Volume XXIX, Number 9/10, September/October 2007 … Practitioner, XXIX(9/10) September/October 2007...

By William Quarles

As most people know by now,our planet is getting warmer.Global measurements show

that 11 of the last 12 years are thewarmest observed since 1850.Average global surface tempera-tures have increased by about0.7°C (1.3°F) over the last 100years. Larger than average increas-es of 2-5°C (3.6-9°F) have been seencloser to the poles. Warming hascaused melting of polar ice and theincrease of ocean water levels. Ithas produced shorter and warmerwinters, with earlier arrival ofspring temperatures and later onsetof winter conditions (Salinger et al.2005; Houghton et al. 2001; Collinset al. 2007).

The warming is mostly due toincreased concentrations of green-house gases, which include carbondioxide (CO2), methane (CH4),nitrous oxide (N2O) and chlorofluo-rocarbons (CFCs). Most of theincrease is due to human activities,especially the burning of fossilfuels. Over the past 200 years, theatmospheric concentration of car-bon dioxide has increased 35%.Climatic models based on green-house gases are predicting an aver-age increase of 1.8°C to 4°C (3.2°F-7.2°F) over the period from 2007 to2100 (Karl and Trenbeth 2003;Johansen 2002; Collins et al.2007).

Some effects of global warming oninsect populations have alreadybeen measured. According to onesurvey of about 1600 species, about940 of them are showing the effectsof climate change. Range bound-aries are moving northward by anaverage 6.1 km/decade (3.7 mi) orabout 6.1 m (20 ft) upward perdecade. Spring events are takingplace earlier. For instance, in

Europe, 35 species of butterflieshave already shifted their ranges35-240 km (21-144 mi) northward(Parmesan et al. 1999). InCalifornia, 70% of 23 butterflyspecies now start their first flightabout 24 days earlier than they did31 years ago (Parmesan and Yohe2003; Parmesan 2007).

Spring events such as budbreakon trees and breeding of toads andbirds are happening about 5 daysearlier with each decade (Root et al.2003). In Europe deciduous treesnow unfold 16 days earlier anddefoliate 13 days later than they did50 years ago. In Alberta, quakingaspen, Populus tremuloides is nowblooming 26 days earlier comparedto 100 years ago (Penuelas andFilella 2001).

The amount of future disturbancewill depend on the actual tempera-

In This Issue

Global Warming 1ESA 9Calendar 16

Volume XXIX, Number 9/10, September/October 2007

Global warming will encourage many warm weather pests. The range ofthe red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, shown here, is expected toexpand to Illinois and New Jersey.

Global Warming Means More Pests

Photo cou

rtesy of Dr. S

.B. V

inson

ture increase over the next 100years. According to one study of1100 species, climate changes dueto global warming may cause 15-37% of those species to go extinctby 2050 (Thomas et al. 2004;Hance et al. 2007).

Warming Means MorePests

Global warming will probably leadto increased numbers of structural,agricultural, and forest insect pests.Public health pests and insect vec-tored diseases are likely to increase.

2 Box 7414, Berkeley, CA 94707IPM Practitioner, XXIX(9/10) September/October 2007

UpdatePart of the effect will be directly dueto increased temperatures. Butglobal warming is also expected todrive more extreme weather condi-tions: more and longer droughts,larger and more frequent storms,increased rainfall. All of this willhave an effect on plant growth andwill encourage insects (Easterling etal. 2000; Karl et al. 1995; Stiremanet al. 2005).

Milder and shorter winters meanthat warm weather pests will startbreeding sooner (Bale et al. 2002).Those of medical importance, suchas mosquitoes should have more ofan impact (Hopp and Foley 2001;Epstein 2001). Other changesinclude expanded pest ranges, dis-ruption of synchrony between pestsand natural enemies (see below),and increased frequency of pestoutbreaks and upheavals(Parmesan 2007; van Asch andVisser 2007).

Increased Structural PestsA number of the structural insect

pests in the U.S., such as the redimported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta;and the Argentine ant, Lithepithemahumile; are exotic invaders thatoriginated in tropical or subtropicalclimates. Though other factors are

involved, such as food supply andmoisture, we can expect tempera-ture increases in the U.S. to favorthese warm weather pests. As wesee in Table 1, temperature increas-es should encourage ants, termitepests, clothes moths, flies, mosqui-toes, fleas, stored product moths,woodboring beetles, and even bedbugs. For instance, a 3°C (5.4°F)increase in temperature will almostdouble the growth rate of theGerman cockroach, Blattella ger-manica (Noland et al. 1949). A 5°C(9°F) increase in temperature doesthe same for the Indianmeal moth,Plodia interpunctella (Cox and Bell1991). Drywood termites such asIncisitermes minor prefer to swarmat temperatures of about 27°C(80.6°F) (Harvey 1946). Preferredsoil temperatures of the westernsubterranean termite, Reticulitermeshesperus range from 29-32°C (84.2-89.6°F) (Smith and Rust 1994).

We can expect population increas-es of these pests in their currentranges, and we can expect theirranges to expand. Currently, sub-terranean termites such asReticulitermes spp. are found allover the U.S., but the largest popu-lations are found in the Southeastand California, where winter tem-

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Table 1. Effects of Temperature on Insect BiologyPest Scientific

NameTemperature Biology Temperature Biology Reference

Americancockroach

Periplanetaamericana >21C (69.8F) year round act ivit y 27C(80.6F) egg to adult , 24

weeksBenson and Zungoli 1997

Argent ine ant Lithepithemahumile <18C(64.4F) egg laying ceases 6C (42.8F) act ivit y ceases Newell and Barber 1913;

Ebeling 1975Bed bugs Cimex lectularius 18C (64.4F) 128 days egg to

adult30C (86F) 24 days egg t o

adultUsinger 1966

Brownbandedcockroach

Supella longipalpa 25C (77F) egg hat ch, 70days

30C (86F) egg hat ch, 40days

Willis et al. 1958

Brownbandedcockroach

Supella longipalpa 25C (77F) egg to adult , 95-176 days

30C (86F) egg to adult , 69-114 days

Willis et al. 1958

Cat f lea Ctenocephalidesfelis 13C (55.4F) egg hat ch, 6days 35C (95F) egg hat ch, 36

hoursSilverman et al. 1981

German cockroach Blattella germanica 27C (80.6F) egg to adult , 50-60 days

30C (86F) egg to adult , 36days

Noland et al. 1949

House f ly Musca domestica <15C (59F) no egg laying 11C (51.8F) no development Legner and McCoy 1966House f ly Musca domestica <20C (68F) larval st age, 6-8

weeks21-32C (69.8 -89.6F)

larval st age, 3-7days

Ehmann 1997

Indian meal mot h Plodiainterpunctella 20C (68F) life cycle, 60days 25C (77F) life cycle, 30

daysCox and Bell 1991

Old house borer Hylotrups bajulus 20-31C (68-87.8F)

opt imal t emp.larvae

------- --- ---- Cannon and Robinson1985

Old house borer Hylotrups bajulus 29-35C (84.2 -95F)

opt imalt emperat uresadult s

>30C (86F) adult f light s Cymorek 1968

Red import ed f ireant

Solenopsis invicta >24C (75.2F) mat ing f light s 22-36C (71.6 -96.8F)

opt imal foraging Vinson and Sorensen1986; Zavalet a and Royval2002

Webbing clot hesmot h

Tineola bisselliella 20C (68F) larval span, 129days

29.5C (85.1F) larval span, 67day

Busvine 1980

West ern drywoodt ermit e

Incisitermes minor >27C (80.6F) peak swarming ------- ---- --- Harvey 1946

West ernsubt erraneant ermit e

Reticulitermeshesperus 29-32C (84.2 -

89.6F)preferred soilt emperat ure

------- ------- Smit h and Rust 1994

Yellow fevermosquit o

Aedes aegypti 25-29C (77-84.2F)

opt imum larvaldevelopment

26C (78.8F) opt imal adultt emperat ure

Fay 1964

peratures are warmest. Formosansubterranean termites, Coptotermesformosanus, are tropical termitesthat have so far been limited tosouthern areas by cold winter tem-peratures (Potter 1997). With globalwarming, their range is likely toexpand northward.

Drywood termites are now foundmostly on the southern edge of theU.S. and along the Pacific Coast(Potter 1997). The range will proba-bly expand when more areas areable to consistently reach the pre-ferred swarming temperature ofabout 27°C (80.6°F). Since termitesproduce considerable amounts ofthe greenhouse gas methane,expansion of their ranges and num-bers will add to the global warmingproblem (Thakur et al. 2003).

Red imported fire ants havealready spread beyond theSoutheast and are now found inSouthern California. Due to globalwarming, the range in the U.S. isexpected to increase by 5-21% overthe next century (Morrison et al.2005). A 1°C (1.8°F) increase willlead to large infestations inTennessee and Virginia, and a 3°C(5.4°F) increase will extend therange to southern Illinois and NewJersey (Zavaleta and Royval 2002).Increasing temperatures also dis-courage some insect pathogenssuch as Entomophthora muscae thatprovide biocontrol of house fly pop-ulations. So nuisance fly activitywill likely increase (Harvell et al.2002). Though Africanized honey-bee, Apis mellifera scutellata, is notusually a structural pest, warmingmeans that its range will alsoexpand northward (Zavaleta andRoyal 2002; Rinderer et al. 1993).

