International Organization for Biological Volume 30, Number 3 Control of Noxious and Plants. Fall 2008 Nearctic Regional Section IOBC-NRS N EWSLETTER

INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Finding Lost Ladybeetles From the President 2 Three previously common species of native lady beetles ( Coccinella transversoguttata richard- Olive BC update 2 soni , C. novemnotata , and Adalia bipunctata ) were re-discovered this past summer from non- agricultural habitats in southwestern South Dakota and the Nebraska panhandle. Thirty-four of these 3 rare lady beetles were among roughly one thousand lady beetles found this summer in South Dakota Risk communication and Nebraska during initial surveys conducted specifically for the Lost Ladybug Project and BC (www.lostladybug.org). These native lady beetles were once abundant and widespread throughout North America, but their abundance has declined precipitously over the last few decades. For in- Entomophagous 3 stance, C. novemnotata had not been recorded from South Dakota since 1977, and only a small conference number of A. bipunctata and C. transversoguttata have been collected in eastern South Dakota since 1988. Coccinella transversoguttata, C. novemnotata , and Adalia bipunctata are known respectively Announcements 4 as transverse, ninespotted, and twospotted lady beetles. The goals of the NSF-funded Lost Ladybug Project are to engage researchers and citizen scientists in Research briefs 5 surveys for extant populations of the three lady beetle spe- cies and to study causes of the lady beetles’ decline. The project’s principal investigators are John Losey and Leslie Allee (Cornell University), Michael Catangui (South Dakota Governing Board State University), John Pickering (University of Georgia), and Louis Hesler (USDA-ARS). The project was initially based in President South Dakota and New York, but project outreach will ex- Marshall Johnson tend nationally in 2009. Citizen scientists from across the UC-Riverside continent are encouraged to submit digital photographs of any lady beetle via the project’s website, and they have President-Elect already submitted photos documenting additional finds of Les Shipp C. transversoguttata from various western states. Agri-Food Canada Louis Hesler John Losey Past President USDA-ARS Cornell University Robert Wiedenmann Brookings, SD Ithaca, NY Univ. of Arkansas Michael Catangui Vice President SD State University Coccinella novemnotata , rediscovered in eastern SD. James Hagler Brookings, SD USDA-ARS, Arizona Secretary/Treasurer Stefan Jaronski 2008 IOBC-NRS Election Results USDA-ARS, Montana The results of the 2008 IOBC-NRS Members-At-Large. The remain- ballots were received for this elec- Corresponding Secretary Governing Board elections are in, ing unopposed candidates, tion, a clear indication of the inter- Jonathan Lundgren and the face of the IOBC-NRS will Jonathan Lundgren est of our members, and the high USDA-ARS, South Da- change in 2009. Doug Landis was (Corresponding Secretary), quality of all of the candidates. kota elected as the President-Elect. Ray Stefan Jaronski Thanks to those who ran, and for Carruthers, Mark Hoddle, and Janet (Secretary/Treasurer), and those who were elected to serve in Board Members-At-Large Knodel were elected to the be James Hagler (Vice President) the coming 2-year cycle. James Harwood will remain in their positions for Univ. Kentucky another 2-year term. In 2009, Marshall Johnson will shift to Ruth Hufbauer Past President, and Les Shipp Colorado State Univ. will become the President of IOBC-NRS. A large number of

