Annika Munson, Timothy K O'Connor, Sumitha Nallu, Nicholas W VanKuren, Marcus R Kronforst
{"title":"The Pieris climate accords: how climate change shapes molecular interactions between the butterfly Pieris rapae (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) and its host plant Arabidopsis thaliana (Brassicales: Brassicaceae).","authors":"Annika Munson, Timothy K O'Connor, Sumitha Nallu, Nicholas W VanKuren, Marcus R Kronforst","doi":"10.1093/ee/nvag040","DOIUrl":"10.1093/ee/nvag040","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Global temperatures are projected to rise by approximately 1.5 °C between 2030 and 2050, driven by increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels. Such rapid climate change is predicted to drive correspondingly rapid change in animals and plants, particularly those that humans depend on for food and security. Here, we investigated how increased temperature and CO2 may affect herbivore-host plant interactions using controlled experiments with a widespread agricultural pest, the cabbage white butterfly Pieris rapae, and a model host plant, Arabidopsis thaliana. Pieris rapae and A. thaliana were reared at varying levels of temperature (22.7 °C to 27.7 °C) and CO2 (400 ppm to 850 ppm) to assess how climate change affects phenotypic variation and gene expression in this herbivore-host system. Phenotypic analysis indicated heat stress causes leaf surface area to decrease in A. thaliana, larval mass in P. rapae to remain consistent, and egg laying to increase. Heat stress appeared to severely affect the pair of organisms when they were interacting. Transcriptomic analyses revealed a suite of genes that responded specifically to climate change conditions and herbivore-host plant interactions in each species. These findings highlight genetic pathways responsive to both species interactions and intensified climate change, offering valuable insights into how climate change may reshape this ecologically and economically important interaction.</p>","PeriodicalId":11751,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Entomology","volume":"55 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2026-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13347190/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148197617","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Claryssa de O Mota, Andrea Clavijo McCormick, Trevor Jones, Stephanie Sopow, Maria Minor
{"title":"From bitter to better: evidence of shifting host preference by Euura proxima (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae) in New Zealand willows.","authors":"Claryssa de O Mota, Andrea Clavijo McCormick, Trevor Jones, Stephanie Sopow, Maria Minor","doi":"10.1093/ee/nvag036","DOIUrl":"10.1093/ee/nvag036","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The red gall sawfly Euura proxima (Serville) (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae) is an introduced insect in New Zealand that causes bean-shaped red galls on the leaves of species of willow (Salix spp.). The incidence and level of galling of the leaves varies, but there have been no studies regarding the host preferences and growth of this insect herbivore in New Zealand. Twelve willow clones of 4 species and a hybrid that are grown in New Zealand were investigated to correlate the development and growth of E. proxima with phenolic and nutrient content of the leaves. The Salix purpurea clones were resistant to E. proxima, with no galls observed. The S. matsudana clones had small, malformed galls without viable larvae. The S. matsudana × alba, S. alba and S. fragilis clones developed galls with viable larvae. In New Zealand, E. proxima appeared to prefer willow clones with a lower phenolic content, with these having higher levels of galling and larvae with larger head widths. This is in contrast to studies of E. proxima in its native range, which showed a preference for higher levels of phenolics. The shift in preference of E. proxima from willows with a high content of phenolic glycosides in its native range to willows with a low content of phenolic glycosides in New Zealand may be due to absence of predators in the introduced range, but further studies are needed to address this hypothesis.</p>","PeriodicalId":11751,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Entomology","volume":"55 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2026-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13148248/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147835219","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ivair Valmorbida, Lennis Afraire Rodrigues, Luan Carlo Bosetti, Lucas Bonumá Severo
