Browsing by Author "Nottingham, Louis B."

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    Ambient moisture causes methomyl residues on corn plants to rapidly lose toxicity to the pest slug, Arion subfuscus, Muller (Gastropoda, Stylommatophora)
    Nottingham, Louis B.; Kuhar, Thomas P. (Elsevier, 2021-09-01)
    The carbamate insecticide methomyl is sometimes used to control slugs in field corn and soybean by foliar applications, but control outcomes in research trials and commercial operations have been mixed. In this study, laboratory bioassays were conducted on dusky slug, Arion subfuscus Müller, a common pest of corn and soybean in the Mid-Atlantic United States, to evaluate residual toxicity of Lannate LV (methomyl) at low and high concentrations corresponding to label recommended field rates, and if toxicity may be affected by ambient moisture or repellency to treated plants. Without wetting events, methomyl residues on corn plants caused 90–100% mortality of A. subfuscus for two days and 70–90% mortality for six days. When corn plants were briefly misted with ca. 0.3 cm of water 6 h after methomyl application, mortality was 36% 12 h after treatment, and 0 to 5% 24 h after treatment for both low and high rates. Repellency of A. subfuscus to corn plants treated with the high rate of methomyl was narrowly significant (P = 0.04) and low rate was not significant. These results suggest that high ambient moisture needed to elicit slug activity in the field also abates toxicity of methomyl residues, explaining why field control is usually poor despite high mortality in the lab.
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    Behavioral Response of the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) to Semiochemicals Deployed Inside and Outside Anthropogenic Structures During the Overwintering Period
    Morrison, William R. III; Acebes-Doria, Angelita L.; Ogburn, Emily C.; Kuhar, Thomas P.; Walgenbach, James F.; Bergh, J. Christopher; Nottingham, Louis B.; DiMeglio, Anthony S.; Hipkins, Patricia A.; Leskey, Tracy C. (2017-06)
    The brownmarmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys (Stal), is an invasive species from Asia capable of causing severe agricultural damage. It can also be a nuisance pest when it enters and exits anthropogenic overwintering sites. In recent years, pheromone lures and traps for H. halys have been developed and used to monitor populations in field studies. To date, no study has investigated the applicability of these monitoring tools for use indoors by building residents during the overwintering period. Herein, we 1) assessed when in late winter (diapause) and spring (postdiapause) H. halys begins to respond to its pheromone (10,11-epoxy-1-bisabolen-3-ol), 2) evaluated whether pheromone-based tools can be used reliably for monitoring H. halys adults in unheated and heated buildings, and 3) elucidated the potential for indoor management using pheromone-baited traps. A 2-yr trapping study suggested that H. halys began to respond reliably to pheromone-baited traps after a critical photoperiod of 13.5h in the spring. Captures before that point were not correlated with visual counts of bugs in buildings despite robust populations, suggesting currently available pheromone-baited traps were ineffective for surveillance of diapausing H. halys. Finally, because baited traps captured only 8-20% of the adult H. halys known to be present per location, they were not an effective indoor management tool for overwintering H. halys. Our study contributes important knowledge about the capacity of H. halys to perceive its pheromone during overwintering, and the ramifications thereof for building residents with nuisance problems.
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    Development and Evaluation of Integrated Approaches for Managing of Mexican Bean Beetle, Epilachna varivestis Mulsant
    Nottingham, Louis B. (Virginia Tech, 2017-01-31)
    The Mexican bean beetle, Epilachna varivestis Mulsant, is a major pest of snap beans, Phaseolus vulgaris L. in the Central Appalachian region of the United States. To develop pertinent research objectives, background information on this pest was gathered from literature sources and personal communications with growers, extension agents and other agricultural professionals. In objective one, Mexican bean beetle preference, developmental success and plant injury were compared among three snap bean and three lima bean cultivars in field and greenhouse trials. The cultivar 'Dragon's Tongue' was the most preferred, suitable for development, and prone to injury. Growers may benefit from growing less susceptible cultivars, or by using 'Dragon's Tongue' in trap cropping or push-pull strategies. In objective two, Mexican bean beetle densities, feeding injury, and yield were compared among snap beans grown on metallized plastic (highly reflective), white plastic, black plastic, and bare soil. Metallized plastic provided the greatest level of control, and resulted in the highest yields. Managing Mexican bean beetle by growing beans on metallized plastic may be used as a stand-alone method, or in a push-pull strategy. In the final objective, the effects of snap beans grown from thiamethoxam (a neonicotinoid insecticide)-treated seeds on Mexican bean beetle were assessed in greenhouse and field experiments. Thiamethoxam-treated plants killed 40 to 50% of Mexican bean beetle adults and larvae up to 16 days after planting. In the field, thiamethoxam-treated plants mitigated Mexican bean beetle densities and damage in one out of five experiments, resulting in a yield increase. In none of the five field experiments were differences detected in predatory arthropod species between thiamethoxam and non-insecticide treated beans. In summary, the results of this project suggest that non-chemical management methods, such as cultivar selection and planting beans on reflective mulch, can provide effective control of Mexican bean beetle. Thiamethoxam-treated seed may also provide control of this pest, but only within two to three weeks after planting; otherwise, there is typically no effect on beetles, injury or yield. This doctoral research has laid a foundation for an integrated pest management approach for Mexican bean beetle.
