FILE: <bc1-htm> GENERAL
INDEX [Navigate to MAIN MENU ]
[For educational purposes only; do not review, quote
or abstract]
INTRODUCTION AND SCOPE OF
BIOLOGICAL PEST CONTROL
(Contacts)
----Please CLICK on desired underlined categories [ to
search for Subject
Matter, depress Ctrl/F ]:
[Please refer also to Selected Reviews &
|
From the 1900’s the partial, substantial
and complete biological control of a large number of insects, mites, weeds
and mammals has been attained in over 70 countries. As an adjunct to other methods, it is safe, effective and
usually permanent. Emphasis on the biological control method
can act to restore the erosion of the human environment by deemphasizing such
disruptive methods of pest control as some cultural practices, and notably
the use of broad-spectrum pesticides. California took an early lead and
continues to be one of the major centers for biological control work. By 1961, approximately 1/3d of all the
beneficial insects established in the continental United States had been
introduced by California-based organizations. --- During the 1980's and early
1990's UC Riverside and Berkeley had maintained a total of about 18 full-time
professional staff plus several emeriti, and about 10 research associates,
and graduate students that varied from 10-20. On a national scale, the U. S.
Department of Agriculture employs varying numbers (25-40) of entomologists in
biological control work, depending on active programs. On the world scene, it is estimated that
there are aver 300 entomologists engaged in classical practical biological
control work. This does not include
persons engaged in fundamental research only. Economics
Some examples of individual projects
give fairly accurate figures for the damage caused by a pest of and the cost
of biological control work as follows: Permanent control of the coconut
scale, Aspidiotus destructor, on the Portuguese Island of
Principe off the west coast of Africa was achieved by the introduction of the
coccinellid predator Cryptognatha nodiceps from Trinidad in
1955. Losses in copra production, the
principal crop of Principe, caused by the coconut scale were estimated at 900
tons annually, which was then worth about #72,000 (English pounds). At a cost of #200, Cryptognatha was
collected and shipped to Principe by the CIBC, which also supplied an
entomologist who for one year bred the predator, supervised its release,
establishment and spread, etc. at an additional cost of #3,500. The total cost of this project, therefore,
was about #3,700. The financial return
from the complete control has been about #1,000,000 as of 1970, or a 1,800% return
per annum. Not a bad investment! The sugar cane moth borers, Diatraea
spp., have been very successfully controlled in certain areas of the West
Indies and South America by introduced natural enemies. For example, in Antigua the cost of
liberations of Lixophaga diatraeae
during 1931 and 1945 was about #8.500.
The case return from this project in terms of increased sugar at the
factory and increased yields in the field has been about #16,000 annually
since 1934, or about 200% per annum and about #552,000 to 1961. The later acquisition of Apanteles flavipes Cameron from
India further increased the magnitude of biological control so that savings
soared beyond this level. On the
island of St. Kitts, where permanent control was achieved, the total cost of
introducing Lixophaga in 1934 was #200. The resulting benefits have accrued to about #50,000/annum or
#1,700,000 by 1970, a return of 15,000% per annum! There are many other examples where
estimates are not so simple.
Evaluation of the worth of many of the successes listed in Chapters 23
& 24 of the DeBach (1964) text is, unfortunately, impossible. Chapter 1 of the DeBach (1964) shows a
rough balance for biological control work carried out in California for the
interval 1923-1959. Considering a total
budget outlay of about $4,300,000 against about $115,800,000 benefits
realized from just five successful biological control projects, the
citrophilous mealybug, the black scale, the grapeleaf skeletonizer, the
spotted alfalfa aphid and the Klamath weed, it is obvious that the economic
returns from funds invested have been of the nature that any businessman
would consider extremely satisfactory.
