Entomology  (Updated 8-14-06)

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The SPDN Entomology Subcommittee

Background Overview

The SPDN Entomology Subcommittee was formed in the spring of 2004 in order to further address the needs of entomology relative to the SPDN's mission. One entomologist per each SPDN state serves on the committee, and was initially selected via the recommendation(s) of the SPDN state representatives. Entomologists on this committee integrally work with their state SPDN plant pathology counterparts in order to address SPDN-related needs on a state-by-state basis. Additionally, committee members serve as networking liaisons for the SPDN to other entomologists in their state. For a current listing of SPDN entomology committee members, click here. The SPDN Entomology Subcommittee meets on an as-needed basis via conference call throughout the year.

Goals

The southern region of the U.S. is constantly at risk of exotic arthropod establishment. Millions of U.S. dollars have been spent on costly eradication and integrated pest management control programs for exotic arthropods, despite extensive efforts of federal and state regulatory agencies to exclude these 'unwanted visitors'. Integrally including the entomologists at land grant universities in the early detection of these exotic, invasive pests will only assist with the battle against these invaders and serve as an additional line of defense for U.S. agriculture. In conjunction with the SPDN's mission to protect U.S. agriculture from exotic, invasive species, the SPDN Entomology Subcommittee identified several major areas of need for entomology including:

1. Many land grant universities have drastically cut funding to entomology-related diagnostic labs. In many cases, microscopic equipment upgrades and part-time assistance for sorting samples is needed.
2. Professional development workshops for enhancing diagnostic skills would allow more entomologists to tentatively identify suspect exotics at the genera or species-level. Species-level identification is necessary in order to determine whether or not an arthropod is 'exotic' and there are few group specialists nationwide to identify several economically important pests.
3. Information of exotic arthropods of concern as well as more regional keys of economically important pests would be useful for entomology diagnosticians. Some major taxonomic works that are useful for identification of pest groups are out-of-print, difficult to obtain, or extremely costly.
4. Better networking among land grant university diagnosticians and other entomology diagnosticians and specialists is needed. The concept of developing an entomology diagnostician listserve was developed.
5. More educational material for county agents, crop consultants, and other First Detector groups on exotic pests.
6. Integrating entomology diagnostic labs sample information into the NPDN database.

Outcomes/Impacts of Entomology in the SPDN

The "Homoptera" Workshop

In December 2004, the SPDN hosted an intensive, 3-day taxonomic diagnostic training workshop on leafhoppers, planthoppers, aphids, psyllids, scales, and whiteflies. The training session was led by 8 national experts, and participants were provided with approximately 1000+ pages of training material. Representatives from 11 SPDN states, 2 NEPDN states, as well as 1 industry professional, and 2 USDA, APHIS identifiers were in attendance. Proceedings of new material developed for the workshop training are under development and was published in the December 2005 (pages 458-534) issue of the Florida Entomologist http://www.fcla.edu/FlaEnt/fe884.htm. The Florida Entomologist is available free online on the www.  You may view the agenda for the workshop website at http://conference.ifas.ufl.edu/homoptera/. Pictures from the workshop are available here. Example impact statements from participants on an anonymous workshop survey include the following:

• "Tremendous effort at compiling the "state of the art" literature and resource and design to target relative novices. Exposure to the resources of major workers in this group was tremendously useful. Time saved acquiring materials needed to do id's is money and effort saved."
• "We were severely limited in our ability to ID many Homopterans. This course should help that problem immensely."
• "I feel more confident to process my own samples for identification. I am aware of potentially invasive and economic species of concern to watch for. Much improved knowledge on sources of information and expertise."
• "The connection between the workshop instructors and the students. Also the positive interactions between the students from the universities, the federal agencies, and private industry."

The Coleoptera Workshop

The SPDN held an intensive taxonomic workshop focusing on Chrysomelidae, Scolytine, and Cerambycidae beetle identification on May 22-25, 2006 http://conference.ifas.ufl.edu/coleoptera/ .  Training focused on native and exotic pest concerns for states in the southern region and was hosted by the Department of Entomology at the Virginia Tech campus.  Eric Day, Virginia Tech University, and Amanda Hodges, University of Florida/SPDN coordinated the training.  Instructors included Ed Riley (Texas A&M University), Shawn Clark (Brigham Young University), Jim Labonté (Oregon Department of Agriculture), Rick Hoebeke (Cornell University), Steve Lingafelter (USDA-ARS-SEL), and Gino Nearns (University of Florida).

