Direct sampling

Sampling where insects are counted with reference to a pre-defined unit of measure, such as eggs per leaf. Measures actual insect density, comparable in space and time. Costly, labour intensive, and slow, but exact. Techniques include in situ counts, netting, and knockdown. It is important to properly train counters so that everyone is counting the same thing the same way, without bias.

Miticide

A pesticide which affects mites and ticks.

GC-91

A trans-conjugative Bt strain. Combines B.t. aizawai (recipient) and B.t. kurstaki (conjugative plasmid). Produced by Thermo Trilogy. Targets Lepidopteran pests, especially diamondback moth.

Agromyza frontella

Order Diptera, family Agromyzidae. Primary host is alfalfa. Overwinters as pupae on the soil surface. A second generation can appear in a week, in mid-July, and a third generation emerges mid-August. Adults cause pinhole punctures and blotches in leaves when feeding and ovipositing, leading to deterioration and defoliation. Larvae tunnel within the leaf, between the top and bottom layers, forming C-shaped blotches. Tunnels usually begin at the base of the leaflet, and widen towards the apex.

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Small, black, hump-backed flies. Emerge from pupae, and females lay eggs inside the leaves of young alfalfa plants.

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Very small, 2 mm when grown, flattened, pale yellow maggots found mining alfalfa leaves. The larvae drop to the ground when mature to pupate.

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Colias eurytheme

Order Lepidoptera, family Pieridae. A sub-economic pest.

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Hypera postica

Order Coleoptera, family Curculionidae.

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Periplaneta americana

Order Blattodea, family Blattidae. It has sexual dimorphism.

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Liriomyza trifolii

Chrysanthemum leafminer

Order Diptera, family Agromyzidae. May be confused with herbicide injury, thrip damage, or viral pathogen. Primary hosts are vegetables and ornamentals. Females pierce leaves and feed on sap. Larvae tunnel between layers of the leaf, creating winding tunnels.

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Small, 2 - 3 mm. Shiny, with a yellow head, red eyes, and black abdomen, ventral surface, and leggs. Females pierce leaves and feed on host sap.

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Laid just below the leaf epidermis, leaving small bronzed puncture marks, causing "stippling" damage.

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Mine between layers of the leaf, creating winding tunnels.

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Order Hymenoptera, family Braconidae.

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Order Hymenoptera, family Braconidae. Has the same DNA barcode as A. microlophii.

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Order Hemiptera, family Aphididae. An apple aphid. A pest of apple in the West. Entire life cycle occurs on apple. Dormant oil is an effective control method; applied in the fall or winter, it kills eggs on apples. Can be difficult to differentiate morphologically from A. spiraecola, and management could benefit from DNA barcoding.

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Order Hemiptera, family Aphididae. An apple aphid. It is beginning to displace A. pomi as the major pest of apples. Overwinters on Spiraea, found on apples in summer and fall. Dormant oil is not an effective control method; eggs are not found on the apple. It is 3 - 4 times less susceptible to insecticides than A. pomi, with some evidence of resistant populations. Can be difficult to differentiate morphologically from A. pomi, and management could benefit from DNA barcoding.

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A. lingnanensis and A. melinus

Order Hymenoptera, family Aphelinidae. Important natural enemies of armoured scale insects such as California red scale. Pupae pigmentation pattern is the main character used in short-key for species identification in the field. In Spain, species composition determined from pupae characteristics was different from that of adults! Using DNA barcoding, it was found that A. melinus had a new dark morph phenotype in pupae.

Aphis pomi and A. spiraecola

Order Hemiptera, family Aphididae. An application of DNA barcoding for IPM. The aphids are morphologically variable due to environmental effects, exhibiting a broad range of body sizes and subtle allometric relationship among body parts. Discrimination between aphid species is difficult. DNA barcoding can unambiguously differentiate the two. A multiplex real-time PCR assay has been developed to differentiate the sepcies, with potential to deploy the technology in the field with a few hour turn-around.

Rhagoletis pomonella

Order Diptera, family Tephritidae. May be confused with cherry fruit fly. Primary host is apple. Have one generation per year in Ontario, but are active until first frost. Cause damage by oviposition and larval feeding in fruit. Oviposition stings resemble a small pinprick, darkening over time and appearing pitted or dimpled. Secondary infection of fruit with fungi increases decay until fruit is rotten. Heavily infected fruit will drop prematurely. Overwinters as pupae in the soil. Can be controlled with low temperatures in apples.

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Shiny black, with a white dot on the thorax, and distinctive F-shaped banding on wings. 5 - 6 mm in length. Females have four white pale lines on the abdomen and a squared-off or tapered posterior end. Males emerge before females, smaller than females, with three white lines and a rounded abdomen. Emerge from pupae in late June through September, depending on soil moisture. Considered strong fliers. Feed on nectar, honeydew, and bird feces, becoming sexually mature 7 - 10 days after emergence. Females lay eggs in ripening fruits, 300 - 400 eggs over a period of 3 - 4 weeks; oviposition causes damage to fruits.

