Location: Beneficial Insects Introduction Research Unit
Project Number: 8010-22000-033-012-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Jul 15, 2019
End Date: Aug 31, 2020
Objective:
To discover and characterize natural enemies of the invasive roseau cane scale and determine their natural distribution range in Asia; and characterize their association with host plant genotype differences that may be related to scale insect colonization success.
Approach:
• Work with co-PIs to produce a map of the tentative range of Roseau cane and RCS from museum and archive research.
• Work with U.S. co-PIs to organize and conduct spring collections, assisting during their visit to Japan. Continue to collect at intervals through the season to provide specimens for genetic characterization and comparison of scale and parasitoid populations from native and introduced ranges for identification of a putative source population. Coordinate with US cooperators by supplying host plant samples collected in Asia for phylogenetic comparison with samples collected earlier in the U.S.
• Rear out any additional parasitoids collected in Asia and send to US collaborators.
