Success in Conservation Biological Control of Arthropods

Gurr, Geoffrey; Wratten, Steve D.; Barbosa, Pedro

doi:10.1007/978-94-011-4014-0_4

Cited by 92 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…One of the most important actions man can take is to aid the synchronous occurrence of pest and natural enemy by well-timed releases of the control agent. A full review of this area is given by van Lenteren (1987) and Gurr et al (2000).…”

Section: Landmark Events In Biological Controlmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biological control and sustainable food production

Bale

Lenteren

Bigler

2007

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

578

316

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The use of biological control for the management of pest insects pre-dates the modern pesticide era. The first major successes in biological control occurred with exotic pests controlled by natural enemy species collected from the country or area of origin of the pest (classical control). Augmentative control has been successfully applied against a range of open-field and greenhouse pests, and conservation biological control schemes have been developed with indigenous predators and parasitoids. The cost–benefit ratio for classical biological control is highly favourable (1 : 250) and for augmentative control is similar to that of insecticides (1 : 2–1 : 5), with much lower development costs. Over the past 120 years, more than 5000 introductions of approximately 2000 non-native control agents have been made against arthropod pests in 196 countries or islands with remarkably few environmental problems. Biological control is a key component of a ‘systems approach’ to integrated pest management, to counteract insecticide-resistant pests, withdrawal of chemicals and minimize the usage of pesticides. Current studies indicate that genetically modified insect-resistant Bt crops may have no adverse effects on the activity or function of predators or parasitoids used in biological control. The introduction of rational approaches for the environmental risk assessment of non-native control agents is an essential step in the wider application of biological control, but future success is strongly dependent on a greater level of investment in research and development by governments and related organizations that are committed to a reduced reliance on chemical control.

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Section: Landmark Events In Biological Controlmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biological control and sustainable food production

Bale

Lenteren

Bigler

2007

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

578

316

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“…For instance, field exclusion experiments (Entwistle and Dixon 1989), surveys (Chambers et al 1985;Chambers and Adams 1986), population enhancement with pollen resources (Hickman and Wratten 1996) and modelling (Winder et al 1994, Gurr et al in press) have all shown that predators such as hover fly (Diptera: Syrphidae) larvae can substantially reduce populations of aphids on crops. However, this potential may be reduced for several reasons, including the fact that larvae are susceptible to some pesticides (Poehling 1989), and the adult females may have difficulty obtaining sufficient pollen for egg maturation in modern agricultural systems (Schneider 1948;Cowgill et al 1993;Gurr et al 2000;Landis et al 2000). A third factor that may limit their effectiveness is the role of field boundaries in restricting the flies' movement at the landscape scale.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Field boundaries as barriers to movement of hover flies (Diptera: Syrphidae) in cultivated land

et al. 2003

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Field boundaries play an important role as refuges, food sources and corridors for invertebrates and vertebrates, and increasing farmland fragmentation impacts on these functions. However, hedgerows and other structures can also impede dispersal by flying insects. The current work uses the pollen of Phacelia tanacetifolia in hover fly guts as a marker to assess hover fly movement in farm landscapes. In the United Kingdom and New Zealand, Phacelia pollen was found in the guts of Ephisyrphus balteatus and Metasyrphus corollae (United Kingdom) and Melanostoma fasciatum (New Zealand) at distances up to 200 m from the source, when there were no barriers between the flowers and the traps used to catch the flies. The rate of decline over distance in the proportion of flies containing pollen was similar for the two countries. The extent to which four replicated field boundary types impeded hover fly movement was tested using post-and-wire fences, lines of poplars (Populus spp.) with gaps, dense poplars and controls (no potential barriers). Phacelia was planted on one side of each boundary, and along the centre of the control plots. The relative presence of the pollen in flies on both sides of the barriers showed that both types of poplar boundary restricted the movement of the flies, but the fence had no effect. In a separate experiment, gravid females of M. fasciatum were captured at a greater height on a shade-cloth fence than were non-gravid females and males. The implications of this work include the functioning and persistence of metapopulations and the influence of field boundaries on population recovery of beneficial invertebrates following pesticide-induced mortality. If field boundaries contribute to a temporal asynchrony between pest and natural enemy populations, this needs to be considered along with the well-established roles of boundaries as refugia for, and sources of, beneficial arthropods.

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“…Whereas many workers have explored how to avoid the adverse effects of pesticides on natural enemies (e.g., Jepson 1989), only recently have habitat manipulation approaches been explored in depth (Gurr et al 2000b). These include provision of shelter, alternative hosts or prey, or food plants from which nectar and pollen may be obtained Landis et al 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of plant nectars on adult longevity of the stinkbug parasitoid,Trissolcus basalis

Rahat

Gurr

Wratten

et al. 2005

International Journal of Pest Management

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The egg parasitoid Trissolcus basalis (Wollaston) (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) is an important biological control agent of stinkbugs worldwide. Although honey has been used as adult food in culturing the parasitoid, no previous studies have explored the potential for maximising its fitness by provision of plant nectars in conservation biological control. In laboratory experiments, we measured the longevity of adult T. basalis females provided with each of 10 nectar-bearing flowering plant species: Lobularia maritima L., Brassica napus L., Tagetes patula L., Ocimum basilicum L., Fagopyrum esculentum Moench., Cosmos bipennatus Cav., Calendula arvensis L., Coriandrum sativum L., Tropaeolum majus L. and Phacelia tanacetifolia Bentham. Longevity was greatest (33 days) on flowering T. patula shoots and significantly lower on shoots of this species from which the inflorescence had been removed (8 days). Of the other plant species, only L. maritima flowers did not enhance longevity. These results indicate that adults of T. basalis benefit from access to floral nectar and also suggest plant species that merit field testing to identify species best suited to enhancing the efficacy of this parasitoid in conservation biological control.

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Success in Conservation Biological Control of Arthropods

Cited by 92 publications

References 68 publications

Biological control and sustainable food production

Biological control and sustainable food production

Field boundaries as barriers to movement of hover flies (Diptera: Syrphidae) in cultivated land

Effect of plant nectars on adult longevity of the stinkbug parasitoid,Trissolcus basalis

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