Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) is a devastating invasive pest originating from South America. It has spread rapidly to Europe, Africa, and Asia, and has invaded China in recent years, and now is a highly potential threat to the solanaceous crop industry in China. Due to its characteristics of leaf mining, fruit burrowing, short life history, high reproductivity, etc., its control effect relying on chemical pesticides is limited. Many theoretical studies and application explorations have been carried out for developing the biological control strategies for Tuta absoluta in the world, and a lot of biological control agents with high potential for usage have been screened. In this review, we summarized the research progress on the global biological control of Tuta absoluta, focusing on the parasitic and predatory natural enemy insects, the bio-control microbes, and the repellent plants and their chemical extracts. In the green control of Tuta absoluta in China, in-depth studies could be carried out on the introduction of biocontrol species suitable for the agricultural niche in China, the digging of local biocontrol resources, and the industrialization of these biocontrol organisms; meanwhile, the integrative utilization of these organisms could be promoted via the combined use of them and the ecological regulation of the agricultural landscape, so as to ensure the high-quality development of Chinese solanaceous crop industry.

In order to further understand the calling behavior of Mythimna separata (Walker) (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae) and explore the olfactory molecular recognition mechanism of male moths to intra- and inter-specific sex pheromones, the male moths collected by sex pheromone trapping with the mixture of Z11-16：Ac and Z11-16：OH in the field were used in this study. According to the reported fragment, we amplified the full-length sequence of MsepOR6 by rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) technology. The responses of MsepOR6 cRNA to pheromone compounds were identified by two-electrode voltage clamp. The behavioral responses of male moths to active compounds were further verified by sex pheromone trapping experiment in the field. Electrophysiological assay results showed that MsepOR6 is one of the sex pheromone receptor genes, which was sensitive to two intra-specific sex pheromones of Z11-16：Ald and 16：Ald, and four inter-specific sex pheromones of Z9-14：Ac, Z7-12：Ac, Z9-16：Ac, and Z9-14：OH. Field bioassay results showed that Z9-14：Ac was antagonist and Z7-12：Ac was synergist in sex pheromone trapping of male moths. This study identified the function of MsepOR6 in the natural population of male moths, which is helpful to understand the regulatory mechanism of calling behavior and provides theoretical support for further development of sex pheromone application technology.

In order to know the control potential of Orius sauteri to the first-instar larvae of oriental armyworm [Mythimna separata (Walker)], the predation ability of the fifth-instar nymphs, male adults and female adults of O. sauteri to the first-instar larvae of M. separata was determined in the laboratory, and the Holling Ⅱ and Hassell-Varley models were used for analyzing the functional response, searching efficiency and mutual interference of O. sauteri to the first-instar larvae of M. separata. The results showed that the female adults of O. sauteri had the strongest predation ability to the first-instar larvae of M. separata (the ratio of instantaneous attack rate to handling time on single prey was 19.692), and their theoretical maximum daily predation was 19.231 individuals, and their handling time on single prey was the shortest (0.052 d). The male adults of O. sauteri had the moderate predation ability to the first-instar larvae of M. separata (the ratio of instantaneous attack rate to handling time on single prey was 16.610), and their theoretical maximum daily predation was 16.949 individuals, and their handling time on single prey was 0.059 d. The fifth-instar nymphs of O. sauteri had the weakest predation ability to the first-instar larvae of M. separata (the ratio of instantaneous attack rate to handling time on single prey was 13.211), and their theoretical maximum daily predation was 13.103 individuals, and their handling time on single prey was the longest (0.076 d). The daily predation of O. sauteri was positively correlated with prey density and negatively correlated with searching efficiency. The predation rate of O. sauteri on the prey decreased with the increase of predator density, while the intra-species competition intensity enhanced with the increase of predator density. In conclusion, O. sauteri has the potential to control the first-instar larvae of M. separata, of which the female adults work best.