 Participants were provided with a 120-page training manual on Cerambycidae beetles, 200-300 pages of training material on Chrysomelidae and Scolytine beetles, and a Southeastern Scolytine screening aid CD.  The majority of the workshop focused on instruction and hands-on identification, but an afternoon collecting trip followed by a BBQ dinner was also included as a mid-week break for instructors and participants.  Twenty-five participants from 17 various institutions or organizations in the southern region including 1860s Land Grant Universities, 1890s Land Grant Universities, State Departments of Agriculture, USDA-APHIS-PPQ, and industry were accommodated for the training. Additionally, eight participants from outside of the southern region were accommodated and included participants from USDA-APHIS-PPQ, Kansas State University, Cornell University Extension Service of Suffolk County, County of San Diego California, Cornell University, University of Panama, West Virginia Department of Agriculture, and University of Maine.  Initial workshop training registration was limited to two representatives per SPDN state,  but efforts to accommodate attendance requests for other regional representatives, USDA-APHIS identifiers, and industry were made. 

A post-workshop survey was conducted, and all responses were extremely favorable.  Major outcomes of the workshop included the following:  1) enhanced taxonomic skills 2) additional regional resources for diagnostics and 3) an improved ability to network with experts and other colleagues on identification issues.

Thrips Identification Workshop

Due to concerns relating to the recent detection of chilli thrips, Scirtothrips dorsalis, an emergency training was held for thrips identification in Gainesville, FL, during March 2006.  Fifteen participants from University of Florida, USDA-ARS, USDA-APHIS-PPQ, Auburn University, University of Georgia, LSU AgCenter, and Southeast Agricultural Laboratories attended the training.  Drs. Joe Funderburk (University of Florida), Lance Osborne (University of Florida), G.B. Edwards (FDACS-DPI), and Stuart Reitz (USDA-ARS) led the training.  More information on this workshop is available at:  http://spdn.ifas.ufl.edu/Thrips_sampling_ID_workshop.htm.

Entomologists Involved in First Detector Training

Entomologists in the SPDN have been involved in the NPDN First Detector training programs. Many entomologists are recruited to lend their expertise to an insect 'Art and Science of Diagnosis' (NPDN Module 4) presentation or to provide a presentation on exotic, invasive pests of concern to specific cropping systems. Additionally, some training modules on specific exotic pests have been made available due to SPDN efforts including "the pink hibiscus mealybug", "the brown marmorated stinkbug", "the soybean aphid", and "citrus greening and the Asian citrus psyllid".

Entomologists Developing Educational Materials on Exotic Pests

        Intensive Diagnostic Educational Materials

 Several entomologists in the SPDN have been involved in developing educational materials to assist with the early detection of exotic             pests. Dr. Steve Bambara, North Carolina State University, is currently coordinating an effort to produce a southern region Bark Beetle       LUCID® key. NC State emeritus professor, Dr. Jim Baker, is developing the key.  Initial funding for the project was provided by the SPDN.  An update on activities with this key was presented at the SPDN May 2006 Coleoptera Workshop.

        Extension Educational Materials       In cooperation with the National IPM Centers, several entomologists in the SPDN have contributed to regional or national pest alerts.     The National IPM Center pest alerts are hosted on the North Central IPM Center webpage at:  http://www.ncpmc.org/alerts/.

·        Dr. Catharine Mannion, Dr. Forrest Howard, Dr. Greg Hodges, and Dr. Amanda Hodges produced a regional pest alert on the lobate lac scale http://www.ncipmc.org/lobatelacscale/.

·        Dr. Catharine Mannion, Dr. Greg Hodges, and Dr. Amanda Hodges produced a regional pest alert on the cycad aulacaspis scale http://www.ncpmc.org/alerts/cycadscale/.

·        Daniel Frank and Dr. Russell F. Mizell, III produced a national pest alert on woodboring insects http://www.ncpmc.org/alerts/woodboring/.

 University of Georgia entomologist Dr. Keith Douce (2005-08) was awarded a Southern Region IPM Center extension grant “Building an educational, training, and outreach image support system for the Southern Plant Diagnostic Network”.  Keith is working with the SPDN Entomology Subcommittee to get images from the regional entomology pest list of concern into bugwood http://www.bugwood.org/.   The SPDN entomology subcommittee invasive pest list of concern (revised 2006) is currently available at http://www.ipmimages.org/spdn.cfm.  This site is under construction but insects on the list and available in bugwood are included as hyperlinks.  Keith is also working with SPDN diagnostics coordination staff to include relevant plant pathogen images for the southern region.  The availability of images for relevant pests in bugwood will facilitate the development of training modules, fact sheets, and other information that can be posted on the www.

