An female Aedes albopictus mosquito obtains a blood meal from a human host

 

Sex proteins may help fight mosquito-borne diseases - Better understanding of mosquito seminal fluid proteins – transferred from males to females during mating – may hold keys to controlling the Asian tiger mosquito, the world’s fastest-spreading invasive species, found in the U.S. and elsewhere. This mosquito is an important vector for dengue and chikungunya fevers as well as dog heartworm.

These seminal fluid proteins, it turns out, have profound effects on the female mosquito’s physiology post-mating, including rendering future eggs infertile and curbing the female’s appetite for blood.

For the first time, researchers from Cornell University and the College of Wooster have identified 198 seminal fluid proteins in the Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus).

The findings were reported June 19 in the journal Public Library of Science Neglected Tropical Diseases.

“Our results provide a foundation for future studies to investigate the roles of individual seminal fluid proteins on feeding and reproduction in this mosquito,” said Laura Harrington, Cornell professor of entomology and a co-author of the paper. Kathryn Boes, a postdoctoral researcher at the College of Wooster, is the paper’s lead author.

“Our paper is a significant step forward in our understanding of the mating biology of this species and will bring us closer to our goal of identifying novel targets for mosquito control,” Harrington added.

The researchers have been studying genes that express seminal fluid proteins, and trying to understand their functions and effects on the female after they are transferred. One possibility is to use these insights to develop genetically modified mosquitoes that can no longer transmit dengue, for example.

“Whether transgenic mosquitos will be accepted or not is another issue we are also considering,” said Harrington.

In past research, the scientists identified seminal fluid proteins in male Aedes aegypti mosquitos, which is related to the Asian tiger mosquito and also spreads dengue fever, chikungunya and yellow fever viruses, among other diseases. When comparing the proteins from the two mosquitos, the researchers found only about 36 percent of the seminal fluid proteins were similar between the two species.

“That’s not surprising, because we find that seminal fluid protein genes are rapidly evolving,” said Harrington. The comparable proteins point to genes that are likely conserved through evolution, suggesting they have important functions, and offering targets for further research.

Co-authors include Mariana Wolfner, Cornell professor of molecular biology and genetics, and Laura Sirot, assistant professor of biology at the College of Wooster.

The study was funded by the Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station’s USDA Hatch funds and the National Institutes of Health.

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House fly (Musca Domestica)

Kill flies by alternating pesticides, monitoring need - Old-fashioned fly swatters may be the most foolproof housefly killer, but for dairy farms, insecticides are the practical choice. Flies spread disease and a host of pathogens that cost farms hundreds of millions of dollars in annual losses.

Unfortunately, with the repeated use of the same insecticides, flies develop resistance through genetic mutations that make these products less effective.

Cornell entomologist Jeff Scott and colleagues have analyzed levels of resistance to six insecticides in flies, and they have identified the mutations that led to resistance in houseflies from cattle farms in nine states around the country.

They found high levels of resistance to the most common insecticide, permethrin, used by farmers around the country. Other treatments varied by location, and levels of resistance to different compounds varied as well.

What does Scott recommend? “Only use insecticides when they are needed,” he said. Some farmers decide, “it’s Tuesday and I need to spray. We recommend that farmers monitor [fly] levels and only use an insecticide when they will benefit from spraying.” In addition, Scott suggests alternating insecticides over a season or each month and using biological control agents such as tiny parasitoid wasps.

Genetic mutations are random and can occur from sunlight radiation or from errors in copying DNA, Scott said. “They happen by chance,” he said. “When you use an insecticide and one mutation lets a fly survive, then that mutation is carried forward in the population.”

Scott and colleagues published findings last fall in the journal Pesticide Biochemistry and Physiology and are working to understand three main mutations that confer pesticide resistance in houseflies.

Unexpectedly, one of the mutations – which was not the most common – caused the highest resistance to permethrin, and another mutation that led to the lowest levels of resistance was the most common in some locations. The scientists expected the most effective mutation to be the most common. Future research will solve the dilemma.

