochemical and molecular evaluation of the prevalence of Leishmania spp. in hematophagous insects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Willian Marinho Dourado Coelho

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The prevalence study of Leishmania spp. in hematophagous insects captured from the environment in bat roosts and pigeon nests, or feeding their hosts (cattle, pigs, horses, dogs and humans in urban, peri-urban and rural areas, between 2012 and 2014. For this study, the amastigotes present in these insects were detected by histochemical and PCR techniques. Positive gene amplification for Leishmania was found in two horseflies of the species Tabanus importunus collected in the environment, and amastigote forms of Leishmania spp., as well as erythrocytes and leukocytes, were histochemically detected in one of that insect. The other analyzed insects were not positive by PCR our by direct parasitological examination. Only horseflies captured in urban and peri-urban areas were positive. During the collection, no phlebotomine sand flies were captured in rural areas far from the city limits. It can be concluded that the discovery of horseflies positive for Leishmania spp. in urban and peri-urban areas indicates the likelihood that urban areas and their surroundings provide vector parasites with an environment suitable for the spread and consequent perpetuation of the biological cycle of this protozoan.

Transgenesis and paratransgenesis to control insect-borne diseases: Current status and future challenges

Science.gov (United States)

Coutinho-Abreu, Iliano V.; Zhu, Kun Yan; Ramalho-Ortigao, Marcelo

2009-01-01

Insect-borne diseases cause significant human morbidity and mortality. Current control and preventive methods against vector-borne diseases rely mainly on insecticides. The emergence of insecticide resistance in many disease vectors highlights the necessity to develop new strategies to control these insects. Vector transgenesis and paratransgenesis are novel strategies that aim at reducing insect vectorial capacity, or seek to eliminate transmission of pathogens such as Plasmodium sp., Trypanosoma sp., and Dengue virus currently being developed. Vector transgenesis relies on direct genetic manipulation of disease vectors making them incapable of functioning as vectors of a given pathogen. Paratransgenesis focuses on utilizing genetically modified insect symbionts to express molecules within the vector that are deleterious to pathogens they transmit. Despite the many successes achieved in developing such techniques in the last several years, many significant barriers remain and need to be overcome prior to any of these approaches become a reality. Here, we highlight the current status of these strategies, pointing out advantages and constraints, and also explore issues that need to be resolved before the establishment of transgenesis and paratransgenesis as tools to prevent vector-borne diseases. PMID:19819346

Potential of Insect-Derived Ingredients for Food Applications

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tzompa Sosa, D.A.; Fogliano, V.

2017-01-01

Insects are a sustainable and efficient protein and lipid source, compared with conventional livestock. Moreover, insect proteins and lipids are highly nutritional. Therefore, insect proteins and lipids can find its place as food ingredients. The use of insect proteins and lipids as food ingredients

Non-destructive sampling of ancient insect DNA

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thomsen, Philip Francis; Elias, Scott; Gilbert, Tom

2009-01-01

BACKGROUND: A major challenge for ancient DNA (aDNA) studies on insect remains is that sampling procedures involve at least partial destruction of the specimens. A recent extraction protocol reveals the possibility of obtaining DNA from past insect remains without causing visual morphological...... of 77-204 base pairs (-bp) in size using species-specific and general insect primers. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: The applied non-destructive DNA extraction method shows promising potential on insect museum specimens of historical age as far back as AD 1820, but less so on the ancient permafrost......-preserved insect fossil remains tested, where DNA was obtained from samples up to ca. 26,000 years old. The non-frozen sediment DNA approach appears to have great potential for recording the former presence of insect taxa not normally preserved as macrofossils and opens new frontiers in research on ancient...

The global status of insect resistance to neonicotinoid insecticides.

Science.gov (United States)

Bass, Chris; Denholm, Ian; Williamson, Martin S; Nauen, Ralf

2015-06-01

The first neonicotinoid insecticide, imidacloprid, was launched in 1991. Today this class of insecticides comprises at least seven major compounds with a market share of more than 25% of total global insecticide sales. Neonicotinoid insecticides are highly selective agonists of insect nicotinic acetylcholine receptors and provide farmers with invaluable, highly effective tools against some of the world's most destructive crop pests. These include sucking pests such as aphids, whiteflies, and planthoppers, and also some coleopteran, dipteran and lepidopteran species. Although many insect species are still successfully controlled by neonicotinoids, their popularity has imposed a mounting selection pressure for resistance, and in several species resistance has now reached levels that compromise the efficacy of these insecticides. Research to understand the molecular basis of neonicotinoid resistance has revealed both target-site and metabolic mechanisms conferring resistance. For target-site resistance, field-evolved mutations have only been characterized in two aphid species. Metabolic resistance appears much more common, with the enhanced expression of one or more cytochrome P450s frequently reported in resistant strains. Despite the current scale of resistance, neonicotinoids remain a major component of many pest control programmes, and resistance management strategies, based on mode of action rotation, are of crucial importance in preventing resistance becoming more widespread. In this review we summarize the current status of neonicotinoid resistance, the biochemical and molecular mechanisms involved, and the implications for resistance management. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Use of habitat odour by host-seeking insects.

Science.gov (United States)

Webster, Ben; Cardé, Ring T

2017-05-01

Locating suitable feeding or oviposition sites is essential for insect survival. Understanding how insects achieve this is crucial, not only for understanding the ecology and evolution of insect-host interactions, but also for the development of sustainable pest-control strategies that exploit insects' host-seeking behaviours. Volatile chemical cues are used by foraging insects to locate and recognise potential hosts but in nature these resources usually are patchily distributed, making chance encounters with host odour plumes rare over distances greater than tens of metres. The majority of studies on insect host-seeking have focussed on short-range orientation to easily detectable cues and it is only recently that we have begun to understand how insects overcome this challenge. Recent advances show that insects from a wide range of feeding guilds make use of 'habitat cues', volatile chemical cues released over a relatively large area that indicate a locale where more specific host cues are most likely to be found. Habitat cues differ from host cues in that they tend to be released in larger quantities, are more easily detectable over longer distances, and may lack specificity, yet provide an effective way for insects to maximise their chances of subsequently encountering specific host cues. This review brings together recent advances in this area, discussing key examples and similarities in strategies used by haematophagous insects, soil-dwelling insects and insects that forage around plants. We also propose and provide evidence for a new theory that general and non-host plant volatiles can be used by foraging herbivores to locate patches of vegetation at a distance in the absence of more specific host cues, explaining some of the many discrepancies between laboratory and field trials that attempt to make use of plant-derived repellents for controlling insect pests. © 2016 Cambridge Philosophical Society.

The evolution of plant-insect mutualisms.

Science.gov (United States)

Bronstein, Judith L; Alarcón, Ruben; Geber, Monica

2006-01-01

Mutualisms (cooperative interactions between species) have had a central role in the generation and maintenance of life on earth. Insects and plants are involved in diverse forms of mutualism. Here we review evolutionary features of three prominent insect-plant mutualisms: pollination, protection and seed dispersal. We focus on addressing five central phenomena: evolutionary origins and maintenance of mutualism; the evolution of mutualistic traits; the evolution of specialization and generalization; coevolutionary processes; and the existence of cheating. Several features uniting very diverse insect-plant mutualisms are identified and their evolutionary implications are discussed: the involvement of one mobile and one sedentary partner; natural selection on plant rewards; the existence of a continuum from specialization to generalization; and the ubiquity of cheating, particularly on the part of insects. Plant-insect mutualisms have apparently both arisen and been lost repeatedly. Many adaptive hypotheses have been proposed to explain these transitions, and it is unlikely that any one of them dominates across interactions differing so widely in natural history. Evolutionary theory has a potentially important, but as yet largely unfilled, role to play in explaining the origins, maintenance, breakdown and evolution of insect-plant mutualisms.

