Biological control research activities we contribute towards (1999-2023)

We just pulled together a quick summary of the various biological control activities our program has contributed towards...

AAFC-STB-Alberta-Beaverlodge Research Farm (Jennifer.Otani@agr.gc.ca) – The Pest Management program is active in annual and perennial field crops grown in the Alberta and BC portions of the Peace River region (i.e., 55-59 degrees North by 117-120 degrees West). 

Historical projects include parasitoids/parasitism of Lygus spp. by Peristenus, Phasia aeneoventris; Delia spp. larvae in canola by Aleochora bilineata; coccinellid larvae by Oomyzus scaposus; cutworms in annuals and perennials grown for seed Apamea devastator, A. amputatrix, Nephelodes minians, Euxoa auxiliaris, Actebia fennica and more by various parasitoids and viruses; Coleophora deauratella and C. mayrella by Chelonus spp., Neochrysocharis formosa now placed in genus Omphale; Thymelicus lineola with zero observed parasitism over multiple years, Tychius meliloti, T. picirostris, T. stephensii with zero observed parasitism over multiple years, Hypera nigrirostris by Scambus hispae (tentative), Bathyplectes curculionis, B. exiguus; Sitodiplosis mosellana by Macroglenes penetrans, Platygaster sp., Inostemma walkeri. 

Currently, the program supports R. DeClerck-Floate (AAFC-Lethbridge) with a release and post-release data collection on common toadflax near Grande Cache AB in 2022 plus we are following-up in 2024 by (i) confirming Oulema melanpus at larval feeding sites reported in 2023 in the Peace River region, and (ii) attempting to confirm larval parasitism levels. 

Biological control topics relevant to the region needing support for the future include wheat midge parasitism, cereal leaf beetle parasitism, seed-feeding clover weevil parasitism, red clover casebearer parasitism, European skipper parasitism, plus the control of common toadflax, oxeye daisy, Canada thistle and kochia. 

Thank you to Dr. O. Lonsdale (AAFC-Ottawa) who coordinates NIS submissions and to the many taxonomists who have helped us over the years!

Meet our students (2019) - Introducing Matthew!

Hi! My name is Matthew Uniat.

Last summer I worked for AAFC-Lacombe with the Pulse Pathology program. Some of the major tasked I preformed were disease ratings for aphanomyces and fusarium, as well as applying a variety of spray treatments to field plots. This summer, I started working at the Beaverlodge Research Farm in the Integrated Pest Management program. I’m excited to expand my knowledge and look forward to learn about arthropods and their role within the Canadian prairie ecosystem. This job allows a continuation to improving and progressing my experience in doing laboratory/ field-based research.

This fall I will continue my third year of undergraduate studies at Concordia University of Edmonton, majoring in Cellular and Molecular Biology. I moved to the Prairie West region from Edmonton Alberta and am eager to live here for the summer. Throughout my life I’ve spent a great deal of time traveling around the rural areas of western North America; whether it be camping, fishing, or searching for rocks. Over this period, I’ve gained a great deal of respect for the outdoors.

So far, I have been assisting Shelby Dufton and Amanda Jorgensen, the program’s technicians. I’ve started to process sweep-net samples collected in 2018, helped set out diamondback moth pheromone traps, flea beetle sticky traps, and pitfall traps. Everyone I have worked with so far has been a great teacher and I’m excited to spend the next 4 months working with the Insect Pest Management crew.

Meet our students (2019) - Introducing Megan!

Hi! My name is Megan Yu and this is my first time working at the Beaverlodge Research Farm.

I am on my first Co-op work term, coming from the University of British Columbia, where I just finished my third year in Environmental Sciences (focusing on Ecology and Conservation). As this summer holds a lot of firsts for me, I am thrilled to learn about agriculture in the Peace River Region, as well as the insects that are both beneficial and detrimental in the agroecosystem.

Over the past couple of weeks, I have been processing samples from sweep-net collections collected last year. This process involves dumping out contents of the sample onto a tray, retrieving the insect specimens using a paint brush, then sorting the insects into small petri dishes by size and shape. It can be quite difficult, as some insects such as thrips are very tiny. There are also many insects hiding within the plants such as the petals of the flower, so extra caution must be taken when processing these samples.