“We think it is due to fitness costs,” where a mutation allows the fly to survive insecticides, but is not optimal in terms of overall health, Scott said.

Colleagues in this work include researchers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service and universities across the United States.

This research was supported by the Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station's USDA Hatch funds.

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NMSU entomology students travel to Belize

Scott Bundy, associate professor of entomology at New Mexico State University, traveled to Belize to research arthropods. They explored different parts of the country, finding a myriad of insects unique to that country.

In March, through the Faculty-led International Programs, a group of eight students, led by Scott Bundy, associate professor of entomology in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at New Mexico State University, traveled to Belize to research and experience its biodiversity.

From venomous spiders, ants, leafhoppers and even marine invertebrates, the students’ non-stop, 10-day trip brought a new perspective of what it’s like to work as an entomologist in the field.

“The idea was to get them out in the ‘wild’ because the insect diversity of tropical areas is so different than what we have around here,” Bundy said. “The purpose of the class was to learn about arthropod biology, to observe how the animals behave in their environment, to learn proper field research techniques, and to just be more hands-on.”
stalk eyed fly 300x145 Thinking outside the lab: NMSU entomology students travel to Belize

Bundy added they found several insects, such as a relative of a stalk-eyed fly, which appear to be common in Belize but are not found in New Mexico.

Every activity doubled as a learning experience and included visiting ancient Mayan ruins, caves, reefs and what many students enjoyed, tasting the local cuisine.

“One of the biggest things we got to enjoy was their food, which has a lot of variety,” said Helen Vessel, assistant researcher at Bundy’s lab in the Department of Entomology, Plant Pathology and Weed Science. “Every meal was a feast.”

But, before getting on the plane, students participated in a series of lectures on campus, which included Mayan history and arthropod taxonomy and biology, enabling them to familiarize themselves with the types of insects they would encounter in different parts of the country.

Students also used and practiced different sampling techniques, many of which they had learned in a classroom setting but were not often able to use because of the habitat differences in New Mexico.

Bundy added they found several insects, such as a relative of a stalk-eyed fly, which appear to be common in Belize but are not found in New Mexico.

“Every location was different and we set up black light traps at nights and the amount of insects it attracted was amazing,” said Danielle Lara, student majoring in agricultural biology.

Lara had a close encounter with one of the most venomous spiders in the world. The spider was found in her cabin. How she managed to sleep after the incident? “By putting a net over my bed,” she said.

“The biodiversity is huge compared to here. You find moths the size of your face or you would be completely surrounded by tiny shiny objects on the ground at night, which turned out to be spider eyes,” Vessel added.

Lara and Vessel agreed this trip had been an important learning experience for future field work and learning about arthropods in their habitats. Here in New Mexico, they usually collect insects and bring them straight to the lab, without studying their behavior in their natural environment.

Tropical areas provided different environments and required students to use critical thinking skills as well as practical and academic tools.

They studied arthropods and their habitats in forests, jungles, rivers, caves, cayes and rivers.

Bundy added they found several insects, such as a relative of a stalk-eyed fly, which appear to be common in Belize but are not found in New Mexico.

“They look like little hammer-head sharks,” he said. “The males have eyes on extended stalks. And, we got to bring a couple of them back, so that we can identify the particular species of this bizarre insect.”

Bundy said this trip changed how he looks for prospective research in New Mexico. In the future he would like to study a few new groups of insects he has not fully explored in his 14 years as an entomologist at NMSU.

“This trip gave us new ideas on how we might address our research on insects we find here, and maybe look at them with a new perspective,” Bundy said.

Through the FLiP program, NMSU has developed a close relationship with Belize, which allowed the students to bring back a few samples of insects to continue their research and develop checklists of arthropod species.

“This is the second trip of its kind. Not much is known about the diversity of many of the insect groups there, so it is a good way for us at NMSU and Belize to share information,” Bundy said.

