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The peach fruit fly, Bactrocera zonata (Tephritidae), is economically relevant as a highly polyphagous pest infesting over 50 host plants including commercial fruit and horticultural crops. As an invasive species, B. zonata was firmly established in Egypt and holds potential to spread further across the Mediterranean basin. The present study demonstrated that the peach fruit fly was found multiplying in olive orchards at two distant locations in Egypt. This is the first report of B. zonata developing in olives. COI barcoding has revealed evidence for high diversity across these peach fruit fly populations. These data are consistent with multiple rather than a single event leading to both peach fruit fly invasion to Egypt and its adaptation to olive. Comparative microbiomics data for B. zonata developing on different host plants were indicative for microbiome dynamics being involved in the adaptation to olive as a new niche with a potential adaptive role for Erwinia or Providencia bacteria. The possibility of symbiont transfer from the olive fruit fly to the peach fruit fly is discussed. Potentially host switch relevant bacterial symbionts might be preferred targets of symbiosis disruption strategies for integrated pest management or biological control of B. zonata.

The Asian vinegar fly Drosophila suzukii (spotted wing Drosophila [SWD]) has emerged as a major invasive insect pest of small and stone fruits in both the Americas and Europe since the late 2000s. While research efforts have rapidly progressed in Asia, North America, and Europe over the past 5 years, important new insights may be gained in comparing and contrasting findings across the regions affected by SWD. In this review, we explore common themes in the invasion biology of SWD by examining (1) its biology and current pest status in endemic and recently invaded regions; (2) current efforts and future research needs for the development of predictive models for its geographic expansion; and (3) prospects for both natural and classical (=importation) biological control of SWD in invaded habitats, with emphasis on the role of hymenopteran parasitoids. We conclude that particularly fruitful areas of research should include fundamental studies of its overwintering, host-use, and dispersal capabilities; as well as applied studies of alternative, cost-effective management techniques to complement insecticide use within the integrated pest management framework. Finally, we emphasize that outreach efforts are critical to effective SWD management by highlighting successful strategies and insights gained from various geographic regions.

Background The Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly), Ceratitis capitata , is a major destructive insect pest due to its broad host range, which includes hundreds of fruits and vegetables. It exhibits a unique ability to invade and adapt to ecological niches throughout tropical and subtropical regions of the world, though medfly infestations have been prevented and controlled by the sterile insect technique (SIT) as part of integrated pest management programs (IPMs). The genetic analysis and manipulation of medfly has been subject to intensive study in an effort to improve SIT efficacy and other aspects of IPM control. Results The 479 Mb medfly genome is sequenced from adult flies from lines inbred for 20 generations. A high-quality assembly is achieved having a contig N50 of 45.7 kb and scaffold N50 of 4.06 Mb. In-depth curation of more than 1800 messenger RNAs shows specific gene expansions that can be related to invasiveness and host adaptation, including gene families for chemoreception, toxin and insecticide metabolism, cuticle proteins, opsins, and aquaporins. We identify genes relevant to IPM control, including those required to improve SIT. Conclusions The medfly genome sequence provides critical insights into the biology of one of the most serious and widespread agricultural pests. This knowledge should significantly advance the means of controlling the size and invasive potential of medfly populations. Its close relationship to Drosophila , and other insect species important to agriculture and human health, will further comparative functional and structural studies of insect genomes that should broaden our understanding of gene family evolution.

Plant pathogens pose a significant threat to agricultural production due to their ability to cause diseases with substantial economic and environmental consequences. Effective management of plant pathogens is crucial for ensuring global food security and sustainability in agriculture. Biocontrol agents (BCAs) offer eco-friendly alternatives to conventional pesticides, harnessing the beneficial effects of symbiotic relationships between plants and microbes. BCAs operate through two primary mechanisms: biofertilization, where microorganisms enhance mineral availability, or by outcompeting the pathogens. The manipulation of plant microbiomes presents a promising avenue for achieving sustainable agriculture by improving nutrient uptake and disease resistance. This review comprehensively evaluates various strategies BCAs employ for plant pathogen management. These strategies encompass competition for resources and the production of antimicrobial compounds that inhibit pathogen growth. Additionally, BCAs modulate plant hormone levels, enhancing plant defence against pathogens and inducing systemic resistance mechanisms, priming plants for future pathogen attacks. Emerging techniques, such as the utilization of viruses and RNA interference, are explored for their potential to enhance BCA efficacy within integrated pest management frameworks. By leveraging viral pathogens and RNA molecules, BCAs can precisely target specific pathogens, reducing collateral damage to beneficial organisms. Implementing BCA-based pest management strategies diminishes the reliance on synthetic insecticides, mitigating ecological repercussions associated with chemical use. Integrated pest management practices fostered by BCAs promote long-term agricultural resilience, ensuring the robustness and efficiency of farming yields while minimizing environmental degradation.

