Before And After Photos

Oberea – spurge root boring beetle  adults: late May – July  rapidly disperse by flying  lay eggs on large spurge stems  larvae bore down stem to root  over winter in root as larvae  pupate early spring  nice combo w/ flea beetles  sweep net  hand pick from net.

Oberea Collections

Make sure you have the proper release sites selected BEFORE you collect!

Mecinus janthinus – toadflax stem boring weevil -Too new, not available from us yet -ask County and/or purchase.

Mecinus janthinus  over winter as adults in stem  emerge May  lay eggs on stems  larvae bore stems  pupate in stem  strong flyer, disperses well  collect in spring by shaking weevils off stems into buckets

Release Site Location  Use newspaper articles,phone calls and word of mouth to find suitable sites  Have list of potential release sites and landowners  Weed present  Must fit the insects ecological needs  Must fit land owners needs  Fit w/in spacing of your plan  Guaranteed undisturbed for 5, preferably 10 years  Contiguous to other weed patches so bioagent can spread  Easy to access for monitoring and future collections  Will not flood.

Store and Transport  Store insects in refrigerator or cooler with ice pack. KEEP FROM FREEZING!  Transport in cooler with ice pack separated from insect container by paper/packing material  Moths: last 1-3 days  Beetles tougher!: last 3-7 days.

Release & Redistribute -collect some in your net, drive a ways and flip the net out the window. -dump the insects out of the container and onto the weeds.

Release Site Clip board, forms, GPS unit, camera, flags or stakes Be with land owner if possible! Find best spot for insects & land owner…Think a decade out Take the time to completely fill out form - on site! Make concise map from known point of origin GPS and photograph Keep “T” and “E” data in several spots Release insects, don’t drive/walk over them Wish them luck!!! :^)

Release Site Views (8)

Monitoring o Monitor yearly if possible o Monitor when bioagent is out as adult (or can find in stem/root) o Find site and sweep net through the area o Take follow up photos if change in weed density o Be prepared for bursts of usable insects!

What Monitoring Has Found Aphthona (leafy spurge flea beetle) sites. Oberea (leafy spruge stem/root boring beetle). Larinus minutus (spotted knapweed seed head weevil).

Contact Land Owners:  Each year call every land owner and ask them what they want us to do: nothing, monitor, redistribute, augment and/or public collection day  Great way to educate about IPM!  Land Owners come to expect this service  Good PR for County, School and all weed fighters  Find useful bursts of insects!

Larinus minutus  Found well established 2001 – knapweed seed heads  Not sure how it got there…  Collected 7,640 in summer ’02  Up to 31K in ’04, now do less because well established…

Other Knapweed Bio-Agents Bangasternus fausti Chaetorellia acrolophi Larinus obtusis Metzneria paucipunctella Pelochrista medullana (no photo) Pterolonche inspersa----- Sphenoptera jugoslavica Terellia virens Urophora affinis Urophora quadrifasciata

Oberea erythrocephala  Released 9 pair in cage early 1990’s – spurge root borer  2000 = 250, 2001 = 500, including public net day  2002 = 1,567, + another public net day, ’03 = 3,000, ’04 = 2,700, ‘05 = 2,500, ’06 = 492. ’07 = 1,312  Established all over our area. We collect for requests.

Mapping Number & label sites GPS coordinate units: long-lat. or UTM’s Crew can practice doing geocaching Mapping program: ArcMap, All Topo, etc. Mesh with county, local agencies and State One of these may do mapping for you! (student class?) One person in charge Keep T/E data in several spots Make usable to YOU, then others!! Landowner data is PRIVATE! [bug rustlers…]

Mapping

GPS Map & Monitor all Release Sites  Keep T-data and E-data, in 3 places!  Use All Topo Maps and ArcView  Helps plan and prioritize releases  Helps us find useful bursts of insects for collection and net days  Students can use in classes  looks cool!

Bio-Agent Collection (Net) Days  Land owners have “ownership”  Great education opportunity  PR Value!

 Tours, Workshops, Summer Class  Weekly Summer Newspaper Articles – Use mtwow.org web site  Build Cooperative Relationships.

How to write yourself and your students a great summer job!  Keep It Simple! NWTF, NRCS, Conservation Districts  Cooperate with County Weed District & School  Contact BLM, FS, State, Extension Service, Conservation District, Water Shed Council, local industry, local landowners, 4-H/FFA, and your students.

Conclusion: Bio-agent Collection Insect Storage/Transport Release Site Location Release/Augmentation Monitoring/Mapping Landowner Relations Public Collection Days

Vision: Similar programs in every county involving every school!  We will be glad to help!  How-to info. on mtwow.org web site  ph:  Summer class and tours any time!

Photos credited on the mtwow.org web site. Many by:  Bob Richard, Rich Hansen – USDA-APHIS-PPQ  Whitehall High School Students  Todd Breitenfeldt &  Many others!!! Thanks :^)