Annual/Termination Reports:

[11/28/2018]

Report Information

Participants

George Hamilton (ghamilto@NJAES.rutgers.edu) - Rutgers University
Anne Nielsen (annielse@njaes.rutgers.edu) - Rutgers University
Greg Krawczyk (gxk13@psu.edu) – Pennsylvania State University
Chris Bergh (cbergh@vt.edu) - Virginia Tech
Thomas Kuhar (tkuhar@vt.edu) - Virginia Tech

Brief Summary of Minutes

The meeting was convened at 12:00 pm as part of the BMSB Working Group held on November 28, 2018 at the Alson H. Smith Research and Extension Center (Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station) in Winchester, VA. Participation in the BMSB Working Group Meeting: Several of the attendees or their students/post docs presented updates during the overall meeting. These included:

1. Regional Updates on Trissolcus japonicus in PA, VA, MD and WV; PA – Hillary Peterson and Greg Krawczyk, VA - Nicole Quinn and Chris Bergh.


2. A Survey of BMSB Parasitoids in Northern New Jersey; Pierre Girod and George Hamilton.


3. IPM-CPR Update; Clement Akotsen and Anne Nielsen


4. 2018 Experience with Ghost Traps in PA; Greg Krawczyk

Members Present: George Hamilton (chair), Thomas Kuhar, Anne Nielsen, Chris Bergh, and Greg Krawczyk. Hebert Bolton from USDA NIFDA was also in attendance.

Conversion to a Multistate 5-year Research Project: Hamilton and Bolton discussed what occurred when the previous project was mistakenly renewed for a new 5-year multistate project as a NEERA project. Unfortunately, this has created funding issues with most members. Both then discussed what was being done to remedy this situation and the hope that the conversion to a regular project will occur quickly. Hamilton will develop this request and submit it by the end of December 2019. Side note: This has been done and the project is out for peer review.

Annual Reporting: Hamilton discussed the need to develop an annual report for the project and that he would like to have the report submitted by the end of January 2019. The group decided that each member present would send Hamilton a page summary of their work to date. Hamilton will then compile the material into a report, circulate it for comment and then submit the report to NIMSS.

Each attendee then gave a short state based report:

New Jersey: Overall, BMSB populations were up in both South and North Jersey. The use of IPM-CPR in peach orchards in New Jersey and other states is increasing although growers are still complaining about nymphs. IPM-CPR effectiveness seems to decrease when orchard size is about 10 acres. In southern New Jersey, Trissolcus japonicus was recovered for a second year at the same locations as last year. Trissolcus japonicus was also recovered for the first time from an orchard in Northern New Jersey. Work on threshold development seems to indicate that more than one adult per clear sticky card may be too high. Both Nielsen and Hamilton were involved with work sampling for T. japonicus using yellow sticky cards and sampling for BMSB using pheromone baited clear sticky cards place at orchards in different New Jersey eco-zones as part of a multi-state project funded by USDA SCRI. Work on evaluating the use of low dose pheromone ratios for BMSB monitoring and screening for insecticide resistance development was also conducted.

Pennsylvania: Krawczyk reported that their populations were the lowest they had seen since 2009 although they are still high (70/trap in 2018 vs. 120/trap in 2009). He has been doing a great deal of work using insecticide impregnated exclusion nets. Greg is also looking at how effective they remain from year to year. He also expected high numbers of overwintering adults to enter structures in high number this fall. That did not happen. He and others are not sure why. This year, Greg placed yellow sticky cards out on farms this year to look for Trissolcus japonicus. Although they are still going through the cards they have found T. japonicus in some new locations.

Virginia: Bergh (tree fruit) reported that his student Nicole reported earlier in the day about her work with Trissolcus japonicus captures and the influence of habitat type on whether or not they may be present. His other student Whitney is looking at the effects of landscape types on BMSB population, i.e. apple orchards vs field crops and forest composition. Chris was also involved in the multistate low dose pheromone trial and is part of the projects being conducted by the SCRI and Areawide projects funded by USDA NIFA and ARS.

Kuhar (Vegetables) reported that the areas in Virginia where he works had good populations that crashed later in the season. He is not sure why. His group was also involved with the same SCRI projects as the others except that his work was in vegetables. He also stated that most of his students working on BMSB have graduated and that his last student was talking later in the day about his work looking at the use of redbud and catalpa as possible release sites for Trissolcus japonicus. He stated that he is intrigued by the idea of using nurseries as a trap crop for BMSB and that adding pheromone to trees doesn’t increase the number of egg masses laid by females. 

The meeting was then adjourned at 1:00 pm. 

