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This article consists of five sections on equality within faith communities. First, the focus is on the creation of human beings as the image of God on an equal basis. The premise is that LGBTQIA+ people are created as human beings in the image of God, deserving to be welcomed in faith communities. Secondly, the article focuses on how missionaries have taught African converts to interpret the Bible on many serious human rights issues. Thirdly, the article discusses the position of the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA), using the contents of the General Synods, spanning from Pietermaritzburg (2005) to Stellenbosch (2022). Fourthly, this study reflects on the challenges faced by denominations that accept LGBTQIA+ people regarding marriage and their ordination. The challenge seems to be about the fundamental reading of the Bible, confession, and Church Order articles, as discussed in this article. Fifthly, recommendations are made to address this inequality. This article is approached from an anthropological-missional viewpoint when addressing this inequality within communities of faith.

Abstract Gut microbial communities of mosquitoes can influence vector susceptibility to pathogens, yet the factors that govern their composition remain poorly understood. We investigated the impact of host blood-meal source on gut microbiota of Aedes aegypti L. Adult mosquitoes were fed on human, rabbit or chicken blood and their gut microbiota compared to those of sugar-fed and newly emerged adults. Microbial diversity was significantly reduced in blood-fed and sugar-fed mosquitoes but was restored to the levels of newly emerged adults at 7-days post-blood meal. Microbial composition was strongly influenced by host blood-meal source. Leucobacter spp., Chryseobacterium spp., Elizabethkingia spp. and Serratia spp. were characteristic of newly emerged adults and adults fed on chicken, rabbit and human blood, respectively. Sugar-fed mosquitoes had higher abundance of Pseudomonas spp. and unclassified Acetobacteraceae. Shifts in gut microbial communities in response to host blood-meal source may fundamentally impact pathogen transmission given the well-documented link between specific bacterial taxa and vector susceptibility to a variety of mosquito-borne pathogens and may be a key determinant of individual and population variation in vector competence. Gut bacterial communities of Aedes aegypti shift in response to host blood-meal source.

Global insect pollinator declines have prompted habitat restoration efforts, including pollinator-friendly gardening. Gardens can provide nectar and pollen for adult insects and offer reproductive resources, such as nesting sites and caterpillar host plants. We conducted a review and meta-analysis to examine how decisions made by gardeners on plant selection and garden maintenance influence pollinator survival, abundance, and diversity. We also considered characteristics of surrounding landscapes and the impacts of pollinator natural enemies. Our results indicated that pollinators responded positively to high plant species diversity, woody vegetation, garden size, and sun exposure and negatively to the separation of garden habitats from natural sites. Within-garden features more strongly influenced pollinators than surrounding landscape factors. Growing interest in gardening for pollinators highlights the need to better understand how gardens contribute to pollinator conservation and how some garden characteristics can enhance the attractiveness and usefulness of gardens to pollinators. Further studies examining pollinator reproduction, resource acquisition, and natural enemies in gardens and comparing gardens with other restoration efforts and to natural habitats are needed to increase the value of human-made habitats for pollinators. La declinación mundial de insectos polinizadores ha dado pie a esfuerzos de restauración, incluyendo la jardinería amigable con los polinizadores. Los jardines pueden proporcionar néctar y polen para los insectos adultos y también pueden ofrecer recursos reproductivos, como sitios de anidación y plantas hospederas para las orugas. Realizamos una revisión y un meta-análisis para examinar cómo las decisiones que toman los jardineros relacionadas a la selección de plantas y el mantenimiento del jardín influyen se la supervivencia, abundancia y diversidad de los polinizadores. También consideramos las características de los paisajes vecinos y los impactos de los enemigos naturales de los polinizadores. Nuestros resultados indicaron que los polinizadores respondieron positivamente a la alta diversidad de especies de plantas, la vegetación leñosa, eltamaño del jardín y la exposición al sol, mientras que respondieron negativamente a la separación entre los jardines y los sitios naturales. Las características intrínsecas de los jardines tuvieron una mayor influencia sobre los polinizadores que los factores del paisaje vecino. El creciente interés por la jardinería para polinizadores resalta la necesidad de entender como los jardines contribuyen a la conservación y como algunas características de los jardines pueden incrementar lo útil y atractivo de los jardines para los polinizadores. Se requieren estudios más profundos que examinen la reproducción de los polinizadores, la adquisición de recursos y los enemigos naturales en los jardines, y también que comparen a los jardines con otros esfuerzos de restauración y con los hábitats naturales para incrementar el valor de los hábitats para polinizadores creados por humanos. 为应对全球昆虫传粉者的減少, 人们发起了生境恢复工作, 如培植传粉者友好的花园。花园不仅为成体 昆虫提供了花蜜和花粉, 还能提供繁殖资源,如筑巢地和毛虫的寄主植物。 我们通过文献综述和荟萃分析,研 究了花园管理者在植物选择和花园维护方面的决策如何影响传粉者的生存、丰度及多祥性,并将周围景观特征 及传粉者天敌的影响纳入考虑。结果表明,较高的植物物种多样性、木本植被覆盖、较大的花园面积和阳光照 射对传粉者有积极作用,而花园生境与 然环境的分隔则对传粉者有负面影响。花园内部特征比周围景观因素 对传粉者的影响更大。人们对为传粉者建造花园的日益浓厚的兴趣, 突显了我们需要更好地理解花园如何促进 对传粉者的保护以及花园的ー些特征如何提高其对传粉者的吸引力和有用性。未来仍需进ー步研究传粉者在花 园中的繁殖情況、资源需求及其天敌的影响,并将花园与 然生境和其它恢复顼目比较,以提升传粉者的人工 生境的价僮

Whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), consists of genetically diverse species known to cause significant destruction in several crops around the world. Nymphs and adults of B. tabaci cause damage to plants during feeding, and they can act as a virus vector, thus causing significant yield loss to crops in the tropical and subtropical regions. Chemical pesticides are widely used to control B. tabaci due to their immediate action, but this approach has several drawbacks including food safety issues, insecticide resistance, environmental pollution, and the effect on non-target organisms. A biological control agent using entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) has therefore been developed as an alternative against the conventional use of chemical pesticides in an integrated pest management (IPM) system to effectively control B. tabaci. It is apparent from this review that species of hyphomycetes fungi are the most common EPF used to effectively control B. tabaci, with the second instar being the most susceptible stage of infection. Therefore, this review article focuses specifically on the control of B. tabaci with special emphasis on the use of EPF as biological control agents and their integration in IPM.

Bee‐friendly plants are defined by the quantity of food they produce and the visitation rates of adult insects foraging for nectar. However, it is pollen nutritional quality that enables proper larval development of bees, affecting their populations. Not all plants produce pollen that satisfies the nutritional requirements of bee larvae, and we lack an understanding of how different plant pollens impact bee nutritional demands. This study examined whether nutritionally desirable key plant species may promote wild bee larval development, which is essential if the population is to thrive. The generalist solitary mason bee Osmia bicornis L. was used as a model species to examine differences between bee larva nutritional demand and host plant nutrient supply; an ecological stoichiometry framework was applied. The stoichiometric ratios of 12 elements were investigated in bee bodies and cocoons (reflecting nutritional demand) and in the pollen supplied by the mother (nutritional supply; N = 15 × 2 sexes). Similarly, the stoichiometry of 62 pollen taxa, including native, alien, and garden plants and crops, was compared with the bee demand based on the literature. Compared to males, females had higher demands for P, Cu and Zn and were supplied with pollen richer in these elements. Therefore, when collecting pollen for their progeny, Osmia provides daughters and sons with different pollen mixtures, reflecting sex‐specific nutritional demand. Bees may be limited by the availability of P, Na, Mn, Mg, K, Fe, Ca, Zn and Cu, with high taxonomic variability in their concentrations in pollen. Female fitness may be particularly related to a high proportion of P in the diet. Synthesis and applications. Access to key plant species that allow nutritionally balanced larval diets may be essential for bee development, whether food is gathered intentionally or randomly. Such plant species—and not only those rich in nectar and pollen—should be promoted in wild bee conservation efforts, including planting flower strips and hedgerows. Bee‐friendly plants should not be defined and planted solely based on the quantities of food they produce and on the visitation rates of adult insects foraging for energy. Foreign Language Rośliny przyjazne pszczołom są określane na podstawie ilości produkowanego pokarmu (tzw. rośliny miododajne i pyłkodajne), a nie jego jakości. Jednocześnie, jakość pokarmu wpływa na rozwój larwalny, a zatem warunkuje zdrowie i kondycję pszczół. W konsekwencji działania ochroniarskie skupione na poprawie bazy pokarmowej dla pszczół przynoszą niezamierzone, negatywne efekty. Zbadano czy dostęp do kluczowych gatunków roślin, produkujących pyłek o odpowiedniej jakości odżywczej, ma