Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Chair, Rick Hellmich, called the meeting to order at 9:00am. Annalisa Ariatti reported on local arrangements. Site proposal for 2006, Penn State will host. Scott Isard will work with Rob Venette. Hellmich appointed Venette and Sappington to nominate a Secretary-Treasurer for next year. Awards Committee will continue to be Casey Hoy and David Byrne. The desirability of a Membership Committee was discussed. Venette and Isard agreed to head this new subcommittee. Hoy suggested that it might be useful to search ESA presentations and invite those with relevant research to participate. Hellmich mentioned that there may be several persons who cannot attend meeting because of teaching duties, but no alternative meeting time-frame was agreed upon. We were informed that long-time member Charlie Main has undergone surgery. A get-well card was signed by the group to send to him. Rick Meyer gave a report for CSREES: The NPL for the Animal Welfare Information Center has indicated that there is starting to be a little concern expressed about experimenting with insects. President's budget: An attempt to make funding for multi-state activities competitive failed in Congress. There are budget issues with continuing resolution: reexaminations of 06 budget are ongoing because of hurricanes and Iraq. NRI RFA's are out, but Integrated Program RFA's are held up. CSREES is worried about getting the RFA's out in time. Recommends using last year's RFA to get started, because there may be a short turn-around. If the Integrated programs are not funded, will fund through the NRI integrated program. Farm Bill Forums: Right now the only forum for input is via Sec of Agric. forums. There is a question in the forum about Ag research, but so far not much mention or interest. Can get constituents who support research, to express that at the Secretary's meetings or on the internet. End users are listened to the most and carry the most weight. CSREES must support the Executive Branch. So this has been a tense time dealing with the President's budget initiative to eliminate formula funding. All of us are faced with increasing challenge to measure outcomes and impact. Then we must effectively communicate that impact. "What are you doing for me now?" A lot of competition and the bottom line is allocation of money. Who is asking for impact, why we should care? There is a difference between impacts and outcomes, e.g., creating jobs is impact vs. publications which are an outcome. Impact statements: Important to be direct, short, concise, and state clearly the benefit to society: economic value or efficiency, environment, social well-being, health/quality of life, change in the discipline (basic science comes in here). For NCR148, the challenge is whether we can we rework the current statement to have a concise impact statement, documenting a realized, measurable impact for this overall desired impact. Should include statements in state reports and as bullet points in the minutes. Rufus Isaacs asked if we should come up with impact statements annually and post them on our website? Meyer thinks that would be a good idea  NIMMS has a template for doing a website. Dave Hogg gave the Administrative Advisor report: This group needs to change its classification because "NCR" is no longer recognized; Probably NCERA (No. Central Education and Extension Research Activity) would be most appropriate because it integrates education, extension, and research. The other possibility is NCCC. There was discussion of whether the expectation is for the committee to have a teaching function for the NCERA. Consensus was that the definition is broad enough to be OK. Westbrook moved to accept the NCERA designation, Venette seconded, unanimous approval. So Hogg will make the change, and we are now NCERA-148. Rufus Isaacs reported on the Committee website; Isaacs helped with the transition when Gail Kampmeier left the committee; then his website person left, so progress was more difficult than anticipated. Current address is: www.ncr148.ent.msu.edu The official mailing list will be kept on site. We should send Isaacs publications to add to the list. Links to our individual lab homepages can be included in the state reports. Westbrook mentioned "Share-Point" software can post a document that needs revision and everyone can work on it; or can come in and do updates. Rick Meyer suggested we look at NIMMS and see what's available; some of this is already there, e.g., can edit reports, update things, etc. Recommended calling Nicole Nelson to find out what NIMMS would allow us to do. Hellmich suggested we think about transitioning to NIMMS. We could keep old info or repository info on MSU site, and maybe more recent info on NIMMS. He also suggested having an Impacts section. The current Web Committee (Isaacs, Venette, Alyokhin) will continue, with Annalisa Ariatti as a new member. Consensus: Need to keep our current