NE2332: Biological control of Arthropod Pests and Weeds

(Multistate Research Project)

Status: Active

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SAES-422 Reports

Annual/Termination Reports:

[07/29/2024]

Date of Annual Report: 07/29/2024

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 03/10/2024 - 03/10/2024
Period the Report Covers: 10/01/2023 - 03/10/2024

Participants

Members who attended: Lisa Tewksbury (University of Rhode Island); Liv Andrews (Scott Salem student, Virginia Tech); Amara Dunn (Cornell); Hannah Broadley (USDA APHIS); Elizabeth Rowen (West Virginia University);Olga Kostromytska (University of Massachusetts)

Brief Summary of Minutes

Location: Morgantown WV, in conjunction with Entomological Society of America Eastern Branch Meeting

Date: March 10, 2024

Discussion points

Need a new head of the project – Lisa Tewksbury

Location of the next meeting – we will use a poll, ESA Eastern Branch is still a good option

Work on a larger working group that includes federal partners in USDA ARS and APHIS

More document sharing, suggest using google drive

Want to foster more collaboration

Presentations at the conference (presenting author in bold)

Does manure handling affect biological control in organic field crops? Mellisa Musekwa, Ember Morrissey, James Kotcon, Eugenia Pena-Yewtukhiw, Rakesh Chandran and Elizabeth Rowen, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV

Conservation biocontrol in urban vs. rural settings – Lessons learned, questions raised Amara Dunn¹and Elizabeth Lamb², ¹Cornell University, Geneva, NY, ²Cornell University, Ithaca, NY

Release and monitoring of Hypena opulentafor biological control of invasive swallow-worts Lisa Tewksbury and Alexandra Johnson, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI

Research and operational activities for hemlock woolly adelgid biological control program at Virginia Tech Olivia Andrews¹, Carrie Preston², Aryanna James¹, Carrie Jubb², Ashleigh Hillen²and Scott Salom¹, ¹Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, ²Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA

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Presentations below are on the topic of Multi-State project, but not explicitly funded by project

Exploring the influence of cover-crop termination in annual cropping systems on predator communities and predation Jared Adam¹, John Wallace²and John Tooker², ¹The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, ²Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA

Into the Unknown: Unravelling the biology of an undescribed parasitoid and an under-researched moth family to develop a classical biocontrol program for box tree moth Angela Hoover¹, Maddie Ryan², M. Lukas Seehausen³, Marc Kenis⁴, Hannah Broadley⁵, Juli Gould⁵and Christine Dodge⁶, ¹US Geological Survey, Tucson, AZ, ²USDA-APHIS-PPQ-S&T Forests Pests Laboratory, Buzzards Bay, MA, ³CABI, Delémont, JURA, Switzerland, ⁴CABI, Delémont, Switzerland, ⁵USDA APHIS PPQ, Buzzards Bay, MA, ⁶USDA-APHIS-PPQ-S&T, Buzzards Bay, MA

Biocontrol aspects of mile-a-minute and Japanese knotweed in Northeastern USA Roghaiyeh Karimzadehand Yong-Lak Park, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV

Chrysochus asclepiadeus maintains promising future as swallow-wort biocontrol agent in North America: An international update David Harris¹, René Sforza²and Ghislaine Cortat³, ¹SUNY ESF, Syracuse, NY, ²USDA ARS EBCL, SAINT GELY-DU-FESC, CEDEX, France, ³CABI, Delémont, JURA, Switzerland