Extracellular ice phase transitions in insects.

Science.gov (United States)

Hawes, T C

2014-01-01

At temperatures below their temperature of crystallization (Tc), the extracellular body fluids of insects undergo a phase transition from liquid to solid. Insects that survive the transition to equilibrium (complete freezing of the body fluids) are designated as freeze tolerant. Although this phenomenon has been reported and described in many Insecta, current nomenclature and theory does not clearly delineate between the process of transition (freezing) and the final solid phase itself (the frozen state). Thus freeze tolerant insects are currently, by convention, described in terms of the temperature at which the crystallization of their body fluids is initiated, Tc. In fact, the correct descriptor for insects that tolerate freezing is the temperature of equilibrium freezing, Tef. The process of freezing is itself a separate physical event with unique physiological stresses that are associated with ice growth. Correspondingly there are a number of insects whose physiological cryo-limits are very specifically delineated by this transitional envelope. The distinction also has considerable significance for our understanding of insect cryobiology: firstly, because the ability to manage endogenous ice growth is a fundamental segregator of cryotype; and secondly, because our understanding of internal ice management is still largely nascent.

Practical application of insect-parasitic nematodes and sterile flies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Galle, F.; Loosjes, M.

1987-01-01

The company 'de Groene Vlieg' started with commercial control of the onion fly by means of the sterile insect technique. At the moment 10 per cent of the Dutch spring sown onions are treated with this method. The mass-rearing, the estimations of populations and the repeated releases of sterilized flies make it a rather complicated method. It can be applied economically per field, but only in areas with a concentration of onion growing. For export we see no possibilities yet. In principle the sterile insect technique can be applied also to other flies (carrot rust fly, cabbage root fly), but a suitable artificial diet is still lacking. Since some years we also rear the insect parasitic nematodes Heterorhabditis sp. and Neoaplectana bibionis. The later is experimentally used with success against Agrotis segetum caterpillars in lettuce. Research will yield more applications of nematodes against different pests. We use Heterorhabditis sp. in practice against the black vine weevil (Otiorhynchus sulcatus), a serious pest in glass houses, tree nurseries and gardens. Good control is achieved with a dose of one half to one million nematodes per square meter in moist soil and with temperatures above 12 degrees C. The application is similar to that of a chemical insecticide. The pest is killed by symbiontic bacteria, released by the nematodes after penetrating into the body cavity of the larvae. The nematodes are delivered by mail. If cooled they can be kept alive for over four weeks in the package. We export already to Switzerland and plan to export also to Western Germany. At this moment a possible admittance is under investigation in the Netherlands for application of a nuclear polyhedrosis virus against Spodoptera exigua caterpillars

Radiation protection programme for a radioisotope production facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Makgato, Thutu Nelson

2015-02-01

The present project reviews reactor based radioisotope production facilities. An overview of techniques and methodologies used as well as laboratory facilities necessary for the production process are discussed. Specific details of reactor based production and processing of more commonly used industrial and pharmaceutical radioisotopes are provided. Ultimately, based on facilities and techniques utilized as well as the associated hazard assessment, a proposed radiation protection programme is discussed. Elements of the radiation protection programme will also consider lessons from recent incidents and accidents encountered in radioisotope production facilities. (au)

Morphogenetic Engineering Toward Programmable Complex Systems

CERN Document Server

Sayama, Hiroki; Michel, Olivier

2012-01-01

Generally, spontaneous pattern formation phenomena are random and repetitive, whereas elaborate devices are the deterministic product of human design. Yet, biological organisms and collective insect constructions are exceptional examples of complex systems that are both self-organized and architectural.   This book is the first initiative of its kind toward establishing a new field of research, Morphogenetic Engineering, to explore the modeling and implementation of “self-architecturing” systems. Particular emphasis is placed on the programmability and computational abilities of self-organization, properties that are often underappreciated in complex systems science—while, conversely, the benefits of self-organization are often underappreciated in engineering methodologies.   Altogether, the aim of this work is to provide a framework for and examples of a larger class of “self-architecturing” systems, while addressing fundamental questions such as   > How do biological organisms carry out morphog...

Effect of Gamma Irradiation on Mediterranean Fruit Fly, Ceratitis Capitata (Wiedemann) and Improvement of The Sterile-Insect Technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sayed, W.A.A.

2013-01-01

The population suppression success of Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wied.) using sterile insect technique (SIT) depends mainly upon: the release of male only, ability of sterilized males to compete with wild males in mating with wild females and discrimination of released male flies from the wild population. The effect of gamma irradiation doses on the male sterility was evaluated, to determine the level of induced sterility for achieving the balance between sterility and mating competitiveness. For optimal sterilizing dose, 8 different doses of gamma irradiation were tested. The results revealed that the doses 80, 90 and 100 Gy were the effective doses for SIT. In a field cage experiment, the mating ability, mating competitiveness and sexual compatibility were determined for the three effective sterilizing doses. The indices of sexual isolation (ISI) and the relative sterile index (RSI) indicated that mating efficiency of the dose 80 Gy was better than the doses 90 and 100 Gy. Obtained results also revealed that the competitiveness of 80 Gy irradiated males was higher than either 90 or 100 Gy irradiated males. Mutant strains, i.e. white eye white pupae strain (WeWp strain), male linked translocated strain (T strain), temperature sensitive lethal strain (tsl strain) and sergeant 2 strain (Sr 2 strain) were reared and maintained for the construction of genetic sexing strain Vienna 8- Sr 2 strain (GSS V8-Sr 2 ). The results of biological characters of GSSs revealed that, the 3 sexing strains (T, Sr 2 and V8 strains) which have Y- auto some translocation were less productive than the bisexual strain (BSS). Also, the development of tsl and GSS V 8-Sr 2 strains was delayed compared with the BSS strain. The stability of GSS V8-Sr 2 strain in the filter rearing was higher than in the mass rearing throughout 12 successive generations. The use of recombinant DNA to develop the two genetically modified strains GMSs (V8-2) and (V8-4) using insect transformation

Phytoplasmas: bacteria that manipulate plants and insects.

Science.gov (United States)

Hogenhout, Saskia A; Oshima, Kenro; Ammar, El-Desouky; Kakizawa, Shigeyuki; Kingdom, Heather N; Namba, Shigetou

2008-07-01

Superkingdom Prokaryota; Kingdom Monera; Domain Bacteria; Phylum Firmicutes (low-G+C, Gram-positive eubacteria); Class Mollicutes; Candidatus (Ca.) genus Phytoplasma. Ca. Phytoplasma comprises approximately 30 distinct clades based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analyses of approximately 200 phytoplasmas. Phytoplasmas are mostly dependent on insect transmission for their spread and survival. The phytoplasma life cycle involves replication in insects and plants. They infect the insect but are phloem-limited in plants. Members of Ca. Phytoplasma asteris (16SrI group phytoplasmas) are found in 80 monocot and dicot plant species in most parts of the world. Experimentally, they can be transmitted by approximately 30, frequently polyphagous insect species, to 200 diverse plant species. In plants, phytoplasmas induce symptoms that suggest interference with plant development. Typical symptoms include: witches' broom (clustering of branches) of developing tissues; phyllody (retrograde metamorphosis of the floral organs to the condition of leaves); virescence (green coloration of non-green flower parts); bolting (growth of elongated stalks); formation of bunchy fibrous secondary roots; reddening of leaves and stems; generalized yellowing, decline and stunting of plants; and phloem necrosis. Phytoplasmas can be pathogenic to some insect hosts, but generally do not negatively affect the fitness of their major insect vector(s). In fact, phytoplasmas can increase fecundity and survival of insect vectors, and may influence flight behaviour and plant host preference of their insect hosts. The most common practices are the spraying of various insecticides to control insect vectors, and removal of symptomatic plants. Phytoplasma-resistant cultivars are not available for the vast majority of affected crops.

