MINIstock: Model for INsect Inclusion in sustainable agriculture: USDA-ARS's research approach to advancing insect meal development and inclusion in animal diets.

Animal agriculture is under pressure to increase efficiency, sustainability, and innovation to meet the demands of a rising global population while decreasing adverse environmental effects. Feed cost and availability are 2 of the biggest hurdles to sustainable production. Current diets depend on sources of grain and animal byproduct protein for essential amino acids which have limited sustainability. Insects have arisen as an attractive, sustainable alternative protein source for animal diets due to their favorable nutrient composition, low space and water requirements, and natural role in animal diets. Additionally, insects are capable of bioremediating waste streams including agricultural and food waste, manure, and plastics helping to increase their sustainability. The insect rearing industry has grown rapidly in recent years and shows great economic potential. However, state-of-the-art research is urgently needed to overcome barriers to adoption in commercial animal diets such as regulatory restrictions, production scale issues, and food safety concerns. To address this need, the USDA Agricultural Research Service "MINIstoc: Model for INsect Inclusion" project was created to bring together diverse scientists from across the world to synergistically advance insect meal production and inclusion in animal diets. Here, we provide a short review of insects as feed while describing the MINIstock project which serves as the inspiration for the Journal of Economic Entomology Special Collection "Insects as feed: sustainable solutions for food waste and animal production practices."

Rearing methods of four insect species intended as feed, food, and food ingredients: a review.

Over the past 2 decades, the potential of insects as food and feed has been recognized globally. Insects as feed ingredients can improve sustainability because of their lower greenhouse gas emissions and their potential to transform organic wastes into high-quality feed rich in nutrients. However, currently, the practical use of insects as food or feed is limited by the high costs of insect production. A great deal of effort is required to improve the rearing technology necessary to establish the principles of insect farming. Several insect species have become industrialized using existing methods of production. The most common industrialized insect species intended as feed and food include the yellow mealworm, Tenebrio molitor L. (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae); the house cricket, Acheta domesticus L. (Orthoptera: Gryllidae); the black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens L. (Diptera: Stratiomyidae); and the house fly, Musca domestica L. (Diptera: Muscidae). This review focuses on describing the existing rearing methods for these 4 insect species, which may provide a basis for future research to enhance insect production capabilities.

Insect frass composition and potential use as an organic fertilizer in circular economies.

Insect manure or "frass" has emerged as an alternative nutrient source for alleviating the dependence on fossil fuel-based fertilizers, reducing food waste, and promoting food security. Yet, research on insect frass chemical composition is in its infancy. Here, we assessed the chemical properties of yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor L.) frass compared with poultry litter (PL). Insect frass was obtained from the National Biological Control Laboratory (NBCL; IF-L) and an insect-rearing company (IF-C). PL was collected from facilities in Arkansas (PL-AR) and North Carolina (PL-NC). Samples were analyzed for pH, electrical conductivity, macro- and micronutrients, heavy metals, pathogens, and indicator microorganisms. On average, insect frass had 43% and 47% higher C and N than PL, respectively (P < 0.05). Considering a 5 mg/ha application rate, IF-C can supply 159 kg N/ha, twice the N supply of PL-AR (78 kg/ha). IF-L had a 53% higher P supply than PL-NC. Mean K, Ca, S, and micronutrient contents were higher in PL than in frass (P < 0.05), whereas As, Cd, Cr, and Pb were nearly absent in frass. Chemical composition and pathogens in fertilizer sources were largely affected by insect-rearing substrate and supplements used in poultry and insect production. Insect frass utilized in this study had optimum C and N rates relative to PL, suggesting a promising soil amendment for improving soil health and C sequestration, thus contributing to sustainable agricultural intensification and reuse of food waste in circular economies.

Evaluation of Black Soldier Fly Hermetia illucens as Food for Pink-Spotted Lady Beetle Coleomegilla maculata.

The discovery of new and improved factitious and artificial diets is necessary for cost-effective rearing of predatory arthropods. This study evaluated Hermetia illucens black soldier fly (BSF) as a suitable alternative food source for rearing the predatory coccinellid Coleomegilla maculata (Cmac). The hypothesis that BSF larval powder was suitable food to support the growth, development, and reproduction of Cmac was tested in the laboratory. When compared to a standard in-house diet containing brine shrimp egg powder plus Chlorella vulgaris green algae and myristic acid (BSE+CM), the BSF and BSF+CM diets reduced immature growth and development. Immatures successfully reared to teneral adults were smaller when fed BSF or BSF+CM rather than BSE+CM. Combining BSF with a powdered artificial diet (AD), i.e., BSF+AD, did not improve predator growth or development, compared to Cmac reared on BSE+CM. Cmac oviposition responses, i.e., egg clutch production, to BSF vs. BSE+CM or BSF+AD vs. BSE+CM did not differ significantly. In conclusion, BSF has the potential to be food that supports Cmac oviposition behavior. Future research is necessary to discover an ideal mixture of BSF, BSE+CM, or AD that supports Cmac growth, development, and reproduction over multiple generations.

