Abstract: In this era of global climate change, intrinsic rapid and evolutionary responses of invasive agricultural pests to thermal variability are of concern given the potential implications on their biogeography and dire consequences on human food security. For insects, chill coma recovery time (CCRT) and critical thermal minima (CTmin ), the point at which neuromuscu-lar coordination is lost following cold exposure, remain good indices for cold tolerance. Using laboratory-reared Spodopte...
Abstract: Background: Climate warming presents physiological challenges to insects, manifesting as loss of key life-historyfitness traitsand survival. For interacting host–parasitoid species, physiological responses to heat stress may vary, thereby potentiallyuncoupling trophic ecological relationships. Here, we assessed heat tolerance traits and sensitivity to prevailing and futuremaximum temperatures for the cereal stemborer pests,Chilo partellus,Busseola fuscaandSesamia calamistisand th...
Abstract: In the laboratory, the pathogenicity of thirteen isolates of Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschnikoff) Sorokin and two isolates of Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin against the melon fly Zeugodacus cucurbitae (Coquillett) were assessed by exposing adults to 0.3 g of dry conidia (~3 × 109 conidia) of each isolate for 5 min and monitoring mortality for up to 5 days. Compatibility with a male pheromone, cuelure, (4-(p-acetoxyphenyl)-2-butanone), was determined by testing conidial ge...
Abstract: This paper reviews edible insect species and the host plant diversity associated with them in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), including their seasonal availability throughout the year. Entomophagy practices are mapped on country scale and nationwide patterns of consumption are explored. Moreover, motives for consumer acceptance (or rejection) of insects as food are reported based on survey data and focus groups. The paper also points out research gaps (concerning notabl...
Abstract: Pest management in major cropping systems has long been dominated by chemical pesticides in Africa. Smallholder farmers have perceived pesticides as insurance to protect their crops. Consumers are less aware of pesticide-related food-safety issues, and markets providing economic incentives to producers who adopt alternatives to pesticides have been slow to emerge. Hence, overuse of pesticides has been constantly increasing. Although African countries have a number of pesticide-rela...
Abstract: One health’ (OH) is a cross-sectoral approach that addresses human, plant, animal, and environmental health problems. The initiative stems from recognition of the convoluted linkages among global health risks and the need for coherent multipronged countermeasures. For agriculture, environmental degradation and biodiversity depletion wrought by heavy reliance on inorganic inputs to meet the needs of the ever-growing human population, are a matter of societal concern. Agroecologica...
Abstract: Climate change raises a serious threat to global entomofauna—the foundation of many ecosystems—by threatening species preservation and the ecosystem services they provide. Already, changes in climate—warming—are causing (i) sharp phenological mismatches among host–parasitoid systems by reducing the window of host susceptibility, leading to early emergence of either the host or its associated parasitoid and affecting mismatched species’ fitness and abundance; (ii) shifti...
Abstract: Tuta absoluta feeds on solanaceous plants with preference on tomato. Management of the pest is mostly with chemical insecticides. This study identified insecticide resistant populations and predicted resistance to insecticides. Insecticide resistance development was modelled using system thinking, and system dynamics approaches. The model showed the pest resistance development is alarming with an exponential increase of the resistance strength mostly in recent years. Furthermore, w...
Abstract: Abstract: Flower visiting stingless bees store collected pollen and nectar for times of scarcity. This stored food is of high value for the colony and should be protected against con- and that might rob them. There should be high selective pressure on the evolution of mechanisms todiscriminate nestmates from non-nestmates and to defend the nest, i.e., resources against intruders.Multimodal communication systems, i.e., a communication system that includes more than sensory modality ...
Abstract: The genus Tanaostigma is newly recorded from the Afrotropical region and three new species are described: Tanaostigma lasallei van Noort sp. nov. (South Africa), Tanaostigma mulu van Noort sp. nov. (Kenya) and Tanaostigma ukumbusho van Noort sp. nov. (Kenya). We provide comprehensive images of the holotypes and an illustrated identification key to the African species. New country distribution records are provided for Tanaostigmodes tambotis Prinsloo & LaSalle, 1995. All images pres...
Abstract: Olfaction is orchestrated at different stages and involves various proteins at each step.For example, odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) are soluble proteins found in sensillum lymph that might encounter odorants before reaching the odorant receptors. In tsetse flies, the function of OBPs in olfaction is less understood. Here, we investigated the role of OBPs in Glossina fuscipes fuscipes olfaction, the main vector of sleeping sickness, using multidisciplinary approaches. Our tissue e...
Abstract: Insects that transmit many of the world’s deadliest animal diseases, for instance trypanosomosis, find their suitable hosts and avoid non-preferred hosts mostly through olfactory cues. The waterbuck repellent blend (WRB) comprising geranylacetone,guaiacol, pentanoic acid, and δ-octalactone derived from waterbuck skin odor is a repellent to some savannah-adapted tsetse flies and reduces trap catches of riverine species. However, the cellular and molecular mechanisms associated wi...
Abstract: Desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria) plagues threaten agricultural production, food security and the environment across Africa, the Middle East, and Southwest Asia. Control methods targeting adult desert locusts present significant challenges and financial costs. Recognizing this, we developed a ground-breaking fuzzy set Mamdani type inference model that provides an innovative solution for early warning alerts. The model aids in predicting the juvenile stages of locust development...
Abstract: Data on the biotransfer of heavy metals along the soil-plant-edible insect-human food chain collected along a 60km pollution gradient is presented here. These datasets consists of concentrations of eight heavy metals (Arsenic, Cadmium, Copper, Chromium, Iron, Nickel, Lead and Zinc) in the soils, in five host plants species, and in seven edible insect species determined using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS). Datasets for the daily intake of metals and target hazard quotien...
Abstract: Stingless bees (Apidae: Meliponini) provide pollination services to crops and produce high–quality honey. The application of agrochemicals during the management of crop pests is an increasing threat to pollina tors and the ecosystem services they provide. Biopesticides are considered as better alternatives; however, there is limited evidence of their impact on stingless bees. We evaluated the effect of the most widely used African fungal biopesticide (Metarhizium anisopliae ICIPE...