website at Michigan State Univ., because there may be a problem with people being able to find our site on NIMMS. Ariatti suggested it is important to get high profile in Google using keywords. Isaacs suggests putting links to NCR148 site on our own homepages. Impact statements: Isard suggests we need to make a list of statements every year. Hogg suggests we all put a bullet list of impacts or have an impact section at the end of each state report. Hellmich asked if we should have an "Impact Committee" to boil all the bullets down to high profile impacts for the web site. Isard suggested we just let the current secretary handle that. Meyer stressed that we need to work together because we want to how interdependence, i.e., to show impact of the committee itself. Consensus: We will start this year; need to add bullet impact statements to this year's state reports; It was also mentioned that it is also important to show linkages to other committees. Westbrook asked whether popular press items count as impact or outcome? Meyer indicated it would probably count as impact. Westbrook would also like to expand our visibility through highlighting others who we collaborate with on aerobiology. Hellmich appointed an "Impact Writing Committee" Hellmich, Meyer, Hogg, and Sappington. This will be a standing committee with the secretary/treasurer rotating on and off each year. Westbrook announced upcoming meetings and conferences of interest to NCR148: American Meteorological Society Biometeorology & Aerobiology Conference, San Diego, CA, May 22-26, 2005. Abstracts due Jan. 13, 2006; manuscripts due Mar. 24, 2006. Held jointly with the AMS Agricultural and Forest Meteorology Conference and the AMS Boundary Layer Meteorology Conference. http://ams.confex.com/ams/BLTAgFBioA/oasys.epl International Aerobiology Conference, Neuchâtel, Switzerland, Aug. 21-25, 2006. Website: www.aerobiology.ch Isard is organizing an aerobiology field course for the week before the Conference. Westbrook also reported the following items of interest to the Committee: Revision of World Meteorological Organization publication No. 134 on Agricultural Meteorological Practices: Ch. 9, Aerobiology. (in development by J. K. Westbrook) CABI book on Heliothine Management: Chapter on Migration. (in development by J. K. Westbrook and P. Gregg) Surplus USDA entomological radars: tracking radar transferred to R. Larkin, Illinois Natural History Survey, and airborne radar transferred to T. H. Kunz, Boston University. Two scanning radars and one vertical radar will be advertised as excess property for sale or disposal. Upcoming joint session with NC-125. A suggestion was made to consider submitting a proposal for a joint symposium at ESA in 2006 on "Biocontrol and Dispersal". Byrne indicated he would be interested in co-organizing with someone from NC-125. Isaacs indicated he would like to know where the gaps are in biocontrol in dispersal studies. Nominating Committee recommended John Westbrook as the next Secretary/Treasurer. Byrne moved, Isard seconded, unanimous approval.

Oösorption by Eretmocerus eremicus: Experiments verified that oösorption occurs in the whitefly parasitoid Eretmocerus eremicus. The presence of this life history trait in this species is surprising, as female parasitoids with such a high early reproductive investment and short lifespan are not expected to benefit greatly from resource re-allocation during adult life. Scanning electron microscopy has revealed a unique mechanism of egg breakdown that may: (1) decrease the per egg resorption time and (2) increase the nutrient amount recycled per egg. These two benefits may be especially adaptive to parasitoids with the reproductive strategy of Er. eremicus. A manuscript entitled Quantification and ultrastructure of oösorption in Er. eremicus (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) was submitted to the Journal of Morphology in August 2004. The manuscript was accepted pending major revisions in January 2005. In response to reviewer suggestions, further data is being collected on non-resorptive oöcytes. Behavior and Ecology of Western Corn Rootworm Beetles Moving Between Corn and Rotated Crops: The movement of western corn rootworm (WCR) adults from cornfields into adjacent plots of soybean, wheat, and wheat double-cropped with soybean were monitored in 2003 and 2004; final data collection occurred in summer 2005. Interfield movement was measured by detecting ingested transgenic corn tissue in the bodies of WCR collected with sweep nets in rotated crops at known distance from transgenic corn. In 2003 and 2004, WCR interfield movement rates were measured between 20-row corn strips (0.8 A) and adjacent 0.8 A blocks of soybean, wheat (harvested in early July and left as weed-free stubble), and wheat double-cropped with soybean (soybean planted into wheat stubble immediately after harvest). The calculated movement rates for WCR leaving corn and entering soybean, wheat, and