The study was executed at apiary of Plant protection Dept. Fac. of Agric. Al-Azhar Univ., Cairo, Egypt, during two successive years 2019 and 2020 to determine the effectiveness of different seasons on the acceptance rates of the larvae and royal jelly production. In the first year, the highest acceptance means for Italian hybrid 72.1 and 65.43% for Carniolan hybrid were recorded at midspring on the other hand, the lowest acceptance percentages means were 50.86 and 55.8 % recorded at early summer for Carniolan and Italian hybrids respectively. Also, results demonstrated that mid spring gave the best mean weight of royal jelly per queen cell cup 238.35 mg. for Italian hybrid and 236.31 mg. for the Carniolan hybrid. The lowest quantity means were recorded in early summer 187.24 mg./cup for Carniolan hybrid and 198.74 mg./cup for Italian hybrid. In the second year, the highest acceptance means were 66.42 and 62.96% at mid spring for Italian and Carniolan hybrids respectively. Whereas the lowest acceptance percentage means were 44.44 and 48.4 % at early summer for Carniolan and Italian hybrids. Also, results cleared that mid-spring gave the best mean weight of royal jelly per queen cell cup, 229.71 mg. for Italian hybrid and 227.5 mg. for Carniolan hybrid. The lowest quantity means were recorded at early summer 186.72 mg./cup for Carniolan hybrid and 189.06 mg./cup for Italian hybrid. As for the effect of the bar level, the middle bar level gave the best results for royal jelly quantity and cup acceptance while the upper level gave the least royal jelly quantity and acceptance percentages in different seasons. There was a significant difference in acceptance percent and the royal jelly production per cup cell between mid-spring and early summer. Mid-spring gave the best results while the early summer gave the least results.

No abstract

The current study was performed to evaluate the efficacy of certain insect growth regulators (IGRs), buprofezin, hexaflumuron, and lufenuron, at different concentrations (0.2, 0.4, and 0.8 ppm) against Rhyzopertha dominica in wheat grains. Our data showed that the three IGRs tested at different concentrations significantly affected the mortality of adults to varying extents. The percentage mortality of adults increased with increasing concentrations and time of exposure. After 21 days of treatment, the highest mortality (80.00%, 78.33%, and 60.00%) was observed at the highest concentration (0.8 ppm) and the lowest mortality (58.33%, 46.66%, and 30.00%) was observed at the lowest concentration (0.2 ppm) of lufenuron, buprofezin, and hexaflumuron, respectively. The tested IGRs reduced fecundity, hatchability, adult emergence, and weight loss in treated wheat grains and increased the developmental period of R. dominica compared with the control.

Population fluctuations of Thrips tabaci was studied during the two successive seasons, 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 on two varieties of strawberry plants; Festival and Fortuna, at Shebin El-Qanater, Qalyoubia Governorate, Egypt. Thrips tabaci Lindeman (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) is a serious insect pests affecting strawberries in all stages of growth. The seasonal abundance of this species was higher during the second season than the first one (the total numbers of 5631 and 6086 individuals respectively). The population of Thrips tabaci showed two peaks, the higher one was recorded in the 1 st week of December during the two seasons of study, while the lower one was recorded in the 3 th week of march during the two seasons of study. Statistical analysis indicated that there was a highly significant relation between the insect numbers and the age of the plant, while this relation was insignificant for each of temperature, relative humidity and wind velocity. The combined effects of temperature, relative humidity, wind velocity and plant ages on thrips activity were (81.2 %) and (92.7 %) during the first and second seasons, respectively.

Khapra beetle, Trogoderma granarium Everts, 1898 (Coleoptera: Dermestidae) is one of the most notorious pests of stored grains. This study was aimed to evaluate the efficacy of ozone against 2nd and 5th instars and adults of T. granarium in stored wheat kernels under laboratory conditions. Four ozone concentrations of 300, 600, 900, and 1200 parts per million by volume (ppmv) were used. The results revealed that the LC50 values were 249.76 ppmv for adult, 446.75 ppmv for 5th instar, and 275.30 ppmv for 2nd instar of T. granarium after 2 h exposure to ozone. No adults emerged when the ozone concentration was 1200 ppmv, while emergence was high in controls (91.20%) after a 1-h exposure period. The highest ozone concentration of 1200 ppmv resulted in strong grain protection against adult and 2nd and 5th instars, with a 0.63%, 0.73%, and 1.16% loss in grain weight, respectively. Chemical analysis of treated wheat kernels at a concentration of 1200 ppmv ozone showed no significant differences (p > 0.05) in fat, moisture, ash, carbohydrate, fiber, and protein content of ozone-treated wheat kernels compared to untreated grain. Thus, ozone can be effectively used to control T. granarium and provides sufficient protection for stored wheat.