Cliff G. Martin

Design and performance of the ADMX SQUID-based microwave receiver

The article of record as published may be located at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2011.07.019

Biology and Laboratory Rearing of Episimus utilis (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), a Candidate for Classical Biological Control of Brazilian Peppertree (Anacardiaceae) in Florida

Abstract The biology of Episimus utilis Zimmerman, a natural enemy of Brazilian peppertree, Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi, was investigated in a quarantine laboratory as part of a classical biological control program against this invasive weed in Florida. Adults lived on average 6.8 ± 0.8 d, and a generation was completed in 43.6 d at a temperature of 22.0°C and a photoperiod of 12:12 (L:D) h. Peak egg production occurred 2 d after females eclosed from the pupal stage. Females deposited a maximum of 172 eggs, with an average daily maximum of 13.6 eggs. The durations of the egg, larval, and pupal stages were 5.9, 23.7 (five instars), and 12.0 d, respectively. Stage-specific life tables were constructed to calculate basic population statistics. Under laboratory conditions where predation and food supply were not limiting factors, a population of E. utilis was capable of multiplying its population by 1.17 times per day, and a doubling of the population would occur every 4.4 d. To date, 10 consecutive generations of E. utilis have been produced on potted Brazil peppertree plants in the laboratory. The potential effectiveness of E. utilis as a biological control agent of Brazilian peppertree in Florida was examined using Goeden’s revision of the Harris scoring system.

Effects of herbivory by Diaprepes abbreviatus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) larvae on four woody ornamental plant species.

ABSTRACT The hypothesis that herbivory by Diaprepes root weevil larvae reduces leaf gas exchange and biomass was tested on buttonwood (Conocarpus erectus L.), Surinam cherry (Eugenia uniflora L.), mahogany (Sivietenia mahagoni Jacq.), and pond apple (Annona glabra L). For Surinam cherry, net CO2 assimilation, transpiration, and stomatal conductance, but not internal CO2 concentration (collectively referred to as leaf gas exchange values), were 7–32% higher in noninfested than infested plants. For buttonwood, all four gas exchange values were 10–54% higher for noninfested than infested plants 3 h after infestation with large, seventh-instar larvae. However, by 4 wk after this infestation, net CO2 assimilation, transpiration, and stomatal conductance, but not internal CO2 concentration, were 11–37% higher for infested than for noninfested plants. For mahogany and pond apple, there were few or no significant differences in leaf gas exchange values between infested and noninfested plants. For all species, mean shoot and root fresh and dry weights were higher for noninfested than infested plants, with the differences most significant for buttonwood (37–85% higher), followed by Surinam cherry (37–143% higher), mahogany (49–84% higher), and pond apple (24–46% higher), which had no significant differences. There were significant differences among plant species in mean head capsule widths, thus larval instars, of larvae recovered from soil with the largest larvae from Surinam cherry (2.59 ± 0.19 mm) and the smallest from mahogany (2.29 ± 0.06 mm). Based on differences in leaf gas exchange and plant biomass between infested and noninfested plants of the four species tested, buttonwood and Surinam cherry are the most vulnerable to feeding by Diaprepes larvae followed by mahogany then pond apple.

Bulk Fermi surface and electronic properties of Cu0.07Bi2Se3

The electronic properties of Cu0.07Bi2Se3 have been investigated using Shubnikov-de Haas and optical reflectance measurements. Quantum oscillations reveal a bulk, three-dimensional Fermi surface with anisotropy k(F)(c)/k(F)(ab) approximate to 2 and a modest increase in free-carrier concentration and in scattering rate with respect to the undoped Bi2Se3, also confirmed by reflectivity data. The effective mass is almost identical to that of Bi2Se3. Optical conductivity reveals a strong enhancement of the bound impurity bands with Cu addition, suggesting that a significant number of Cu atoms enter the interstitial sites between Bi and Se layers or may even substitute for Bi. This conclusion is also supported by x-ray diffraction measurements, where a significant increase of microstrain was found in Cu0.07Bi2Se3, compared to Bi2Se3.