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    Effects of Thiamethoxam-Treated Seed on Mexican Bean Beetle (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), Nontarget Arthropods, and Crop Performance in Southwestern Virginia Snap Beans
    Nottingham, Louis B.; Kuhar, Thomas P.; Kring, T.; Herbert, D. Ames Jr.; Arancibia, R. A.; Schultz, Peter B. (Oxford University Press, 2017-12-01)
    Thiamethoxam is a neonicotinoid insecticide commonly applied directly to the seeds (seed-treatment) of commercial snap beans, Phaseolus vulgaris L. While previous studies have examined target and nontarget effects of thiamethoxam seed-treatments in snap beans and other crops, to our knowledge, none have been conducted in agroecosystems predominated by the pest Mexican bean beetle, Epilachna varivestis Mulsant (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae). This study examined the effects of thiamethoxam-treated snap beans on E. varivestis, other arthropods, and crop performance in southwestern Virginia. Greenhouse experiments were conducted to evaluate residual toxicity of treated snap beans to E. varivestis and a key predator, Podisus maculiventris (Say) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae). Treated plants were highly toxic to E. varivestis at 13 d, moderately toxic from 16 to 20 d, and minimally toxic at 24 d. P. maculiventris was unaffected by exposure to treated plants or by feeding on E. varivestis that consumed treated plants. Small plot field experiments in 2014 and 2015 showed no significant effects of thiamethoxam seed-treatments on E. varivestis densities, other arthropods, crop injury, or yield. In 2016, planting was delayed by persistent rain, resulting in early E. varivestis colonization. In this year, thiamethoxam-treated plants had significantly lower densities and feeding injury from E. varivestis, followed by significantly higher yields. Natural enemies were unaffected by seed-treatments in all field experiments. These experiments demonstrated that thiamethoxam seed-treatments provide control of E. varivestis when beetles infest fields within 2 to 3 wk after planting; but otherwise provide negligible advantages. Negative effects from thiamethoxam seed-treatments on nontarget arthropods appear minimal for snap beans in this region.
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    Examining host selection by Mexican bean beetle (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) using mark-release-recapture
    Nottingham, Louis B.; Kuhar, Thomas P. (Library of the University of Arizona, 2019-02-17)
    Mexican bean beetle, Epilachna varivestis Mulsant, is a pest of snap bean and lima bean in the eastern United States. This pest is susceptible to many insecticides available to conventional growers; however, organic management using parasitoid releases and organic insecticides have inconsistent results. In the interest of developing cultural management techniques such as trap crops or push-pull systems, five bean cultivars were evaluated for preferential host selection by E. varivestis using marked beetles in field cages and open plots. Beetles were marked with a water-based paint pen and their locations on plants monitored over time. In field cages, the purple wax bean, Dragon's Tongue (DT), was preferred over yellow wax, green bean and lima bean; soybean was the least preferred overall. Recaptures of E. varivestis adults in open field plots progressively decreased following beetle release, suggesting the affinity of adults to disperse despite being on or near acceptable hosts. The two wax beans were equally preferred in open field experiments, partially more than the green and lima bean and consistently more than the soybean. These experiments suggest that DT may be a suitable crop for trap cropping or attract and kill strategies for E. varivestis. © The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America.
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    History, Distribution and Pest Status of the Mexican bean beetle
    Nottingham, Louis B.; Kuhar, Thomas P. (Virginia Cooperative Extension, 2014)
    This publication covers the history, distribution and pest status of the Mexican bean beetle.
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    Mexican Bean Beetle
    Nottingham, Louis B.; Kuhar, Thomas P. (Virginia Cooperative Extension, 2019-08-30)
    Describes the Mexican bean beetle and presents various methods for control
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    Mexican Bean Beetle: Epilachna varivestis Mulsant
    Nottingham, Louis B.; Kuhar, Thomas P. (Virginia Cooperative Extension, 2013)
    This publication describes the Mexican bean beetle and presents various methods for control.
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    Natural History, Ecology and Management of the Mexican Bean Beetle (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) in the United States
    Schultz, P. B.; Herbert, D. Ames Jr.; Kuhar, Thomas P.; Nottingham, Louis B.; Dively, G. P. (2016-01-01)
    Mexican bean beetle, Epilachna varivestis Mulsant, is an invasive, phytophagous ladybeetle that has occurred in the United States since the late 1800s. In the 1970s, it was a major defoliating pest of soybeans in the eastern United States, before populations mysteriously crashed. Today, the insect remains a devastating pest of Phaseolus species, such as common bean, P. vulgaris, and lima bean, P. lunatus, in geographic locations with moderate summer temperatures and regular rainfall, such as the Mid-Atlantic and southern Appalachian Mountain regions of the United States. Larvae and adults injure plants by consuming leaf tissue, which promotes desiccation and decreases photosynthetic activity. Beetle damage can be successfully mitigated with various insecticides (both conventional and organic), or via augmentative releases of the biological control agent, Pediobius foveolatus (Crawford). Various cultural and mechanical management tactics also exhibit management potential; however, more research is necessary to determine specific criteria for effective implementation of these strategies. This paper will review the general biology of Mexican bean beetle, management options to mitigate crop damage, and its historical timeline as a pest in the United States.
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    Pediobius foveolatus--A parasitoid of Mexican bean beetle
    Nottingham, Louis B.; Kuhar, Thomas P. (Virginia Cooperative Extension, 2015-09-24)
    Describes the use of Pediobius foveolatus as a biological control of Mexican Bean Beetles and Squash Beetles.
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    Performance of Insecticides on Brown Marmorated Sting Bug on Vegetables
    Kuhar, Thomas P.; Doughty, Hélène; Kamminga, Katherine; Philips, Chris; Aigner, John D.; Wallingford, Anna K.; Wimer, Adam Francis; Lilliston, Logan; Aigner, Benjamin L.; Nottingham, Louis B.; Lohr, Ashley; Fread, Elizabeth; Jenrette, James (Virginia Cooperative Extension, 2011)
    Lists the rankings of insecticides used in a series of experiments in terms of percentage of mortality for Brown Marmorated Stink Bug nymphs and adults.