EFFECT OF POST-TREATMENT TEMPERATURE ON THE CONTACT TOXICITY OF CYPERMETHRIN SPRAY TO ADULTS OF THE FLEA BEETLE, PHYLLOTRETA CRUCIFERAE (GOEZE)

1986 ◽  
Vol 118 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-80
Author(s):  
L. Burgess ◽  
C.F. Hinks

In 1982, the synthetic pyrethroid, cypermethrin, was among the insecticides recommended as a spray for control of adult flea beetles attacking canola crops in Saskatchewan (Saskatchewan Agriculture 1982). Growers reported some problems with its effectiveness at the recommended rates of 14–20 g AI/ha, however, and the recommendation for its use against flea beetles was subsequently discontinued. Laboratory spray trials were begun in 1982 to determine if post-treatment temperature affected the contact toxicity of cypermethrin to adults of the major pest species, Phyllotreta cruciferae (Goeze), and if the dosage that had been recommended was adequate as a contact spray.

1980 ◽  
Vol 112 (7) ◽  
pp. 745-746 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Burgess

Several instances of predation by lacewing larvae on adults of the flea beetle Phyllotreta cruciferae (Goeze) have been observed in Saskatchewan. Other reported insect predators of rapeseed-crop-infesting flea beetles in the Canadian prairie provinces are the beetle Collops vittatus Say (Gerber and Osgood 1975), and one of the big-eyed bugs, Geocoris bullatus (Say) (Burgess 1977).The first observation of an attack on an adult flea beetle by a lacewing larva was in August 1972, when some lacewing larvae, adult flea beetles, diamondback moth larvae (Plutella xylostella (L.)) and unidentified aphids and midges were swept from maturing rapeseed near Aberdeen, Saskatchewan. One of these lacewing larvae attacked an adult of P. cruczferae in a glass collecting-vial and carried the flea beetle around in its jaws. Other lacewing larvae attacked aphids, midges, and diamondback moth larvae. Further evidence for lacewing larvae feeding on adult flea beetles was obtained in August 1979, when a sizeable population of lacewing larvae in a rapeseed crop was encountered near St. Gregor, Saskatchewan. One of the larvae swept from this crop had an adult of P. cruciferae in its jaws when it was first seen in the sweep net. Later the same day, another lacewing larva, swept from a nearby rapeseed field, attacked an adult of P. cruciferae in a collecting vial. In the laboratory both lacewing larvae, still carrying their prey, were quick-frozen, preserved in 70% ethanol and later photographed.


1997 ◽  
Vol 129 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Palaniswamy ◽  
R.J. Lamb ◽  
R.P. Bodnaryk

AbstractThe antibiosis of crucifers to flea beetles, Phyllotreta cruciferae (Goeze), was compared for Brassica juncea L., B. napus L., and B. rapa L. with low antixenosis, B. carinata L. and Sinapis alba L. with moderate antixenosis, and Thlaspi arvense L. with high antixenosis. Adult flea beetles collected from the field in early spring fed actively on intact or excised leaves of all plants except T. arvense. The beetles survived, and gained weight and fat on the Brassica species and S. alba, but not on intact foliage of T. arvense. No antibiosis was detected in any of the Brassica species or in S. alba. Intact foliage of T. arvense was so antixenotic that beetles probably starved rather than suffered from antibiosis. A low level of antibiosis was detected in excised foliage of T. arvense where the antixenosis was lost. These experiments show that estimates of beetle survival, dry weight, and fat content can be used in the laboratory to test small numbers of candidate plants for antibiosis. However, the level of antibiosis appears to vary less among Brassica species and related plants than does the level of antixenosis, and so the latter is a more promising type of resistance for use against flea beetles in canola.


1977 ◽  
Vol 109 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Burgess

AbstractAdults of five species of flea beetles were found attacking rape crops (Brassica napusL. andBrassica campestrisL.) in the Canadian prairie provinces from 1971 to 1974.Phyllotreta cruciferae(Goeze) was the most abundant and serious pest, followed in order byPsylliodes punctulataMelsh. andPhyllotreta striolata(F.) (=vittata(F.)), whilePhyllotreta albionica(Lec.) andPhyllotreta robustaLec. were present only occasionally. The fourPhyllotretaspecies confined their feeding largely to cruciferous plants, butPsyl.punctulatahad a broader host range. All of the five species overwintered as adults, usually in leaf litter or turf beneath hedges, poplar groves, or fencerows, or sometimes in the soil in fields, and all became active with the arrival of warm sunny weather in the spring, withPsyl.punctulatausually being the first to appear. All appeared to have but one generation per year, with mating and egg laying occurring in the spring, the larvae inhabiting the soil and feeding on host-plant roots, and the new generation of adults emerging from pupae in the soil in late July and in August. The overwintered adults usually died in late June or early July, so there was a period in July when adult flea beetles were scarce. The most serious damage to rape crops by flea beetles was caused by overwintered adults attacking seedling crops in the spring; movement of these beetles into crops took the form of a creeping infestation moving from plant to plant into the field from nearby volunteer rape of cruciferous weed feeding grounds, or a more rapid and even infestation of a whole field with flight probably being the major method of movement. Flea beetles fed most actively when the weather was sunny, warm, and dry; cool damp weather reduced the intensity of attack and aided plant growth. Shade, such as exists in a healthy stand of rape beyond the pre-bloom stage, also inhibited attack. Occasionally, late-maturing rape crops were damaged in late summer by new generation adult flea beetles, particularlyP.cruciferae, feeding on the green epidermis of the stems, leaves, and pods.A field key for separating the five flea beetle species attacking rape crops in the Canadian prairie provinces is given.