Ticks are expanding their ranges.Effects of global warming are firstseen at higher latitudes. In Sweden,the disease-carrying tick, Ixodesricinus, has increased in abundancealong its northernmost range.Numbers of ticks found on dogsand cats have increased from 22 to44% between 1980 and 1994(Parmesan 2007).

Mosquitoes are likely to becomemore troublesome over larger areas.Up to now, ranges have been some-what limited by temperatures. For

instance, Aedes aegypti, which car-ries yellow fever and dengue, iskilled at temperatures below 10°C(50°F). It prefers water tempera-tures of 25-29°C (77-84.2°F) for lar-val development, and the adultthrives best at 26°C (78.8°F). Adultdevelopment rate of the malariamosquito, Anopheles gambiae, isgreatest at 28-32°C (82.4-89.6°F).Warmer winters that increase mos-quito populations will also increasethe geographical range of mosquito-vectored diseases (Bayoh andLindsay 2003; Epstein 2001;Martens et al. 1997).

Increased HumanDiseases

Changes have already started.Pathogens for human diseases suchas malaria, African trypanosomia-sis, Lyme disease, tick-borneencephalitis, yellow fever, plague,and dengue have increased in inci-dence or geographic range in recentdecades (Harvell et al. 2002).Warmer temperatures increasemosquito reproduction and bitingactivity, and pathogens inside themosquitoes mature faster. Forinstance, transmission of malariarequires temperatures greater than16°C (60.8°F), and a 5°C (9°F)increase in temperature doubles thegrowth rate of the falciparum proto-zoa that causes malaria. Small out-breaks of malaria have occurred inTexas, Georgia, Florida, Michigan,New Jersey, New York and Torontosince 1990 (Epstein 2001; Gil1920). The first cases of denguehemorrhagic fever in the U.S. wereseen in Texas late in 2005 (Sci. New2006).

Warm winters followed by sum-mer droughts are the conditions

that favor diseases such as WestNile Fever. West Nile Fever got itsstart in the U.S. in 1999, when amild winter led to large populationsof mosquitoes early in the season. Asubsequent drought forced Culexmosquitoes that carry the pathogeninto close contact with bird popula-tions, amplifying and spreading thedisease (Epstein 2001). Shrinkingwater holes meant that birds andmosquitoes aggregated in the sameareas. Drought depressed popula-tions of predators such as dragon-flies that prey on mosquitoes inwater environments. The emergenceof hantavirus in the U.S. in 1993was also encouraged by globalwarming (Epstein 2001; Epstein2000).

Warmer and shorter winters allowmore ticks to overwinter. Tickranges are expanding northwardand upward. Increased ranges forthe ticks mean increased ranges forLyme disease and tickbornepathogens (Epstein 2001). Globalwarming will likely increase theincidence of some other diseases.For instance, the approximately 1°C(1.8°F) increase of temperature inChina has shifted the range north-ward of the snail that carries thepathogen that causes schistosomia-sis. An additional 20.7 million peo-ple are now at risk for this disease(Yang et al. 2005).

There are direct effects on humanhealth from climate change. TheWorld Health Organization has esti-mated that droughts, floods, airand water pollution, and diseaseresulting from global warming couldalready be causing 150,000 deathsper year (Patz and Olson 2006).There may be also some effects onhuman health due to increasedplant growth. Poison ivy, grows bet-ter and produces more potent toxinin elevated CO2 concentrations(Mohan 2006). Increased growth ofplants such as ragweed will likelyincrease allergies to ragweed pollen.Ragweed will grow larger and flowerearlier (Ziska 2007; Patterson1995).

Effects on CropsSome crops may grow more vigor-

ously in an enriched CO2 atmos-

3IPM Practitioner, XXIX(9/10) September/October 2007 Box 7414, Berkeley, CA 94707

Update

Range of drywood termitesin the U.S.

From

Potter 1

997


Updatephere, but there is a tradeoff. Seedproduction drops as temperaturesincrease (Prasad et al. 2005). Floodsand droughts associated withwarming will likely cancel some ofthe increased growth. Also, globalwarming will encourage pest

insects, diseases and weeds(Patterson 1995). Crop pests areshowing increased geographicalrange, increased numbers of gener-ations, and higher densities(Parmesan 2007).

Though the range of the pinkbollworm, Pectinophora gossypiella,is now restricted to frost free areasof Arizona and Southern California,an increase of 1.5-2.5°C (2.7-4.5°F)in average global temperature willextend its range into the CentralValley of California. This changecould cause considerable crop dam-age (Gutierrez et al. 2006).

Diversity of herbivorous insectsand their impacts on plants gener-ally increase with temperature (Wilfand Labandeira 1999). The pineaphid Schizolachnus pineti showsincreased feeding, fecundity, andrate of population increase at 26°C(78.8°F) versus 20°C (68°F).Optimum fecundity is at 24-26°C(75.2°F-78.8°F), 4-6°C (7.2-10.8°F)higher than current mean daytimetemperatures (Holopainen andKaninulainen 2004). Thoughincreased problems are generallyexpected, some pests may notincrease. Increased densities of theaphid, Obtusicauda coweni, onsagebrush were not seen under

field conditions in the RockyMountains (Adler et al. 2007).

As nighttime temperaturesincrease, growth rates of caterpil-lars such as imported cabbage-worm, Pieris rapae, increase(Whitney-Johnson et al. 2005).Warmer winters have already leadto increased overwintering popula-tions of some crop pests (Matsu-mara et al. 2005). These conditionswill also increase damage from pestnematodes (Griffith et al. 1997).

Some pests will be able to haveadditional generations each year,leading to increased crop damage.For instance, diamondback moth,Plutella xylostella, is expected tocomplete two additional generationseach year in Japan (Morimoto et al.1998). This insect is already able tooverwinter in cold areas such asCanadian Alberta (Dosdall 1994).Northward shifts of more than 1000km (600 mi) are expected in Europefor the corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis(Porter et al. 1991). The mountainpine beetle, Dendroctonus pon-derosae, in the Rocky Mountainsnow produces one generation peryear instead of one every two years(Parmesan 2007). Range and dam-age is expected to increase inCanadian pine forests (Logan andPowell 2004).

Increased Outbreaks andUpheavals

As a result of global warming, theweather will reflect greater numbersof catastrophic events such asdroughts and floods. Increased fre-quency of extreme events will likelycause changes in herbivore popula-tions. Studies of forest insects haveled to predictions of increased fre-quency and longer durations of pestoutbreaks (Volney and Fleming2000; Logan et al. 2003). Forinstance, an outbreak of the lepi-dopteran Argyresthia retinella thatoccurred in Norway birch forestswas attributed to drought and hightemperatures (Tenow et al. 1999).The range of winter moth, Operoph-tera brumata, has increased inNorway birch forests (Hagen et al.2007). Alternating cold and warmwinters due to global warming

encouraged an outbreak of thecaterpillar Thaumetopoea pityocam-pa on Scots pine, Pinus sylvestris(Hodar and Zamora 2004; Buffo etal. 2007).

Increased range of the ambrosiabeetle Platypus quercivorus led toan encounter with a fungus thatcauses oak dieback disease. Thebeetle then infected oaks with thispathogen, leading to an epidemic ofthe disease in Japan (Kamata et al.2002). Global warming is expectedto encourage pine damage from theEuropean pine sawfly, Neodiprionsertifer (Virtanen et al. 1996), andfrom pine shoot beetle, Tomicusdestruens (Faccoli 2007).

Pests Range IncreasesVertically

As the lower slopes of mountainpeaks get warmer, plants, animals,and pest populations have startedto migrate upward. Tickborneencephalitis has moved upward inEurope in the last 30 years. Theaverage rate of ascension correlateswith the average yearly temperatureincrease (Zeman and Benes 2004).

Freezing isotherms have climbedabout 160 m (525 ft) in the tropicssince 1970. This means that thoseseeking refuge from malaria musttravel higher. According to Epstein2001, “insects and insect-borne dis-eases are now being reported inhigh elevations in east and centralAfrica, Latin America, and Asia.”

As mosquitoes climb upwards,they are having an effect on wildlifepopulations. In Hawaii, most of thenative birds below 4500 feet (1372m) have been killed by a form ofavian malaria caused by Plasmo-dium relictum. Birds in cooler areasabove this elevation escape themosquitoes (Harvell et al. 2002).

Plants and Wildlife ClimbHigher

This scramble for higher altitudeshas also been seen for wildlife. Awildlife survey of Yosemite Valley,CA published by Professor JosephGrinnell in 1924 has recently beenupdated. Fewer animals were foundand species such as the Californiavole, Microtus californicus; and

Argentine ants, Lithepithemahumile


UpdatePinon mouse, Peromyscus truei; andAllen’s chipmunk, Tamias senexwere found at higher altitudes(Brower 2006). As the animalsclimb higher, they take their pestsand pathogens along with them.

