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In medicine, parasitic cysts (e.g., brain cysticerci) are believed to be sterile, and are primarily treated with antiparasitic medications, not antibiotics, which could prevent abscess formation and localized inflammation. This study quantified the microbial composition of parasitic cysts in a wild rodent, using multi-kingdom metagenomics to comprehensively assess if parasitic cysts are sterile, and further understand gut microbial translocation and adaptation in wildlife confined environments, outside the gut. Analysis was conducted on DNA from two hepatic parasitic cysts from a feline tapeworm, Hydatigera (Taenia) taeniaeformis, affecting a wild vole mouse (Microtus pennsylvanicus), and from feces, liver and peritoneal fluid of this and two other concurrent individual wild voles trapped during pest control in one of our university research vegetable gardens. Bacterial metagenomics revealed the presence of gut commensal/opportunistic species, Parabacteroides distasonis, Bacteroides (Bacteroidota); Klebsiella variicola, E. coli (Enterobacteriaceae); Enterococcus faecium and Lactobacillus acidophilus (Bacillota) inhabiting the cysts, and peritoneal fluid. Remarkably, viral metagenomics revealed various murine viral species, and unexpectedly, a virus from the insect armyworm moth (Pseudaletia/Mythimna unipuncta), known as Mythimna unipuncta granulovirus A (MyunGV-A), in both cysts, and in one fecal and one peritoneal sample from the other non-cyst voles, indicating the survival and adaption potential of the insect virus in voles. Metagenomics also revealed a significantly lower probability of fungal detection in cysts compared to that in peritoneal fluid/feces (p < 0.05), with single taxon detection in each cyst (Malassezia and Pseudophaeomoniella oleicola). The peritoneal fluid had the highest probability for fungi. In conclusion, metagenomics revealed that bacteria/viruses/fungi coexist within parasitic cysts supporting the potential therapeutic benefits of antibiotics in cystic diseases, and in inflammatory microniches of chronic diseases, such as Crohn’s disease gut wall cavitating micropathologies, from which we recently isolated similar synergistic pathogenic Bacteroidota and Enterobacteriaceae, and Bacillota.

Mythimna unipuncta (Haworth) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is an important insect pest of corn (Zea mays L.) in North America and can cause severe damage during outbreaks. Insecticides are the main control method; however, development of insecticide resistance poses management challenges and necessitates the use of novel insecticides. A synthetic insecticide, chlorantraniliprole, belonging to the anthranilic diamides, targets insect ryanodine receptors and is a potential alternative to conventional insecticides for management of M. unipuncta. We determined the efficacy of seed treatment with chlorantraniliprole alone compared with a positive control consisting of a neonicitinoid seed treatment of thiamethoxam and combinations of both compounds against M. unipuncta larvae in laboratory bioassays. Bioassays were conducted on two different growth stages of M. unipuncta larvae (instars 3 and 5) and two plant growth stages (V1 and V2 corn) in clip cages and whole plant experiments. Larval mortality, head capsule width, and feeding injury were measured.The chlorantraniliprole seed treatment alone or in combination with thimethoxam at different doses affected survival of M. unipuncta larvae. In all bioassays except one, larval mortality occurred earlier when a combination of chlorantraniliprole and thimethoxam seed treatment was used when compared with a thimethoxam alone seed treatment. Mythimna unipuncta larvae developed faster on the untreated control corn plants compared with corn with insecticide seed treatments. Foliar injury was low in both chlorantraniliprole alone and chlorantraniliprole + thimethoxam treatments compared with the control. Chlorantraniliprole thus offers potential alternative to conventionally used insecticides in the management of M. unipuncta in corn.

True armyworm (Mythimna unipuncta) is a polyphagous pest that damages forage grasses, small grains, or maize crops. This pest is found in the Americas, Western Africa, Asia, and Europe. The true armyworm was detected in Romania a few decades ago, but no studies have examined its flight dynamics in crops. This paper presents five years of results from monitoring the flight dynamics of the true armyworm (Mythimna unipuncta) using pheromone traps, and two years of field assessments for larvae scouting at maize plants. The field site is in southeastern Romania, in Călărași County, at the National Agricultural Research and Development Institute in Fundulea, within a temperate continental climate. Five moths were captured in the traps in 2021; 18 moths were captured in 2022; 32 in 2023; 38 in 2024, and 22 moths were captured in 2025. In 2021, the true armyworm flight started on 21 September and ended on 27 October; in 2022, the flight started on 31 October and ended on 25 November; in 2023, the flight started on 23 October and ended on 22 November; in 2024 the flight started on 8 October and ended on 28 November; while in 2025 the flight started on 3 October and ended on 25 November. Results from maize plant assessments for true armyworm larval scouting indicate that no larvae were detected in the last twenty days of July during 2024 and 2025, August, and the first ten days of September. This is the first report in the Romanian literature concerning the constant presence of the true armyworm during autumn in the southeast of this country over the last five years. However, the pest population density in this country did not reach pest levels, but this situation could change in the future due to global warming.

