Biological control of ash whitefly: a success in progress

Abstract

Exotic whiteflies have long threatened fly (Siphoninus phillyreae), jntroproved effective in Southern Cali-California's farms and gardens. At least eight species are established in the state; several more recognized pest species exist in other Western Hemisphere areas and in

Field Evaluations of Augmentative Releases of Delphastus catalinae (Horn) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) for Suppression of Bemisia argentifolii Bellows & Perring (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) Infesting Cotton

“…Biological control has great potential for use against silverleaf whitefly, based on successes of biological control against other introduced whitefly species and the abundance of potential biological control agents. In California, there are at least 8 species of exotic whiteflies, of which 4 are managed with the help of biological control (DeBach and Rose, 1976;Rose and DeBach, 1981;Miklasiewicz and Walker, 1990;Bellows et al, 1992;Gould et al, 1992;Metcalf and Metcalf, 1993). As for the Bemisia complex, many potential natural enemies have been identified, including 37 parasitoid species, mainly in the genera Eretmocerus (Howard) and Encarsia Förster, and 34 predators, in the families Coccinellidae and Phytoseiidae (Cock, 1986(Cock, , 1993Gerling, 1986Gerling, , 1990.…”

Cryptic diversity, reproductive isolation and cytoplasmic incompatibility in a classic biological control success story

“…Literature suggests that only ‘ E. inaron ’ (from the original colony from Israel) became established, although under the laboratory conditions of this study ‘ E. partenopea ’ females had higher fecundity. If so, the key for the prevalence of ‘ E. inaron ’ could have been the original expansion of the mass‐rearing of the colony from Israel (Bellows et al ., ; Gould, Bellows & Paine, ). An alternative explanation could be that climatic adaptation played a large role in establishment, as individuals collected from the drier Mediterranean climate of Israel (i.e.…”

Retrospective analysis of a classical biological control programme

“…While observations showing correlation between increased apparent parasitism and decline of pest density may support a conclusion of potentially successful biological control (e.g. Bellows et al., ; De Barro & Coombs, ; Pickett, Keaveny, & Rose, ; ), matrix models and LTREs provide for a more robust quantitative and mechanistic assessment. Such an approach enables an understanding of the factors contributing to pest population decline and strengthens our ability to build on such successes (or failures) in the future.…”

“…The invasive B. tabaci (sweetpotato whitefly) is a key economic pest of multiple annual crops in agricultural production regions in the southern tier of the USA, including cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L. (Oliveira, Henneberry, & Anderson, 2001). Classical biological control was immediately considered a viable approach for pest management due to past success with other whitefly species (Bellows, Bezark, Paine, Ball, & Gould, 1992;Onillon, 1990), and limited parasitoid diversity in affected crops (Hoelmer, 1996). In part, the programme introduced about 30 populations of Eretmocerus spp.…”

“…The addition of an exotic natural enemy to an ecosystem represents a clear change, the impacts of which should be measurable in terms of altered vital rates and an associated decline in the target pest population(Catton et al, 2016;Dauer et al, 2012;McEvoy & Coombs, 1999). While observations showing correlation between increased apparent parasitism and decline of pest density may support a conclusion of potentially successful biological control (e.g Bellows et al, 1992;De Barro & Coombs, 2009;Pickett, Keaveny, & Rose, 2013;. ), matrix models and LTREs provide for a more robust quantitative and mechanistic assessment.…”