Enormous resources have been allocated for research and development of pest management tools for southern pine beetle (SPB), Dendroctonus frontalis over the past century. Access to information requires effort and time. The emergence of the Internet now allows rapid access to information from diverse sources. We have created a comprehensive and dynamic website entitled, "The Southern Pine Beetle Internet Control Center" (www.spbicc.vt.edu). The goal of the site is to provide all digitally available resources on SPB to anyone with access to the Internet. It is also designed to increase communication among researchers and professionals to help advance the management of this pest. The site is interactive, which permits constant updating without contacting a webmaster. Attributes of the site include background information in the form of fact sheets, reviews, and government handbooks; an interactive diagnostic identification key for SPB and other bark beetles; a searchable expertise directory; a calendar of SPB-related events; a discussion forum; an online SPB spot growth predictive model; a searchable bibliographic database; and a webcrawler designed to search for SPB-related websites. Web-based tools were developed to integrate relational databases as the functional base of this site. The dynamic nature of the SPBICC makes it a powerful tool and a model for development of websites in the future for other major agricultural or forest pests.
Species 1: Coleoptera Scolytidae Dendroctonus frontalis (southern pine beetle)
Keywords: world-wide-web, dynamic website
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