Plants are also climbing to higherelevations in mountain regions.Plant elevation is a sensitive indica-tor of global warming, as a 500 m(1640 ft) shift upward is equivalentto a 300 km (180 mi) shift north-ward (Epstein 2001).

Phenology and Synchronyof Plants and Pests

Phenology describes the timing ofbiological events. For instance, eachplant has a characteristic time forflowering, budbreak, and seed pro-duction that is generally set by cli-mate, photoperiod, and tempera-ture. Insect development is alsocharacterized by a number of timedevents, such as time of egg hatch.For caterpillars that feed on leaves,survival is best when leaf budbreakis timed with egg hatch (van Aschand Visser 2007).

In the warmer springs associatedwith global warming, both caterpil-

lars and their host plants have beendeveloping earlier. But insects andplants can respond differently tothe same temperature increase. Asa result, insect and plant growthmay no longer be synchronized (vanAsch and Visser 2007). Systems

with tight synchrony between phe-nology of plants and insects will bemost affected by warming tempera-tures. For instance, the synchro-nization between budbreak of oaktree, Quercus robur, and the hatch-ing of winter moth, Operophterabrumata, has already been dis-turbed in England. Eggs of theinsect are hatching before leavesare available to eat (Visser andHolleman 2001). Evolution works tocorrect for these kind of problems,but if the rate of adaptive change istoo slow, the species can go extinct(van Asch and Visser 2007).

Effects on BeneficialInsects

Temperature can have a profoundeffect on the relationship of pestsand predators. Effects of predatorscan be encouraged or discouragedby temperature increases. Forinstance, below 11°C (51.8°F), thepea aphid reproduction rateexceeds the rate at which the ladybeetle, Coccinella septempunctatacan consume it. Above 11°C(51.8°F), the situation is reversed.In contrast, natural enemies of thespruce budworm, Choristoneurafumiferana, are less effective athigher temperatures (Harrington etal. 2001).

Herbivorous insects may expandtheir ranges as a result of globalwarming. As a consequence, theymay migrate into areas where natu-ral enemies are not present. Theirparasitoids may or may not followthem to new locations. The mostextreme effects will be likely onmonophagous parasitoids that willhave difficulty adapting to a newhost (Hance et al. 2007).

As mentioned earlier, some migra-tions have already started. Two lep-idopteran species that feed on minthave migrated northward from theirrange in Monterey County, CA tothe San Francisco Bay Area and theSacramento Valley (Powell et al.2000).

Disruption of ParasitoidsProblems are projected to be

worse at higher trophic levels.Among insects, parasitoids are like-

ly to bear the brunt of the impact(Thomas et al. 2004; Hance et al.2007). Parasitoids, herbivores andplants have evolved together in arelatively stable climate. Parasitoidsmust be able to overwinter to sur-vive, and often have a lower temper-ature tolerance than their hosts

(Karban 1998). Species dependenton a close synchrony with theirhost are most susceptible to extinc-tion. For instance, parasitoids witha slightly lower base temperaturethan the host emerge earlier duringwarmer springs. If this happensmore than one season in 20, earlyparasitoid emergence can lead toextinction due to a crash of thehost population (Godfray et al.1994; Hance et al. 2007).

The life of a developing parasitoiddepends on suppressing or foolingthe host’s immune system. Somestudies suggest that higher temper-atures increase the probability thata host will kill its parasitoid. Forinstance, parasitism of the caterpil-lar Spodoptera littoralis by the para-sitoid Microplitis rufiventris is lessefficient at 27°C (80.6°F) than at20°C (68°F) (Thomas and Blanford2003).

Parasitoid populations may alsobe disrupted by extreme events andvariable climate. A large worldwidestudy of field collected caterpillarshas shown that increased variabilityin climate leads to reduced para-sitism rates. More frequent distur-bances mean caterpillars have fewerparasites. Reduced parasitism ratesare likely due to “increased lags anddisconnections between herbivoresand their carnivores that occurs as

Western subterraneantermite, Reticulitermeshesperus

Formosan soldier,Coptotermes formosanus


Updateclimatic variability increases”(Stireman et al. 2005).

Stireman et al. (2005), foundcaterpillars were attacked by bothtachinid flies and parasitic wasps.Tachinids were able to adjust to cli-mate variability but highly hostspecific parasitic wasps adjustedpoorly. As the weather patternsbecome more variable, field cropssuch as corn, that depend on bio-logical control from host specificparasitoids such as Trichogrammaspp. are likely to suffer increasedpest attacks (Stireman et al. 2005).

Plant DiseasesMany plant diseases, especially

those caused by fungi, are expectedto increase as a result of warmertemperatures and perhapsincreased rainfall. Warmer wintersincrease the overwintering successof plant pathogens. Optimumgrowth for many fungal pathogensoccurs at 20-25°C (68-77°F).Increased growth of plants will alsoincrease host densities and favorplant diseases (Harvell et al. 2002;Garrett et al. 2006). Tomato leafcurlin Italy is already spreading north-ward (Parella et al. 2004). Globalwarming is likely to increase the

spread of rice stripe disease inJapan (Yamamura and Yokozawa2002).

Increasing temperatures areexpected to increase potato yields incold countries like Finland, but theincrease will likely be cancelled by

increases in potato blight caused byPhytophthora infestans (Kaukoranta1996). Global warming may havealready caused increased spreadand severity of some virus potatodiseases in India (Garg 2005).

Global warming has been impli-cated in the increased severity ofoak dieback caused by Phytoph-thora cinnamomi. This organism isencouraged by wet and warm soil(Brasier 1996). Sudden oak death,which appeared in the U.S. iscaused by a similar organism, P.ramorum. The connection betweenglobal warming and this outbreakhas not been explored.

WeedsPlants can be divided into C3 and

C4 types, according to how theyutilize CO2 in photosynthesis.Wheat, rice and soybeans are C3plants. These respond to increasedCO2 concentrations with increasedgrowth. Corn, sorghum, sugarcane,and millet are C4 plants that areless responsive to CO2 increases.Weeds also follow this division.Lambsquarters, Canada thistle, jim-sonweed, quackgrass, plantain, andvelvetgrass are C3 weeds. Redrootpigweed, purple nutsedge, itch-grass, and johnsongrass are C4weeds. Increased CO2 levelsencourage the growth of C3 weeds,and increase the water use efficien-cy of both C3 and C4 weeds.Increased temperatures encourageC4 weeds (Patterson 1995;Patterson et al. 1999).

Subtropical weeds in the U.S. arelikely to spread northward.Increased temperature may meanthat serious weeds such asJapanese honeysuckle, Loniceriajaponica, and kudzu, Pueraria loba-ta, could extend their northern lim-its by several hundred km.Problems with several other weedspecies are expected to increase(Patterson 1995; Zavaleta andRoyval 2002). Witchweed, a rootparasite of corn might be able toexpand from North Carolina intothe U.S. Corn Belt. Perennial weedsmay be harder to control, sinceincreased photosynthesis may leadto greater storage of food supplies.Buildup of high starch concentra-

tions in leaves of C3 plants mayalso interfere with the use of herbi-cides (Rosenzweig and Hillel 1995;Patterson 1995).

Stopping Global WarmingGlobal warming is probably going

to lead to increased pest popula-tions. We can expect larger prob-lems with structural, garden, forest,and agricultural pests. Other dis-ruptions such as increased floods,

drought and hurricanes are likely.But just to identify the problem isnot enough. We need to find somesolutions.

IPM methods provide enough flex-ibility that we will be able to dealwith many of the pests. But reduc-ing the amount of global warming isdesirable. Part of the solution is toburn less fossil fuel. Turning torenewable energy sources such assolar and wind should reduce glob-al warming. Using energy efficienthousehold appliances is part of thesolution. Driving more fuel efficientcars will reduce greenhouse emis-sions. There are also some techno-logical solutions that may or maynot be practical. Such as injectionof CO2 produced by power plantsinto deep brine deposits (Socolow2007).

According to Rosenzweig andHillel (1995), agriculture mayaccount for about 15% of the green-house gas emissions caused byhumans. We can reduce the effectsof global warming by buying organ-ic produce and encouraging organicfarming. Organic farming leads toan increase in soil carbon in the

Pest mosquito, Culex sp.

Pest mosquito, Aedes sp.

form of organic matter. Each acre oforganic production takes about3,500 pounds (1590 kg) of CO2from the air and adds it to soil eachyear. Changing corn and soybeanproduction to organic methodswould remove about 580 billionpounds (264 billion kg) of carbondioxide from the atmosphere eachyear. Organic farming methods helpslow down the depletion of carbonfrom the soil, decreasing theamount of carbon dioxide released.Carbon is added to the soil by thecultivation of cover crops for use asgreen manures. Also, synthetic fer-tilizers, which require largeamounts of energy to produce arenot used (Hepperly 2007).