An estimate of the present benefits being derived from these five successes
are running about $10,000,000 annually, not to mention the reduction of
pesticidal threats to the environment. It must be kept in mind that many more
than five successes are registered, but economic data is difficult to
derive. However, this does indicate
that biological control, though by no means a panacea for all our pest
problems, can be a sound investment and extremely profitable venture. Important Terms Natural Enemies (predators, parasitoids, pathogens,
parasites. Organisms that prey upon
other organisms, parasitize them, or cause disease). Predators
are organisms that consume more than one host individual or prey during the
course of their development.
Predators are usually free-living in all stages except the egg
stage. They kill and consume their
prey either immediately or within a relatively short period of time. Some predators feed indiscriminately upon
various developmental stages and kinds of prey; other are more
selective. Parasites are organisms that live within the body of their hosts
without killing the host, but usually debilitating them to various
degrees. Parasitoids are insects that reach maturity by developing upon a
single host individual, eventually killing same. Three insect orders contain many species that have adopted the
parasitoidal habit, namely Hymenoptera, Diptera and Strepsiptera, with
Hymenoptera being the largest representative. Pathogens include
viruses, bacteria, protozoa, fungi and nematodes. They cause diseases of arthropods. Biological Control is a term that has been used both in a
fundamental ecological sense and in the utilitarian sense to designate a
field of human endeavor. Originally,
the term was defined for use in the applied sense. Biological control can be considered a phase of natural control
or limitation. Natural Control is the balance of nature, natural balance,
population balance or what Darwin called "the struggle for
existence." Natural control has
also been considered as "The maintenance of a fluctuating population
density of an organism with certain definable upper and lower limits over a
protracted period of time, by the action of abiotic and biotic environmental
factors." If we plot the density of any organism
(D) against time (T), we see that over a protracted period of time its
population density will fluctuate within certain limits and about a
characteristic mean density, that of its general equilibrium level. Natural control is essentially
permanent in the absence of gross permanent environmental changes. It is characteristic of all plant and
animal populations on the face of the earth.
Therefore, "biological control" can be considered as
representing the action of natural
enemies (biotic factors) in maintaining another organism's population
density at a lower average level than would occur in the absence. In 1919, Harry Scott Smith <PHOTO> first used the term biological control to denote "the utilization of organisms
for the control of population densities of animals and plants." Since then many definitions have been
offered, generating considerable discussion and argument. Some expand the meaning to cover such
things as breeding resistant plants and genetic engineering. An extreme case was presented by
Pollard in the 1966 Bulletin Entomological Society of
America: "Parasites,
predators, viruses, bacteria, fungi, nematodes, pathogens, birds, mice,
skunks, fish.....heat, light, sound, genetics, metabolism, X-rays, laser
beams, chemosterilants, nutrition, attractants, sex lures, gamma irradiation,
diapause and ecology. The simplest definition was given by
the International Biological Program:
"Using biota to control biota." Dr. Jost M. Franz <PHOTO> of the Institut für Biologische Schädlingsbekämpfung
offered the following modification of Smith's definition in his 1961
text: "Biological control
denotes the active manipulation of antagonistic organisms by man to reduce
pest population densities, both plant and animal, to non-economically
important levels." Autocidal Control is the mass release of artificially
sterilized or genetically inferior individuals which are used to inundate and
possibly eradicate geographically isolated pest populations. Other Controls include chemical, cultural, resistant
varieties of crops and legislative control (quarantine) The modern approach to pest control considers, and in
various ways utilizes, all of the eight kinds of control. As a result we have gravely suffered in
the execution of the classical approach in that only a fraction of the
control research funds has been spent on it during the past several
decades. Hopefully we are entering a
new era of awareness and will elevate the classical approach to a higher
priority, since history shows that it nest the greatest permanent effects in
pest control. Exercise 1.1-- Is the
biological control approach cost effective?
Explain. Exercise 1.2-- Name and describe four kinds of natural enemy. Exercise 1.3-- What is natural control? Biological control? Exercise 1.4-- What is the modern approach to pest control? REFERENCES [Additional
references may be found at MELVYL Library ] Aliniazee, M. T. & B. A. Croft. 1999.
