Abstract: Larval rearing of Bactrocera invadens Drew, Tsuruta & White (Diptera: Tephritidae) on artiÞcial diet is described. The adaptation process for this insect, when moved from whole mango, Mangifera indica L., fruit rearing to artiÞcial diet based on wheat bran, took between three and Þve generations to reach the plateau of quality control parameters observed for rearing the insect on whole mango fruit. Small-scale rearing on wheat, Triticum aestivum L.-, or carrot, Daucus corata-bas...
Abstract: Varroa-specific hygienic behavior is a hereditary trait of honey bee (Apis mellifera), which supports resistance to Varroa destructor. This study investigated the response of Apis mellifera scutellata to Varroa-infested worker brood cells in Kenya, East Africa. Uncapping, removal of the brood, and disappearance of the introduced mite were recorded in a total of 690 cells into which live mites were introduced. We recorded a high proportion of untouched cells in controls (median, 80%...
Abstract: Efforts to recycle organic wastes using black soldier fly (BSF) Hermetia illucens into high-nutrient biomass that constitutes a sustainable fat (biodiesel) and high-quality protein ingredient in animal feeds have recently gained momentum worldwide. However, there is little information on the most suitable rearing conditions for growth, development and survivorship of these flies, which is a prerequisite for mass production technologies. We evaluated the physiological requirements f...
Abstract: Abstract: Spoladea recurvalis F. is a major pest moth of amaranth (Amaranthus spp.) flowers worldwide,with a potential of causing complete foliage loss under severe outbreaks. Chemical insecticides are uneconomical for resource-poor farmers and pose health and environmental risks. Host plant resistance (HPR) to insects is an effective, economical and environmentally friendly alternative that is poorly understood and largely unexploited among traditional leafy vegetables. A total of...
Abstract: Avocado (Persea americana) fruits are an important source of income and a nutritious food for small-scale growers and other stakeholders involved in farming along the Afrotropical highlands of Taita Hills and Mount Kilimanjaro in Kenya and Tanzania, respectively. Avocado fruits are infested by several insect pests, namely the Asian invasive fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) (Diptera:Tephritidae), and the false codling moth, Thaumatotibia leucotreta Meyrick (Lepidoptera: Tortr...
Abstract: The effects of mixed cropping systems containing maize, sorghum, millet and beans on infestations of cereals by lepidopteran stemborers and on associated parasitoids, as well as on yields and land equivalent ratios (LER) were assessed during four consecutive rainy seasons at two sites in the semi-arid eastern region of Kenya. Systems containing the non-host bean were more efficient in reducing pest densities than those with millet or sorghum only. Higher parasitism in diversified s...
Abstract: The host recognition and acceptance behaviour of two braconid larval parasitoids (Cotesia sesamiae and C. flavipes) were studied using natural stemborer hosts (i.e., the noctuid Busseola fusca for C. sesamiae, and the crambid Chilo partellus for C. flavipes) and a non-host (the pyralid Eldana saccharina). A single larva was introduced into an arena together with a female parasitoid and the behaviour of the wasp recorded until it either stung the larva or for a maximum of 5 min if i...
Abstract: Bermuda grass (=Star grass), Cynodon dactylon, is a perennial plant of the family Poaceae that is native to the African Savannah but is now widely distributed over many warm countries of the world (Marcone et al., 1997). C. dactylon plants were observed at five locations in Mbita and two locations in Bungoma areas of western Kenya showing symptoms similar to Bermuda grass white leaf (BGWL) disease, caused by a phytoplasma (Marcone et al., 1997). Affected grasses exhibited whitening...
Abstract: The ability of the congeneric braconid parasitoids Cotesia sesamiae (Cameron) and Cotesia flavipes Cameron to discriminate between stemborer larval cues upon contact was studied using their natural hosts,namely the noctuid Busseola fusca (Fuller) and the crambid Chilo partellus (Swinhoe), respectively, and the pyralid non-host Eldana saccharina (Walker). When the natural host larvae were washed in distilled water, parasitoid behavior was similar to that displayed when in contact wi...
Abstract: Host acceptability and suitability Psyttalia concolor (Sze´pligeti) is a koinobiont, larval parasitoid of tephritid fruit flies. Individuals of P. concolor were field-collected from coffee in the central highlands of Kenya, and cultured initially on editerranean fruit fly (medfly), Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann). They were then examined for their ability to oviposit in and develop on five other tephritid species that are pests in Kenya. In addition to the medfly, acceptability for...
Abstract: Foraging insect parasitoids use specific chemical cues to discriminate between host and non-host species. Several compounds have been identified in “host location and acceptance.” However, nothing is known about the molecular variations in these compounds that could account for host-range differences between parasitoid species. In a previous study, it was shown that during the host-finding process, contact between the braconid Cotesia flavipes and its host is crucial, and that ...
Abstract: The Asian pupal parasitoid, Xanthopimpla stemmator Thunberg, was imported into East Africa as a classical biological agent of lepidopteran cereal stem borers. Preference of X. stemmator females for four common borers of maize and sorghum; the crambid Chilo partellus (Swinhoe), the pyralid, Eldana saccharina Walker, and the noctuids, Busseola fusca Fuller and Sesamia calamistis Hampson, was investigated. Pre-adult experience of X. stemmator females did not influence choice of host. ...
Abstract: Seventeen isolates of Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschnikoff) Sorokin and three isolates of Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin (Hypocreales: Clavicipitaceae) were evaluated for their pathogenicity to the adult pea leafminer, Liriomyza huidobrensis (Blanchard) (Diptera: Agromyzidae),in the laboratory. Flies were contaminated with dry conidia through a velvet material wrapped around the inner side of a cylindrical plastic tube. All the isolates were pathogenic to the pea leafminer,...
Abstract: The abundance of banana flower thrips (Thrips hawaiiensis Morgan) in a banana (Musa acuminata Colla ªWilliamsº cultivar) plantation was investigated using yellow sticky traps (29.70 cm × 21.00 cm) in 2015. Banana flower thrips occurred throughout the year with monthly variation, and the maximum occurrence was observed in October and November during the bud burst (73.80 ± 6.32 adults/trap) and young fruit (70.06 ± 5.69 adults/trap) periods. The damage rates were as follows: int...
Abstract: In Lepidoptera, larval dietary experience of volatile cues can induce adult preference for these cues. However, such induction may require several generations, depending in part on the degree of specialization of the insects. In a previous study,using species of noctuid stem borers with different diet breadths, namely the polyphagous Sesamia nonagrioides, the oligophagous Busseola fusca and monophagous Busseola nairobica, it was shown that in S. nonagrioides, one generation was eno...