Watch the YouTube video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIC4lUOwpZQ&feature=youtu.be.

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Entomology From Wikipedia

Entomology (from Greek ἔντομος, entomos, "that which is cut in pieces or engraved/segmented", hence "insect"; and -λογία, -logia[1]) is the scientific study of insects, a branch of arthropodology. In the past the term "insect" was more vague, and historically the definition of entomology included the study of terrestrial animals in other arthropod groups or other phyla, such as arachnids, myriapods, earthworms, land snails, and slugs. This wider meaning may still be encountered in informal use.

Like several of the other fields that are categorized within zoology, entomology is a taxon-based category; any form of scientific study in which there is a focus on insect related inquiries is, by definition, entomology. Entomology therefore includes a cross-section of topics as diverse as molecular genetics, behavior, biomechanics, biochemistry, systematics, physiology, developmental biology, ecology, morphology, paleontology, mathematics, anthropology, robotics, agriculture, nutrition, forensic science, and more.

At some 1.3 million described species, insects account for more than two-thirds of all known organisms,[2] date back some 400 million years, and have many kinds of interactions with humans and other forms of life on earth.

History of entomology
Plate from Transactions of the Entomological Society, 1848.
See also: Timeline of entomology

Entomology is rooted in nearly all human cultures from prehistoric times, primarily in the context of agriculture (especially biological control and beekeeping), but scientific study began only as recently as the 16th century.[3]

William Kirby is widely considered as the father of Entomology. In collaboration with William Spence he published a definitive entomological encyclopedia, Introduction to Entomology, regarded as the subject's foundational text. He also helped to found the Royal Entomological Society in London in 1833, one of the earliest such societies in the world; (earlier antecedents, such as the Aurelian society date back to the 1740s.)[4]

Entomology developed rapidly in the 19th and 20th centuries, and was studied by large numbers of people, including such notable figures as Charles Darwin, Jean-Henri Fabre, Vladimir Nabokov, Karl von Frisch (winner of the 1973 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine,[5]) and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner E. O. Wilson.

Identification of insects
These 100 Trigonopterus species were described simultaneously using DNA barcoding

Most insects can easily be recognized to order such as Hymenoptera (bees, wasps, and ants) or Coleoptera (beetles). However, insects other than Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) are typically identifiable to genus or species only through the use of Identification keys and Monographs. Because the class Insecta contains a very large number of species (over 330,000 species of beetles alone) and the characteristics separating them are unfamiliar, and often subtle (or invisible without a microscope), this is often very difficult even for a specialist. This has led to the development of automated species identification systems targeted on insects, for example, Daisy, ABIS, SPIDA and Draw-wing

Insect identification is an increasingly common hobby, with butterflies and dragonflies being the most popular.

Entomology in Pest Control

In 1994 the Entomological Society of America launched a new professional certification program for the pest control industry called The Associate Certified Entomologist (ACE). To qualify as a true entomologist an individual would normally require an advanced degree, with most entomologists pursuing their PhD. While not true entomologists in the traditional sense, individuals who attain the ACE certification may be referred to as ACEs, Amateur entomologists, Associate entomologists or –more commonly– Associate-Certified Entomologists.

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The Royal Entomological Society

The Royal Entomological Society was founded in 1833 as the Entomological Society of London and is the successor to a number of short-lived societies dating back to 1745.

The first meetings were held in the Thatched House Tavern, St. James's Street. Various other places in their turn became the scene of the Society's activities before the freehold of the headquarters at 41 Queen's Gate was bought in 1920, where the Society stayed until 2007 when the Mansion House at St Albans was purchased.

In 1885 a Royal Charter was granted to the Entomological Society by Queen Victoria and the privilege of adding the word "Royal" to the title was granted by King George V in 1933, the Centenary of the Society's foundation.

Many eminent scientists of the past, Darwin and Wallace to mention but two, have been Fellows of the Society. Through the years most internationally recognised entomologists have been and are, numbered among the Fellowship.
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