Article
Entomology
Willem G. van Herk, Ralph L. Warren, Terisha Bailey
Summary: Wireworms, the primary pests of potatoes in Canada, can be effectively controlled by the newly registered meta-diamide insecticide, broflanilide. However, wireworms show different responses to broflanilide and bifenthrin, with broflanilide inducing irreversible morbidity. Soil residues of broflanilide can still be detected in undisturbed field soil, indicating its persistence.
JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Agronomy
Caleb B. Hubbard, Alec C. Gerry, Amy C. Murillo
Summary: This study assessed the stability of physiological and behavioral resistance in house flies to imidacloprid over time. The results showed significant variation in physiological susceptibility among different house fly strains. However, a house fly strain (BRS-1) selected for behavioral resistance to imidacloprid did not exhibit significant changes in survival rates over 30 generations.
PEST MANAGEMENT SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Laura Addy-Orduna, Jimena Cazenave, Rafael Mateo
Summary: This study evaluated the avoidance behavior of eared doves towards different pesticides. The results showed that neonicotinoid-treated sorghum led to anorexia in doves but did not fully prevent poisoning and death. The effects of neonicotinoids on soybean seeds and cotyledons were inconclusive due to low consumption by captive doves.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
(2022)
Article
Parasitology
Sunil Dhiman, Kavita Yadav, B. N. Acharya, Raj Kumar Ahirwar, D. Sukumaran
Summary: The study demonstrates that known vector mosquito species exhibit strong excito-repellency and behavioral avoidance when exposed to an insecticide-based paint formulation. The combination of insecticides in the formulation broadens the impact spectrum for protecting users from mosquito bites. The efficacy data generated provide crucial information for reducing transmission intensity and disease risk in endemic countries.
PARASITES & VECTORS
(2021)
Article
Entomology
Chao Wen, Liming Shen, Jian Chen, Jianlong Zhang, Ying Feng, Zhong Wang, Xuan Chen, Jiacheng Cai, Lei Wang, Yinghao He, Xiujun Wen, Tao Ma, Cai Wang
Summary: This study investigates the behavioral responses of S. invicta workers to surfaces treated with insecticides, and finds that the ants can perform particle-covering behavior to reduce the toxicity of certain insecticides, which constitutes a unique insecticide-resistance strategy in ants.
JOURNAL OF PEST SCIENCE
(2022)
Review
Ecology
Thom van Dooren, Catherine J. Price, Peter B. Banks, Oded Berger-Tal, Matthew Chrulew, Jane Johnson, Gabrielle Lajeunesse, Kate E. Lynch, Clare McArthur, Finn C. G. Parker, Myles Oakey, Benjamin J. Pitcher, Colleen Cassady St Clair, Georgia Ward-Fear, Sam Widin, Bob B. M. Wong, Daniel T. Blumstein
Summary: Conservation behaviour is a growing field that applies insights from animal behaviour study to tackle wildlife conservation and management challenges. It aims to manage specific behaviours of a species to address conservation issues in a less harmful way. However, ethical considerations need to be taken into account when intervening in animal behaviour for conservation purposes. A framework and decision support tool are developed to help managers and researchers evaluate the ethical implications of conservation behaviour interventions compared to other options.
TRENDS IN ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Entomology
Caleb B. Hubbard, Amy C. Murillo
Summary: House flies exhibit resistance to the widely used neonicotinoid insecticide imidacloprid through both physiological and behavioral mechanisms, with behaviorally resistant flies showing a preference for feeding on untreated sucrose over sucrose treated with imidacloprid. In experimental settings, these behaviorally resistant flies tend to feed on lower concentrations of imidacloprid when exposed to both low and high concentrations of the insecticide.
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Entomology
Jay A. Rosenheim
Summary: Studies suggest that severe insecticide control failures are rare in commercial agriculture, possibly due to adaptive management practices among farmers. Despite the potential for longer-term issues caused by pesticides, risk-averse attitudes among farmers and relatively consistent short-term efficacy of insecticides may drive farmers towards their use.
JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Xiaolong Zhu, Wilson Valbon, Mengdi Qiu, Chunhua T. Hu, Jingxiang Yang, Bryan Erriah, Milena Jankowska, Ke Dong, Michael D. Ward, Bart Kahr
Summary: The development of safe and potent insecticides is crucial for controlling disease-transmitting insect vectors. Incorporating fluorine in insecticides can alter their properties and enhance their efficiency. Fluorine-containing compounds called FTEs have been discovered to possess rapid knockdown effects on mosquitoes, including those that are resistant to other insecticides.