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There are four larval instars. Mature larvae are white to pale cream, legless, and tapered, 6.5 - 8.0 mm in length, and 1.5 - 2.0 mm in width. There are two dark mouth hooks at one end. Feed on fruit pulp, causing "railroading". As larvae grow, tunnels become larger and begin to discolour. Development is slower in green fruit. Survival is greater in fallen fruit; they leave the fruit and burrow 2 - 5 cm into the soil to pupate.

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Light brown and oval shaped, 4.5 mm long. Larvae pupate 2 - 5 cm deep in the soil, where they have a diapause phase. Remain the soil for over a year if environmental conditions are not favourable for emergence.

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Psuedaletia unipuncta

Order Lepidoptera, family Noctuidae. May be controlled with trans-conjugative Bt strain Foil.

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Anoplophora glabripennis

Order Coleoptera, family Cerambycidae. Primary hosts are maple, poplar, willow, and birch. A forestry large woodborer. Exit holes in bark are 1 cm across, creating oval wounds in the bark. Oviposition damage causes leaking sap. Infestation occurs in the upper canopy at first. Larvae feed on the inner bark and sapwood, then move into the heartwood, and can cause bark to become concave. Adults feed on leaves, petioles, or twigs. Damage on young shoots can cause them to wither and die. Larval galleries can eventually lead to tree death. Sawdust-like frass is expelled from larval galleries, and occurs in piles around the tree. The investation in the GTA in 2003 was first detected by a computer technician in Vaughan; he found one on his windshield.

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Large, 20 - 35 mm in length, 7 - 12 mm wide. Shiny and black, with up to 20 irregular white spots on each elytron. There is a prominent spine on each side of the thorax. Antennae are longer than the body, consisting of 11 black segments with a white or bluish base. Emerge through exit holes 6 - 12 mm in diameter, expelling large, coarse wooden fibres.

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Laid in exposed roots, trunk, or branches. Laid singularly in oval oviposition pits, 10 mm wide. The pit is reddish-brown, fading over time. Frothy, white sap may exude from recently made pits, attracting other insects to oviposit.

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Cause feeding damage in bark and wood, and can cause bark to become concave. Late instar galleries are perpendicular to stem axis, but run upwards and can reach lengths of 3.5 - 15 cm.

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Adelges nordmannianae and A. piceae

Order Hemiptera, family Adelgidae. Two species have the same DNA barcode.

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Spodoptera exigua

Oder Lepidoptera, family Noctuidae. May be controlled with trans-conjugative Bt strain Cutlass.

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Circulifer tenellus

Order Hemiptera, family Cicadellidae. Vectors curly top disease. It is a pest in Idaho. It is alterante host is Russian thistle. One cultural contorl method was to reseed 47,000 ha with perennial range grasses to outcompete this weed. Has had outstanding success.

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Genus species

The genus name comes before the species name.

Agrotis ipsilon

Order Lepidoptera, family Noctuidae. Minimum developmental threshold is 13ºC. There is no maximum developmental threshold. It is a serious pest. Primary hosts are vegetables. Chewing mouthparts. Larvae feed on stems near the soil line, often cutting off transplants; a single larva can destroy several seedlings. Leaves or stems are cut. Most damage occurs in the spring.

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Rarely overwinters in Canada. Blown northward on weather fronts in the spring. Attracted to vegetation for oviposition.

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Soft and flat, grey to black, with a paler underside, with no striping, and a greasy appearance. The damaging life stage. Nocturnal. Curls up into a C-shaped ball when disturbed.

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Simulium

Order Diptera, family Simuliidae. May be controlled with B.t. israelensis.

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Astraptes fulgerator

Order Lepidoptera, family Hesperiidae. It has since been divided into ten separate species, verified by habitats, lifestyles, and diets of their caterpillars.

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Pediculus humanus capitis

Order Phthiraptera, family Pediculidae.

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Anthonomus grandis

Order Coleoptera, family Curcolionidae. A major perennial pest of cotton. Area-wide mandatory sanitation programs in Texas require defoliants and mechanical strippers remove plant parts, and remaining debris be plowed under. May be controlled with B.t. san diego.

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Briefing note

A short, concise note which contains unbiased information intended to bring the reader up to date on a particular issue. The reader may need to be prepared for a meeting or conference, or may need to make an important decision regarding the issue. Parts include opening, background, current status, key considerations, and conclusions. Effective briefing papers have one clear purpose, the right amount of information, and can be easily scanned when read, even if the reader is tired or disinterested. You must anticipate your reader's needs, and questions they might have. Make an outline, use bullets, headings, and white space. Use plain language that is familiar and accessible, with short sentences with one point each, and active voice with good verb choices. Begin sentences with what is important. Avoid abbreviations, define acronyms, and use terms for concepts consistently. Use a wide range of sources, including social media, grower's websites, international organizations, journals, and magazines. Needs to be accurate and up-to-date. Important for working in the Agricultural Development Branch.

Halyomorpha halys

Order Hemiptera, family Pentatomidae. An invasive species being monitored. Causes direct loss in apples, and will feed on a wide range of plants. Other native stinkbugs cause similar damage. Has many nymphs. In 2001 it was brought to a store in Mississauga inside PVC piping, after which it became established in Ontario. It likes buckthorn. It likes to overwinter inside homes. When disturbed it can release a bad odour. Has multiple resistance.