Effects of Rose Cultivars and Fertilization Rates on Populations of Scirtothrips dorsalis (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) in Southern Florida

ABSTRACT Roses (Rosa spp. L.) are important ornamental hosts of chilli thrips, Scirtothrips dorsalis Hood (Thysanoptera: Thripidae). The knowledge of how these thrips affect 8 cultivars of landscape roses popular in Florida (‘Angel Face’, ‘Don Juan’, ‘Pink Summer Snow’, ‘Radeon’, ‘Radrazz’, ‘Radsunny’, ‘St. Patrick’, and ‘Sun Flare’) would help in developing techniques for integrated pest management of S. dorsalis. The effects of 3 rates of fertilizer and cultivars on population densities of chilli thrips and on host plant damage were evaluated. Fertilization rate, plant organ, and cultivar were important in determining S. dorsalis population density. Differences in total numbers of S. dorsalis, damage rating, and in numbers of flowers and buds produced were observed among different fertilizer rates. The higher rates recommended for accelerated floral growth resulted in more S. dorsalis damage, but not in more flowers than the rates suggested for maintenance. Among parts of the rose plant, buds had the highest density of S. dorsalis, followed by flowers and leaves, which had similar low densities. Larger flowers had more S. dorsalis than small flowers, but population densities were similar. Different cultivars of Knock-Out® rose were similar in their susceptibility to S. dorsalis, but ‘Radeon’, ‘Don Juan’, and ‘Sun Flare’ had more damage with lower S. dorsalis abundance and density than other the cultivars.

Population Dynamics of Scirtothrips dorsalis (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) and Other Thrips Species on Two Ornamental Host Plant Species in Southern Florida

ABSTRACT Since its 2005 introduction into the United States, chilli thrips, Scirtothrips dorsalis Hood (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), has become a problematic pest of agronomic, vegetable, fruit, and ornamental plants. Knowledge of its population dynamics may help managers better monitor and control S. dorsalis. Population estimates were recorded for S. dorsalis and other thrips species on Knock-Out rose (Rosa ‘Radrazz’) and green buttonwood (Conocarpus erectus L.) from July 2007 to September 2008 in two field plots (one per plant species) in Homestead, FL. Yellow sticky card traps and samples of terminals, flowers, buds, and leaves were collected. S. dorsalis accounted for 95% of all thrips individuals collected from plants and 84% from traps with the remainder including at least 18 other thrips species. More thrips were caught on or flying near rose plants (47,438) than on or near buttonwoods (5,898), and on-plant densities of S. dorsalis appeared higher for rose than for buttonwood. Compared with rose leaves, rose buds, terminals, and flowers each had higher numbers of S. dorsalis, and buds and terminals had higher densities. On each host plant species, S. dorsalis density fluctuated over time with peaks in the late spring, summer, and fall, but populations were consistently low in the late winter and early spring. On roses, increased plant damage ratings correlated with reduced numbers of flowers and buds, reduced mean flower areas, and increased on-plant number and density of S. dorsalis. There were positive correlations over time between S. dorsalis density and plant damage rating for rose flowers (R = 0.78; P = 0.0003) and for buttonwood terminals (R = 0.90; P = 0.0001 ). Yellow sticky card traps were effective for monitoring S. dorsalis and may be especially useful and economically justified for the most susceptible hosts, but they also work well for less susceptible hosts. A good S. dorsalis scouting program should hence consider trap catches and symptoms such as leaf distortion, small flower area (size), and thrips population concentrations near buds and terminals.

Seasonal Timing, Abundance, and Predatory Status of Arthropods Associated with Corn Infested by Picture-Winged Flies (Diptera: Ulidiidae) in South Florida

Abstract Since the 1960s, the USA has led all other countries in the production of sweet corn (Zea mays L.), and Florida has often led the nation, such as from 2004 to 2009. Picture-winged flies, or corn silk flies, including Euxesta stigmatias Loew, E. eluta Loew, E. annonae F., and Chaetopsis massyla Walker (Diptera: Ulidiidae), are serious pests of field and sweet corn in southern Florida. Control has focused on the use of chemical insecticides, but efforts have begun to explore other control methods, such as using predatory arthropods. We studied the timing, abundance, identification, and predatory status of ulidiids and other arthropod species associated with corn ears growing in the field in the spring, summer, and fall of 2010. Predators of ulidiids included Orius insidiosus Say (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae), Anotylus insignitus (Gravenhorst) (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae), Chrysoperla carnea Smith (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae), Zelus longipes (L.) (Hemiptera: Reduviidae), and potentially other arthropod species. Larvae of A. insignitus, C. carnea, and nymphs and adults of O. insidiosus consumed eggs and larvae of ulidiids in laboratory no-choice tests. Other than ulidiid eggs and/or larvae, O. insidiosus was the most abundant arthropod species in the silking (R1) stage of corn in all 3 seasons. Sap beetle larvae or adults (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) were the most abundant arthropod groups in the spring blister stage (R2) and in milk stages (R3) of the spring and fall. The most abundant groups in the summer R2 and R3 stages included A. insignitus larvae and sap beetle larvae and adults, and in the summer R2, also O. insidiosus. The most abundant groups in the fall R2 were O. insidiosus, sap beetle adults, Thrips sp. (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), and mites. Chrysoperla carnea was found only in the summer, and Z. longipes only in the fall. In all 3 seasons, ulidiid eggs were more abundant than larvae in the R1 stage, but larvae usually outnumbered eggs in the R2 and R3 stages. Each of the groups, O. insidiosus and eggs and larvae of ulidiids, were most abundant in the summer followed by the fall and least abundant in the spring. These findings may help in determining spatial distributions and functional responses of these predators to further evaluate their potential to control ulidiid flies.

