@article{hickin_nadel_schal_cohen_2021, title={Optimization of a Diet for the Greater Wax Moth (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) Using Full Factorial and Mixture Design}, volume={114}, ISSN={["1938-291X"]}, url={https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toab039}, DOI={10.1093/jee/toab039}, abstractNote={Abstract Diet optimization is an important process to increase the efficiency of rearing insects and can be used to develop high-quality insects with specific fitness and life-history traits. Galleria mellonella (L.), the greater wax moth, is widely used in research, microbiology assays, as pet food, and host for biological control agents. Although artificial diets for G. mellonella have been researched and optimized for decades, preliminary tests indicated that the predominantly utilized G. mellonella diet could be improved to yield larger larvae with a short development time. We used a design of experiments (DOE) approach that incorporated multiple full factorial designs and a final mixture design to test the qualitative and quantitative effects of ingredients and their interactions on larval mass and survival. Analysis of 17 ingredient variations in 35 diet formulations yielded an optimized diet that supported high survival and 2.4-fold greater larval body mass than the standard rearing diet. This study demonstrates the importance and efficiency of statistical DOE in guiding the optimization of insect diets to improve traits that represent the quality and fitness of the reared insects.}, number={3}, journal={JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY}, publisher={Oxford University Press (OUP)}, author={Hickin, Mauri and Nadel, Hannah and Schal, Coby and Cohen, Allen C.}, editor={Neven, LisaEditor}, year={2021}, month={Jun}, pages={1091–1103} } @article{ramsey_ochoa_bauchan_gulbronson_mowery_cohen_lim_joklik_cicero_ellis_et al._2019, title={Varroa destructor feeds primarily on honey bee fat body tissue and not hemolymph}, volume={116}, ISSN={["0027-8424"]}, DOI={10.1073/pnas.1818371116}, abstractNote={Significance Varroa destructor causes considerable damage to honey bees and subsequently the field of apiculture through just one process: feeding. For five decades, we have believed that these mites consume hemolymph like a tick consumes blood, and that Varroa cause harm primarily by vectoring viruses. Our work shows that they cause damage more directly. Varroa externally digest and consume fat body tissue rather than blood. These findings explain the failure of some previous attempts at developing effectively targeted treatment strategies for Varroa control. Furthermore, it provides some explanation for the diverse array of debilitating pathologies associated with Varroa that were unexplained by hemolymph removal alone. Our work provides a path forward for the development of novel treatment strategies for Varroa .}, number={5}, journal={PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA}, author={Ramsey, Samuel D. and Ochoa, Ronald and Bauchan, Gary and Gulbronson, Connor and Mowery, Joseph D. and Cohen, Allen and Lim, David and Joklik, Judith and Cicero, Joseph M. and Ellis, James D. and et al.}, year={2019}, month={Jan}, pages={1792–1801} } @article{cammack_cohen_kreitlow_roe_watson_2016, title={Decomposition of Concealed and Exposed Porcine Remains in the North Carolina Piedmont}, volume={53}, ISSN={["1938-2928"]}, DOI={10.1093/jme/tjv183}, abstractNote={We examined the decomposition and subsequent insect colonization of small pig carrion (Sus scrofa (L.)) placed in concealed and open environments during spring, summer, and fall in Raleigh, North Carolina, as a model for juvenile human remains. Remains were concealed in simulated attics in three manners, ranging from minimal to well-concealed. Concealment had a significant effect on the insect community colonizing the remains across all three seasons; the beetles Necrobia rufipes (DeGeer) (Cleridae) and Dermestes maculatus (DeGeer) (Coleoptera: Dermestidae) were the only species indicative of remains located indoors, whereas numerous fly (Diptera: Calliphoridae, Muscidae, Sepsidae, and Piophilidae) and beetle (Coleoptera: Silphidae, Staphylinidae, and Histeridae) species and an ant species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae, Prenolepis sp.) were indicative of remains located outdoors. Season also significantly affected the insect species, particularly the blow flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) colonizing remains: Lucilia illustris (Meigen) was indicative of the spring, Cochliomyia macellaria (F.) and Chrysomya megacephala (F.) were indicative of the summer, and Calliphora vicina Robineau-Desvoidy and Calliphora vomitoria (L.) were indicative of the fall. In addition, across all seasons, colonization was delayed by 35–768 h, depending on the degree of concealment. These differences among the insect communities across seasons and concealment treatments, and the effects of concealment on colonization indicate that such information is important and should to be considered when analyzing entomological evidence for criminal investigations.}, number={1}, journal={JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY}, author={Cammack, J. A. and Cohen, A. C. and Kreitlow, K. L. and Roe, R. M. and Watson, D. W.}, year={2016}, month={Jan}, pages={67–75} } @book{cohen_2015, title={Insect diets: Science and technology}, ISBN={9781466591943}, publisher={Boca Raton: CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group}, author={Cohen, A. C.}, year={2015} } @article{oten_cohen_hain_2014, title={Stylet Bundle Morphology and Trophically Related Enzymes of the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (Hemiptera: Adelgidae)}, volume={107}, ISSN={["1938-2901"]}, DOI={10.1603/an13168}, abstractNote={Abstract The hemlock woolly adelgid, Adelges tsugae Annand (Hemiptera: Adelgidae), is a pest of eastern and Carolina hemlocks (Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carrière and Tsuga caroliniana Engelmann, respectively) in the eastern United States and has already caused catastrophic changes to eastern forests. As one of the significant exotic forest pests, it is imperative that the basic biology of hemlock woolly adelgid be understood for use in novel and improved management techniques. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy and enzyme assays were used to elucidate the feeding biology of hemlock woolly adelgid and are discussed in the context of the pest—plant interactions and the implications for host plant resistance. Morphological characters indicate that hemlock woolly adelgids may use labial sensilla and neural canals within the mandibular stylets to guide their stylets through close-range host acceptance processes. Stylet bundle insertion is likely assisted by external sheath material that secures the stylet bundle to the plant surface and mandibular dentitions that may assist entry into or within plant tissues. In addition, results support the theory that extra-oral digestion is likely used by hemlock woolly adelgid, suggested by both a narrow food canal and the presence of four trophically related enzymes (a trypsin-like enzyme, an amylase-like enzyme, peroxidase, and polyphenol oxidase). The presence of these enzymes also has implications for causing a systemic response in host trees.}, number={3}, journal={ANNALS OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA}, author={Oten, Kelly L. F. and Cohen, Allen C. and Hain, Fred P.}, year={2014}, month={May}, pages={680–690} }