Increased use of agroforestrymethods could help. Agroforestryblends tree crops with field crops,and both types of crops benefit as aresult. Agroforestry can lead tofewer pests in field crops becauselarge monocultures are broken up.Mean uptake of CO2 and carbonsequestration from agroforestry hasbeen estimated at 95 Mg/ha (95metric tons/ha) (Albrecht andKandji 2003).

Part of the greenhouse gas emis-sion is due to deforestation.Tropical deforestation is responsiblefor about 20% of CO2 emissionscaused by humans each year.Planting trees can help absorb car-bon dioxide, leading to increasedcarbon sequestration. So generalreforestation efforts could helpreduce global warming (UCS 2007).

Global warming is one of thoseproblems that is caused by humanactivities and can be solved byhuman activities. By acting now, wecan mitigate the problem and willnot have to face the doomsday fore-casts of melting icecaps, floodedseacoasts, and species extinctions.

William Quarles, Ph.D. is anIPM Specialist, Executive Directorof the Bio-Integral ResourceCenter (BIRC), and ManagingEditor of the IPM Practitioner. Hecan be reached by email,[email protected].

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Update


Conference Notes

ESA Annual Meeting Highlights—5th Part

By Joel Grossman

These Conference Highlightsare from the annual meetingof the Entomological Society

of America (ESA), Dec. 10-13,2006, in Indianapolis, Indiana.ESA’s next annual meeting isDecember 9-12, 2007, in SanDiego, California. For more infor-mation contact the ESA (10001Derekwood Lane, Suite 100,Lanham, MD 20706; 301/731-4535; http://www.entsoc.org).

Squash Bug BiocontrolReduced-risk pesticides have

lower toxicity to humans and non-target organisms and less environ-mental risk than “high-risk” pesti-cides such as organophosphates,carbamates, and pyrethroids. “Byusing reduced risk pesticides suchas spinosad to manage pests suchas cucumber beetle, squash vineborer, aphids and squash bugs inpumpkin and squash systems itwas possible to significantlyincrease biological control of squashbugs, Anasa tristis, compared withusing high-risk pesticides,” saidGerald Brust (Univ of Maryland,27664 Nanticoke Rd, Salisbury,MD 21801; [email protected]). “Thisincrease in biological control result-ed in a 50% yield increase in thereduced-risk systems comparedwith the control, and yield equal tothe high-risk system.”

Populations of predators such asminute pirate bugs, Orius sp., andassassin bugs were significantlyhigher when spinosad rather thanpyrethroids were sprayed at thebases of pumpkin and squashplants every 10 days. Spinosadplots had about 1.56 adult piratebugs per plant; versus 0.08 perplant in systems using high-riskpesticides; and 1.83 in no-pesticidesystems. Squash bug parasitism by

the tachinid fly Trichopoda pen-nipes was “9-16 times greater inreduced risk systems comparedwith high-risk systems and were21.5% greater than in the control,”said Brust.

Squash Traps CucumberBeetle

Striped cucumber beetle,Acalymma vittatum, a major U.S.cucumber pest, feeds on roots,scars fruit, defoliates older plants

and can kill small plants, making ita top priority for Michigan organiccucumber growers, said MatthewKaiser (Michigan State Univ, B18Food Safety Toxicol Bldg, East Lan-sing, MI 48824; [email protected]).Blue Hubbard squash shows par-ticular promise as a protective trapcrop by reducing cucumber defolia-tion.

Trap crops of blue Hubbardsquash protect cucumbers mostconsistently in the early season.Later in the season cucumber bee-tles became so numerous at onesite that the squash trap crop wasdestroyed, and the cucumber cropwas attacked. The squash trap cropheld up better at another site, pro-tecting cucumbers later into the

season and trapping 15-20 beetlesper squash plant. Cucurbitacinsprays on grass did not attract bee-tles.

IPM Beats Beet RootMaggot

Sugarbeet root maggot, Tetanopsmyopaeformis, scrapes beet rootsurfaces, causing about 40% dam-age in the $1.5 billion sugarbeetindustry in the Upper Midwestregion around North Dakota andMinnesota, which accounts foralmost half of U.S. beet sugar pro-duction. About 75% of the region’ssugarbeets are treated with thepesticide turbophos, said AyanavaMajumdar (North Dakota StateUniv, 202 Hultz Hall, Fargo, ND 58105;[email protected]).IPM alternatives in Minto and St.Thomas, North Dakota, includedthe microbial insecticideMetarhizium anisopliae and low andhigh cover crop seeding rates foroats (Newdak) and rye (Dacold)broadcast just ahead of plantingsugarbeets.

In 2005, the combination ofMetarhizium anisopliae and covercrops in sugarbeet fields was aseffective as turbophos. In 2006, adrought year, IPM produced similarresults, except in St. Thomas,where turbophos was more effec-tive. High seeding rates of thegrain cover crops had a large effectvia modifying the micro-habitat.Majumdar is working on adjustingthe seeding rate for greatest effec-tiveness.

Resistant Rice withEndophytes

“The rice leaffolder, Cnaphalocrocismedinalis, is a migratory rice pestin many Asian countries includingJapan,” and management “acutelydepends on chemical pesticides

Striped cucumber beetle,Acalymma vittatum


Conference Notesbecause biological and culturalcontrol is ineffective,” said YouichiKobori (National Agric Res Center,3-1-1 Kannondai, Tsukuba,Ibaraki, Japan; [email protected]).Resistant rice infected with theendophytic bacteria, Herbaspirillumsp. B65 and Azospirillum sp.B510a, may provide an alternative.

Rice endophytes have a mildereffect on pests than syntheticinsecticides, and widespread usemight select for resistant pest bio-types. An IPM approach combiningpheromone mating disruption andendophytes might be more sustain-able in reducing rice leaffolder pop-ulations below the economic injurylevel. “The combination of endo-phyte use and mating disruption isenvironment-friendly,” said Kobori.“This technology would contributeto sustainable farming throughconserving native natural enemies,especially polyphagous spiders.”

Rice endophytes are now beingtested against the rice brown plan-thopper, Nilaparvata lugens, “one ofthe most injurious insect pests ofrice plants in Japan,” said YukieSato (National Agric Res Center, 3-1-1 Kannondai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki,Japan; [email protected]). “Useof the endophytes enables us toreduce the cost and environmentalrisks of the insect pest manage-ment.”

“Rice plants infected with bacteri-al endophytes, Herbaspirillum sp.and Azospirillum sp., show moder-ate resistance against the mostserious rice pests, the brown plan-thopper and the whitebacked plan-thopper,” said Yoshito Suzuki(National Agric Res Center, 3-1-1Kannondai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki,Japan; [email protected]).However, “use of the endophytesfrequently fails to suppress brownplanthopper density to an accept-able level ... unless additional tac-tics are incorporated into the man-agement system.” Conservation bio-control may help “prevent brownplanthopper from rapidly develop-ing a biotype resistant to endo-phyte-infected rice plants.”

$3.5 Million ArkansasArmyworm Savings

Wheat can stand considerabledefoliation, and lowering treatmentthresholds can save money.Research by Tim Kring (Univ ofArkansas, AGRI 321, Fayetteville,AR 72701; [email protected]) hasresulted in new thresholds to man-age infestations of spring army-worm, Pseudaletia unipuncta. Thenew threshold for wheat insects inArkansas is unique since the army-worm is allowed to completely defo-liate maturing wheat. Adoption byproducers is high, and savings gen-erated by the application of thisthreshold are significant. Morethan 700,000 acres (283,000 ha) ofArkansas wheat were treated forarmyworm in 2001, and none ofthese applications would have beenrecommended under the thresh-old.”

Armyworm infests 25% of wheatfields in a typical year and 75% offields in an outbreak year. Evenwith wheat plantings reduced 60%to 370,000 acres (150,000 ha) in2006, “adoption of the thresholdhas eliminated unnecessary appli-cations on more than 90,000 acres(36,400 ha) each year,” said Kring.“This represents a statewide sav-ings to producers of $720,000annually with current acreage, ormore than $3.5 million since adop-tion of the threshold.”

Growers were convinced byexperimental results from an artifi-cial defoliation method in whichwheat leaves were removed frombottom to top over four days, simu-lating typical Arkansas late-seasonarmyworm defoliation of wheatplants in the field. Even afterremoval of all the wheat leaves andthe awnings protecting the pani-cles, there was no measurablegrain yield or weight loss. Ger-mination tests are underway toextend the threshold to wheat seedproducers concerned about seedviability and germinability.

Washing Away ThripsIn the southern states, high lev-

els of tobacco thrips, Frankliniella

fusca, and tomato spotted wiltvirus (TSWV) are associated withdry winter/spring weather; lowthrips and virus levels are associat-ed with rainy weather. “TSWV inci-dence increases with increasingimmature F. fusca populations,”said Shannon Voss (North CarolinaState Univ, 3210 Ligon St, Raleigh,NC 27607; [email protected]). Fourdays of high simulated rainfall dur-ing April, three days of naturallyhigh rainfall in March and May, orsix days of high rainfall in March,April or May was sufficient to sup-press the growth of immaturethrips populations. Continued highrainfall throughout May furtherdepressed thrips populations,whereas immature thrips popula-tions rebounded in dry weather.

