Zeugodacus cucurbitae is an important pest of fruit and vegetable crops in tropical and subtropical regions, and high-temperature stress can have different effects on the development and reproduction of successive generations of Z. cucurbitae. To clarify the multigenerational effects of short-time high temperature on the development and reproduction of Z. cucurbitae, the newly emerged adults of the contemporary (F₁ generation) and the next generation (F₂ generation) were exposed to short-term high temperatures of 25 °C, 33 °C, 37 °C, 41 °C, and 45 °C for 1 h, and the multigenerational (F₁, F₂, and F₃ generation) effects of these temperatures on the development and reproduction of Z. cucurbitae were evaluated. The results showed that (1) when the F₁ was exposed to short-term high temperature, the egg production and lifespan of the F₁ decreased continuously with the increasing temperature, except for the 45 °C treatment for 1 h, which stimulated egg production. Only the 41 °C group had significantly higher egg production and lifespan than the control group in the F₃. (2) In the F₁ and F₂ that were exposed to short-term high temperature, the F₁ and F₃ were consistent with the results of F₁ that were exposed to short-term high temperature. In conclusion, the effects of high-temperature intensity and frequency on multiple generations of Z. cucurbitae were different. The results of this study can elucidate the effects of short-term high-temperature stress on the growth, development, and reproduction of Z. cucurbitae in different generations, and provide a reference basis for the integrated control of Z. cucurbitae.

Cuelure, an effective lure specifically targeting Tephritid fruit flies, has been widely adopted and applied in the monitoring and control of these pests, providing significant support for agricultural pest management. However, its uncontrollable release speed and duration usually lead to a lot of waste, diminishing its effectiveness and increasing the cost of pest control. In order to solve these problems, we focused on Zeugodacus cucurbitae Coquillett and developed a temperature-sensitive nano-controlled release agent for cuelure. The release rate of this agent can be adjusted by adjusting the ambient temperature. The results show that the temperature-sensitive cuelure nano-controlled release agent demonstrates remarkable temperature-responsive controlled release characteristics. It still exhibits exceptional stability even after being subjected to high-temperature treatment at 60 °C for a week, and the trapping efficiency of this attractant remains between 73% and 75%. This study not only holds immense practical value in monitoring, warning, and managing of fruit fly pests, but it also lays a novel theoretical foundation for the development of insect attractants.

Zeugodacus cucurbitae (Coquillett) is a significant pest affecting fruit and vegetables in tropical and subtropical regions, and its development and reproduction are enhanced after exposure to short-term high-temperature stress at 45 °C. Vitellogenin (Vg) is an essential precursor of yolk protein formation in eggs and plays a vital role in the ovarian development of insects. Interfering with the Z. cucurbitae vitellogenin receptor (ZcVgR) gene in short-term high-temperature conditions decreases the fecundity of female adults, while the transcription level of the ZcVg3 gene increases. To elucidate the reproductive function of the ZcVg3 gene and the synergistic relationship among the ZcVgs genes under short-term high temperatures, this study injected siRNA to interfere with the ZcVg3 gene after subjecting Z. cucurbitae to a 1 h treatment at 45 °C and 25 °C. The expression of the ZcVg3 gene was suppressed, leading to the upregulation of the ZcVg1 and ZcVg2 genes, and the expression of the ZcVgR gene was initially decreased and then increased. Silencing the ZcVg3 gene after a 1 h treatment at 45 °C resulted in a reduction of approximately 84.7% and 75.9% in the fecundity and spawning days of female adults compared to the control. The development rate of their ovaries and the ovarian diameter significantly decreased, and their lifespan was reduced by 71%. The ZcVg3 gene plays a crucial role in the reproduction of Z. cucurbitae in short-term high-temperature conditions. The results of this study provide potential targets for the development of RNAi-based techniques for the control of Z. cucurbitae.

The harm of agricultural pests presents a remarkable effect on the quality and safety of edible farm products and the monitoring and identification of agricultural pests based on the Internet of Things (IoT) produce a large amount of data to be transmitted. To achieve efficient and real-time transmission of the sensors’ data for pest monitoring, this paper selects 235 geographic coordinates of agricultural pest monitoring points and uses genetic algorithm (GA), particle swarm optimization (PSO), and simulated annealing (SA) to optimize the data transmission paths of sensors. The three intelligent algorithms are simulated by MATLAB software. The results show that the optimized path based on PSO can make the shortest time used for transmitting data, and its corresponding minimum time is 4.868012 s. This study can provide a reference for improving the transmission efficiency of agricultural pest monitoring data, provide a guarantee for developing real-time and effective pest control strategies, and further reduce the threat of pest damage to the safety of farm products.