Effects of Taurine as Dietary Supplement on the Biological and Demographic Parameters of Nezara viridula (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae).

The southern green stink bug, Nezara viridula (L.) (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae), is a widely distributed pest of many economically important crops. Because of its economic impact, multiple examples of rearing methods and diets for N. viridula have been published. However, rearing this pest year-round consistently in all-vegetable diets has been challenging. Preliminary observations have shown that supplementing N. viridula diet with insect components improves the survival and reproduction of this insect. We hypothesized that taurine could be the nutrient present in insect components that was providing the benefits. Treatments consisting of three different watering regimes: 1) Reverse osmosis (RO) water only (W), 2) 2% taurine solution only (T), and 3) a choice between RO water and 2% taurine solution (T&W) were compared for their effects on life cycle and demographic parameters of N. viridula. Both taurine-containing treatments (T and T&W) resulted in a significant increase in nymphal and premating adult survival and egg viability as compared with treatment 'W'. Taurine supplementation did not have significant effect on fecundity and development time significantly increased in the 'T' treatment compared with W and W&T treatments. However, there were significant improvements in demographic parameters showing an increase in fitness levels after taurine supplementation. These results suggest that taurine is an important nutrient for N. viridula, which has been deficient in traditional diets consisting exclusively of vegetable components. Adoption of this new information will help to improve the survival of N. viridula in culture to facilitate this study to develop new methods for its control.

Inheritance of Two Traits With High Plasticity, Developmental Speed, and Body Size, in Tenebrio molitor (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae).

The study of inheritance of quantitative traits of high plasticity in insects has been limited. The heritability of larval development time and body weight in Tenebrio molitor L. was determined using the method of parent-offspring regression. The parental group of adults obtained from a cohort from one day of oviposition from a stock colony was divided into 28 class groups according to their larval development time and pupal weight. The progeny resulting from these parental classes was grouped in experimental units and allowed to develop to the pupal stage. Means of larval development time and pupal weight of the progeny were compared with their parental class levels using linear regression. The selection of larval development time and pupal weight in the parental classes had a significant impact on the means of larval development time and pupal weight of the progeny. The regression coefficients for larval development time and pupal weight were 0.626 ±â€…0.02 and 0.408 ±â€…0.02, respectively. These values represent the proportion of genetic determination of these two traits based on the principles of the method of parent-offspring regression. The apparent independence of larval development time and pupal weight based on their poor linear correlation is discussed.

Self-Selection of Agricultural By-Products and Food Ingredients by Tenebrio molitor (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) and Impact on Food Utilization and Nutrient Intake.

Nutrient self-selection was used to determine optimal intake ratios of macro-nutrients by Tenebrio molitor L. larvae. Self-selection experiments consisted of 9 combinations (treatments) of 8 ingredients, from a total of 20 choices, radially distributed in a multiple-choice arena presented to groups of 100 T. molitor larvae (12th-13th instar). Larvae freely selected and feed on the pelletized ingredients for a period of 21 days at 27 °C, 75% RH, and dark conditions. Consumption (g) of each ingredient, larval live weight gained (mg), and frass production were recorded and used to calculate food assimilation and efficiency of conversion of ingested food. The macro-nutrient intake ratios were 0.06 ± 0.03, 0.23 ± 0.01, and 0.71 ± 0.03 for lipid, protein, and carbohydrate, respectively on the best performing treatments. The intake of neutral detergent fiber negatively impacted food assimilation, food conversion and biomass gain. Food assimilation, food conversion, and biomass gain were significantly impacted by the intake of carbohydrate in a positive way. Cabbage, potato, wheat bran, rice bran (whole and defatted), corn dry distillers' grain, spent brewery dry grain, canola meal and sunflower meal were considered suitable as T. molitor diets ingredients based on their relative consumption percentages (over 10%) within treatment.

Estimation of Blockage Position, Geometry, and Solidity in Molten Salt Pipelines.

