Nickolas G. Kavallieratos

Persistence and Efficacy of Three Diatomaceous Earth Formulations Against Sitophilus oryzae (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) on Wheat and Barley

Abstract The insecticidal and residual efficacy of three diatomaceous earth (DE) formulations, Insecto, PyriSec, and SilicoSec, against Sitophilus oryzae (L.) on barley and wheat was assessed. For this purpose, 4-kg lots of barley and wheat were treated with the above-mentioned DE formulations, in three dose rates (0.75, 1, and 1.5 g/kg grain) and stored at 26°C. Samples of these lots were taken at the day of storage, and every 45 d, until the completion of a 450-d period of storage. Bioassays were conducted by exposing S. oryzae adults to these samples, at 26°C and 57% RH. In these bioassays, the DE efficacy was evaluated by recording adult mortality after 24 h, 48 h, 7 d, and 14 d of exposure on the treated grains. After the 14-d count, all adults were removed, and the samples were left at the same conditions for an additional 45 d, to evaluate the capacity for progeny production in the treated grains. Adult mortality after 14 d of exposure was exponentially decreased with time. During the first 270 d of storage, mortality was >90%, and progeny production was <1 adult per sample, whereas after 270 d a gradual decrease in adult mortality occurred, with a resulting increase in progeny production. Generally, the three DE formulations tested were equally effective against S. oryzae adults. During the first 270 d of storage, the DE formulations were equally effective on both grains tested, but from 315 d of storage and on, S. oryzae mortality was higher on barley than on wheat. At this interval, progeny production was gradually increased, especially on grains treated with the lowest DE dose rate. However, even this rate caused a satisfactory level of mortality (>90% after 14 d of exposure) during the first 270 d of storage.

Spatiotemporal Distribution of Insects and Mites in Horizontally Stored Wheat

Abstract Samples were taken from a flat storage facility located in central Greece, filled with ≈45 tons of hard wheat, to assess the spatiotemporal distribution of stored-product insects and mites. The wheat was stored in a 1.5-m-deep bulk from June 2001 until March 2002. The samples were taken with a partitioned grain trier during the entire storage period, at 10-d intervals. The trier samples were examined separately for the upper, medial, and lower 0.5 m of the bulk. The spatial distribution of the insect and mite species found was examined by contour analysis based on the numbers of individuals in the trier samples. Nine insect and 20 mite taxa were found during the sampling period. The most abundant insect species were Tribolium castaneum (Herbst), Cryptolestes ferrugineus (Stephens), and Rhyzopertha dominica (F.); the most abundant mite species were Lepidoglyphus destructor (Schrank), Acarus siro L., and the predator Cheyletus malaccensis Oudemans. &Tgr;he highest population densities for the majority of the insect and mite species were recorded during autumn. The majority of the individuals of the most abundant insect and mite species were found in the upper 0.5 m of the bulk, with the exception of C. malaccensis, which was equally distributed in the upper and medial 0.5 m of the bulk. The spatiotemporal distribution during the entire experimental period was notably varied according to the insect and mite species.

Parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Aphidiinae) of Northeastern Iran: Aphidiine-Aphid-Plant Associations, Key and Description of a New Species

Abstract Aphid parasitoids of the subfamily Aphidiinae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) of northeastern Iran were studied in this paper. A total of 29 species are keyed and illustrated with line drawings. The aphidiines presented in this work have been reared from 42 aphid host taxa occurring on 49 plant taxa from a total of 33 sampling sites. Sixty-six aphidiine-aphid-plant associations are presented. Trioxys metacarpalis sp. nov. from Chaitaphis tenuicaudata Nevsky (Hemiptera: Aphididae) on Kochia scoparia, is described. The species diversity based on the comparative faunistic analysis is discussed.

