Project Number: 0212-22000-024-08
Project Type: Trust

Start Date: Jul 16, 2010
End Date: Jul 15, 2015

Objective:
Discover new biological control agents in Italy and develop methods with which they can be used to suppress the invasive insect pests, Citrus Longhorned Beetle (CLB) and Asian Longhorned Beetle (ALB).

Approach:
Two related approaches will be utilized: 1/ Discover and characterize new species of natural enemies by conducting foreign exploration in the CLB-infected area of Italy. 2/ Conduct basic biological, behavioral, genetic and ecological studies to evaluate impact of natural enemies on target pests and non-targets using various laboratory and field study methods, and evaluating the impact of environmental factors which limit or increase their effectiveness.