Abstract: In Ethiopia, access to improved water supply and sanitation was estimated at 52% and 28%, respectively. Over 60-80% of the communicable diseases are arising from unsafe and inadequate water supply, poor hygiene condition and lack of regular treatment of water. This study was conducted to assess the microbial and physicochemical quality of drinking water in Woliso Town. The study was conducted from February 2016 to May 2016. A total of 51 water samples were collected from disinfecte...
Abstract: Huanglongbing (HLB) is a serious disease of Citrus sp. worldwide. in Africa and the Mascarene islands, a similar disease is known as African citrus greening (AcG) and is associated with the bacterium Candidatus Liberibacter africanus (Laf). in recent years, Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (Las) associated with the severe HLB has been reported in ethiopia. thus, we aimed to identify the Liberibacter species affecting citrus, the associated vectors in Eastern Africa and their ecolo...
Abstract: The stem borer Busseola fusca (Fuller) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is an important pest of maize and sorghum in sub-Saharan Africa. This insect has oligophagous feeding habits, feeding mostly on maize and sorghum with a narrow range of wild Poaceous plant species. We hypothesised that first instar B. fusca larvae, the critical stage for successful establishment on a host plant, can establish and then grow on a particular plant as a result of induction of a complement of digestive enzy...
Abstract: Experiments were carried out to evaluate the efficacy of Metarhizium anisopliae (Metsch.)Sorok. (Ascomycota: Hypocreales)-treated semiochemical-baited traps for control of Amblyomma variegatum Fabriscius (Acari: Ixodidae) under field conditions. Unfed A. variegatum adults (118) were seeded in each 100-m plot and allowed to acclimatise for 3 days. On the fourth day (Day 4), an emulsifiable formulation of M. anisopliae (consisting of 49.5% sterile distilled water, fungal conidia, 49....
Abstract: Ceratitis FAR is an African species complex comprising insect pests of great economic interest and obscure species limits. Here, we report the mitochondrial genomes of two members of the FAR com-plex, namely Ceratitis rosa and the recently characterized Ceratitis quilicii. A phylogenetic analysis based on PCGs of available Tephritidae mitogenomes is presented. The current mitochondrial sequen- ces from the FAR complex could contribute toward the resolution of phylogenetic relations...
Abstract: The peach fruit fly Bactrocera zonata (Saunders) (Diptera: Tephritidae) is an important invasive species causing substantial losses to the horticulture industry worldwide. Despite the severe economic impact caused by this pest in its native and invaded range, information on its potential range expansion under changing climate remains largely unknown. In this study, we employed maximum entropy (MaxEnt) modeling approach to predict the global potential climatic suitability of B. zona...
Abstract: Tephritid fruit flies are considered one of the world’s most notorious pests of horticultural crops, causing extensive direct and indirect damage. Over the past two decades, a comprehensive, integrated pest management (IPM) package for the management of a plethora of fruit fly pests, including Bactrocera dorsalis, B. latifrons, B. zonata, Ceratitis cosyra, C. rosa, C. fasciventris, C. quilici, C. capitata, Dacus spp. and Zeugodacus cucurbitae, has been developed, disseminated and...
Abstract: Background The invasive fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) is a polyphagous pest that causes widespread damage particularly to maize and sorghum in Africa. The microbiome associated with S. frugiperda could play a role in the insects’ success and adaptability. However, bacterial communities in S. frugiperda remain poorly studied. Methods We investigated the composition, abundance and diversity of microbiomes associated with larval and adult specimens of S. frugiper...
Abstract: In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), tomato is an economically important crop that contributes not only to employment and income, but also food security. Like the rest of the SSA countries, tomato production in Kenya is constrained mainly by pests and diseases, key among them being the tomato leaf miner (Tuta absoluta), which can cause 80–100% losses if not properly managed. To suppress this pest, the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) and partners are introduc...
Abstract: The potential of semiochemicals to lure insect pests to a trap where they can be killed with biopesticides has been demonstrated as an eco-friendly pest management alternative. In this study, we tested two recently characterized male-produced aggregation pheromones of the bean flower thrips Megalurothrips sjostedti (Trybom), namely (R)-lavandulyl 3-methylbutanoate (major) and (R)-lavandulol (minor), for their field efficacy. Moreover, compatibility of these pheromones and two other...
Abstract: Group living at high densities may result in the enhanced transmission of pathogens.Social insects are obligate group-living species, which often also exhibit high relatedness and frequentsocial interactions amongst individuals, resulting in a high risk of disease spread. Social species seemto exhibit immune systems that provide colonies of social insects with a certain level of flexibility foradjustment of immune activity according to the risk of disease spread. In bumblebees,Bomb...
Abstract: Cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) are used for chemical communication among nestmates in many ant species, and they may play a role in the discrimination of nestmates and non-nestmates. Using the mandible opening response (MOR) bioassay, we tested the response of the African termite raiding ant, Pachycondyla analis, to CHC extracts of nestmates and non-nestmates. The ants were able to distinguish control chemical cues, from nestmate CHCs, and from non-nestmate CHCs, and, based on a CHC...
Abstract: What does ‘mosquito specialist’mean? A mosquito specialist is a predator that actively prefers mosquitoes, by which we mean that it is differentially motivated to capture mosquitoes among possible prey. This would make it extraordinarily useful, as it would be targeting an insect that matters to people. At best, the mosquito is a nuisance and, at worst,it is a notorious disease vector. There may be many predators that eat alot of mosquitoes, but experimental evidence is needed ...
Abstract: At six sites in western Kenya, we explored the presence of Anopheles immature stages in treeholes. An. gambiae larvae were found in 19 species, 13 of which are exotic. The most common exotic species were Delonix regia, Jacaranda mimosipholia, and Eucalyptus citrodora. In Kisumu city, longitudinal assessments of 10 flamboyant trees showed repeated presence of An. gambiae s.s. in treeholes with water. Production of Anopheles larvae did not correlate with habitat volume but with habit...
Abstract: Many arboviruses transmitted by mosquitoes have been implicated as causative agents of both human and animal illnesses in East Africa. Although epidemics of arboviral emerging infectious diseases have risen in frequency in recent years, the extent to which mosquitoes maintain pathogens in circulation during inter-epidemic periods is still poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate whether arboviruses may be maintained by vertical transmission via immature life stages of dif...