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Bombus impatiens

Order Hymenoptera, family Apidae. Becoming popular as a commercial pollinator. It is in decline.

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Trichoplusia ni

Order Lepidoptera, family Noctuidae. May be confused with imported cabbageworm or diamondback moth. Primary hosts are vegetables and crucifer crops. One of the most destructive pests of crucifers in Ontario. Doesn't overwinter in Canada. Larvae feed on the underside of leaves, and chew large irregular holes throughout the plant. Largea mounts of dark brown-green frass can stain cauliflower, cabbage, or broccoli, making it unbarketable. May be controlled with trans-conjugative Bt strain Cutlass.

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Siphoning mouthparts. Mottled greyish-brown moth with a distinctive silvery figure eight pattern on the forewings, and slight tuft of hair behind the head. Wingspan of 3.8 cm. Nocturnal, resting under cabbage leaves during the day. Females can lay hundreds of eggs.

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Small, greenish-white round. Laid in small groups on the underside margins of leaves. Hatch after 3 - 4 days.

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Chewing mouthparts. Light green, with a white stripe along each side, and two faint lines down the middle of the back. Legs are confined to rear and front of the body, and they move with a distinctive "looping" manner. 4 cm long. The damaging life stage. There are five instars. Pupate in 2 - 3 weeks.

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Initially light green in a loose cocoon, darkening as it matures. Found on the underside of host plants. Adults emerge in 2 weeks.

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Hellula undalis

Order Lepidoptera, family Crambidae. May be controlled with trans-conjugative Bt strain Cutlass.

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Aonidiella aurantii

Order Hemiptera, family Diaspididae. An important pest of citrus crops worldwide. Natural enemies such as Aphytis are important for IPM.

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Tradename: Sevin

Chemical name: 1-naphthyl methylcarbamate

A carbamate insecticide.

1707 - 1778

The "Father of Taxonomy". Wrote Systema Naturae. Invented binomial nomenclature.

Listronotus oregonensis

Order Coleoptera, family Curculionidae. Causes direct loss.

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Ctenocephalides felis

Order Siphonaptera, family Pulicidae.

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Bovicola bovis

Order Phthiraptera, famiy Trichodectidae.

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Oulema melanopus

Order Coleoptera, family Chrysomelidae. Primary hosts are wheat, oats, barley, corn, forages, and grassy weeds. Larvae and adults cause damage. Chews out long strips of tissue between veins of leaves, leaving the top layer of the leaf intact. Creates a window-paning or skeletonizing effect. Leaves can turn white, and damage may resemble frost damage. Overwinter as adults in leaf litter in sheltered areas such as woodlots or heavy crop debris. One generation per year.

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Small beetles, 5 mm in length, with a metallic blue-black or blue-green elytra, and reddish pronotum and legs. Emerge from pupae in mid-June, feed on wheat and corn until they go dormant in the fall, and overwinter in sheltered areas. Emerge in the spring, and females lay eggs in wheat fields, on the upper surface of leaves.

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Yellow in colour, but this is obscured because it is covered with black deposits of fecal matter which make it appear slug-like, with a shiny or oily appearance. Full-grown, 8 mm long. Hatch in mid-May.

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Inorganic pesticide

Chemical control that is generally a synthetic material that directly kills or inactivates a pest. Includes insecticides, fungicides, and herbicides, as well as plant regulators, defoliants, and desiccants. Used in the late 1800s onwards, including Paris green and lead arsenate. Can be toxic to humans.

Phyllocoptruta oleivora

In the class Arachnida; not an insect. A perennial pest. Obliterates citrus fruits. Requires substantial effort to control.

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Tradename: Acceleron

A neonicotinoid insecticide. It can be produced from the breakdown of thiamethoxam. Commonly used in agriculture.

Cydia pomonella

Order Lepidoptera, family Tortricidae. A K-strategist. Often hard to control because of resiliency to induced and natural hazards in their environment. Developmental stages are protected inside fruit. Imposible to control once in fruit; you can only control adult stages. May be controlled using sterile insect technique. May be confused with oriental fruit moth. Primary hosts are apple, pear, apricot, and cherry. Two generations per year in Ontario, except in cool areas where there is one. Can damage 50 - 90% of the crop. Overwinters as mature larvae, in silken cocoons under loose bark on the tree trunk and limbs. May be caught on sticky traps shaped like apples.

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Grey-brown with alternating bands of gre and white, with distinct copper wing tips. 9 - 12 mm long, wingspan of 19 mm. Mainly active at dusk. Emerges from cocoon around bloom, depending on weather. Females can lay up to 100 eggs on fruit or leaves.

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Flattened, elliptical, almost transparent, 1 - 2 mm in diameter. Rarely seen on fruit. Hatch in 6 - 14 days, depending on temperature.

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When newly emerged, 2 - 3 mm in length, and pale creamy white with a black head capsule. When mature, 12 - 20 mm in length, cream or pink with a brown or black head. There are five larval instars. After they hatch, they seak out fruit. Feed in the outside of fruit, causing "strings" on the fruit surface, and tunnel into the fruit, feeding on pulp and seeds, causing extensive interior breakdown of tissue. Fruit with extensive tunnelling may drop prematurely. Feed for about three weeks, after which they leave to find a site to pupate. Exit holes are often plugged with frass, near the side or bottom of the fruit.

