scholarly journals Temporal Asynchrony of Adult Emergence Between Leucopis argenticollis and Leucopis piniperda (Diptera: Chamaemyiidae), Predators of the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (Hemiptera: Adelgidae), with Implications for Biological Control

2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 823-828
Author(s):  
Alex N Neidermeier ◽  
Darrell W Ross ◽  
Nathan P Havill ◽  
Kimberly F Wallin

Abstract Two species of silver fly, Leucopis argenticollis (Zetterstedt) and Leucopis piniperda (Malloch) (Diptera: Chamaemyiidae), from the Pacific Northwest region of North America have been identified as potential biological control agents of hemlock woolly adelgid (Hemiptera: Adelgidae: Adelges tsugae Annand) in eastern North America. The two predators are collectively synchronized with A. tsugae development. To determine whether adult emergence of the two species of silver fly are also synchronized with one another, we collected adult Leucopis which emerged from A. tsugae-infested western hemlock [Pinaceae: Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.] from four sites in the Pacific Northwest over a 29-d period. Specimens were collected twice daily in the laboratory and identified to species using DNA barcoding. The study found that more adult Leucopis were collected in the evening than the morning. Additionally, the daily emergences of adults over the 29-d sampling period exhibited sinusoidal-like fluctuations of peak abundance of each species, lending evidence to a pattern of temporal partitioning. This pattern could have logistical implications for their use as biological control agents in eastern North America, namely the need to release both species for maximum efficacy in decreasing A. tsugae populations.

2019 ◽  
Vol 110 (3) ◽  
pp. 303-308 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Rose ◽  
Darrell W. Ross ◽  
Nathan P. Havill ◽  
Kyle Motley ◽  
Kimberly F. Wallin

AbstractThe hemlock woolly adelgid (Hemiptera: Adelgidae: Adelges tsugae Annand) is an invasive insect, introduced from Japan to eastern North America, where it causes decline and death of hemlock trees. There is a closely related lineage of A. tsugae native to western North America. To inform classical biological control of A. tsugae in the eastern USA, the density and phenology of three native western adelgid specialist predators, Leucopis argenticollis (Zetterstedt), Le. piniperda (Malloch) (Diptera: Chamaemyiidae), and Laricobius nigrinus Fender (Coleoptera: Derodontidae), were quantified in the Pacific Northwest. Infested branches were collected from western hemlock (Pinaceae: Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.) at four sites around the Puget Sound, Washington and three sites in Oregon. Immature Leucopis were identified to species using DNA barcodes. Leucopis argenticollis was roughly twice as abundant as Le. piniperda. Laricobius nigrinus larvae were more abundant than the two species of Leucopis during the egg stage of the first adelgid generation, but Leucopis were present as feeding larvae during the second adelgid generation when La. nigrinus was aestivating in the soil, resulting in Leucopis being more abundant than La. nigrinus across the entire sampling period. Adelges tsugae and La. nigrinus densities were not correlated, while A. tsugae and Leucopis spp. densities were positively correlated. Leucopis spp. and La. nigrinus densities were negatively correlated. These results support the complementary use of La. nigrinus and the two Leucopis species for biological control of A. tsugae in the eastern USA, and point to the need for further investigation of spatial and temporal niche partitioning among the three predator species.


2003 ◽  
Vol 135 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
G.M.G. Zilahi-Balogh ◽  
L.M. Humble ◽  
A.B. Lamb ◽  
S.M. Salom ◽  
L.T. Kok

AbstractLaricobius nigrinus Fender, native to the Pacific Northwest, is being evaluated as a potential biological control agent of the hemlock woolly adelgid, Adelges tsugae Annand, in the eastern United States. Members of the genus Laricobius feed exclusively on adelgids. Adelges tsugae is found on hemlocks (Tsuga sp.) in North America and Asia, but is considered only a pest of eastern [Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carrière] and Carolina (Tsuga caroliniana Engelmann) hemlocks in eastern North America. This is the first detailed study of the life history of L. nigrinus and its interaction with A. tsugae. Results of a 2-year field study conducted in a seed orchard in British Columbia on the seasonal abundance of L. nigrinus and its prey, A. tsugae, revealed that (i) the sistens generation of A. tsugae matures 2-3 months earlier than previously reported in Virginia and Connecticut, (ii) no A. tsugae sexuparae were observed, which differs from findings in Virginia and Connecticut, (iii) L. nigrinus adults undergo an aestival diapause that coincides with diapausing first instar A. tsugae sistens, and (iv) oviposition and subsequent larval development of L. nigrinus coincides with oviposition by the A. tsugae sistens adults, indicating good synchrony between L. nigrinus and suitable prey stages of A. tsugae.