1993 ◽  
Vol 125 (4) ◽  
pp. 703-713 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.J. Lamb ◽  
P. Palaniswamy ◽  
K.A. Pivnick ◽  
M.A.H. Smith

AbstractFive cycles of single-plant and progeny-row selection in lines derived from Brassica rapa L. "Tobin" were used to identify plants with incomplete resistance to flea beetles, Phyllotreta cruciferae (Goeze). This line, called C8711, had higher survival, grew larger, and yielded more seed than Tobin when the two lines were compared in field plots at Glenlea, Manitoba, unprotected by insecticide. C8711 without insecticide yielded more seed than Tobin treated with a lindane seed dressing, but less than Tobin treated with carbofuran granules. With carbofuran, which prevents most flea beetle damage, the yield of C8711 was 35% higher than for Tobin. At Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, the differences between C8711 and Tobin were not statistically significant, although the trends were similar to those at Glenlea. C8711 was late maturing, produced small seed, and was not of canola quality. The resistance in C8711 is attributed to a low level of antixenosis, rapid growth at the cotyledon stage, and tolerance to damage during the first 3–4 weeks of growth.


1979 ◽  
Vol 111 (12) ◽  
pp. 1345-1353 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. G. Wylie

AbstractPhyllotreta cruciferae (Goeze) was usually the most abundant flea beetle on crops of Argentine rape, Brassica napus L., in Manitoba, followed in order by Phyllotreta striolata (F.) and Psylliodes punctulata Melsh. These three species and small numbers of Phyllotreta bipustulata (F.) were present on volunteer rape in the spring. A few specimens of a fifth rape-eating species, Phyllotreta robusta Lee, were trapped in April after hibernating. The three main species were recorded in all 16 localities in which samples of flea beetles on rape crops and/or volunteer rape were collected. Details of seasonal life history of each species are presented, as well as data on the abundance of the three main species throughout the year on rape crops, in overwintering habitats and on volunteer rape in spring. The relative abundance of P. cruciferae, P. striolata, and Ps. punctulata in different rape-growing areas of Manitoba is discussed.


2005 ◽  
Vol 85 (1) ◽  
pp. 225-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca H. Hallett ◽  
Heather Ray ◽  
Jennifer Holowachuk ◽  
Juliana J. Soroka ◽  
Margaret Y. Gruber

A bioassay arena and a laboratory screening protocol were developed for assessing lines of Arabidopsis thaliana L. (Heynh.) for feeding damage by the adult crucifer flea beetle, Phyllotreta cruciferae (Goeze). The arena consists of a 96-well microtitre plate with a modified top to contain flea beetles and allow ventilation. Eight lines of A. thaliana, arranged in an 8 × 8 Latin square design, were screened simultaneously in each arena using 50 starved flea beetles. Two cotyledons and the first pair of true leaves per plant were rated visually under a dissecting microscope using a visual damage rating scale. The protocol was used to screen 29 wild ecotypes, eight mutant lines and a single transgenic line of A. thaliana. Discrimination between both cotyledon and leaf tissue was apparent for young beetles that were both non-reproductive or reproductive, but not for old reproductive beetles. Differences were observed between Asian and European ecotypes of A. thaliana, suggesting that geographic origin may play a role in susceptibility of Arabidopsis ecotypes to flea beetle feeding. The transparent testa regulatory gene mutants (lines 82, 111, 164) were most susceptible to flea beetle feeding, possibly indicating a role for anthocyanins and/or flavonoids in governing flea beetle susceptibility. Significant variation in damage levels indicates that expression of flea beetle resistance in the A rabidopsis genome is plastic, and that potential exists to use the wide array of publicly available Arabidopsis germplasm as tools in the transfer of resistance to agronomically important host plants. Key words: Seedling bioassay, Arabidopsis thaliana, wild ecotypes and mutants, crucifer flea beetle, Phyllotreta cruciferae, host plant resistance


1981 ◽  
Vol 113 (5) ◽  
pp. 441-447 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Burgess