Acaricidal Effect of a Diatomaceous Earth formulation Against Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Astigmata: Acaridae) and Its predator Cheyletus malaccensis (Prostigmata: Cheyletidae) in Four Grain Commodities

Abstract Laboratory bioassays were conducted to evaluate the effect of the diatomaceous earth (DE) formulation SilicoSec (Biofa GmbH, Münsingen, Germany), against two stored-product mite species, Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Shrank) and the predator Cheyletus malaccensis Oudemans. For this purpose, DE was applied in wheat, oat, rye, and maize, at the dose rates 0, 0.5, 1, and 2 g/kg grain. The mortality of the exposed mites was assessed after 24 h, 48 h, 7 d, and 14 d of exposure in the treated substrate. After this interval, the treated grains were checked for oviposition or progeny. The tests were conducted at 80% RH and at two temperatures, 20 and 25°C. Generally, for both species, mortality was higher at 25°C than at 20°C. For T. putrescentiae, at both temperatures, the mortality in grains treated with the highest DE rate was 100% after only 24 h of exposure, with the exception of maize at 20°C, where mortality was 91.7%. The mortality of C. malaccensis after 24 h of exposure to the treated grains, in the absence of prey, did not exceed 29% at any of the temperature–grain–dose combinations, whereas no mites were dead in rye and maize treated with 0.5 and 1 g of DE. Even after 14 d of exposure at the highest DE rate, mite mortality did not reach 100%. The presence of T. putrescentiae individuals as prey in the treated substrate enhanced C. malaccensis survival. Hence, after 14 d of exposure, the mortality of C. malaccensis, in wheat, oat, rye, and maize treated with the highest DE rate was 51.7, 59.7, 70, and 36.9, respectively. No progeny production was recorded in the treated substrate for T. putrescentiae; in contrast, oviposition and F1 progeny were recorded for C. malaccensis. Our results suggest that the use of C. malaccensis with low doses of DE may be an appealing integrated pest management (IPM) approach against T. putrescentiae, and probably against other stored-grain mite species.

Influence of temperature and humidity on the efficacy of spinosad against four stored-grain beetle species.

Abstract In the present work, we examined the insecticidal effect of spinosad, against adults of the lesser grain borer, Rhyzopertha dominica (F.) (Coleoptera: Bostrychidae), the rice weevil, Sitophilus oryzae (L.) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), the confused flour beetle, Tribolium confusum Jacquelin du Val (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) on wheat and the larger grain borer, Prostephanus truncatus (Horn) (Coleoptera: Bostrychidae) on maize. The dose rates used were 0.01, 0.1, 0.5 and 1 ppm. The bioassays were carried out at three temperatures, 20, 25 and 30°C and two relative humidity levels, 55 and 75%. Mortality of R. dominica and S. oryzae was high even at 0.01 ppm of spinosad, reaching 100% at 55% relative humidity and 30° after 21 days of exposure. Generally, mortality of R. dominica, increased with temperature while for S. oryzae mortality increased with temperature and with the decrease of relative humidity. Moreover, for S. oryzae, mortality was low at 20°C. In the case of T. confusum, mortality was low at doses between 0.01 and 0.5 ppm even after 21 days of exposure. At 1 ppm, mortality exceeded 90% only at 30°C and only after 21 days of exposure. Mortality of P. truncatus was low on maize treated with 0.01 ppm, but increasing the dose to 0.1 ppm resulted in > 87% mortality after 14 days of exposure. In several combinations tested, spinosad efficacy notably varied according to the temperature and humidity regimes. Of the species tested, R. dominica and P. truncatus were very susceptible to spinosad, followed by S. oryzae, while T. confusum was the least susceptible.