Thrips BiocontrolNematode

Tobacco thrips, Frankliniellafusca, is one of at least nine thripsspecies capable of transmittingtomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) inFlorida peanuts. More female thripsacquire the virus, but males aremore efficient at spreading it. Theentomogenous nematode Thripine-ma fuscum “is a potential biocon-trol agent,” said Kelly Sims (Univ ofFlorida, PO Box 110620, Gainesville,FL 32611; [email protected]).

T. fuscum can sterilize femalethrips and alter early spring feedingbehavior. Infected thrips feed lessfrequently, reducing the primaryand secondary spread of TSWV.

Hunter Fly BiocontrolFirst detected in North America

by an upstate New York IPM scoutmonitoring greenhouse sticky traps,the hunter fly, Coenosia attenuata,is an example of a beneficial insectspread around on plant material,said John Sanderson (Cornell Univ,135 Insectary Bldg, Ithaca, NY14853; [email protected]). Native tosouthern Europe, hunter flies weresubsequently detected on stickytraps in two-thirds of surveyed NYgreenhouses, as well as in Texas,Louisiana, Florida, Illinois and all


Conference Notes

around the U.S., including out-doors in Los Angeles, CA.

Voracious generalist predators,hunter flies practice a sit-and-waitstrategy, only pursuing “right-sized” prey flying by. Specializedmouth parts suck out the bodycontents of pests such as leafmin-ers, whiteflies, adult fungus gnatsand shore flies. When prey densi-ties are low, hunter flies turn can-nibalistic. Larval hunter flies live inthe soil and are also predatory.

Though in the same family ashouse flies (Muscidae), high num-bers of hunter flies in potted plantsare hardly noticeable. Indeed, theIPM scout who originally detectedhunter flies mistakenly thoughtthat these natural enemies werenocturnal, because they were soinvisible despite being present inlarge numbers providing biocontrol.Even USDA-APHIS has no problemwith movement of hunter flies.

Walnut Intercrop CutsAlfalfa Weevil

“Previous studies in our lab havedemonstrated that alfalfa inter-cropped with walnut supported sig-nificantly more parasiticHymenoptera and/or predatorsthan did traditionally grown alfal-fa,” said Terryl Woods (Univ ofMissouri, 1-31 Agric Bldg,Columbia, MO 65211; [email protected]). “The presence of walnuttrees appears to increase naturalenemy numbers, and significantlyincrease parasitism of alfalfa wee-vil, Hypera postica, over time.Although alfalfa yields were poorerin narrow (12.2 m; 40 ft) alleyways,

wider (24.4 m; 80 ft) alleyways pro-duced as much alfalfa as an openfield while retaining the insect com-munity benefits of an agroforestrypractice.” Major alfalfa weevil natu-ral enemies included the parasitoidBathyplectes and the fungusZoophthora.

Monitoring Biocontrolwith DNA

Soybean aphids, Aphis glycines,that can reduce soybean yields by40-50%, are spreading across theUpper Midwest and are a concernin Indiana, which produces 8% ofU.S. soybeans on 5.9 million acres(2.4 million ha). There is a need tohave more detailed information onsoybean aphid biocontrol. Moni-toring the impact of beneficialswithin the ecological food web isnow possible using moleculardetection systems, said JamesHarwood (Univ of Kentucky, S-225Agricultural Science Center North,Lexington, KY 40546; [email protected]).

Prey-specific antibodies and PCRamplification of DNA can revealdetails of predator-prey linkageswithin complex ecosystems.Harwood created DNA primers forOrius insidiosus and major preyspecies. There was no cross-ampli-fication of DNAs among the species,but DNA decay rates of eachspecies had to be calculated.Soybean aphid DNA disappearsfrom predators in 30-40 hours.Soybean thrips DNA decays faster,as does Asian lady beetle DNA.

DNA monitoring revealed thatOrius increased soybean aphid con-sumption as aphid populationsincreased. Orius also consumedlarge numbers of soybean thrips, ascarce pest that may be a favoredfood item. Orius did not consumelady beetle eggs.

PCR techniques can also be usedfor real-time molecular measure-ment of biological control by preda-tors, said Donald Weber (USDA-ARS, BARC-West 011A, Beltsville,MD 20705; [email protected]).Examples include predation ofspotted lady beetle, Coleomegillamaculata on pests such as

Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsadecemlineata, as well as predationof spined soldier bug, Podisus mac-uliventris on Mexican bean beetle,Epilachna varivestis. Though therewas much variability and complexi-ty, all predator egg predation wasdetected. Sensitivity is such thateven 1.5% predation on pest eggswas detected.

Fungi Destroy MidwestAphids

“Fungal pathogens cause naturalaphid mortality and when epi-zootics occur, diseases rapidlyspread and destroy local aphidpopulations,” said Takuji Noma(Michigan State Univ, B-11 CIPS,East Lansing, MI 48824; [email protected]). “All cases of soybeanaphid, Aphis glycines, mycosisexamined in 2005 involved the fun-gal pathogen Pandora neo-aphidis.”Up to 90% of migratory morphs,but only 3% infection of winglesssoybean aphids were infected. Theaphid-attacking fungi “coincidedwith peak or post-peak aphid den-sities.” The fungi were not foundwhen or where aphid populationswere low.

Pandora neoaphidis was alsorecovered from cadavers of peaaphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum, andcorn leaf aphid. Rhopalosiphummaidis. The pathogen Zoophthorasp. was identified from cadavers ofspotted alfalfa aphid, Therioaphismaculata. Fungi also attacked pota-to aphid, Macrosiphum euphorbiae.Crops containing fungi that at-tacked aphids included soybean,alfalfa, clover and corn. No aphidfungal infections were detected onwinter wheat.

IPM for Cucumber BeetleThe western spotted cucumber

beetle (WSCB), Diabrotica undecim-punctata undecimpunctata, has awide host range that includes snapbeans, lettuce, spinach and corn.Pest feeding on snap bean pods cancause crop rejection if there are toomany “bean bites” in this $1,000/acre($2,500/ha) crop occupying 16,500acres (6,677 ha) in Oregon. “The

Insidious flower bug,Orius sp.

edge scouting was incorporatedinto scouting protocols and somegrowers only sprayed field edges.

Every grower except one benefitedfrom the snap bean IPM program.That one grower, for reasons stillunclear, lost a field and fed therejected beans to the pigs. Lunasuspects nearby grass seed fieldsplayed a role in that loss, a case ofbad crop field diversity. When thatone grower suffered, it was like“shock and awe” and all the grow-ers immediately sprayed. However,at the end of the season the grow-ers felt the collective benefit of theprogram was so great that theywould move forward with this sus-tainable IPM approach in 2007.

Leafy Spurge IPM“In the Northern Great Plains of

North America, leafy spurge,Euphorbia esula, may reduceherbage production by as much as75% when this weed infests pas-tures and rangelands, resulting ineconomic losses of nearly $130 mil-lion per year to this region,” saidAnkush Joshi (North Dakota StateUniv, Hulz Hall, Fargo, ND 58105;[email protected]). “Mosttools used against leafy spurge arenot economical, practical and/orefficacious.” Hence, an IPMapproach combining herbicides(Imazapic™), Aphthona spp. fleabeetles for biological control andnative grass mixes planted 23months after beetle releases wereevaluated for long-term sustainableleafy spurge control.

“There was a greater reduction inleafy spurge when herbicide wascombined with Aphthona flea bee-tles or native grass species,” saidJoshi, though it is best to wait ayear after herbicide treatmentsbefore releasing biological controlbeetles. In 2004, two years afterherbicide application, leafy spurgedeclined from 90 to 41% (49%reduction) in herbicide only plotscompared to 69% reduction in plotsthat received a combination of her-bicide and biological control. Thisreduction was maintained by theflea beetles without additional her-bicide application.

Field Borders and CornBorer IPM

“The European corn borer (ECB),Ostrinia nubilalis, is a serious pestof corn and other crops throughoutthe Midwest U.S., costing farmersmore than $1.85 billion annuallyin crop loss and pest manage-ment costs,” said William TerrellStamps (Univ of Missouri, 1-31Agric Bldg, Columbia, MO 65211;[email protected]). “Con-servation reserve program CP33,Habitat Buffers for Upland Birds,provides incentives for establishingborders in and around croplandthat provide food and shelter forgrassland birds.” However, despitefinancial incentives farmers are notplanting vegetation borders aroundfields, fearing it will lead to pestincreases. Hence, a number of 9.1m (30 ft) corn field borders weretested: (1) a mixture of warm-sea-son grasses and legumes; (2) a mix-ture of cool-season grasses andlegumes; (3) tall fescue, a cool-sea-son grass; and (4) a corn bordercontrol.

“[Corn borer] stalk infestation ofwarm-season vegetation-borderedcorn was always 2 to 3 times less(14% versus 29%) than that ofcornfields surrounded by the otherthree border treatments,” saidStamps. Warm-season borderswere also the most diverse, being amixture of little bluestem,Andropogon scoparius, side-oatsgrama, Bouteloua curtipendula, andlespedeza, Lespedeza stipulacea.Tall fescue was the only borderthat led to increased cornfield ECBinfestations.