Prostaglandins and their receptors in insect biology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David eStanley

2011-12-01

Full Text Available We treat the biological significance of prostaglandins (PGs and their known receptors in insect biology. PGs and related eicosanoids are oxygenated derivatives of arachidonic acid (AA and two other C20 polyunsaturated fatty acids. PGs are mostly appreciated in the context of biomedicine, but a growing body of literature indicates the biological significance of these compounds extends throughout the animal kingdom, and possibly beyond. PGs act in several crucial areas of insect biology. In reproduction, a specific PG, PGE2, releases oviposition behavior in most crickets and a few other insect species; PGs also mediate events in egg development in some species, which may represent all insects. PGs play major roles in modulating fluid secretion in Malpighian tubules, rectum and salivary glands, although, again, this has been studied in only a few insect species that may represent the Class. Insect immunity is a very complex defense system. PGs and other eicosanoids mediate a large number of immune reactions to infection and invasion. The actions of most PGs are mediated by specific receptors. Biomedical research has discovered a great deal of knowledge about PG receptors in mammals, including their structures, pharmacology, molecular biology and cellular locations. Studies of PG receptors in insects lag behind the biomedical background, however, recent results hold the promise of accelerated research in this area. A PG receptor has been identified in a class of lepidopteran hemocytes and experimentally linked to the release of prophenoloxidase. We conclude that research into PGs and their receptors in insects will lead to important advances in our understanding of insect biology.

A review of behaviour change theories and techniques used in group based self-management programmes for chronic low back pain and arthritis.

Science.gov (United States)

Keogh, Alison; Tully, Mark A; Matthews, James; Hurley, Deirdre A

2015-12-01

Medical Research Council (MRC) guidelines recommend applying theory within complex interventions to explain how behaviour change occurs. Guidelines endorse self-management of chronic low back pain (CLBP) and osteoarthritis (OA), but evidence for its effectiveness is weak. This literature review aimed to determine the use of behaviour change theory and techniques within randomised controlled trials of group-based self-management programmes for chronic musculoskeletal pain, specifically CLBP and OA. A two-phase search strategy of electronic databases was used to identify systematic reviews and studies relevant to this area. Articles were coded for their use of behaviour change theory, and the number of behaviour change techniques (BCTs) was identified using a 93-item taxonomy, Taxonomy (v1). 25 articles of 22 studies met the inclusion criteria, of which only three reported having based their intervention on theory, and all used Social Cognitive Theory. A total of 33 BCTs were coded across all articles with the most commonly identified techniques being 'instruction on how to perform the behaviour', 'demonstration of the behaviour', 'behavioural practice', 'credible source', 'graded tasks' and 'body changes'. Results demonstrate that theoretically driven research within group based self-management programmes for chronic musculoskeletal pain is lacking, or is poorly reported. Future research that follows recommended guidelines regarding the use of theory in study design and reporting is warranted. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Insects and other invertebrates

Science.gov (United States)

John R. Jones; Norbert V. DeByle; Diane M. Bowers

1985-01-01

Quaking aspen throughout its range appears to be host to several insect and other invertebrate pests (fig. 1). It is a short-lived species that is palatable to a large variety of animals. Furniss and Carolin (1977) listed 33 insect species that use aspen as a food source. Some are quite damaging and may kill otherwise healthy stands of aspen; others feed on weakened or...

Diverse honeydew-consuming fungal communities associated with scale insects.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Manpreet K Dhami

Full Text Available Sooty mould fungi are ubiquitous, abundant consumers of insect-honeydew that have been little-studied. They form a complex of unrelated fungi that coexist and compete for honeydew, which is a chemically complex resource. In this study, we used scanning electron microscopy in combination with T-RFLP community profiling and ITS-based tag-pyrosequencing to extensively describe the sooty mould community associated with the honeydews of two ecologically important New Zealand coelostomidiid scale insects, Coelostomidia wairoensis and Ultracoelostoma brittini. We tested the influence of host plant on the community composition of associated sooty moulds, and undertook limited analyses to examine the influence of scale insect species and geographic location. We report here a previously unknown degree of fungal diversity present in this complex, with pyrosequencing detecting on average 243 operational taxonomic units across the different sooty mould samples. In contrast, T-RFLP detected only a total of 24 different "species" (unique peaks. Nevertheless, both techniques identified similar patterns of diversity suggesting that either method is appropriate for community profiling. The composition of the microbial community associated with individual scale insect species varied although the differences may in part reflect variation in host preference and site. Scanning electron microscopy visualised an intertwined mass of fungal hyphae and fruiting bodies in near-intact physical condition, but was unable to distinguish between the different fungal communities on a morphological level, highlighting the need for molecular research. The substantial diversity revealed for the first time by pyrosequencing and our inability to identify two-thirds of the diversity to further than the fungal division highlights the significant gap in our knowledge of these fungal groups. This study provides a first extensive look at the community diversity of the fungal community

How Insects Survive Winter in the Midwest

Science.gov (United States)

Understanding how insects cope with cold temperatures can not only help entomologists more accurately forecast when and where insects are active, but it may also help us understand how climate change will influence insect pests. This newsletter article provides a comprehensive overview of how Midwes...

Microbial brokers of insect-plant interactions revisited.

Science.gov (United States)

Douglas, Angela E

2013-07-01

Recent advances in sequencing methods have transformed the field of microbial ecology, making it possible to determine the composition and functional capabilities of uncultured microorganisms. These technologies have been instrumental in the recognition that resident microorganisms can have profound effects on the phenotype and fitness of their animal hosts by modulating the animal signaling networks that regulate growth, development, behavior, etc. Against this backdrop, this review assesses the impact of microorganisms on insect-plant interactions, in the context of the hypothesis that microorganisms are biochemical brokers of plant utilization by insects. There is now overwhelming evidence for a microbial role in insect utilization of certain plant diets with an extremely low or unbalanced nutrient content. Specifically, microorganisms enable insect utilization of plant sap by synthesizing essential amino acids. They also can broker insect utilization of plant products of extremely high lignocellulose content, by enzymatic breakdown of complex plant polysaccharides, nitrogen fixation, and sterol synthesis. However, the experimental evidence for microbial-mediated detoxification of plant allelochemicals is limited. The significance of microorganisms as brokers of plant utilization by insects is predicted to vary, possibly widely, as a result of potentially complex interactions between the composition of the microbiota and the diet and insect developmental age or genotype. For every insect species feeding on plant material, the role of resident microbiota as biochemical brokers of plant utilization is a testable hypothesis.

