Motivations Behind Dog Walking in Older Adults: Insights From Guided Walks and Interviews.

For many older adults, physical activity declines with age, contributing to chronic disease and social isolation. Companionship from dogs can help mitigate isolation and promote physical activity. Outdoor environments aligned with the abilities of older adults can encourage walking habits and socialization. To understand how neighborhood features influence dog walking, we adapted a Photovoice approach and photographed 12 older adults walking their dog. Photographs were presented during in-person interviews to facilitate discussions about environmental features. Thematic coding revealed that interactions with nature were key. Participants valued choices in walking path type and conveniently placed dog waste stations. Opportunities to socialize with neighbors were also important. Safety from falling, other animals, and motorized traffic were concerns but were not enough to prevent walking. Our findings suggest that walking environments intended for older adults with dogs should include experiences with nature, diverse path designs, and dog-specific amenities.

Cavity Tightness Preferences of Overwintering Halyomorpha halys (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae).

Brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys) (Stål) is a household nuisance pest that seeks shelter in buildings during the winter months. It has been found in a variety of cavities and spaces between building elements, as well as in the objects stored within buildings. This experiment examined the cavity tightness preferences for these insects as they settled in winter refugia. Adult overwintering H. halys were placed in two types of simulated refugia made from rigid material. Each type had a cavity of constant width, while one had a flat lid and constant tightness, and the other had a sloped lid that became tighter as insects moved inside. Adults were allowed to enter and settle, then their locations were recorded. In sloped lid cavities, H. halys tended to settle where the cavity tightness was between 4.5 and 5.5 mm. In the flat lid cavity boxes, H. halys tended to move all the way back. In both configurations, H. halys had a significant tendency to orient their heads towards the cavity entrance. A field comparison of cavity tightness in refugia with less rigid cardboard substrates was also performed, with spacers consisting of one or two layers of 3-mm cardboard. This comparison found differences in cavity selection by sex, with males more likely to pick single-spaced layers, and females more likely to select double-spaced layers. Understanding these preferences could be useful for collection, pest management, trap design, and study of impacts on structures.

Responses of Overwintering Halyomorpha halys (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) to Dead Conspecifics.

Overwintering brown marmorated stink bugs (Halyomorpha halys) (Stål) are a notable domestic nuisance. In addition to disruptive activity, dead individuals remain in homes, sometimes in large numbers. To better understand the effects of these remains on overwintering behavior, adult H. halys were subjected to several experiments to test their responses to dead conspecifics. In non-tactile tests of individuals exposed to groups of dead conspecifics, H. halys did not respond to 1-yr-old desiccated dead conspecifics, but avoided corpses that were freshly killed. In tactile tests of individuals exposed to groups of dead conspecifics, H. halys joined those corpse aggregations significantly more often than not, and preferred corpses to cotton when given a choice. In tests of exposure of overwintering individuals to fresh dead conspecifics over the course of a winter, no necrophagy or evidence of survival advantage was observed, but overall females had higher survival rates than males.

Size Restrictions on the Passage of Overwintering Halyomorpha halys (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) Through Openings.

Intentional and unintentional openings in a building's envelope provide opportunities for unwanted pests to enter buildings. The brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys (Stål), is one such pest, causing a significant domestic winter nuisance in many locations. One important means of pest control is exclusion, or blocking openings through which they can enter, although some openings are intentional and cannot be completely blocked without putting a building at risk. To help understand what size openings are relevant to entry, adult H. halys ready for overwintering were driven out of heated boxes through openings designed to limit passage by their lateral pronotal and dorsoventral dimensions. Pronotally limited holes of 8 mm wide were passed by only one female (3.3% of those tested), and no females and only one male (3.3%) passed through 7-mm-wide holes. For dorsoventrally limited slits, few (13%) of females passed through 4-mm-high slits, and no individuals passed through 3-mm-high slits. Dorsoventral heights and pronotal widths of 930 individuals collected in Virginia were measured. Females were consistently larger, with pronota averaging 8.33 mm wide to the males' 7.47 mm and heights at the point of leg movement restriction averaging 4.03 mm to the males' 3.50 mm. Based on experimental data and size data, we conclude that most H. halys individuals will be excluded by slits smaller than 3 mm and holes smaller than 7 mm.

Delivering sustainable infrastructure that supports the urban built environment.

Sustainable living will require megacity-level infrastructural support designs and paradigms.