wheat-soybean double crop were: (2003) 4.9 m/d, 5.8 m/d, and 5.2 m/d; (2004) 5.3 m/d, 7.4 m/d and 6.2 m/d, respectively. Multiple measurements of adult abundance and observations indicated that the greatest WCR activity occurs over soybean plots. Few adults were collected in and around plots of wheat. WCR abundance monitoring with Pherocon AM sticky traps in all plots during 2003 and 2004, combined with a 5 WCR/trap/day threshold provided excellent predictions of 2004 and 2005 root-injury in rotated corn. Corn planted where wheat had been grown the previous year escapes economic levels of WCR larval injury. In both years, corn after soybean was severely impacted by WCR injury. Corn following the wheat-soybean double crop was intermediate between rotated wheat and soybean in almost all measures; WCR injury was just above the economic threshold in both years. Severe drought conditions exacerbated effects of WCR larval injury in 2005. Abundance, activity, and patterns of damage in corn following the rotation treatments indicate that WCR can discriminate very clearly between rotated crop treatments. All crops are not treated the same. Intra-field movement of WCR within two different configurations of transgenic corn and non-transgenic refuges: Transgenic corn tissue detection methods were used to monitor the movement and mating activity of WCR beetles in a 20% structured refuge cornfield with two areas (45-rows) of 100% Monsantos YieldGard® Rootworm hybrid (the transgenic, comprising 80% of the field area) on either side of a 24-row strip of Monsantos YieldGard® Cornborer hybrid (because this hybrid does not affect WCR larval development it serves as the non-WCR transgenic hybrid and was the refuge). WCR movement was also monitored in a cornfield where YieldGard® Rootworm was mixed with a non-transgenic isoline of YieldGard® Rootworm and planted as in an 80:20 blend. Three small 5m x 5m patches of Monsantos YieldGard® Cornborer were also planted in the center of the seed blend field. The Cry1Ab protein expressed in the YieldGard® Cornborer growing in each field served as a marker to allow movement from the refuge or from the center patches of the seed blend field to be reckoned. Detection of the Cry3Bb1 protein expressed by YieldGard® Rootworm allowed movement from the transgenic portion of the field into the refuge or center patches to be observed. Detection of Cry protein in mating WCR pairs allowed intrafield movement of males and females to be measured directly and allowed a direct comparison of the function of each refuge to be assessed. Male WCR movement did not differ between the refuge designs. Soybean Aphid Monitoring: Suction trap observations 2005. The Illinois suction trap network operated from the middle of May through mid-October. Fourteen species of aphids considered of economic importance were counted and the data circulated to all cooperators and additional extension personnel. Trap catches of some species were considerably different from those seen in 2004. This was most noticeable for three species, two cereal aphid Rhopalosiphum padi and R. maidis and the spotted alfalfa aphid, Therioaphis trifolii. In 2004 R. padi and R. maidis were the most abundant aphids, often reaching hundreds per trap throughout the summer. Rhopalosiphum maidis usually peaks in the last week of July or first week of August. In 2005 the number of these common aphids was in the low double digits and did not become abundant until late August. The spotted alfalfa aphid is commonly present in most of the traps, usually less than 5 per trap. In 2005 there were 10's, 20's and even over 100 specimens in the samples. Numbers for all three species were different from 2004 by at least an order of magnitude. There was considerable interest in the soybean aphid because the 2004 fall flight was the highest seen in the four years of the suction trap operation in Illinois. It was also the first year that fall migrants were collected in each of the nine traps in Illinois. Early July collections found the soybean aphid scattered throughout the state, whereas in all previous years populations grew in the north while the southern traps were the last to catch this aphid. This early distribution pattern suggests that there must be some successful over-wintering in the southern third of Illinois. The high autumn count in 2004 suggested that 2005 might have high populations, reaching and exceeding the established threshold. Summer 2005 populations of soybean aphids in Illinois did reach threshold but this was primarily in the northern one third of the State and they did not reach the levels seen in 2003. There are some possible explanations for this. Late spring planting of much of the soybean crop meant that aphids leaving buckthorn had no soybeans to go to, thus limiting early infestations. The summer of 2005 was also a summer of high temperatures and drought in northern and western Illinois, and a large proportion of the soybeans