In solar thermal plants, the use of molten salt as a heat transfer fluid is an advantageous alternative, although it has some disadvantages such as the formation of salt plugs in the pipes due to possible stratification of the salt or its solidification. The aim of this study was to implement an electromagnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT) not only capable of identifying the position of the plug, but also of determining whether the plug blocks the entire conductive surface or, on the contrary, is partial, allowing the fluid to pass through a smaller section. The proposed transducer is intended to be minimally invasive, allowing it to be used in the same way as a temperature probe. To do so, it creates torsional waves in the pipe, which are then used for a combination of measurements: pulse-echo and attenuation of the acoustic waves. Two materials with different densities (silicone and cement) were used in the tests carried out, which made it possible to check that for a given size of blockage, it is possible to identify the type of material from which it is formed.

Toxicological response of the model fungus Saccharomyces cerevisiae to different concentrations of commercial graphene nanoplatelets.

Graphene nanomaterials have attracted a great interest during the last years for different applications, but their possible impact on different biological systems remains unclear. Here, an assessment to understand the toxicity of commercial polycarboxylate functionalized graphene nanoplatelets (GN) on the unicellular fungal model Saccharomyces cerevisiae was performed. While cell proliferation was not negatively affected even in the presence of 800 mg L-1 of the nanomaterial for 24 hours, oxidative stress was induced at a lower concentration (160 mg L-1), after short exposure periods (2 and 4 hours). No DNA damage was observed under a comet assay analysis under the studied conditions. In addition, to pinpoint the molecular mechanisms behind the early oxidative damage induced by GN and to identify possible toxicity pathways, the transcriptome of S. cerevisiae exposed to 160 and 800 mg L-1 of GN was studied. Both GN concentrations induced expression changes in a common group of genes (337), many of them related to the fungal response to reduce the nanoparticles toxicity and to maintain cell homeostasis. Also, a high number of genes were only differentially expressed in the GN800 condition (3254), indicating that high GN concentrations can induce severe changes in the physiological state of the yeast.

Self-selection of food ingredients and agricultural by-products by the house cricket, Acheta domesticus (Orthoptera: Gryllidae): A holistic approach to develop optimized diets.

The house cricket, Acheta domesticus L. (Orthoptera: Gryllidae) is one of the most important species of industrialized insects in the United States. Within the past five years the market of cricket powder as a food ingredient has been growing with increasing consumer interest on more sustainable sources of food. However, high labor costs of cricket production and high prices of cricket feed formulations result in cricket powder market prices much higher than other protein-rich food ingredients, making cricket powder only competitive within the novelty food market. In this study new diets formulated using by-products were developed using dietary self-selection followed by regression analysis. Crickets selected among seven different combinations of ingredients. Consumption ratios of food ingredients and by-products were used to determine macro and micro-nutrient intake. Regression analysis was used to determine the individual nutrient intake effect on cricket biomass production. Intake of vitamin C, sterol, manganese, and vitamins B1 and B5 had the most significant impact on live biomass production. Four diets were formulated based on this information and compared with a reference (Patton's 13) and a commercial diet. Although, crickets reared on Patton's diet 13 produced the most dry-weight biomass and developed the fastest, diet 4 (consisting of 92% by-products) generated the most profit (with a cost of $0.39 USD per kg) after an economic analysis that did not include the commercial formulation. Dry-weight biomass production was not significantly different among the four new diets and the commercial diet. This study demonstrated the value of dietary self-selection studies in developing oligidic insect diets and in studies of insect nutrition. This is the first such study involving farmed edible crickets and agricultural by-products. Four new cricket diet formulations contain between 62 and 92% agricultural by-products are included.

Magnetostrictive Sensor for Blockage Detection in Pipes Subjected to High Temperatures.

The use of solar thermal power plants is considered a cost-effective alternative to produce renewable energy. Unlike other energy installations, in this type of plants the transfer and storage of energy has been solved by using molten salts. These salts run between two tanks through the steam generation system that feeds the turbine. Although the use of salts as a heat transfer fluid is considered an adequate solution, they are not without problems. One of them is the formation of blockages in the pipes due to a partial solidification of the salt, which leads to the shutdown of the installation, with the consequent economic losses. Fast location of these blockages in a minimally intrusive way is the objective pursued in this work. The method to achieve this is based on the use of a new magnetostrictive sensor that simplifies previous designs.

Body Mass Increase Induced by Eight Years of Artificial Selection in the Yellow Mealworm (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) and Life History Trade-offs.