Bill Overholt Univ. Florida Doug Landis Janet Knodel Mark Hoddle Ray Carruthers

Page 2 Volume 30, Number 3

M E S SA G E F R O M T H E P RESIDENT : Increasing Visibility to Strengthen IOBCIOBC----NRSNRS Soon the leadership of IOBC-NRS will change hands again as it does every two years. We have successfully stopped the decline in membership that we have seen in past years. However, more work is needed to recruit members from the large group of scientists, practitioners, insectary work- ers, regulators, instructors, and students who claim an avid interest in biological control. One fertile source in the USA includes the members of the CSREES regional committees (e.g., W2185, NCERA 125, S1024, S1034, NE1032, and WERA 043) that focus on biological control of and weeds. Given that all of these groups probably have at least one IOBC member, it may be produc- tive to send literature to the annual meetings of these committees. Ideally, we should send an IOBC representative to present a 5 minute report to these groups on the annual activities sup- ported by our section and IOBC Global. One area we should improve is our IOBC-NRS website. We are currently taking steps to do this, and my successor, Les Shipp, incoming IOBC-NRS President for 2009-2010, is supportive of these efforts. A recent decision by our Governing Board provided a mechanism by which the section can provide monetary support to individuals who wish to organize and present short courses on highly specialized topics in biological control. This action will help make IOBC-NRS a more visible entity in our field. I am sure that there are several more ways that we can increase our visibility, and the incoming leaders of our section can implement these. Changes to the Lastly, I would like to thank all members of the Governing Board and other volunteers for their time and efforts that they contributed to IOBC-NRS functions and activities. Special thanks go to: IOBC Governing Jon Lundgren, Corresponding Secretary, for overseeing production and distribution of the newslet- Board ter; Stefan Jaronski, Secretary / Treasurer, for managing our fiscal account and maintaining sec- tion records; James Hagler, for coordinating this year’s symposium and mixer scheduled for our 2008 meeting in Reno, NV; and Les Shipp for overseeing the selection process for IOBC out- standing graduate students for 2007 and 2008. Special thanks to Past-President Rob Wieden- mann for service to the section, advice, and assistance. It has been a privilege to serve the section and a rewarding experience to work with some of the world’s leading authorities in the field of bio- logical control. I wish the best for Les Shipp and will happily support his efforts to lead the section during his term. Marshall W. Johnson University of California Riverside, CA Domesticated Olives Reduce Parasitoid Efficiency Olive fruit fly, Bactrocera oleae Pickett) and USDA Agricultural Research thicknesses of fruit pulp of medium ripe (Rossi), was discovered in California in the Service (Kim Hoelmer, Allen Kirk) to iden- domesticated European olives typically late 1990’s. Since that time it has spread tify, import, and introduce parasitoids for cured as table olives was 3.06 ± 0.06 to most of the agricultural and urban ar- olive fruit fly suppression. Historically, mm (Mission variety) to 5.92 ± 0.04 mm eas where olives grow. Although adults of there has never been a “silver bullet” (Sevillano variety). Further research this tephritid fruit fly are commonly found natural enemy of olive fruit fly that is showed that for P. lounsburyi and P. con- outside of olive orchards, the larvae can highly effective across the geographical color parasitism rates were reduced on only feed and develop within olive fruit. range of the pest. Over 90 years ago, H. larger fruit infested with olive fruit fly lar- Olive fruit vary dramatically in size (based Latiere suggested that African parasitoids vae in comparison to smaller infested on variety) with larger fruit frequently that normally parasitize olive fruit fly lar- olive fruit. used for consumption (i.e., table olives) vae in thin-fleshed, wild African olives Marshall Johnson and smaller fruit often pressed for oil . would be ineffective against fly larvae in University of California Processors enforce a near-zero olive fruit fleshier domesticated European olives Riverside, CA fly infestation threshold for table olives, because they possessed short oviposi- whereas olives destined for pressing may tors. Data recently collected by Xingeng be heavily infested ( ≥ 30%). Presently, Wang (UC Riverside) and colleagues indi- growers in some areas (Sacramento Val- cate that Latiere was correct. Measure- ley, coastal areas) must treat weekly with ments of the ovipositors of five braconid insecticide baits to manage the pest. Ef- species Utetes africanus , Bracon celer , forts were initiated by researchers at the Psyttalia lounsburyi , P. ponerophaga , and University of California campuses of P. concolor , showed a mean range in Berkeley (Kent Daane) and Riverside length from 0.94 ± 0.01 ( U. africanus ) to (Marshall Johnson) in collaboration with 2.88 ± 0.10 mm ( P. concolor ). The thick- those affiliated with the California Depart- ness of fruit pulp for wild African olives ment of Food and Agriculture (Charles was 1.61± 0.06 mm. In contrast, the Psyttalia concolor , a parasitoid of olive fly.

IOBC-NRS Newsletter Page 3 Can Risk Communication be Improved during the Importation of Biological Control Agents ?

