Myron P. Zalucki

The Biology and Ecology of Heliothis-Armigera (Hubner) and Heliothis-Punctigera Wallengren (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae) in Australia - What Do We Know

The taxonomy and identification of Heliothis armigera and H. punctigera, their distribution and host plants in Australia, the effect of host plant on reproduction and on the development and survival of immature stages, their movements, population biology and dynamics, and their control, are reviewed. Areas where further study is desirable include: the nature of host plant selection and host species preference; adaptability to new cultivars; effects of host plant on development; detailed life-table studies on different host plants; the contribution of predation, parasitism and disease to mortality; factors responsible for fluctuations in populations between years, including the origins of outbreak populations; and control strategies other than insecticide treatment.

Estimating the Economic Cost of One of the World's Major Insect Pests, Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae): Just How Long is a Piece of String?

ABSTRACT Since 1993, the annual worldwide cost of diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae), control has been routinely quoted to be US

Evolutionary principles and their practical application

1 billion. This estimate requires updating and incorporation of yield losses to reflect current total costs of the pest to the world economy. We present an analysis that estimates what the present costs are likely to be based on a set of necessary, but reasoned, assumptions. We use an existing climate driven model for diamondback moth distribution and abundance, the Food and Agriculture Organization country Brassica crop production data and various management scenarios to bracket the cost estimates. The “length of the string” is somewhere between US

Ecology of Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) and H. punctigera (Wallengren) in the Inland of Australia: larval sampling and host plant relationships during winter and spring

1.3 billion and US

Milkweed latex and cardenolide induction may resolve the lethal plant defence paradox

2.3 billion based on management costs. However, if residual pest damage is included then the cost estimates will be even higher; a conservative estimate of 5% diamondback moth-induced yield loss to all crops adds another US

Detrimental effects of latex and cardiac glycosides on survival and growth of first-instar monarch butterfly larvae Danaus plexippus feeding on the sandhill milkweed Asclepias humistrata

2.7 billion to the total costs associated with the pest. A conservative estimate of total costs associated with diamondback moth management is thus US

Development and Survival of the Diamondback Moth (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) at Constant and Alternating Temperatures

4 billion-US

Evolution in agriculture: the application of evolutionary approaches to the management of biotic interactions in agro-ecosystems

5 billion. The lower bound represents rational decision making by pest managers based on diamondback moth abundance driven by climate only. The upper estimate is due to the more normal practice of weekly insecticide application to vegetable crops and the assumption that canola (Brassica napus L.) is treated with insecticide at least once during the crop cycle. Readers can decide for themselves what the real cost is likely to be because we provide country data for further interpretation. Our analysis suggests that greater efforts at implementation of even basic integrated pest management would reduce insecticide inputs considerably, reducing negative environmental impacts and saving many hundreds of millions of dollars annually.

Learning in Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae): a new look at the behaviour and control of a polyphagous pest

Evolutionary principles are now routinely incorporated into medicine and agriculture. Examples include the design of treatments that slow the evolution of resistance by weeds, pests, and pathogens, and the design of breeding programs that maximize crop yield or quality. Evolutionary principles are also increasingly incorporated into conservation biology, natural resource management, and environmental science. Examples include the protection of small and isolated populations from inbreeding depression, the identification of key traits involved in adaptation to climate change, the design of harvesting regimes that minimize unwanted life‐history evolution, and the setting of conservation priorities based on populations, species, or communities that harbor the greatest evolutionary diversity and potential. The adoption of evolutionary principles has proceeded somewhat independently in these different fields, even though the underlying fundamental concepts are the same. We explore these fundamental concepts under four main themes: variation, selection, connectivity, and eco‐evolutionary dynamics. Within each theme, we present several key evolutionary principles and illustrate their use in addressing applied problems. We hope that the resulting primer of evolutionary concepts and their practical utility helps to advance a unified multidisciplinary field of applied evolutionary biology.

The genetics of monarch butterfly migration and warning colouration

Extensive surveys during the winter months in inland areas of Australia have greatly extended both the range and known hosts of Australias two pest Helicoverpa species. H. punctigera was the more common species, being collected from c. half of the sites sampled. Here a further 47 plant species in 8 families are recorded as possible host plants; the majority (all except two) are new records of native hosts, and greatly extend the existing lists. H. armigera was less common, being recorded from c. 10% of the 554 sites sampled. This species was reared from 28 species in 10 plant families. Both moth species are recorded for the first time from various native plant species, predominantly in the Asteraceae and Fabaceae. The Goodeniaceae is also added to the host list of both species. Determination of the status of host plants is discussed.