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Brown, 10 - 12 mm long. Mature larvae overwinter inside. Found in leaf litter and debris, or under or on the side of ojects including storage bins and buildings. Pupation last 14 - 21 days if overwintering is not occurring.

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Leptinotarsa decemlineata

Order Coleoptera, family Chrysomelidae. One of the top 10 global pests. Native to Mexico, where they feed on native buffalo bur. Cause indirect loss. Eggs are laid in clumps on the bottom of leaves. They can destroy a whole plant. Has a narrow host range, affecting mostly potatoes, tomatoes, and eggplants. Difficult to control. Early pesticides used to control it include Paris green and lead arsenate. Can be controlled using greenstrip trap cropping. On Prince Edward Island there is a mandatory three year crop rotation to control for this pest. Can be controlled using mechanical control of plastic-lined trenches: the beetle walks into fields in the spring, so the trench is dug around field perimeters, or just between the field and overwintering site. They slip into the trench, sometimes filling it up! They cannot fly away because they require a raised perch to lift off. This method can be hugely effective in certain situations, but trenches are expensive to install, requiring expensive plastic and modifications to equipment. Can be controlled with burning in potatoes. Can be controlled with B.t tenebrionis, or trans-conjugate Bt strain Foil. Rapidly develops resistance to insecticides. Has resistance to all major insecticide classes, with some knockdown resistance, and many multiple and cross resistances. Took 8 - 10 years to develop resistance to DDT, and 2 years for 99-fold imidacloprid (ADMIRE 240F). In Canada there are resistances to 19 insecticides, 25 in the USA, and 41 worldwide. Resistance mechanisms include detoxification (MFO, esterase enzymes), target insensitivity, reduced cultivar penetration, sequestration, and behavioural. More readily develop resistance as adults than as larvae.

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Franliniella schultzei

Order Thysanoptera, family Thripidae. Not as severe of a pest as western flower thrip. To distinguish the two morphologically, measure the area between hairs and eyes; this can be challenging and is subjective.

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EG 2348

A trans-conjugate Bt strain. Combines B.t. kurstaki (recipient) and B.t. aizawai (conjugative plasmid). Produced by Ecogen. Targets soybean looper, velvet bean caterpillar, green cloverworm, gypsymoth, and spruce budworm.

Helicoverpa zea

Order Lepidoptera, family Noctuidae. May be confused with European corn borer or fall armyworm. Primary host is corn. Larae feed on corn silks, interfering with pollination, and forming "nubbins". Larvae feed on kernels at the tips of ears. Frass is found as large moist pellets in the silk channel. Overwinters in the USA on cotton and corn, and adults are blown in on trade winds, arriving early June to mid-August. Although a second generation is rare in Ontario, continued movement from the south can contribute to sustained pressure. In soybeans, can be controlled with crop spacing. They prefer open canopies, and colonize late-planted and wide-row soybeans; early planting in narrow rows reduces infestation. Can be controlled with Bt insect-resistant crops, including stacked-trait crops.

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Buff or tan-coloured moth with a wingspan 3.5 - 4.0 cm. Forewing may have several darker markings, and always with a central brown dot, visible on underside of the wing, faintly visible from the tip. Hindwings are very pale, with darker brown border. Eyes are bright creen, and colour fades to dull olive green or brown. It is difficult to sex the moths. Females lay eggs on corn silks. One female can lay up to 100 eggs per night, over a 10 night period.

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Range in colour from yellowish, green, or brown, with a fine double stripe running down the back. Yelllow-brown head. Slightly larger than the Europpean corn borer, up to 3.7 cm long when full-grown. After hatching, travel down the silk channel and complete all instars while feeding on kernels for up to 2 - 4 weeks, under the husk. Sweet corn is generally harvested before larvae pupate. Usually found in the top third of the ear.

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Rhopalosiphum maidis

Order Hemiptera, family Aphididae. A pest that feeds on corn tassels and silks, covering them with honeydew. A sub-economic pest, but can form a complex with western corn rootworm.

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Ecological management

A type of applied control. Exploits the factors related to growing the crop that also may mitigate or minimize the impact of pests. A reduce crop susceptibility strategy where plant vitality is improved. Purposeful manipulation of the environment to make it less favourable to pest invasion, reproduction, survival, and dispersal. Achieves a reduction in pest numbers to tolerable levels, and/or reduces numbers so that natural enemies will have an impact. These tactics work and should be a first go-to. Encompasses ecological management. Includes reducing favourablility of crops, disrupting continuity of food sources, diverting pests from the crop, and reducing impact of pest injury on the crop. Can include selection of existing cultivars, using disease-free seed, good sanitation, destruction of plant residue, optimizing growing conditions to minimize stress on the crop, altering planting and harvest dates to avoid pest losses, crop rotations, and living mulches. Major limitations are crop production concerns like efficiency, yields, and soil conservation, which dictate the extent to which it is used. New technologies have made cultural controls less favourable, such as selective herbicides, and no-till or reduced till that conserves and saves fuel, time, and labour. 

