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VOL. 34, NO. 4 SOUTHWESTERN ENTOMOLOGIST DEC. 2009 CONTENTS SEASONALITY AND MOVEMENT OF ADVENTIVE POPULATIONS OF THE ARUNDO WASP (HYMENOPTERA: EURYTOMIDAE), A BIOLOGICAL CONTROL AGENT OF GIANT REED IN THE LOWER RIO GRANDE BASIN IN SOUTH TEXAS Alexis E. Racelis, John A. Goolsby, and Patrick Moran…………………………….347 PRE-RELEASE ASSESSMENT OF IMPACT ON ARUNDO DONAX BY THE CANDIDATE BIOLOGICAL CONTROL AGENTS TETRAMESA ROMANA (HYMENOPTERA: EURYTOMIDAE) AND RHIZASPIDIOTUS DONACIS (HEMIPTERA: DIASPIDIDAE) UNDER QUARANTINE CONDITIONS John A. Goolsby, David Spencer, and Linda Whitehand……………………………359 ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS FOR THE BIOLOGICAL CONTROL OF ARUNDO DONAX: RIO GRANDE BASIN Emily K. Seawright, M. Edward Rister, Ronald D. Lacewell, Dean A. McCorkle, Allen W. Sturdivant, Chenghai Yang, and John A. Goolsby…………...372 COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS OF SORGHUM MIDGE, STENODIPLOSIS SORGHICOLA (COQUILLETT)-RESISTANT SORGHUM HYBRID RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN TEXAS Tebkew Damte, Bonnie B. Pendleton, and Lal K. Almas……………………………390 EFFECTIVENESS OF SPRING BURNING AS A PHYSICAL MANAGEMENT TACTIC FOR THRIPS IN PHLEUM PRATENSE L. (POALES: POACEAE) Dominic D. Reisig, Larry D. Godfrey, and Daniel D. Marcum………………………402 THRIPS (THYSANOPTERA: THRIPIDAE) ON COTTON IN THE LOWER RIO GRANDE VALLEY OF TEXAS: SPECIES COMPOSITION, SEASONAL ABUNDANCE, DAMAGE, AND CONTROL S. M. Greenberg, Tong-Xian Liu, and J. J. Adamczyk………………………………412 TRITROPHIC INTERACTIONS AMONG HOST PLANTS, WHITEFLIES, AND PARASITOIDS Shoil M. Greenberg, Walker A. Jones, and Tong-Xian Liu………………………….426 OVIPOSITION CHARACTERISTICS OF PECAN WEEVIL Michael W. Smith and Phillip G. Mulder………………………………………………442 PHYLOGENETIC ANALYSIS OF HEAT SHOCK PROTEINS IN GLASSY-WINGED SHARPSHOOTER, HOMALODISCA VITRIPENNIS Henry Schreiber IV, Daymon Hail, Wayne Hunter, and Blake Bextine……………452 i A NEW METHOD FOR COLLECTING CLEAN STABLE FLY (DIPTERA: MUSCIDAE) PUPAE OF KNOWN AGE Dennis R. Berkebile, Anthony P. Weinhold, and David B. Taylor………………….464 ESTERASES IN AEDES ALBOPICTUS (SKUSE) FROM NORTHEASTERN MEXICO Gustavo Ponce-Garcia, Mohammad Badii, Mercado Roberto, and Adriana E. Flores………………………………………………………………………..472 SCIENTIFIC NOTE: A VISUAL GUIDE FOR IDENTIFICATION OF EUSCHISTUS SPP. (HEMIPTERA: PENTATOMIDAE) IN CENTRAL TEXAS Jesus F. Esquivel, Roger M. Anderson, and Robert E. Droleskey………………….480 FORTUITOUS ESTABLISHMENT OF RHYZOBIUS LOPHANTHAE (COLEOPTERA: COCCINELLIDAE) AND APHYTIS LINGNANESIS (HYMENOPTERA: ENCYRTIDAE) IN SOUTH TEXAS ON THE CYCAD AULACASPIS SCALE, AULACASPIS YASUMATSUI (HEMIPTERA: DIASPIDIDAE) Daniel Flores and Jason Carlson………………………………………………..........484 SUBJECT INDEX TO VOLUME 34…………………………………….……..………488 AUTHOR INDEX TO VOLUME 34…………………………………………………….496 APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP………………………………………………….498 STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT, AND CIRCULATION………...500 ii VOL. 34, NO. 4 SOUTHWESTERN ENTOMOLOGIST DEC. 2009 Seasonality and Movement of Adventive Populations of the Arundo Wasp (Hymenoptera: Eurytomidae), a Biological Control Agent of Giant Reed in the Lower Rio Grande Basin in South Texas Alexis E. Racelis, John A. Goolsby, and Patrick Moran USDA-ARS, Beneficial Insects Research Unit, 2413 E. Highway 83. Weslaco, TX 78596 Abstract. The arundo wasp, Tetramesa romana Walker, has been permitted as a biological control agent for the invasive perennial grass, the giant reed, Arundo donax L. Evidence of adventive populations of the arundo wasp in the Lower Rio Grande Basin was confirmed with a spatio-temporal survey spanning more than 350 river miles. A total of 2,414 adult females of T. romana was collected during a 14- month period of study in 2008-2009. This study documents the initial locations and regional expansion of two adventive populations of T. romana, centered around the cities of Eagle Pass and Laredo, TX. Peaks in T. romana abundance in August 2008 and June 2009 indicate a region-wide positive association between abundance of T. romana and warm summer temperatures. Correlations between site-specific abundance data and weather suggest the presence of population- specific associations with both temperature and rainfall. Introduction Giant reed, Arundo donax L. (Poaceae), is a perennial grass introduced to