Biological control in deciduous fruit crops. 1999. In: T. S.
Bellows & T. W. Fisher (eds.), Chapter 28, 743-759, Handbook of Biological Control:
Principles and Applications.
Academic Press, San Diego, New York.
1046 p. Altieri, M. A. & C. I. Nicholls. 1999.
Classical biological control in Latin America: past, present and future. In: T. S. Bellows & T. W. Fisher (eds.),
Chapter 39, p. 975-991, Handbook of Biological Control: Principles and Applications. Academic Press, San Diego, New York. 1046 p. Bellows, T. S.
1999. Controlling soil-borne
plant pathogens. 1999. In: T. S. Bellows & T. W. Fisher (eds.),
Chapter 26, p. 699-711, Handbook of
Biological Control: Principles
and Applications. Academic Press, San Diego, New York. 1046 p. Bellows, T. S.
1999. Foliar, flower and fruit
pathogens. 1999. In: T. S. Bellows & T. W. Fisher (eds.),
Chapter 32, p. 841-851, Handbook of
Biological Control: Principles
and Applications. Academic Press, San Diego, New York. 1046 p. Bellows, T. S. 1999. Whither, hence, prometheus? The future of biological control. In: T. S. Bellows & T. W. Fisher (eds.),
Chapter 1011-1015, Handbook of
Biological Control:Principles and Applications. Academic Press, San Diego, New York. 1046 p. Bellows, T. S. & T. W. Fisher (eds.). 1999. Handbook
of Biological Control: Principles and
Applications. Academic Press, San
Diego, New York. 1046 p. Bellows, T. S. & D. H. Headrick. 1999.
Arthropods and vertebrates in biological control of plants. In: T. S. Bellows & T. W. Fisher (eds.),
Chapter 17, p. 505-515, Handbook
of Biological Control: Principles and Applications. Academic Press, San Diego, New York. 1046 p. Bellows, T. S. & R. G. Van Driesche. 1999.
Life table construction and analysis for evaluating biological control
agents. In: T. S. Bellows
& T. W. Fisher (eds.), Chapter 8, p. 199 223., Handbook of Biological
Control: Principles and Applications. Academic Press, San Diego, New York. 1046 p. Cooper, B.
1999. Genetic mechanisms for
engineering host resistance to plant viruses. 1999. In: T. S.
Bellows & T. W. Fisher (eds.), Chapter 20, p. 557-573, Handbook of Biological Control:
Principles and Applications.
Academic Press, San Diego, New York.
1046 p. Dahlsten, D. L. & R. D. Hall. 1999. Biological
control of insects in urban environments. In: T. S. Bellows & T. W. Fisher (eds.),
Chapter 36, p. 919-933, Handbook of
Biological Control: Principles and Applications. Academic Press, San Diego, New York. 1046 p. Dahlsten, D. L. & N. J. Mills. 1999.
Biological control of forest insects. In: T. S. Bellows & T. W. Fisher (eds.),
Chapter 29, p. 761-787, Handbook of
Biological Control: Principles and Applications. Academic Press, San Diego, New York. 1046 p. DeBach, P. (ed.).
1964. Biological Control of
Insect Pests and Weeds. Reinhold
Publ. Co., New York. 844 p. Dodds, J. A.
Cross-protection and systemic acquired resistance for control of plant
diseases. In: T. S. Bellows
& T. W. Fisher (eds.), Chapter 19, p. 549-555, Handbook of Biological Control:
Principles and Applications.
Academic Press, San Diego, New York.
1046 p. Elzen, G. W. & E. G. King. 1999. Periodic release
and manipulation of natural enemies. In: T. S. Bellows & T. W. Fisher (eds.), Chapter 11, p.
253-269, Handbook of Biological Control:
Principles and Applications.
Academic Press, San Diego, New York.
1046 p. 264. Etzel, L. K. & E. F. Legner. 1999.