Efforts to improve rearing conditions of Tenebrio molitor L. (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) for insect biomass production included selecting for larger size pupae. The effects of an 8-yr continuous selection of T. molitor pupae for larger size were studied. Data consisting of daily counts and weights of pupae were analyzed using regression to determine the effects of selection over time. A preliminary evaluation of food conversion, growth, fecundity, and larval survival was done to compare ancestral versus selected strains. A significant positive correlation was identified between pupal size and time indicating a significant increase in pupal size over time in the selected T. molitor strain. A preliminary comparison of ancestral and selected strains showed significantly larger pupal size, growth rate, fecundity, and efficiency of conversion of ingested food in the selected strain. However, the selected strain also showed significantly lower larval survival than the ancestral strain. The low larval survival impacted the overall productivity of the selected strain resulting in no significant differences in biomass production when compared with the ancestral strain. The potential of using selection to improve biomass productivity in T. molitor is discussed.

Mortality of Solenopsis invicta Workers (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) After Indirect Exposure to Spores of Three Entomopathogenic Fungi.

Mortality caused by indirect exposure to Metarhizium brunneum and Beauveria bassiana (GHA and NI8) to the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), workers was evaluated. Groups of 50 workers were placed in one side of dual-box arenas. The opposite side of the arenas was lined with filter paper squares previously sprayed with unformulated purified spores (106 spores/ml) suspended in 0.2% Ethal TDA 3, HLB 8 of the three fungal strains, or untreated filter paper squares as the control. Daily observations were done for 1 wk to determine mortality. Dead ants from each treatment and control were collected, surface cleaned, and placed in PDA media and incubated at 27°C, 60% RH for 7 d to detect fungal growth. The presence of fungal growth in the dead ants confirmed that fungal spores infected workers while walking on the treated paper. In the M. brunneum and B. bassiana GHA treatments, 51.35 and 56.68% of the workers died, respectively, during days 1 and 2. However, only 9.47 and 35.96% of the mortality could be explained by fungal infection by M. brunneum and B. bassiana GHA, respectively. Most of the mortality observed in the B. bassiana NI8 treatment (84.48%) occurred later (between days 4-6) and most of this mortality occurring during day 4 (89.06%) could be explained by B. bassiana infection. Overall mortality was significantly higher in the B. bassiana NI8 treatment than the other two fungi tested and control. Potential application of these fungal strains for fire ant control are discussed.

Neuraxial analgesia in a parturient with the VACTERL association undergoing labor and vaginal delivery / Analgesia neuraxial em uma parturiente com síndrome de Vacterl em trabalho de parto normal

Abstract Introduction: The term VACTERL is an acronym for an association of congenital malformations: including vertebral, anal, cardiac, tracheo-esophageal, renal and limb anomalies. VACTERL anomalies pose a formidable challenge to anesthesiologists. We describe the anesthetic management of a parturient with VACTERL association, who underwent neuraxial analgesia for labor and vaginal delivery. Case report: A 23 year old primigravida at 39 weeks gestation presented in labor at 4 cm cervical dilatation, completely effaced, requesting labor analgesia. Past medical history included VACTERL association with an imperforate anus and a partial endocardial cushion defect, both repaired in early childhood. She also had significant dorso-lumbar scoliosis with an extra lumbar vertebra. An MRI performed at 14 years age revealed the above findings with no spinal cord abnormalities. With a normal neurologic exam, a combined spinal epidural technique was performed. Despite significant scoliosis, the epidural space was identified at approximately the L3-L4 interspace at a depth of 5 cm. Spinal Fentanyl 25 mcg was administered followed by continuous patient-controlled epidural analgesia. The patient experienced excellent pain relief throughout her labor, and had an uneventful vaginal delivery 5 h after epidural placement. Discussion: The rarity of VACTERL association in the obstetric population with its extensive anomalies mandates a multidisciplinary approach in the prenatal period as it can pose major challenges to all health care providers, including airway, ventilatory, cardiac and neuraxial problems. This is the first reported case of a successful and safe neuraxial technique in a laboring patient with the VACTERL association with albeit limited vertebral and spinal cord anomalies.

