Collecting, rearing, and shipping a potential classical biological control agent to New Zealand

Woolly apple aphid, Eriosoma lanigerum Hausmann (Hemiptera: Aphidae), is a significant pest of apples throughout the much of the world’s apple producing regions, including New Zealand.  In Mid-Atlantic, USA, apple orchards Heringia calcarata Loew (Diptera: Syrphidae) has been shown to be a specialized predator of  E. lanigerum.  Both H. calcarata and E. lanigerum are native to the USA and  a collaborative project between Virginia Tech (VA) and Plant and Food Research (New Zealand) ultimately seeks to introduce H. calcarata to New Zealand to assist with classical biological control of the aphid in apple orchards.  As a first step in this process, H. calcarata eggs and larvae were shipped to New Zealand for rearing in quarantine. Here we describe the methods used to collect, rear, and ship H. calcarata eggs and larvae from Virginia to New Zealand.