The Optimum Condition For Determination Of Radioactivity Of Pest Insects Labelled with P-32 By Using Liquid scintillation Counter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yarianto, S.; Susilo, Budi; Sutrisno, Singgih

2002-01-01

Tracer technique is needed in the control programe of pest insects especially for determining of its direction and dispersal. Radioisotopes of P-32 is frecuently used for labeling of pest insects. Liquid Scintillation Counter can be used effectively for measuring radioactivity of pest insects labelled by P-32. Optilnization of liquid compositions that consist of solvents. primary scintillation PPO and secondary scintillation POPOP were determined by examination of their compositions. Based on the research result obtained, composition of scintillator which had the highest efficiency. consists of P-Xylene solvent. primary scintillation PPO (5 g/l ) and secondary scintillation POPOP (0.5 g/l)

Microbiological Load of Edible Insects Found in Belgium

OpenAIRE

Rudy Caparros Megido; Sandrine Desmedt; Christophe Blecker; François Béra; Éric Haubruge; Taofic Alabi; Frédéric Francis

2017-01-01

Edible insects are gaining more and more attention as a sustainable source of animal protein for food and feed in the future. In Belgium, some insect products can be found on the market, and consumers are sourcing fresh insects from fishing stores or towards traditional markets to find exotic insects that are illegal and not sanitarily controlled. From this perspective, this study aims to characterize the microbial load of edible insects found in Belgium (i.e., fresh mealworms and house crick...

Design and Performance of Insect-Scale Flapping-Wing Vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Whitney, John Peter

Micro-air vehicles (MAVs)---small versions of full-scale aircraft---are the product of a continued path of miniaturization which extends across many fields of engineering. Increasingly, MAVs approach the scale of small birds, and most recently, their sizes have dipped into the realm of hummingbirds and flying insects. However, these non-traditional biologically-inspired designs are without well-established design methods, and manufacturing complex devices at these tiny scales is not feasible using conventional manufacturing methods. This thesis presents a comprehensive investigation of new MAV design and manufacturing methods, as applicable to insect-scale hovering flight. New design methods combine an energy-based accounting of propulsion and aerodynamics with a one degree-of-freedom dynamic flapping model. Important results include analytical expressions for maximum flight endurance and range, and predictions for maximum feasible wing size and body mass. To meet manufacturing constraints, the use of passive wing dynamics to simplify vehicle design and control was investigated; supporting tests included the first synchronized measurements of real-time forces and three-dimensional kinematics generated by insect-scale flapping wings. These experimental methods were then expanded to study optimal wing shapes and high-efficiency flapping kinematics. To support the development of high-fidelity test devices and fully-functional flight hardware, a new class of manufacturing methods was developed, combining elements of rigid-flex printed circuit board fabrication with "pop-up book" folding mechanisms. In addition to their current and future support of insect-scale MAV development, these new manufacturing techniques are likely to prove an essential element to future advances in micro-optomechanics, micro-surgery, and many other fields.

IAEA Nutrition Programmes Feed Global Development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Henriques, Sasha

2014-01-01

As an organization, the IAEA has a statutory requirement to “accelerate and enlarge the contribution of atomic energy to peace, health and prosperity throughout the world.” Good nutrition is the cornerstone of good health and the development of nations. That’s why the IAEA is involved in nutrition. The IAEA’s Member States use nuclear methods to move their nutrition programmes forward. These nuclear techniques include the use of stable isotopes (which have no radioactivity) to better understand how nutrients are absorbed, utilized, or stored in the body. These very precise and powerful techniques can be safely and non-invasively used on everyone, from babies to the elderly, in order to determine nutritional status, and measure the effectiveness of nutrition programmes. Nuclear techniques often provide answers that are not available by any other means. By training Member States in the use of nuclear techniques for nutrition, the IAEA complements the work that these countries are doing with other international organizations and not-for-profit groups around the world to combat malnutrition in all its forms and to promote health

Love Games that Insects Play

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Resonance – Journal of Science Education; Volume 3; Issue 1. Love Games that Insects Play - The Evolution of Sexual Behaviours in Insects ... Author Affiliations. K N Ganeshaiah1. Department of Genetics & Plant Breeding University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK Bangalore 560 065, India ...

Mosquitoes meet microfluidics: High-throughput microfluidic tools for insect-parasite ecology in field conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Prakash, Manu; Mukundarajan, Haripriya

2013-11-01

A simple bite from an insect is the transmission mechanism for many deadly diseases worldwide--including malaria, yellow fever, west nile and dengue. Very little is known about how populations of numerous insect species and disease-causing parasites interact in their natural habitats due to a lack of measurement techniques. At present, vector surveillance techniques involve manual capture by using humans as live bait, which is hard to justify on ethical grounds. Individual mosquitoes are manually dissected to isolate salivary glands to detect sporozites. With typical vector infection rates being very low even in endemic areas, it is almost impossible to get an accurate picture of disease distribution, in both space and time. Here we present novel high-throughput microfluidic tools for vector surveillance, specifically mosquitoes. A two-dimensional high density array with baits provide an integrated platform for multiplex PCR for detection of both vector and parasite species. Combining techniques from engineering and field ecology, methods and tools developed here will enable high-throughput measurement of infection rates for a number of diseases in mosquito populations in field conditions. Pew Foundation.

Programmable automation systems in PSA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pulkkinen, U.

1997-06-01

The Finnish safety authority (STUK) requires plant specific PSAs, and quantitative safety goals are set on different levels. The reliability analysis is more problematic when critical safety functions are realized by applying programmable automation systems. Conventional modeling techniques do not necessarily apply to the analysis of these systems, and the quantification seems to be impossible. However, it is important to analyze contribution of programmable automation systems to the plant safety and PSA is the only method with system analytical view over the safety. This report discusses the applicability of PSA methodology (fault tree analyses, failure modes and effects analyses) in the analysis of programmable automation systems. The problem of how to decompose programmable automation systems for reliability modeling purposes is discussed. In addition to the qualitative analysis and structural reliability modeling issues, the possibility to evaluate failure probabilities of programmable automation systems is considered. One solution to the quantification issue is the use of expert judgements, and the principles to apply expert judgements is discussed in the paper. A framework to apply expert judgements is outlined. Further, the impacts of subjective estimates on the interpretation of PSA results are discussed. (orig.) (13 refs.)

Strain improvement of fungal insecticides for controlling insect pests and vector-borne diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Fang, Weiguo; Azimzadeh, Philippe; St Leger, Raymond J

2012-06-01

Insect pathogenic fungi play an important natural role in controlling insect pests. However, few have been successfully commercialized due to low virulence and sensitivity to abiotic stresses that produce inconsistent results in field applications. These limitations are inherent in most naturally occurring biological control agents but development of recombinant DNA techniques has made it possible to significantly improve the insecticidal efficacy of fungi and their tolerance to adverse conditions, including UV. These advances have been achieved by combining new knowledge derived from basic studies of the molecular biology of these pathogens, technical developments that enable very precise regulation of gene expression, and genes encoding insecticidal proteins from other organisms, particularly spiders and scorpions. Recent coverage of genomes is helping determine the identity, origin, and evolution of traits needed for diverse lifestyles and host switching. In future, such knowledge combined with the precision and malleability of molecular techniques will allow design of multiple pathogens with different strategies and host ranges to be used for different ecosystems, and that will avoid the possibility of the host developing resistance. With increasing public concern over the continued use of synthetic chemical insecticides, these new types of biological insecticides offer a range of environmental-friendly options for cost-effective control of insect pests. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Évaluation d'un programme de formation professionnelle pour ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

28 avr. 2016 ... Regarder un documentaire inspirant (en anglais) racontant le quotidien de plusieurs participantes au programme; Détails additionnels sur le programme Mulheres Mil (en anglais); Lire le rapport technique final Mulheres Mil Impact Assessment: final technical report (PDF, 50 Mo). Photo (à droite) : Niagara ...

