Intraguild predation (IGP) regulates predator populations through direct predation and risk effects, shaping the life-history traits of intraguild prey. This study examines the impacts of IGP on life-history traits of two biocontrol agents, Neoseiulus barkeri and Scolothrips takahashii, reared on their shared prey Tetranychus urticae, using age-stage, two-sex life-table analysis and computer simulations. Life-table analysis revealed that IGP significantly reduced pre-adult survival of both predators. Neoseiulus barkeri developed faster, but exhibited reduced fecundity under IGP, which resulted in declines in its net reproductive rate (R0, from 30.76 to 10.51 offspring per individual), intrinsic rate of increase (r, from 0.2555 to 0.1872 day-1), and finite rate of increase (λ, from 1.2911 to 1.2059 day-1). Conversely, S. takahashii maintained stable development and fecundity, showing no significant differences in R0, r, λ and mean generation time (T) between IGP and control groups. The net predation rate (C0) of N. barkeri decreased from 381.00 to 172.97 prey per individual, and that of S. takahashii from 416.58 to 25.31, under IGP. Computer simulations indicated that IGP led to smaller populations and reduced predation potential for N. barkeri, whereas S. takahashii showed an increase in both. IGP differentially alters the population parameters and predation capacity of these two species. Neoseiulus barkeri experiences a decline in population growth, whereas S. takahashii benefits from IGP. These findings highlight species-specific adaptive strategies in response to IGP, providing insights for designing compatible multipredator application programs in biological control. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.

Phenotypic plasticity in insect wing dimorphism mediates a key trade-off between dispersal and reproduction, but how host plant nutritional cues are transduced into discrete developmental outcomes remains unclear. We investigated the role of glucose in the regulation of wing morph fate in the small brown planthopper (SBPH, Laodelphax striatellus), and the underlying mechanisms were also explored. Elevating glucose via root supplementation or direct injection promotes long-winged (LW) morphs, whereas blocking sugar hydrolysis (via Validamycin A) or glucose availability (via RNAi) induces short-winged (SW) morphs, confirming glucose as the proximate nutritional cue. Mechanistically, glucose signals through the conserved energy sensor AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). Low glucose activates AMPK, which directly interacts with the transcription factor Forkhead box O (FoxO) to drive its nuclear translocation. Nuclear FoxO represses expression of the wing master regulator vestigial (Vg), triggering SW development. Conversely, high glucose suppresses AMPK activity, sequesters FoxO in the cytoplasm, and derepresses Vg to induce LW morphs. The glucose-AMPK-FoxO-Vg signaling axis regulates wing dimorphism in SBPH in response to host-derived sugar. The data reveals a previously unrecognized role of AMPK in insect phenotypic plasticity and provides a mechanistic framework linking environmental nutrition to adaptive life-history strategies. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.

The codling moth Cydia pomonella, is a notorious invasive pest that poses a serious threat to China's apple industry, especially in key growing regions such as the Loess Plateau and Bohai Bay. To effectively manage this pome fruit pest, it is necessary to investigate its genetic variation and genetic structure and infer its dispersal patterns in China. Using population genetics analysis combined with an ensemble species distribution model, we aimed to reconstruct dispersal pathways in China. We analyzed 24 populations (22 from China and 2 from Pakistan) via 10 nuclear microsatellite loci, which demonstrated high genetic diversity and significant differentiation. We also used an ensemble model to predict future potential distributions and shifts in suitable habitats. Two spatially explicit genetic clusters were detected. One genetic group included Northeast China, Gansu, and northern Xinjiang populations. The other group comprised populations from Inner Mongolia, southern Xinjiang, and Pakistan. MIGRATE-N analysis revealed low bidirectional gene flow between most populations. The predictions for 2021-2040 suggest increases in the optimal areas of 8.53 × 104, 24.66 × 104, and 10.61 × 104 km2 under the three climate scenarios. The geometric center of the suitable area moved northwards before shifting southwards. The human impact index was identified as the primary factor influencing pest distribution. High genetic diversity and two distinct genetic clusters were identified, revealing significant genetic differentiation between northern/northeastern and northwestern populations. Ensemble models project a northwards shift in suitable areas, with the human impact index identified as the primary driver. Our integrated approach provides a genetic and spatial framework for developing region-specific pest management strategies. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.