Influence of temperature and humidity on insecticidal effect of three diatomaceous earth formulations against larger grain borer (coleoptera: Bostrychidae)

Abstract Laboratory experiments were carried out to evaluated three diatomaceous earth (DE) formulations—Protect-It, PyriSec (at dose rates 500, 1,000, and 1,500 ppm), and DEA-P (at dose rates 75, 150, and 500 ppm)—against the larger grain borer, Prostephanus truncatus (Horn) (Coleoptera: Bostrychidae), adults in stored maize, Zea mays L., at three temperatures (20, 25, and 30°C) and two relative humidity (RH) levels (55 and 75%). At these conditions, the capability of progeny production in the treated substrate also was assessed. Adult survival was high, at all doses of Protect-It and PyriSec. Progeny production was also high. In contrast with the other two DEs, DEA-P was highly effective and caused complete mortality to the exposed P. truncatus adults, even at the lowest dose rate (75 ppm). In addition, progeny production was completely suppressed. Generally, Protect-it and PyriSec were more effective at 20°C than at 30°C. In contrast, the efficacy of DEA-P was continuously high in all temperatures and relative humidities examined.

Effect of Temperature and Commodity on Insecticidal Efficacy of Spinosad Dust Against Sitophilus oryzae (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) and Rhyzopertha dominica (Coleoptera: Bostrychidae)

Abstract The insecticidal effect of spinosad dust, a formulation that contains 0.125% spinosad, was evaluated against adults of Sitophilus oryzae (L.) and Rhyzopertha dominica (F.) at three temperature levels (20, 25, and 30°C) and four commodities (wheat, Triticum aestivum L.; barley, Hordeum vulgare L.; rice, Oryza sativa L.; and maize, Zea mays L.). For this purpose, quantities of the above-mentioned grains were treated with spinosad at two dose rates (20 and 50 ppm of the formulation, corresponding to 0.025 and 0.06 ppm AI, respectively), and mortality of the exposed adults in the treated grains was measured after 7 and 14 d, whereas progeny production was assessed 65 d later. Generally, for both species, mortality increased with dose, exposure interval, and temperature. For S. oryzae, adult survival and progeny production were lower on wheat than the other grains. After 14 d of exposure, mortality of S. oryzae adults on wheat treated with 50 ppm ranged between 61 and 98%, whereas in the other three commodities it did not exceed 42%. Mortality of R. dominica after 14 d on grains treated 50 ppm ranged between 91 and 100%. For this species, progeny production from exposed parental adults was low in all commodities regardless of temperature. Results indicate that spinosad dust can be used as an alternative to traditional grain protectants, but its effectiveness is highly determined by the target species, commodity, dose, and temperature.

Regional tritrophic relationship patterns of five aphid parasitoid species (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Aphidiinae) in agroecosystem-dominated landscapes of southeastern Europe.

ABSTRACT A regional survey of the complex tritrophic associations (parasitoid-aphid-plant) of aphid parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Aphidiinae) was carried out to determine and explore the patterns of those associations in various types of environments. Here, we present trophic relationship patterns of the five aphid parasitoid species in crop and noncrop habitats in southeastern Europe, and we contrast them in a regional (Mediterranean [MED] versus continental [CNT]) context. In total, 79 aphid host taxa were identified in this survey. Forty-two of these were recorded from noncrop plants only, 21 from crop plants only, and 18 were present on both types of plants. This means that ≈74% of all the parasitoid-aphid trophic interactions that support the persistence of the five selected parasitoids are entirely (54%) or partially (20%) associated with noncrop plants. The correspondence of parasitoid-aphid combinations among habitat/region combinations is very high and specific. Our results suggest that Mediterranean and continental regions are clearly distinguished by a contrasting pattern of trophic interactions in crop habitats, whereas the noncrop habitats contribute in lesser degree to these differences. For the crop/noncrop breakdown, the number of nonspecific interactions was larger than expected in crop habitats, whereas in noncrop habitats the abundance of partially specific and specific interactions was larger. The analysis of variance for the regional and habitat distribution of mean aphid host number per parasitoid was highly significant. When both regions were analyzed separately, the parasitoid/crop design showed significant parasitoid effects as well as interactions, whereas the habitat effect was not significant for the Mediterranean region and highly so for the continental region. This highly complex pattern suggests that the mean number of parasitized aphid species is not distributed among parasitoids, regions, and habitats in a similar manner. Even with these complexities taken into account, the overall trend is that noncrop habitats support more parasitoid-aphid combinations and more so in the continental than in Mediterranean regions, although not always statistically significant. As mentioned, large number of noncrop aphid hosts, especially for Lysiphlebus fabarum (Marshall), Praon volucre (Haliday) and Aphidius colemani Viereck, can significantly enhance the population buildup for these important parasitoids around agroecosystems. These facts can be important in biological aphid pest control in the region. Although not easily quantified, the overall positive effects of larger parasitoid diversity in noncrop habitats are undoubtedly related to the distribution and structure of noncrop habitat patches in agroecosystems at a landscape scale.

