Summary of Papers _ 2026

Matching summaries to Authors and Titles

Core ecological processes governing the three distinct phases of biological invasions: arrival, establishment, and spread. It highlights how the establishment phase is strongly shaped by low-density population dynamics, such as Allee effects and stochasticity, which can be strategically manipulated to achieve pest eradication. Finally, it examines how spatial expansion occurs via reaction-diffusion and long-distance jump dispersal, emphasizing that containment strategies like Slow-the-Spread must target isolated outlying colonies to disrupt invasive momentum

Liebhold and Tobin - Population Ecology of Insect Invasions and Their Management

Using microsatellite genetic markers, the authors investigated the population structure and invasion routes of the tomato leafminer (Tuta absoluta) across its native and invaded ranges. Their analyses revealed that the massive Afro-Eurasian invasion originated from a single, unique introduction event coming from Central Chile, specifically near the town of Talca in the Maule district. The resulting invading populations exhibit minimal genetic differentiation across the Mediterranean Basin, providing a clear genetic baseline to inform biosecurity and biological control programs.

Guillemaud, Blin, Le Goff, Desneux, Reyes Tabone, Tsagkarakou, Niño,& Lombaert - The tomato borer, Tuta absoluta, invading the Mediterranean Basin, originates from a single introduction from Central Chile

This review details the rapid global invasion of the South American tomato pinworm (Tuta absoluta) and its severe threat to world tomato production. The authors analyze the biological traits, environmental tolerances, and secondary spread dynamics that enabled the pest to infest 60% of tomato-cultivated areas within a decade of reaching Europe. They also evaluate integrated pest management (IPM) strategies, highlighting how widespread insecticide resistance necessitates a shift toward biological controls like predatory mirid bugs

Biondi, Guedes, Wan, & Desneux - Ecology, Worldwide Spread, and Management of the Invasive South American Tomato Pinworm, Tuta absoluta: Past, Present, and Future

This empirical study investigates the large-scale spatial movements and seasonal elevational migrations of Drosophila suzukii in an alpine mountain valley in Italy. By combining protein immunomarking (ELISA) with microsatellite genetic analysis, the researchers demonstrated that flies at different altitudes belong to a single homogeneous population capable of active flights up to 9 kilometers. The flies migrate to higher elevations in spring and summer to track ripening wild fruits and escape heat stress before returning to lower valley levels in autumn to locate overwintering refuges

Tait, Grassi,Pfab, Crava, Dalton, Magarey, Ometto, Vezzulli, Rossi-Stacconi, Gottardello, Pugliese, Firrao, Walton, & Anfora - Large-scale spatial dynamics of Drosophila suzukii in Trentino, Italy

This comprehensive review synthesizes genetic, ecophysiological, and behavioral data across the family Drosophilidae to establish an integrative roadmap of invasion success. The authors identify 14 key biological traits and processes—including high phenotypic plasticity, thermal tolerance, broad polyphagy, and microbial symbiosis—that enable these flies to navigate the invasion continuum. Rather than relying on a single dominant adaptation, successful invaders succeed by performing adequately across a suite of interacting traits and environmental filters

Deconninck, Raynaud-Berton, Boulembert, Chabrerie, Couty, Dedeine, Eslin, Foray, Georges, Gibert, Mouton, Pincebourde, Renault, Suppo, and Colinet - A roadmap to key traits of invasive Drosophilidae

The authors review physical, laboratory, and molecular techniques used to monitor the movement and flight behavior of small flying insects, focusing on aphids. They emphasize that integrating molecular markers (such as allozymes and microsatellites) with traditional trapping networks is essential to uncover hidden population structures, host adaptations, and insecticide resistance. To address current sampling limitations, they propose a standardized 100-km national grid survey network engaging public volunteers and specialist coordination centers for enhanced biosecurity monitoring

Lushai & Loxdale - Tracking movement in small insect pests, with special reference to aphid populations

This review provides a framework for understanding how human activities drive the long-distance movement and global establishment of insect pests. The authors break down human-mediated dispersal into three distinct temporal phases—departure, transport, and arrival—operating across contamination, hitchhiking, and harvesting pathways. By mapping species' biological traits against these specific human vectors and selective filters, the paper improves predictive models for invasion risk and biosecurity management

Gippet, Liebhold, Fenn-Moltu, and Bertelsmeier - Human-mediated dispersal in insects

This review examines the natural and human-mediated movement mechanisms of herbivorous insect pests within modern, fragmented agricultural landscapes. It analyzes how host availability, crowding, landscape design, and globalized transportation networks drive insect dispersal patterns and regional range expansions. The authors emphasize combining evolutionary theory with advanced diagnostic tools—such as DNA barcoding and population genetics—to optimize sustainable control practices like mating disruption, sterile insect releases, and push-pull crop systems

Mazzi and S. Dorn - Movement of insect pests in agricultural landscapes

This review evaluates laboratory and field behavioral assays used to quantify insect herbivore host choice, feeding preferences, and oviposition decisions. It details how physiological factors, sensory modalities, and genetic variation influence host acceptance and adaptation across ecological contexts. The authors emphasize applying robust assays to link molecular and olfactory mechanisms with population-level evolutionary dynamics and pest management strategies

Knolhoff & Heckel - Behavioral Assays for Studies of Host Plant Choice and Adaptation in Herbivorous Insects

This chapter establishes a conceptual framework breaking down insect host selection into a sequential chain of behaviors, from initial finding to sensory examining and consumption. It introduces a dynamic "rolling fulcrum" model to explain how internal physiological states balance against external excitatory and inhibitory sensory inputs to govern acceptance thresholds. The authors highlight the integration of multiple sensory modalities—including olfaction, vision, gustation, and mechanoreception—in shaping foraging decisions

Miller and Strickler - Finding and Accepting Host Plants

This study demonstrates that female melon flies exhibit local enhancement, alighting in significantly higher numbers on food and host fruit mimics occupied by conspecific females. Greenhouse and field assays revealed that this attraction is driven primarily by the visual stimulus of an immobile adult rather than by chemical, olfactory, or acoustical cues. The findings suggest that conspecific presence acts as a key social signal during resource foraging, which can impact established action thresholds in pest monitoring traps

Piñero and Prokopy - Local Enhancement of Alighting in the Melon Fly, Bactrocera cucurbitae: Effect of Olfactory, Visual, and Acoustical Stimuli

This paper investigates how host-seeking female melon flies respond to combinations of visual targets and host fruit odors under semi-natural field conditions. The authors found that spherical shapes coated with high-reflectance pigments (yellow, white, and orange) baited with cucumber odor elicited the strongest synergistic capture rates. The results provide practical guidelines for optimizing female-targeted monitoring traps and perimeter attract-and-kill strategies in integrated pest management programs

Piñero, Jácome, Vargas, and Prokopy - Response of female melon fly, Bactrocera cucurbitae, to host-associated visual and olfactory stimuli

This review advocates for a community-level approach to study how plant volatile organic compounds simultaneously mediate interactions among herbivores, natural enemies, and pollinators. It highlights both positive and negative ecological outcomes of constitutive and herbivore-induced plant volatiles across multitrophic agricultural networks. The authors call for bridging laboratory assays with field bipartite network analyses to harness volatile semiochemicals for sustainable pest management

Thompson, Russavage, and Bernauer - Making “scents” of how plant volatiles influence agriculturally important insects: a review