{"title":"Abundance, diversity, and phenology of stink bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) in Missouri soybeans.","authors":"Ivair Valmorbida, Lennis Afraire Rodrigues, Luan Carlo Bosetti, Lucas Bonumá Severo","doi":"10.1093/ee/nvag045","DOIUrl":"10.1093/ee/nvag045","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Stink bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) are among the most economically important insect pests of soybeans in Missouri. However, the community composition, abundance, spatial patterns, and phenology remain poorly understood across different ecoregions in the state. We conducted a statewide survey of stink bugs in commercial soybean fields during the 2024 and 2025 growing seasons to address this gap. Sweep net sampling was conducted at the field edge and interior of 316 soybean fields. A total of 2,718 stink bugs, representing nine species, were collected. Chinavia hilaris (Say) was the dominant species, accounting for >80% of all individuals, followed by Euschistus variolarius (Palisot de Beauvois) and Euschistus servus (Say) (10.55% and 5.89%, respectively). Halyomorpha halys (Stål) was detected at low frequencies in 5 locations. The abundance of C. hilaris was significantly greater at field edges than in interiors and differed among ecoregions, whereas the abundance of the Euschistus complex showed regional differences that varied between the growing seasons. Species diversity differed among ecoregions, with the highest Shannon diversity observed in the Salem Plateau. Stink bug abundance was low during vegetative and early reproductive stages, followed by rapid population increases beginning at R5 and peaking at R6, driven primarily by the presence of nymphs. These results provide the first comprehensive, statewide assessment of stink bug community and spatial distribution in Missouri soybeans that can be used to optimize scouting timing and improve management decisions.</p>","PeriodicalId":11751,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Entomology","volume":"55 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2026-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147927467","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Joshua R Fischer, Chad J Boeckman, Kristine L LeRoy, Bridget F O'Neill
{"title":"Characterizing potential risk of Cry1B.34 and Cry1Da2 proteins expressed in insect-protected maize to monarch butterfly.","authors":"Joshua R Fischer, Chad J Boeckman, Kristine L LeRoy, Bridget F O'Neill","doi":"10.1093/ee/nvag050","DOIUrl":"10.1093/ee/nvag050","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Declines in monarch butterfly (Danaus plexipplus (Linnaeus)) populations stemming from a variety of causes resulted in the US Fish and Wildlife Service to propose listing monarchs as a \"threatened species\" under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. The migratory eastern monarch population spends much of the summer months across the Midwest, where a significant portion of the landscape is devoted to agricultural production. Insect-control proteins expressed in genetically modified (GM) maize intended to control lepidopteran pests may exhibit activity against monarch larvae. While monarch larvae do not feed directly on vegetative maize tissue, exposure to insecticidal proteins expressed in GM maize may be possible via inadvertent consumption of GM maize pollen deposited on the surface of milkweed leaves. Previous population-level assessments on insect-protected maize were based on the scenario that monarch larvae were exposed to pollen on milkweed present within maize fields. With modern agronomic practices, milkweed abundance within maize fields has decreased significantly, and the potential exposure of monarch larvae to maize pollen is now limited to milkweed in field margins. Herein, we report the development of a screening-level approach as well as a probabilistic exposure model coupled with explicit landscape information to characterize potential risk of the Cry1B.34 and Cry1Da2 proteins expressed in DP910521 and DAS1131 maize, respectively, to monarch larvae. The results of these analyses indicate cultivation of DP910521 and DAS1131 maize would be unlikely to jeopardize the continued existence of the eastern monarch population were these events to be commercialized in North America.</p>","PeriodicalId":11751,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Entomology","volume":"55 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2026-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148053323","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Effects of low-temperature storage on the development of Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae).","authors":"Lulu Lin, Minghui Xie, Yongzhi Zhong, Guangling Zhang, Feng Zhang, Haoliang Chen","doi":"10.1093/ee/nvag055","DOIUrl":"10.1093/ee/nvag055","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith), the fall armyworm, is a highly migratory pest primarily distributed in warm tropical regions, while its occurrence in temperate and colder zones remains limited. This geographic restriction raises critical questions about its adaptive capacity to low-temperature environments. This study examined the growth and development of S. frugiperda under different low-temperature conditions. Different life stages including eggs, larvae (5-d old and 12-d old), pupae, and adults were exposed to 3 low-temperature regimes (4 °C, 7 °C, and 10 °C) for prolonged durations (5 to 40 d). Survival rates, developmental metrics, and post-exposure reproductive capacity were quantified to assess cold tolerance. Results revealed variation in cold tolerance among life stages: pupae exhibited the least cold tolerance, followed by eggs, adults, and 12-d-old larvae, while 5-d-old larvae exhibited the highest cold resistance. Notably, all life stages maintained survival and retained partial fecundity after exposure to 10 °C for 10 d, indicating a cold tolerance threshold under mild low-temperature stress. S. frugiperda exhibits varying degrees of cold tolerance across its life stages, with younger larvae showing greater resilience to low temperatures. These findings demonstrate that S. frugiperda has the capacity to survive and reproduce under cooler conditions, which may facilitate its establishment in temperate regions. The study provides valuable insights into the cold adaptation of S. frugiperda and holds important implications for pest management.</p>","PeriodicalId":11751,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Entomology","volume":"55 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2026-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147986934","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ashley E Tessnow, Robert L Meagher, Jawwad A Qureshi, Julien M Beuzelin, Dakshina Seal