        More information on other educational material products in development in conjunction with the SPDN will be available soon!

National Efforts in Entomology

The Pink Hibiscus Mealybug Workshop

The pink hibiscus mealybug (PHM), Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Green), is an exotic pest species that invaded Hawaii in 1983, California in 1999 and Florida in 2002. Worldwide, PHM has been recorded from over 300 host plant species, including citrus, ornamentals, and vegetables. Despite federal (USDA-APHIS) and state (FDACS-DPI) efforts to regulate and control the spread of PHM to other susceptible states, a nursery in Homestead, FL, shipped 900,000 hibiscus plants from potentially infested stock to 36 states in the U.S. from January through July 2004. According to USDA-APHIS personnel, 11 of the states that received plant shipments are climatically suitable for establishment of the mealybug. Plants were shipped to numerous national home improvement and supermarket chains. The presence of PHM was confirmed from plant material in Kansas, Louisiana, and North Carolina. Distribution of PHM may have occurred in other states, but were sold and incorporated into landscapes prior to testing for PHM.

In response over concerns relating to the establishment of the pink hibiscus mealybug in other states, the NPDN (including SPDN Director Dr. Gail Wisler and SPDN Assistant in Entomology Dr. Amanda Hodges) was involved in developing a USDA-CSREES emerging critical needs proposal to address training, education, and research needs relative to the pink hibiscus mealybug. Dr. Lance Osborne, professor of entomology at the University of Florida, and a SPDN entomologist was also involved in this effort.

As a component of USDA-CSREES emerging critical needs funds, the SPDN/NPDN coordinated a national/international workshop on the pink hibiscus mealybug. Topics for the workshop included field identification, current control practices, updates on pheromone trapping for males, and taxonomic identification. Expert specialists Dr. Lance Osborne (UF), Dr. Amy Roda (USDA, APHIS, CPHST), and Dr. Greg Hodges (FDACS-DPI) lead the training. The workshop website is available at http://conference.ifas.ufl.edu/phm/.  Participants from several agencies within the following countries or U.S. states attended: Alabama, Arizona, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Mexico, Michigan, New Mexico, Panama, Utah, and Virginia. Photos from the workshop training are available here.  Workshop participants were provided with a 120-page training manual and a CD containing a ‘How to Slide Mount Mealybugs Video’ and taxonomic-based powerpoint presentations with audio voice overlay.  A ‘How to Slide Mount Mealybugs Video’ was prepared for the pink hibiscus mealybug workshop and is currently available at:  http://www.mrec.ifas.ufl.edu/lso/pinkmealybug.htm.

New material developed for the Pink Hibiscus Mealybug training manual was submitted to Plant Health Progress as a diagnostic guide: Hodges, A. and G. Hodges.  2006.  Pink hibiscus mealybug identification.  Plant Health Progress.  Doi:  10.1094/PHP-2006-0414-01-DG.  Plant Health Progress is an online, peer-review journal that focuses on plant health issues http://www.plantmanagementnetwork.org/php/. 

GPDN Insect Vector Workshop  The GPDN hosted an insect-vectored workshop during September 2005 in conjunction with their annual, regional meeting.  The workshop was held in Bozeman, Montana.  Nina Zidack and Will Lanier of Montana State University coordinated the training.  In addition to learning signs and symptoms of important diseases, participants were also provided with valuable information on specimen preparation and identification of important insect vectors in the Great Plains states.   The insect vector workshop of the GPDN allowed entomologists and plant pathologists to participate in a collaborative, mutually beneficial training session.  More information on GPDN activities can be found at http://www.gpdn.org.

WPDN Workshops  In conjunction with their regional meeting in January 2006, the WPDN hosted a Hemiptera:  Sternorrhycha slide preparation workshop.  This training provided attendees with valuable hands-on training in regards to proper preparation of a slide-mounted specimen.  California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) scientists, Dr. Gillian Watson and Mr. Ray Gill (emeritus) led the training.  The WPDN also hosted an intensive, 4-day taxonomic workshop in Davis, CA in March 2006.  This workshop was modeled after the SPDN ‘Homoptera’ workshop, but adapted to the needs of the western region.  Expert specialists from CDFA, University of California-Davis, USDA-APHIS-PPQ, USDA-ARS-SEL, the Illinois Natural History Survey, and the University of Delaware led the training.