had spider mite populations that needed to be controlled. The most commonly used pesticide kills both mites and insects effectively, and the extensive spraying in mid-summer for spider mites may have had a considerable impact on the development of aphid populations in the same fields. September and October catches this year totaled 269, considerably lower than the same time period in 2004, but ten times greater than the same period in 2001 and 2003. The latter were both followed by summers with low population levels throughout Illinois. The number is high enough to believe that there will be reasonable overwintering in Illinois, however, the traps provide only an indication of the level of over-wintering that is possible. There are many factors that can influence the eventual outcome of this migration such as natural enemies on the winter host, spring weather, and planting time. The current 2005 soybean aphid monitoring data can be seen at: http://www.ipm.uiuc.edu/fieldcrops/insects/soybean_aphids/suction_trap_network/table.php?year=2005. Dispersal of newly-eclosed European corn borer moths (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) from corn into small-grain aggregation plots: Genetically-modified, insecticidal corn hybrids (Bt corn) are used throughout the US Corn Belt for European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis (Hübner), control. Development of mitigation-remediation strategies if resistance to Bt evolves, such as mass releases of susceptible moths, requires an understanding of adult dispersal and mating behavior. Because mating often occurs in grass near cornfields where moths aggregate, small-grain plots were planted as aggregation sites in an attempt to retain mass released moths. The objectives of this study were to examine influences of pheromone lure, plant density, and plant species on distributions of feral and newly-emerged, laboratory-reared O. nubilalis among small-grain aggregation plots. Feral moths were collected in aggregation plots in relative abundance, indicating that small-grain plots were acceptable aggregation sites. In contrast, newly-emerged moths that were released weekly as dye marked pupae were rarely found in aggregation plots, with »150 to 1,500-fold fewer moths captured than expected if all released moths had occupied the plots for greater than or equal to 1 d. The majority of newly-emerged adults did not colonize the aggregation plots, suggesting that recently-eclosed adults leave their natal field and do not colonize the first aggregation sites encountered. Mass releases of laboratory-reared pupae in the field may not be a viable remediation tactic because almost all of the newly-emerged moths dispersed beyond 300 m of the release point. Genetic Structuring of Western Corn Rootworm (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Populations in the U.S. Based on Microsatellite Loci Analysis. The western corn rootworm (Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) is a major corn insect pest in North America and is spreading in Europe. Seven polymorphic microsatellite loci were surveyed to characterize genetic structuring of D. v. virgifera populations, based on 595 individuals sampled from 10 locations across nine U.S. states (western Texas and Kansas to New York and Delaware). All populations showed high levels of genetic diversity, with mean allelic diversity ranging from 7.3 to 8.6, and mean expected heterozygosity ranging from 0.600 to 0.670. D. v. virgifera populations exhibited little genetic differentiation as a whole across the geographic range sampled, with a global FST of only 0.006. Pairwise FST estimates also revealed little genetic differentiation among populations. Most pairwise FST values were nonsignificant, except for those estimated between the Texas population and all others. There was a positive correlation between genetic distance and geographic distance as a whole, but no signiÞcant correlation for populations from Kansas to the east coast. There was no evidence for a genetic bottleneck in any D. v. virgifera population sampled. Phylogenetic and principal component analyses support the picture of high genetic similarity over much of the United States. Although high migration rates could produce the same pattern and cannot be ruled out, it seems more likely that the D. v. virgifera populations sampled have had insufficient time for substantial genetic structuring to develop since its recent eastward range expansion from the Great Plains that began ~50 yr ago. Multiple transatlantic introductions of the western corn rootworm: First detected in Europe in 1992, the western corn rootworm (Diabrotica virgifera virgifera), the most destructive pest of maize in the USA, is now present in several European countries. To discriminate between introduction scenarios, genetic variation of European and American western corn rootworm populations was analyzed at eight microsatellite loci, using an Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC) framework relying on computer simulations. For each European outbreak, our ABC method allowed quantitative comparison of different introduction scenarios that differ by putative source populations: the USA or one of the other European populations. Our results indicate that three out of the five analyzed western European outbreaks did not originate from the Central Europe spreading area, but from the USA. Moreover these introductions were independent from each other and from the initial European introduction in Central Europe. Effect of Environmental Disturbance and Canopy Structure on Inter-plant Dispersal of Potato Aphid, Macrosiphum euphorbiae (Thomas): Potato aphid (Macrosiphum euphorbiae (Thomas)) is the most abundant species colonizing potato plants in Maine. Although not a very efficient virus vector, this species is highly mobile. Therefore, it might still be responsible for infection of a substantial number of potato plants. Similar to other potato-colonizing species, potato aphid has both winged and wingless parthenogenic summer forms. The production of winged summer migrants is encouraged by overcrowding and poor quality of host plants. Because of their high mobility, winged aphids are generally considered to be more of a factor in spreading viruses between plants than wingless aphids. However, there is also considerable evidence that dispersal of wingless aphids can be important for virus spread among potato plants. Short-distance movement of infective aphids may be responsible both for enlarging existing disease foci, as well as for creating new foci within the same field. Effects of simulated rain, wind, mechanical raking, fungicide application, reflective mulch, predator (lady beetle, Harmonia axyridis Pallast) were studied on the interplant movement of wingless adult potato aphids in greenhouse experimental arenas that imitated small segments of a potato field. The number of aphids migrating from the central plant in the arena following tested perturbations was recorded. Experiments were repeated with 3-4 week old plants with non- overlapping canopies and with 4-5 week old plants with overlapping canopies. Aphids moved between potato plants even when canopies did not touch each other, and when there were no environmental perturbations. However, more aphids moved between larger plants with overlapping canopies. Wind, rain, and mechanical raking encouraged aphid movement. The effect was marginally significant on plants with non-overlapping canopies (P=0.0571), but highly significant on plants with non-overlapping canopies (P=0.0001). Regardless of canopy overlap, approximately 65% of aphids moved within the rows. On plants with overlapping canopies, wind encouraged aphid movement between the rows. No such effect was observed for plants with non-overlapping canopies. Development of a Trap for Dispersing Nematodes for Japanese Beetle (JB) Control: Developed mass-inoculation methods for nematodes that result in a high percentage of infection of adult JBs during a short exposure time. Methods for rearing H. marelatus have been developed in the lab of Dr. Melakeberhan. Infectivity trials using sand with a 20% moisture content with 50,000-100,000 Infective Juveniles (IJ's) per 4 ml of water added to each trap tray for 24 h was found to provide the optimal trade-off between nematode population density and beetle mortality. Under these conditions, over 85% of larvae were dead within 48 hours. Designed an auto-dissemination bait-and-kill trap with improved contact between nematodes and adult beetle for effective infection and dispersal. A trap based on the work of Klein & Lacey (1999) was constructed to provide a method for infection of JB. Traps were constructed using a standard Trecé Japanese beetle trap, with an infection box placed between the cone with the pheromone/plant volatile bait, and the collection funnel. A tray of moist sand containing the nematodes was placed in the box from the side, and a clear panel on the end of the box was used to attract the beetles through the nematode infection tray. For the development work described below, traps were used with the collection device intact, whereas this would be absent if this trap was in use. Time-of-residency trials were conducted during 2003 at Trevor Nichols Research Complex (TNRC) and at the MSU Entomology Farm on the MSU campus, Michigan. The residency of male and female JB in traps was determined by adding 100 beetles to the trap and collecting the number of beetles traveling through the trap to the escape point every hour for 11 hours after their insertion. Residency time of male beetles was found to be significantly less than females (Kolmogorov-Smirnov = 0.081, P<0.05), though this difference was small. More than 90% of beetles spent more than 2 hours inside the traps, with most beetles emerging from the traps after 8 hours. Infection of adult JBs by H. marelatus was assessed for two