Author(s):  
Albert E Mayfield ◽  
Nicholas J Dietschler ◽  
Mark C Whitmore

Abstract Efficient separation of insects from plant material for quantification and collection is an important component of entomological research. This paper reports on a novel, easily replicable container designed to efficiently collect two different biological control agents dispersing from hemlock (Tsuga spp.) foliage infested with the invasive hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA), Adelges tsugae Annand (Hemiptera: Adelgidae). The container utilizes a simplified Berlese-style funnel design to collect Laricobius spp. (Coleoptera: Derodontidae) larvae dropping from the foliage into a removable bottom jar, a central jar to house the foliage sample, and a removable top jar to collect adult silver flies (Leucopis spp., Diptera: Chamaemyiidae) emerging from puparia on the twigs. The efficacy of two designs (with and without a funnel leading to the top collection jar) was evaluated using western hemlock [Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.] foliage naturally colonized with HWA and the two predator genera. All Laricobius larvae were effectively collected in the bottom jar, and the addition of an inverted funnel leading to the top collection jar increased the proportion of Leucopis flies reaching the target jar from 60% to 94%. This ‘Lari-Leuco’ container is presented as a research and motoring tool to benefit the integrated pest management program for HWA in eastern North America and for potential use in simultaneously separating ascending and descending life stages in other insect-plant or predator-prey systems.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Schmidt ◽  
Alexandre Anctil

The geometrid moth Hemithea aestivaria (Hübner, 1789) was introduced from Europe to North America, first detected in British Columbia in 1973. Until 2019, its North American range was limited to a restricted area of the Pacific Northwest. Here, we report on the first records of H. aestivaria for eastern North America from three widely separated urban centers in eastern Canada during 2019-2020.


2016 ◽  
Vol 106 (4) ◽  
pp. 546-550 ◽  
Author(s):  
G.R. Kohler ◽  
K.F. Wallin ◽  
D.W. Ross

AbstractAdelges tsugae infested western hemlock trees were sampled periodically for 1 year at two locations in Oregon and Washington to compare the phenology and abundance of three associated predators (Leucopis argenticollis, Leucopis piniperda, and Laricobius nigrinus) and their host. On each sample date, two 3–10 cm long terminal twigs were collected from each tree and brought to the laboratory to count all life stages of A. tsugae and the three predators. Peak larval abundance of Leucopis spp. and La. nigrinus coincided with the presence of A. tsugae adults and eggs. Leucopis spp. larvae were present for a much longer period of time than were La. nigrinus larvae. Furthermore, Leucopis spp. larvae were present during both the progrediens and sistens egg stages, while La. nigrinus larvae were only present during the progrediens egg stage. Overall, we collected 2.3–3.5 times more Leucopis spp. of all life stages than La. nigrinus. These results support the continued study of Leucopis spp. from the Pacific Northwest as biological control agents for A. tsugae in the Eastern USA.


mSphere ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey M. Lorch ◽  
Jonathan M. Palmer ◽  
Daniel L. Lindner ◽  
Anne E. Ballmann ◽  
Kyle G. George ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT White-nose syndrome (WNS) represents one of the most consequential wildlife diseases of modern times. Since it was first documented in New York in 2006, the disease has killed millions of bats and threatens several formerly abundant species with extirpation or extinction. The spread of WNS in eastern North America has been relatively gradual, inducing optimism that disease mitigation strategies could be established in time to conserve bats susceptible to WNS in western North America. The recent detection of the fungus that causes WNS in the Pacific Northwest, far from its previous known distribution, increases the urgency for understanding the long-term impacts of this disease and for developing strategies to conserve imperiled bat species. White-nose syndrome (WNS) is an emerging fungal disease of bats caused by Pseudogymnoascus destructans. Since it was first detected near Albany, NY, in 2006, the fungus has spread across eastern North America, killing unprecedented numbers of hibernating bats. The devastating impacts of WNS on Nearctic bat species are attributed to the likely introduction of P. destructans from Eurasia to naive host populations in eastern North America. Since 2006, the disease has spread in a gradual wavelike pattern consistent with introduction of the pathogen at a single location. Here, we describe the first detection of P. destructans in western North America in a little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus) from near Seattle, WA, far from the previously recognized geographic distribution of the fungus. Whole-genome sequencing and phylogenetic analyses indicated that the isolate of P. destructans from Washington grouped with other isolates of a presumed clonal lineage from the eastern United States. Thus, the occurrence of P. destructans in Washington does not likely represent a novel introduction of the fungus from Eurasia, and the lack of intensive surveillance in the western United States makes it difficult to interpret whether the occurrence of P. destructans in the Pacific Northwest is disjunct from that in eastern North America. Although there is uncertainty surrounding the impacts of WNS in the Pacific Northwest, the presence of the pathogen in western North America could have major consequences for bat conservation. IMPORTANCE White-nose syndrome (WNS) represents one of the most consequential wildlife diseases of modern times. Since it was first documented in New York in 2006, the disease has killed millions of bats and threatens several formerly abundant species with extirpation or extinction. The spread of WNS in eastern North America has been relatively gradual, inducing optimism that disease mitigation strategies could be established in time to conserve bats susceptible to WNS in western North America. The recent detection of the fungus that causes WNS in the Pacific Northwest, far from its previous known distribution, increases the urgency for understanding the long-term impacts of this disease and for developing strategies to conserve imperiled bat species.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Schmidt ◽  
Alexandre Anctil