Visit the WPDN website http://www.wpdn.org for more information on WPDN activities.

National Plant Diagnostic Network Symposium at the 2006 Entomological Society of America Meeting

In order to increase awareness and participation of entomologists in the NPDN, a symposium entitled "The Role of the National Plant Diagnostic Network (NPDN) and Land Grant University Cooperative Extension Services in Promoting the Early Detection of Exotic Pests" will was held at the 2006 ESA annual meeting in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Organizers for the symposium include  Susan Ratcliffe, Steve Toth, Kenneth Sorenson, and Amanda Hodges.   The symposium was well attended and generated good discussion.

·        To increase communication and discussions between various organizations involved in diagnostics and pest detection a symposium entitled “Multidisciplinary National Monitoring, Diagnostics, and Networking Programs for Pest Detection: Bridging Communication Gaps for the Benefit of Growers” will be held at the December 2007 ESA annual meeting in Indianapolis, IN.  Organizers include Carrie Harmon, Amanda Hodges, and Susan Ratcliffe.

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Entomology Departments in the SPDN region

·        AL Auburn University http://www.ag.auburn.edu/enpl/

·        AR  University of Arkansas  http://entomology.uark.edu/

·        FL University of Florida, http://entnemdept.ifas.ufl.edu/

·        GA University of Georgia http://www.ent.uga.edu/

·        KY University of Kentucky http://www.uky.edu/Agriculture/Entomology/enthp.htm

·        LA Louisiana State University http://www.lsu.edu/departments/entomology/index.shtml

·        MS Mississippi State University http://www.msstate.edu/entomology/ENTPLP.html

·        NC North Carolina State University http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/entomology/

·        PR University of Puerto Rico HC- 04 Box 7115, Juana Diaz PR. 00795-9998

·        SC Clemson University http://entweb.clemson.edu/insectinfo/

·        TN University of Tennessee http://web.utk.edu/~extepp/

·        TX Texas A&M University http://insects.tamu.edu/

·        VA Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University http://web.ento.vt.edu/ento/

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Insect Identification Labs in the SPDN (on the web)¹

• AL Auburn University http://www.aces.edu/dept/plandiagnosticlab/
• FL University of Florida http://ipm.ifas.ufl.edu/extension-resources/diagnostics.htm (all  UF diagnostic clinics are linked to from this page).
• FL Florida Department of Agriculture, Division of Plant Industry, Entomology Section http://www.doacs.state.fl.us/pi/
• NC North Carolina State University http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/ent/clinic/
• TN University of Tennessee http://web.utk.edu/~extepp/diagnost.htm
• TN Tennessee Department of Agriculture http://web.utk.edu/~extepp/tda/TDAdiagnostic.html (lists forms for inspectors and University of Tennessee expert contact lists by discipline).
• VA Virginia Polytechnic and State University  http://everest.ento.vt.edu/Facilities/OnCampus/IDInfo.html

¹Note:  This may not be a complete listing of all identification services available in the states of the SPDN.  The list is only intended to represent website listing of available resources for submitting insect identification.  You can also contact your local county extension service for further information within your state.  In order to add identification labs or other information to this site, please contact Amanda Hodges at achodges@ifas.ufl.edu.

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Insect Museums on the Web in the SPDN region¹

• AR  University of Arkansas  http://entomology.uark.edu/museum/museum.html
• FL Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Plant  Industry, Florida State Collection of Arthropods http://fsca.entomology.museum/
• GA University of Georgia http://www.ent.uga.edu/Collection/collection.html
• LA Louisiana State University http://entomology.lsu.edu/lsam/
• MS Mississippi State University  http://www.msstate.edu/org/mississippientmuseum/index.html
• NC North Carolina State University  http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/entomology/Museum/HomePage.htm
• SC Clemson University http://entweb.clemson.edu/museum/index.htm
• TN University of Tennessee http://web.utk.edu/~extepp/
• TX Texas A&M University  http://insects.tamu.edu/research/areas/systematics/index.html#collection
• TX University of Texas at Austin http://www.tmm.utexas.edu/tnhc/index.html
• VA Virginia Tech  http://www.ento.vt.edu/Facilities/OnCampus/IDLab/museum/insect_collection.htm

¹This may not be a complete representation of Insect Museums in the SPDN states.  If you  would like to add an arthropod museum weblink to this site, please contact Amanda Hodges at achodges@ifas.ufl.edu.