The Khapra Beetle Trying to Gain a Foothold
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Western Plant Diagnostic Network1 First Detector News A Quarterly Pest Update for WPDN First Detectors Fall 2014 edition, volume 7, number 4 P In this Issue Dear First Detectors, The Fall 2014 edition of the WPDN newsletter features the seemingly relentless spread of the Page 1: Editor’s Note Bagrada bug, moving through the Southwest and up the California coast. It has even reached Davis, CA! Good news is Pages 2 – 4: The Bagrada bug the successful campaign to eradicate the European spreads relentlessly grapevine moth in the Napa and Sonoma Valleys of CA. A concerted effort by several public agencies and growers has Page 5: European grapevine led to this positive outcome. Another article is about the moth being eradicated in CA khapra beetle, an international pest of grains and flours. It has entered the United States several times and continues Pages 6 - 7: The Khapra Beetle trying to gain a foothold. Please read the article, visit the embedded websites, and familiarize yourselves with this nd Page 8: Announcing the 2 pernicious pest. Visit the website, Hungry Pests, that list Invasive Snail and Slug Workshop pests and plant problems state by state. And, back by popular demand is the WPDN Invasive Snail and Slug workshop, to be held at UC Davis on June 16, 17, & 18, 2015. See the details on page 8. Contact us at the WPDN Regional The WPDN team wishes you and yours a healthy and pest Center at UC Davis: free 2015! Phone: 530 754 2255 Email: [email protected] Please find the NPDN family of newsletters at: Web: https://wpdn.org Editor: Richard W. Hoenisch Newsletters @Copyright Regents of the University of California All Rights Reserved Western Plant Diagnostic Network News 1. Photo by J. Palumbo J. by Photo 2 The Bagrada Bug Spreads 1. The Bagrada bug , Bagrada hilaris, is a species of shield Map by Mike Boone bug in the family Pentatomidae It is native to much of eastern and southern Africa and parts of southern Europe and Asia. It is known elsewhere as an introduced species, including California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Hawaii (Maui Oct 2014). Bagrada bug was first reported in 2008 in La Crescenta and Eagle Rock (Los Angeles Co.)”. It then moved into of the intensely cropped Coachella and Imperial valleys 2008 of California, doing damage to cole crops there, especially those grown organically. It is a major pest insect of Brassica oleracea crops (including cabbage, kale, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and broccoli), and States infested with the Bagrada bug (and Hawaii) related Brassicaceae, such as turnips, rapeseed, and mustard. The adult and nymph of the species suck sap from the leaves of the plants, causing wilting, yellowing, and stunting of growth. Besides crucifers, the bugs are known on papaya, sorghum, maize, Photo from MA Dept of Ag potato, cotton, caper, pearl millet, and some legumes. Large numbers of the bug congregate on the plants and cause extensive damage. See the Bagrada bug National Pest Alert and the expanded Bagrada bug article in the WPDN Winter-Spring 2012 newsletter, pages 6 – 9. Ecological Explosion The rapid spread of the Bagrada bug along with its very high populations is an example of an ecological explosion. When first identified in Los Angeles County in 2008, it was the first time this invasive species was found in North America. Therefore there are no natural enemies or predators for this insect. The Center for Invasive Species Research (CISR) at UC Riverside and other research programs are looking in the center of origin of the Bagrada bug in Africa for natural predators. Bagrada bug pest alert. Note the Female (top), very small size of this invasive Dara by Surendra Photo insect in the alert (above) and also mating pair on the dime in the image to the (middle), and a right. mature nymph (bottom) of Western Plant Diagnostic Network News Bagrada bug on a dime. 3 June 2008 Original collection just south of Las Cruces NM on California is on the way to total infestation peppergrass June 2010; Valencia & Socorro Cos. since the initial introduction into Los Angeles 2011; Luna, Santa Fe, & Sandoval Cos. 2012; County in June, 2008 Bernalillo & Sierra Cos., 2013; Curry Co. 2014 Coahuila Yuma County, Arizona, has 230,000 acres of First found in the El Paso TX and Midland areas winter vegetable production and became on Brassicaceae in September 2012, then on infested by 2009. Yuma is the leading corn and cotton in Lubbock in October 2013. It producer of winter broccoli. was found in the state of Coahuila, Mexico, in 2014 Western Plant Diagnostic Network News 4 1. Photo from WhatsThatBug.com Bagrada bugs on fig in western AZ, at Photo by Brendan Kreute elevation approx. 