Phenology of pine bark adelgid, Pineus strobi, and its predator, Laricobius rubidus, in southwest Virginia

The release of biological control agent Laricobius nigrinus for hemlock woolly adelgid, Adelges tsugae, in the eastern United States has had an unintended consequence on a native congener, Laricobius rubidus. Laricobius nigrinus and L. rubidus have been shown to hybridize and complete development on A. tsugae. Laricobius rubidus is a predator of a native adelgid species, pine bark adelgid, Pineus strobi, which infests eastern white pine (Pinus strobus). At present, there is little information on the native adelgid and predator, making it difficult to assess the impacts that hybridization may have on the natural system. Additionally, mass rearing of L. rubidus for research purposes have had limited success. Critical life cycle information is required to improve the success of future studies. Over the course of two years, populations of P. strobi and L. rubidus are being monitored throughout southwest Virginia to determine their life cycles in the Appalachian region. Additionally, an inventory of predators of P. strobi will be determined. This information may be used to better determine the life cycle deviations that hybrids between the two Laricobius species have and how that may impact natural control of P. strobi populations on eastern white pine. Rearing efforts of L. rubidus may also benefit from additional insight into environmental conditions present during various stages of the life cycles of L. rubidus in the Appalachian region.