Resumo Introdução: O termo Vacterl é um acrônimo para uma associação de malformacões congênitas que inclui anomalias vertebral, anal, cardíaca, traqueal, esofágica, renal e dos membros (Limbs em inglês). As anomalias Vacterl representam um enorme desafio para os anestesiologistas. Descrevemos o manejo anestésico de uma parturiente com síndrome de Vacterl submetida à analgesia neuraxial para parto normal. Relato de caso: Paciente primípara, 23 anos, 39 semanas de gestação, apresentava em trabalho de parto 4 cm de dilatação cervical, apagamento completo, exigiu analgesia de parto. A história médica incluía síndrome de Vacterl com ânus imperfurado e defeito parcial do coxim endocárdico, ambos corrigidos na primeira infância. A paciente também apresentava escoliose dorso-lombar acentuada com uma vértebra lombar adicional. Uma RM feita aos 14 anos revelou os achados mencionados acima sem anormalidades na medula espinhal. Com um exame neurológico normal, a técnica anestésica combinada raquiperidural (CRP) foi usada. Apesar de escoliose significativa, o espaço peridural foi identificado próximo ao interespaço L3-L4 a uma profundidade de 5 cm. Fentanyl (25 mcg) foi administrado por via espinhal, seguido de analgesia peridural contínua controlada pela paciente. A paciente sentiu grande alívio da dor durante todo o trabalho de parto; o parto vaginal ocorreu 5 horas após a anestesia CRP sem intercorrências. Discussão: A raridade da síndrome de Vacterl na população obstétrica com suas extensas anomalias exige uma abordagem multidisciplinar no pré-natal porque pode representar grandes desafios para todos os prestadores de cuidados de saúde, inclusive problemas respiratórios, de ventilação, cardíacos e do neuroeixo. Este é o primeiro caso relatado de uma técnica neuraxial bem-sucedida e segura em uma paciente em trabalho de parto com síndrome de Vacterl, embora com anomalias limitadas da coluna vertebral e medula espinhal.

Unified Compact ECC-AES Co-Processor with Group-Key Support for IoT Devices in Wireless Sensor Networks.

Security is a critical challenge for the effective expansion of all new emerging applications in the Internet of Things paradigm. Therefore, it is necessary to define and implement different mechanisms for guaranteeing security and privacy of data interchanged within the multiple wireless sensor networks being part of the Internet of Things. However, in this context, low power and low area are required, limiting the resources available for security and thus hindering the implementation of adequate security protocols. Group keys can save resources and communications bandwidth, but should be combined with public key cryptography to be really secure. In this paper, a compact and unified co-processor for enabling Elliptic Curve Cryptography along to Advanced Encryption Standard with low area requirements and Group-Key support is presented. The designed co-processor allows securing wireless sensor networks with independence of the communications protocols used. With an area occupancy of only 2101 LUTs over Spartan 6 devices from Xilinx, it requires 15% less area while achieving near 490% better performance when compared to cryptoprocessors with similar features in the literature.

[Neuraxial analgesia in a parturient with the VACTERL association undergoing labor and vaginal delivery]. / Analgesia neuraxial em uma parturiente com síndrome de Vacterl em trabalho de parto normal.

INTRODUCTION: The term VACTERL is an acronym for an association of congenital malformations: including vertebral, anal, cardiac, tracheo-esophageal, renal and limb anomalies. VACTERL anomalies pose a formidable challenge to anesthesiologists. We describe the anesthetic management of a parturient with VACTERL association, who underwent neuraxial analgesia for labor and vaginal delivery. CASE REPORT: A 23 year old primigravida at 39 weeks gestation presented in labor at 4cm cervical dilatation, completely effaced, requesting labor analgesia. Past medical history included VACTERL association with an imperforate anus and a partial endocardial cushion defect, both repaired in early childhood. She also had significant dorso-lumbar scoliosis with an extra lumbar vertebra. An MRI performed at 14 years age revealed the above findings with no spinal cord abnormalities. With a normal neurologic exam, a combined spinal epidural technique was performed. Despite significant scoliosis, the epidural space was identified at approximately the L3-L4 interspace at a depth of 5cm. Spinal Fentanyl 25mcg was administered followed by continuous patient-controlled epidural analgesia. The patient experienced excellent pain relief throughout her labor, and had an uneventful vaginal delivery 5h after epidural placement. DISCUSSION: The rarity of VACTERL association in the obstetric population with its extensive anomalies mandates a multidisciplinary approach in the prenatal period as it can pose major challenges to all health care providers, including airway, ventilatory, cardiac and neuraxial problems. This is the first reported case of a successful and safe neuraxial technique in a laboring patient with the VACTERL association with albeit limited vertebral and spinal cord anomalies.

Aspergillus niger Secretes Citrate to Increase Iron Bioavailability.