In this study, the complete mitochondrial genomes of five noctuoid moth species, namely, Paectes cristatrix, Hemichloridia euprepia, Trigonodes hyppasia, Mythimna unipuncta, and Risoba obstructa, were newly sequenced and characterized. Based on our investigations, the five mitogenomes showed sizes of 15409, 15619, 15654, 15403, and 15233 bp, respectively, and encoded 37 genes (13 protein-coding, 2 ribosomal RNA, and 22 transfer RNA genes) and a control region. All protein-coding genes (PCGs) in these mitogenomes had typical ATN start codons except for cox1 and nad1. The non-canonical codon CGA was the starter in H. euprepia and M. unipuncta and TTG was the starter in T. hyppasia for cox1. The unusual codon GTG was the starter in R. obstructa for nad1. All tRNA genes showed distinctive putative cloverleaf structures except trnS1 (AGN), which lacked the dihydrouridine (DHU) stem. Bayesian inference (BI) and maximum likelihood (ML) analyses were employed based on 13 PCGs using 159 taxa among the five families of the superfamily Noctuoidea, and the results showed the monophyly of this superfamily with well-supported values. Phylogenetic analyses showed that the newly sequenced endemic species Hemichloridia euprepia clustered separately along with the subfamilies Cuculliinae and Acronictinae with fairly supported values.

Maize is one of the most significant and nutritional cereal crops in the world. Lepidopteran pests cause significant yield losses and affect crop quality of maize. In this study, we monitored three major lepidopteran pests in maize-growing fields in Düzce and Sakarya provinces of Türkiye by light traps, pheromone traps, and visual inspection to understand population dynamics during 2021 and 2022. Ostrinia nubilalis, Helicoverpa armigera, and Mythimna unipuncta were collected from April to October. Among these species, O. nubilalis emerged as the primary pest. The larvae of O. nubilalis reached their peak population from mid-August to early September in the first crop and from late August to mid-September in the second crop. Larvae of H. armigera peaked in the first crop from late July to early August, while in the second crop, they peaked from mid-September to the end of September. The larvae of M. unipuncta reached their peak population in the first crop from August, and in the second crop from mid-September to the end of September. We also tested releasing Trichogramma evanescens and Bracon hebetor in maize fields to assess their effectiveness in the biological control of these species. The statistical analysis revealed significant differences in pest populations across fields and control treatments. Ostrinia nubilalis populations were effectively suppressed when T. evanescens was released alone (P < 0.05) or in combination with B. hebetor (P < 0.05). However, the release of T. evanescens alone did not significantly reduce H. armigera populations, but its effectiveness increased when combined with B. hebetor (P < 0.05). On the other hand, neither parasitoid demonstrated significant efficacy in controlling M. unipuncta (P > 0.05). This study demonstrates the potential for targeted biological control strategies to manage O. nubilalis and H. armigera effectively.

The betabaculovirus originally called Pseudaletia (Mythimna) sp. granulovirus #8 (MyspGV#8) was examined by electron microscopy, host barcoding PCR, and determination of the nucleotide sequence of its genome. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy revealed that the occlusion bodies of MyspGV#8 possessed the characteristic size range and morphology of betabaculovirus granules. Barcoding PCR using cytochrome oxidase I primers with DNA from the MyspGV#8 collection sample confirmed that it had been isolated from the true armyworm, Mythimna unipuncta (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) and therefore was renamed MyunGV#8. The MyunGV#8 genome was found to be 144,673 bp in size with a nucleotide distribution of 49.9% G+C, which was significantly smaller and more GC-rich than the genome of Pseudaletia unipuncta granulovirus H (PsunGV-H), another M. unipuncta betabaculovirus. A phylogeny based on concatenated baculovirus core gene amino acid sequence alignments placed MyunGV#8 in clade a of genus Betabaculovirus. Kimura-2-parameter nucleotide distances suggested that MyunGV#8 represents a virus species different and distinct from other species of Betabaculovirus. Among the 153 ORFs annotated in the MyunGV#8 genome, four ORFs appeared to have been obtained from or donated to the alphabaculovirus lineage represented by Leucania separata nucleopolyhedrovirus AH1 (LeseNPV-AH1) during co-infection of Mythimna sp. larvae. A set of 33 ORFs was identified that appears only in other clade a betabaculovirus isolates. This clade a-specific set includes an ORF that encodes a polypeptide sequence containing a CIDE_N domain, which is found in caspase-activated DNAse/DNA fragmentation factor (CAD/DFF) proteins. CAD/DFF proteins are involved in digesting DNA during apoptosis.