different rates of nematodes and a control (0; 50,000; 100000 IJ's) using the trap described above. Beetles were inserted into the trap and those emerging were collected and held in containers to determine their mortality rates. Infection rates were higher at the MSU campus site than at TNRC, possibly because of the high air temperatures (81-92 oF) experienced during the trial at the former site. Comparisons of infection rates between treatments revealed significant infection in the traps where nematodes were deployed, but no significant difference was found between the two rates of nematodes tested. This indicates that the lower nematode population densities may be effective under field conditions. Tested the potential for introducing nematode via infected JB adults into simulated larval habitats in the laboratory. Eight artificial "microcosms" were established by placing 10 JB larvae into a 50:50 mix of sand and soil inside a 18 x 9 x 15 cm plastic container. Half of the containers received adult JBs that had been infected by placing them in a suspension of 10,000 infective juveniles in 3ml of distilled water on filter paper in a Petri dish for 24 h. Half of the beetles were treated with distilled water only. Seven days after beetle introduction, grubs were removed and scored for whether they were, or were not, infected by H. marelatus. Between 10 and 50% of grubs were found to be infected, with an average of 27.5%. Mortality of the grubs was significantly greater, at 53% in the infected treatment, compared to 23% in the untreated control. This result demonstrates the potential for transmission of nematodes from beetles infected in traps to the surrounding population. Emerald Ash Borer Flight Potential: A cooperative research venture between The Ohio State University and USDA-Forest Service is using computer-monitored flight mills with tethered EAB adults to measure flight speed, duration, and periodicity. Preliminary results from 28 adults, flying without rest, food, or water, showed that about half of the tethered beetles flew >50 m with one 3-day old male flying a total of 5.2 km in 40 hrs. Subsequent data have confirmed the maximum flight speed as 1.5 m/sec (3.5 mph) which occurs in bouts of about 1 min each. The individual that flew the furthest in 24 hrs started with 70 sec flight bouts followed by an idle periods of about 130 sec. After about 2 hr, the idle time increased, rising to about 20 min at 24 hr. Although the detailed bout patterns differ between individuals, this overall pattern appears to be the norm. Bigger differences are observed in the length of time spent flying. In particular, females flew twice as far as males in 24 hr (P < 0.002) and mated females flew twice as far as unmated females (P < 0.0001). The average distance flown in 24 hrs by mated females was 1.7 km. The frequency distribution of distance flown by all females in 24 hrs is skewed to the right (mode = 800 m, median = 1 km, mean = 1.7 km, 20% flew >2km, 1% flew > 4km). The discovery that mated females fly longer, further, and faster than either males or unmated females is rather alarming as it suggests females are programmed to make a dispersal flight. The absence of a correlation (R2 = 0.007) between distance flown and size (mg) of female suggests there is no distinct class of migrants (other than mated females). A simple random walk model suggests that ~20% of mated females are displaced >250 m while flying 2 km; ~1% are displaced ~500m while flying 4km. The random walk assumption is probably optimistic; the flight is probably less random which means that these are underestimates of the actual displacement of gravid females in their dispersal flight. In order to determine how significant this is for control and containment efforts, we need to know how directional the flights actually are, and how receptive gravid females are to cues from ash trees to stop their dispersal flight and settle. Principles of the Atmospheric Pathway for Invasive Species Applied to Soybean Rust: Aerial transport alone is seldom responsible for the introduction of nonindigenous species into distant regions; however, the capacity to use the atmospheric pathway for rapid spread in large part determines the invasive potential of organisms once they are introduced. Because physical and biological features of Earth's surface influence the routes and timing of organisms that use the atmospheric pathway, long-distance movement of aerobiota is largely regular and thus predictable. Soybean rust (Phakopsora pachyrhizi), potentially the most destructive foliar disease of soybean, recently invaded North America. Concepts have been published which form the basis of the soybean rust aerobiology prediction system (SRAPS) that was developed to assess potential pathogen movement from South America to the United States. Output from SRAPS guided the scouting operations after the initial discovery of soybean rust in Louisiana. Subsequent observations of