Accomplishments

<ul><br /> <li>Refinement&nbsp;of BMSB monitoring methods using clear sticky traps</li><br /> <li>Evaluation of landscape variables in different eco-zones on BMSB density</li><br /> <li>Refinement of development models&nbsp;</li><br /> <li>Evaluation of monitoring traps to access damage thresholds</li><br /> <li>Evaluation&nbsp;of insecticide resistance</li><br /> <li>Evaluation of insecticide treated nets as a management tactic</li><br /> <li>Recovery of Trissolcus japonicus in fruit orchards</li><br /> <li>Refinement&nbsp;of management recommendations for fruit and vegetable growers</li><br /> </ul>

Publications

<p>Akotsen-Mensah C, J Kaser, TC Leskey, AL Nielsen. 2018 Halyomorpha halys (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) Responses to Traps Baited with Pheromonal Stimuli in Peach and Apple Orchards. J. Econ. Entomol. 11: 2153-2162 doi: 10.1093/jee/toy200</p><br /> <p>Acebes-Doria, A.L., W.R. Morrison III, B.D. Short, K.B. Rice, H.G. Bush, T.P. Kuhar, C. Duthie and T.C. Leskey. 2018. Monitoring and biosurveillance tools for the brown marmorated stink bug, <em>Halyomorpha halys</em> St&aring;l (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae). Insects 9. 1-24. www.mdpi.com/journal/insects</p><br /> <p>Formella, A.J. and T.P. Kuhar. 2018. Survivorship of brown marmorated stink bug on select vegetables under laboratory conditions. Published abstract, Entomology Section. Virginia Journal of Science, 69(2). Retrieved from <a href="http://digitalcommons.odu.edu/vjs/vol69/iss2">http://digitalcommons.odu.edu/vjs/vol69/iss2</a></p><br /> <p>Kaser J, AL Nielsen, P Abram. 2018. Biological control effects of non-reproductive host mortality caused by parasitoids. Ecological Applications 28: 1081&ndash;1092</p><br /> <p>Kaser JM, C Akotsen-Mensah, EJ Talamas, AL Nielsen. In press. First report of Trissolcus japonicus parasitizing Halyomorpha halys in North American agriculture. Fla Entomol.</p><br /> <p>&nbsp;Krawczyk, G., H. Morin and C. Hirt. 2018. Alternative methods to manage brown marmorated stink bug <em>Halyomorpha halys </em>(Stal) as component of IPM practices in Pennsylvania orchards. Pennsylvania Fruit News 98(1): 17-19</p><br /> <p>&nbsp;Krawczyk, G., M. Zanelato Nunes, H D. Morin and L. Shaak. 2017.&nbsp; Brown marmorated stink bug, <em>Halyomorpha halys</em> (Stal) challenges and some solutions.&nbsp; Great Lakes Fruit and Vegetable Expo Abstract Book. Grand Rapids, MI. Dec 2017.</p><br /> <p>Leskey TC and AL Nielsen. 2018. The impact of the invasive brown marmorated stink bug in North America and Europe: History, biology, ecology, and management. Annual Review of Entomology 63: 599-618</p><br /> <p>Morrison, W., B. Blaauw, B. Short, A. Nielsen, C. J. Bergh, G. &nbsp;Krawczyk, Y-L. Park, B. Butler, A. Khrimian, and T. Leskey. 2018.&nbsp; Successful management of <em>Halyomorpha halys</em> (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) in commercial apple orchards with an attract-and-kill strategy. Pest Management Science. doi:10.1002/ps.5156</p><br /> <p>Pagani, M.K., H.G. Bush, and T.P. Kuhar. 2018. Efficacy of apritone repellent on <em>Halyomorpha halys</em>. Published abstract, Entomology Section. Virginia Journal of Science, 69(2). Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.odu.edu/vjs/vol69/iss2</p><br /> <p>Kuhar, T.P., and H.B. Doughty. 2018. Evaluation of foliar insecticides for the control of brown marmorated stink bugs in tomatoes, 2016. Arthropod Management Tests, XX(X), 2018, 1&ndash;1. doi: 10.1093/amt/tsy100</p>

Impact Statements

1. Members of this project have been involved in several grants during the first year of the multistate project. All members are members of the USDA SCRI grant entitled "Management of Brown Marmorated Stink Bug in US Specialty Crops and the USDA ARS Areawide Project targeting the management of BMSB. Both projects began 9/1/16. Because of the work done by the participants, conventional and organic growers have a better understanding of how to manage BMSB populations and minimize damage. Initially, a grower’s sole tactic was to spray crops on a calendar basis. This was especially true in tree fruit where growers sprayed one to two times per season prior to the appearance of BMSB. Today, because of the work done by members of the project, growers have methods they can use to monitor crops and as a result have refined their control strategies, resulting in reduced insecticide applications. While this should be considered progress, BMSB management tactics are still not optimal, and ongoing reliance on certain insecticides against it continue to result in secondary pest outbreaks. Because of this, work to develop more sustainable management methods needs to be continued.

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