The black fly, Aleurocanthus woglumi Ashby, is an important pest of citrus in Brazil causing damage that leads to significant economic losses. In this work, we sought to test extracts of Mimosa tenuiflora, a typical plant of the Brazilian caatinga, as an alternative for use in controlling the pest. We used extracts at concentrations of 3, 5, 7 and 10 mg L^-1. The nymphs were exposed by immersing the leaf in the solution and kept in controlled conditions of temperature, humidity and photoperiod for evaluation of mortality. The extract at 5 mg L^-1 provided the highest morality over the days of evaluation. The species showed promise to be further investigated for use in citrus blackfly control.

In the last 20 years, the ranges of some native and alien phytophagous insects have noticeably expanded northward in the European part of Russia. A simple deterministic linear model reliably describes the observed temperature dynamics for the last 120 years showing confident temperature increase. It is a worrying trend bearing in mind that such change may promote insect outbreaks and favor the arrival of novel unwanted pests. Here we discuss climate change impact and provide preliminary assessment of economic losses due to invasive insects in Northwestern Russia.

Changes in environmental factors affect natural phenological patterns. In the Northern Baikal region, the main drivers of climate change are air temperatures. Average annual air temperatures for the study period 2005–2020 increased by 0.4 °C, while the level of atmospheric precipitation remained the same. Changes in the temperature regime led to shifts in the phenological seasons of the year. The beginning of the spring-summer season began to outpace the average long-term dates, and the onset of the autumn-winter seasons began to lag behind. The biological summer has increased by 7–8 days. Phenological shifts in the calendar seasons of the year affect the vital processes of ectothermic plant and animal species. The kinetics of phenological shifts has been studied. Using the example of the dominant species of ground beetles of the Barguzinsky Reserve, we present a method for determining the rate and direction of phenological shifts in the stages of seasonal activity.

The invasive spotted wing drosophila (SWD - Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura, 1931)) became an important pest in several parts of Europe in less than one decade. High variations are reported by geographical regions in the phenology of the species and thus in the damages in different soft-skinned fruits. Our study aimed to compare phenological patterns of SWD in various neighbouring habitats (cherry/sour cherry and blackberry plantations, forested and built-up areas) in a hilly berry production region of Hungary (Nógrád county). The investigation consisted of operating 16 bottle traps (with vinegar and red wine) on eight spots during four years (2017-2020). The traps in cherry/sour cherry plantations caught the highest number of SWD (n=21997), which was followed by forests (n=20616), built-up areas (n=10567) and blackberry plantations (n=5035). No substantial differences were found in phenological patterns between the habitat types in any year; the catches did not reflect the lack of ripening fruits. The highest numbers of SWD imagoes were caught in September and October, while virtually no SWD individuals were caught before July. The lack of SWD catches in the first half of the year suggests that long-distance migration may play an essential role in the population dynamic of SWD by re-establishing pest populations regularly in mid-summer in Hungary.

The study was financially supported by NKFIH grant (k119844).

The Black Sea coast of Russia is a recipient region for many alien insect pests. In 2018, we detected an invasive woolly whitefly Aleurothrixus floccosus (Maskell) (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) attacking citruses in the agrocenoses and ornamental plantations in the region of Sochi. Furthermore, we clarified the secondary range of an alien whitefly, Aleuroclava aucubae (Kuwana) (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) in the humid subtropics of Russia. Another plant-sucking invader, the western conifer seed bug Leptoglossus occidentalis Heidemann (Heteroptera: Coreidae) was revealed in the Black Sea coast of Crimea in 2019. Further distribution and trophic associations of these novel alien pests are discussed.