External Insect Morphology: A Negative Factor in Attitudes toward Insects and Likelihood of Incorporation in Future Science Education Settings

Science.gov (United States)

Wagler, Ron; Wagler, Amy

2012-01-01

This study investigated if the external morphology of an insect had a negative effect on United States (US) preservice elementary teacher's attitudes toward insects and beliefs concerning the likelihood of incorporating insects into future science education settings. 270 US kindergarten through sixth grade preservice elementary teachers…

Diversity in protein glycosylation among insect species.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gianni Vandenborre

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: A very common protein modification in multicellular organisms is protein glycosylation or the addition of carbohydrate structures to the peptide backbone. Although the Class of the Insecta is the largest animal taxon on Earth, almost all information concerning glycosylation in insects is derived from studies with only one species, namely the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In this report, the differences in glycoproteomes between insects belonging to several economically important insect orders were studied. Using GNA (Galanthus nivalis agglutinin affinity chromatography, different sets of glycoproteins with mannosyl-containing glycan structures were purified from the flour beetle (Tribolium castaneum, the silkworm (Bombyx mori, the honeybee (Apis mellifera, the fruit fly (D. melanogaster and the pea aphid (Acyrthosiphon pisum. To identify and characterize the purified glycoproteins, LC-MS/MS analysis was performed. For all insect species, it was demonstrated that glycoproteins were related to a broad range of biological processes and molecular functions. Moreover, the majority of glycoproteins retained on the GNA column were unique to one particular insect species and only a few glycoproteins were present in the five different glycoprotein sets. Furthermore, these data support the hypothesis that insect glycoproteins can be decorated with mannosylated O-glycans. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The results presented here demonstrate that oligomannose N-glycosylation events are highly specific depending on the insect species. In addition, we also demonstrated that protein O-mannosylation in insect species may occur more frequently than currently believed.

Insect Data

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Records of past temperature and environment derived from beetle and other insect fossils. Parameter keywords describe what was measured in this data set. Additional...

Regionalization of surface lipids in insects.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yiwen; Yu, Zhitao; Zhang, Jianzhen; Moussian, Bernard

2016-05-11

Cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) play a critical role in the establishment of the waterproof barrier that prevents dehydration and wetting in insects. While rich data are available on CHC composition in different species, we know little about their distribution and organization. Here, we report on our studies of the surface barrier of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster applying a newly developed Eosin Y staining method. The inert Eosin Y penetrates different regions of the adult body at distinct temperatures. By contrast, the larval body takes up the dye rather uniformly and gradually with increasing temperature. Cooling down specimens to 25°C after incubation at higher temperatures restores impermeability. Eosin Y penetration is also sensitive to lipid solvents such as chloroform indicating that permeability depends on CHCs. As in D. melanogaster adult flies, Eosin Y penetration is regionalized in Tenebrio molitor larvae, whereas it is not in Locusta migratoria nymphs. Regionalization of the fly surface implies tissue-specific variation of the genetic or biochemical programmes of CHC production and deposition. The Eosin Y-based map of CHC distribution may serve to identify the respective factors that are activated to accommodate ecological needs. © 2016 The Author(s).

Insect and Pest Control Newsletter, No. 87, July 2016

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2016-07-01

A year ago, in NL 85, we reported on the increasing demands from our FAO and IAEA Member States to expand our focus from developing and transferring the sterile insect technique (SIT) for major crop and livestock insect pests to major disease-transmitting mosquitoes. Since the mid-2000s, there have been several IAEA General Conference resolutions requesting the Joint FAO/IAEA Insect Pest Control Subprogramme to develop a complete “SIT package” for major mosquito species to be used as a component of area-wide integrated vector management (IVM) approaches. The first resolutions focussed on the malaria vector Anopheles arabiensis, but since 2010, also the dengue and chikungunya vectors Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus were included. In view that the traditional chemical-based vector control strategies were facing serious challenges due to increased resistance of mosquitoes to insecticides and increased public concern of insecticide use in urban areas, there was a clear need for novel methods and complementary approaches to manage mosquito populations in an effective and more environmentally friendly and sustainable way. Furthermore, due to the absence of effective vaccines and drugs against some of these diseases, vector suppression approaches are widely seen as the most effective means to reduce these mosquito-transmitted diseases that pose an enormous economic and social burden, and whose incidence has increased drastically in recent years with the spread to new regions.

Radiation and Radioisotopes Applied to Insects of Agricultural Importance. Proceedings of the Symposium on the Use and Application of Radioisotopes and Radiation in the Control of Plant and Animal Insect Pests

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1963-09-15

Since the pioneer work of the United States Department of Agriculture in the application of radiation and radioisotopes in the control of insect pests to cattle, many countries and organizations have pursued the advantages which might be gained in this field. Two years ago the IAEA organized the first international symposium in Bombay to study this problem, since when a considerable amount of basic research on the application of nuclear science in entomology and insect pest control has been undertaken. The potential gain of these studies, which would be in the form of an increased output of better food, is obvious to all Governments; hence the extensive international interest in the subject of this present Symposium, which was attended by 100 participants from 26 countries and 5 international organizations. The proceedings consist of 37 papers presented by experts from 10 countries, together with a record of the discussions, and cover the use of radioisotopes in the study of the ecology of insects, such as their dispersal, migration and life-cycle. The application of radioisotopes to insecticides covers such subjects as labelling, application, uptake, translocation, metabolism, mode of action, and the determination' of residues in plants and animals. The present position on the effects of radiation on insects is dealt with, including mutation, sterilization and the use of the sterile-male technique for the control and eradication of insect pests, and the need is emphasized for integration of chemical, biological, radiation and other methods of insect control. The emphasis of this Symposium has been mainly on aspects of crop protection and it is hoped that the next symposium will also deal with aspects of livestock protection.

Insect-induced effects on plants and possible effectors used by galling and leaf-mining insects to manipulate their host-plant.

Science.gov (United States)

Giron, David; Huguet, Elisabeth; Stone, Graham N; Body, Mélanie

2016-01-01

Gall-inducing insects are iconic examples in the manipulation and reprogramming of plant development, inducing spectacular morphological and physiological changes of host-plant tissues within which the insect feeds and grows. Despite decades of research, effectors involved in gall induction and basic mechanisms of gall formation remain unknown. Recent research suggests that some aspects of the plant manipulation shown by gall-inducers may be shared with other insect herbivorous life histories. Here, we illustrate similarities and contrasts by reviewing current knowledge of metabolic and morphological effects induced on plants by gall-inducing and leaf-mining insects, and ask whether leaf-miners can also be considered to be plant reprogrammers. We review key plant functions targeted by various plant reprogrammers, including plant-manipulating insects and nematodes, and functionally characterize insect herbivore-derived effectors to provide a broader understanding of possible mechanisms used in host-plant manipulation. Consequences of plant reprogramming in terms of ecology, coevolution and diversification of plant-manipulating insects are also discussed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Insect Immunity: The Post-Genomic Era

OpenAIRE

Bangham, Jenny; Jiggins, Frank; Lemaitre, Bruno

2006-01-01

Insects have a complex and effective immune system, many components of which are conserved in mammals. But only in the last decade have the molecular mechanisms that regulate the insect immune response--and their relevance to general biology and human immunology--become fully appreciated. A meeting supported by the Centre National de la Récherche Scientifique (France) was held to bring together the whole spectrum of researchers working on insect immunity. The meeting addressed diverse aspects...

