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FEBRUARY 2015 ISSUE Website: http://www.faopma.com

President: Myeon-Ha Park - (kpca2000@hanmail.net)

Administrator: Catherine Yan - (info@faopma.com)

Editor: Doug Howick - (doug@tpaa.com.au)

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PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

Dear FAOPMA Members:

The 2015 year has just begun and I trust that you all enjoyed a wonderful holiday season!

In my greeting message for

the first issue of last year, I

mentioned that 2014 was the

Year of the Horse according

to the Chinese Zodiac. Now,

2015 is the Year of the Sheep,

representing peace, tranquility,

freshness and eternity and

bringing good luck. Therefore, I wish everyone a successful and wealthy 2015 year through your own lucky blue sheep! FAOPMA is planning to conduct many extra activities this year, and an important one will be attracting new country members. It was agreed at the AGM in Hong Kong that having many more new country members join FAOPMA would make our federation better and more developed. Furthermore, it was resolved that FAOPMA should include the Middle East region in our regular membership. We also considered whether our membership could reach out to Africa in the near future. These efforts will be led by our newly appointed Membership Committee, but we all need to play our own part.

I believe that our Member Associations in each country will have a very busy start to the new year. Certainly, those of us in KPCA are already planning our regular education programs and small and big events for 2015. Do you have any good news or plans in your organization to share with us? Please send us details of your news or events any time, so that we can share your information through the FAOPMA homepage, the PPM newsletter or by email notices from our Secretariat. Finally, the 26th FAOPMA Convention this year will be hosted in September Penang, Malaysia (See pages 7 & 8 … Ed.). As you know, PCAM members and Organising Committee Chairman/FAOPMA Vice President Raymond Lee, have been proactively promoting this event for years, and hopefully, you will already have great interest in beautiful Penang and the various informative sessions he has planned. So, please refer to PCAM’s event brochure, plan your schedule NOW and encourage many members to come with you. www.FAOPMA2015.com

I hope you give your warm support to the hosting country. Thank you very much

Myeon-Ha Park,

President of FAOPMA & of KPCA

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PPM News

NTACT

2

Scientists Find a Solution to the Bed

Bug Epidemic

Regine Gries. Photo courtesy of Simon Fraser University

The world owes a debt of gratitude to Simon Fraser

University biologist Regine Gries. Her arms have

provided a blood meal for more than a thousand bed

bugs each week for five years while she and her husband,

biology professor Gerhard Gries, searched for a way to

conquer the global bed bug epidemic. Working with

SFU chemist Robert Britton and a team of students,

they have finally found the solution -- a set of chemical

attractants, or pheromones, that lure the bed bugs into

traps and keep them there.

After a series of successful trials in bed bug-infested

apartments in the metro Vancouver area, they have

published their research, “Bedbug aggregation

pheromone finally identified”, in Angewandte Chemie,

a leading general chemistry journal.

They're working with Victoria-based Contech

Enterprises Inc. to develop the first effective and

affordable bait and trap for detecting and monitoring

bed bug infestations. They expect it to be

commercially available next year.

"The biggest challenge in dealing with bed bugs is to

detect the infestation at an early stage," says Gerhard,

who holds an NSERC-Industrial Research Chair in

Multimodal Animal Communication Ecology.

"This trap will help landlords, tenants and pest control

professionals determine whether premises have a bed

bug problem, so that they can treat it quickly. It will also

be useful for monitoring the treatment's effectiveness."

It's a solution the world has been waiting for.

Over the last two decades the common bed bug (Cimex

lectularius), once thought eradicated in industrialized

countries, has reappeared as a global scourge. These

nasty insects are infesting not just low-income housing

but also expensive hotels and apartments, and public

venues such as stores, movie theatres, libraries and even

public transit.

Yet until now, tools for detecting and monitoring these

pests have been expensive and technically challenging to

use.

The research was funded with a Natural Sciences and

Engineering Research Council of Canada industry grant

in partnership with Contech Enterprises Inc

The Gries' began their research eight years ago when

Gerhard, who is internationally renowned for his

pioneering work in chemical and bioacoustic

communication between insects, began searching for

pheromones that could lure and trap bedbugs.

Regine worked with him, running all of the lab and field

experiments and, just as importantly, enduring 180,000

bedbug bites in order to feed the large bedbug colony

required for their research. She became the unintentional

"host" because, unlike Gerhard, she is immune to the

bites, suffering only a slight rash instead of the ferocious

itching and swelling most people suffer.

