Department of Entomology

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https://hdl.handle.net/10919/24230

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    2016 Southeast Regional Bunch Grape Integrated Management Guide
    Nita, Mizuho; Burrack, Hannah J.; Pfeiffer, Douglas G.; Mitchem, Wayne; Lockwood, David; Bellinger, Robert (2016-04-04)
    While not technically a numbered VCE publication, this is produced by a group of extension specialists in the southeastern region. CALS is a member of the Southeastern Small Fruit Consortium, the producer of this guide.
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    2016 Southeast Regional Caneberry Integrated Management Guide. Southeastern Small Fruit Consortium
    Brannen, Philip; Schnabel, Guido; Burrack, Hannah J.; Bessin, Richard; Pfeiffer, Douglas G.; Mitchem, Wayne; Jennings, Katie; Lockwood, David; Fernandez, Gina; Sial, Ash (2016-04-04)
    While not technically a numbered VCE publication, this is produced by a group of extension specialists in the southeastern region. CALS is a member of the Southeastern Small Fruit Consortium, the producer of this guide
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    2016 Spray Bulletin for Commercial Tree Fruit Growers
    Pfeiffer, Douglas G.; Bergh, J. Christopher; Frank, Daniel L.; Hooks, C. R. R.; Walsh, C. S.; Yoder, Keith S.; Rahan, Mahfaz; Kotcon, J. B.; Derr, Jeffrey F.; Chandran, Rakesh S.; Weaver, Michael W.; Brown, Amy; Parkhurst, James A. (2016-01-01)
    This is a multi-state guide, with orchard recommendations for Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland.
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    2020 Spray Bulletin for Commercial Tree Fruit Growers: Virginia, West Virginia, and University of Maryland
    Pfeiffer, Douglas G.; Bergh, J. Christopher; Wilson, James; Hooks, C. R. R.; Sherif, Sherif M.; Walsh, C. S.; Yoder, Keith S.; Rahman, Mahfaz; Kotcon, J. B.; Derr, Jeffrey F.; Chandran, Rakesh S.; Frank, Daniel L.; Wycoff, Stephanie B.; Brown, Amy; Parkhurst, James A. (2020)
    Integrated pest management (IPM) is the approach emphasized in this guide; some aspects of IPM are incorporated throughout, although this guide mainly deals with the chemical component of IPM. IPM combines biological control from predators with selective chemical application for maintaining pest populations below economic threshold levels. This approach requires that growers give careful consideration to the selection, application rate and timing of chemical sprays. The degree of integration achieved will vary according to the management ability, training and objectives of the orchardist. Inadequate monitoring or implementation of IPM practices will lead to unsatisfactory results. In order to encourage the biological control components of the program, growers must consider the toxicity of chemicals to predators (Table 9, page 59) in addition to their efficacy against fruit pests (Tables 7 and 8, pages 56-58)...
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    2D and 3D Chromosome Painting in Malaria Mosquitoes
    George, Phillip; Sharma, Atashi; Sharakhov, Igor V. (Journal of Visualized Experiments, 2014-01-01)
    Fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) of whole arm chromosome probes is a robust technique for mapping genomic regions of interest, detecting chromosomal rearrangements, and studying three-dimensional (3D) organization of chromosomes in the cell nucleus. The advent of laser capture microdissection (LCM) and whole genome amplification (WGA) allows obtaining large quantities of DNA from single cells. The increased sensitivity of WGA kits prompted us to develop chromosome paints and to use them for exploring chromosome organization and evolution in non-model organisms. Here, we present a simple method for isolating and amplifying the euchromatic segments of single polytene chromosome arms from ovarian nurse cells of the African malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae. This procedure provides an efficient platform for obtaining chromosome paints, while reducing the overall risk of introducing foreign DNA to the sample. The use of WGA allows for several rounds of re-amplification, resulting in high quantities of DNA that can be utilized for multiple experiments, including 2D and 3D FISH. We demonstrated that the developed chromosome paints can be successfully used to establish the correspondence between euchromatic portions of polytene and mitotic chromosome arms in An. gambiae. Overall, the union of LCM and single-chromosome WGA provides an efficient tool for creating significant amounts of target DNA for future cytogenetic and genomic studies.
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    3D X-ray analysis of the subterranean burrowing depth and pupal chamber size of Laricobius (Coleoptera: Derodontidae), a specialist predator of Adelges tsugae (Hemiptera: Adelgidae)
    Hillen, Ashleigh P.; Foley, Jeremiah R.; Salcedo, Mary K.; Socha, John J.; Salom, Scott M. (Oxford University Press, 2023-05-01)
    The non-native hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA), Adelges tsugae Annand (Hemiptera: Adelgidae), has caused a significant decline of eastern hemlock, Tsuga canadensis L. (Pinales: Pinaceae), and Carolina hemlock, Tsuga caroliniana Engelmann (Pinales: Pinaceae), in eastern North America. Biological control of HWA has focused on the use of 2 Laricobius spp. (Coleoptera: Derodontidae), natural predators of HWA, which require arboreal and subterranean life phases to complete their development. In its subterranean phase, Laricobius spp. are subject to abiotic factors including soil compaction or soil-applied insecticides used to protect hemlock from HWA. This study used 3D X-ray microcomputed tomography (micro-CT) to identify the depth at which Laricobius spp. burrows during its subterranean lifecycle, characterize pupal chamber volume, and determine whether soil compaction had a significant effect on these variables. The mean burrowing depth in the soil of individuals was 27.0 mm ± 14.8 (SD) and 11.4 mm ± 11.8 (SD) at compaction levels of 0.36 and 0.54 g/ cm3, respectively. The mean pupal chamber volume was 11.15 mm3 ± 2.8 (SD) and 7.65 mm3 ± 3.5 (SD) in soil compacted at 0.36 and 0.54 g/cm3, respectively. These data show that soil compaction influences burrowing depth and pupal chamber size for Laricobius spp.This information will help us better identify the effect of soil-applied insecticide residues on estivating Laricobius spp. and soil-applied insecticide residues in the field. Additionally, these results demonstrate the utility of 3D micro-CT in assessing subterranean insect activity in future studies.
