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Lygus hesperus
Western Tarnished Plant Bug
Lygus hesperus is a significant agricultural pest in western North America, causing extensive damage to cotton, strawberries, alfalfa seed, and other crops. In California alone, annual losses exceed $30 million in cotton and $40 million in strawberries. Adults overwinter in reproductive diapause triggered by short day lengths, resuming activity when conditions improve. The species has been the subject of extensive research on sampling methods, biological control, and insecticide resistance.
agricultural-pest plant-bug Miridae cotton-pest strawberry-pest alfalfa-pest western-North-America diapause biological-control integrated-pest-management insecticide-resistance mark-release-recapture salivary-enzymes extraoral-digestion Peristenus-relictus Hippodamia-convergens drone-sampling fluorescent-marking SmartWater vector Pantoea-ananatis Serratia potassium-chloride deterrent artificial-diet lentil seed-crops California Texas Arizona Nevada Washington Mexico polyphagous phytophagous stylet-probing scutellum nymph-spots economic-entomology organic-agriculture ecosystem-services bird-predation molecular-gut-analysis ELISA immunomarking parasitoid population-suppression crop-protection sampling-protocols sweep-net drop-cloth Y-tube-olfactometer gustatory-deterrent visual-cues volatile-cues reproductive-diapause postdiapause oogenesis oviposition longevity body-mass life-history mass-spectrometry salivary-proteins polygalacturonase α-amylase protease laccase glucose-dehydrogenase 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Musca domestica
house fly, common house fly
Musca domestica is a cosmopolitan synanthropic fly and the most abundant insect in confined cattle operations. Adults are small (6–7 mm), gray with four dark longitudinal stripes on the thorax and creamy yellow abdominal sides. They do not bite but feed on blood, sweat, tears, saliva, and other bodily fluids, causing cattle to exhibit defensive behaviors including ear flapping, head shaking, and feeding hesitancy. The species completes development from egg to adult in as little as two weeks under optimal conditions, with up to 12 generations annually in temperate climates. Females deposit 75–150 eggs per batch in decaying organic matter, particularly manure and rotting vegetation. House flies are mechanical vectors of over 200 pathogens including E. coli, and can infest cattle wounds with maggots.
synanthropic pest vector livestock manure waste-recycling insecticide-resistance diptera muscidae
Spalangia
Spalangia is a genus of chalcidoid wasps in the family Spalangiidae (sometimes placed in Pteromalidae), comprising pupal parasitoids of filth flies. Species such as S. endius, S. cameroni, and S. nigroaenea are widely used as biological control agents against house flies (Musca domestica) and stable flies (Stomoxys calcitrans) in livestock and poultry operations. Females locate buried host pupae by burrowing through manure and decaying organic matter, while males remain near the surface to mate with emerging females.
parasitoid biological-control filth-fly manure livestock-pest-management pupal-parasitoid Chalcidoidea

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