The growing demand for reducing chemical inputs in agriculture and increased resistance to insecticides have provided great impetus to the development of alternative forms of insect-pest control. Myco-biocontrol offers an attractive alternative to the use of chemical pesticides. Myco-biocontrol agents are naturally occurring organisms which are perceived as less damaging to the environment. Their mode of action appears little complex which makes it highly unlikely that resistance could be developed to a biopesticide. Past research has shown some promise of the use of fungi as a selective pesticide. The current paper updates us about the recent progress in the field of myco-biocontrol of insect pests and their possible mechanism of action to further enhance our understanding about the biological control of insect pests.

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Myco-Biocontrol of Insect Pests: Factors Involved, Mechanism, and Regulation

Terrestrial arthropods are extremely important ecosystem components. The choice of best approaches to collect the wide range of terrestrial arthropods has been a topic of long-lasting debates. This article provides a brief overview of common sampling methods for terrestrial arthropod assemblages. We divide sampling methods into three main categories: passive sampling methods without any “activity density” bias, passive sampling methods with an “activity density” bias, and active sampling methods with inherent “activity density” and often further species-dependent biases, discussing their individual advantages and shortcomings as basis for biodiversity studies and pest control management. The selection of the optimal sampling methods depends strongly on the purpose of individual studies and the ecology and behavior of the arthropod groups targeted. A combination of different suitable methods is highly recommended in many cases.

https://bioone.org/journals/journal-of-resources-and-ecology/volume-3/issue-2/j.issn.1674-764x.2012.02.010/A-Comparison-of-Terrestrial-Arthropod-Sampling-Methods/10.5814/j.issn.1674-764x.2012.02.010.pdf

A Comparison of Terrestrial Arthropod Sampling Methods

Metabarcoding potentially offers a rapid and cheap method of monitoring biodiversity, but real-world applications are few. We investigated its utility in studying patterns of litter arthropod diversity and composition in the tropics. We collected litter arthropods from 35 matched forest-plantation sites across Xishuangbanna, southwestern China. A new primer combination and the MiSeq platform were used to amplify and sequence a wide variety of litter arthropods using simulated and real-world communities. Quality filtered reads were clustered into 3,624 MOTUs at ≥97% similarity and the taxonomy of each MOTU was predicted. We compared diversity and compositional differences between forests and plantations (rubber and tea) for all MOTUs and for eight arthropod groups. We obtained ~100% detection rate after in silico sequencing six mock communities with known arthropod composition. Ordination showed that rubber, tea and forest communities formed distinct clusters. α-diversity declined significantly between forests and adjacent plantations for more arthropod groups in rubber than tea, and diversity of order Orthoptera increased significantly in tea. Turnover was higher in forests than plantations, but patterns differed among groups. Metabarcoding is useful for quantifying diversity patterns of arthropods under different land-uses and the MiSeq platform is effective for arthropod metabarcoding in the tropics.

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The utility of DNA metabarcoding for studying the response of arthropod diversity and composition to land-use change in the tropics

Probleme of interpreting arthropod-sampling with pitfall traps

Soil and litter arthropods represent a large proportion of tropical biodiversity and perform important ecosystem functions, but little is known about the efficacy of different tropical forest restoration strategies in facilitating their recovery in degraded habitats. We sampled arthropods in four 7- to 8-year-old restoration treatments and in nearby reference forests. Sampling was conducted during the wet and dry seasons using extractions from litter and pitfall samples. Restoration treatments were replicated in 50 × 50-m plots in four former pasture sites in southern Costa Rica: plantation - trees planted throughout the plot; applied nucleation/islands - trees planted in patches of different sizes; and natural regeneration - no tree planting. Arthropod abundance, measures of richness and diversity, and a number of functional groups were greater in the island treatment than in natural regeneration or plantation treatments and, in many cases, were similar to reference forest. Litter and pitfall morphospecies and functional group composition in all three restoration treatments were significantly different than reference sites, but island and plantation treatments showed more recovery than natural regeneration. Abundance and functional group diversity showed a much greater degree of recovery than community composition. Synthesis and applications: The less resource-intensive restoration strategy of planting tree islands was more effective than tree plantations in restoring arthropod abundance, richness, and functional diversity. None of the restoration strategies, however, resulted in similar community composition as reference forest after 8 years of recovery, highlighting the slow rate of recovery of arthropod communities after disturbance, and underscoring the importance of conservation of remnant forests in fragmented landscapes.

