Quality assessment of selected commercially available whitefly and aphid biological control agents in the United States

This study assessed the quality of three commercially available natural enemies used for pest management in greenhouses: the whitefly parasitoid Encarsia formosa Gahan (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae), the aphid parasitoid Aphidius colemani Viereck (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), and the aphid predatory midge Aphidoletes aphidimlyza (Rondani) (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae). Shipment packaging was consistent for all natural enemies. However, there was high variability in delivery punctuality, product cost, and product information provided by each of the six selected companies. Product quantity, percentage of emergence upon arrival, percentage of total emergence, percentage of females, and percentage of flying insects were assessed using International Organization for Biological Control (IOBC) recommended procedures. The parameters with greatest variability between companies were percentage of emergence upon arrival (0.9-10.5%) and percentage of flying insects (35.4-85.0%) for E. formnosa; product quantity (623.3-833.8 aphid mummies), percentage of emergence upon arrival (6.1-41.2%) and percentage of females (51.1-54.8%) for A. colemani; and percentage of emergence upon arrival (0.0-7.7%) and percentage of females (54.6-76.2%) for A. aphlidimyza. Results are discussed in terms of the value to consumers and compared with IOBC standards.     

Efficacy assessment of Aphidius colemani (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) for suppression of Aphis gossypii (Homoptera: Aphididae) in greenhouse-grown chrysanthemum

To assess biological control as a management tool for the cotton aphid, Aphis gossypii Glover (Homoptera: Aphididae), the efficacy of Aphidius colemani Viereck (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) for suppression of A. gossypii in greenhouse-grown chrysanthemums, Dendranthema grandiflora (Tzvelev), was compared with a pesticide standard, imidacloprid (Marathon 1% G) and an untreated check. No significant differences were found between aphid populations in the two treatments. A. colemani and imidacloprid kept aphid numbers very low, with the correspondent aphid populations exhibiting very low intrinsic rates of increase (r(m) = -0.0369 and r(m) = 0.0151, respectively), in contrast to the exponential growth of aphid populations (r(m) = 0.1085) observed on the untreated plants. Parasitism levels in A. colemani plots ranged from 48.93 to 83.38%. Esthetic damage parameters, including exuviae, honeydew, and sooty mold on leaves, were significantly different between treatments and untreated control, and damage levels were minimal with the insecticide treatment and natural enemy releases. The cost of A. colemani releases was 4.7 times greater than the cost of the imidacloprid treatment.     

Comparison of sand fly trapping approaches for vector surveillance of Leishmania and Bartonella species in ecologically distinct,endemic regions of Peru

BackgroundIn Peru, the information regarding sand fly vectors of leishmaniasis and bartonellosis in the Amazon region is limited. In this study, we carried out sand fly collections in Peruvian lowland and highland jungle areas using different trap type configurations and screened them for Leishmania and Bartonella DNA.Methodology/Principal findingsPhlebotomine sand flies were collected in Peruvian Amazon jungle and inter Andean regions using CDC light trap, UV and color LED traps, Mosquito Magnet trap, BG Sentinel trap, and a Shannon trap placed outside the houses. Leishmania spp. screening was performed by kDNA PCR and confirmed by a nested cytochrome B gene (cytB) PCR. Bartonella spp. screening was performed by ITS PCR and confirmed by citrate synthase gene (gltA). The PCR amplicons were sequenced to identify Leishmania and Bartonella species.UV and Blue LED traps collected the highest average number of sand flies per hour in low jungle; UV, Mosquito Magnet and Shannon traps in high jungle; and Mosquito Magnet in inter Andean region. Leishmania guyanensis in Lutzomyia carrerai carrerai and L. naiffi in Lu. hirsuta hirsuta were identified based on cytB sequencing. Bartonella spp. related to Bartonella bacilliformis in Lu. whitmani, Lu. nevesi, Lu. hirsuta hirsuta and Lu. sherlocki, and a Bartonella sp. related to Candidatus B. rondoniensis in Lu. nevesi and Lu. maranonensis were identified based on gltA gene sequencing.Conclusions/SignificanceUV, Blue LED, Mosquito Magnet and Shannon traps were more efficient than the BG-Sentinel, Green, and Red LED traps. This is the first report of L. naiffi and of two genotypes of Bartonella spp. related to B. bacilliformis and Candidatus B. rondoniensis infecting sand fly species from the Amazon region in Peru.