ACS INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Davide Palermo, Giulia Giunti, Francesca Laudani, Vincenzo Palmeri, Orlando Campolo
Summary: The study focused on developing nano-emulsions using eight commercial essential oils to control stored product pests. These nano-formulations showed optimal physical characteristics and were effective in repelling and causing acute toxicity to adult beetles. Among them, the anise essential oil-based formulation exhibited the best repellent effect.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Esther B. Florsheim, Nathaniel D. Bachtel, Jaime L. Cullen, Bruna G. C. Lima, Mahdieh Godazgar, Fernando Carvalho, Carolina P. Chatain, Marcelo R. Zimmer, Cuiling Zhang, Gregory Gautier, Pierre Launay, Andrew Wang, Marcelo O. Dietrich, Ruslan Medzhitov
Summary: In addition to protecting the body from pathogens, the immune system can also affect behavior. In this study using mouse models of food allergy, it was found that allergic sensitization leads to antigen-specific avoidance behavior. The avoidance of allergens activates certain brain areas involved in aversive stimuli response. IgE antibodies and mast cells are necessary for allergen avoidance, and cysteinyl leukotrienes and growth and differentiation factor 15 play a role in promoting avoidance. Genetic background also influences avoidance behavior. These findings suggest that antigen-specific behavioral modifications may have evolved to avoid unfavorable environments.
Article
Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence
Lorenzo Bisi, Davide Santambrogio, Federico Sandrelli, Andrea Tirinzoni, Brian D. Ziebart, Marcello Restelli
Summary: This paper introduces a unified framework to optimize various risk measures, including conditional value-at-risk, utility functions, and mean-variance. By leveraging recent theoretical results on state augmentation, the decision-making process is transformed to optimize in the transformed environment, and a simple risk-sensitive meta-algorithm is presented to optimize risk-neutral policy. Extensive experiments demonstrate the advantages of this approach over existing ad-hoc methodologies in different domains.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
(2022)
Article
Business, Finance
Liu Liu
Summary: The equity premium increased greatly in the Great Recession and the COVID-19 recession. This paper proposes a theoretical model and finds that ambiguity aversion is the key factor in explaining the sharp increase in the equity premium.
FINANCE RESEARCH LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Entomology
Bruno Pandelo Brugger, Angelica Plata-Rueda, Carlos Frederico Wilcken, Laila Salome Araujo de Souza, Jose Eduardo Serrao, Amelia Guimaraes Carvalho, Jose Cola Zanuncio, Luis Carlos Martinez
Summary: Lemongrass essential oil (LEO), citral, and geranyl acetate exhibit toxic and repellent effects on Anticarsia gemmatalis, indicating their potential for controlling this soybean pest.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PEST MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Economics
Jean-Francois Gajewski, Luc Meunier, Sima Ohadi
Summary: The study reveals that an increase in temporary income significantly boosts an individual's risk-taking capacity, and having multiple sources of money makes individuals more prone to taking risks. The origin of money plays a vital role in determining risk-taking behavior.
Article
Agronomy
Ivan Drahun, Kiana F. Wiebe, Cody W. Koloski, Willem G. van Herk, Bryan J. Cassone
Summary: This study investigated the population genetic structure of Hypnoidus bicolor wireworms and click beetles from the Canadian Prairies, revealing two genetically distinct clades that may be part of a species complex. Clade A was predominant and increased in prevalence towards the east, while clade B showed two mitochondrial DNA groups with uneven gene flow. Both clades exhibited low levels of regional genetic structuring, with clade A undergoing population and range expansions possibly linked to intensive agriculture practices in the prairies.
PEST MANAGEMENT SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Entomology
Willem G. van Herk, Robert S. Vernon, Ted J. Labun, Mika H. Sevcik, Timothy D. Schwinghamer
Summary: A general survey of pest wireworms in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba from 2004 to 2019 identified Hypnoidus bicolor as the predominant species, with shifts in species composition suggesting an increase in the relative importance of Limonius californicus as a pest species. Co-occurrence of different species at or near the same location was frequently observed, with soil characteristics such as organic matter and water retention capacity significantly influencing wireworm presence.
ENVIRONMENTAL ENTOMOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Regine Gries, Santosh K. Alamsetti, Willem G. van Herk, Haley A. Catton, Scott Meers, Emily Lemke, Gerhard Gries
Summary: This study identified the female-produced sex pheromones of Pacific Coast wireworm and sugarbeet wireworm, and demonstrated that traps baited with synthetic limoniic acid were effective in capturing male Limonius click beetles. The findings suggest that limoniic acid could potentially be developed for detection, monitoring, and control of these wireworm populations.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Entomology
Willem G. van Herk, Robert S. Vernon, John H. Borden, Kathryn Ryan, Gareth Mercer
Summary: This study evaluated the relative efficacy of six pheromone-baited traps for trapping click beetles. The traps were assessed based on quantitative and qualitative criteria, and the most desirable characteristics for different trap uses were determined. The results showed that the Vernon Pitfall Trap ranked highest in terms of quantitative criteria and all four trap uses.
JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Entomology
Wim van Herk, Bob Vernon, Gabrielle Bourassa-Tait, Miklos Toth, Ervin Kovacs
Summary: Wireworms, the larval stage of click beetles, are serious pests of various field crops worldwide. The use of pheromone traps to monitor and manage male click beetles is common, but there is a lack of attractants for females. This study evaluated the attractiveness of different compounds to male and female Agriotes obscurus and A. lineatus, both of which are pests in Europe and North America. The results suggest that attractants for female click beetles may be highly species-specific, highlighting the need for further research and development in this area.