Trichogramma CutsCorn Borer

“The egg parasitoid Trichogrammaostriniae from China has beenshown to be a good biocontrolagent for European corn borer, saidThomas Kuhar (VPI&SU, 33446Research Dr, Painter, VA 23420;[email protected]). In 2004, “weeklyinundative releases of 150,000 T.ostriniae per acre (375,000/ha) inbell pepper fields resulted in highrates of ECB egg parasitism and a

grower mantra was just spray andbe done with it, don’t risk it,” as at$4.50/acre ($11.25/ha) a cheapinsecticide could be mixed into afungicide spray, said John Luna(Oregon State Univ, 4017 Agric LifeSci Bldg, Corvallis, OR; [email protected]).

In a 250-grower cooperative con-sidered very progressive, about90% of snap bean fields weresprayed, because the treatmentthreshold was reduced from six

beetles per 20 sweep net sweeps totwo beetles per 20 sweeps. Growersfigured they would always have atleast two beetles, and so did notbother scouting. In 2006, after twoyears of OSU research growerswere given weekly scouting reportsand allowed to choose their treat-ment thresholds. Most fields hadless than six beetles per 20 sweepsand no economic damage; thoughto save scouting time, 10 sweepsamples were used. Scouting cost$2.25/acre ($5.60/ha).

In 2006, 53% of 310 snap beanfields occupying over 5,000 acres(2,023 ha) were not sprayed. Thenumber of unsprayed fields wouldhave been higher, but some grow-ers ignored the scouting reportsand sprayed anyway. Where snapbean fields bordered corn fields,cucumber beetles gathered in veryhigh numbers at field edges,though few beetles were found inbean field interiors. Most likelycucumber beetles fed in the beansand moved into corn to lay eggs;but beetle movement back andforth between crops cannot beruled out. Since bean-corn edgeswere found in about 25% of fields,


UpdateConference Notes

Spotted cucumber beetle,Diabrotica sp.


Update(Entrust® 80W), and pyrethrins(Pyganic® 5.0 EC). IPM plots weresprayed with Avaunt, Assail,Imidan and Danitol.

Midseason IPM and organic plotshad significantly less insect dam-age than untreated controls. Inharvest samples, the trend wassimilar. IPM plots had 0.3% of fruitinternally infested with insect lar-vae. Organic plots had 6.3% fruitinfestation, almost all plum cur-culio. Untreated IPM and organicplots had almost 20% internal fruitinfestation.

Apple Aphid BiocontrolWoolly apple aphid (WAA),

Eriosoma lanigerum, is a root, leafand wound feeder and a “nativesecondary pest of apples in theUSA,” where apples are the sum-mer host and American elm, Ulmusamericana, is the winter host.“Apple is the only host in theNorthern Areas of Pakistan,” which“are situated in the extreme northalong with the Chinese border sur-rounded by the world’s most fasci-nating and unique mighty moun-tains of the Himalaya, Karakuramand Hindukush ranges,” said AbdulHakeem (2431 Joe Johnson Dr,205 Ellington Plant Sci Bldg, Knox-ville, TN 37996; [email protected]).

Biocontrol of the pest aphid in-creased apple profits in Pakistan’sNorthern Areas. Aphelinus mali, asolitary parasitoid wasp importedfrom the Netherlands, is “one of thekey components to management ofWAA in Pakistan,” said Hakeem.Aphid parasitism after A. malireleases was 67% in May, 57% inSeptember, and 25-43% in June,July and August. Parasitism aver-aged 45%, and was best at lowaphid densities and moderate tem-peratures.

Olive Fruit Fly BiocontrolThe U.C. Berkeley Insectary &

Quarantine facility has investigatedthe biology and host range of 10African and Pakistani parasitoids(all Braconidae) of olive fruit fly,Bactrocera oleae, a longtimeMediterranean pest that showed upin arid southern California in 1998

Conference NotesOld Main Hill, Logan, UT 84322;[email protected]), who stud-ied the EPNs at varying tempera-tures.

Nematodes were applied to turfbeneath trees 3-7 times in summerfor 1, 2 or 3 years. “Funnel-shapedscreen wire traps with a benzalde-hyde lure (IPM Technologies,Portland, OR) were placed on treetrunks from May to October ineach year to monitor plum cur-culio,” said Kim. Experimental plotsize was so small that “interplotinterference” masked any differ-ences between untreated trees andEPN-treated trees. However, plumcurculio trap catches declined from40-60 per tree after one year ofEPN treatment to about 10 in years2 and 3. This indicates that multi-year nematode applications are aselective and “environmentally sus-tainable” IPM tactic “for reducingthe risk of insecticides and sup-pressing insect populations.”

Organic vs IPM Apples“Two demonstration plantings of

disease-resistant apple cultivars,each 1 acre (0.4 ha), are estab-lished at the Dixon SpringsAgricultural Center in southernIllinois,” said Richard Weinzierl(Univ of Illinois, 1102 S. GoodwinAve, Urbana, IL 61801; [email protected]). “One is managed incompliance with organic certifica-tion standards; the other is identi-fied as an IPM planting, with pesti-cides applied according to resultsof insect and weather monitoringdata.”

The scab-resistant apple cultivarsare Enterprise, Goldrush andLiberty; disease-susceptible GoldenDelicious was planted in borderrows. Half of each orchard was leftas an untreated control to compareinjury from codling moth, Cydiapomonella; Oriental fruit moth(OFM), Grapholita molesta; potatoleafhopper, Empoasca fabae; SanJose scale, Quadraspidiotus perni-ciosus; leafrollers, Japanese beetleand plum curculio. The treated halfof organic orchards received airblast sprayer applications of kaolinclay (Surround™), spinosad

significant reduction in cumulativefruit damage.”

In 2005 and 2006, Trichogrammaostriniae releases against ECB inpotatoes were monitored with yel-low sticky cards and sentinel eggmasses. There was 20-40% ECBegg parasitization with releasesmade from a single point in thecenter of small fields. At windspeeds of 1.1-1.6 m/sec (3.6-5.2ft/sec), Trichogramma disperseddownwind. At wind speeds of 0.9-1.1 m/sec (3.0-3.6 ft/sec),Trichogramma dispersal was prima-rily upwind.

Parasitism decreased at increas-ing distances from the releasepoint. Parasitism was best in a0.25 acre (0.1 ha) area around theTrichogramma release point. Thus,even in 1-acre (0.4-ha) fields, mul-tiple release points are best for uni-form dispersal of T. ostriniae incrops such as peppers and pota-toes.

Plum Curculio andNematodes

Insecticides to kill adults havebeen the main managementmethod for an isolated plum cur-culio, Conotrachelus nenuphar,population in northern Utah’s Box

Elder County. A more sustainablecontrol approach using the ento-mopathogenic nematodes (EPN),Heterorhabditis bacteriophora andSteinernema feltiae, was tested forthree years and provided bestresults after the first year. “Wefound no significant differencesbetween EPN species,” said Hong-Geun Kim (Utah State Univ, 5305

Leafy spurge, Euphorbia esula


Conference Notesand has since spread throughoutthe state. “The effectiveness ofinsecticides is limited by abundantroadside and residential olive treesthat serve as reservoirs for rapidreinvasion into treated orchards,”said Karen Sime (Univ of California- Berkeley, Center for BiologicalControl, Berkeley, CA 94720;[email protected]).“Furthermore, as insecticides maydisrupt the biological controls thathave been successfully developedfor scale pests, classical biologicalcontrol is considered the bestoption for long-term management.”

According to Kim Hoelmer(USDA-ARS, 501 S. Chapel St, New-ark, DE 19713; [email protected]),the olive pest is thought to have anAfrican origin. Wild olives, Oleaeuropaea cuspedata, are found in awide range of habitats in southernand eastern Africa, and in Asiasouth of the Himalayan crest as fareast as southwestern China. Olivefruit flies are found in much thesame range, but natural enemieshave mostly been studied in culti-vated Mediterranean olives, notwild hosts and habitats.

To identify new natural enemiesof olive fruit fly, exploration wasconducted in South Africa’s aridWest Cape Province. Commonsouthern African parasitoids suchas Psyttalia lounsburyi, P. concolor,Bracon celer and Utetes africanushave ovipositor length variation of300% (1-3 mm). Hoelmer et al. the-orized that wild fruits with theirthin pulp “allow braconid specieswith different ovipositor lengthsaccess to fly larvae in fruit,” where-as “flies in larger cultivated fruitwith thicker pulp may be lessaccessible for parasitism, or forshorter periods of time.”

Female Apple Moth LuresPeter Landolt (USDA-ARS, 5230

Konnowac Pass Rd, Wapato, WA98951; [email protected])has been working on attractants forfemale pest moths (Noctuidae).Attractants for female moths havean impact on reproduction andpopulations by removing eggs. Thesearch for female attractants

includes: fermented sweet baits,floral scents, male-producedpheromones, and cues used byfemales to select egg-laying sites.

