Bagworm, Metisa plana (Lepidoptera: Psychidae) is a ubiquitous insect pest in the oil palm plantations. M. plana infestation could reduce the oil palm productivity by 40% if it remains untreated over two consecutive years. Despite the urgency to tackle this issue, the genome and transcriptome of M. plana have not yet been fully elucidated. Here, we report a comprehensive transcriptome dataset from four different developmental stages of M. plana, comprising of egg, third instar larva, pupa and female adult. The de novo transcriptome assembly of the raw data had produced a total of 193,686 transcripts, which were then annotated against UniProt, NCBI non-redundant (NR) database, Gene Ontology, Cluster of Orthologous Group, and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes databases. From this, 46,534 transcripts were annotated and mapped to 146 known metabolic or signalling KEGG pathways. The paper further identified 41 differentially expressed transcripts encoding seven genes in the chitin biosynthesis pathways, and their expressions across each developmental stage were further analysed. The genetic diversity of M. plana was profiled whereby there were 21,516 microsatellite sequences and 379,895 SNPs loci found in the transcriptome of M. plana. These datasets add valuable transcriptomic resources for further study of developmental gene expression, transcriptional regulations and functional gene activities involved in the development of M. plana. Identification of regulatory genes in the chitin biosynthesis pathway may also help in developing an RNAi-mediated pest control management by targeting certain pathways, and functional studies of the genes in M. plana.

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This study investigated the diet of introduced barn owls (Tyto alba javanica, Gmelin) in the urban area of the Main Campus of Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia, based on collected regurgitated pellets. We also compared the diet of the introduced barn owls with the diet of barn owls from two agricultural areas, i.e. oil palm plantations and rice fields. Pellet analysis of introduced barn owls showed that commensal Norway rats, Rattus norvegicus, made up the highest proportion of the diet (65.37% prey biomass) while common shrews, Suncus murinus were the second highest consumed prey (30.12% prey biomass). Common plantain squirrel, Callosciurus notatus, made up 4.45% of the diet while insects were taken in a relatively small amount (0.046% prey biomass). Introduced barn owls showed a preference for medium-sized prey, i.e. 40–120 g (52.96% biomass and 38.71% total). In agricultural areas, rice field rats, Rattus argentiventer predominated the diet of barn owls (98.24% prey biomass) in rice fields while Malayan wood rats, Rattus tiomanicus, were the most consumed prey in oil palm plantations (99.5% prey biomass). Food niche breadth value was highest for barn owls introduced in an urban area with a value of 2.90, and 1.06 in rice fields and 1.22 in oil palm plantations. Our analysis reiterates the prey preference of barn owls in various landscapes for small mammals. Our results also indicate the suitability of utilizing barn owls as a biological control not only in agricultural areas, but also as a biological control agent for commensal rodent pests in urban areas.

2This study investigated the diet of introduced barn owls (Tyto alba javanica, Gmelin) in the 3 urban area of the Main Campus of Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia, based on 4 collected regurgitated pellets. We also compared the diet of introduced urban barn owls with 5 the diet of barn owls from two agricultural areas, i.e. oil palm plantations and rice fields. Pellet 6 analysis of barn owls introduced in the urban area showed that commensal Norway rats, Rattus 7 norvegicus, made up the highest proportion of the diet (65.37% prey biomass) while common 8 shrews, Suncus murinus were the second highest consumed prey (30.12% prey biomass). 9Common plantain squirrel, Callosciurus notatus, made up 4.45% of the diet while insects were 10 taken in a relatively small amount (0.046% prey biomass). Introduced barn owls showed a 11 preference for medium-sized prey, i.e. 40 to 120g (52.96% biomass and 38.71% total). In 12 agricultural areas, Rattus argentiventer predominated the diet of barn owls (98.24% prey 13 biomass) in rice fields while Malayan wood rats, Rattus tiomanicus, were the most consumed 14 prey in oil palm plantations (99.5% prey biomass). Food niche breadth value was highest for 15 barn owls introduced in an urban area with a value of 2.90, and 1.06 in rice fields and 1.22 in 16 oil palm plantations. Our analysis reiterates the prey preference of barn owls in various 17 landscapes for small mammals. Our results also indicate the suitability of utilizing barn owls 18 as a biological control not only in agricultural areas, but also as a biological control agent for 19 commensal rodent pests in urban areas. 20

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Physical trapping is an important first step in controlling pest populations and species identification; and bait preferences are crucial information for effective management. This study was conducted to explore species diversity and bait preferences of commensal species in urban areas on Penang Island. Live trapping was carried out in eight sampling sites on Penang Island in commercial and residential areas. Eight different type of baits were used; apple and peanut butter (APB), white bread and peanut butter (BPB), salted fish (SF), salted fish and peanut butter (SFPB), white bread and fish extract (BFE), fried chicken leftover (FCL), vegetables and peanut butter (VPB) and sausages (S). The most successful bait was the high protein bait, fried chicken leftover (FCL), with a capture success rate of 35.56%. We also analysed the bait preferences for the different species of small mammals captured in our study. Five species of small mammals were captured in our study sites: Rattus norvegicus, Rattus rattus, Mus musculus, Bandicota bengalensis and Suncus murinus. Norway rats, R. norvegicus was the most trapped species in commercial areas whereas lesser bandicoot rats, B. bengalensis was the most captured species in residential areas.