Infrared phonon modes in multiferroic single-crystal FeTe2O5Br

Reflection and transmission as a function of temperature (7-300 K and 5-300 K respectively) have been measured on single crystals of the multiferroic compound FeTe2O5Br utilizing light spanning from the far infrared to the visible. The complex dielectric function and other optical properties were obtained via Kramers-Kronig analysis and by fits to a Drude-Lortentz model. Analysis of the anisotropic excitation spectra via Drude-Lorentz fitting and lattice dynamical calculations have led to the observation of 43 of the 53 modes predicted along the b axis of the monoclinic cell. The phonon response parallel to the a and c axes are also presented. Assignments to groups (clusters) of phonons have been made and trends within them are discussed in light of our calculated displacement patterns.

Leaf Gas Exchange and Growth Responses of Green Buttonwood and Swingle Citrumelo to Diaprepes abbreviatus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) Larval Feeding and Flooding

ABSTRACT Effects of flooding and herbivory by Diaprepes abbreviatus L. (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) larvae on leaf gas exchange [net CO2 assimilation (A), transpiration (E), and stomatal conductance (gs)] and growth of green buttonwood (Conocarpus erectus L.) and Swingle citrumelo [Poncirus trifoliata (L.) Raf. × Citrus paradisi Macf.] trees were tested. Growth and survival of the larvae were also examined. For each plant species, there were 2 larval infestation treatments (infested and non-infested) and 2 flooding treatments (flooded and nonflooded). Beginning 6 d after larval infestation, plants were flooded in three 1-wk cycles each with 2 d of flooding followed by 5 d of non-flooding. For green buttonwood, E was higher for non-flooded than flooded plants on the third of 5 measurement dates and A and gs were higher for non-flooded than flooded plants on the fifth (final) measurement date. For Swingle citrumelo, E and gs were higher for non-infested than infested plants on the fifth (final) measurement date. Root dry weight of Swingle citrumelo was higher for flooded, infested than for non-flooded, infested plants and for non-flooded, non-infested than for non-flooded, infested plants. Larval survival rate, head capsule width, and root damage rating of Swingle citrumelo were lower for flooded than for non-flooded plants, whereas flooding did not affect larval survival or growth on green buttonwood. Thus, short-term cyclical flooding of three 2d cycles may control D. abbreviatus larvae on Swingle citrumelo but did not control larval populations or reduce damage on green buttonwood.

Survival of Diaprepes abbreviatus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) Larvae on Green Buttonwood Trees in Flooded Marl Soil and Potting Medium

ABSTRACT Survival of Diaprepes root weevil Diaprepes abbreviatus (L.) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) larvae was assessed in flooded marl soil and a flooded nursery potting medium with green buttonwood (Conocarpus erectus L., Combretaceae) as a food source for the larvae. Root-zone flooding may be a viable control option for flood-tolerant ornamental plants including buttonwood. Significantly more larvae survived after 38 d in non-flooded than in flooded marl soil. Similarly, more larvae survived in non-flooded than in flooded potting medium; no larvae were recovered from flooded potting medium. Larval survival rates were significantly higher in flooded marl soil than in flooded potting medium, but there was no difference in survival between non-flooded marl soil and non-flooded potting medium. Larvae recovered from flooded marl soil had significantly smaller head capsule widths and probably were at least 1 instar younger than larvae recovered from non-flooded marl soil or non-flooded potting medium. In summary, flooding marl soil or potting medium reduced survival, and in marl soil flooding slows the growth of D. abbreviatus larvae.