ABSTRACT Aphids in different colours have varying attack risks by natural enemies. Distinct colour morphs, from yellow to dark green, often coexist in the colonies of the cotton aphid, Aphis gossypii Glover. However, it remains unclear whether their predation risks differ. Here, we first found that, on cotton leaves, an adult seven‐spotted lady beetle Coccinella septempunctata L., consumed significantly more dark green morphs than yellow morphs, and dark green morphs had significantly higher escape rates than yellow morphs. In a glass Petri dish with a green background, the probability of dark green morphs consumed by an adult C. septempunctata was also significantly higher than that of yellow morphs. These results suggest a higher consumption risk for dark green morphs. Then, we investigated the cues that regulate lady beetle's prey selection. Under light conditions, adult C. septempunctata consumed significantly more dark green morphs, which was not observed under dark conditions, indicating that the lady beetles can use visual cues to distinguish between two morphs. Given that body colour and size are the major external differences between the two morphs, we further evaluated their roles in regulating lady beetle's prey selection by drawing dark green and yellow dots to simulate two morphs. Compared to the control area without dots, adult C. septempunctata spent significantly more time searching in the area with dark green or yellow dots. When dots in both colours were present, regardless of dot sizes, the lady beetles spent significantly more time searching in the area with dark green dots. However, there was no significant difference in searching time between the areas containing dots in the same colour but different diameters. These findings demonstrate that, in A. gossypii , dark green morphs suffer a higher predation risk from adult C. septempunctata than yellow morphs, mainly due to the body colour.

ABSTRACT Climate change and environmental disasters can jointly impact species distributions and ecosystem stability, including pollinators and the resources they rely on. We used occurrence and climate data to predict the distribution of Apis mellifera in the Doce River Basin, south‐east Brazil, under baseline and future scenarios (2050). Given the high prevalence of apiculture in the basin, where it supports local livelihoods and contributes to the regional economy, anticipating these shifts is important for adapting beekeeping and pollination‐dependent production to future climates. We also quantified how much of the projected climate‐suitable area overlaps the spatially explicit mining tailings footprint associated with the 2015 Samarco dam collapse. Despite A. mellifera 's plasticity and wide distribution, our models project a 38% reduction in climate‐suitable area across the basin under future scenarios. In contrast, the climate‐suitable area within the mining tailings footprint is projected to decline only 8% from baseline to future scenarios, indicating comparatively higher stability within that restricted subset of the basin. Importantly, because A. mellifera is managed, occurrence records may partly reflect hive placement, and our analysis does not isolate a causal ‘dam effect’ on suitability. Beyond riparian vegetation recovery, restoration strategies should promote native pollinators by providing floral and non‐floral resources, increasing nesting site availability, and reducing pesticide use, strengthening native pollination services and reducing the likelihood of managed honeybees becoming overly dominant in sensitive or recovering habitats. Integrating land cover, resource availability, and biotic interactions into future analyses, while expanding monitoring to both managed and native bees, can improve ecological risk anticipation and support climate adaptation planning for pollination‐dependent production and natural systems.

ABSTRACT Silicon (Si) application enhances plant resistance to herbivorous insects, but its effects on insect physiology remain poorly understood. Here, we investigated how Si‐treated maize influences the performance and internal responses of the devastating pest fall armyworm ( Spodoptera frugiperda J. E. Smith). Si supplementation significantly reduced larval growth, fecundity, and digestive efficiency without causing physical damage to mandibles or gut tissues. Integrated metabolomic analyses of maize leaves and larval frass, together with midgut transcriptomes revealed that Si‐induced chemical defences, notably elevated benzoxazinoids and flavonoids, impose strong physiological stress on larvae. Frass metabolomic analysis showed the accumulation of toxic secondary metabolites, including DIMBOA, quercetin, and chlorogenic acid, whereas Si enhanced the correlations between leaf and larval frass alkaloids, suggesting a disruption of detoxification capacity. Transcriptomic and enzymatic assays further confirmed widespread suppression of cytochrome P450s, glutathione S‐transferases, and mixed‐function oxidases, creating a detoxification bottleneck and disrupting metabolic homeostasis. These findings demonstrate that Si‐mediated resistance operates primarily through chemical defences that overwhelm insect detoxification capacity, thereby destabilising larval metabolism. This study offers mechanistic insights into how Si mediates insect physiological responses and underscores the potential of Si fertilisation as a sustainable strategy to reinforce crop protection through multilayered interference with herbivore detoxification.