Hydraulic spraying is the main method for applying entomopathogenic fungi (EPF). Negative effects of nozzle and spray pressure on conidial viability have been reported, and appropriate droplet size ranges have been proposed to mitigate them. However, information integrating nozzle-pressure interactions with both physical and biological parameters to identify configurations that maximize pest-control efficacy remains limited. Conventional flat-fan XR110 nozzles and hollow-cone nozzles, including conventional ATR80 and air-induction TVI80, covering a range of orifice sizes, were initially evaluated for clogging at a spray pressure of 1.0 MPa. Only small-orifice flat-fan nozzles showed clogging. Droplet size distribution of non-clogging nozzles with ISO 01 and 02 orifice sizes was assessed at spray pressures between 1.0 and 2 MPa, together with their effects on conidial spray efficiency (conidia μL-1), conidial viability (%), and conidial infectivity (%) during application of a Beauveria bassiana-based product for the control of Ceratitis capitata. Nozzles showed different relationships between spray pressure and both conidial spray efficiency and viability loss. Small-droplet nozzles (XR110 and ATR80) achieved the highest efficiency. The XR110 nozzle showed the greatest viability loss across all pressures. Despite this, the ISO 02 XR110 nozzle resulted in the highest pest-control efficacy and EPF-confirmed mortality, comparable to those obtained with conventional and air-induction ISO 02 hollow-cone nozzles. The new parameter 'spray effectiveness' normalizes the biological outcome by the actual viable dose and provides insight into resource use efficiency, cost savings, and environmental impact. Optimizing B. bassiana applications requires balancing clogging risk, droplet and deposition characteristics, conidial viability, and biological efficacy. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.

Aphids are among the most damaging pests in agriculture. Under environmental stress, aphids can transition from a wingless to a winged morph. Wingless aphids maximize local reproduction, while winged aphids facilitate rapid, long-distance dispersal, increase plant virus transmission, and promote the spread of insecticide resistance genes within populations. However, the mechanisms regulating wing polyphenism in Rhopalosiphum padi, one of the most destructive cereal pests worldwide, remain poorly understood. Crowding stress induced by high-density conditions can trigger the transition of R. padi from wingless to winged. Twenty-six ABCG genes were identified and classified into five subfamilies. Under high-density conditions, a single ABCG transporter gene, ABCG23-4, was upregulated. RNA interference (RNAi)-mediated knockdown of this crowding-responsive target effectively disrupted the wing polyphenism decision. RNAi-mediated knockdown of ABCG23-4, accomplished through either direct application of dsRNA or the use of nanomaterial-based carriers, significantly decreased the proportion of winged offspring during the first 2 days following crowding. Hormone assays further demonstrated that the knockdown of ABCG23-4 led to reductions in both insulin and 20-hydroxyecdysone titers. These results identify ABCG23-4 as a critical regulator of density-induced wing polyphenism and a promising RNAi target for limiting dispersal and population growth of R. padi, thereby offering new opportunities for integrating molecular tools into sustainable aphid management strategies. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.

Fenitrothion is a widely used insecticide, yet its effects on the health of bumble bees (Bombus terrestris) have not been reported until now. We carried out experiments to investigate the impact of field-realistic concentrations of fenitrothion on food consumption, body weight, survival probability, gut structure, gut detoxification enzyme activity, gut microbial diversity, gut transcriptional and gut metabolic profiles of Bombus terrestris. Exposure to 500 μg kg-1 fenitrothion significantly reduced survival probability, induced gut damage as evidenced by hematoxylin and eosin staining, decreased cytochrome P450 (P450) activity while increasing glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity, and down-regulated AChE1 expression in gut tissue. Furthermore, 16S rRNA sequencing revealed a decline in gut microbial diversity, while transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses indicated disruptions in gut gene and metabolic expression. Molecular docking revealed that fenitrothion binds within a hydrophobic pocket formed by residues Trp148, Ser186, Tyr185, and Gly182 of the AChE1 protein. These multiple sublethal alterations in bee behavior and physiology indicate that fenitrothion is likely to exert complex yet detrimental effects on Bombus terrestris health under field conditions. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.