The two student research technicians I am working for, Amanda and Shelby, are extremely passionate about their work. With warmer and sunnier weather, I am looking forward to go out in the field to do more insect monitoring with our research technicians while exploring the prairies of Alberta. 

Meet our students (2019) - Introducing Cassie!

Hi, my name is Cassie Gerow!

This is my first year working at the Beaverlodge Research Farm. I am looking forward to working in the Insect Pest Management program and learning more about the impact insects have on the farming industry.

So far, I have had the opportunity to learn about some of the insects we will be studying over the summer as well as how samples are collected. I have also assisted my supervisor, Jennifer Otani, in updating the scouting charts on the Prairie Pest Management blog page. These charts are linked to the updated field guide and show growers when these insects are most active as well as their growth stages and what plants they prefer. I will also have the opportunity to process field sweeps from 2019 as well as setting up flea beetle, pit-fall, and diamondback moth traps.

Growing up in the area, I have had lots of exposure to the farming industry. Although my family never were large producers, many of my friends growing up lived and worked on large farms. This experience has given me a great appreciation for the work and research being done at the Beaverlodge Research Farm to help these farmers be more successful.

I have just completed my first year of prerequisites at the Grande Prairie Regional College for Vet school. The experience I will gain over the summer will help me in the future to have a better understanding for what the farmers have to deal with for both their livestock, and the crops they produce to maintain healthy animals.

Meet our students (2019) - Introducing Stephanie!

Hi! My name is Stephanie Thompson and I recently started working with the Beaverlodge Research Farm in the Integrated Pest Management program. I am from Winnipeg, Manitoba, and in my third year of undergraduate studies at the University of Manitoba majoring in Biological Sciences. My goals for this work term are to learn more about the program and gain skills and experience doing laboratory-based research. I also hope to become more knowledgeable regarding the various types of arthropods that are both pests and beneficials in the agricultural ecosystem on the Canadian prairies.

So far, I have been assisting a M.Sc. student, Shelby Dufton, with processing pitfall samples collected through the summer of 2018. Everyone I have worked with thus far has been great and I look forward to spending the next 4 months learning with and from them.

Meet our students (2018) - Introducing Rebecca!

Hello! My name is Rebecca Philip and I have been working at AAFC-Beaverlodge since September 2017.  From September to the end of December 2017, I was working in the Pulse Breeding program based out of AAFC-Lacombe where I was responsible for carrying out cross pollination of pea flowers in an effort to develop new varieties of field peas.  I am excited to switch to the Insect Pest Management program and to learn about insect pests and some of the natural enemies found within field crops grown in the Peace River region.

I am currently enrolled in the  third year of the Natural Resource Science program at Thompson Rivers University, which is located in Kamloops BC. I have a strong love for the outdoors and working outside and I am lucky to have a job and a program that reflect this! Although I come from BC, this is not my first time living in Alberta. Most of my childhood was spent just north of Edmonton in the small town of Bon Accord.

So far, the first weeks in the IPM program have been focused on data entry for the 2017 CARP Flea Beetle project but I’ve also been processing wheat midge from samples collected during the growing season. We are retrieving wheat midge larvae from wheat heads threshed using a single-head thresher.  The data will quantify the density of wheat midge occurring in local wheat fields. In the near future, I will work on the Prairie Pest Monitoring Network’s Blog to archive and update information in preparation for the 2018 growing season.

Figure 1. Rebecca pinning and labelling carabid beetles.

Meet our students (2018) - Introducing Mariah!

Hi everyone! My name is Mariah Ediger and I am enrolled in the third year of a Bachelor of Natural Resource Science degree at Thompson Rivers University. On January 8, 2018, I started to work in the Integrated Pest Management Lab at the Beaverlodge Research Farm for a four month Co-op work term.

