Florida and the Caribbean region have been, and continues to be, especially prone to non-native insect pest invasions. The once formidable geographic barriers posed by the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea have been breached through increased travel, trade, and transportation. The ecology of the Western Hemisphere has been changed by agricultural, social, and industrial activities. Although Florida is leading the most effective and efficient agriculture, and agricultural industry, in the nation. Indeed, Invasive insect pests pose serious challenges to specialty crops in Florida and the Caribbean region. The small farm growers need cost-effective insect monitoring tools and management strategies to increase their farm productivity and profitability. This study was conducted to support small farm growers by developing and evaluating specific insect monitoring tools and strategies in peppers, blueberries, persimmons, muscadine grapes, chestnuts, and cultivated in Florida and the Caribbean countries. Under this study, we have developed several cost-effective insect monitoring tools and strategies to manage invasive and potential invasive insect pests including the Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae), Anthonomus eugenii (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), Halyomorpha halys(Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), Rhynchophorus ferrugineus(Coleoptera: Dryophthoridae), and Rhynchophorus palmarum (Coleoptera: Dryophthoridae) are potential invasive pests in Florida. The last two species are being monitored and managed in the Caribbean countries. These tools (conventional and automatic) use specific pheromones, baits, traps, and biological control agents to sustain small farm grower production systems. Numerous stakeholders and clientele were trained in Florida and the Caribbean countries under this study.
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