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    3M full face respirator in box
    (Virginia Tech Pesticide Programs, 2021-05-12)
    3M full face respirator in box.
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    A naturally derived biomaterial formulation for improved menstrual care
    Bataglioli, Rogerio Aparecido; Kaur, Harsimran; Muller, John; Geddes, Elizabeth; Champine, Carrie; Hsu, Bryan B. (Cell Press, 2024-07-10)
    Adequately managing menstruation is an important factor in the overall quality of life for women. With a growing discussion of the global need for its improvement, it is clear that better management of menstruation can positively influence social, educational, and professional outcomes. Herein, we describe a biopolymer-based formulation that gels blood in a mechanism alternative to coagulation. We first tested several biopolymer mixtures with blood and quantified increases in viscosity, finding that high-molecular-weight alginate in combination with glycerol could rapidly absorb and gel blood. We then demonstrated that this powder could be deployed both as a traditional menstrual pad filler and as an additive to menstrual cups to reduce leakage and spillage, respectively. Finally, we include an antimicrobial polymer to impair the growth of Staphylococcus aureus, a bacterium associated with toxic shock syndrome. Collectively, our work describes a biodegradable formulation derived from renewable resources that can improve menstrual care.
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    Absorbant SOCs Around Storm Drain
    (Virginia Tech Pesticide Programs, 2024-03-14)
    An absorbent spill control soc (sock) is placed around a stormwater drain to prevent chemicals from spilling into water systems.
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    Absorbent boom snake
    (Virginia Tech Pesticide Programs, 2021-05-17)
    Coiled absorbent soc (sock) snake used for spill cleanup.
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    Absorbent towels
    (Virginia Tech Pesticide Programs, 2021-05-17)
    White absorbent towels from a pesticide spill kit.
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    Accu-Flo Radial Nozzle
    (Virginia Tech Pesticide Programs, 2022-03-18)
    Close up of an Accu-Flo radial nozzle.
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    Accu-Flo Radial Nozzle
    (Virginia Tech Pesticide Programs, 2022-03-18)
    Accu-Flo radial nozzle on helicopter boom.
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    Accu-Flo Radial Nozzles
    (Virginia Tech Pesticide Programs, 2022-03-18)
    Accu-Flo radial nozzles on helicopter boom.
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    Accu-Flo Radial Nozzles
    (Virginia Tech Pesticide Programs, 2022-03-18)
    Accu-Flo Radial nozzles with orifice sizes .028 and .047 on an example helicopter boom.
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    Accu-Flo Radial Nozzles on a Helicopter
    (Virginia Tech Pesticide Programs, 2022-03-18)
    Accu-Flo radial nozzles on a helicopter.
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    Accu-Flo Radial Nozzles on Boom
    (Virginia Tech Pesticide Programs, 2022-03-18)
    Accu-Flo radial nozzles on a helicopter boom, loaded for ground transit.
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    Aedes aegypti sialokinin facilitates mosquito blood feeding and modulates host immunity and vascular biology
    Martin-Martin, Ines; Leon, Paola Carolina Valenzuela; Amo, Laura; Shrivastava, Gaurav; Iniguez, Eva; Aryan, Azadeh; Brooks, Steven; Kojin, Bianca B.; Williams, Adeline E.; Bolland, Silvia; Ackerman, Hans; Adelman, Zach N.; Calvo, Eric (Cell Press, 2022-04-12)
    Saliva from mosquitoes contains vasodilators that antagonize vasoconstrictors produced at the bite site. Sialokinin is a vasodilator present in the saliva of Aedes aegypti. Here, we investigate its function and describe its mechanism of action during blood feeding. Sialokinin induces nitric oxide release similar to substance P. Sialokinin-KO mosquitoes produce lower blood perfusion than parental mosquitoes at the bite site during probing and have significantly longer probing times, which result in lower blood feeding success. In contrast, there is no difference in feeding between KO and parental mosquitoes when using artificial membrane feeders or mice that are treated with a substance P receptor antagonist, confirming that sialokinin interferes with host hemostasis via NK1R signaling. While sialokinin-KO saliva does not affect virus infection in vitro, it stimulates macrophages and inhibits leukocyte recruitment in vivo. This work highlights the biological functionality of salivary proteins in blood feeding.
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    Aerial Application Helicopter
    (Virginia Tech Pesticide Programs, 2022-03-18)
    Two aerial application helicopters at Summit Helicopters, Inc. in Salem, VA. The helicopter on the right has a belly-mounted spray tank and boom attached, while the one on the left does not.
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    Aerial Application Helicopter
    (Virginia Tech Pesticide Programs, 2022-03-18)
    Frontal view of an aerial application helicopter at Summit Helicopters, Inc. in Salem, VA.