Outer shell

A component of insect body architecture. Integument is light and strong, covering and protecting inner tissues and providing attachment for muscles. Waxy composition. Chitin is a component. Keeps out water and toxins including pesticides.

EG 2371

A trans-conjugate Bt strain. Combines B.t. kurstaki (recipient) and B.t. aizawai (conjugative plasmid). Produced by Ecogen. Targets beet armyworm, cabbage looper, diamondback moth, and cabbage web worm.

Statistical threshold

The lowest level of injury where damage is measurable. Reached before economic damage occurs. This is the level where an IPM specialist should be called.

Temperature and time can be used to predict insect development. Has been practiced for over 250 years. Accumulation of heat units above and below some minimum and maximum development threshold for a 24 hour time period are added over a period of time and used to estimate growth and predict insect development. Can use horizontal or vertical cut-off. When minimum daily temperature is less than minimum developmental threshold, set the minimum daily temperature to the minimum developmental threshold. When maximum daily temperature is greater than the maximum developmental threshold, set maximum daily temperature to the maximum daily threshold. The starting point may be arbitrary like a starting date, or a biofix. Not applicable to all species. Temperature accuracy can affect the values. Information is often based on lab experiments, and field studies are needed for accuracy.

DD = ((max daily temp + min daily temp) / 2) - min developmental threshold.

Schistocerca gregaria

Order Orthoptera, family Acrididae. A species which has a solitary form until it rains. When rain comes, females lay eggs which hatch in such numbers that touching each other stimulates a change into their gregarious form: shorter body, and producing a pheromone which attracts others. They then swarm, and can migrate 100 - 200 km each day, destroying crops until the population crashes. An R-strategist.

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Plutella xylostella

Order Lepidoptera, family Plutellidae. May be confused with imported cababgeworm or cabbage looper. Primary hosts are vegetables and crucifer crops. Chew "window" holes in foliage. Doesn't overwinter in Ontario. There are 2 - 4 generations per year in Ontario, and a fifth generation can occur from influx of moths migrating northwards on air currents. Life cycle can by completed in as little as 16 days, but on average 28 days. May be controlled with trans-conjugative Bt strains Cutlass, Agree, and Design.

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Siphoning mouthparts. A small, brown moth, 1.5 cm long. Wings are folded over the abdomen, and there are three diamond shaped spots on teh centre of the back. Females lay about 160 eggs over 2 weeks.

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Minute, oval, yellow-pale green eggs. Laid in groups of 1 - 3 on the underside of leaves. Hatch in 5 - 10 days.

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Chewing mouthparts. Looks similar to imported cabbageworm. Has two prolegs on the last segment that spread apart and extend in a V shape. Wriggles frantically if disturbed, and will rapidly attach a silken thread to the leaf and dangle over the edge. Pupates in 2 - 3 weeks.

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A widely adopted molecular identification technique. Species are identified by their DNA barcode, which is generated from a verified reference material, and aggregated in an open-access online database at www.boldsystems.org. The reference library is used to answer practical questions. Barcode sequences are compared between unknown specimens and known reference sequences. An important tool for studying biodiversity, phytosanitary regulation, integrated pest management, and integrative taxonomy. Can distinguish even closely related species, and can classify new species.

1. Extract DNA from specimens, often a single leg.

2. Amplify target DNA with PCR.

3. Sequence PCR product in Sanger sequencer.

Tibicen canicularis

Order Hemiptera, family Cicadidae.

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Ctenocephalides canis

Order Siphonaptera, family Pulicidae.

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Dendroctonus pseudotsugae

Order Coleoptera, family Curculionidae. Hosts are Douglas fir.

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Order Diptera, family Drosophilidae. There are at least 200 genetic interactions that cause inviability when D. melanogaster is crossed to D. simulans; only one of these was probably the driver of their speciation, but it is not mitochondrial speciation.

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Choristoneura fumiferana

Order Lepidoptera, family Torticidae. Primary hosts are balsam fir, white spruce, and red spruce. A forestry defoliator. Native to North America. There is loss of foliage in the upper crown. Larvae mine previous year's needles, unopened buds, male flowers, and new shoots. Mined old needles appear yellow, with silk at entrance holes. Hosts have a reddish appearance, with dried up needles and frass held together with silk. 3 - 5 years of consecutive severe damage can cause tree death. May be controlled with trans-conjugative Bt strain Condor.

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Wingspan is 21 - 30 mm. Dull grey with brown bands and spots, and grey hind wings with silvery patches.

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Light green, laid on the underside of needles in clusters of 2 - 50, in the middle to upper crown of host trees. Hatch in 10 days.

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The damaging life stage. Overwinters and emerges to feed, mostly in mid to late June. 22 mm long when mature. Black head and reddish brown body, lighter on the sides with rows of whitish spots on the back. Pupate in feeding sites or on lower branches. Hang from a thread on host species.

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Reticulitermes flavipes

Order Isoptera, family Rhinotermitidae. In natural ecosystems, they have a role in decomposing wood into soil. Destructive in urban ecosystems, and can cause structural damage to homes.

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Malacosoma americanum

Order Lepidoptera, family Lasiocampidae. Primary host is cherry and apple. Larvae form a tent in branches and crotches of trees.