Culture and Colonization. In: T. W. Fisher & T. S. Bellows, Jr. (eds.), Chapter 15, p.
125-197, Handbook of Biological
Control: Principles and Applications. Academic Press, San Diego, CA 1046 p. Federici, B. A.
1999. A perspective on
pathogens as biological control agents for insect pests. 1999. In: T. S. Bellows & T. W. Fisher (eds.), Chapter 18, p.
517-547, Handbook of Biological Control: Principles and Applications. Academic Press, San Diego, New York. 1046 p. Federici, B. A.
1999. Bacillus thuringiensis in biological control. 1999. In: T. S. Bellows & T. W. Fisher (eds.), Chapter 21, p.
575-592, Handbook of Biological
Control: Principles and Applications. Academic Press, San Diego, New York. 1046 p. Flaherty, D. L. & L. T. Wilson. 1999.
Biological control of insects and mites on grapes. In: T. S. Bellows & T. W. Fisher (eds.),
Chapter 33, p. 853-869, Handbook of
Biological Control: Principles and Applications. Academic Press, San Diego, New York. 1046 p. Franz, J. M.
1961. Biologische
Schädlingsbekämpfung. Paul Parey,
Berlin & Hamburg. 302 p. Fulbright, D. W.
1999. Hypovirulence to control
fungal pathogenesis. 1999. In: T. S. Bellows & T. W. Fisher (eds.),
Chapter 25, p. 691-697, Handbook of
Biological Control: Principles and
Applications. Academic Press, San
Diego, New York. 1046 p. Garcia, R. & E.
F. Legner. 1999. Biological control of medical and
veterinary pests. In: T. W. Fisher & T. S. Bellows, Jr.
(eds.), Chapter 15, p. 935-953, Handbook
of Biological Control: Principles and Applications. Academic Press, San Diego, CA 1046 P. Goeden, R. D. &
L. A. Andrés. 1999. Biological control of weeds in terrestrial
and aquatic environments. In:
T. S. Bellows & T. W. Fisher (eds.), Chapter 34, p. 871-889, Handbook of Biological Control:
Principles and Applications.
Academic Press, San Diego, New York.
1046 p. Gordh, G. & J. W. Beardsley. Taxonomy and Biological Control. 1999. In: T. S. Bellows & T. W. Fisher, Jr.
(eds.), Chapter 3, p. 45-55, Handbook
of Biological Control:
Principles and Applications. Academic Press, San Diego, New York. 1046 p. Gordh, G., E. F. Legner & L. E. Caltagirone. 1999.
Biology of parasitic Hymenoptera.
In: T. W. Fisher & T. S. Bellows, Jr.
(eds.), Chapter 15, p. 355-381, Handbook of Biological Control:
Principles and Applications.
Academic Press, San Diego, CA
1046 p. Greathead, D. J. (ed.).
A Review of Biological Control in Western and Southern Europe. Tech. Commun. No. 7, Commonwealth
Agricultural Bureaux, Farnham Royal, Slough SL2 3BN, England. 182 p. Gutierrez, A. P., L. E. Caltagirone & W. Meikle. 1999.
Evaluation of Results. In: T. S. Bellows & T. W. Fisher (eds.),
Chapter 10, p. 243-251, Handbook of
Biological Control Principles and Applications. Academic Press, San Diego, New York. 1046 p. Hoddle, M. S.
1999. Biological control of
vertebrate pests. In: T. S.
Bellows & T. W. Fisher (eds.), Chapter 38, p. 955-973, Handbook of Biological Control: Principles and Applications. Academic Press, San Diego, New York. 1046 p. Johnson, M. W. & B. E. Tabashnik. 1999.
Enhanced biological control through pesticide selectivity. In: T. S. Bellows & T. W. Fisher (eds.),
Chapter 13, p. 297-317, Handbook of
Biological Control: Principles and
Applications. Academic Press, San
Diego, New York. 1046 p. Kennett, C. E., J. A. McMurtry & J. W. Beardsley. 1999.