Efficacy of a Combination of Beta-Cyfluthrin and Imidacloprid and Beta-Cyfluthrin Alone for Control of Stored-Product Insects on Concrete

ABSTRACT The insecticidal effect of Temprid, a formulation that contains beta-cyfluthrin and imidacloprid, was tested on concrete for control of seven stored-product insect species: the rusty grain beetle, Cryptolestes ferrugineus (Stephens); the sawtoothed grain beetle, Oryzaephilus surinamensis (L.); the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum (Herbst); the confused flour beetle, T. confusum Jacquelin du Val; the hide beetle, Dermestes maculatus (DeGeer); and the psocids Liposcelis bostrychophila Badonnel and L. paeta Pearman. Temprid, which contains 10.5% beta-cyfluthrin and 21% imidacloprid, was tested at the rate of 17.2 ml of formulation/4.1 liters of water/100 m2. Adults were exposed for 4, 8, 14, and 24 h, and then daily for 7 d, on untreated dishes or dishes treated with Temprid. In the untreated dishes, mortality of C. ferrugineus and O. surinamensis was lower when food was present, but food did not affect mortality of the other species. Presence of food did not affect mortality of any of the species tested in the treated dishes. C. ferrugineus, O. surinamensis, and the two psocid species were very susceptible to Temprid, with mortality of 97–100% after 7 d of exposure. In contrast, D. maculatus, T. castaneum, and T. confusum were tolerant to Temprid, as mortality did not exceed 57, 25, and 17%, respectively, at the 7-d exposure. A separate series of similar bioassays with Tempo, a formulation that contains 11.8% beta-cyfluthrin alone, which was applied at the same dose rate as Temprid, was conducted using O. surinamensis and T. castaneum as the target insect species, and results showed that Tempo was at least as effective as Temprid. Our results indicate that the simultaneous use of beta-cyfluthrin with imidacloprid is not more effective on concrete than beta-cyfluthrin alone, and efficacy of both formulations varies with the target species.

Insecticidal Efficacy of Abamectin Against Three Stored-Product Insect Pests: Influence of Dose Rate, Temperature, Commodity, and Exposure Interval

ABSTRACT The insecticidal efficacy of abamectin against adults of Rhyzopertha dominica (F.), Sitophilus oryzae (L.), and Tribolium confusum Jacquelin du Val was assessed under laboratory conditions. The efficacy of abamectin was assessed on two commodities (wheat, Triticum aestivum L. and maize, Zea mays L.) and two temperatures (25 and 31°C). The dose rates used were 0.01, 0.1, 0.5, and 1 ppm. Mortality of the exposed adults in the treated grains was measured after 7, 14 and 21 d (=days), whereas progeny production was assessed 60 d later. Increase of dose rate, exposure interval, and temperature enhanced the efficacy of abamectin. Noticeable mortality was noted for all species after 21 d of exposure, although for S. oryzae, mortality was very high even at 7 d. For dose rates higher than 0.5 ppm, the efficacy of abamectin was higher in maize than in wheat against all species tested. Finally, progeny production was measured for all three species on commodities treated with 0.01 and 0.1 ppm of abamectin.