So far I have been helping Shelby Dufton, a M.Sc. candidate, process pitfall samples collected during the 2017 field season as part of a multi-year research project examining natural enemies attacking wheat midge. This project assesses the diversity of natural enemies associated with wheat production and will generate new data on both pest and beneficials occurring within the Peace River region.

Processing pitfalls involves retrieving, identifying and counting carabid (ground) beetles, staphylinid (rove) beetles, other beetles, and any arachnids preserved in the sample. Some carabid beetle species are natural enemies of the wheat midge. Others provide free services for farmers by eating other pest insects and weed species. These beneficial beetles offer another management strategy for farmers besides insecticides and resistant crop varieties, thus expanding a farmer's arsenal of weapons to target pests.

This field research study also examines factors such as crop rotations and seeding rates on canopy closure and carabid activity patterns because we hope to identify field situations that potentially preserve or augment ground beetles in wheat.  In addition to the beetles present in the wheat production system, the project also assesses parasitoid levels in the research plots and surrounding commercial fields.  Macroglenes penetrans and two other species of parasitoid wasps were researched then approved for release to control wheat midge in the mid-80 in Saskatchewan.  This study seeks to assess the diversity, density and distribution of these parasitoids within the Peace River region.

So far, this experience has been great and I look forward to learning more about carabid beetles and the challenges facing agriculture on the prairies regarding insect pests.

Figure 1.  Mariah holding a Madagascar hissing cockroach (Grompnadorina portentosa) from
the IPM lab colony (founded by of Paul Coghlin's colony).

Meeting our students - Welcome back Shelby!

Hello again!  My name is Shelby Dufton and I am currently completing my Master’s degree at the University of Lethbridge. This will be my fourth summer at the Beaverlodge Research Farm.  I am very excited to be back for the second field season of my project.

I’ve been away in Lethbridge for the last 8 months processing some of the data I collected in 2016, completing my coursework, and giving presentations.  The bulk of my winter work has been to identify the beetles I collected from my plot trial last summer.  In total, we collected approximately 8,200 beetles, over half of which were ground beetles.  This is great to see observe because many ground beetles are known to be predators of insect pests.  This includes the pest insect that my project focuses on, the wheat midge.  If you’d like to learn more about ground beetles or wheat midge click here and here.

Figure 1. Shelby visits AAFC-Saskatoon in March 2017.

Figure 2.  Shelby taking a break somewhere in Alberta.

Rearing parasitoids that attack Lygus

As mid-June approaches, Lygus in the Peace Region will be starting to lay their eggs into the stems and leaves of canola, alfalfa, and other plants. Later in the summer, when then the canola and other crops are more developed, adults and nymphs (Fig. 1) can damage crop yields when they feed on the juicy plant material of these crops. They pierce through the plant tissues with their sucking mouthparts- which often leave visible lesions on stems, buds, flowers and pod surfaces. Buds and flowers drop as a result and the seed pods often turn brown and shriveled from being fed on. The economic damage on canola in the Peace region is all caused by Lygus species native to North America.

Figure 1. Lygus nymph on the left and adult Lygus on the right (image retrieved from http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/agdex741).

Lygus can be pale green to reddish-brown to black and have a distinct V-shape centered on their dorsal side (Fig. 1). Lygus overwinter as adults.  Theyemerge early in spring.  Canola is most susceptible to damage from Lygus at late flowering through the early pod stages.

The phenology of Lygus varies by region with 2-3 generations per year in the south of the Canadian prairies to only one generation per year in the Peace River region.  Lygus feeding damage will depend upon growing conditions. Abundant rainfall helps canola compensate, whereas hot, dry growing conditions favour Lygus development and often result in high populations capable of causing damage and yield losses.  If canola fields are adjacent to hay fields, early season monitoring of Lygus densities within the alfalfa can often help growers anticipate Lygus in bolting and early flowering canola.

