Abstract
Advances in scientific disciplines that support classical biological control have provided “new tools” that could have important applications for biocontrol programs for some long-established invasive arthropod pests. We suggest that these previously unavailable tools should be used in biological control programs targeting “legacy pests”, even if they have been targets of previously unsuccessful biocontrol projects. Examples of “new tools” include molecular analyses to verify species identities and likely geographic area of origin, climate matching and ecological niche modeling, preservation of natural enemy genetic diversity in quarantine, the use of theory from invasion biology to maximize establishment likelihoods for natural enemies, and improved understanding of the interactions between natural enemy and target pest microbiomes. This review suggests that opportunities exist for revisiting old pest problems and funding research programs using “new tools” for developing biological control programs for “legacy pests” could provide permanent suppression of some seemingly intractable pest problems. As a case study, we use citricola scale, Coccus pseudomagnoliarum, an invasive legacy pest of California citrus, to demonstrate the potential of new tools to support a new classical biological control program targeting this insect.
Highlights
Invasive species pose major ecological and economic threats to agriculture worldwide [1]
There are some significant pests of tree crops grown in California that established prior to 1990 or have been present for more than 25 years that have not been successfully suppressed by natural enemies even though they were targets of biocontrol projects
We contend that certain legacy pests may be good targets for classical biological control even if past efforts were unsuccessful
Summary
Invasive species pose major ecological and economic threats to agriculture worldwide [1]. In response to concerns raised about procedures for locating and selecting safe and efficacious natural enemies for biological control programs [3], biocontrol practitioners have adopted and developed new selection and evaluation tools that have the potential to improve the precision, efficacy, predictability, and safety of biocontrol programs [4,5] These developments are important when the success rate of a biocontrol project—that is complete suppression of a target pest with introduced natural enemies—is considered, as it is low, averaging around 10%–12% [6]. The following sections are divided into two categories; (1) Pre-introduction research which encompasses efforts to locate natural enemies from the pest’s home range, maintaining genetic diversity of collected natural enemies, and assessing their host range; and (2) post-introduction research addressing natural enemy release strategies, resource availability, and mutualisms that are antagonistic to natural enemies
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