Maize is one of the most significant cereal crops in the world, and insect pests cause the highest economic loss. The objective of this study was to assess the level of insect pests and their natural enemies during 2020 and 2022 in the maize fields of Düzce and Sakarya, Türkiye. We performed weekly surveys from the vegetative growth stage of maize to harvest from April through November. A hundred plants were selected with regular and irregular samplings from each field. In addition, light traps and pheromone traps were placed in regularly sampled fields. To detect overwintering larvae, the stalks left in the field after the harvest were cut just above the soil. In the maize fields, a total of 13 pest species from six families in four orders, along with 19 natural enemies from eight families in five orders, were identified. Ostrinia nubilalis Hbn. (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) was found as the primary pest, followed by Helicoverpa armigera Hbn. and Mythimna unipuncta Haw. (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Meteorus pendulus Müller (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) was a new record for the East Marmara and Western Black Sea regions and a new host record in Türkiye. Larval parasitoids of M. unipuncta, Nemoraea pellucida Meigen, and Pales pavida Meigen (Diptera: Tachinidae) represent new host records for Türkiye. Among the predators, Orius minutus L. (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) and coccinellids showed an especially notable common in the maize fields of both provinces.

Decreased pest pressure is sometimes associated with more diverse agroecosystems, including the addition of a rye cover crop (Secale cereale L.). However, not all pests respond similarly to greater vegetational diversity. Polyphagous pests, such as true armyworm (Mythimna unipuncta Haworth), black cutworm (Agrotis ipsilon Hufnagel), and common stalk borer (Papaipema nebris Guenee), whose host range includes rye have the potential to cause injury to crops following a rye cover crop. The objectives of this study were to compare the abundance of early-season insect pests and injury to corn (Zea mays L.) from fields with and without a rye cover crop on commercial farms. Fields were sampled weekly to quantify adult and larval pests and feeding injury to corn plants from mid-April until corn reached V8 stage, during 2014 and 2015. Measurements within fields were collected along transects that extended perpendicularly from field edges into the interior of cornfields. Adult true armyworm and adult black cutworm were captured around all cornfields, but most lepidopteran larvae captured within cornfields were true armyworm and common stalk borer. Cornfields with a rye cover crop had significantly greater abundance of true armyworm and greater proportion of injured corn. Both true armyworm abundance and feeding injury were significantly greater in the interior of cornfields with rye. Common stalk borer abundance did not differ between cornfields with or without rye cover. Farmers planting corn following a rye cover crop should be aware of the potential for increased presence of true armyworm and for greater injury to corn.

The Mythimna unipuncta nucleopolyhedrovirus isolate KY310 (MyunNPV-KY310) is an alphabaculovirus isolated from a true armyworm (Mythimna unipuncta) population in Kentucky, USA. Occlusion bodies of this virus were examined by electron microscopy and the genome sequence was determined by 454 pyrosequencing. MyunNPV-KY310 occlusion bodies consisted of irregular polyhedra measuring 0.8–1.8 µm in diameter and containing multiple virions, with one to six nucleocapsids per virion. The genome sequence was determined to be 156,647 bp with a nucleotide distribution of 43.9% G+C. 152 ORFs and six homologous repeat (hr) regions were annotated for the sequence, including the 38 core genes of family Baculoviridae and an additional group of 26 conserved alphabaculovirus genes. BLAST queries and phylogenetic inference confirmed that MyunNPV-KY310 is most closely related to the alphabaculovirus Leucania separata nucleopolyhedrovirus isolate AH1, which infects Mythimna separata. In contrast, MyunNPV-KY310 did not exhibit a close relationship with Mythimna unipuncta nucleopolyhedrovirus isolate #7, an alphabaculovirus from the same host species. MyunNPV-KY310 lacks the gp64 envelope glycoprotein, which is a characteristic of group II alphabaculoviruses. However, this virus and five other alphabaculoviruses lacking gp64 are placed outside the group I and group II clades in core gene phylogenies, further demonstrating that viruses of genus Alphabaculovirus do not occur in two monophyletic clades. Potential instances of MyunNPV-KY310 ORFs arising by horizontal transfer were detected. Although there are now genome sequences of four different baculoviruses from M. unipuncta, comparison of their genome sequences provides little insight into the genetic basis for their host specificity.

Due to potential health and environmental risks of synthetic pesticides, coupled with their non-selectivity and pest resistance, there has been increasing demand for safer and biodegradable alternatives for insect pest management. Botanical pesticides have emerged as a promising alternative due to their non-persistence, high selectivity, and low mammalian toxicity. Six Meliaceae plant species, Azadirachta indica, Azadirachta excelsa, Azadirachta siamens, Melia azedarach, Melia toosendan, and Melia volkensii, have been subject to botanical pesticide evaluation. This review focuses on Melia volkensii, which has not been intensively studied. M. volkensii, a dryland tree species native to East Africa, has shown activity towards a broad range of insect orders, including dipterans, lepidopterans and coleopterans. Its extracts have been reported to have growth inhibiting and antifeedant properties against Schistocerca gregaria, Trichoplusia ni, Pseudaletia unipuncta, Epilachna varivestis, Nezara viridula, several Spodoptera species and other insect pests. Mortality in mosquitoes has also been reported. Several limonoids with a wide range of biological activities have been isolated from the plant, including volkensin, salannin, toosendanin, trichilin-class limonoids, volkendousin, kulactone among others. This paper presents a concise review of published information on the phytochemical composition and potential of M. volkensii for application in insect pest management.