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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Gainesville, Florida » Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology » Insect Behavior and Biocontrol Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #306049
Title: Visual responses of corn silk flies (Diptera: Ulidiidae)

Author
item Allan, Sandra - Sandy

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/19/2014
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Corn silk flies are major pests impacting fresh market sweet corn production in Florida and Georgia. Control depends solely on well-times applications of insecticides to protect corn ear development. Surveillance depends on visual inspection of ears with no effective trapping methods currently available. The physiological basis of color vision was examined through development of spectral sensitivity curves which provide insight in presence and relative contribution of different visual pigments. Primary peaks of sensitivity are present in the ultraviolet and green regions of the visual spectrum and these results are discussed in the context of development of visual traps for these species.