Accomplishments

Objectives 1. Conserve existing natural enemies and enhance ecosystem function <ul> <li>At Virginia Tech: Dr. Salom has been working to use a natural bioherbicide to remove Ailanthus stands. <ul> <li>Goal is to demonstrate an operational approach to removing Spotted lanternfly (SLF) habitat (Ailanthus stands) using a treatment that is environmentally sustainable, followed by restoration of the treated sites with desired native plant species. The resulting outcomes are two-fold:</li> <li>Aim 1. Assess plant re-colonization at sites where ailanthus has been removed at least 5 years previously.</li> <li>Aim 2. Incorporate active restoration into sites where the Verticillium bioherbicide is being used on ailanthus trees.</li> <li>At Cornell and NYSIPM: Efforts by Dr. Dunn and Dr. Lamb 2023 have primarily focused on extending information to both farmers and the general public, both about conserving insect natural enemies in gardens and fields. They are continuing insect monitoring at a rural site in 2024.</li> <li>At West Virginia University: Dr. Rowen and her students have completed the first year of data collection on the effects of different types of manures on ground-dwelling natural enemies and the biological control services they provide as weed seed and insect predators. Preliminary results suggest there are only small differences between manure types on the predator community in the first year.</li> </ul> </li> </ul> <ol start="2"> <li>Augmentation programs involving repeated rearing and release</li> </ol> <ol style="font-weight: 400;"> <ul> <li>At Virginia Tech: Dr. Salom is releasing natural enemies for hemlock woolly adelgid</li> </ul> </ol> <ul> <li>Aim 1. Rear beetles for release to land managers throughout the eastern U.S. and provide some founding beetles to other rearing labs. Laricobius osakensis (L.o.) is the target beetle reared but by-catch from incoming foliage resulted in nigrinus (L. n.) and L. rubidus (L. r.) being reared out.  </li> <li>Aim 2. Rear out flies from western HWA-infested hemlock branch collections and distribute throughout the eastern US. . A total of 5,242 Leucotaraxis flies were collected from cages in 2023. The greatest daily maximum numbers of flies collected occurred in late April through May with as many as 244 flies collected in one day.</li> <li>Aim 5. Measure functional (feeding) and numerical (reproductive) responses of each fly species to prey density, to quantify what their predation capacity is.</li> </ul> <ul> <li>At Cornell and NYSIPM: Efforts by Dr. Dunn and Dr. Lamb 2023 have focused on releasing biocontrol agents augmentatively in greenhouses.</li> <li>At the University of Rhode Island, Dr. Tewksbury has continued to rear Galerucella to release into additional locations where this classical biocontrol agent has not been successful, or the landowners are interested in augmenting the population of this biocontrol agent.</li> <li>The University of Rhode Island is collaborating with the RI Department of Environmental Management to release predators on hemlock woolly adelgid in Rhode Island. They received Laricobius nigrinus from Cornell University in March 2024 and Leucotaraxis argenticollis from North Dakota State University, both collaborations facilitated by Dave Mausel at the US Forest Service.</li> </ul> <ol style="font-weight: 400;"> <li>Introduction of new natural enemies against invasive plants</li> </ol> <ul> <li>At the University of Rhode Island, Dr. Tewksbury completed a release program for Hypena opulenta, a classical biocontrol agent for invasive swallow-worts, (Vincetoxicum spp.), which began in 2017. Her lab will continue monitoring for H. opulenta in the several lab.  This was a collaborative effort with the University of Connecticut, Ag Canada, Michigan State University, SUNY ESF, and may cooperators.</li> </ul>   <ol style="font-weight: 400;"> <li>Introduction of new natural enemies against invasive insects</li> </ol> <ul> <li>The University of Rhode Island began a program for rearing and releasing Ganaspis brasiliensis, a classical biocontrol agent for spotted wing drosophila in May 2024.</li> </ul>

Publications

Dietschler, Nicholas Joseph, Tonya D. Bittner, Carrie S. Jubb, Scott M. Salom, and Mark Whitmore. 2024. Observation of key phenological stages of hemlock woolly adelgid: Using citizen science as a tool to inform research and management.  Short Communication, J. Econ. Entomol. (toae056). Preston, Carrie, Dietschler, Nicholas, Whitmore, Mark Salom, Scott. 2023. Phenology of Leucotaraxis argenticollis, a specialist predator of the invasive hemlock woolly adelgid, in the eastern US.  Environ. Entomol.  nvad103, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/ee/nvad103">https://doi.org/10.1093/ee/nvad103</a> Broadley HJ, Sipolski SJ, Pitt DB, Hoelmer KA, Wang X-y, Cao L-m, Tewksbury LA, Hagerty TJ, Bartlett CR, Russell AD, Wu Y, Davis SC, Kaser JM, Elkinton JS and Gould JR (2023) Assessing the host range of Anastatus orientalis, an egg parasitoid of spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) using Eastern U.S. non-target species. Front. Insect Sci. 3:1154697. doi: 10.3389/finsc.2023.1154697 Dunn-Silver, AR and Lamb, EM, Growing perennial wildflowers from seed. Biocontrol Bytes blog post. 19 March 2024. <a href="https://blogs.cornell.edu/biocontrolbytes/2024/03/19/growing-perennial-wildflowers-from-seed/">blogs.cornell.edu/biocontrolbytes/2024/03/19/growing-perennial-wildflowers-from-seed/</a> Ongoing updates to updated <a href="https://cals.cornell.edu/new-york-state-integrated-pest-management/eco-resilience/biocontrol">biocontrol pages host by NYSIPM</a>. Nine articles <a href="https://cals.cornell.edu/new-york-state-integrated-pest-management/eco-resilience/biocontrol/biocontrol-agents">about biocontrol agents</a> including both classical and augmentative biocontrol agents have been published since October 2023. URI Biocontrol lab Instagram (over 900 followers) and Facebook (over 300 followers) accounts, providing information about biocontrol and invasive species.