Fungi with multifunctional lifestyles: endophytic insect pathogenic fungi.

Science.gov (United States)

Barelli, Larissa; Moonjely, Soumya; Behie, Scott W; Bidochka, Michael J

2016-04-01

This review examines the symbiotic, evolutionary, proteomic and genetic basis for a group of fungi that occupy a specialized niche as insect pathogens as well as endophytes. We focus primarily on species in the genera Metarhizium and Beauveria, traditionally recognized as insect pathogenic fungi but are also found as plant symbionts. Phylogenetic evidence suggests that these fungi are more closely related to grass endophytes and diverged from that lineage ca. 100 MYA. We explore how the dual life cycles of these fungi as insect pathogens and endophytes are coupled. We discuss the evolution of insect pathogenesis while maintaining an endophytic lifestyle and provide examples of genes that may be involved in the transition toward insect pathogenicity. That is, some genes for insect pathogenesis may have been co-opted from genes involved in endophytic colonization. Other genes may be multifunctional and serve in both lifestyle capacities. We suggest that their evolution as insect pathogens allowed them to effectively barter a specialized nitrogen source (i.e. insects) with host plants for photosynthate. These ubiquitous fungi may play an important role as plant growth promoters and have a potential reservoir of secondary metabolites.

Horizontal Transmission of Intracellular Insect Symbionts via Plants

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ewa Chrostek

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Experimental evidence is accumulating that endosymbionts of phytophagous insects may transmit horizontally via plants. Intracellular symbionts known for manipulating insect reproduction and altering fitness (Rickettsia, Cardinium, Wolbachia, and bacterial parasite of the leafhopper Euscelidius variegatus have been found to travel from infected insects into plants. Other insects, either of the same or different species can acquire the symbiont from the plant through feeding, and in some cases transfer it to their progeny. These reports prompt many questions regarding how intracellular insect symbionts are delivered to plants and how they affect them. Are symbionts passively transported along the insect-plant-insect path, or do they actively participate in the process? How widespread are these interactions? How does symbiont presence influence the plant? And what conditions are required for the new infection to establish in an insect? From an ecological, evolutionary, and applied perspective, this mode of horizontal transmission could have profound implications if occurring frequently enough or if new stable symbiont infections are established. Transmission of symbionts through plants likely represents an underappreciated means of infection, both in terms of symbiont epidemiology and the movement of symbionts to new host species.

Blood Collection from Local Abattoirs for Mass Production of Tsetse Flies to be used in the Sterile Insect Technique

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Byamungu, M B; Kiimbisa, B; Matembo, S; Mashenga, G [Tsetse and Trypanosomiasis Research Institute, P.O. Box 1026, Tanga (Tanzania, United Republic of)

2012-07-15

The mass production of tsetse flies (Glossina spp.) for the sterile insect technique (SIT) requires a supply of quality blood. For some years already cattle blood has been used as food for laboratory reared flies. The blood is collected from an abattoir using standard procedures. The collection procedures, handling and storage require aseptic conditions to avoid contamination of the blood, which could be fatal to the flies. Fly mortality caused by low quality blood endangers the success of mass rearing. To rear healthy flies with good survival and production the blood should be of good quality - free of contamination and with a packed cell volume (PCV) above 25%. The present work involved the seasonal collection of blood from abattoirs in the United Republic of Tanzania (Tanga, Arusha, Dodoma, Dar-es-salaam). Dodoma was identified as having the best conditions for blood collection. To assess the quality of the blood as a diet for tsetse, blood was screened for the presence of bacteria, and the pathogens were identified. Protocols were developed for blood quality assurance. (author)

Development Of Biosteres sp Parasitation On Larvae Of Bactrocera carambolae (Drew and Hancock) As Complementary Of Sterile Insect Technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sikumbang, Darmawi; Nasution, Indah A.; Indarwatmi, M.; Kuswadi, Achmad N.

2002-01-01

Sterile insect technique was compatible with biological control after parasitoid releasing. In order to find out suitable life stage of B. carambolae to use as host in the mass rearing of Biosteres sp. parasitoid, an efectivity of the parasitoid infestation on different age of B. carambolae egg by putting fruits in cage containing 200 pairs of B. carambolae flies for the 1 hour. The fruit of infected fruit fly larvae with the different age i.e. 1,2,3, and 4 days were offered to 80 pairs of adult pamsitoid age 1,2, and 3 weeks for old for two hours i.e. 7.00-9.00; 9.00- 11.00; 11.00-13.00; 13.00-15.00; and 15.00-17.00. Numbers of parasitoid emerge from each fruit were observed. Results of the parasitation effectiveness assays show that 1-2 days old larvae were the most severely infested larvae infestation by the done at 7-15 of the day by the day parasitoid. Infestation mostly done by parasitoid of 7-14 days old

Insect immunology and hematopoiesis

OpenAIRE

Hillyer, Julián F.

2015-01-01

Insects combat infection by mounting powerful immune responses that are mediated by hemocytes, the fat body, the midgut, the salivary glands and other tissues. Foreign organisms that have entered the body of an insect are recognized by the immune system when pathogen-associated molecular patterns bind host-derived pattern recognition receptors. This, in turn, activates immune signaling pathways that amplify the immune response, induce the production of factors with antimicrobial activity, and...

Microbiological Load of Edible Insects Found in Belgium.

Science.gov (United States)

Caparros Megido, Rudy; Desmedt, Sandrine; Blecker, Christophe; Béra, François; Haubruge, Éric; Alabi, Taofic; Francis, Frédéric

2017-01-13

Edible insects are gaining more and more attention as a sustainable source of animal protein for food and feed in the future. In Belgium, some insect products can be found on the market, and consumers are sourcing fresh insects from fishing stores or towards traditional markets to find exotic insects that are illegal and not sanitarily controlled. From this perspective, this study aims to characterize the microbial load of edible insects found in Belgium (i.e., fresh mealworms and house crickets from European farms and smoked termites and caterpillars from a traditional Congolese market) and to evaluate the efficiency of different processing methods (blanching for all species and freeze-drying and sterilization for European species) in reducing microorganism counts. All untreated insect samples had a total aerobic count higher than the limit for fresh minced meat (6.7 log cfu/g). Nevertheless, a species-dependent blanching step has led to a reduction of the total aerobic count under this limit, except for one caterpillar species. Freeze-drying and sterilization treatments on European species were also effective in reducing the total aerobic count. Yeast and mold counts for untreated insects were above the Good Manufacturing Practice limits for raw meat, but all treatments attained a reduction of these microorganisms under this limit. These results confirmed that fresh insects, but also smoked insects from non-European trades, need a cooking step (at least composed of a first blanching step) before consumption. Therefore, blanching timing for each studied insect species is proposed and discussed.

Microbiological Load of Edible Insects Found in Belgium

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rudy Caparros Megido

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Edible insects are gaining more and more attention as a sustainable source of animal protein for food and feed in the future. In Belgium, some insect products can be found on the market, and consumers are sourcing fresh insects from fishing stores or towards traditional markets to find exotic insects that are illegal and not sanitarily controlled. From this perspective, this study aims to characterize the microbial load of edible insects found in Belgium (i.e., fresh mealworms and house crickets from European farms and smoked termites and caterpillars from a traditional Congolese market and to evaluate the efficiency of different processing methods (blanching for all species and freeze-drying and sterilization for European species in reducing microorganism counts. All untreated insect samples had a total aerobic count higher than the limit for fresh minced meat (6.7 log cfu/g. Nevertheless, a species-dependent blanching step has led to a reduction of the total aerobic count under this limit, except for one caterpillar species. Freeze-drying and sterilization treatments on European species were also effective in reducing the total aerobic count. Yeast and mold counts for untreated insects were above the Good Manufacturing Practice limits for raw meat, but all treatments attained a reduction of these microorganisms under this limit. These results confirmed that fresh insects, but also smoked insects from non-European trades, need a cooking step (at least composed of a first blanching step before consumption. Therefore, blanching timing for each studied insect species is proposed and discussed.

