Acta Phytopathologica et Entomologica Hungarica

An Overview on Potyviruses Infecting Daffodil and Their Disease Management

2022-05-30T13:08:38+02:00

Daffodil (Narcissus tazetta L.) is a bulbous ornamental plant which belongs to the family Amaryllidaceae. It is popular for sweet-smelling beautiful flowers and is used for the fragrant oil and perfumes. It is also the source of alkaloids used in traditional medicines for a variety of complaints. Daffodil is commercially important ornamental plants therefore, it is important to maintain its quality and production. Various type of viruses are affecting daffodil cultivation and among them, potyviruses are of great concern as they cause more economic losses to its commercial cultivation in term of reduction in bulb size, number of bulbs and the quality of daffodil flowers. In this review, the importance of daffodil plant, virus disease symptoms, detection and characterization of potyviruses, and their possible management strategies are described in details.

Two new species of Dicharax Kobelt & Möllendorff, 1900 from Myanmar and one from Thailand (Gastropoda: Caenogastropoda: Alycaeidae)

2022-10-20T12:38:09+02:00

In this paper three new species of the alycaeid genus Dicharax Kobelt & Möllendorff, 1900 are described, namely Dicharax floridus n. sp., Dicharax spatiosus n. sp. (Both from Shan State, Myanmar) and Dicharax kosztarabi n. sp. (from Thailand). All three new species are known from their holotypes.

Overwintering Sites of Jumping Plant-lice on Conifers in Hungary

2022-07-25T07:41:18+02:00

To extend our knowledge of overwintering sites of jumping plant-lice in Hungary, they were sampled from conifers in various regions of the country. Our aim was to find new overwintering places and shelter plants in our country, because our knowledge about these is incomplete. A total of 1641 jumping plant-lice were collected from conifers during winter months between 2014 and 2020. Sampling sites were cover a stripe from Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county to Zala county, located at Alsótekeres, Balatonvilágos, Boldogkőváralja, Budakeszi, Fenyőfő, Gyöngyöspata, Kecskemét, Martonvásár, Mátra (more sites), Nagykovácsi (more sites), Nagyszakácsi, Páty, Piliscsaba, Somogytúr, Soroksár, Sóskút, and Verpelét. The collection was carried out on different plant species: Norway spruce (Picea abies), Scotch pine (Pinus sylvestris), Serbian spruce (Picea omorika), Nordmann fir (Abies nordmanniana), giant redwood (Sequoiadendron giganteum), Atlas cedar (Cedrus atlantica), common yew (Taxus baccata), Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), black pine (Pinus nigra), blue spruce (Picea pungens f. glauca), mixed coniferous trees, savin juniper (Juniperus sabina), and Leyland cypress (Cupressocyparis leylandii). During our work a total of 1641 jumping plant-lice specimens were collected, which could be classified in 28 different species from three family. This work serves useful additional information on several jumping plant-lice species’ overwintering sites and shelter plants from Hungary.

Artificial defoliation of winter wheat can simulate yield loss caused by cereal leaf beetle larvae

2022-08-12T11:28:22+02:00

Defoliation of plants by pests and diseases leads to a loss of photosynthesising tissues and, as a consequence, to a reduction in seed production. So, when an insect pest like the larvae of the cereal leaf beetle (Oulema melanopus L.; CLB) cause damage to the leaf tissues of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), this can result in considerable yield loss. In this context, the importance of the flag leaf, the last leaf before grain development, has been studied over the decades, but the relative importance of the other leaves is still somewhat undiscovered. To uncover the role of the other leaves, the herbivory of CLB larvae was simulated by the artificially cutting off different extents of the flag leaves only or all leaves of the two winter wheat cultivars ‘Alcantara’ and ‘Altigo’ in a two-year study between 2017 and 2018. The impact of CLB herbivory was measured in grain production per ear. Cutting off all leaves provided a better simulation of CLB herbivory than the artificial defoliation of flag leaves only. This result suggests that the relative importance of flag leaves for seed production may be lower than previously assumed.

Conceptualisation of Computed Tomography Outputs in the Entomological Research Through the Step by Step Examination of Xylophagous Insects: The Traditional Image Processing

2022-08-25T09:06:30+02:00

The non-invasive diagnostic methods represent a new branch of insect diagnostics, which can provide novel information especially about organisms with hidden lifestyle. Computer tomography (CT) is one of the most useful non-destructive techniques deriving from numerous approaches allowing for both qualitative and quantitative assessments. The aim of the present study was to attain entomological information through the implementation of CT imaging hence contributing to the spread of non-invasive imaging in entomological research. Through monitoring the development of wood-dwelling cerambycid larvae in beech branches, we point out some outputs applicable in entomological studies which originate from CT image post-processing. We present findings on the orientation including location, and volume of more hidden arthropods as well as cavities formed by them stemming from the maximum and minimum intensity projections, windowing, 3D-reconstruction, or virtual endoscopy as steps of the imaging. In summary, it is expected that our findings contribute to supporting the wider recognition of the entomological information that can be gathered from these non-invasive imaging techniques.