the Americas by Spanish settlers from Mediterranean Europe, possibly in the 1600s (Dunmire 2004). It thrives in warm temperate and subtropical climates and has increased prolifically throughout the southwestern U.S. and in Mexico, especially along canals, riparian areas, roadsides, and other waterways. Giant reed is particularly invasive in the Lower Rio Grande Basin along the Mexico-U.S. border where it infests more than 30,000 ha of riparian habitat (Yang et al. 2009). Growing in dense stands along the Rio Grande, and capable of rapid stand expansion (Thornby et al. 2007, Spencer et al. 2008), giant reed poses an economic threat to water supplies (Seawright et al. 2009), riparian biodiversity, waterway access, and border security (reviewed in Goolsby and Moran 2009). Research to develop a biological control program for giant reed in North America has been underway since 2001. Several potential biological control agents have been identified and tested, including the arundo wasp, Tetramesa romana Walker (Hymenoptera: Eurytomidae) (Goolsby and Moran 2009), which was permitted for release in 2009. Tetramesa romana is a stem-galling eurytomid wasp native to Europe and North Africa that reproduces primarily via parthenogenesis (Askew 1984, Moran and Goolsby 2009). Male wasps are rare. Females deposit eggs into the stem of giant reed, and larval development induces gall formation, significantly impacting plant growth and development as documented in quarantine and small-scale field studies (Goolsby et 347 al. 2009b, J. Goolsby and A. Racelis, unpublished data). Although large inundative releases are planned, no significant populations of T. romana have been released to date. In December 2007, galls and exit holes indicative of larval damage and adult emergence by T. romana were found on patches of giant reed along Shoal Creek in central Austin, TX (Goolsby et al. 2009a). Exit holes and galls were also detected on giant reed along the Rio Grande River in Laredo, TX, in February 2008. Stems from these populations were collected and adult arundo wasps emerged, confirming the presence of T. romana at each location. These adventive populations provided a singular opportunity to monitor and study the movement and seasonality of the arundo wasp and how this biological control agent may be affected by key abiotic factors such as temperature or rainfall. Understanding the relationship between weather and biological control organisms can be helpful in the success of biological control programs (Goeden and Andres 1999, Goolsby et al. 2005). Many studies have corroborated that climate and weather can influence both movement and dispersal of insects and are important factors that affect biological processes and distribution of insects (Williams and Liebhold 2002, Peacock et al. 2006, Sims-Chilton et al. 2009). A substantial portion of these studies focuses on the effects of weather on population dynamics of invasive species (Christian and Keith 2008, Dale et al. 2009, Sutherst and Bourne 2009). Recently, particular attention has been placed on understanding possible climatic effects on invasive species and their biological control agents (Herrera et al. 2005, Corn et al. 2009), in light of anthropogenically-induced climate change in some cases (Beaumont et al. 2009). Spencer et al. (2008) found that regional differences in rainfall and temperature influence the phenology and production of giant reed. Because T. romana prefers phenologically labile shoot tips (Moran and Goolsby 2009), a similar trend in populations of T. romana could be expected because of both variation in availability of shoot tips for oviposition and the possible effects of temperature and moisture on development of gall tissues. Increased availability of moisture may lead to more robust development of apical and lateral shoots (Quinn and Holt 2007). For example, new shoots initiated in July 2008 in Laredo and Mission, TX, showed an increase in formation of side shoots in the following late winter/early spring (P. Moran, unpublished data). Additionally, Moran and Goolsby (2009) suggested that seasonal temperature variation can affect development of the final larval instar of T. romana. We therefore hypothesized that adventive populations of T. romana in the Lower Rio Grande Basin will have some relationship to fluctuations in temperature and rainfall. This paper reports data on abundance of adult wasps