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Journal article
Sterol composition in plants is specific to pollen, leaf, pollination and pollinator.
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Journal article
Grayanotoxin I variation across tissues and species of Rhododendron suggests pollinator-herbivore defence trade-offs.
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Journal article
Agroecological management of fall armyworm using soil and botanical treatments reduces crop damage and increases maize yield.
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Journal article
Field margins and cropping system influence diversity and abundance of aphid natural enemies in Lablab purpureus.
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Journal article
Cattle tick control in Africa: potential of ethnoveterinary plants.
Cattle are a livelihood asset to smallholder farmers in Africa yet remain threatened by the effects of ticks and tick-borne diseases during production because they cause morbidity and premature death. The use of indigenous plants in tick control is a worldwide practice spanning thousands of years. Changes in the agricultural... -
Journal article
Sunflower spines and beyond: mechanisms and breadth of pollen that reduce gut pathogen infection in the common eastern bumble bee.
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Plant-Rich Field Margins Influence Natural Predators of Aphids More Than Intercropping in Common Bean.
Field margins support important ecosystem services including natural pest regulation. We investigated the influence of field margins on the spatial and temporal distribution of natural enemies (NEs) of bean pests in smallholder farming systems. We sampled NEs from high and low plant diversity bean fields using sweep netting and coloured... -
Journal article
Elements of agroecological pest and disease management.
The development of large-scale monocropped agrisystems has facilitated increased problems with pests and diseases, perpetuating the reliance of farmers on synthetic pesticides. The economic success of synthetic inputs has, however, been achieved at a high cost to the environment through the loss of biodiversity, depletion of soil quality, greenhouse gas... -
Journal article
Field margins and botanical insecticides enhance Lablab purpureus yield by reducing aphid pests and supporting natural enemies.
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Journal article
Contact and fumigant toxicity of five pesticidal plants against Callosobruchus maculatus (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) in stored cowpea (Vigna unguiculata).
Insecticidal activities of five pesticidal plant species, , (Syn: ) , , and , which have been reported to control storage pests, were evaluated as leaf powders against (Fabricius 1775) in stored cowpea. Their efficacy was compared with the commercial pesticide Actellic dust (pirimiphos-methyl) at the recommended concentration (50 g/90... -
Journal article
Plant toxin levels in nectar vary spatially across native and introduced populations.
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Journal article
Host and gut microbiome modulate the antiparasitic activity of nectar metabolites in a bumblebee pollinator.
Koch, Hauke ; Welcome, Vita ; Kendal-Smith, Amy ; Thursfield, Lucy ; Farrell, Iain W. …
Disease, Trypanosomatidae, Host–parasite ecology, Gut microbiota, Bee health, and Phytochemistry
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Journal article
Understanding effects of floral products on bee parasites: Mechanisms, synergism, and ecological complexity.
Fitch, Gordon ; Figueroa, Laura L. ; Koch, Hauke ; Stevenson, Philip C. ; Adler, Lynn S.
Bombus, Bee pathogens, Plant secondary metabolites, Nectar, Apis, Pollinators, and Pollen
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Journal article
Assessing Chemical Mechanisms Underlying the Effects of Sunflower Pollen on a Gut Pathogen in Bumble Bees.
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Journal article
Herbivory and Time Since Flowering Shape Floral Rewards and Pollinator-Pathogen Interactions.
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Journal article
Intercropping and diverse field margin vegetation suppress bean aphid (Homoptera: Aphididae) infestation in dolichos ( Lablab purpureus L.).
Mwani, Christine N. ; Nyaanga, Jane ; Cheruiyot, Erick K. ; Ogendo, Joshua O. ; Bett, Philip K. …
Aphids, Intercropping, Dolichos, Field margin vegetation, Lablab purpureus, and Natural enemies
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Journal article
Economic analysis of habitat manipulation in Brassica pest management: Wild plant species suppress cabbage webworm.
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Journal article
Qualitative Cost-Benefit Analysis of Using Pesticidal Plants in Smallholder Crop Protection.
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Journal article
Contrasting effects of the alkaloid ricinine on the capacity of Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles coluzzii to transmit Plasmodium falciparum.
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Journal article
Natural Pest Regulation and Its Compatibility with Other Crop Protection Practices in Smallholder Bean Farming Systems.
Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) production and storage are limited by numerous constraints. Insect pests are often the most destructive. However, resource-constrained smallholders in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) often do little to manage pests. Where farmers do use a control strategy, it typically relies on chemical pesticides, which have adverse effects on... -
Journal article
Beneficial insects are associated with botanically rich margins with trees on small farms.
Beneficial insect communities on farms are influenced by site- and landscape-level factors, with pollinator and natural enemy populations often associated with semi-natural habitat remnants. They provide ecosystem services essential for all groecosystems. For smallholders, natural pest regulation may be the only affordable and available option to manage pests. We evaluated...Arnold, Sarah E. J. ; Elisante, Filemon ; Mkenda, Prisila A. ; Tembo, Yolice L. B. ; Ndakidemi, Patrick A. …
Community ecology, Biodiversity, Ecosystem services, Agroecology, and Beneficial insects
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Journal article
Bumble bees show an induced preference for flowers when primed with caffeinated nectar and a target floral odour.
