Panonychus citri and Diaphorina citri are serious citrus pests (mites) in many countries. The predatory mite Neoseiulus cucumeris can prey on both P. citri and D. citri. It is necessary to develop a strategy using predatory mites and selective pesticides that can simultaneously control both pests effectively and sustainably. The toxicities of matrine and abamectin to P. citri, D. citri and N. cucumeris were evaluated in the laboratory. Matrine was highly lethal to D. citri and relatively less toxic to P. citri and N. cucumeris. Abamectin was relatively less toxic to D. citri. The results of the field trials demonstrated the ecological control strategy that combined the release of predatory mites and applications of four matrine sprays from June 2011 to November 2011, which provided better control over P. citri than pesticide applications alone with six sprays during the same period. It achieved similar control levels for D. citri. In Matrine + N. cucumeris orchard, the total number of spiders was significantly larger than that in the Pesticides Only orchard, but the total number of predatory mites was lower. It is inferred that primarily natural enemies and matrine together play a role in controlling citrus pests.

Conopomorpha sinensis Bradley is a host-specific pest of Litchi chinensis and Euphoria longan. Here, we demonstrated that C. sinensis has evolved special physical and chemical mechanisms for host plant location that enable it to survive and reproduce. Females favored laying their eggs on the convex surface of litchi fruit that had particular volatile characteristics. Experiments using a H-type olfactometer showed that female C. sinensis were attracted to litchi flowers, tender shoots, immature fruits, and mature fruits, with the highest attraction rate to mature fruits (74.67 ± 2.31%). There were no significant differences in the attraction of male C. sinensis to different litchi tissues. Further oviposition preference tests using the pericarp, pulp, and seeds of mature litchi fruits revealed that female C. sinensis prefer to lay their eggs on the pericarp. Litchi volatiles were found to be important in attracting C. sinensis to fruits for oviposition. Analysis of volatiles from different litchi tissues by HS-SPME-GC-MS revealed 31 similar volatiles, some of which may be important in the oviposition preference choices of C. sinensis on litchi fruit.

Background: Litchi stink-bug, Tessaratoma papillosa Drury (Hemiptera: Tessaratomidae), is one of the most widespread and destructive pest species on Litchi chinensis Sonn and Dimocarpus longan Lour in Southern China. Inappropriate use of chemical pesticides has resulted in serious environmental problems and food pollution. Generating an improved Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategy for litchi stink-bug in orchard farming requires development of an effective biological control agent. Entomopathogenic fungi are regarded as a vital ecological factor in the suppression of pest populations under field conditions. With few effective fungi and pathogenic strains available to control litchi stink-bug, exploration of natural resources for promising entomopathogenic fungi is warranted. Methods & Results: In this study, two pathogenic fungi were isolated from cadavers of adult T. papillosa. They were identified as Paecilomyces lilacinus and Beauveria bassiana by morphological identification and rDNA-ITS homogeneous analysis. Infection of T. papillosa with B. bassiana and P. lilacinus occurred initially from the antennae, metameres, and inter-segmental membranes. Biological tests showed that the two entomopathogenic fungi induced high mortality in 2^nd and 5^th instar nymphs of T. papillosa. B. bassiana was highly virulent on 2^nd instar nymphs of T. papillosa, with values for cadaver rate, LC₅₀ and LT₅₀ of 88.89%, 1.92 × 10⁷ conidia/mL and 4.34 days respectively. Discussion: This study provides two valuable entomopathogenic fungi from T. papillosa. This finding suggests that the highly virulent P. lilacinus and B. bassiana play an important role in the biocontrol of T. papillosa in China. These pathogenic fungi had no pollution or residue risk, and could provide an alternative option for IPM of litchi stink-bug.

The Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), is considered one of the most invasive tephritid species. It has spread and established populations successfully throughout many of the tropical temperate regions, partially owing to the increase in global trading activity that facilitates diffusion of species. However, C. capitata has never been detected in China, even though some areas of the country have favorable climate and ample food resources. Historically, some researchers have hypothesized that the principal reasons for its absence are the defenses mounted by native Bactrocera species against C. capitata. We evaluated the modes and strengths of interspecific competition between C. capitata and two Bactrocera species (Bactrocera dorsalis Hendel and Bactrocera correcta Bezzi) by conducting experiments on behavioral interference between the adults of these fruit fly species. Under appropriate conditions, the two Bactrocera species showed a distinct advantage in competition for oviposition, noticeably suppressing C. capitata. Although no mating interference between C. capitata and the two Bactrocera species was observed, the role of interference competition in the prevention of C. capitata invasion is still worthy of being discussed.

Several tephritid fruit fly species that are damaging to citrus in China are world-wide quarantine pests. Two field tests were conducted in China to evaluate the effectiveness of fruit bagging (i.e., fruits were grown in bags for at least 1.5 mo until harvest) and culling for risk mitigation of these pests during the fruit harvest season of 2017. The first test was conducted in Pinghe County of Fujian Province. The purpose of this test was to assess the effectiveness of fruit bagging on risk mitigation of fruit flies affecting pomelo, Citrus maxima (Burm. fil.) Osbeck (Rutaceae). External inspection and internal fruit cutting of 3,000 bagged and 3,040 unbagged fruits revealed few oviposition marks and absence of living flies in the bagged fruits, compared to 129 fruit fly-infested fruits containing 634 live larvae and 4 pupae in the unbagged fruits. Later molecular and morphological identification concluded that these larvae and pupae were Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) (Diptera: Tephritidae). The second test was conducted in Shimen County of Hunan Province. The purpose of this test was to assess the effectiveness of packing house culling on risk mitigation of fruit flies in Satsuma mandarin, Citrus unshiu (Swingle) Marcov. (Rutaceae). A total of 20,000 fruits were cut (10,000 fruits before culling, and another 10,000 after culling). In the fruits that did not receive the culling treatment, 1 infested fruit with 7 third instar larvae of Bactrocera minax (Enderlein) (Diptera: Tephritidae) and 25 fruits with fruit fly oviposition marks were found. In the fruits that received the culling treatment, fruit flies were absent and 10 fruits with oviposition marks were found. These results suggest that fruit bagging and packinghouse culling could contribute to risk mitigation of fruit flies in citrus in China. This is a preliminary report, with further work necessary to develop a systems approach for risk mitigation of fruit flies in the commodities.

The Chinese citrus fly, Bactrocera minax (Enderlein) (Diptera: Tephritidae), is the most destructive pest in many citrus orchards of south central China. Methyl eugenol and cuelure, 2 potent male lures that are effective for capturing related species, are believed not to attract this species. Limited knowledge is available about the effectiveness of attractant traps for this pest. A field trial was carried out to determine the efficacy of 8 attractant traps to B. minax. The study was conducted during the adult occurrence season in an orchard of navel orange, Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck (Rutaceae), in Zhijiang County, Hunan Province, China, in 2016. To link the efficacy of these attractant traps with the pest population, fruit infestations in the orchard also were investigated. As expected, this study confirmed that methyl eugenol and cuelure were not attractive to B. minax. Green-colored sticky spheres trapped significantly more flies and males than methyl eugenol and cuelure-baited traps. On ave... Resumen La mosca china de los cítricos, Bactrocera minax (Enderlein) (Diptera: Tephritidae), es la plaga más destructiva en muchos huertos de cítricos del sur de China central. Se cree que el metil eugenol y la cuelure, dos señuelos potentes para los machos son efectivos para capturar especies relacionadas,pero se cree que no atraen a esta especie. Existe conocimiento limitado sobre la efectividad de las trampas atrayentes para esta plaga. Se realizó una prueba de campo para determinar la eficacia de 8 trampas atrayentes para B. minax. El estudio se realizó durante la temporada cuando los adultos estran presentes en un huerto de naranja navel, Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck (Rutaceae), en el condado de Zhijiang, Provincia de Hunan, China, en el 2016. Para vincular la eficacia de estas trampas atrayentes con la población de la plaga, también se investigaron las infestaciones del fruto en el huerto. Como se esperaba, este estudio confirmó que el metil eugenol y la cuelure no fueron atractivos para B. minax. La...