The first occurrence of family Homotomidae (Hemiptera: Psylloidea) and Homotoma ficus (Linnaeus, 1758) in Hungary

2022-08-16T13:52:49+02:00

The first author observed Homotoma ficus (Linnaeus, 1758) larvae on several street and garden fig trees in the city of Pécs in southern Hungary at the end of May 2022. In the first week of June 2022, imago was already flying. This is the first observation of this species in Hungary, together with the first report of the family Homotomidae. A diagnosis and illustrations of adults and larvae in Hungary with 21 figures are given.

Contributions to the Knowledge of the Plant-Inhabiting Mite Fauna of Hungary and Austria (Acari: Parasitiformes and Acariformes)

2022-10-05T07:13:32+02:00

Date-locality-host records for 37 mite species of 15 families are presented for Hungary and Austria. These faunistic records include eight new species to the fauna of Hungary, viz. Charletonia krendowskyi (Feider, 1954), Marantelophus rudaensis (Haitlinger, 1986), Cunaxa gazella (Berlese, 1916), Eupalopsellus oelandicus Sellnick, 1949, Tydeus lindquisti (Marshall, 1970), Neoseiulus dungeri (Karg, 1977), Neoseiulus tauricus (Livshitz et Kuznetzov, 1972) and Proctolaelaps drosophilae Karg, Baker et Jenkinson, 1995. Details on habitats, plant associations and feeding behaviour are also provided.

New data to the scale insect (Hemiptera, Coccomorpha) fauna of Spain

2022-07-08T09:33:00+02:00

New data are provided on the distribution of scale insect species based on the soil sample collection of Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Madrid, Spain. 6 species proved to be new to the scale insect fauna of Spain: 1 species of Ortheziidae (Ortheziola vejdovskyi Sulc), 3 species of Pseudococcidae (Fonscolombia graminis Lichtenstein, Peliococcus mathisi (Balachowsky), Rhodania porifera Goux) and 2 species of Rhizoecidae (Rhizoecus arabicus Hambleton, Ripersiella lelloi (Mazzeo)).

Electrophysiological responses of Varroa mite to honey bee drone brood volatiles

2022-05-10T07:00:07+02:00

Varroa mite, Varroa destructor is the most important ectoparasite of the honey bee, Apis mellifera worldwide, contributing to colony collapse. The development of alternative non-toxic methods against this pest is needed, as most of the wide-used acaricides in apiculture are banned in the European Union, which increase the risk of developing resistant mite populations against the remaining few products. In order to reveal biological basis of a new, semiochemical-based method, the aim of this study was to search for olfactory stimuli, used by female Varroa mites in orienting to drone brood for egglaying. Volatiles of uncapped drone brood were collected in situ, inside bee-hives, using either charcoal, or HayeSep^® Q filters. Collections were analyzed by gas chromatograph linked to an electrotarsogram detector (GC-ETD), using the pedipalpus of female mite. Results showed that most components were present in collections trapped by any of these filters. However, some components appreared only in charcoal-, while others only in HayeSep^® collections, respectively. Out of the large number of components, a few elicited electrophysiological responses. Structure elucidation of these active components are underways. Futher behavioral studies should reveal, which components play role in attraction of Varroa mites.

Asian Corn Borer (Ostrinia furnacalis Gn., Lepidoptera: Crambidae): Attraction to a Bisexual Lure and Comparison of Performance with Synthetic Sex Pheromone

2022-09-13T09:18:19+02:00

Host plant-derived semiochemicals are becoming the most promising attractants to lure corn borers to traps in the field. Following success with the European corn borer (Ostrinia nubilalis), a two-component blend bisexual lure (phenylacetaldehyde and 2-(4-methoxyphenyl)ethanol) of the host plant odor was tested in wind tunnel and field trapping experiments on the Asian corn borer (O. furnacalis) (ACB). To be able to compare the lure’s performance with synthetic pheromone, a new route for the sex pheromone components (Z)-12-tetradecenyl acetate and (E)-12-tetradecenyl acetate was also developed, and the biological activity of the products was confirmed. The bisexual lure attracted both males and females of ACB in laboratory wind tunnel, and also in the field. Field trapping results indicated that traps with the bisexual lure attracted somewhat more ACB (both sexes) than pheromone baited traps, but this indication needs further confirmation. Traps baited with the bisexual lure may offer a new tool for monitoring ACB for practical purposes.

In memoriam Mihály Kosztarab

2022-10-20T06:36:53+02:00