This study investigates the spatiotemporal dynamics of pine wilt disease (PWD) to inform data-driven management. We implemented a time-series monitoring framework in a township in Zhejiang Province, China, acquiring seven sequences of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) orthomosaics between 2022 and 2024. An enhanced YOLOX-based change detection model was developed and trained on 300 000 samples. This model exploits phenological variations to automatically identify PWD-discolored pines, effectively filtering confounding objects. The model demonstrated robust performance, achieving an Average Precision (AP) of 0.89, with Precision and Recall exceeding 85%. Analysis revealed a consistent westward expansion and a progressive increase in disease hotspots. Crucially, winter surveys detected substantial delayed-symptom pines missed in autumn, roughly equivalent to the autumn baseline. Consequently, the annual cumulative mortality caused by PWD was nearly double (2×) the autumn count. Over 90% of trees newly identified in autumn were located within 300 m of infections detected the previous spring, indicating strong spatial clustering. Furthermore, 80% of infected trees occurred at elevations < 400 m and slopes < 29°, aligning with prevailing easterly winds. This research establishes a validated framework bridging remote sensing and on-the-ground sanitation. By quantifying the symptom lag effect (which doubles mortality estimates relative to traditional autumn surveys) and elucidating environmentally driven spread mechanisms, we provide a scientific basis for correcting census biases and optimizing resource allocation for precise PWD management. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.

Accurate crop-weed segmentation is critical for precision spraying but is hindered by visual similarity and occlusion. This study aims to develop a lightweight yet high-accuracy multispectral segmentation network to address these challenges. We propose ASVLB-Net, a novel lightweight multiscale feature extraction network guided by normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) priors for crop-weed segmentation in multispectral imagery. First, we design the Adaptive Spectral-Vegetation Fusion (ASVF) module at the input stage. It achieves adaptive allocation of spectral and spatial features, enhancing the discriminability of vegetation regions. Additionally, we adopt a U-shaped architecture based on the Layer-wise Concatenated Multi-Scale Feature (LCMF) encoder. It efficiently extracts fine-grained features and boundary information with low computational cost. Finally, we use the Bottleneck -SCSA (Spatial and Channel Synergistic Attention) module to capture long-range dependencies, improving segmentation in overlapping areas. Experimental results demonstrate that ASVLB-Net achieves a mean intersection over union (mIOU) of 86.5% and a mean precision of 91.89%, outperforming several state-of-the-art (SOTA) models, while maintaining high efficiency with only 0.47 million parameters. The ASVLB-Net significantly improves segmentation accuracy and robustness in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) multispectral imagery, offering a robust solution for precision weeding applications. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.

Chemical control is an important strategy for managing pine wilt disease (PWD). However, traditional trunk injection agents (TIAs) are constrained by limited variety and insufficient persistence. In addition, although some novel nematicides show strong activity, their large-scale forest use is restricted by high costs. Therefore, the development of cost-effective, highly efficient, and synergistic nematicidal formulations is urgently needed to advance sustainable PWD management. This study compared the performance of combination TIAs with single-agent TIAs and a traditional TIA in terms of nematicidal activity, xylem translocation, residue dynamics, efficacy duration, and tree safety in Pinus massoniana. All six TIA formulations exhibited nematicidal activity, with fluopyram_chlorfenapyr-37 (FLU_CHL-37) TIA markedly suppressing nematode reproduction in detached branch experiments. Field trials demonstrated that all TIAs spread throughout P. massoniana within 3 months; by 18 months, residual concentrations of CHL-46, CHL-49, FLU_CHL-35, and FLU_CHL-37 were significantly higher than those of FLU-11, FLU-19, and a 20% emamectin benzoate soluble liquid (EB SL) positive control in branches 3 m above the injection site and in apical branches. Notably, FLU_CHL-37 achieved 100% control efficacy at 360 days post-inoculation, outperforming the other treatments. Safety assessments showed only slight, short-term changes in chlorophyll, malondialdehyde, and soluble protein content, all normalizing within 21 days, while local damage around the injection site was significantly less pronounced than that caused by the 20% EB SL control. These results demonstrate that FLU_CHL-37 combines high activity, prolonged efficacy, strong translocation, and robust safety, providing theoretical and practical support for the development of novel PWD control agents. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.