{"title":"Geographic distribution of the egg parasitoid Telenomus remus (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) in Florida and cytochrome c oxidase subunit I based insights into the species population genetic structure.","authors":"Ashley E Tessnow, Robert L Meagher, Jawwad A Qureshi, Julien M Beuzelin, Dakshina Seal","doi":"10.1093/ee/nvag058","DOIUrl":"10.1093/ee/nvag058","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Telenomus remus Nixon is an important egg parasitoid of the fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith)), a major agricultural pest. Originally described in Malaysia in the 1920s, T. remus has since spread across the globe. Although it was released in Florida in the 1970s and 1980s, subsequent surveys suggested it had failed to establish in the state. However, its unexpected detection parasitizing fall armyworm egg masses in Florida in 2009 and 2013 suggested a reassessment of this species within the state was warranted. In this study, we set out fall armyworm sentinel egg masses across 10 counties in Florida to evaluate the current distribution of this parasitoid across the state. We compared cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene barcodes from our survey to publicly available sequences representing T. remus populations from 24 countries spanning 4 continents and conducted phylogenetic analyses to examine the relationship of T. remus haplotypes with other Telenomus species. Our findings indicate that T. remus is now widely distributed across Florida, though it remains absent in the southeastern region of the state. We also identified 2 T. remus mitochondrial haplogroups, one that is globally distributed in Asia, South America, Africa, and Florida, and a second that was confined to the Eastern Mediterranean region (Israel, Egypt, and Lebanon) and East Africa (Kenya and Tanzania). Our phylogenetic analysis suggests these are 2 mitochondrial variants or strains of the same species, though additional studies are needed to further characterize the genetic variation between these 2 strains, as well as any important biological or ecological differences.</p>","PeriodicalId":11751,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Entomology","volume":"55 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2026-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148041426","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Bruna Karen Pinheiro-Costa, José Neiva Mesquita-Neto
{"title":"Do local environmental variables differently influence the visitation of effective and ineffective pollinators to highbush blueberry flowers?","authors":"Bruna Karen Pinheiro-Costa, José Neiva Mesquita-Neto","doi":"10.1093/ee/nvag017","DOIUrl":"10.1093/ee/nvag017","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Floral visitors adapt their foraging behavior through time and space, focusing their efforts to maximize floral resource collection. They are therefore vulnerable to variations in local environmental conditions. However, most studies focusing on understanding insect sensitivity to environmental variables are based on taxonomic identity rather than their role as pollinators. Consequently, frequent visits by neutral and antagonistic species can obscure the interactions between plants and effective pollinators unless their contributions to pollination are distinguished. Here, we investigated whether local environmental variables differentially influence the daily visitation frequency of effective pollinators compared to ineffective pollinators of cultivated highbush blueberry in southern Chile. Flower visitation was recorded alongside temperature, light intensity, and wind speed. Effective pollinators were defined as those that deposited more conspecific pollen on stigmas per visit than unvisited flowers, as opposed to ineffective pollinators. Our findings demonstrate that the dominant floral visitors in Chilean highbush blueberry crops are not necessarily the most effective pollinators. Although honeybees accounted for most floral visits, their pollination effectiveness was comparatively low. While light intensity positively influenced the frequency of all visitors (effective and ineffective pollinators) to blueberry flowers, wind speed had a negative effect. Although exotic managed bees may mask the visitation patterns of native insects, our results showed that they respond similarly to environmental variables. This suggests that, despite significant differences in pollination outcomes for the blueberry crops, all functional groups exhibit similar environmental sensitivity. Blueberry flower reward may interact with environmental variables to influence flower visitation patterns.</p>","PeriodicalId":11751,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Entomology","volume":"55 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147389801","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Chen Yin, Xin Peng, Xiao-Lei Huang, Shou-Ping Cai, Hai-Tian Song
