BEHAVIORAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF SELECTED INSECTICIDES ON MOLE CRICKETS (ORTHOPTERA: GRYLLOTALPIDAE) By OLGA SEMENIVNA KOSTROMYTSKA A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2010 1 © 2010 Olga Kostromytska 2 To my dear parents Semen and Valentyna Kostromytski, and my sunshine daughter, Julia Mergel, who provided endless support, encouragement and love. 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to sincerely thank Dr. Eileen A. Buss, my supervisory committee chair, for her support and guidance and giving me an opportunity to learn, gain experience and grow as a professional. She has been a role model of professional honesty, work ethic, enthusiasm and dedication which will inspire me throughout my further career. Dr. Buss has been a great mentor, providing valuable advice and support in many aspects of my professional and personal life. She made it possible for my professional dream to become a reality and I am endlessly thankful for having that opportunity. I am thankful for Dr. Scharf’s invaluable contribution into my work and learning. Dr. Scharf’s toxicology class and research program enhanced my knowledge, skills, curiosity and motivation. I greatly appreciate all of his help, advice and the time spent to help me with the toxicity and electrophysiology work. His personal example and working in his lab gave many valuable insights on the research process. I want to acknowledge my supervisory committee members (Drs. Sandra Allan and Amy Shober) for their contribution to my degree. Without their help, time and expertise this work would not have been possible. I am thankful for Dr. Paul Skelly’s (Department of Plant Industry, Gainesville, FL) personal assistance, tremendous help and time spent in teaching me how to use the SEM. I am thankful to Karen Kelly (University of Florida, Interdisciplinary Center for Biotechnology Research, Electron Microscopy and Bio-Imaging lab) for her help and expertise in TEM. I am grateful for the research sites, assistance and cooperation provided by Zoe and Ernest Duncan, Justin W. Callaham (U. F. Horse Teaching Unit), Gainesville Country Club Golf Course, and West End Golf Course. 4 I greatly appreciate the advice, assistance and mole cricket specimens provided by Dr. J. H. Frank’s Lab, and personally, Lucy Skelly. I especially appreciate all help, assistance and practical advice of Paul Ruppert, who helped to practically improve and materialize every idea about experimental set up. I am thankful for his patience, understanding, moral support and willingness to help throughtout my education. My research would not have been possible without the help provided by colleagues in the Landscape Entomology lab, including Jessica Platt, Cara Vazquez, Ta-I Huang, Ken Cho, Jade Cash, and Brandon Razkowski. I am grateful to the United States Golf Association for provided funding for my project and the companies (Bayer Environmental Science, FMC, DuPont and Valent) that donated products for my research. 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................. 4 LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ 9 LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................ 10 ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................... 13 CHAPTER 1 LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................................... 15 Mole Crickets as Economically Important Pests of Turfgrass in Florida ................. 15 Mole Cricket Diversity and Natural History .............................................................. 16 Tunneling Behavior and Mole Cricket Adaptation to Subsurface Lifestyle .............. 17 Mole Cricket Management ...................................................................................... 19 Monitoring ......................................................................................................... 19 Cultural Control and Plant Resistance .............................................................. 21 Biological Control of Scapteriscus spp. in Florida ............................................. 21 Chemical Control of Damaging Mole Cricket Species ...................................... 23 Insecticides commonly used for mole cricket control, their target sites modes of action and behavioral effects .................................................. 23 Toxicity against developmental stages ...................................................... 30 Chemosensory System and Its Role in Insect Behavior ......................................... 31 Mole Cricket Chemoreception: Implications for Management ................................. 35 Objectives ............................................................................................................... 37 2 ANTENNAL AND PALPAL MORPHOLOGY OF INTRODUCED SCAPTERISCUS SPP. AND NATIVE NEOCURTILLA HEXADACTYLA (ORTHOPTERA: GRYLLOTALPIDAE) ................................................................... 39 Materials and Methods............................................................................................ 41 Insects .............................................................................................................. 41 Antennal Morphology of Adults and Nymphs .................................................... 41 Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) .............................................................. 41 Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) ........................................................ 42 Results .................................................................................................................... 43 General Morphology of Antennae ..................................................................... 43 Growth of Antennae during Post-Embryonic Development .............................. 44 Types, Abundance and Distribution of the Sensilla on the Mole Cricket Antenna ......................................................................................................... 45 S. chaetica ................................................................................................. 45 S. basioconica ............................................................................................ 46 S. trichodea ................................................................................................ 46 6 S. coeloconica ............................................................................................ 47 S. campaniformia ....................................................................................... 47 Types, Abundance and Distribution of the Sensilla on the Mole Cricket Maxillary and Labial Palps ............................................................................. 47 Differences in Sensilla Types, Size, Abundance and Distribution among Mole Cricket Species, Sexes and Life Stages ............................................... 48 Discussion .............................................................................................................. 48 Putative Functions of Sensilla Found on Mole Cricket Antennae and Palps .... 48 Postembryonic Development of Mole Cricket Antennae .................................. 51 Similarities of Antennal, Palpal and Sensilla Structure Among Species and Sexes ............................................................................................................ 52 Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 53 3 TOXICITY AND NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF SELECTED INSECTICIDES ON THE MOLE CRICKET SCAPTERISCUS VICINUS (ORTHOPTERA: GRYLLOTALPIDAE) ................................................................... 71 Materials and Methods............................................................................................ 73 Insects .............................................................................................................. 73 Chemicals ......................................................................................................... 73 Toxicity Bioassays ............................................................................................ 74 Neurophysiological Equipment ......................................................................... 74 Neurophysiological Assays ............................................................................... 75 Results .................................................................................................................... 76 Toxicity Biossays .............................................................................................. 76 Neurophysiological Assays ............................................................................... 77 Discussion .............................................................................................................. 77 Comparative Toxicity of Tested Insecticides against Mole Cricket Adults and Nymphs .................................................................................................. 77 Effects of Neuroexcitatory Compounds on Mole Crickets ................................ 78 Effects of Indoxacarb and DCJW ....................................................................