The economic threshold for Lygus in canola varies by canola crop stage and is applied at late flower or early pod (Table).  It depends on sweep-net monitoring at multiple sites within a field and counting both adults and nymphs (3rd-5th instar stages). When densities exceed the economic threshold is exceeded registered foliar-applied insecticides are used to reduce feeding damage and protect the developing pods and seeds which then results in quality and yield being maintained.  There are a number of natural enemies that help reduce and regulate Lygus populations; notable wasp parasitoids include species from the Family Mymaridae and Braconidae.  In North America, the braconid, Peristenus pallipes has been reared from Lygus lineolaris and L. keltonii as well as L. shulli. A potential biological control agent also worth mentioning is Peristenus digoneutis which is a parasitic wasp or European origin that can attacks nymphal stages of Lygus rugulipennis  Poppius but has shown a degree of host preference for North American species of Lygus and has been released to in eastern Canada in strawberry production systems.   Historically, Peristenus digoneutis was released on the Canadian Prairies in the 1970’s but failed to establish in detectable numbers.  Efforts still continue to investigate P. digoneutis as a biocontrol agent for Lygus found in canola grown in Canada.

Figure 2.  Peristenus digoneutis here is shown laying an egg in a lygus nymph (image retrieved from: http://www.biocontrol.entomology.cornell.edu/parasitoids/peristenus.php ).

In our lab, we have prepared Peristenus rearing cages and mass collections were performed during the last week of June.  Mass collection involves sweeping the canopy then retrieving live specimens back for processing.  The density of Lygus is recorded and nymphs are isolated for rearing.

Peristenus wasps attack and lay an egg within 1st-2nd instar stages of Lygus nymphs (Fig. 2).  Once the egg hatches, the Peristenus larva develops within the body of a Lygus nymph so we rear the nymphs until they either mature to adults or a Peristenus larva emerges from the host to then drop down to the soil and spin its cocoon (Fig. 3).  We monitor the number of Peristenus cocoons that arise from the Lygus nymphs then the cocoons will be transferred to collaborators at AAFC-Lethbridge who will continue to rear and obtain the live wasps the following spring.

Figure 3.  Peristenus rearing cages at Beaverlodge Research Farm.

Sources:

Haye, T., et al. "Controlling Lygus Plant Bugs (Heteroptera: Miridae) with European Peristenus relictus (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) in Canada – Risky Or Not?" Bulletin of Entomological Research 96.2 (2006): 187-96.

https://books.google.ca/books?id=txb4AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA224&lpg=PA224&dq=peristenus+monitoring&source=bl&ots=x-2vEgASN3&sig=VAAgwmGih7J6fd_GHn5H-r2iTVQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiO9suHuJvNAhVI22MKHSlLCqgQ6AEIOzAE#v=onepage&q=peristenus%20monitoring&f=false

http://www.biocontrol.entomology.cornell.edu/parasitoids/peristenus.php

http://www.westernforum.org/Documents/IPMN%20Protocols/2013_Lygus%20bug%20Monitoring%20protocol.pdf

http://prairiesoilsandcrops.ca/articles/volume-4-6-screen.pdf

http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/agdex741

The Importance of Entomology

We all know that entomologists are important, and it's apparent when we see a healthy colony of bees, harvest a high-yielding crop, or control a swarm of mosquitoes. But did you know the growing importance and history of insects as food? Or how far back civilizations' relationships with insects really go?

This paper nicely explains just how important entomology really is. Entomology is a far-reaching field that impacts our daily lives in ways that we might not usually think about. It's definitely a good read! Find the whole article here.

- Amanda

This Week at the Farm (May 14, 2015)

The IPM crew has been hard at work this week sorting through our sweep samples from 2014.  A total of 878 samples were collected in 2014 as part of our field research.  The processing and identification of arthropods within these samples often requires 2-6 hrs by trained Staff members.

IPM technician, Holly (left) and COOP Student, Amanda (right), are sorting through red clover sweep-net samples collected near Falher, AB in July 2014.  These samples provide an indication of species diversity and density within the region and allow us to monitor pest populations.

Each sample is sorted using paintbrushes into petri dishes by type of insect.  Of particular interest in red clover sweep samples like these are red clover casebearers, lygus, and various types of weevils.  We are also on the lookout for natural enemies such as parasitoids and predators.

-Shelby Dufton