Location: Invasive Plant Research Laboratory
Project Number: 6032-22000-013-142-R
Project Type: Reimbursable Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Jul 1, 2024
End Date: Jun 30, 2025
Objective:
1: Colonize and initiate host range suitability tests of the shoot boring fly Atherigona sp. (Diptera: Muscidae) a potential biological control agent of cogongrass
2: Colonize and initiate host range suitability tests of the crown boring moth Emmalocera latilimbella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) a potential biological control agent of cogongrass
Approach:
Objective 1: New collections of Atherigona sp. from Australia will be colonized on live cogongrass plants in cages located in quarantine laboratories at the USDA-ARS-IPRL Ft Lauderdale, FL. Plants will be propagated outside and when mature and healthy they will be moved into quarantine and placed inside insect rearing cages. To reduce the chance of adult fly escape, we will use a double-cage design. Both will be vented, collapsible, insect mesh cages (RestCloud, amazon.com). The outer will measure 61 x 61 x 91 cm (24 x 24 x 36 inches) and the inner cage will measure 40 x 40 x 60 cm (15.7 x 15.7 x 23.6 inches). Cages and plants will be maintained under ambient greenhouse conditions (~27 °C; ~80% RH; ambient photoperiod). Plant tissues, pupation substrates, and other conditions will be adjusted to the specific requirements of this species. Adults (2 males and 2 females) will be introduced into each cage and fed from two feeding stations (‘diet dangles’), suspended from top of the cage. Adult diet will be composed of a mixture or honey (0.33 g), yeast hydrolysate (4 g), sugar (7 g), and water (10 ml) and will be replaced twice weekly. The diet and cage will be misted every day with deionized water. After 1-2 weeks the original adults will be removed and transferred to new plants to avoid overpopulating the plants and to provide additional opportunities for oviposition. When F1 adults emerge, they will be transferred to new plants with the same cage arrangement.
Objective 2: New collections of the crown borer Emmalocera latilimbella from Australia will be colonized on live plants in cages located in local quarantine laboratories USDA Ft Lauderdale, FL. Adults will be reared four or five (2 ¿, 2-3 ¿) per pop up cages 40 x 40 x 60 cm (15.7 x 15.7 x 23.6 and inches) lined with plastic to increase humidity. Their diet will be composed of a mixture or honey (0.33 g), yeast hydrolysate (4 g), sugar (7 g), and water (10 ml) and will be replaced twice/week. The diet and cage will be misted every day with deionized water. Adults will be provided with large, healthy plants with multiple stems. Insects are reared in laboratory conditions (27 C; 65 % RH; 14 h photoperiod). Adults will be allowed to complete their life span (3 – 5 d) inside cages. Plants and cages are misted daily with deionized water. Larvae will be allowed to complete development inside the plants. However, if larvae are found wandering, they will be transferred individually to snap top sandwich boxes (23.2 x 16.8 x 6.4 cm; Sterilite, Birmingham, AL) lined with moistened paper towel lined with moistened paper towels. Larvae will be fed one or two clean culms of cogongrass.