Aspergillus niger has an innate ability to secrete various organic acids, including citrate. The conditions required for A. niger citrate overproduction are well described, but the physiological reasons underlying extracellular citrate accumulation are not yet fully understood. One of the less understood culture conditions is the requirement of growth-limiting iron concentrations. While this has been attributed to iron-dependent citrate metabolizing enzymes, this straightforward relationship does not always hold true. Here, we show that an increase in citrate secretion under iron limited conditions is a physiological response consistent with a role of citrate as A. niger iron siderophore. We found that A. niger citrate secretion increases with decreasing amounts of iron added to the culture medium and, in contrast to previous findings, this response is independent of the nitrogen source. Differential transcriptomics analyses of the two A. niger mutants NW305 (gluconate non-producer) and NW186 (gluconate and oxalate non-producer) revealed up-regulation of the citrate biosynthesis gene citA under iron limited conditions compared to iron replete conditions. In addition, we show that A. niger can utilize Fe(III) citrate as iron source. Finally, we discuss our findings in the general context of the pH-dependency of A. niger organic acid production, offering an explanation, besides competition, for why A. niger organic acid production is a sequential process influenced by the external pH of the culture medium.

Comparative proteomics of Rhizopus delemar ATCC 20344 unravels the role of amino acid catabolism in fumarate accumulation.

The filamentous fungus Rhizopus delemar naturally accumulates relatively high amounts of fumarate. Although the culture conditions that increase fumarate yields are well established, the network underlying the accumulation of fumarate is not yet fully understood. We set out to increase the knowledge about fumarate accumulation in R. delemar. To this end, we combined a transcriptomics and proteomics approach to identify key metabolic pathways involved in fumarate production in R. delemar, and propose that a substantial part of the fumarate accumulated in R. delemar during nitrogen starvation results from the urea cycle due to amino acid catabolism.

Temperature-Dependent Biological and Demographic Parameters of Coleomegilla maculata (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae).

Knowledge of the most suitable environmental conditions for an organism growth and development is a prerequisite for developing mass rearing technology. The temperature requirements for development and the optimal range of temperatures for growth and reproduction of Coleomegilla maculata De Geer were studied. The development time of individual C. maculata larvae was determined at 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, 33, and 36 °C. Development times were converted to development rates and fitted to a nonlinear temperature-dependent model and to the linear day-degree model. Life and fertility table analysis was used to determine the optimal temperature for population growth within a range of favorable temperatures including 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28 °C. Nonlinear estimates of thermal maximum (TM) for the postembryonic development of C. maculata was 35.09 ± 10.35 °C. Estimation of TM based on pupal development was much lower at 27.23 ± 1.52 °C. Linear and nonlinear estimates of low temperature development threshold were 13.13 ± and 4.77 ± 3.03 °C for the whole postembryonic development and 10.95 and 9.18 ± 1.36 °C for the pupal stage alone, respectively. The most favorable temperature for population growth was 25 °C, where C. maculata showed significantly higher intrinsic rate of increase (rm = 0.066) and significantly lower doubling time (10.57 d) than the other favorable temperatures tested. A negative value of rm was obtained at 28 °C, indicating population decline occurring at this temperature making it unfavorable for C. maculata.

A New Report of Nezara viridula f. aurantiaca (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) from a Cultured Population in Washington County, Mississippi.

Nezara viridula adult coloration can vary, including a rare orange-colored type (i.e., N. viridula f. aurantiaca). In November 2015, three Nezara viridula males displaying orange coloration were found in an established colony in Stoneville, MS. The objectives of this study were to determine if alleles of these orange types conformed to the allele characteristics previously reported for N. viridula f. aurantiaca and to determine if there were any differences in reproductive output compared with the green-colored type. The three orange-type males were crossed with green-type females to produce a hybrid F1 The F1 progeny was allowed us to cross to produce an F2. The F2 progeny consisted of 672 green females, 351 green males, 298 orange males, and 0 orange females. These ratios did not differ significantly from the expected 50:25:25:0 ratios for a single recessive sex linked allele for color phenotype. The F2 cross of green females and orange males produced an F3 consisting of 345 green females, 346 green males, 100 orange females, and 85 orange males. These ratios also conformed to the expected ratios (0.375:0.375:0.125:0.125) with the exception of orange males, which numbers were slightly lower than expected. The pure orange type N. viridula produced significantly less egg masses (0.71 ± 0.15) per day than green types (2.09 ± 0.16) and their reproductive output, measured as net reproductive rate (Ro), was lower in orange (13.71) compared with green (20.67) types.