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Leaf litter arthropod responses to tropical forest restoration.

The present study provides data to decide on the most appropriate method for sampling of ground-dwelling arthropods measured in a moist-deciduous forest in the Western Ghats in South India The abundance of ground-dwelling arthropods was compared among large numbers of samples obtained using pitfall trapping, Berlese and Winkler extraction methods Highest abundance and frequency of most of the represented taxa indicated pitfall trapping as the ideal method for sampling of ground-dwelling arthropods However, with possible bias towards surface-active taxa, pitfall-trapping data is inappropriate for quantitative studies, and Berlese extraction is the better alternative Berlese extraction is the better method for quantitative measurements than the other two methods, whereas pitfall trapping would be appropriate for qualitative measurements A comparison of the Berlese and Winkler extraction data shows that in a quantitative multigroup approach, Winkler extraction was inferior to Berlese extraction because the total number of arthropods caught was the lowest; and many of the taxa that were caught from an identical sample via Berlese extraction method were not caught Significantly a greater frequency and higher abundance of arthropods belonging to Orthoptera, Blattaria, and Diptera occurred in pitfall-trapped samples and Psocoptera and Acariformes in Berlese-extracted samples than that were obtained in the other two methods, indicating that both methods are useful, one complementing the other, eliminating a chance for possible under-representation of taxa in quantitative studies

https://bioone.org/journals/journal-of-insect-science/volume-10/issue-98/031.010.9801/Efficacy-of-Pitfall-Trapping-Winkler-and-Berlese-Extraction-Methods-for/10.1673/031.010.9801.pdf

Efficacy of pitfall trapping, Winkler and Berlese extraction methods for measuring ground-dwelling arthropods in moist- deciduous forests in the Western Ghats

Little is known about the ground-dwelling arthropod diversity in tropical montane cloud forests (TMCF) Due to unique habitat conditions in TMCFs with continuously wet substrates and a waterlogged forest floor along with the innate biases of the pitfall trap, Berlese funnel and Winkler extractor are certain to make it difficult to choose the most appropriate method to sample the ground-dwelling arthropods in TMCFs Among the three methods, the Winkler extractor was the most efficient method for quantitative data and pitfall trapping for qualitative data for most groups Inclusion of floatation method as a complementary method along with the Winkler extractor would enable a comprehensive quantitative survey of ground-dwelling arthropods Pitfall trapping is essential for both quantitative and qualitative sampling of Diplopoda, Opiliones, Orthoptera, and Diptera The Winkler extractor was the best quantitative method for Psocoptera, Araneae, Isopoda, and Formicidae; and the Berlese funnel was best for Collembola and Chilopoda For larval forms of different insect orders and the Acari, all the three methods were equally effective

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A comparison of the pitfall trap, Winkler extractor and Berlese funnel for sampling ground-dwelling arthropods in tropical montane cloud forests.

The evaluation of extraction efficiency of the widely employed sampling methods for the extraction of ground-dwelling Coleoptera indicate that pitfall traps tend to overestimate large Coleoptera whereas the quadrate extraction methods (Berlese and Winkler extraction methods) entrap small ones. In a quest for the most effective sampling method for ground dwelling Coleoptera in a tropical montane evergreen forest in the Western Ghats, the efficiency of pitfall trap, Berlese and Winkler extraction methods were evaluated. Results showed that pitfall trap addressed the active beetles groups (Carabidae, Chrysomelidae, Leiodidae, Ptiliidae, Scydmaenidae and Staphylinidae) while quadrate extraction methods captured more of the beetles associated with moisture and sheltered areas (Curculionidae, Histeridae, Hydraenidae and Latridiidae). When cost and time constraints limit the sampling, the Berlese extraction method is the best single quantitative sampling method and pitfall trap is ideal for qualitative ...

Raj T. Shiju

Papers

Efficacy of pitfall trapping, Winkler and Berlese extraction methods for measuring ground-dwelling arthropods in moist- deciduous forests in the Western Ghats

A comparison of the pitfall trap, Winkler extractor and Berlese funnel for sampling ground-dwelling arthropods in tropical montane cloud forests.

Effectiveness of pitfall trapping, Winkler and Berlese extraction methods for sampling ground-dwelling Coleoptera in tropical montane cloud forests.