Diapause Regulation and Biological Control of Natural Enemy Insects

A special issue of Insects (ISSN 2075-4450). This special issue belongs to the section "Insect Pest and Vector Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2024 | Viewed by 3884

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Key Laboratory of Natural Enemy Insects, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
Interests: insect physiology; diapause regulation; mass rearing of natural enemies; biological control; parasitoid; predators

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Guest Editor
1. National Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
2. Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide and Agricultural Bioengineering, Ministry of Education, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
Interests: biological control; natural enemy; egg parasitoid; Trichogramma; Anastatus; Mesocomys; Chelonus; biological invasion; Spodoptera frugiperda; IPM
Institute of Plan Protection, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Science, Beijing 100097, China
Interests: biological control; natural enemy; insect physiology; ecosystem ecology; functional ecology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Department of Entomology, College of Plant Protection, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang 110866, China
Interests: biological control; parasitoid; endosymbiont; Wolbachia; Trichogramma; thelytokous parthenogenesis; superparasitism; sex ratio disorders; intraspecific competition; host suitability

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Natural enemy insects are excellent biological control agents for the control of major crop pests and invasive pests. In recent years, countries all around the world have carried out research and used natural enemy insects, which have a good effect on the control of major pests, such as Fall Armyworms and corn borers.

This Special Issue focuses on the development regulation and biological control of natural enemies of insects, sharing the results of basic theoretical and applied evaluation studies.

Prof. Dr. Lisheng Zhang
Prof. Dr. Liansheng Zang
Dr. Su Wang
Dr. Jincheng Zhou
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • biological control
  • diapause
  • parasitoid
  • predators
  • egg parasitoid
  • mass production
  • host suitability
  • interspecific competition
  • intra-guild predation
  • sublethal effect
  • ecosystem ecology and functional ecology