Article
Entomology
Ivan Drahun, Katherine A. Hunt, Willem G. van Herk, Bryan J. Cassone
Summary: This study evaluated the effect of bait trapping duration, seed formulation, and their relationship with CO2 production and soil temperature on wireworm catch. The results provided valuable guidelines to improve current wireworm sampling methods, and can be integrated into strategies aimed at managing these important pests to crop production.
JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Kendal Singleton, Regine Gries, Willem G. van Herk, Santosh K. Alamsetti, Emily Lemke, Kathleen Furtado, Gerhard Gries
Summary: This study reports the identification and field testing of the sex pheromone of Agriotes ferrugineipennis, a click beetle species native to North America. The researchers found that 7-Methyloctyl 7-methyloctanoate (7Me7Me) emitted by female beetles is the major, and possibly the only, sex attractant pheromone component.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Entomology
Emily Lemke, Willem G. van Herk, Kendal Singleton, Gerhard Gries
Summary: In western North America, sympatric Limonius click beetle species exhibit species-specific sexual communication through nonoverlapping seasonal occurrence and/or contrasting diel periodicity. While the species have distinct communication periods, it remains inconclusive whether they communicate at different times during the day. Other reproductive isolating mechanisms may contribute to species differentiation besides seasonal separation of sexual communication periods.
ENVIRONMENTAL ENTOMOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Entomology
Willem G. van Herk, Robert S. Vernon, Lindsey Goudis, Terisha Mitchell
Summary: The effectiveness of a novel insecticide, Broflanilide, was evaluated for the control of wireworms, the primary pests of potatoes in Canada. The results demonstrated that Broflanilide, applied as a seed piece treatment or in-furrow spray, was as effective as other commonly used insecticides in reducing tuber blemishes and wireworm populations. In addition, combinations of Broflanilide with other insecticides showed promising results for broad-spectrum control of potato insect pests.
JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY
(2022)
Editorial Material
Entomology
Kendal Singleton, Willem G. Van Herk, Julien Saguez, Hume B. Douglas, Gerhard Gries
PAN-PACIFIC ENTOMOLOGIST
(2022)
Article
Agronomy
Ivan Drahun, Elise A. Poole, Katherine A. Hunt, Willem G. van Herk, Christophe M. LeMoine, Bryan J. Cassone
Summary: Our study investigated the wireworm populations in four fields in Manitoba six times during the growing seasons of 2020 and 2021. We found that both Hypnoidus species were active in the spring and summer, while L. californicus became active later in the spring. Chill-coma recovery assays showed that the Hypnoidus species recovered quicker from cold acclimation compared to L. californicus. Vertical migration assays simulating progressively lower temperatures experienced by overwintering larvae revealed that H. bicolor was distributed throughout the soil profile, while L. californicus was mainly found at cooler, shallower depths. We speculate that these differences in species distribution may be attributed to the higher levels of cryoprotectants identified in L. californicus.
PEST MANAGEMENT SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Entomology
Kendal Singleton, Willem G. van Herk, Julien Saguez, Ian Scott, Regine Gries, Gerhard Gries
Summary: The identification and field testing of the sex pheromone of the wheat wireworm was reported. The sex pheromone, consisting of two esters, can be used in pheromone-based programs to monitor and manage native and invasive Agriotes pests in North America.
AGRICULTURAL AND FOREST ENTOMOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Willem G. van Herk, Robert S. Vernon
Summary: A study conducted on the recapture rates of marked Agriotes obscurus (AO) males released in a grassy field showed that catch of marked AO was highest during peak emergence when weekly temperatures ranged from 15.7 to 17 degrees C and rainfall was light. The catch rate was lower when released early in the activity period and was protracted over 3 weeks. Catch of wild AO was highest in traps spaced 7.5 or 10.0 m apart, indicating independence of these traps and between-trap competition at smaller spacing. Wind direction should be considered when structuring the placement of trap arrays in mass trapping programs.
ARTHROPOD-PLANT INTERACTIONS
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Willem G. van Herk, J. Todd Kabaluk, Robert S. Vernon, Romain Richard, Philipp Benz
Summary: Larvae of multiple click beetle species, i.e. wireworms, are important pests of agriculture worldwide, and are generally managed with insecticides. Semiochemical-based management tactics that target male beetles and reduce the mating success of females, would reduce the formation of new larvae in the field.
ARTHROPOD-PLANT INTERACTIONS
(2023)
Article
Entomology
Emily Lemke, Willem G. van Herk, Kendal Singleton, Julien Saguez, Graeme Fowler, Doug Pepper, Kathleen Furtado, Gerhard Gries
Summary: Sex pheromone lures are effective for monitoring and controlling pest click beetles. This study investigated the possibility of combining pheromones from different elaterid species to improve cost efficiency in pest management programs. The results showed that combining specific pheromones did not significantly reduce captures of target species, suggesting the potential for developing mixed lures to effectively monitor or control multiple elaterid pests. However, further evaluation is needed for each species combination.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED ENTOMOLOGY
(2023)