The potentially irreversible non-target im- method (Dillman, 2000). pacts that might result from the introduc- Five hundred stakeholders in biological tion of entomophagous Biological Control control, including: federal and state employ- Agents (BCAs) are currently at the center of ees, academic researchers, field practitioners, increasingly stringent import regulatory conservationists and, BCA producers were requirements. One of the prospective ways surveyed. Results from the survey (response explaining risks (37.3% somewhat effec- to reduce divergent opinions between regu- rate of 23.1%) indicated that the majority of tive ) and decisions (33.7%), encouraging lators and permit petitioners (importers of respondents (91.1%) considered risk commu- feedback (37.3%), responding to ques- BCAs) on the level of risk posed by these nication to be an important component of the tions (38.6%), and explaining petition introductions could be done through the permitting / importation process. However, requirements (37.3%). Almost one third of implementation of a carefully planned ap- respondents indicated that only 30% of the the respondents (28.7%) never received proach to risk communication. Risk Com- information concerning the risks associated any type of communication from the NPPO munication can be defined in this context with the importation of entomophagous BCAs about risks concerning pending importa- as a two-way exchange of information about was provided by the APHIS-Plant Protection tion permits. In addition, respondents the likelihood and magnitude of an adverse and Quarantine, the National Plant Protection indicated that they were somewhat dissat- event and the policies to control it. The Organization (NPPO) for the United States. isfied with the quality of their interactions with the NPPO concerning a pending im- main purpose of risk communication is to Although almost half of the respondents portation permit. Thus only half of the provide individuals with enough information (43.6%) indicated that they received informa- respondents (53.8%) believed that the to enable them to make an informed deci- tion about the potential risks associated with NPPO website provides sufficient explana- sion about a potential risk. Empirical data the importation of entomophagous BCAs at tion and/or guidance during the permit- are necessary to demonstrate the useful- least once a year, only one third of the respon- ting / importation process for entomo- ness of a risk communication framework, dents were satisfied with the information pro- phagous BCAs. In addition, 42% of the and there is a lack of documentation con- vided by the NPPO (28.7%). The main risk com- respondents felt that there was a definite cerning current risk communication prac- munication avenues identified by respondents need for more guidance documents from tices during the permitting/importation included scientific conferences (36%), scien- the NPPO on this issue. process for entomophagous BCAs. tific publications (31.5%) and electronic mail To build a better understanding of the and websites, i.e. list servers, the Federal Reg- These results suggest that improving the role and impact of risk communication istry site, and blogs (33.7%). Furthermore, only effectiveness of risk during the importation of entomophagous one third of the respondents indicated that communication during the permitting im- BCAs, a web based survey (comprising 19 when the risk communication interactions portation process of entomophagous questions) focusing on different risk com- occurred the NPPO was somewhat effective in BCAs would increase stakeholders' trust munication behaviors was developed using fulfilling the key goals of an efficient risk com- in the NPPO decision making system. a modification of Dillman's munication framework. These goals include: Oulimathe Paraiso Center for Biological Control Florida A & M University 1st International Entomophagous Insects Conference Tallahassee, FL

Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; 27­31 July, 2009 Dillman, D.A. 2000. Mail and Internet Surveys, The Tailored Design Method. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. This meeting is a merger of the North This workshop will take place on the Univer- American-organized ‘International Entomo- sity of Minnesota campus located in Minneapolis­ phagous Insects Workshop’ (the XVth was St. Paul, Minnesota, USA. By holding the confer- held in June 2006 in Newark, Delaware ence on a University campus in the summer we USA) and the European-organized will be able to keep costs low by offering the pos- ‘European Workshop on Parasi- sibility of dorm-room stays and using University toids’ (the Xth was held in September 2007 facilities for the meeting. The Minneapolis-St. in Érice (Sicily), Italy). The new, merged Paul airport is also relatively easy to get to with conference will retain the same focus on plenty of direct flights from American and Euro- the ecology, evolution, systematics and pean cities. In addition, the cities of Minneapolis­ physiology of insect natural enemies that St. Paul have many excellent restaurants, thea- characterized the previous workshops. The tres, and museums. An excellent park system 2nd workshop is tentatively scheduled to provides many easily accessible opportunities for take place in Antibes, France, in 2011. As outdoor activities such as hiking and bird- in the past, there will only be a single ses- ing. Many natural areas (e.g. deciduous and bo- sion and we will strive for an informal at- real forests, tall grass prairies, Lake Superior) are mosphere that is welcoming in particular to within driving distance of the Twin Cities. Minneapolis, venue for the upcoming meeting. graduate students and post-doctoral re- searchers, but also of course to university George Heimpel Paul Ode and government researchers and other University of Minnesota Colorado State Univ. interested scientists.