{"title":"Prediction of potential suitable areas for 5 common Coraebus species (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) in China based on Biomod2 combination model.","authors":"Chen Yin, Xin Peng, Xiao-Lei Huang, Shou-Ping Cai, Hai-Tian Song","doi":"10.1093/ee/nvag021","DOIUrl":"10.1093/ee/nvag021","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Climate change is expected to alter the spatial distribution of forest-associated insects, yet responses may vary among closely related species. We used an ensemble species distribution modeling framework to project current and future potential suitable areas for 5 Coraebus species (Coraebus acutus, C. cloueti, C. diminutus, C. quadriundulatus, and C. sauteri) in China under four Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP126, SSP245, SSP370, and SSP585). Under current climatic conditions, suitable habitats were primarily concentrated in southeastern China, with species-specific differences in highly suitable areas. Future projections revealed scenario-dependent redistribution patterns. While total suitable areas showed moderate overall change, centroid migration displayed stage-specific displacement peaks, particularly under higher-emission scenarios. Temperature-related variables, especially indices describing thermal variability and extremes, consistently ranked among the most influential predictors, indicating that seasonal constraints play a central role in shaping distribution dynamics. Interspecific heterogeneity was evident, with species differing in both migration magnitude and temporal response patterns. Redistribution did not proceed linearly through time but exhibited mid-to-late-century intensification under certain emission pathways, suggesting potential threshold responses to climatic forcing. These findings highlight that climate-driven redistribution of wood-boring beetles may be species-specific and temporally variable. Incorporating multiple emission scenarios and species-level assessments can improve monitoring strategies and support adaptive forest management under changing climatic conditions.</p>","PeriodicalId":11751,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Entomology","volume":"55 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147510623","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A survey of beneficial insects in Southeast USA sesame (Lamiales: Pedaliaceae) fields.","authors":"Lauren E Todd, David H Suchoff, Hannah K Levenson","doi":"10.1093/ee/nvag041","DOIUrl":"10.1093/ee/nvag041","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>While sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) is one of the oldest domesticated oilseed crops, it has only recently become a new and emerging crop for the southeast USA. As little is known about the insect fauna of sesame in the United States, it will be important to document insect communities now while management programs are still being developed. Here, we provide the first survey of beneficial insects, including pollinators and potential natural enemies, for sesame in the United States. Beneficial insects within sesame fields were surveyed in 2023 at 2 locations in North Carolina, United States using 2 sampling methods: visual identification and sticky cards. During visual surveys, insects were field identified, with up to 5 physical specimens collected per species for identification verification. Pollen was then removed, identified, and quantified from collected specimens. Potential natural enemies collected on sticky cards were categorized as stilt bugs (Hemiptera: Berytidae: Jalysus spinosus Say), dragonflies (Odonata: Anisoptera), lady beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), and wasps (Hymenoptera: Apocrita). We found 18 bee (Hymenoptera: Anthophila) species visiting sesame flowers, with honey bees collecting the most sesame pollen per specimen. Wasps were the most abundant natural enemy category, with over 100 wasps collected at some sampling events. The information from this study can be used to ensure beneficial insect communities are protected as sesame production is expanded in the United States.</p>","PeriodicalId":11751,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Entomology","volume":"55 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13120874/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147765756","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Correction to: Community composition and abundance of wild bees at row crop-grassland interfaces in west central Nebraska.","authors":"","doi":"10.1093/ee/nvag020","DOIUrl":"10.1093/ee/nvag020","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":11751,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Entomology","volume":"55 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2026-03-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13017207/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147493786","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}