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In the EIL concept, the pest density at which management action should take place to prevent increasing pest population from reaching the economic injury level. It is just below economic injury level. Management action must be iniated at this level because most strategies cannot be implemented quickly, and/or take time to take effect. Needs to be adequately below the EIL to allow for this time. This is why data collection is so important; predicting population activities. Consider the weather; some tactics cannot be implemented in rain or wind.

Generally, ET = 0.75 x EIL

In the EIL concept, the lowest number of insect pests or lowest level of damage or loss that will cause economic damage. The amount of pest injury which will justify the cost of control. The minimum number of insects that would reduce yield equal to the gain threshold. Loss per insect can reduce as plants develop, so EIL can change over the course of the season. Requires research to calculate loss per insect.

EIL = GT / ([loss per insect] x [amount of loss avoided expressed as a proportion])

Response

The physiological or behaviorual change resulting from exposure to a substance. Change in structure, function, morbidity, or mortality. Includes lethal and sub-lethal effects.

Agrilus planipennis

Agrile du frêne

Order Coleoptera, family Buprestidae. Primary host is ash trees: green, white, black, pumpkin, and blue. A forestry large woodborer. An invasive species, native to Asia. In 2002, it was detected in North America for the first time in Michigan and Ontario, but has probably been present since the 1990s. Adults feed on foliage. Larvae excavate S-shaped tunnels between bark and wood, damaging vascular tissues, resulting in tree death. Overwinters as a prepuae.

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Metallic blue-green beetle, 8.5 - 14.0 mm long. Emerge from a D-shaped exit hole. Cause feeding damage, feeding for up to 2 weeks before mating and laying eggs. Males locate females using pheromones and visual cues.

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Laid in bark crevices, or under bark scales. Tiny, 0.6 - 1.0 mm, and disk-shaped. Hatch after 1 - 2 weeks.

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Creamy white, 26 - 32 mm, with a brown head and flat, broad body. Tunnel from the bottom of the egg into layers of bark until it reaches the interface between bark and wood, where it feeds. Undergoes four moults, then chews a tunnel in wood or bark where it pupates.

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Creamy white, 10 - 14 mm. Found in wood or bark. Overwinters as a J-shaped prepupae that becomes pupae in the spring.

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Rhizotrogus majalis

Order Coleoptera, family Scarabaeidae

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Ostrinia nubilalis

Order Lepidoptera, family Pyralidae. May be confused with corn earworm or fall armyworm. Primary hosts are field vegetables. Larvae produce pinholes in leaves, and often bore through young whorls, creating straight lines of pinholes across the leaf width. Damage may appear as an elongated window pane on a leaf surface. Move into the midvein, and the stalk, with frass often at the entry hole. Feed on internal stalk tissue, often causing lodging or breaking of tassels. Move into the ear and feed on kernels before pupating, with an entry hole sometimes at the base of the cob. Damaged ears attract birds and sap beetles. Overwinters as larvae. There are 2 - 3 generations per year in Ontario, depending on region. Can be controlled with Bt insect resistant crops, and trans-conjugate Bt strain Foil.

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Light brown moth, 2 cm long with dark wavy lines running across each forewing. Males are darker and smaller. Siphoning mouthparts. Mate in grassy vegetation. May fly up to 500 m to find a mate or host.

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Masses are creamy white and flattened, laid in clusters of approximately 30. Each egg is slightly overlapped, giving a fish-scale appearance. Dark black heads of larvae become visible at the centre. Hatch in 3 - 9 days.

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Chewing mouthparts. Greasy white to pale grey, with two (sometimes absent) small spots on the abdominal segment, and a dark brown head. Grow from 3.0 mm to 2.5 cm in five instars. The damaging life stage. The fourth instar moves from the stalk into the ear. Overwinters in corn stalks and other residue. Feeds for 20 - 30 days before pupating.

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Found within larval feeding tunnels. Adults emerge in 2 weeks.

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Lobesia botrana

Order Lepidoptera, family Tortricidae. Native to Europe, as well as eastern Asia and Africa.

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Apis mellifera

Order Hymenoptera, family Apidae. Queen bees can produce thousands of offspring. Have a type 1 survivorship curve. Can be considered a top consumer in the ecosystem. Older bees become foragers who leave the hive, so their mortality rate increaes. Foraging range is 10 km. This species is in decline.

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Neodiprion sertifer

Order Hymenoptera, family Diprionidae.

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A J-shaped population growth curve. If r is greater than zero, the population will increase. If r is equal to zero, the population will stay constant. If r is lesser than zero, the population will decrease. Insects with this growth curve are r-strategists.

dN/dt = rN

r = rate of increase

Dose x Frequency x Duration

Total dose

Coming into contact with a substance, by bodily contact or consumption. Even if exposure is high, if toxicity is low there is low hazard.

Spodoptera frugiperda

Order Lepidoptera, family Noctuidae. Primary hosts are grasses including corn and wheat. Damage appears as large, jagged holes. Leaves moist, red-brown frass. Overwinters in the USA and Mexico; adults are carred in on weather fronts, arriving in late August. Completes one life cycle per year in Ontario.