In search for ecofriendly alternatives to chemical pesticides, the study was conducted to find the toxicity of a partially purified extract of an endophytic fungus Schizophyllum commune using Spodoptera litura (Fabricius) as a model. Toxicity was assessed by cytotoxic analysis using fluorescence microscopy on third instar larvae of S.litura fed with the same concentrations. In addition, various morphological deformities in larvae, pupae and adults were also recorded, after feeding second instar larvae to a diet supplemented with partial purified fungal extract up to a prepupal stage. The results showed various morphological deformities in larvae, pupae and adults. In cytotoxic effect, a significantly lower number of living haemocytes and a very high number of apoptotic and necrotic cells were observed in larvae treated with partial purified fungal extract for different time intervals (24hr, 48hr, 72hr and 96hr). The extent of recovery of cytotoxicity caused by the fungal extract was almost negligible indicating its long term effect. Overall the study highlights the significance of pesticides which are biologically originated, eco-friendly and safe.

In the Volgograd region, about 80.0% of the total dendrological composition is accounted for by representatives of the genus Ulmus. Phyllophages of different ecological groups are trophically associated with tree species Ulmus: leaf-eating – Operophtera brumata (Linnaeus, 1758), Lymantria dispar (Linnaeus, 1758), elm springtail Dicranura ulmi (Denis, 1775), Acleris boscana (Fabricius, 1794) and others; gall-forming – Tetraneura (Tetraneura) ulmi (Linnaeus, 1758), Eriosoma lanuginosum (Hartig, 1839) and E. ulmi (Linnaeus, 1758), etc.; leaf-mining insects – Stigmella viscerella (Stainton, 1853), St. lemniscella (Zeller, 1839), St. ulmivora (Fologne, 1860), Fenusa ulmi (Sundevall, 1847). Among them, leaf-eating pests are distinguished, which reduce decorativeness and worsen the condition of woody plants. One of the economically dangerous species is Xanthogaleruca luteola Müller, 1766 (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). For the first time, mass reproduction of the pest under the conditions of the region was observed in the middle of the 20th century. Сurrently, outbreaks of the number of X. luteola are noted periodically. The leaf beetle inhabits trees in plantations of all types and ecological categories, while the number of the pest varies depending on the ecological conditions of biotopes. This pest colonizes and assimilates foliage in the middle and lower parts of elm crowns (up to 81.7% of the total number). The maximum harm to the assimilation apparatus of trees is caused by the larvae of the leaf beetle.

Chemical factors or plant secondary metabolites (PSM) contributes towards larval host plant choice among butterflies. Significantly, such PSM are the basis of ethnomedicinal plants as recognised by traditional healers since time immemorial. A total of 27 papilionid butterflies utilizing 26 species of medicinal plants as their ovipositing substrate were observed. Graphium cloanthus, G, sarpedon, G, eurypylus (PI values: 3.873) were polyphagous species. On the contrary, G. antiphates, G. nomius, Atrophaneura polyeuctes, A. aidenous, Troides helena, (PI: 1.000) were strictly monophagous. The medicinal utilization values (U_v) of such plant species was recognised. Aristolochia indica (U_v=0.474) and Citrus medica (U_v=0.44) appeared to be the most popular medicinal plant among the proponents of ethnomedicine.

Oedaleus decorus is a widely distributed species over the Eurasian semi-arid territories, from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific one. In many semi-arid territories, O. decorus was and is the important pest. In the south-eastern part of West Siberian Plain, until the 1960s it was not considered a pest. We compared two sets of data on the acridid distribution in the region: until the 1950s and from the 1960s until 2019. Until the 1960s the species occurred mainly in the southern steppes. Since the 1960s its distribution changed significantly. Nowadays it occupies almost all local steppes and the southern part of the forest-steppes and was also found on the eastern side of the Ob River. These shifts may be explained by both climatic changes and changes in human activities. During upsurges the densities of O. decorus were often more than 1–2 adults per square meter. It was and is often abundant in the same habitats and in the same periods as the Italian locust (Calliptamus italicus) – one of the most important pest. This means during joint outbreaks these two species can simultaneously damage almost all spectrum of plants.

The implementation of the sterile insect technique (SIT) to control Drosophila suzukii requires the released sterile males to compete with their wild counterparts. We performed multiple-choice mating tests to assess the effect of irradiation and atmosphere treatments on the mating competitiveness of sterile males under laboratory conditions. Overall, irradiation and atmosphere treatments did not influence the sterile males’ ability to compete with the untreated counterparts.