Insect dynamics depend on temperature patterns, and therefore, global warming may lead to increasing frequencies and intensities of insect outbreaks. The aim of this work was to analyze the dynamics of the olive fruit fly, Bactrocera oleae (Rossi), in Tuscany (Italy). We profited from long-term records of insect infestation and weather data available from the regional database and agrometeorological network. We tested whether the analysis of 13 years of monitoring campaigns can be used as basis for prediction models of B. oleae infestation. We related the percentage of infestation observed in the first part of the host-pest interaction and throughout the whole year to agrometeorological indices formulated for different time periods. A two-step approach was adopted to inspect the effect of weather on infestation: generalized linear model with a binomial error distribution and principal component regression to reduce the number of the agrometeorological factors and remove their collinearity. We found a consistent relationship between the degree of infestation and the temperature-based indices calculated for the previous period. The relationship was stronger with the minimum temperature of winter season. Higher infestation was observed in years following warmer winters. The temperature of the previous winter and spring explained 66 % of variance of early-season infestation. The temperature of previous winter and spring, and current summer, explained 72 % of variance of total annual infestation. These results highlight the importance of multiannual monitoring activity to fully understand the dynamics of B. oleae populations at a regional scale.

Fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda , is a migratory polyphagous pest that causes major damage to economically important cultivated grasses, such as corn. Native to the neotropics in America but recently reported as an invasive pest in Africa and Asia, FAW imposes a serious threat to food security and sustainable crop productivity due to lack of effective management. In this study, the introduction of entomopathogenic fungi as endophytes was explored as an alternative more sustainable management strategy against FAW in corn. The study determined (1) the effect of isolates and inoculation methods on the ability of entomopathogenic fungi to colonize corn plants, and (2) the effect of colonized plants on S. frugiperda survival, development, reproduction, and food preference . Although all tested isolates (twelve of Beauveria bassiana and one each of Metarhizium anisopliae and Metarhizium robertsii ) colonized inoculated plants, there was a highly significant interaction between isolates and inoculation methods. Highest plant colonization was obtained by Beauveria bassiana isolate (LPSc 1098) using foliar spray. Endophytic B. bassiana caused significant reductions in larval and pupal survival, length of different developmental stages, total S. frugiperda lifespan, and leaf area consumed by third instar larvae. Plant colonization also significantly reduced female longevity, fecundity, and fertility. This is the first report for the negative effects of endophytic B. bassiana on S. frugiperda growth, reproduction, and food preference. Our results highlight the promising potential of incorporating entomopathogenic fungi as endophytes in integrated pest management practices to protect corn against FAW if their efficacy is also confirmed under field conditions.

Microbial biopesticides include several microorganisms like bacteria, fungi, baculoviruses, and nematode-associated bacteria acting against invertebrate pests in agro-ecosystems. The biopesticide sector is experiencing a significant growth and many discoveries are being developed into new biopesticidal products that are fueling a growing global market offer. Following a few decades of successful use of the entomopathogenic bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis and a few other microbial species, recent academic and industrial efforts have led to the discovery of new microbial species and strains, and of their specific toxins and virulence factors. Many of these have, therefore, been developed into commercial products. Bacterial entomopathogens include several Bacillaceae, Serratia, Pseudomonas, Yersinia, Burkholderia, Chromobacterium, Streptomyces, and Saccharopolyspora species, while fungi comprise different strains of Beauveria bassiana, B. brongniartii, Metarhizium anisopliae, Verticillium, Lecanicillium, Hirsutella, Paecilomyces, and Isaria species. Baculoviruses are species-specific and refer to niche products active against chewing insects, especially Lepidopteran caterpillars. Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) mainly include species in the genera Heterorhabditis and Steinernema associated with mutualistic symbiotic bacteria belonging to the genera Photorhabdus and Xenorhabdus. An updated representation of the current knowledge on microbial biopesticides and of the availability of active substances that can be used in integrated pest management programs in agro-ecosystems is reported here.

