Historic Assessment and Analysis of the Mass Production of Laricobius spp. (Coleoptera: Derodontidae), Biological Control Agents for the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid, at Virginia Tech

Abstract

Laricobius nigrinus (Coleoptera: Derodontidae) Fender and Laricobius osakensis (Coleoptera: Derodontidae) Montgomery and Shiyake have been mass produced by Virginia Tech as biological control agents for the hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA), Adelges tsugae (Hemiptera: Adelgidae) Annand, for the past 15 and 9 yr, respectively. Herein, we describe modifications of our rearing procedures, trends and analyses in the overall production of these agents, and the redistribution of these agents for release to local and federal land managers. Based on these data, we have highlighted three major challenges to the rearing program: 1) high mortality during the subterranean portion of its life cycle (averaging 37% annually) reducing beetle production, 2) asynchrony in estivation emergence relative to the availability of their host HWA minimizing food availability, and 3) unintended field collections of Laricobius spp. larvae on HWA provided to lab-reared larvae complicating rearing procedures. We further highlight corresponding avenues of research aimed at addressing each of these challenges to further improve Laricobius spp. production.