The Gries' and their students initially found a pheromone

blend that attracted bedbugs in lab experiments, but not

in bedbug-infested apartments. "We realized that a

highly unusual component must be missing--one that we

couldn't find using our regular gas chromatographic and

mass spectrometric tools," says Gerhard.

That's when they teamed up with Britton, an expert in

isolating and solving the structure of natural products,

and then synthesizing them in the lab. He used SFU's

state-of-the-art NMR spectrometers to study the

infinitesimal amounts of chemicals Regine had isolated

from shed bedbug skin, looking for the chemical clues as

to why the bedbugs find the presence of skin so

appealing in a shelter.

It was like looking for a needle in a haystack. After

two years of frustrating false leads, Britton, his students

and the Gries duo finally discovered that histamine, a

molecule with unusual properties that eluded

identification through traditional methods, signals "safe

shelter" to bedbugs. Importantly, once in contact with the

histamine, the bedbugs stay put whether or not they have

recently fed on a human host.

Yet, to everyone's disbelief, neither histamine alone nor

in combination with the previously identified pheromone

components effectively attracted and trapped bedbugs in

infested apartments. So Regine began analyzing airborne

volatile compounds from bedbug faeces as an alternate

source of the missing components.

Five months and 35 experiments later, she had found

three new volatiles that had never before been reported

for bedbugs. These three components, together with two

components from their earlier research and, of course,

histamine, became the highly effective lure they were

seeking.

Their research isn't over yet, however. They continue to

work with Contech Enterprises to finalize

development of the commercial lure.

3

SFU Bedbug Research Garners

Worldwide Media Interest

January 19, 2015 By Diane Luckow

Simon Fraser University’s breaking story on Dec. 22,

2014 about SFU researchers who have discovered a

set of chemical attractants for luring and trapping

bedbugs, has reverberated around the world.

Print and online publications far and wide have picked

up the story, including most major Canadian

newspapers, Maclean’s magazine, India’s Business

Standard andDaily Star newspapers, the Wall St.

Journal, the Washington Post, the New York Daily

News, The Times of London, The Malaysian Star, and

many more—filling dozens of Google search pages to

date. The story has also attracted more than 9,000

pageviews on SFU News online since it was published on

Dec. 22.

The story also aired on Global TV’s news hour, CBC’s

“The National” and on “The Doctors TV” in the U.S.

Discovery Channel will film the researchers this week,

and WCBS-TV out of New York plans to air a story as

well, using clips from the SFU-produced video, above.

SFU biologists Gerhard and Regine Gries and chemist

Robert Britton, along with students Michael Holmes,

Jason Draper, and Huimin Zhai, published their research

on Dec. 22 in Angewandte Chemie, a leading general

chemistry journal in Germany. In less than two weeks, it

scored the highest altmetrics score (a measure of media

attention) of the 10,000-plus papers tracked in this

journal.

Britton says the media maelstrom “has been fun, and

absolutely draining because it has been non-stop.”

The researchers have not only been contacted by

media, but also by apartment and hotel owners eager

for more information, and major players in the

bedbug pest-control industry.

MIKE HRABAR/SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

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See Pages 7 & 8

See Pages 7 & 8

See Pages 7 & 8

See Pages 7 & 8

* * * * * * * * *

Bora-Care Now Comes with 30-Year

Limited Warranty for PCOs

January 19, 2015

ROCKFORD, Tenn. — Nisus Corporation announced

that it is offering the Bora-Care 30-Year Limited

Warranty to pest control companies who register

treated homes and inspect them annually.

This damage repair warranty gives builders peace of

mind knowing their homes can be protected from

termites for the length of a standard 30-year mortgage,

Nisus reports. The Bora-Care 30-Year Limited Warranty

protects a home from subterranean termites. A whole

house treatment can also be done to protect the structure

from drywood and Formosan termites, which can enter

homes through windows and attics.

“Bora-Care’s performance as a standalone new

construction treatment is unmatched in the industry,”

says Kevin L. Kirkland, president and CEO of Nisus

Corporation. “The warranty clearly demonstrates

our confidence in this product.”

Bora-Care, which is applied to the wood during the

dried-in phase of construction, has been applied to more

than 1.5 million homes. It can earn green points for

builders.

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4

Tribal Farmers Use Ants and

Termites for Help in Cultivation

By Amarjyoti Bora - January 20, 2015

Mulai Payeng, a 57 year old tribal farmer from the

Kathino bari village in the Jorhat district in upper Assam

(India) expresses surprise when asked if the lack of

irrigation facilities or the changes in the rainfall pattern is

affecting his cultivation. Payeng belongs to the Mishing

community.

