Tuesday, 19 November 2002 - 2:40 PM
0773

This presentation is part of : The Ecological Basis of Conservation Biological Control of Insect Pests

Applying theory to practice in conservation biological control: Lessons from a model system using broccoli, cabbage aphids, and predacious hoverflies

J. M. Luna1, Paul Jepson2, M. D. Ambrosino3, M. R. Colley1, S.D. Wratten4, and Nic Irvin5. (1) Oregon State University, Horticulture Department, 4143 Agricultural & Life Sciences Building, Corvallis, OR, (2) Oregon State University, Integrated Plant Protection Center, Cordley Hall, Corvallis, OR, (3) Oregon State University, Department of Entomology, Cordley Hall, Corvallis, OR, (4) Lincoln University, Soil, Plant and Ecological Sciences Division, P.O. Box 84, Canterbury, New Zealand, (5) University of California, Department of Entomology, 3401 Watkins Drive, Riverside, CA

Many entomophagous insects use nectar and pollen from flowers in their reproductive biology. Since 1995, various on-farm experiments have been conducted in a broccoli (Brassica oleracea) production system to explore the potential of using insectary flowers to enhance the biological control of cabbage aphid (Brevicoryne brassicae) by naturally occurring hoverflies (Eupoides fumipennis, Syrphus opinator, Sphaerophoria sulphuripes, and others). The conclusions include: (1) biological control efforts need to be conducted at the species level of ecological inquiry, (2) dispersal behaviors of target species are required for appropriate scale of experimental design, (3) prey finding and oviposition behavior of key entomophagous species may be factor limiting effective biological control, (4) selected insectary plants exhibit preferential attractiveness among entomophagous and pest species, and (5) use of insectary plants in an agroecosystem must consider the multitrophic level impacts on pests, beneficials, and hyperparasitoids across all crops occurring within the system, and cannot focus on a single crop/pest/beneficial relationship.



Species 1: Homoptera Aphididae Brevicoryne brassicae (cabbage aphid, mealy cabbage aphid)
Species 2: Diptera Syrphidae Eupoides fumipennis (hoverfly, syrphid fly)
Species 3: Diptera Syrphidae Syrphus opinator (hoverfly, syrphid fly)
Keywords: aphids, hoverflies

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