Co-ordinated research programme on nuclear techniques for toxic elements in foodstuffs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1988-01-01

The purpose of this Co-ordinated Research Programme (CRP) is to obtain comparative data on the existing elemental concentrations of potentially toxic elements in foodstuffs in various countries. This study is also intended to provide information on the dietary intakes of toxic elements as a means to detect potential health hazards to the population groups concerned. This study has important economic implications since trade in foodstuffs is dependent on compliance with regulations pertaining to maximum permissible concentrations. An important supplementary purpose of the programme is to help establish analytical expertise for work of this kind in individual countries, allowing such laboratories to offer analytical quality control services. The programme has centred its objective on the determination of important toxic elements such as As, Cd, Cr, Hg, Pb and Se, in addition to Cu, Sb and Zn, which are also potentially toxic but are generally of minor importance from the point of view of public health. The matrices of interest are foodstuffs which comprise together more than 50% of the average daily intake. Drinking water is also of high importance and should be analysed as well. Refs, figs and tabs

Electronic nose in edible insects area

OpenAIRE

Martin Adámek; Anna Adámková; Marie Borkovcová; Jiří Mlček; Martina Bednářová; Lenka Kouřimská; Josef Skácel; Michal Řezníček

2017-01-01

Edible insect is appraised by many cultures as delicious and nutritionally beneficial food. In western countries this commodity is not fully appreciated, and the worries about edible insect food safety prevail. Electronic noses can become a simple and cheap way of securing the health safety of food, and they can also become a tool for evaluating the quality of certain commodities. This research is a pilot project of using an electronic nose in edible insect culinary treatment, and this manusc...

FFUSION research programme 1993-1998. Final report of the Finnish fusion research programme

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Karttunen, S.; Heikkinen, J.; Korhonen, R. [VTT Energy, Espoo (Finland)] [and others

1998-12-31

techniques, superconductor development and water-hydraulic applications, in which FFUSION teams have achieved a from position in the EU Fusion Programme. A challenging full-scale prototype system for the ITER in-vessel viewing has been completed as a collaborative effort between VTT, Helsinki University of Technology and IVO Technology Centre. (author)

FFUSION research programme 1993-1998. Final report of the Finnish fusion research programme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karttunen, S.; Heikkinen, J.; Korhonen, R.

1998-01-01

techniques, superconductor development and water-hydraulic applications, in which FFUSION teams have achieved a from position in the EU Fusion Programme. A challenging full-scale prototype system for the ITER in-vessel viewing has been completed as a collaborative effort between VTT, Helsinki University of Technology and IVO Technology Centre. (author)

Ubiquity of insect-derived nitrogen transfer to plants by endophytic insect-pathogenic fungi: an additional branch of the soil nitrogen cycle.

Science.gov (United States)

Behie, Scott W; Bidochka, Michael J

2014-03-01

The study of symbiotic nitrogen transfer in soil has largely focused on nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Vascular plants can lose a substantial amount of their nitrogen through insect herbivory. Previously, we showed that plants were able to reacquire nitrogen from insects through a partnership with the endophytic, insect-pathogenic fungus Metarhizium robertsii. That is, the endophytic capability and insect pathogenicity of M. robertsii are coupled so that the fungus acts as a conduit to provide insect-derived nitrogen to plant hosts. Here, we assess the ubiquity of this nitrogen transfer in five Metarhizium species representing those with broad (M. robertsii, M. brunneum, and M. guizhouense) and narrower insect host ranges (M. acridum and M. flavoviride), as well as the insect-pathogenic fungi Beauveria bassiana and Lecanicillium lecanii. Insects were injected with (15)N-labeled nitrogen, and we tracked the incorporation of (15)N into two dicots, haricot bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) and soybean (Glycine max), and two monocots, switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) and wheat (Triticum aestivum), in the presence of these fungi in soil microcosms. All Metarhizium species and B. bassiana but not L. lecanii showed the capacity to transfer nitrogen to plants, although to various degrees. Endophytic association by these fungi increased overall plant productivity. We also showed that in the field, where microbial competition is potentially high, M. robertsii was able to transfer insect-derived nitrogen to plants. Metarhizium spp. and B. bassiana have a worldwide distribution with high soil abundance and may play an important role in the ecological cycling of insect nitrogen back to plant communities.

Use of nuclear techniques in biological control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Greany, Patrick D.; Carpenter, James E.

2000-01-01

As pointed out by Benbrook (1996), pest management is at a crossroads, and there is a great need for new, biointensive pest management strategies. Among these approaches, biological control is a keystone. However, because of increasing concerns about the introduction of exotic natural enemies of insect pests and weeds (Howarth 1991, Delfosse 1997), the overall thrust of biological control has moved toward augmentative biological control, involving releases of established natural enemy species (Knipling 1992). This in turn has created a need to develop more cost-effective mass rearing technologies for beneficial insects. Nuclear techniques could play an especially important role in augmentative biological control, not only in facilitating mass rearing, but in several other ways, as indicated below. Recognising the potential value for use of nuclear techniques in biological control, the Insect and Pest Control Section of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, International Atomic Energy Agency, sponsored a Consultants' Group Meeting on this subject in April 1997. The Group produced a document entitled Use of Nuclear Techniques in Biological Control: Managing Pests, Facilitating Trade and Protecting the Environment. The consultants included the authors of this paper as well as Ernest Delfosse (at that time, with the USDA-APHIS National Biological Control Institute), Garry Hill (Intl. Institute for Biological Control), Sinthya Penn (Beneficial Insectary), and Felipe Jeronimo (USDA-APHIS PPQ, Guatemala). The remarks presented in this paper reflect the thoughts presented by these consultants and other participants at the IAEA-sponsored meeting. Several potential uses for nuclear techniques were identified by the Consultants' Group, including: 1) improvements in rearing media (either artificial diets or natural hosts/prey), 2) provision of sterilised natural prey to be used as food during shipment, to ameliorate concerns relating to the

Application of nuclear techniques in improving agricultural productivity with particular reference to pasture management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Majid Ajorlo; Ramdzani Abdullah

2009-01-01

Nuclear techniques are appropriate tools to settle problems for agriculture or natural resources which cannot be solved using conventional agricultural techniques. In this paper, the research activities carried out and the achievements so far obtained in the agricultural specialties -all by using nuclear techniques- with particular reference to pasture management are discussed. Insect pest control by Sterile Insect Techniques (SIT); soil and water management using neutron moisture probes; determining N-fixation capacity of legumes using N-15 isotope and nuclear methods; soil erosion measurement using of fallout radionuclide such as Cs-137; monitoring the movement of saline water in salt-affected land using isotopes of chlorine; livestock production and health by RIA and ELISA are some of achievements so far obtained in improving agricultural productivity. The ultimate goal of the nuclear technique investigation in agriculture is to use the resources efficiently in obtaining higher plant and livestock yields while increasing the quality and protecting them against insects, diseases and weeds. (Author)

Ionizing radiation perception by insects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Campanhola, C.