According to state government data, presently over fifty

percent of the irrigation projects are non functional in the

state, and besides this environmentalists have pointed out

that as a result of climate change and rampant destruction

to the environment, there has been a change in the

rainfall pattern which is affecting farmers in the state.

“Since a major portion of the state’s cultivable area is

not covered under irrigation, farmers depend on the rain

for their cultivation,” said Nilomoni Sen Deka, the

state’s irrigation and agriculture minister.

This is however not a matter of worry for Payeng, who

owes 3 hectares of cultivable land, and other tribal

farmers in his village. According to Payeng, he and his

farmer friends from his village have never benefitted

from the government’s irrigation schemes, and also said

that though there has been a change in the rainfall

pattern, their cultivation has never been affected.

On being asked the reason behind this, he said that he

and others in his village has been using traditional

knowledge which they have inherited from their

forefathers, who were also farmers. The traditional

method which they use, is using ants and termites in

their cultivable land, and Payeng said that it is a big

help for the farmers.

“We release termites, ants, earthworms and insects to

work the soil to a fertile condition every year, and it

helps the farmers to a big extent,” said Payeng. On

being asked how it helps, Payeng said that, termites

and ants are very good at improving the soil fertility.

“They burrow into the hard rocky surface making the

soil porous and easy to plough," he said.

Payeng said that being stationed at a remote location,

they could never benefit from government schemes

include irrigation, but use of this traditional knowledge

helped them to make the soil loose and porous.

“We have always been dependent on rain, and will also

be dependent in the future, but this traditional knowledge

helps us to make the soil soft and porous without the help

of the rain, and so it is a big help when there is a delay in

rain,” said Payeng.

Other tribal farmers from the village also presents

similar stories, and said that they have never faced much

problem as a result of the change in rainfall pattern, or

the absence of government schemes for irrigation.

“We have been using this method for ages, and this has

always helped us in our farming,” said Bikiron Pegu, a

44 year old farmer from the village who owes 3 hectares

of land.

On being asked if they face any problem while using this

method, Payeng said that ants, termites and earthworms

are in abundance everywhere and so they never faced

any problem in implementing this method. “All we have

to do is carry the ants, termites and worm in a bag, and

release those in our field,” said Payeng.

The farmers also said that they have never faced any

problem related to the production from the field. “Our

production from the field after using this method is

similar to yield from the agriculture field in other parts of

the state. So this clearly shows that this traditional

method is farmer friendly,” said Pegu.

Agriculture experts pointed out that this method will be

beneficial for farmers.

Ritu Thakur, of the North Eastern Regional Institute of

Water and Land Management (NERIWALM), agreed

with Payeng. "Ants makes the soil arable and

improve the quality physically, while termites

improve the soil condition chemically by secreting

certain enzymes," Thakur said.

Thakur also added that there is a need for an indepth

study on the issue, and also for proper documentation of

these traditional wisdom. “Tribal people are known to

live in harmony with the nature and have been doing so

since hundreds of years, so there could be much more

such important traditional wisdom. We need to document

those,” said Thakur.

* * * * * * * * *

Copyright Notice !!

Items provided in "PPM News" are drawn from a

number of sources. The source of the item is quoted,

either by publication or organizations, in line with the

practice of fair reporting.

It is also relevant to note that neither the content of

articles nor comments of the Editor are necessarily

endorsed by FAOPMA or its office bearers.

* * * * * * * * *

5

Why Some Ants Have Bigger Brains

By Virginia Morell - 6 January 2015

ALEX WILD/VISUALS UNLIMITED/CORBIS

Animals that live in larger societies tend to have

larger brains. But why?

Is it because a larger group size requires members to

divide up the labour on tasks, thus causing some

individuals to develop specialized brains and neural

anatomy? (Compared with most humans, for instance,

taxicab drivers have brains that have larger areas

that are involved with spatial memory.)

Or is it because the challenges of group living—needing

to know all the foibles of your neighbours—cause the

brains of all members to grow larger?

Scientists tested the two hypotheses with wild colonies

of acacia ants (Pseudomyrmex spinicola), which make

their nests in the hollow spines of acacia trees in Panama.