P. pachyrhizi in the southeastern United States provide validation of the modeling effort. Websites related to NCR-148 objectives maintained by Penn State University/ZedX researchers: USDA Soybean Rust Information system (Public website) sbrusa.net/ USDA Soybean Rust Information system (observer/researcher/specialist/administrator website) aphis.zedxinc.com Aerobiology Risk Analysis for Soybean Rust: netfiles.uiuc.edu/ariatti/www/SBR/index.htm Pest Watch of Sweet Corn: http://www.pestwatch.psu.edu/ Wheat Fusarium Head Blight Predication Center: http://www.wheatscab.psu.edu/ USDA Citrus Greening website: http://citrusgreening.com/ NSF-ITR: Advanced Imaging and Information Technology for Assessing the Ecological and Economic Impact of Brazilian Free-tailed Bats on Agroecosystems: The distribution of Texas bluebonnet and Indian paintbrush wildflowers was surveyed beginning in mid-March 2005. Wildflower distributions in the Winter Garden west of Castroville, TX, were very sparse because of a plant fungus exacerbated by prior heavy precipitation. Wildflower blooming periods and insect infestations and emergence from the wildflowers was surveyed; eggs were found but no larvae were found. Pest insect surveys were conducted on four commercial farms that produce corn and cotton at Castroville, Hondo, Uvalde, and Batesville, Texas, twice weekly from Mar. 15 to Oct. 15. Seasonal patterns of capture of adult male corn earworms (CEW), tobacco budworms (TBW), all armyworms (FAW) and beet armyworms (BAW) in pheromone traps were compiled. An interesting outcome is that there was no major peak capture of corn earworms from fruiting corn (on approximately July 1). Overall, the pest surveys documented the flight activity, egg laying, and development of pest insects, and their dispersal from corn and subsequent infestation in cotton. Weather stations measured air temperature, soil temperature, wind speed, wind direction, barometric pressure, solar radiation, and precipitation on the farms at Uvalde and Castroville. Thermocrons measured air temperature and soil temperature on the farms at Hondo and Batesville. Intensive field research was conducted nightly from June 25 to July 8 on a commercial farm that produces corn and cotton in an area of high bat activity near Frio Cave, about 15 km north of Uvalde, Texas. Four traps baited with pheromone lures were placed along a road between a cotton field and a corn field to capture adult male CEW, TBW, FAW, and BAW. Four additional traps were baited with Mix M, an insect feeding attractant patented by Dr. Juan Lopez (ARS), and a light trap was operated to capture adult males and females of the four target species of moths and other insect species that were flying at night. Infrared- and visible-illumination videographic recordings monitored flight activity of pest insects approximately 3 m above corn and cotton canopies. Flying insects and bats were counted and identified. The flight orientation of insects and bats were noted to reveal patterns of directed flight toward different habitats. Insect and bat flight activity data will be correlated with bat flight and feeding data obtained from thermal imaging cameras and ultrasonic detectors operated by Drs. Tom Kunz and Gary McCracken, respectively. Although the thermal cameras were primarily used to detect bats, the feasibility of using the thermal cameras to view flying moths against a relative cool background (i.e., irrigated cotton) was demonstrated. A weather station measured air temperature, soil temperature, wind speed, wind direction, barometric pressure, solar radiation, and precipitation and stored data at 15-minute intervals. The weather data was correlated with insect and bat flight activity data obtained from the nightly videographic recordings. Dispersal of whiteflies and one of its parasitoids: Dispersal and migration (directed flight with defined behavior and physiology) by small (i.e., < 100 mg) insects have been understudied. Examination of small insects, dispersing a few kilometers, is of greater importance to Arizona producers. As year-around residents they need not reinvade our agroecosystems each year. We have found: In a vertical flight chamber, whitefly flight fits accepted behavioral criteria for migration. Most importantly, they temporarily ignore station-keeping cues; In field experiments whiteflies can disperse > 7 km in a 4-hour period; Whitefly flight is cyclical with most movement taking place early in the day, during periods of minimal turbulence; The lifetime window for whitefly flight is narrow. The maximum is at day 5, after which indirect flight muscles deteriorate. Whiteflies do not delay reproduction in favor of flight; Whitefly flight is modulated by wind speeds as low as 3 cm/sec; Eretmocerus eremicus, a commercially promoted, endemic whitefly parasitoid has limited ability to disperse (< 100 m per day); E. eremicus releases under field conditions have no impact on whitefly population levels.