Biological control of viburnum leaf beetle

Abstract

The overall goal of this project was to evaluate field efficacy of several biological control agents identified in the laboratory as having potential for biological control of viburnum leaf beetle, a recently introduced pest in the U.S. Although the pest can be controlled effectively with insecticides, biological control would be preferable for long term management and for limiting pest damage to susceptible plants in naturalized settings. We previously identified two generalist predators (Chrysoperla carnea and Harmonia axyridis) and a pathogenic nematode (Heterorhabditis bacteriophora) in laboratory trials that appear to have potential for controlling viburnum leaf beetle; in this project we tested these organisms to the field to see if their efficacy extended to this setting.