The geometrid moth Hemithea aestivaria (Hübner, 1789) was introduced from Europe to North America, first being detected in British Columbia in 1973. Until 2019, its North American range was limited to a restricted area of the Pacific Northwest. Here, we report on the first records of H. aestivaria for eastern North America from three widely separated urban centres in eastern Canada during 2019-2020.


1982 ◽  
Vol 114 (S119) ◽  
pp. 5-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. Campbell

AbstractThe species of the genus Lordithon Thomson (Staphylinidae: Tachyporinae) of North and Central America are revised. Thirty-seven species are recognized. Sixteen new species are described: scutellaris, appalachianus and notabilis from eastern North America; difficilis and oregonus from the Pacific Northwest; fungicola transcontinental in North America; and nubicola, dubius, newtoni, howdeni, ashei, hidalgoensis, antennatus, consors, blandus, and oreophilus from Mexico. The following species names are placed in synonymy: cascadensis hatchi Malkin (= cascadensis Malkin); cincticollis Say (= thoracicus thoracicus Fabricius); occiduus Casey (= thoracicus thoracicus Fabricius); alticola Sharp (= obliquus Sharp); kelleyi Malkin (= bimaculatus Couper) and elefas Bernhauer (= longiceps LeConte). L. venustus Melsheimer is reduced to a subspecies of thoracicus Fabricius. The species festivus Sharp, obliquus Sharp, smithi Bernhauer, and mexicanus Bernhauer are transferred to Lordithon from the genus Bolitobius. Lordithon lunulatus is doubtfully recorded from North America for the first time.The usage of the generic group names Lordithon Thomson, Bolitobius Samouelle, Megacronus Stephens, Bryocharis Boisduval and Lacordaire, Carphacis des Gozis, and Bolitobus Tottenham is discussed. The genus Lordithon is divided into two subgenera, Lordithon Thomson and Bolitobus Tottenham (not Bolitobius Samouelle). The male aedeagus and other major diagnostic characters are illustrated and the distribution of each species mapped.The species rubescens Hatch, varions Hatch, fenderi Hatch and biseriatus Mannerheim are transferred from Lordithon to the genus Bryoporus Kraatz.Lectotypes are designated for the following species: niger Gravenhorst, axillaris Gravenhorst, festivus Sharp, anticus Horn, poecilus Mannerheim, facilis Casey, arizonensis Bernhauer, obliquus Sharp, alticola Sharp, smithi Bernhauer, mexicanus Bernhauer, cinctus Gravenhorst, gentilis LeConte, elefas Bernhauer and rostratus LeConte. Neotypes were designated for: angularis Sachse, trimaculatus Say, cincticollis Say, obsoletus Say and atricaudatus Say.


PeerJ ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. e10690
Author(s):  
Claudia Nuñez-Penichet ◽  
Luis Osorio-Olvera ◽  
Victor H. Gonzalez ◽  
Marlon E. Cobos ◽  
Laura Jiménez ◽  
...  

The Asian giant hornet (AGH, Vespa mandarinia) is the world’s largest hornet, occurring naturally in the Indomalayan region, where it is a voracious predator of pollinating insects including honey bees. In September 2019, a nest of Asian giant hornets was detected outside of Vancouver, British Columbia; multiple individuals were detected in British Columbia and Washington state in 2020; and another nest was found and eradicated in Washington state in November 2020, indicating that the AGH may have successfully wintered in North America. Because hornets tend to spread rapidly and become pests, reliable estimates of the potential invasive range of V. mandarinia in North America are needed to assess likely human and economic impacts, and to guide future eradication attempts. Here, we assess climatic suitability for AGH in North America, and suggest that, without control, this species could establish populations across the Pacific Northwest and much of eastern North America. Predicted suitable areas for AGH in North America overlap broadly with areas where honey production is highest, as well as with species-rich areas for native bumble bees and stingless bees of the genus Melipona in Mexico, highlighting the economic and environmental necessity of controlling this nascent invasion.


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