AbstractThe three most important flea beetle pests of western Canadian rape crops appear to be selective in choosing their overwintering sites, as the greatest densities of overwintering adults of Phyllotreta cruciferae (Goeze) and Psylliodes punctulata Melsh. were found in leaf litter and turf beneath hedges and(or) shelterbelts, while that of Phyllotreta striolata (F.) was found in these materials beneath groves of native trees. Most beetles overwintered near the surface in leaf litter and turf rather than in the underlying soil. Within a habitat, sample to sample variation for each species was usually large and the overwintering populations appear to have an aggregated distribution pattern. Winter samples over a 6-year period from all five habitat types combined or from parkland groves reflected the continuously low level of the field population of Psylliodes punctulata, and a marked increase in the field population of P. striolata that occurred in one year. Winter samples taken from hedges and(or) shelterbelts provided little information on population sizes or trends except for indicating the general low level of the Psylliodes punctulata population. Winter mortality was low for all three species. The foregoing information will be useful for developing future sampling plans so that overwintering flea beetle populations can be estimated more reliably.


1963 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 329-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. B. Hadaway ◽  
F. Barlow

Investigations have been made on the influence of environmental conditions on the contact toxicity to adult mosquitos (Anopheles stephensi List.) of two kinds of insecticidal deposits of importance in sprayed houses, superficial deposits from wettable powders and insecticides sorbed on dried soils.Increasing the relative humidity from 43 to 80 per cent, during the contact period had no effect on the toxicity of wettable-powder deposits on plywood of dieldrin, Sevin and O-methyl O-(2,4,5-trichlorophenyl) ethylphosphoramidothioate. On the other hand, the availability of DDT, dieldrin and 3-isopropylphenyl N-methylearbamate sorbed on dried soils increased considerably as atmospheric humidity increased. The logarithm of the median lethal exposure time was linearly related to atmospheric humidity, and decreased by a factor of 2·8, 2·2 and 2·1 for the carbamate, dieldrin and DDT, respectively, for each 10 per cent, increase in relative humidity. There was also a linear relationship between the logarithm of the water uptake of a given soil and humidity.Temperature affected the action of insecticides during both the contact period and the post-treatment period. Median lethal doses of dieldrin, Sevin and the phosphoramidothioate decreased, and that of DDT increased, as the post-treatment temperature increased from 20 to 30°C. These effects of the post-treatment temperature were also found when treatment was by exposure to residues. When these effects were eliminated it was found that the contact toxicity of superficial deposits on plywood and of insecticides sorbed on dried soils increased as the temperature during the exposure period increased. A simple relationship between median lethal time and exposure temperature was indicated.


1993 ◽  
Vol 125 (5) ◽  
pp. 903-912 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Palaniswamy ◽  
R.J. Lamb

AbstractLaboratory experiments were conducted to determine the effect of wounding the cotyledons of Sinapis alba L. cv. Ochre, Brassica napus L. cv. Westar, B. rapa L. cv. Tobin, and C8711, a selection from Tobin, on subsequent feeding damage by the flea beetle, Phyllotreta cruciferae (Goeze). Cotyledons of 7-day-old seedlings were wounded either by puncturing them with needles (mechanical wounding) or by exposing them to flea beetles. One, 2, or 9 days following wounding, the wounded and unwounded seedlings were exposed to flea beetles and the feeding damage was estimated as a measure of antixenosis. Mechanical wounding of one of the cotyledons with 96 needle punctures induced a significant reduction in the damage of the unwounded cotyledons of S. alba, 1 or 2 days following wounding. True leaves of the wounded seedlings also showed consistently less damage than unwounded controls, 9 days following wounding. In S. alba, all three levels of mechanical wounding (i.e. 6, 24, or 96 punctures per cotyledon) reduced subsequent flea beetle damage to a similar extent. Wrapping a cotyledon of S. alba with a plastic film produced an effect similar to wounding it with needles. As with mechanical wounding, flea beetle wounding also reduced subsequent flea beetle damage in S. alba. Other plant species (B. napus and B. rapa) tested showed no measurable induced effects on subsequent feeding damage.


1998 ◽  
Vol 130 (3) ◽  
pp. 385-386 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Palaniswamy ◽  
F. Matheson ◽  
R.J. Lamb

Water stress, especially wilting, can increase the susceptibility of plants to herbivory by insects (Holtzer et al. 1988). Insects as diverse as locusts and leaf-cutting ants prefer wilted foliage (Bernays and Lewis 1986; Vasconcelos and Cherrett 1996). Palaniswamy et al. (1997) observed that the crucifer flea beetle, Phyllotreta cruciferae (Goeze) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), fed on excised and wilted foliage of Thlaspi arvense L. (Cruciferae) but not on intact and turgid foliage. If water stress can make unpalatable plants more palatable, identifying robust resistance to pests such as flea beetles will be difficult. The purpose of this study was to determine whether wilting affects feeding by the crucifer flea beetle and in particular if wilting differentially affects feeding on preferred and nonpreferred plants.


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