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 3347 KiB  
Article
Molecular Correlates of Diapause in Aphidoletes aphidimyza
by Xiaoyan Dai, Yu Wang, Yan Liu, Ruijuan Wang, Long Su, Zhenjuan Yin, Shan Zhao, Hao Chen, Li Zheng, Xiaolin Dong and Yifan Zhai
Insects 2024, 15(5), 299; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/insects15050299 - 23 Apr 2024
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Abstract
The aphidophagous gall midge, Aphidoletes aphidimyza (Rondani) (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), a dominant natural enemy of aphids, has been used as a biological control agent in many countries to control aphids in greenhouses. To identify key factors that induce diapause in A. aphidimyza, we [...] Read more.
The aphidophagous gall midge, Aphidoletes aphidimyza (Rondani) (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), a dominant natural enemy of aphids, has been used as a biological control agent in many countries to control aphids in greenhouses. To identify key factors that induce diapause in A. aphidimyza, we evaluated the effects of photoperiod and temperature on the incidence of diapause in A. aphidimyza under laboratory conditions. The results showed that temperature and photoperiod had significant impacts on development and diapause in A. aphidimyza. Low temperatures and a short photoperiod inhibited development, while high temperatures and a long photoperiod promoted development. Temperatures above 20 °C and a photoperiod greater than 14 h prevented diapause in A. aphidimyza. However, the highest diapause rate was recorded at under 15 °C and 10L:14D photoperiod conditions. At 15 °C, the first to third larvae were sensitive to a short photoperiod at any stage, and a short photoperiod had a cumulative effect on diapause induction. The longer the larvae received short light exposure, the higher the diapause rate appeared to be. Transcriptome sequencing analysis at different stages of diapause showed that differentially expressed genes were mainly enriched in the glucose metabolism pathway. Physiological and biochemical analyses showed that diapausing A. aphidimyza reduced water content; accumulated glycogen, trehalose, sorbitol, and triglycerides; and gradually reduced trehalose and triglyceride contents in the body with the extension of diapause time. Glycogen may be used as a source of energy, but sorbitol is usually used as a cryoprotectant. This study provided results on aspects of diapause in A. aphidimyza, providing data and theoretical support for promoting its commercial breeding and in-depth research on the molecular mechanisms underlying diapause regulation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diapause Regulation and Biological Control of Natural Enemy Insects)
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15 pages, 3185 KiB  
Article
Transcriptomics Provide Insights into the Photoperiodic Regulation of Reproductive Diapause in the Green Lacewing, Chrysoperla nipponensis (Okamoto) (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae)
by Shaoye Liu, Yuqing Gao, Rangjun Shi, Haiyi Huang, Yongyu Xu and Zhenzhen Chen
Insects 2024, 15(2), 136; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/insects15020136 - 17 Feb 2024
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Abstract
Chrysoperla nipponensis (Okamoto) displays typical adult reproductive diapause under short photoperiods; however, our understanding of the molecular mechanism underlying photoperiod-sensitive reproduction remains limited. In this study, we performed transcriptome profiling of four treatments (the diapause-sensitive stage and pre-diapause phase under long and short [...] Read more.
Chrysoperla nipponensis (Okamoto) displays typical adult reproductive diapause under short photoperiods; however, our understanding of the molecular mechanism underlying photoperiod-sensitive reproduction remains limited. In this study, we performed transcriptome profiling of four treatments (the diapause-sensitive stage and pre-diapause phase under long and short photoperiods) of C. nipponensis using RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). A total of 71,654 unigenes were obtained from the samples. Enrichment analysis showed that fatty acid metabolism-related pathways were altered under a short photoperiod. Moreover, β-oxidation-related gene expression was active during the diapause-sensitive period under a short photoperiod. The knockdown of juvenile hormone acid methyltransferase 1 (Jhamt1) prolonged the pre-oviposition period but did not affect the reproductive ability of female individuals in C. nipponensis. These findings provided us with a more comprehensive understanding of the molecular mechanisms of photoperiod-sensitive diapause and show that groundwork is crucial for bolstering the long-term storage and biocontrol potential of C. nipponensis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diapause Regulation and Biological Control of Natural Enemy Insects)
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17 pages, 2233 KiB  
Article
Measurement of Fitness and Predatory Ability of Four Predatory Mite Species in Tibetan Plateau under Laboratory Conditions
by Dong Xiang, Zhen Wang, Long Xu, Yunchao Wang, Huanhuan Zhang and Kun Yang
Insects 2024, 15(2), 119; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/insects15020119 - 06 Feb 2024
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Abstract
Predatory mites are biological control agents used in many countries against various vegetable pests, particularly spider mites. Despite the significant presence of predatory mites in the Tibetan plateau, there is limited research on their potential against spider mites in the area. This study [...] Read more.
Predatory mites are biological control agents used in many countries against various vegetable pests, particularly spider mites. Despite the significant presence of predatory mites in the Tibetan plateau, there is limited research on their potential against spider mites in the area. This study investigated the fitness parameters and performance against TSSM of four predatory, including Amblyseius swirskii (Athias-Henriot) and three species from the genus Neoseiulus (Neoseiulus californicus (McGregor), Neoseiulus barkeri (Hughes), and Neoseiulus cucumeris (Oudemans)), originally collected from fields in the Tibetan Plateau. Compared to the other three predatory species, A. swirskii exhibited the highest fecundity (11.60 ± 0.34) and the highest pre-adult survival rate (83.33 ± 3.33%). Since their juvenile survival rate (SR) was extremely low (13.33% ± 5.77%), most N. barkeri nymphs died before emergence. Compared to the other three predatory mites, A. swirskii showed the highest predation capacity against adult TSSMs at 15 d post-release (14.28 ± 2.24). Based on the results, A. swirskii was the most effective, and N. barkeri was the least effective in controlling two-spotted mites in the Tibetan Plateau among the four species tested in this study. Collectively, these findings imply notable advantages in employing A. swirskii for controlling two-spotted mites in the Tibetan Plateau. This study informs the development of a feasible biological control method based on suitable predatory mite species to manage TSSMs in the Tibetan Plateau. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diapause Regulation and Biological Control of Natural Enemy Insects)
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11 pages, 429 KiB  
Article
Parasitism and Suitability of Trichogramma chilonis on Large Eggs of Two Factitious Hosts: Samia cynthia ricini and Antheraea pernyi
by Yue-Hua Zhang, Ji-Zhi Xue, Talha Tariq, Tian-Hao Li, He-Ying Qian, Wen-Hui Cui, Hao Tian, Lucie S. Monticelli, Nicolas Desneux and Lian-Sheng Zang
Insects 2024, 15(1), 2; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/insects15010002 - 20 Dec 2023
Viewed by 1259
Abstract
Trichogramma, an effective biological control agent, demonstrates promise in environmentally sustainable pest management through its parasitic action toward insect eggs. This study evaluates the parasitism fitness and ability of T. chilonis with regard to two factitious host eggs, aiming to develop a [...] Read more.
Trichogramma, an effective biological control agent, demonstrates promise in environmentally sustainable pest management through its parasitic action toward insect eggs. This study evaluates the parasitism fitness and ability of T. chilonis with regard to two factitious host eggs, aiming to develop a cost-effective biological control program. While T. chilonis demonstrated the ability to parasitize both host eggs, the results indicate a preference for ES eggs over COS eggs. The parasitism and emergence rates of T. chilonis regarding ES eggs (parasitism: 89.3%; emergence: 82.6%) surpassed those for COS eggs (parasitism: 74.7%; emergence: 68.8%), with a notable increase in the number of emergence holes observed in the ES eggs compared to the COS eggs. Moreover, the developmental time of T. chilonis for ES eggs (10.8 days) was shorter than that for COS eggs (12.5 days), resulting in a lower number of dead wasps produced. Notably, no significant difference was observed in the female ratios between the two species. A comprehensive analysis was conducted, comparing the size and shell thickness of the two factitious hosts. The ES eggs exhibited smaller dimensions (length: 1721.5 μm; width: 1178.9 μm) in comparison to the COS eggs (length: 2908.8 μm; width: 2574.4 μm), with the ES eggshells being thinner (33.8 μm) compared to the COS eggshells (47.3 μm). The different host species had an effect on the body length of the reared parasitoids, with T. chilonis reared on COS hosts exhibiting a larger body length (female: 626.9 µm; male: 556.7 µm) than those reared on ES hosts (female: 578.8 µm; male: 438.4 µm). Conclusively, the results indicate that ES eggs present a viable alternative to COS eggs for the mass production of Trichogramma species in biological control programs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diapause Regulation and Biological Control of Natural Enemy Insects)
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