Ant workers at the base of the tree wait to attack

intruders, while workers foraging on the leaves (as in the

photo above), aren’t as aggressive but are faster at

managing the colony’s brood. This division of labour is

most marked in larger colonies (those found on larger

trees), while workers in smaller colonies do both jobs.

The scientists studied 17 colonies of ants and measured

the brain volumes of 29 of the leaf ants and 34 of the

trunk ants. As the colony size increased, the leaf ants

showed a marked increase in the regions of the brain

concerned with learning and memory, the scientists

report today in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

But the same neural areas decreased in the trunk ants.

Thus, larger societies’ need for specialized workers,

some strictly for defence, others for foraging and

brood tending—rather than for social masters—

seems to be the key to the expanding brain, at least in

ants.

Court Orders $56,000 in Damages

After Termite Barrier Fails

Chris Calcino | 30th Dec 2014

TWO people whose home near Evans Head (NSW,

Australia) became infested with termites despite

installing a barrier system have been awarded more than

$56,000 in damages.

Michael and Judith Robson started building their Beach

Rd property at Doonbah in 2000 and included a steel

Termite Tite steel barrier system when pouring its

concrete slab. Six years later, the system had failed and

termites had breached the home.

Several treatments by Yamba-based business The White

Ant Company failed to stop further infestation because

of incorrect installation. Attempts to remedy the

problem continued through to 2010, when legal

proceedings began.

The White Ant Company did not design, manufacture,

supply or install the Termite Tite barrier. However, it

assumed responsibility for it on the Robsons' contract.

District Court Judge Garry Neilson ordered the company

to pay the Robsons $56,492 in damages.

* * * * * * * * *

Scotts Completes Acquisition of

Action Pest Control

MARYSVILLE, Ohio - January 15, 2015

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company announced that its

Scotts LawnService business has acquired the assets

of Action Pest Control, Inc., one of the largest

residential pest control providers in the Midwestern U.S.

"We are excited to complete the acquisition of Action

Pest and see it as an important step forward in executing

our long-term growth strategy," said Jim Gimeson,

president of Scotts LawnService. "We welcome the

Action Pest team into the Scotts family."

Scotts LawnService, with anticipated sales of

approximately $260 million in fiscal 2014, is currently

the No. 2 player in lawn service.

Given the fragmented nature of the $7 billion home pest

control category, the company believes it can

complement organic growth in lawn service by

consistently expanding its pest control platform.

* * * * * * * * *

6

Rats Taking Over as Melbourne

Council Admits Baiting Failure

Author: Chloe Ross, Approving editor: Simon Black

Scores of rats, some as long as 30cm, are invading

Australia's capital cities, as the City of Melbourne

council admits its baiting program is failing to quell the

growing rodent population.

Exopest control company founder Simon Dixon told the

Herald Sun an "unprecedented" number of rats appear in

the Melbourne's parks at night looking for food.

"We've definitely had a much higher call rate for

rodents all around the inner city for this time of the

year," he said, adding he often fielded calls from hotels,

restaurants and bars in the CBD.

Flagstaff Gardens, a popular rest spot because of its

proximity to railway tunnels and stormwater pipes, has

been all but overrun by the vermin.

Rats have reportedly invaded parts of Melbourne CBD.(AAP)

The rats are often seen lurking on the lawns and stealing

food scraps from the clutches of possums, ignoring the

poison bait.

West Melbourne resident Paul Rutherford regularly visits

the gardens at night and said he was shocked by the sheer

number and size of the rodents. "They're big and I've

never noticed so many before in the 10 years I've lived

here. There are just heaps of them," he said.

The Herald Sun also quotes unnamed food staff at the

Queen Victoria Market who claim to have set up more

than 100 baiting stations to target a noticed increase in

rat activity.

Hotel staff living and working nearby declined to

comment for fear of harming business, it reports.

But the problem is not isolated to just Melbourne,

with Sydney and Brisbane also struggling to contain the

pests, according to a Sydney pest control company.

For now, the City of Melbourne has asked visitors not to

feed possums, which attract rats, but others say poor

housekeeping by the council is to blame.

Hermit Cockroaches: Two New Taxa

From China Prefer Woods

By News Staff -| December 21st 2014

Cockroaches are most often thought of as infecting

human homes but a new species and a new subspecies

discovered in China prefer to live a hermit life, drilling

logs far away from crowds and houses.

It's more common than we think. Out of around 4,600

species of cockroaches worldwide, only 30 are the

cockroaches associated with human habitats that gives

the bad fame of these creatures. The representatives of

the genus Panesthia, to which the new species and

subspecies belong, for example are distinctive for

drilling logs and xylophagy (feeding on wood), rather

than living in houses and eating rubbish.