znaczenie dla bilansowania diety larw dzikiej pszczoły. Wyniki przedyskutowano w kontekście zastosowania w działaniach poprawiających bazę pokarmową pszczół. Pracę oparto na programie badawczym stechiometrii ekologicznej, modelem badawczym była Osmia bicornis, generalista pokarmowy. Atomowy fenotyp, tj. proporcje atomów budujących kokon i ciało dorosłej pszczoły, wyznacza popyt larwy na poszczególne pierwiastki, potrzebne do budowy dorosłego ciała i kokonu. Podobnie, skład pyłku to podaż materiału budulcowego dostępnego w środowisku. Badając populację pszczoły w warunkach naturalnych porównano popyt pszczoły na materiał budulcowy, z jego podażą w pyłku zbieranym przez matki dla larw. Dodatkowo, wykorzystując dane literaturowe, porównano popyt pszczoły z podażą w pyłku produkowanym przez 62 gatunki roślin (rodzime, obce, ogrodowe oraz uprawne). W tym celu przeanalizowano proporcje 12 najważniejszych pierwiastków składających się na atomowy fenotyp pszczoły w ciałach i kokonach pszczół oraz w pyłku. Osmia dostarcza larwom pyłek, którego jakość odżywcza jest dopasowana do płci potomstwa: samice wykazały większy popyt na P, Cu i Zn, niż samce i były zaopatrywane przez matki w pyłek bogatszy w atomy tych pierwiastków. Rozwój, zdrowie i kondycja pszczoły są ograniczane przez dostępność P, Na, Mn, Mg, K, Fe, Ca, Zn oraz Cu w pokarmie larwalnym – pyłku; ta dostępność zależy od gatunku pyłku. Istnieją kluczowe gatunki roślin zapewniające larwom pszczół odpowiedni bilans diety i pozwalające na optymalny rozwój. Zastosowanie praktyczne. Dostęp do pyłku odpowiedniej jakości, produkowanego przez kluczowe gatunki roślin, pozwala pszczołom na zbilansowanie diety swoich larw. Te kluczowe gatunki roślin – a nie tylko gatunki produkujące duże ilości nektaru/pyłku (miododajne/pyłkodajne) – powinny być wykorzystywane w działaniach poprawiających bazę pokarmową pszczół (np. tworzenie specjalnych pasów zieleni albo mieszanek nasion do wysiewania dla pszczół). Należy przestać definiować rośliny przyjazne pszczołom wyłącznie na podstawie ilości oferowanego pokarmu i uwzględniać również bilansowanie diety dla larw. Access to key plant species that allow nutritionally balanced larval diets may be essential for bee development, whether food is gathered intentionally or randomly. Such plant species—and not only those rich in nectar and pollen—should be promoted in wild bee conservation efforts, including planting flower strips and hedgerows. Bee‐friendly plants should not be defined and planted solely based on the quantities of food they produce and on the visitation rates of adult insects foraging for energy.

Maize weevils, Sitophilus zeamais, are stored product pests mostly found in warm and humid regions around the globe. In the present study, acute toxicity via contact and residual bioassay and fumigant bioassay of 28 essential oils as well as their attraction–inhibitory activity against the adults of S. zeamais were evaluated. Chemical composition of the essential oils was analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and a compound elimination assay was conducted on the four most active oils (cinnamon, tea tree, ylang ylang, and marjoram oils) to identify major active constituents. Amongst the oils examined, cinnamon oil was the most active in both contact/residual and fumigant bioassays, and exhibited strong behavioral inhibitory activity. Based on the compound elimination assay and chemical analyses, trans-cinnamaldehyde in cinnamon oil, and terpinen-4-ol in tea tree and marjoram oils were identified as the major active components. Although cinnamon oil seemed promising in the lab-scale bioassay without rice grains, it failed to exhibit strong insecticidal activity when the container was filled with rice. When a cinnamon oil-based product was applied both in an empty glass jar and a rice-filled container, all weevils in the empty jar were killed, whereas fewer than 15% died in the rice-filled container.