Potato virusY (PVY) and its nonvector insect of potato tuber moth (Phthorimaea operculella) are important disease and pest in global potato industry. In order to investigate whether PVY infection changed the physiological responses of potato plant to P. operculella, we studied performances of P. operculella on PVY-infected and non-infected healthy plants, and carried out the phytohormone analysis and comparative transcriptomic analysis for potato leaves which were affected by PVY infection and herbiory stimuli (dealing with the oral secretions of potato tuber moth), or co-stressed treatment. The results showed that the resistance to P. operculella was significantly increased in potato plants infected by PVY. Moreover, PVY infection also inhibited the increase of abscisic acid induced by herbivory stimuli. Compared with the healthy control plants, herbivory stimuli and PVY infection treatments produced 3 998 and 104 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), respectively; while 9 178 DEGs were induced by co-stressed treatment, suggesting that the co-stressed treatment may greatly affected the physiological responses in potato plants. Compared with the herbivory stimuli, the co-stressed plants had 743 DEGs, and many of them belong to the transferase activity, the protein processing in endoplasmic reticulum, and the phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathways. And the expression levels of many genes in abscisic acid synthesis pathway were also down-regulated, which was consisted with the change of this phytohormone. In summary, this study systematically analyzed the physiological responses of potato plant confronted by the single- and co-stressed treatments of PVY infection and herbivory stimuli, which may provide scientific basis for exploring plant-virus-nonvector insect interactions.

In this study, we explored the taxonomic status of Endoclita minanus Yangin Hepialidae based on the mitochondrial genome level. The complete mitochondrial genome of Endoclita minanus was sequenced by using Illumina MiSeq sequencing platform, and its general features and base composition were analyzed. The phylogenetic tree of mitochondrial genomes of nine species in Hepialidae was constructed by using maximum likelihood method, and their phylogenetic relationships within Hepialidae were analyzed. The results showed that the mitochondrial genome of Endoclita minanus is a circular molecule of 15 248 bp, including 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA genes, two ribosomal RNA genes, and an A+T-rich region with a typical gene arrangement of the mitochondrial genome in Lepidoptera. The A+T content is 81.18%. The gene order of trnI-trnQ-trnM in the mitochondrial genome of Endoclita minanus is consistent with the other species of Hepialidae, which is different from the gene order of trnM-trnI-trnQ in all previously sequenced species of Lepidoptera. The phylogenetic relationships of nine species within Hepialidae based on mitochondrial genomes present as Ahamus+[Napialus+(Endoclita+Thitarodes)]. Gene rearrangement existed in the mitochondrial genome of Endoclita minanus. The phylogenetic analyses strongly supported that Endoclita minanus and Endoclitasignifer gathered into one clade. This study provides an informative reference for understanding the evolution laws of Hepialidae and lays a certain theoretical basis for exploring the phylogeny and evolution of Lepidoptera.

Flavin-containing monooxygenases (FMOs) participate in endogenous and exogenous metabolisms in organisms, and exist widely in plants, animals and microorganisms. To explore the function of Bursaphelenchus xylophilus FMOs (BxFMOs) in the host colonization and in response to the nematicide stress, we firstly screened and identified 13 Bxfmos from the genome of B. xylophilus by means of bioinformatics, and then analyzed the physicochemical properties, evolutionary development, protein structures, and gene expression patterns of these genes. The results showed that, the Bxfmos distributed on the five chromosomes; their numbers of amino acids were from 432 to 572; their molecular weights were between 49.77 kDa and 66.09 kDa; and their isoelectric points were between 6.26 and 9.27. The structures of BxFMOs were relatively conservative. The gene expression patterns revealed that the BxFMOs had significant effects on the colonization of B. xylophilus and its respondence to nematicidal agents. The above results have important guiding significance and theoretical value for exploring the colonization mechanism of B. xylophilus in the host and seeking the molecular targets to control B. xylophilus.