Sex pheromones of the lepidoptera: recent progress and structure-activity relationships; Attractant pheromones of coleoptera; The boll weevil sex attractant; The chemical basis of insect sociality; Arthropod defensive secretions; Current usage and some recent developments with insect attractants and repellents in the USDA.

This book provides recent contributions of current strategies to control insect pests written by experts in their respective fields. Topics include semiochemicals based insect management techniques, assessment of lethal dose/concentrations, strategies for efficient biological control practices, bioinsecticidal formulations and mechanisms of action involving RNAi technology, light-trap collection of insects, the use of sex pheromonal components and attractants for pest insect capture, measures to increase plant resistance in forest plantations, the use of various baculoviruses as biopesticides, and effect of a pathogenic bacterium against an endangered butterfly species. There are several other chapters that focus on insect vectors, including biting midges as livestock vectors in Tunisia, mosquitoes as vectors in Brazil, human disease vectors in Tanzania, pathogenic livestock and human vectors in Africa, insect vectors of Chagas disease, and transgenic and paratransgenic biotechnologies against dipteran pests and vectors. This book targets general biologists, entomologists, ecologists, zoologists, virologists, and epidemiologists, including both teachers and students.

Ecofriendly Pest Management for Food Security explores the broad range of opportunity and challenges afforded by Integrated Pest Management systems. The book focuses on the insect resistance that has developed as a result of pest control chemicals, and how new methods of environmentally complementary pest control can be used to suppress harmful organisms while protecting the soil, plants, and air around them. As the world's population continues its rapid increase, this book addresses the production of cereals, vegetables, fruits, and other foods and their subsequent demand increase. Traditional means of food crop production face proven limitations and increasing research is turning to alternative means of crop growth and protection. - Addresses environmentally focused pest control with specific attention to its role in food security and sustainability. - Includes a range of pest management methods, from natural enemies to biomolecules. - Written by experts with extensive real-world experience.

Sensory responses of insects to behavior - modifying chemicals; Behavioral responses of phytophagous and hematophagous insects to host-produced chemicals; Complexity, Diversity and specificity of behavior-modifying chemicals in selected insect groups; Status and prospects for behavior-modifying chemicals in pest management.

Biochemistry of Insects reviews the state of knowledge in insect biochemistry. The book begins by examining the function of carbohydrates in regulating and maintaining the life processes of insects. This is followed by separate chapters on the functional roles of lipids and proteins in insects; and protein synthesis in insects. Subsequent chapters cover the chemistry of insect cuticle; the structure, distribution, and chemistry of insect biochromes; and chemical control of insect behavior. Also discussed are the biochemical aspects of the natural products used by insects in defensive contexts; the reaction of insecticides and related compounds with their targets; detoxification mechanisms in insects; and genetic variation in natural populations. Designed to serve as a basic textbook in field, this volume should be equally useful as an auxiliary text for most relevant courses in insect biology, particularly insect physiology, insect ecology, insect control, and economic entomology. The book should also serve as an important reference source for the advanced student, the research scientist, and the professional entomologist seeking authoritative details of relevant areas of subject matter.

Our objective in compiling a series of chapters on the chemical ecology of insects has been to delineate the major concepts of this discipline. The fine line between presenting a few topics in great detail or many topics in veneer has been carefully drawn, such that the book contains sufficient diversity to cover the field and a few topics in some depth. After the reader has penetrated the crust of what has been learned about chemical ecology of insects, the deficiencies in our understanding of this field should become evident. These deficiencies, to which no chapter topic is immune, indicate the youthful state of chemical ecology and the need for further investigations, especially those with potential for integrating elements that are presently isolated from each other. At the outset of this volume it becomes evident that, although we are beginning to decipher how receptor cells work, virtually nothing is known of how sensory information is coded to become relevant to the insect and to control the behavior of the insect. This problem is exacerbated by the state of our knowledge of how chemicals are distributed in nature, especially in complex habitats. And finally, we have been unable to understand the significance of orientation pathways of insects, in part because of the two previous problems: orientation seems to depend on patterns of distri bution of chemicals, the coding of these patterns by the central nervous system, and the generation of motor output based on the resulting motor commands.

Widespread use of broad-spectrum chemical pesticides has revolutionized pest management. But there is growing concern about environmental contamination and human health risksâ€"and continuing frustration over the ability of pests to develop resistance to pesticides. In Ecologically Based Pest Management, an expert committee advocates the sweeping adoption of ecologically based pest management (EBPM) that promotes both agricultural productivity and a balanced ecosystem. This volume offers a vision and strategies for creating a solid, comprehensive knowledge base to support a pest management system that incorporates ecosystem processes supplemented by a continuum of inputsâ€"biological organisms, products, cultivars, and cultural controls. The result will be safe, profitable, and durable pest management strategies. The book evaluates the feasibility of EBPM and examines how best to move beyond optimal examples into the mainstream of agriculture. The committee stresses the need for information, identifies research priorities in the biological as well as socioeconomic realm, and suggests institutional structures for a multidisciplinary research effort. Ecologically Based Pest Management addresses risk assessment, risk management, and public oversight of EBPM. The volume also overviews the history of pest managementâ€"from the use of sulfur compounds in 1000 B.C. to the emergence of transgenic technology. Ecologically Based Pest Management will be vitally important to the agrichemical industry; policymakers, regulators, and scientists in agriculture and forestry; biologists, researchers, and environmental advocates; and interested growers.