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Journal article
Effects of hydroxycinnamic acid esters on sweetpotato weevil feeding and oviposition and interactions with Bacillus thuringiensis proteins.
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Journal article
Agri-environment scheme nectar chemistry can suppress the social epidemiology of parasites in an important pollinator.
Folly, Arran J. ; Koch, Hauke ; Farrell, Iain W. ; Stevenson, Philip C. ; Brown, Mark J. F.
Sainfoin, Phytochemical, Caffeine, Emergent infectious disease, Bumblebee, and Microsporidia
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Journal article
Pollen sterols are associated with phylogeny and environment but not with pollinator guilds.
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Journal article
Insect pollination is important in a smallholder bean farming system
Background Many crops are dependent on pollination by insects. Habitat management in agricultural landscapes can support pollinator services and even augment crop production. Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is an important legume for the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in many low-income countries, particularly so in East Africa. While this...Elisante, Filemon ; Ndakidemi, Patrick ; Arnold, Sarah E. J. ; Belmain, Steven R. ; Gurr, Geoff M. …
Ecology, Biodiversity, Ecosystem Science, Agricultural Science, Research article, and Entomology
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Journal article
The state of the world’s urban ecosystems: What can we learn from trees, fungi, and bees?
Social Impact Statement Positive interactions between people and nature inspire behaviours that are in harmony with biodiversity conservation and also afford physical and mental health benefits. Since most people live in towns and cities, urban greenspaces are key points of influence for conservation, but also provide diverse ecosystem services. City... -
Journal article
Information arms race explains plant-herbivore chemical communication in ecological communities
Plants emit an extraordinary diversity of chemicals that provide information about their identity and mediate their interactions with insects. However, most studies of this have focused on a few model species in controlled environments, limiting our capacity to understand plant-insect chemical communication in ecological communities. Here, by integrating information theory...Zu, Pengjuan ; Boege, Karina ; del-Val, Ek ; Schuman, Meredith C. ; Stevenson, Philip C. …
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Journal article
Scope for non-crop plants to promote conservation biological control of crop pests and serve as sources of botanical insecticides
Besides providing food and shelter to natural enemies of crop pests, plants used in conservation biological control interventions potentially provide additional ecosystem services including providing botanical insecticides. Here we concurrently tested the strength of these two services from six non-crop plants in managing cabbage pests in Ghana over three successive...Amoabeng, B. W. ; Stevenson, Philip C. ; Mochiah, B. M. ; Asare, K. P. ; Gurr, G. M.
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Journal article
Age-related pharmacodynamics in a bumblebee–microsporidian system mirror similar patterns in vertebrates
Immune systems provide a key defence against diseases. However, they are not a panacea and so both vertebrates and invertebrates co-opt naturally occurring bioactive compounds to treat themselves against parasites and pathogens. In vertebrates, this co-option is complex, with pharmacodynamics leading to differential effects of treatment at different life stages,...Folly, Arran J. ; Stevenson, Philip C. ; Brown, Mark J. F.
Bombus terrestris, pollinator health, medication, Trifolium pratense, phytochemicals, and Nosema bombi
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Journal article
Opportunities and Scope for Botanical Extracts and Products for the Management of Fall Armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) for Smallholders in Africa.
Fall Armyworm (FAW) (Spodoptera frugiperda) is a polyphagous and highly destructive pest of many crops. It was recently introduced into Africa and now represents a serious threat to food security, particularly because of yield losses in maize, which is the staple food for the majority of small-scale farmers in Africa....Rioba, Naomi B. ; Stevenson, Philip C.