Historically, special recipes to fer-ment sweet baits have been usedby moth collectors. For instance,fermented baits are painted on thesides of trees to collect underwingmoths, which do not respond wellto light traps. Landolt has used fer-mented sugar baits in McPhailtraps to capture pests such asgrass loopers, Mocis latipes, inFlorida.

Though many different mothspecies respond to sweet fermentedbaits, they are not convenient touse. So Landolt tried to identifyattractants in the fermented mix-tures. Field testing produced 8compounds that caught moths,with acetic acid by far the best.Acetic acid mixed with 3-methyl-1-butanol was “synergistically attrac-tive” to several Noctuidae moths inWashington apple orchards. A bot-tle dispenser with a hole in the lidwas used as the trap, as highrelease rates were needed for thesetwo very volatile compounds.Landolt used the attractants in anattract and kill technology against

Lacanobia fruitworm. The USDA’s late Everett Mitchell

(Gainesville, FL) recommended bait-ing a badminton shuttlecock, as itwas successful as a floral mimicagainst cabbage looper and dia-mondback moth in cabbage fields.The inside of the badminton shut-tlecock was coated with pesticideand a lure placed inside — “And it

is still working, so I’ve been stick-ing with it,” said Landolt. “In applewe hang it in the tree, up in theupper levels; that’s where most ofthe moth movement is.”

Landolt used 50 bait stations peracre (125/ha), 250 total evenlyspaced in a 5 acre (2 ha) appleorchard plot. Three types of trapswere used for monitoring:pheromone traps (males); trapsbaited with acetic acid and 3-methyl-1-butanol; and a centralblacklight trap placed so as to notbe visible and not interfere with theother traps. Monitoring showedthere was a 75% knockdown offemale Lacanobia fruitworm withthe feeding attractant traps (aceticacid and 3-methyl-1-butanol), “witha caveat that there is a possibilitythat this could be disruption,” saidLandolt. “Maybe the moths can’tfind the (acetic acid) monitoringtraps because of the same lures inthe lure kill stations.” The overalltrend, however, was significantlyfewer pest moths, as pheromonemonitoring traps caught fewer malemoths.

In a longer term study with luresset up to work 4 weeks, resultswere noticeable within a day. Fewermoths were in the treated plot com-pared to the control plot. Age offemales in the traps was examinedaccording to reproductive state toensure that old females that hadalready laid their eggs were notbeing trapped. Since the vastmajority of trapped females werestill in the reproductive state, thelure and kill technology was remov-ing eggs from the pest population.

Floral BaitsA parallel set of work indicated

that the moths attracted to fer-mented sugar baits are alsoattracted to flowers. Some mothspecies visit flowers a lot, and somerarely or never visit flowers.Likewise, some flowers are visitedoften by moths and some flowersrarely have moth visitations.Landolt has been working withnight-blooming jasmine, Oregongrape, 4 o’clocks and butterflybush.

European corn borer,Ostrinia nubilalis


Conference NotesAlfalfa looper and cabbage looper

were the subject of floral blendexperiments. Alfalfa looper,Autographa californica, was by farmost attracted to phenylacetalde-hyde (PAA), and only a little attract-ed to beta-myrcene in single com-ponent lure tests. A number ofcompounds that were not attractivealone were synergistic when com-bined with PAA. Soybean looper,Pseudoplusia includens, is alsoattracted to PAA. Velvetbean cater-pillar, Anticarsia gemmatalis, hasalmost no attraction to either PAAor linalool alone; but the combina-tion of PAA and linalool is stronglysynergistic.

Attract-and-kill station (bad-minton birdie) experiments in alfal-fa fields reduced female alfalfalooper moths by 75%, with nochange in numbers of male mothscaught. In screenhouse experi-ments in lettuce, a favored hostplant, alfalfa looper moths fedsugar before being released werenot attracted to the lures. However,unfed moths were attracted andkilled. This fact raises strong con-cerns about sugar source competi-tion making the lures less effectivein the field. Though it was not thecase in alfalfa field experiments,“that is certainly something towatch in the future,” said Landolt.

Fungal Micro-Factories“Whey-based fungal micro-facto-

ries are a novel technologydesigned to dramatically increasethe level of biocontrol fungi afterapplication into the environment,”said Stacie Grassano (105 CarriganDr, Univ of Vermont, Burlington,VT 05405; [email protected]).“Insect-killing fungi are beingextensively investigated for hemlockwoolly adelgid (HWA), Adelges tsug-ae, suppression. Mycotal™(Koppert UK Ltd), a EuropeanUnion registered product contain-ing Lecanicillium muscarium showsactivity against HWA in laboratorytrials.

HWA, which is “spreadingthrough the eastern U.S. causingextensive tree mortality,” may becontrolled at a lower cost with low

dose micro-factory applications ofbiocontrol fungi instead of conven-tional high dose applications.“Sweet whey, an inexpensive cheesebyproduct, acts as a nutritive basefor the fungus in micro-factories,”said Grassano. “The dramaticincrease in spore concentrations intreatments that contain wheydemonstrates the potential for

whey-based fungal micro-factoriesto increase post-application abun-dance of biocontrol fungi such as L.muscarium.”

“This technology may be applica-ble to fungal biocontrol agentsother than entomopathogens, suchas mycoherbicides, and fungi formanagement of mites, diseases andnematodes attacking plants,” saidGrassano.

Purple Traps Tree BeetlesNadeer Youssef (Tennessee State

Univ, 472 Cadillac Lane, McMinnville,TN 37110; [email protected])has found that purple traps aremore attractive to buprestid beetlesthan white traps or traps with 10other colors including pink, magen-ta and red. Beetles trapped includ-ed flatheaded apple tree borer,Chrysobothris femorata; emeraldash borer, Agrilus planipennis; andthe metallic wood-boring beetle,Acmaeodera tubulus.

In 2006, 18 new prototype traps“constructed of purple chloroplastcorrugated plastic” captured 3,502buprestid beetles from April to Julyat a site in Georgia. Agrilus subro-bustus (native to Japan, China,Korea) was detected for the first

time in the U.S.; since it feeds ondead wood it is not expected tohave the same impact as emeraldash borer. However, “the collectionof a non-native buprestid validatesthe value of this trap as a surveytool for the detection of invasivebuprestids,” said Youssef.

Trapping EmeraldAsh Borer

“Improved survey tools are need-ed for early detection of emeraldash borer (EAB), Agrilus planipen-nis, infestations,” said TheresePoland (USDA-FS, 407 S. HarrisonRd, East Lansing, MI 48823;[email protected]). “Current surveytechniques involving visual inspec-tion, girdled trap trees and trunkdissection are less than idealbecause external symptoms are notevident for at least a year afterattack and trap trees are destruc-tive and labor intensive.”

A 3 m (9.8 ft) tall purple tree boletrap with a middle sticky bandincorporated multiple attractivestimuli, including the color purple,an open edge visual silhouette andrough bark texture. Volatile chemi-cal stimuli included: leaf volatiles(hexanal; E-2-hexenal; E-2-hexenol;Z-3-hexenol); bark volatiles (manu-ka oil); and stress-inducedvolatiles. “More beetles were cap-tured on upper panels of multi-traps with leaf blend and lowerpanels of multi-traps with barkblend,” said Poland.

“Trap height is important for cap-ture, especially early in the EABflight period,” and “purple paneltraps are relatively more effective inopen areas than in wooded areas,”said Joseph Francese (USDA-APHIS-PPQ, Bldg 1398, Otis ANGB, MA02542; [email protected]).“Flat-paneled traps are relativelymore effective than crossvanetraps.” Trap color is being furtherstudied with “electroretinographicstudies to determine the optimalcolor wavelength for EAB attrac-tion.”

Male EAB summer flight activityis concentrated at the tree tops,which could be related to visualrecognition of females for mating.