Page 4 Volume 30, Number 3 Announcements Traineeships for Risk Analysis of Introduced Species and Genotypes The Risk Analysis for Introduced ment of introduced species and geno- sessment • Restoration ecology • Species and Genotypes IGERT at the types. Trainees will complete a graduate Science and technology policy University of Minnesota seeks appli- minor in Risk Analysis for Introduced Spe- cants to enter the program in Fall cies and Genotypes and typically receive 2009. This Integrative Graduate Edu- two years of NSF funding, which includes For more information, please contact: cation and Research Traineeship a stipend of $30,000 and an annual al- Ray Newman (IGERT) program is supported by the lowance of $10,500 to cover tuition and ISG-IGERT Program National Science Foundation and fo- health insurance. UMN is an EEO em- [email protected] cuses on policy-relevant research. ployer. The program educates Ph.D. stu- Areas of research interest include: dents to conduct research to improve Biological control of invasives • Invasive Or apply online at: Ecological Risk Analysis and contrib- plant evolution • Ecology of GMOs and http://isg-igert.umn.edu/application ute workable solutions to policy ques- other novel genotypes • Prevention of tions and problems affecting manage- invasion • Confined ecological risk as-

Biocontrol Musings: Thwarted cats

The plague, populations under control? I've heard caused by the flea- the theory that cats were killed by the vectored bacte- thousands due to superstitions against rium Yersinia pes- them in medieval Europe, but so far I tis has caused haven't found any documentation of three human pan- such actions. On the other hand, it demics and many seems significant that cats are them- more localized selves quite susceptible to plague - epidemics in Europe and Asia over the more so than dogs, cows, horses and past 1500 years or so. As you know, other non-rodent mammals. And they the fleas that vector Y. pestis are car- can catch it by feeding on infected ried by rats and other rodents and then rats. Perhaps Y. pestis managed to move onto humans to infect them. cause as much devastation as it did in Apparently rats get to very high densi- part by wiping out a main predator of ties in times of plague and this is part the host of its vector. of the reason that human infection George Heimpel rates are high. My question is this: how Dept. Entomology can our cats let this happen? Why did University of Minnesota cats, which I had thought were ubiqui- St. Paul, MN Simpson, W.J. (1905) A Treatise on the tous in the urban and rural settings Plague. Cambridge University Press, Watson, R.P. et al (2001) Veterinary Pa- where this happened, not keep rat Cambridge, U.K. thology, 38, 165-172. IOBC Symposium: A Celebration of the Career and Contributions of Robert J. O’Neil

This year's IOBC Symposium Ragsdale and Rob Wiedenmann. (Tuesday evening, Nov 18) will be The symposium will be followed by a honoring the career, contributions, mixer. Please plan to attend and and life of Bob O'Neil. The sympo- celebrate the contributions that Bob sium will have presentations by made to IOBC, biological control, and Susie Legaspi, Luis Canas, Dave life itself.

IOBC-NRS Newsletter Page 5

RESEA RCH B RIEFS

Using SnailSnail----killingkilling Fly Larvae as Biological Control Agents of Invasive Slugs

