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ViewAttendees 2

Member Symposium

Plant-Insect Ecosystems

Biological Control Introductions Against Invasive Pests: Celebrating the Career of Kim Hoelmer

Challenges and opportunities in the implementation of biological control of Roseau cane scale

Sunday, November 5, 2023
2:50 PM – 3:05 PM ET
Location: Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, Maryland 5-6
In-Person
Roseau cane scale, Nipponaclerda biwakoensis, is a grass scale insect recently detected in Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, and Alabama and its distribution continues to expand. It feeds on roseau cane (Phragmites australis) and has been associated with the die-back of Phragmites stands within the Mississippi River Delta. Roseau cane is the dominant plant species of the Mississippi River Delta and provides critical ecosystem services including erosion control, protection against storm surges, and contributions to estuary habitat. Roseau cane scale is native to east Asia, where it is typically a non-pest. Working collaboratively, team members with USDA APHIS, USDA ARS, LSU AgCenter, and international cooperators surveyed populations of Roseau cane scale across East Asia. We determined through genetic analysis that the scale was most likely introduced from northeast China and that a robust complex of at least six species parasitize Roseau cane scale in its native range. Of these, we selected an undescribed species of Aprostocetus as a candidate classical biological control agent to investigate further. Since the project began, adventive populations of four species of parasitic wasps of the scale have been detected in the U.S.: Astymachus lasallei, Neastymachus japonicus, Boucekiella depressa, and, most recently, Aprostocetus sp. The focus of research now is to document mortality of the scale by parasitoids in Louisiana and to evaluate the role of Aprostocetus as it establishes on the invasive population.