The new species, P. guizhouensis, was firstly collected

from a rotten wood log near a large pool where it was

living undisturbed, far away from cities in Guizhou

Province. A colony of more than 60 nymphs and 52

adults, emerged from the log when the wood was split,

quickly fleeing away.

Up to now, 55 species and 9 subspecies have been

reported in this genus but because of their secluded

lifestyle, these cockroaches are still mysterious to

scientists, and their study had been nearly stagnated since

1999.

"With this new discovery, we hope to reignite the

scientific interest towards this peculiar and rather

intriguing cockroach genus." comments Dr Yanli Che,

Southwest University, China.

Panesthia angustipennis cognata Bey-Bienko, 1969.

Credit: Yanli Che

Published in ZooKeys. Source: Pensoft Publishers

7

Theme: Managing Invasive Pests for a Sustainable Tomorrow

26th FAOPMA Convention 2015 – Conference and Exhibitions

Date of Conference: 2 (Wed) – 3 (Thu), September 2015

4 (Friday), September 2015 – City Tour of World

Heritage Site

Venue: Hotel Equatorial Penang, No: 1, Jalan Bukit

Jambul, Bayan Lepas, 11900 Penang, Malaysia

(http://www.equatorial.com/pen/)

Program: Seminar and Conference Sessions, Banquet

Dinner, Exhibitions and Business Meetings, Social

events – Tours and Shopping

Website: www.FAOPMA2015.com

FAOPMA 2015 Convention – an avenue where you can learn the latest research findings, technology and experience

relevant to the pest management industry and indulge the up-to-date information that you need to know from the experts while experiencing Penang Island, Malaysia. Keynote Speaker

Prof. Michael K. Rust Distinguished Professor of

Entomology and the Graduate

Division, University of California,

Riverside, USA

Professor Rust obtained his BA in zoology in 1970. He received his MA and Ph.D. Degrees in Entomology from the

University of Kansas in 1973 and 1975. His Ph.D. research focused on the sex pheromones of the American cockroach.

Professor Rust’s 37-year career as an urban entomologist began at the University of California, Riverside in 1975. He has

served as the Chair of the Department, Co-Director of the University of California Integrated Pest Management Program,

and Director of Center for Invasive Species Research. He has authored or co-authored over 165 scientific peer-reviewed

and 140 technical papers dealing with urban pest management. In addition, he has presented hundreds of invited papers

and seminars to scientific and industry audiences.

Speakers – Business Session

Mr. Rob Fryatt

Xenex Associates, (UK)

Mr. Su-Chart LEE

King Service Center (Thailand)

Mr. Deryck Tremble

AIB International-UK, Ltd

“Global pest management service and

quality standards in managing invasive

species”

"Blue spot strategy amid the red ocean of

termite control market."

“The importance of food auditing in the

prevention of invasive pests”

8

Speakers – Technical Session

Prof. Brian T Forschler

University of Georgia, USA

Prof. Wang Jianguo

Jiangxi Agricultural University, China

Prof. Tsuyoshi Yoshimura

Kyoto University, Japan

“Invasive Termites - a Global

Challenge meets 21st Century

Management Strategies.”

“Managing invasion of invasive

insects in China“.

“Incisitermes minor - an invasive

dry wood termites “.

Prof. Lee Chow Yang

Universiti Sains Malaysia

Dini Miller

Virginia Tech University, USA

Prof. Theeraphap Chareonviriyaphap

Kasetsart University, Thailand

“Managing pest cockroaches in

Southeast Asia”

“New global innovations in bed bug

management strategies“.

“Managing the Invasive Dengue

Vectors in Thailand “

Dr. Li Houfeng

National Chung Hsing University,

Taiwan

Dr. Partho Dhang

(Philippines)

Mr. Savvas Othon Service Innovation Director,

Rentokil Initial (UK)

“Coptotermes gestroi - an invasive

species of subterranean termite”

" Role of innovation in sustainable

Pest Management"

“Stored Pest Products (SPI) “

Dr. Nazni Wasi Ahmad

(Malaysia)

Dr. Wan Fatma Zuharah

(Malaysia)

Mr. Espen Roligheten

(Anti Cimex, Norway)

“New Global Initiatives in Managing

Dengue Vectors“

“Managing invasive Rove Beetle in

Urban Environment“

“Bed bug management strategies

in Europe“

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