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Mottled grey forewings, and grey/white hindwings. Wingspan of 3.5 - 4.0 cm. Nocturnal, laying eggs at night.

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Pale to green to tan, sometimes darker, with three thin, white stripes down the back, and one thicker, yellow band with red spots. Head is dark brown with a distinct inverted Y-shaped marking. Full grown, 4 cm long. Feeds for 20 days before pupating. Enters the cob through the side of the husk or by the silks.

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Thaumatotibia leucotreta

Order Lepidoptera, family Tortricidae. A pest of fruit.

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Gryllus

Order Orthoptera, family Gryllidae.

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EG 2424

A trans-conjugate Bt strain. Combines "beetle active" and "lepidopteran active" Bt strains through conjugation. B.t. tenebrionis (conjugative plasmid) combined with B.t. kurstaki (recipient). Used in YieldGard Plus Corn. Produced by Ecogen. Targets Colorado potato beetle, European corn borer, armyworm, and looper.

Malacosoma disstria

Order Lepidoptera, family Lasiocampidae. Primary hosts are deciduous trees, including trembling aspen, poplars, white birch, sugar maple, and oak. A forestry defoliator. Larvae feed and spin cocoons in trees, webbing together leaves. Native to Ontario. The most widespread defoliator of hardwood trees in North America. Periodic outbreaks occur every 10 - 12 years, typically lasting 3 - 6 years. One generation per year. Sustained heavy infestation can result in branch death, and even tree death.

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Light yellow to buff-brown moths with two lines crossing the forewings, and a darker brown space in between.

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Laid in groups of a hundred or more, cemented together in bands completely encircling a twig, covered with a glue-like protective coating. Laid in the summer, and emerge the following spring at bud-break.

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Brownish with a slate-blue stripe along each side, and a row of keyhole shaped white spots on the back. 5 mm long. After 6 weeks, spin yellowish cocoons in a sheltered place and pupate inside. Does not form a tent.

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Scudderia furcata

Order Orthoptera, family Tettigoniidae.

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Active ingredient + Additives

Acronyms for formulation types are on the insecticide label, and dictate how the formulation is used. Includes liquid formulations, dry formulations, and seed treatments (ST).

Archips argyrospila

Order Lepidoptera, family Tortricidae. Larvae are light to dark green with a black head, and wriggle backwards when disturbed. Overwinters as eggs.

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When injury reaches this level, economic damage begins. Units are in bushels/acre.

GT = [management cost in $/acre] / [market value in $/bushel]

Goliathus

Order Coleoptera, family Scarabaeidae. An insect which is 50 - 1,000 mm in size.

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Paralobesia viteana

Order Lepidoptera, family Tortricidae. Native to North America. It is hard to distinguish from European grapevine moth. There are genitalia structures that can be used to distinguish the two morphologically.

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Hypena scabra

Order Lepidoptera, family Erebidae. An occasional pest in soybeans. May be controlled with trans-conjugative Bt strain Condor.

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Chrysopidae

Order Neuroptera, family Chrysopidae.

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Lymantria dispar dispar

Order Lepidoptera, family Erebidae. May be controlled with trans-conjugative Bt strain Condor.

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Toxicity x Exposure

The potential for a substance to be toxic under a specific exposure. Data from any one study provides an estimate of hazard. One substance can have different hazards in different circumstances.

Incomplete metamorphosis

A more primitive form of metamorphosis. Insects grow larger with each molt with little external visible changes except for wing pads or wings which may appear just prior to the adult stage. Stages are eggs, nymphs, and adults. There can be 2 - 8 instars.

Complete metamorphosis

A more advanced form of metamorphosis. Involves great change in body shape and lifestyle. Stages are eggs, larvae, pupae, and adults.

Musca domestica

Order Diptera, family Muscidae. Reproductive ability is 500 eggs per female. An r-strategist. Each female lays around 120 eggs per generation. Assuming 50% of the population is female, and eggs take 56 days to mature, in one year potentially one fly could produce 56 trillion offspring in 7 generations. At this rate, in 10 years the entire earth would be covered in several metres of houseflies. Has physiological knockdown resistance to pyrethroids, with reduced neuronal sensitivity.

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Pulex irritans

Order Siphonaptera, family Pulicidae.

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Pieris rapae

Order Lepidoptera, family Pieridae. Has a type 2 survivorship curve. May be confused with cabbage looper or diamondback moth. Primary hosts are vegetables and crucifer crops. Dark green frass pellets, 3 mm, are left near feeding damage. Larvae feed on the underside of leaves, then chew irregular holes throughout the plant. Overwinters in Ontario. There are three generations per year.

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Siphoning mouthparts. An off-white butterfly with 2 or 3 black spots on the wings. Wingspan of 4.4 cm. Females can lay 200 - 300 eggs, perching on the leaf with abdomen curving to the underside of the leaf to oviposit.

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Small and bullet shaped. White at first, turning yellow. Laid on the underside of leaves, near margins. Number of eggs per leaf increases with temperature. Only 10 - 20% of eggs laid reach adulthood. Hatch in 3 - 7 days.

