Location: Beneficial Insects Introduction Research Unit
Project Number: 8010-22000-033-055-I
Project Type: Interagency Reimbursable Agreement
Start Date: Jul 1, 2021
End Date: Dec 31, 2022
Objective:
Roseau cane scale is an introduced, invasive insect native to China, Korea, Japan and surrounding regions of Asia that has established populations in U.S. Gulf coastal stands of roseau cane (Phragmites australis). The scale insect is implicated in recent dieback of the cane, which reduces the cane's environmental service in preventing coastal erosion from storms. The goal of this project is to identify effective exotic natural enemies of roseau scale insect from the native range in China as candidate biocontrol agents in the U.S. and import them to quarantine facilities in the U.S. for further evaluation to determine their efficacy and host specificity to the target scale.
Approach:
Conduct foreign exploration for natural enemies in Asia (in coordination with APHIS and cooperators).
Participate in planning and coordination of Asian cooperator surveys to obtain new natural enemies (parasitoids) of roseau cane scale, identify the natural host range and impact of the parasitoids, and identify any species that could be imported to U.S. for evaluation as candidate agents in the U.S.