1800 ft. 1. Bagrada bugs on peppers in Santa Barbara County, CA Because the Bagrada bug had not occurred in North America before June 2008, there is much still to learn about the biology, host range, and control of the pest. Its introduction and subsequent rapid spread surprised growers, state and county regulatory staffs, pest control advisors, and chemical company representatives when it first appeared in the fall of 2009 in huge populations in California’s Imperial County and neighboring Yuma County in Arizona. The generation cycle and number of generations per year is dependent upon the climatic conditions. In Southern California there are multiple generations each year and populations generally peak late in summer and fall. Usually all life stages are present together on plants, especially when pest densities increase, generations overlap, and food sources decrease. Even though Bagrada bugs prefer cool-season cole crops, development is favored by warmer temperatures; adults tend to fly when temperatures are above 85 ͦF. However, the insects spend more time in the soil in hot weather, where they hide, seek moisture and shade, or lay eggs. The female Bagrada bug can produce around 10 eggs per day. The Bagrada bugs overwinter as adults when temperatures are unfavorable. Overwintering efficiency is still unknown. They lay their eggs singly in the soil, according to Scott Bundy, an entomologist at New Mexico State. See the video embedded in the Entomology Today article. Only a handful of stink bugs lay their eggs singly, and this is the only known species in the world that actively buries its eggs. They also lay eggs on all plant parts. Surenda Dara, Ph.D. with the University of California Cooperative Extension in Ventura County writes there are varying reports on the effectiveness of pest control products especially for organic crops. Dr. Dara has found good control with the organic fungus-based product Mycotrol-O. Some have reported effective control with mechanical exclusion and azadirachtin with Mycotrol-O. However, University of Arizona entomologist, John Palumbo, Ph.D., extension specialist at the Yuma Agricultural Center and one of the original Bagrada bug researchers, in his studies did not see effective control by organically approved products when compared to the combination of dinotefuran and bifenthrin . Cultural control through pest monitoring and early detection, removal of weed hosts, mechanical removal through handpicking or vacuuming, cultivation to destroy eggs in the soil, and overhead irrigation to dislodge nymphs and adults from the plants are some of the options suggested. A research group from the infested states have an excellent PowerPoint on control strategies: Bagrada bug: biology, host range and effects on cole crops. Links to Dr. Palumbo’s lectures to growers on YouTube: Bagrada Bug Part 1 and Bagrada Bug, part 2; and his article on Bagrada bug control: Knockdown and Residual Control of Bagrada Bug with Foliar Insecticides in Broccoli. Western Plant Diagnostic Network News 5 European Grapevine Moth Eradication A Quarantine and Cooperation Success Story The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) has announced that the southern portion of Napa County has been removed from the European Grapevine Moth (EGVM) quarantine. Approximately 300 vineyard sites and 12,000 acres have been removed from the quarantine. The remaining portion of Solano County under quarantine has been released along with the majority of the remaining Sonoma County quarantine areas. Great cooperation by the winegrape industry and local, state and federal departments of agriculture has led to this quarantine area reduction. Growers and wineries that are still operating within the quarantine must continue to follow all requirements outlined in their compliance agreements and be vigilant to prevent any re-infestation of areas removed from quarantine. The lifting of the entire quarantine for Napa County is still two years away given there are no new EGVM detections. Frank G. Zalom, Ph.D., (UC Davis Dept. of Entomology), Lucia Varela, Ph.D., (UC Cooperative Extension – North Coast CA), and Monica Cooper, Ph.D., (UC Cooperative Extension – Napa), formed a team together with the infested counties’ Agricultural Commissioners, the USDA, and CDFA, to combat the moth that threatened to destroy the west coast wine industry. Their rapid response program led to an eradication of the EGVM. Lobesia botrana, the European grapevine moth, was first reported in the United States from Napa County vineyards in October 2009. Native to Southern Italy, it was first described from Austria and is now found throughout Europe, North and West Africa, the Middle East, and eastern Russia. It was more recently introduced into Japan, and in 2008 it was first reported in Chile. The WPDN Fall 2009 newsletter reported the newly discovered pest. In May and June, first-generation larvae web and feed on the flower clusters. Second-generation larvae (July-August) feed on green berries. Young larvae penetrate the berry and hollow them out, leaving the skin and seeds.