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Chewing mouthparts. A velvet-green caterpillar. Can grow quickly depending on temperature. Have a slender yellow stripe down the middle of the back, and a broken yellow stripe on the sides. Two prolegs on the last segment are tucked under the abdomen, giving the rear end a rounded appearance. Pupate when they reach 3 cm in length, in about 2 weeks. Sluggish when disturbed, and may not respond by moving away.

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A green chrysalid tapered at one end and light green to brown. Attached to lower leaves or other objects by a silken pad.

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There is no standard program; it must be specific to the situation: crop, pest, time, and region. Involves biology, phenology, natural enemies, management tactics, action thresholds, bioeconomics, and pesticide susceptibility. The careful consideration of all available pest control techniques and subsequent integration of appropriate measures that discourage the development of pest populations, keeping pesticides and other interventions to levels that are economically justified, and reducing or minimizing risks to human health and the environment. Emphasizes the growth of a healthy crop with the least possible disruption to agroecosystems and encourages natural pest control mechanisms. Tries to protect beneficial organisms including beneficial insects and soil microbes. Recognizes the value of pesticides, while minimizing their use, and managing resistance. It is not a rigid program of management tactics. It is not a low input-low yield or high-risk strategy. It is not tied to any company's products. It is based on scientific foundation. It is not static, and seeks current technology and best management practices, adapting to changes including climate change. Types of controls include natural and applied controls. Can be used in organic and conventional agriculture; the only difference is in management methods. There are four steps:

1. Identify

2. Quantify

3. Evaluate

4. Undertake

Antispila oinophylla

Order Lepidoptera, family Heliozelidae. An application of DNA barcoding for IMP. The invasive pest was initially identified as A. ampelopsifoliella, a North American species which feeds on Virginia creeper. A previously undescribed species invaded Italy, and fed on grapevine. A leafminer. DNA barcoding provided first evidence that it was a separate, new species.

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≤ 1 nm

Electromagnetic energy that is used as mechanical control in stored products and packaged foods. Extends shelf life with no impact to the consumer.

Order Diptera, family Agromyzidae. A genus of leafminers with 376 species, including L. sativae and L. trifolii. Difficult to distinguish by morphological characters, but differ in fecundity and susceptibility to pesticides. Management could benefit from DNA barcoding.

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An S-shaped population growth curve. Population plateaus around the carrying capacity. If N is equal to K, the population will stay constant. If N is greater than K, the population will decrease. If N is lesser than K, the population will have exponential increase. Insects with this growth curve are K-strategists.

dN/dt = rN(1 - (N / K))

K = carrying capacity

N = population size

10³ - 10⁶ nm

Electromagnetic energy that is short radio waves or infrared radiation. Can be turned into heat energy.

Romalea guttata

Order Orthoptera, family Romaleidae.

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L. dispar and L. mathura

Order Lepidoptera, family Erebidae. Global forestry pests. An application of DNA barcoding for IPM. Highly polyphagous, with mobile adults. Long overwintering period in the egg state. Adults are attracted to artificial light sources including offshore ships. Oviposit on inanimate objects, including shipping containers. High fecundity, forming egg clusters of 100 - 1,200 eggs. Many species are severe defoliators, and highly regulated. Traditional identification requires initial course-level taxonomic identification, and failure can result in false positives. DNA barcoding improved identification success 83 - 93% with just 5 false positives. Provided ID for specimens unidentifiable with traditional methods.

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Gromphadorhina portentosa

Order Blattodea, family Blaberidae.

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Physical control

A type of applied control. Includes the physical methods of exclusion, removal, and crushing, and the environmental manipulations of temperature, moisture, electromagnetic energy, sound, light, and electricity. Often these types of controls are forgotten, but they can be used to solve basic problems.

Ceratitis caetrata and C. capitata

Order Diptera, family Tephritidae. Two species have the same DNA barcode sequence. Can be differentiated using another gene.

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10 - 10² nm

Electromagnetic energy that is light and ultraviolet radiation used in light traps.

Danaus plexippus

Order Lepidoptera, family Nymphalidae. It moves south in mid-August and stays in Mexico as an adult for seven months. Its lifespan in Canada is much shorter.

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Death rate

The number of deaths per unit area. Involves survivorship curves.

Dendroctonus ponderosae

Black hills beetle

Rocky Mountain beetle

Order Coleoptera, family Curculionidae (Scolytidae). Primary hosts are pines: ponderosa, lodgepole, scots, and limber. A forestry bark beetle. Attacks in large groups. Bores into the bark, secreting pheromones. Native to North America. There are periodic outbreaks. Popcorn-shaped masses of resins, pitch tubes, are on the trunk where tunneling begins: may be brown, pink, or white. Boring dust is found near the tree. Foliage turns yellow then red, 10 months after attack. Transmits blue stain fungi. One year per generation. Overwinter as larvae. May be caught in trans-verbenol aggregation pheromone traps, which attract males and females.

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The size of a grain of rice: 3 - 8 mm. Has a characteristic elytra shape, gradually curved in side view. Females seek living, green trees to oviposit on. A pair mates and forms a vertical tunnel under the bark, producing up to 75 eggs. Emerges in mid-June to September.

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Tunnel away from their egg gallery, producing a characteristic feeding pattern. Overwinter under bark, surviving by metabolizing glycerol. 3 - 6 mm long.

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