Background: Bed bugs as blood-sucking insects have become a public health problem in urban communities through­out the world. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of resident education and self-implementation of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategy for eliminating bed bug infestation in infected apartments in Ahvaz City, Iran. Methods: This interventional study was conducted in seventy apartments infested with bed bug (Cimex lectularius) in Ahvaz City, southwest Iran, during a 6-month period. The bed bug infestations reported to Health centers were in­spect­ed visually and confirmed by medical entomology experts. Then, the heads of the households were received tech­niques/ tools of the IPM program and trained by medical entomology experts before self-implementation of control methods. Finally, the infected apartments were inspected by the experts at 1, 3, and 6 months after intervention and data were rec­orded in a checklist. Results: From the seventy infected apartments, 57%, 28% and 15% were considered as low, moderate, and high level infestation respectively. The bed bug infestation was eliminated from 53 apartments (76%) after one month and it reached to 62 apartments (88%) by the end of third month. Finally, after six months of applying IPM program, bed bugs infestation was eliminated from all infected apartments (100%). Residents expressed their 100% satisfaction with ap­plying the bed bug IPM strategy. Conclusion: Training residents to implement the IPM program can reduce pest control costs, the volume of pesticides consumed, and human exposure to chemical pesticides, resulting in increased human and environmental health and safety.

Lepidopteran borers stand out as the most destructive pests in sugarcane, leading to reductions in stalk weight, juice quality and sugar recovery. Presently, integrated pest management (IPM) systems are utilized for sugarcane borer management, employing diverse methods encompassing cropping system, chemical pesticides, behavioral manipulation, biological agents and the selection of resistant varieties. However, the effectiveness of this strategy remains controversial due to concerns about harmful residues, formulation limitations, environmental variability, labor shortages and increased input costs. Currently, multiple lines of transgenic sugarcane expressing insecticidal genes from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) have been developed globally, offering the prospect of increases production with reduced pesticides application, thereby eliminating the negative effect of IPM. In Brazil, the first genetically modified sugarcane cultivars resistant to the sugarcane borer have been approved and released for commercial cultivation, shedding a bright light on a viable solution for sugarcane borers. This paper reviews borer species and distribution, the significant damage caused by sugarcane borers, current control approaches and the future effective control strategies. Additionally, this work provides comprehensive understanding on Bt sugarcane, serving as an additional tool to complement conventional sugarcane borers control resistance programs.

Plant production systems worldwide are struggling to meet the diverse and increasing needs of humankind while also facing challenges such as climate change and biodiversity loss. This, combined with the desirable transition from the use of conventional pesticides to more sustainable plant protection solutions, has led to an urgent, and increasing, need for low-risk plant protection products (PPPs) to be developed, applied, and integrated into management practices across all types of plant production systems. Despite a high demand from end users and consumers together with joint political goals at the EU level to replace conventional pesticides, the number of low-risk PPPs on the European market remains low, in comparison to synthetic agrochemicals. In this review, we summarize knowledge about the policy, technical, and administrative issues hampering the process of bringing new low-risk PPPs to the European market. We present an overview of the challenges in using the low-risk PPPs that are currently available within the EU agricultural, horticultural, and forestry sectors. We describe the variation in modes of action and the limitations associated with different application techniques and give concrete examples of problems and solutions from Swedish plant production sectors, in contrast to global perspectives as demonstrated by examples from African agriculture. Finally, we conclude that trans-sectoral, multi-actor approaches are required and provide suggestions on how to address the remaining knowledge gaps related to efficiency, application, and economics of low-risk PPP use in Integrated Pest Management (IPM) solutions for plant protection to improve future food security in Europe.