Plum curculio,Conotrachelus nenuphar

CalendarSeptember 18-19. California’s Water Future; Expandingthe Role of Groundwater. Sacramento, CA. Contact:www.waterresources.ucr.edu

September 28-30, 2007. 8th Annual Renewable EnergyRoundup. Fredericksburg, TX. Contact: www.ther-oundup.org

October 10-12, 2007. Design of Experiments.Wageningen University, Netherlands. www.wbs.wur.nl

October 14, 2007. 25th Anniversary Silicon Valley ToxicsCoalition. Contact: www.svtc.org

October 14, 2007. 25th Anniversary Party, PesticideAction Network. Ferry Building, San Francisco, CA.Contact: PAN, 49 Powell St. #500, San Francisco 94102,www.panna.org/25years

October 15, 2007. Registration Deadline forApprenticeship in Ecological Horticulture. Contact:Center for Agroecology, UC Santa Cruz, CA. 831/459-2321; [email protected]; www.ucsc.edu/casfs

October 15-18, 2007. 16th International Plant ProtectionCongress, Glasgow, UK. Contact: C. Todd, BCPC, 7Omni Biz. str., Omega Park, Alton Hampshire GlU342QD, UK. www.bcpc.org

October 19-21, 2007. 18th Annual Bioneers Conference.San Rafael, CA. Contact: Bioneers Conference, 6 CerroCircle, Lamy, NM 87540; 505/986-0366,www.bioneers.org

October 28-30, 2007. 13th Annual Alternatives to MethylBromide Conference. Doubletree Hotel, San Diego, CA.Contact: MBAO, 6556 N. Dolores Ave., Fresno, CA93711, 559/449-9035, www.mbao.org

November 1-2, 2007. 3rd Annual Sustainable AgricultureExpo, Paso Robles, CA. Contact: www.sustainableagex-po.org

November 9-11, 2007. Cultivating the Family Farm.Yakima, WA. Contact: Tilth Producers of WA, PO Box85056, Seattle, WA 98145; www.tilthproducers.com

November 27-29, 2007. NOSB Meeting, Washington,DC. Contact: www.ams.usda.gov/nosb

November 30-December 1, 2007. 6th Annual SustainableAgriculture Pest Management Conference. San LuisObispo, CA. Contact: CCOF, 2155 Delaware Avenue,Suite 150, Santa Cruz, CA 95060; www.ccof.org

December 6-8, 2007. Acres USA Farming Conference.Louisville, KY. Contact: www.acresusa.com

December 9-13, 2007. Annual Meeting EntomologicalSociety of America. San Diego, CA. Contact: ESA, 9301Annapolis Rd., Lanham, MD 20706; Fax 301/731-4538;www.entsoc.org

January 7-11, 2008. Advanced IPM Landscape ShortCourse. University of Maryland, College Park, MD.Contact: D. Wilhoit, 301/405-3913;www.raupplab.umd.edu/conferences/advlandscape/

January 17, 2008. Bay Friendly IPM Landscape Course.Contact: www.bayfriendly.org

January 23-26, 2008. Ecological Farming Conference.Asilomar, Pacific Grove, CA. Contact: EcologicalFarming Association, 406 Main St., Suite 313,Watsonville, CA 95076; 831/763-2111, Fax 831/763-2112; www.eco-farm.org

February 24-26, 2008. California Small FarmConference. Visalia, CA. Contact: 888/712-4188;www.californiafarmconference.com

March 25-27, 2008. 20th Anniversary: SARE 2008National Conference, Kansas City, MO. Contact:www.sare.org/2008conference/

December 7-11, 2008. Annual Meeting EntomologicalSociety of America. Charlotte, NC. Contact: ESA, 9301Annapolis Rd., Lanham, MD 20706; Fax 301/731-4538;www.entsoc.org


“It should be possible to enhanceefficiency of high level traps byoptimizing trap color (green is betterthan purple near canopy periphery)and design and possibly throughthe use of chemical attractants,”said David Lance (USDA-APHIS-PPQ,Bldg 1398, Otis ANGB, MA 02542;[email protected]).“While placing traps at or near topsof trees may not seem feasible, thecurrent standard sampling practiceinvolves felling and peeling trees.”

“Conventional ground survey forEAB is difficult and time-consum-ing and is problematic because allstages except the adult are spentinside the host tree, where they aredifficult to detect,” said DavidWilliams (USDA-APHIS-PPQ, Bldg1398, Otis ANGB, MA 02542;[email protected]).“The survey for new beetle infesta-tions using remote sensing technol-ogy—in particular hyperspectralimaging (HSI)—holds great promiseto alleviate these difficulties.” HSIutilizes 227 very narrow spectralbands of land reflectance; this com-bination of “wide spectral rangeand high resolution” allows detec-tion of very subtle tree color differ-ences that might indicate stressfrom EAB.

Debarking DestroysBorers

“Since its discovery in 2002, theemerald ash ash borer has killedan estimated 20 million ash trees,Fraxinus sp., in urban, rural andforested areas in Michigan alone,”said Robert McDonald (MichiganState Univ, 243 Nat Sci Bldg,East Lansing, MI 48824;[email protected]). “Quaran-tines imposed in affected statesgenerally prohibit transport of EABlife stages in ash logs, firewood ornursery trees to prevent inadver-tent introduction of EAB to newareas.”

“Currently ash logs must bemilled before they can be transport-ed outside a quarantined area,”said McDonald, who demonstratedthe value of on-site log debarkingmachines. A debarking machineremoved the upper 1.2 inches (3

cm) of bark and wood, along withall 7,750 EAB on 26 sawlogs and99% of 3,211 EAB on 15 rejectlogs.

“Results show that an on-site logdebarker can effectively removeoverwintering EAB, allowing for thetransport and utilization of ash logs

outside of quarantined areas,” saidMcDonald. “Increased utilization ofash saw logs can help reduce EABdensity while providing economicbenefits to landowners.”

Logging EncouragesSpruce Budworm

“The first year after a selectivecut [of spruce trees], the remainingtrees grow vigorously but experi-ence a decrease in certain defensivecompounds, such as monoterpenesand tannins, resulting in trees thatare more susceptible to spruce bud-worm, Choristoneura fumiferana,attack,” said Michael Cardinal-Aucoin (Concordia Univ, 7141Sherbrooke St. W, Montreal, QC,Can-ada H4B 1R6; [email protected]). Indeed, tanninsextracted from white spruce whenfed to spruce budworm reducepupal weight and increase mortality.

“It is clear that the spruce bud-worm can detect tannins and tan-nic acid,” said Cardinal-Aucoin,who subjected balsam fir, Abiesbalsamea, to 0-40% thinning theyear before collecting needles tomake aqueous extracts. “Tests with

Conference Notes

Formosan subterranean ter-mite, Coptotermes formosanus


aqueous extracts from their hostplant revealed an ability to distin-guish between trees subjected todifferent thinning regimes.”

Aspen PheromonesTrembling aspen trees in Alberta,

Canada, can be defoliated by foresttent caterpillars, Malacosoma diss-tria, and the large aspen tortrix,Choristoneura conflictana, two mothpests with overlapping adult flightperiods, said Brad Jones (Univ ofAlberta, CW 405, Biol Sci Centre,Edmonton, AB, Canada T6G 2E9;[email protected]). Though thesepests have no shared pheromonecomponents, the overlapping flightperiods made them good candi-dates for a rubber septa lure com-bining both moth pheromones.Indeed, a combined pheromonelure proved as effective for eachspecies as individual lures.

Furthermore, male mothpheromone monitoring trap catchescorrelated with larval defoliationdamage to aspen trees. Right nowthere is no control for the largeaspen tortrix, and aspen is usuallynot sprayed. Bacillus thuringiensis(BT) is sometimes used against for-est tent caterpillars. Jones hopes todevelop a predictive model for pestdamage based on pheromone trapcatches.

Q Fever Pet ThreatIn Georgia animal shelters, 32%

of ticks (dogs were not tested) car-ried the Q fever pathogen (Coxiellaburnetii), which “is important topublic health because highly infect-ed ticks on dogs in animal sheltersmay transmit Q fever agent tohumans via biting and/or aerosolof tick feces,” said Quentin Fang(Georgia Southern Univ, PO Box8042, Statesboro, GA 30460;[email protected]). “Ticksare vectors of Q fever agent butplay a secondary role in transmit-ting because the agent is mostlytransmitted to humans viaaerosol.”

Traditionally those at risk havemainly been veterinarians andfarmers helping birth sheep, cattle,goats and other farm animals, as

C. burnetii builds up in placentaltissues. Infected animals excretethe pathogen in milk, urine andfeces. Human infection typicallyoccurs from inhalation of dust con-taminated with dried birth materi-als and feces.

About half the people infectedwith Q fever develop clinical symp-toms, which may include: 1-2weeks of high fever; severeheadache; sore throat; nausea;chills; sweats; abdominal and chestpains; non-productive cough; vom-iting; diarrhea; and generalmalaise. Weight loss and abnormalliver function (some develop hepati-tis) are common, and 30-50% ofthose with symptoms developpneumonia. Most patients recoverin several months without treat-ment, but 1-2% die.

Cold Tolerant TermitesLike most subterranean termites

(Rhinotermitidae), the Formosansubterranean termite, Coptotermesformosanus, a tropical speciesintroduced to the USA after WorldWar II, does not undergo winterdiapause and was not thought tosurvive below –5°C (23°F).“However, Hu and Oi reported itsinfestation in north Alabama wherethe winter temperatures could gobelow –15°C (5°F),” said DunlunSong (Auburn Univ, 363 FunchessHall, Auburn, AL 36849; [email protected]). The physiologi-cal mechanism for cold toleranceinvolves lowering the critical ther-mal minimum (Hu and Appel2004).

Song tested termite cold toleranceby placing tubes of soil with ter-mites into programmable incuba-tors. “The low numbers of termitesin the portion exposed to cold orfalling temperatures indicate cold-avoidance behavior” by both themore cold-tolerant eastern subter-ranean termite, Reticulitermesflavipes, and Coptotermes for-mosanus, said Song. Lower mortali-ties of R. flavipes in this experimentindicate they are more cold tolerantthan C. formosanus. This researchwill help predict termite rangeexpansion in global warming.

Conference Notes

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Volume XXIX, Number 9/10, September/October 2007 … Practitioner, XXIX(9/10) September/October 2007...

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