Natural enemy – slug interactions The natural history of elata lakes and drainage ditches to flood plain have been widely studied in Europe, lead- represents many of the remarkable behaviors forests and mesic woodlands. Thus, it ing to a variety of management recommen- expressed in this genus. Newly hatched larvae would likely be possible to maintain popu- dations promoting biological control, but of this slug predator, little more than one milli- lations of T. plebeja in habitats adjacent little information pertaining to their regula- meter in length, remain motionless until con- to agricultural fields. Secondly, it has a tion has been reported in North America. tact is made with a slug. Once an appropriate wide geographic range in both the Nearc- Four species of the snail-killing fly genus host is encountered, the larva crawls under the tic and Palaearctic. Furthermore, Dero- Tetanocera () are capable of outer skin of the slug and ingests the mucus. ceras reticulatum and Arion hortensis completing their life cycles on slugs. The The larva molts, bores into the slug and con- have become established pests of field following is a summary of their slug-killing sumes the dead tissue. The larva then crops in North America and T. plebeja is a behavior and implications for biological changes behavior, actively pursuing prey and major predator of these species. In the control. upon contact injects a salivary gland toxin that Palaearctic, T. elata would also be a vi- immobilizes its prey. Once immobile, the larva able candidate for conservation biological feeds on the anterior end, while the slug re- control. One of the most commonly occur- mains alive. During the third larval stage, T. ring Tetanocera species across northern elataParasitic typically mite consume found beneath 4-9 additional the elytra slugs in and central Europe, its larval habitat theof Harmonia genera Arion, axyridis Deroceras , Limax and Tan- ranges from marshes to dry woodlands donia , all major agronomic pests in the tem- from sea level to over 1700 meters in perate world. elevation, preying upon major pests such Similar scenarios are played out in the life as Deroceras reticulatum and Tandonia cycles of three other species of Tetanocera . budapestensis . A challenge is to recom- However, they differ in the nuances of their mend management practices that pro- ecology and host range, thereby presenting mote Tetanocera diversity in agroecosys- opportunities to tailor biological control pro- tems whilst minimizing increases in slug grams targeting specific regional or habitat- abundance that typically accompany or- restricted slugs. ganic, low-input and minimum tillage agri- Of the four Tetanocera examined so far, T. culture. plebeja is probably the best candidate for con- Eric Chapman & trol of slug pests. Firstly, this species has the James Harwood Tetanocera clara , a slug-killing fly en- widest range of habitat preferences, occurring Department of Entomology demic to North America from the margins of grass-sedge marshes, University of Kentucky Lexington, KY If you have not renewed your membership for 2008, please take a moment to do so! Contact Stefan Jaronski ([email protected]) with questions.

N EWSLETTER W R A P - U P Without question, the risks associated use and cost to farmers, but may also re- confirms that many in the biological con- with biological control need to be communi- duce the abundance of a handful of non- trol community feel that communication cated to and by regulators and the stake- target species. Some might prioritize the during the importation/permitting process holders who stand to be affected by the long-term effects on non-target species, needs to be improved. While improved outcome of a release. When the correct while others might prioritize the shorter communication is a necessity, once all of stars align, estimating risk can be a fairly term negative effects of the pesticides. the information is on the table, I can envi- straightforward process (hazard × expo- With this in mind, a couple of high- sion many scenarios where interpreting sure). And under these circumstances com- profile biological control programs have the information in accordance with the municating risk should be equally straight- met with resistance from various stake- prevailing sociological values of the time forward. holder groups (e.g., emerald ashborer, salt- can still make the release of natural ene- But determining which are the “right” cedar). Since biocontrol practitioners have mies a challenge for members of the risks to estimate is another problem alto- historically been viewed as white knights of IOBC-NRS. gether. In part, this is because stake- the environment, I wonder whether the holders place different values on affected philosophical values of society have shifted Jonathan Lundgren aspects of ecological systems. As a hypo- recently in ways that might explain some IOBC-NRS Newsletter Editor thetical example, the potential risk of an people’s response toward a number of re- [email protected] oligophagous parasitoid of a key agricul- cent biological control programs. tural pest may lead to reduced pesticide The recent survey discussed on page 2

International Organization for Biological Control of Noxious Animals and Plants. Nearctic Regional Section Organisation Internationale de Lutte Biologique Contre Les Animaux et Les Plantes Nuisbiles: Section de la Region Nearctic

The International Organization for Bio- Send items for the IOBC-NRS Newsletter logical Control—Nearctic Regional Sec- tion Newsletter is published 3 times a to: year in February, June, and October to provide information and further commu- Jonathan Lundgren nication among members of the Region North Central Agricultural Research (Bermuda, Canada, and the United States). Laboratory USDA-ARS 2923 Medary Avenue Brookings, SD, 57006

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