Reliable monitoring of the invasive Halyomorpha halys abundance, phenology and geographic distribution is critical for its management. Halyomorpha halys adult and nymphal captures on clear sticky traps and in black pyramid traps were compared in 18 states across the Great Lakes, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Pacific Northwest and Western regions of the United States. Traps were baited with commercial lures containing the H. halys pheromone and synergist, and deployed at field sites bordering agricultural or urban locations with H. halys host plants. Nymphal and adult captures in pyramid traps were greater than those on sticky traps, but captures were positively correlated between the two trap types within each region and during the early-, mid- and late season across all sites. Sites were further classified as having a low, moderate or high relative H. halys density and again showed positive correlations between captures for the two trap types for nymphs and adults. Among regions, the greatest adult captures were recorded in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic on pyramid and sticky traps, respectively, with lowest captures recorded in the West. Nymphal captures, while lower than adult captures, were greatest in the Southeast and lowest in the West. Nymphal and adult captures were, generally, greatest during July–August and September–October, respectively. Trapping data were compared with available phenological models showing comparable population peaks at most locations. Results demonstrated that sticky traps offer a simpler alternative to pyramid traps, but both can be reliable tools to monitor H. halys in different geographical locations with varying population densities throughout the season.

Phosphine is the most widely used fumigant for stored grain insect pests, and resistance to phosphine has evolved in several species worldwide. This study was designed to determine the presence of phosphine resistance in 34 populations of Rhyzopertha dominica (F.) collected from the United States and Canada. Adult R. dominica were sampled and subjected to a discriminatory dose toxicity assay of exposure to 20 ppm of phosphine for 20 h of exposure to distinguish a susceptible R. dominica adult by death from a resistant beetle that survives the treatment. All but two of the 34 geographic populations surveyed had some beetles that were resistant to phosphine, and the frequency of resistance varied from 97% in a population from Parlier, California to 0% in beetles from both Carnduff, Saskatchewan and Starbuck, Manitoba. Probit analyses of dose-mortality bioassays with beetles from a laboratory-susceptible strain and those from five of the populations sampled were used to calculate resistance ratio factors (RRs) based on the ratio of LC50 (estimate for the concentration to kill 50% of a test group) in the sampled population to the LC50 for the susceptible strain.The highest RR for the five resistant populations was nearly 596-fold in beetles from Belle Glade, Florida, whereas the lowest RR in that group was 9-fold in Wamego, Kansas.This study revealed that phosphine resistance in R. dominica is common across North America and some populations have levels of resistance that may pose challenges for continued use of phosphine for their management.

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.

The larvae of the black soldier fly (BSF), Hermetia illucens (Linnaeus, 1758) (Diptera: Stratiomyidae), are considered an efficient system for the bioconversion of organic waste into usable products, such as insect protein for animal feed and bioactive molecules. Despite the great interest toward H. illucens and its biotechnological applications, information on the biology of this insect is still scarce. In particular, no data on the structural and functional properties of the digestive system of the adult insect are available and it is a common belief that the fly does not eat. In the present work, we therefore investigate the remodeling process of the BSF larval midgut during metamorphosis, analyze the morphofunctional properties of the adult midgut, evaluate if the fly is able to ingest and digest food and assess whether the feeding supply influences the adult performances. Our results show that the larval midgut of H. illucens is removed during metamorphosis and a new pupal-adult epithelium, characterized by peculiar features compared to the larval organ, is formed by proliferation and differentiation of midgut stem cells. Moreover, our experiments indicate that the adult insect possesses a functional digestive system and that food administration affects the longevity of the fly. These data not only demonstrate that the adult BSF is able to eat but also open up the possibility to manipulate the feeding substrate of the fly to improve its performances in mass rearing procedures.