Before And After Photos

Oberea – spurge root boring beetle adults: late May – July

rapidly disperse by flying

lay eggs on large spurge stems

larvae bore down stem to root

over winter in root as larvae

pupate early spring

nice combo w/ flea beetles

sweep net

hand pick from net.

Oberea Collections

Make sure you have the proper release sites selected BEFORE you collect!

Mecinus janthinus – toadflax stem boring weevil-Too new, not available from us yet

-ask County and/or purchase.

Mecinus janthinus over winter as adults in stem

emerge May

lay eggs on stems

larvae bore stems

pupate in stem

strong flyer, disperses well

collect in spring by shaking weevils off stems into buckets

Release Site Location Use newspaper articles,phone calls and word of mouth to find suitable sites

Have list of potential release sites and landowners

Weed present

Must fit the insects ecological needs

Must fit land owners needs

Fit w/in spacing of your plan

Guaranteed undisturbed for 5, preferably 10 years

Contiguous to other weed patches so bioagent can spread

Easy to access for monitoring and future collections

Will not flood.

Store and Transport Store insects in refrigerator or cooler with ice pack. KEEP FROM FREEZING! Transport in cooler with ice pack separated from insect container by paper/packing material Moths: last 1-3 days Beetles tougher!: last 3-7 days.

Release & Redistribute

-collect some in your net, drive a ways and flip the net out the window.

-dump the insects out of the container and onto the weeds.

Release Site Clip board, forms, GPS unit, camera, flags or stakes

Be with land owner if possible!

Find best spot for insects & land owner…Think a decade out

Take the time to completely fill out form - on site!

Make concise map from known point of origin

GPS and photograph

Keep “T” and “E” data in several spots

Release insects, don’t drive/walk over them

Wish them luck!!! :^)

Release Site Views (8)

Monitoringo Monitor yearly if possible

o Monitor when bioagent is out as adult (or can find in stem/root)

o Find site and sweep net through the area

o Take follow up photos if change in weed density

o Be prepared for bursts of usable insects!

What Monitoring Has Found Aphthona (leafy spurge flea beetle) sites. Oberea (leafy spruge stem/root boring beetle). Larinus minutus (spotted knapweed seed head

weevil).

Contact Land Owners: Each year call every land owner and ask them what

they want us to do: nothing, monitor, redistribute, augment and/or public collection day

Great way to educate about IPM! Land Owners come to expect this service Good PR for County, School and all weed fighters Find useful bursts of insects!

Larinus minutus Found well established 2001 – knapweed seed heads

Not sure how it got there…

Collected 7,640 in summer ’02

Up to 31K in ’04, now do less because well established…

Other Knapweed Bio-Agents• Bangasternus fausti

• Chaetorellia acrolophi

• Larinus obtusis

• Metzneria paucipunctella-------------------------------

• Pelochrista medullana (no photo)

• Pterolonche inspersa-----

• Sphenoptera jugoslavica

• Terellia virens

• Urophora affinis

• Urophora quadrifasciata

Oberea erythrocephala Released 9 pair in cage early 1990’s – spurge root borer

2000 = 250, 2001 = 500, including public net day

2002 = 1,567, + another public net day, ’03 = 3,000, ’04 = 2,700, ‘05 = 2,500, ’06 = 492. ’07 = 1,312

Established all over our area. We collect for requests.

Mapping Number & label sites

GPS coordinate units: long-lat. or UTM’s

Crew can practice doing geocaching

Mapping program: ArcMap, All Topo, etc.

Mesh with county, local agencies and State

One of these may do mapping for you! (student class?)

One person in charge

Keep T/E data in several spots

Make usable to YOU, then others!!

Landowner data is PRIVATE! [bug rustlers…]

Mapping

Mapping

GPS Map & Monitor all Release Sites

Keep T-data and E-data, in 3 places!

Use All Topo Maps and ArcView

Helps plan and prioritize releases

Helps us find useful bursts of insects for collection and net days

Students can use in classes

looks cool!

Bio-Agent Collection (Net) Days Land owners have “ownership”

Great education opportunity

PR Value!

Tours, Workshops, Summer Class

Weekly Summer Newspaper Articles – Use mtwow.org web site

Build Cooperative Relationships.

How to write yourself and your students a great summer job!

Keep It Simple! NWTF, NRCS, Conservation Districts

Cooperate with County Weed District & School

Contact BLM, FS, State, Extension Service, Conservation District, Water Shed Council, local industry, local landowners, 4-H/FFA, and your students.

Conclusion: Bio-agent Collection Insect Storage/Transport Release Site Location Release/Augmentation Monitoring/Mapping Landowner Relations Public Collection Days

Vision: Similar programs in every county involving every

school! We will be glad to help!

How-to info. on mtwow.org web site

Email: tbreit@whitehallmt.org, ph: 498-5236

Summer class and tours any time!

Photos credited on the mtwow.org web site. Many by:

Bob Richard, Rich Hansen – USDA-APHIS-PPQ

Whitehall High School Students

Todd Breitenfeldt &

Many others!!! Thanks :^)