ABSTRACT The pitahaya ( Selenicereus undatus ), a night‐blooming cactus with edible fruit, has been cultivated for centuries in the Yucatan Peninsula, one of the main regions of production in Mexico and globally. Although pitahaya flowers are mostly receptive at night, stigma receptivity extends into the morning, attracting numerous insect visitors. This study compared the overall contributions of nocturnal (N) and diurnal (D) floral visitors to pitahaya pollination. We quantified the abundance of both groups over one plantation and conducted controlled floral access experiments to compare their effects on fruit quantity and quality, to estimate the overall pollination service provision (PSP) to the crop. D visitors were significantly more abundant than N ones. The beetle Carpophilus sp. was the predominant visitor recorded throughout the study period, followed by Africanised Apis mellifera , which predominated among D visitors. Controlled experiments showed that D visitors significantly improved fruit set (95.6%), seed number (3543 ± 219), and fruit weight (309 ± 14 g) compared to N visitors (75.6%; 2373 ± 297 seeds; 228 ± 17 g). D visitors provided substantially higher pollination service (Spear's index = 0.90) than N ones (0.22). The overall PSP was 0.56, confirming a pollination deficit due to insufficient N pollination. Our results show that the diurnal insect community, particularly Africanised honey bees, play an important role in providing complementary pollination services to pitahaya crops. These findings should be considered to implement management strategies to improve pollination and productivity of this economically important crop in Mexico.

ABSTRACT Rice planthoppers, including Nilaparvata lugens (Stål), Laodelphax striatellus (Fallén), and Sogatella furcifera (Horváth), pose substantial threats to global rice production through direct feeding damage and transmission of viral diseases. Although chemical control remains the primary management approach, insecticide concentrations below lethal levels (also referred to as ‘sublethal doses’) produce significant biological effects that extend well beyond immediate mortality. This review synthesises current knowledge on how sublethal insecticide exposure fundamentally alters rice planthopper biology through multiple pathways, including nerve system disruption, hormonal imbalance, cellular stress, and heritable genetic changes. Sublethal exposure modifies rice planthopper behaviour by disrupting feeding activity and movement coordination, while simultaneously activating detoxification enzyme systems (cytochrome P450s, glutathione‐ S ‐transferases, and carboxylesterases) that promote insecticide resistance. Reproductive impacts are substantial, with egg production commonly reduced by more than 60%, alongside delayed egg‐laying and damaged ovarian tissues. Interestingly, low doses occasionally stimulate increased reproduction, causing temporary population increases. Developmental effects include prolonged immature stages, enhanced production of winged forms capable of long‐distance migration, and impacts that persist across multiple generations through epigenetic mechanisms. The ecological consequences including pest resurgence, secondary pest outbreak, and impact on non‐target organisms are equally important. Insecticides affect natural enemies (predators and parasitoids) more severely than pests and as a result, surviving rice planthopper populations can rebound rapidly when predation pressure decreases. Broad‐spectrum insecticide applications also enable formerly minor pests to become major problems. Furthermore, beneficial organisms such as pollinators, parasitic wasps, and aquatic predators suffer collateral damage, compromising essential ecosystem functions and creating feedback loops that progressively reduce pesticide effectiveness. Following this review, sustainable rice planthopper management requires integrated strategies combining resistant rice varieties, biological control organisms, precision application technologies, and innovative approaches such as RNA interference‐based biopesticides. Future research should prioritise quantifying impacts on beneficial insects, understanding molecular mechanisms of transgenerational effects, and developing practical decision‐support tools for farmers.

ABSTRACT The white grub Cochliotis melolonthoides (Gerstaecker) (Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae) is a pest of sugarcane fields in northern Tanzania. Larvae damage root systems and, in severe infestations, reduce sugarcane yields by up to 45%, with long‐lasting effects as the dead stools do not produce new stalks and create gaps in succeeding ratoon crops. Because of their economic importance in sugarcane, white grubs (Dynastidae, Melolonthinae, Rutelinae) have been extensively studied worldwide; however, their management is species‐dependent. This study aims to determine which parameters create C. melolonthoides grub infestation hotspots by focusing on soil health factors and agricultural practices. A spatiotemporal statistical analysis of 928 locations in TPC Limited (Tanzania, Arusha chini) with two white grub counts and soil analysis per location from 2022 to 2024 showed that alkaline and sodic soils had significantly higher grub density than neutral or solely alkaline soils. The presence of trash cover did not influence white grub density, nor did the irrigation method. Sugarcane varieties were a less important variable than pH and sodicity interaction in predicting white grub infestation. Pest management strategies based on changing soil conditions and agricultural practices are discussed.