1980-04-01

The proof of the existence of a perception for ionizing radiation by insects was aimed at, as well as the determination of its processing mechanism. It was tried also to check if such perception induces the insects to keep away from the radiation source, proving therefore a protection against the harms caused by ionizing radiation, or else the stimulus for such behaviour is similar to that caused by light radiations. 60 Co and 241 Am were used as gamma radiation sources, the 60 Co source of 0.435mCi and the 241 Am of 99.68mCi activity. Adult insects were used with the following treatments : exposure to 60 Co and 241 Am radiation and non-exposure (control). A total of approximately 50 insects per replication was released in the central region of an opaque white wooden barrier divided into 3 sections with the same area - 60.0 cm diameter and 7.5 cm height - covered with a nylon screen. 5 replications per treatment were made and the distribution of the insects was evaluated by photographs taken at 15, 30, 45, and 60 minutes after release. Sitophilus oryzae (l., 1763) and Ephestia cautella (Walker, 1864) showed some response to 241 Am gamma radiation, i.e. negative tactism. It was concluded that ionizing radiations can be detected by insects through direct visual stimulus or by visual stimulus reslting from interaction of radiation-Cerenkov radiation - with some other occular component with a refraction index greater than water. Also, the activity of the radioactive source with regard to perception for ionizing radiation, is of relevance in comparison with the energy of the radiation emitted by same, or in other words, what really matters is the radiation dose absorbed. (Author) [pt

Made for Each Other: Ascomycete Yeasts and Insects.

Science.gov (United States)

Blackwell, Meredith

2017-06-01

Fungi and insects live together in the same habitats, and many species of both groups rely on each other for success. Insects, the most successful animals on Earth, cannot produce sterols, essential vitamins, and many enzymes; fungi, often yeast-like in growth form, make up for these deficits. Fungi, however, require constantly replenished substrates because they consume the previous ones, and insects, sometimes lured by volatile fungal compounds, carry fungi directly to a similar, but fresh, habitat. Yeasts associated with insects include Ascomycota (Saccharomycotina, Pezizomycotina) and a few Basidiomycota. Beetles, homopterans, and flies are important associates of fungi, and in turn the insects carry yeasts in pits, specialized external pouches, and modified gut pockets. Some yeasts undergo sexual reproduction within the insect gut, where the genetic diversity of the population is increased, while others, well suited to their stable environment, may never mate. The range of interactions extends from dispersal of yeasts on the surface of insects (e.g., cactus- Drosophila -yeast and ephemeral flower communities, ambrosia beetles, yeasts with holdfasts) to extremely specialized associations of organisms that can no longer exist independently, as in the case of yeast-like symbionts of planthoppers. In a few cases yeast-like fungus-insect associations threaten butterflies and other species with extinction. Technical advances improve discovery and identification of the fungi but also inform our understanding of the evolution of yeast-insect symbioses, although there is much more to learn.

Stinging insect allergy: state of the art 2015.

Science.gov (United States)

Tankersley, Michael S; Ledford, Dennis K

2015-01-01

Stinging insect allergy is responsible for more than 10% of all cases of anaphylaxis. The potential culprit insects are diverse and vary with geography. The incidence of insect allergy is declining in some areas and increasing in others, possibly due to effects of climate change, introduction of species into new areas, outdoor recreational activities, and movement of human populations that brings insects into contact with a greater number of people. Flying Hymenoptera and imported fire ant stings are responsible for the majority of patients evaluated for insect anaphylaxis. The most efficient means of identifying allergy to insects is skin testing although falsely positive and negative results occur. The limitations of testing coupled with the natural temporal variability of allergic sensitivity complicate the interpretation of test results. The clinical history is of paramount importance to be certain that the test results are relevant; therefore, screening or testing before a history of a sting reaction is not advisable. Mast cell disorders are associated with severe anaphylaxis from insect stings and should be considered in affected subjects. Insect immunotherapy, using venoms for most insects and whole-body extracts for imported fire ants, is proven effective in reducing the likelihood of anaphylaxis due to subsequent stings from 40%-60% to less than 5%. Future clinical application of component testing or in vitro cellular tests, such as the basophil activation test, may improve optimal choices for immunotherapy. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Phenotypic Plasticity of Cuticular Hydrocarbon Profiles in Insects.

Science.gov (United States)

Otte, Tobias; Hilker, Monika; Geiselhardt, Sven

2018-03-01

The insect integument is covered by cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) which provide protection against environmental stresses, but are also used for communication. Here we review current knowledge on environmental and insect-internal factors which shape phenotypic plasticity of solitary living insects, especially herbivorous ones. We address the dynamics of changes which may occur within minutes, but may also last weeks, depending on the species and conditions. Two different modes of changes are suggested, i.e. stepwise and gradual. A switch between two distinct environments (e.g. host plant switch by phytophagous insects) results in stepwise formation of two distinct adaptive phenotypes, while a gradual environmental change (e.g. temperature gradients) induces a gradual change of numerous adaptive CHC phenotypes. We further discuss the ecological and evolutionary consequences of phenotypic plasticity of insect CHC profiles by addressing the question at which conditions is CHC phenotypic plasticity beneficial. The high plasticity of CHC profiles might be a trade-off for insects using CHCs for communication. We discuss how insects cope with the challenge to produce and "understand" a highly plastic, environmentally dependent CHC pattern that conveys reliable and comprehensible information. Finally, we outline how phenotypic plasticity of CHC profiles may promote speciation in insects that rely on CHCs for mate recognition.

RNA Interference in Insect Vectors for Plant Viruses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Surapathrudu Kanakala

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Insects and other arthropods are the most important vectors of plant pathogens. The majority of plant pathogens are disseminated by arthropod vectors such as aphids, beetles, leafhoppers, planthoppers, thrips and whiteflies. Transmission of plant pathogens and the challenges in managing insect vectors due to insecticide resistance are factors that contribute to major food losses in agriculture. RNA interference (RNAi was recently suggested as a promising strategy for controlling insect pests, including those that serve as important vectors for plant pathogens. The last decade has witnessed a dramatic increase in the functional analysis of insect genes, especially those whose silencing results in mortality or interference with pathogen transmission. The identification of such candidates poses a major challenge for increasing the role of RNAi in pest control. Another challenge is to understand the RNAi machinery in insect cells and whether components that were identified in other organisms are also present in insect. This review will focus on summarizing success cases in which RNAi was used for silencing genes in insect vector for plant pathogens, and will be particularly helpful for vector biologists.

Strategies for Enhanced Crop Resistance to Insect Pests.

Science.gov (United States)

Douglas, Angela E

2018-04-29

Insect pests are responsible for substantial crop losses worldwide through direct damage and transmission of plant diseases, and novel approaches that complement or replace broad-spectrum chemical insecticides will facilitate the sustainable intensification of food production in the coming decades. Multiple strategies for improved crop resistance to insect pests, especially strategies relating to plant secondary metabolism and immunity and microbiome science, are becoming available. Recent advances in metabolic engineering of plant secondary chemistry offer the promise of specific toxicity or deterrence to insect pests; improved understanding of plant immunity against insects provides routes to optimize plant defenses against insects; and the microbiomes of insect pests can be exploited, either as a target or as a vehicle for delivery of insecticidal agents. Implementation of these advances will be facilitated by ongoing advances in plant breeding and genetic technologies.

Insect Detectives

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)