Biopesticides, Botanicals, Fall Armyworm, Prospects, Zea mays, Corn, Pests, Africa, Spodoptera frugiperda, and Insects
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Journal article
Additive Effect of Botanical Insecticide and Entomopathogenic Fungi on Pest Mortality and the Behavioral Response of Its Natural Enemy
Sustainable agricultural intensification employs alternatives to synthetic insecticides for pest management, but these are not always a direct replacement. Botanical insecticides, for example, have rapid knockdown but are highly labile and while biological pesticides are more persistent, they are slow acting. To mitigate these shortcomings, we combined the entomopathogenic fungus... -
Journal article
Extracts of Common Pesticidal Plants Increase Plant Growth and Yield in Common Bean Plants
Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) is an important food and cash crop in many countries. Bean crop yields in sub-Saharan Africa are on average 50% lower than the global average, which is largely due to severe problems with pests and diseases as well as poor soil fertility exacerbated by low-input smallholder...Mkindi, Angela G. ; Tembo, Yolice L.B. ; Mbega, Ernest R. ; Kendal-Smith, Amy ; Farrell, Iain W. …
tryptophan, phenylalanine, rutin, botanicals, induced systemic response, and foliar fertiliser
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Journal article
Knowledge gaps among smallholder farmers hinder adoption of conservation biological control
Conservation biological control uses habitat management to enhance the survival and impact of arthropod natural enemies for pest control. Its advantages are that it relies on native or established invertebrate populations that are adapted to local agricultural ecosystems and conditions. We surveyed 300 farmers in three agro-ecological zones of Kilimanjaro... -
Journal article
Bioactivity of Common Pesticidal Plants on Fall Armyworm Larvae (Spodoptera frugiperda)
The fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is a recent invasive pest species that has successfully established across sub-Saharan Africa where it continues to disrupt agriculture, particularly smallholder cereal production. Management of FAW in its native range in the Americas has led to the development of resistance to many... -
Journal article
Phytochemical Analysis of Tephrosia vogelii across East Africa Reveals Three Chemotypes that Influence Its Use as a Pesticidal Plant
Tephrosia vogelii is a plant species chemically characterized by the presence of entomotoxic rotenoids and used widely across Africa as a botanical pesticide. Phytochemical analysis was conducted to establish the presence and abundance of the bioactive principles in this species across three countries in East Africa: Tanzania, Kenya, and Malawi....Mkindi, Angela G. ; Tembo, Yolice ; Mbega, Ernest R. ; Medvecky, Beth ; Kendal-Smith, Amy …
deguelin, chemotype 3, botanical insecticides, spatial-temporal variation, and rotenoids
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Journal article
Floral Odors and the Interaction between Pollinating Ceratopogonid Midges and Cacao
Most plant species depend upon insect pollination services, including many cash and subsistence crops. Plants compete to attract those insects using visual cues and floral odor which pollinators associate with a reward. The cacao tree, Theobroma cacao, has a highly specialized floral morphology permitting pollination primarily by Ceratopogonid midges. However,... -
Journal article
A comparison of coffee floral traits under two different agricultural practices
Floral traits and rewards are important in mediating interactions between plants and pollinators. Agricultural management practices can affect abiotic factors known to influence floral traits; however, our understanding of the links between agricultural practices and floral trait expression is still poorly understood. Variation in floral morphological, nectar, and pollen traits...Prado, Sara Guiti ; Collazo, Jaime A. ; Stevenson, Philip C. ; Irwin, Rebecca E.
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Journal article
Multiple ecosystem services from field margin vegetation for ecological sustainability in agriculture: scientific evidence and knowledge gaps
Background Field margin and non-crop vegetation in agricultural systems are potential ecosystem services providers because they offer semi-natural habitats for both below and above ground animal groups such as soil organisms, small mammals, birds and arthropods that are service supplying units. They are considered as a target area for... -
Journal article
Field Margin Vegetation in Tropical African Bean Systems Harbours Diverse Natural Enemies for Biological Pest Control in Adjacent Crops
Non-crop vegetation around farmland can be valuable habitats for enhancing ecosystem services but little is known of the importance of field margins in supporting natural enemies of insect pests in tropical agriculture. This study was conducted in smallholder bean fields in three elevation zones to assess the importance of field...Mkenda, Prisila A. ; Ndakidemi, Patrick A. ; Stevenson, Philip C. ; Arnold, Sarah E. J. ; Belmain, Steven R. …
ecosystem service, parasitoids, pest regulation, predators, and non-crop vegetation
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Journal article
Characterization of Hymenopteran Parasitoids of Aphis fabae in an African Smallholder Bean Farming System through Sequencing of COI ‘Mini-Barcodes’
Parasitoids are among the most frequently reported natural enemies of insect pests, particularly aphids. The efficacy of parasitoids as biocontrol agents is influenced by biotic and abiotic factors. For example, hyperparasitoids can reduce the abundance of the primary parasitoids as well as modify their behavior. A field study was conducted... -
Journal article
Flagellum Removal by a Nectar Metabolite Inhibits Infectivity of a Bumblebee Parasite
Plant phytochemicals can act as natural ‘‘medicines’’ for animals against parasites [1–3]. Some nectar metabolites, for example, reduce parasite infections in bees [4–7]. Declining plant diversity through anthropogenic landscape change [8–11] could reduce the availability of medicinal nectar plants for pollinators, exacerbating their decline [12]. Existing studies are, however, limited... -
Journal article
For antagonists and mutualists: the paradox of insect toxic secondary metabolites in nectar and pollen
The plant kingdom produces an extraordinary diversity of secondary metabolites and the majority of the literature supports a defensive ecological role for them, particularly against invertebrate herbivores (antagonists). Plants also produce secondary compounds in floral nectar and pollen and these are often similar to those produced for defense against invertebrates...Stevenson, Philip C.
Bombus, Bee pathogens, Nicotine, Caffeine, Pollinator specialization, Nectar chemicals, and Crithidia bombi
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Journal article
The climatic challenge: Which plants will people use in the next century?
More than 31,000 useful plant species have been documented to fulfil needs and services for humans or the animals and environment we depend on. Despite this diversity, humans currently satisfy most requirements with surprisingly few plant species; for example, just three crops – rice, wheat and maize – comprise more...