The presence of red imported fire ants, Solenopsis invicta, and tropical fire ants, S. geminata in shipping containers entering Japanese ports has been widely reported since June 2017. The development of measures to prevent these invasive ants from becoming established is an emergent objective in Japan. It is challenging to entirely quarantine the high amount of cargo imported to Japan daily. Therefore, we propose a “One-Push Eradication System.” In this system, a small amount of a highly effective insecticide should be sprayed into all containers unloaded into ports to eradicate all pests, including the invasive ants. We tested the effectiveness of some insecticides on the Argentine ant, Linepithema humile, an invasive alien species already established in Japan. We sprayed an aerosol-type insecticide into a container in which Argentine ant workers had settled and then observed their mortality rates. Only 1 mL of an aerosol containing two synthetic pyrethroids, 20 mg transfluthrin and 3 mg prallethrin, eradicated almost 100％ of the Argentine ants in the container within 24 h of spraying. Although it is necessary to examine the differences in susceptibility to the insecticide among Argentine ants, tropical fire ants, and red imported fire ants, the results suggest that the “One-Push Eradication System” is effective for the emergent control of fire ants.

We investigated larval development of the Indian meal moth, Plodia interpunctella (Hübner) on dried radish, a Japanese preserved food. Radishes were cut before drying into three standard shapes: round slices, long thin strips, and lengthwise in quarters. First instar larvae (n＝3) were placed on 5 g of each dried radish preparation and maintained at 25°C, 60％ relative humidity (RH), and 16L 8D. We recorded their development period, emergence rate, and adult weight. The mean development period±SE was 34.8±0.3 days on round slices, 37.0±0.4 days on strips, and 40.9±0.4 days on quarters (n＝30). The adult emergence rate was 86.6％ on round slices, 96.6％ on strips, and 83.3％ on quarters (n＝30). The mean adult weight on round slices was 5.6±0.1 mg (♂) and 9.2±0.2 mg (♀); on strips, it was 5.5±0.4 mg (♂) and 8.3±0.1 mg (♀), and on quarters, it was 6.1±0.1 mg (♂) and 9.3±0.4 mg (♀) (n＝30).

We then performed a two-choice test for female oviposition preference using two foodstuffs: brown rice and dried radish. Two plastic containers, one containing 5 g brown rice and the other containing 5 g dried radish, were placed in a plastic box measuring 22.6×22.6 cm in width and 18.7 cm in height. One male and one female were placed in each plastic box for 3–5 days for mating and oviposition. The two plastic containers were then removed and maintained at 28°C, 60％ RH, and 16L 8D. After 14–18 days, the larvae on the two foodstuffs were counted. The mean number of larvae was 10.8±2.5 on brown rice and 130.0±14.2 on dried radish (n＝8), indicating that females preferred to lay their eggs on radish. Dried strips of radish are thus a highly suitable food material for P. interpunctella larvae, and steps must be taken to protect this foodstuff from infestation.

The capture performance of sticky sheet traps with phosphorescence against the adult moth fly Clogmia albipunctatus was evaluated using indoor model and field tests in outdoor underground pits. When traps with different sticky sheet areas and formats were compared, the capture rates of the sticky sheet trap with phosphorescence were found to be higher than those of the traps without phosphorescence.

Many residents (more than 55 out of 570 houses in the community) of Makinohara town, Matsudo city in Chiba Prefecture use community kitchen gardens. Most of them leave water containers in the gardens for watering vegetables; however, the containers serve as breeding sites for Aedes albopictus. The containers examined ranged from plastic bottles to washbasins, buckets, watering cans, pickle tubs, and bathtubs. Larvae were collected from more than 90％ of the containers that kept them from late June through early September, and many adult mosquitoes were captured from gardens that had shade trees. Conversely, it was observed that there were fewer mosquitoes in farming sites of professional farmers, which lacked shade trees, as the farmers use water tanks that they bring in pickup cars.

Inhabitation of Margattea satsumana was confirmed in Urayasu City, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, on 19 December, 2005. This is the first record of colonization of M. satsumana on the main island of Japan.

Sigmella schenklingi was collected from Wakayama Prefecture on July 29, 2017. This is the first record of S. schenklingi on the main island.