Tuesday, December 11, 2001 -
D0421

Development and integration of F1 sterility for research and management of the cactus moth in North America

Ken Bloem, USDA-APHIS-NBCI, Center for Biological Control, Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, FL, James E. Carpenter, USDA-ARS-CPMRU, P.O. Box 748, Tifton, GA, and Stephanie Bloem, USDA-APHIS, North Florida Research and Education Center, University of Florida, Monticello, FL.

Radiation-induced F1 sterility in Lepidoptera provides a unique mechanism for the production of natural enemies in the laboratory and the field. In addition, F1 sterility can be used to provide population suppression of lepidopteran pests. The integration of these two tactics has a wide range of implications in the development of strategies to study and manage populations of lepidopteran pests. The unintentional arrival of the cactus moth in Florida has raised concerns for the safety of native and rare Opuntia species in the Florida Keys and the potential spread of C. cactorum to the Opuntia-rich areas of the western U.S. and Mexico. In addition, the negative publicity from such non-target effects could heighten public concern over the use of exotic natural enemies and jeopardize future weed biological control programs. Research areas in which the use of F1 sterility would be most applicable to study the expanding populations of C. cactorum include (1) elucidation of potential host range (2) prediction of the potential geographic range in the U.S. and Mexico, and (3) delineation of the potential impact of native natural enemies on the spread of C. cactorum. The use of F1 sterility for control of C. cactorum would be most appropriate for (1) eradication from areas of new introductions, or from isolated and/or environmentally sensitive areas such as the Florida Keys, (2) establishment of a barrier through the release of irradiated moths along the leading edge of its geographical range, and (3) provisioning sterile C. cactorum as field hosts to increase the survival and establishment of released natural enemies. A laboratory colony of C. cactorum has been established and radiation biology studies have been initiated to determine radiosensitivity of male and female moths and to measure the incidence of sterility in the F1 generation.

Species 1: Lepidoptera Pyralidae Cactoblastis cactorum (cactus moth)
Keywords: areawide pest management, biological control

The ESA 2001 Annual Meeting - 2001: An Entomological Odyssey of ESA