ABSTRACT While most pollinator studies have focused on diurnal taxa, nocturnal moths are increasingly recognised as important pollinators across diverse ecosystems. However, experimental studies on moth pollination in natural ecosystems, particularly montane regions, remain limited. This study examines the role of nocturnal moths as pollinators for four native montane shrub species in New Zealand using pollen load data, a pollen‐transport network, and pollinator exclusion experiments. We found that many moths transport Dracophyllum, Veronica brachysiphon, and Leptospermum scoparium pollen. Pollinator exclusion experiments revealed that nocturnal pollinators significantly contribute to seed set in Dracophyllum , but not in Leptospermum scoparium or Discaria toumatou . This study highlights the value of combining observational pollen load data with pollinator exclusion experiments to assess the role of nocturnal moth pollinators for subalpine shrubs.

ABSTRACT Tremendous amounts of organic waste are produced annually worldwide, and how to utilize this organic waste with low energy consumption and high efficiency without generating secondary pollution is a valuable research direction. Black soldier fly (BSF) has saprophytic characteristics in its larvae, and can effectively convert organic waste such as crop straw, feces and kitchen waste into insect nutrition (e.g., fat and protein). Therefore, the use of BSF as an alternative animal feed source is gaining attention. The ingestion of various organic wastes by black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) reduces the discharge and accumulation of organic waste and provides various usable substances for human life. For instance, fatty acids, chitin, melanin and antimicrobial peptides in BSF are important resources in biology, medicine and the chemical industry. Hence, BSF represents a promising candidate for future biotechnological applications, with far‐reaching implications for sustainable development and future human life. Currently, much progress has been made in the application of BSF in animal feed and health products. However, literature reviews summarizing the applications of BSF in the breeding and biomedicine industries are still lacking. This review not only highlights the role of BSF in organic waste valorization but also emphasizes its significant potential in enhancing animal growth performance, as well as its promising applications in biomedicine and cosmetic industries. Moreover, this review analyzes the current problems encountered in the application of BSF and future research directions to provide reference and potential targets for the development and utilization of BSF.

ABSTRACT Investigating the intricate interactions between plant viruses and insect vectors is crucial for pest management. The whitefly Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) (Gennadius), as a primary vector of Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV), exhibits a symbiotic relationship with TYLCV that remains incompletely understood. Using the ‘two sex‐age stage’ life table method, we investigated the effects of TYLCV infection on the biological performance of B. tabaci MED. Our results demonstrate that both direct TYLCV carriage and feeding on infected plants enhance biological fitness, as evidenced by prolonged female longevity, higher survival rates, extended oviposition periods and increased fecundity. Furthermore, net reproductive rate ( R 0 ) calculations confirmed these reproductive advantages. Collectively, these findings indicate that TYLCV infection improves the overall biological fitness of B. tabaci MED primarily by enhancing female longevity and fecundity through a combination of direct viral manipulation and indirect plant‐mediated effects. Elucidating the mutually beneficial interspecific relationship therefore holds significant value for improving prevention and control strategies against TYLCV and B. tabaci MED in agricultural systems.

ABSTRACT Augmentation biocontrol programmes often rely on cold storage of agents to arrest development and aging and to help synchronise production with release schedules. Seven disparate geographic populations of Orius albidipennis Reuter (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) were assayed for lethal time (LT) at 4°C, 7°C and 10°C. Body size, storage density (1–30 per container) and gender were examined as independent factors affecting cold storage survival. Storage at 10°C did not negatively affect O. albidipennis' survival for up to 10 days, and survival was acceptable for up to 1 month at this temperature. A Mashhad population exhibited the highest cold tolerance, followed by those from Shahrud and Karaj, whereas populations from Gorgan and Varamin were most sensitive. Values of LT 50 were positively correlated with the mean number of days below freezing in the source region and negatively correlated with the mean temperature of the coldest month. Cold‐tolerant bugs had higher survival at 10°C with > 20 individuals per container than with < 10. Females and larger individuals exhibited better cold tolerance than males and smaller individuals. These results provide useful guidelines for the selection of source material for cultures to be employed in augmentation programmes, as the breeding of large individuals collected from cold regions could help maximise bug survival when cold storage is required prior to release.