Biological control in subtropical and tropical crops. In: T. S. Bellows & T. W. Fisher (eds.),
Chapter 713-741, Handbook of Biological Control: Principles and Applications. Academic Press, San Diego, New York. 1046 p. Kogan, M., D. Gerling & J. V. Maddox. 1999.
Enhancement of biological control in annual agricultural environments.
In: T. S. Bellows & T. W.
Fisher (eds.), Chapter 30, p. 789 817,
Handbook of Biological
Control: Principles and Applications. Academic Press, San Diego, New York. 1046 p. Legner, E. F. 1995.
Biological control of Diptera of medical and veterinary
importance. J. Vector Ecology 20(1):
59-120. Legner, E. F. 2000.
Biological control of aquatic Diptera. p. 847-870.
Contributions to a Manual of Palaearctic Diptera, Vol. 1, Science Herald, Budapest. 978 p. Legner, E. F. &
T. S. Bellows, Jr.. 1999. Exploration for natural enemies. In: T. W. Fisher & T. S. Bellows (eds.),
Chapter 15, p. 87- 101., Handbook of
Biological Control: Principles and
Applications. Academic Press, San
Diego, CA 1046 p. Letourneau, D. K. & M. A. Altieri. 1999.
Environmental management to enhance biological control in
agroecosystems. In: T. S.
Bellows & T. W. Fisher (eds.), Chapter 14, p. 319 353, Handbook
of Biological Control: Principles and
Applications. Academic Press, San
Diego, New York. 1046 p. Luck, R. F., L. Nunney & R. Stouthamer. 1999.
Sex ratio and quality in the culturing of parasitic Hymenoptera: a genetic and evolutionary perspective. In: T. S. Bellows & T. W. Fisher (eds.), Chapter 23, p. 653-671, Handbook of Biological Control: Principles and Applications. Academic Press, San Diego, New York. 1046 p. Nicholson, A. J.
1933. The balance of animal
populations. J. Anim. Ecol. Suppl.
2: 132-78. Parrella, M. P., L. Stengård Hansen & Joop Van
Lenteren. 1999,. Glasshouse environments. In: T. S. Bellows & T. W. Fisher (eds.),
Chapter 31, p. 819-839, Handbook of
Biological Control: Principles and Applications. Academic Press, San Diego, New York. 1046 p. Perkins, J. H. & R. Garcia. 1999. Social and
economic factors affecting research and implementation of biological control.
In: T. S. Bellows & T. W.
Fisher (eds.), Chapter 40, p. 993-1009,
Handbook of Biological Control: Principles and Applications. Academic Press, San Diego, New York. 1046 p. Pimentel, D.
1966e. Beneficial
insects. Ecology (1966). p. 162-63. Rosskopf, E. N., R. Charudattan & J. B. Kadir. 1999.
Use of platn pathogens in weed control. In: T. S. Bellows & T. W. Fisher (eds.),
Chapter 35, p. 891-917, Handbook of
Biological Control: Principles and Applications. Academic Press, San Diego, New York. 1046 p. Simmonds, F. J.
1967. The economics of
biological control. J. Roy. Soc. Arts
115: 880-98. Smith, H. S.
1919. On some phases of insect
control by the biological method. J.
Econ. Ent. 12: 288-92. Smith, H. S.
1929. Multiple
parasitism: its relation to the
biological control of insect pests.
Bull. Ent. Res. 20: 141-49. Smith, H. S.
1935. The role of biotic
factors in the determination of population densities. J. Econ. Ent. 28: 873-98. Tabashnik, B. E. & M. W. Johnson. 1999.
Evolution of pesticide resistance in natural enemies. In: T. S. Bellows & T. W. Fisher (eds.), Chapter
24, p. 673-689, Handbook of
Biological Control: Principles and Applications. Academic Press, San Diego, New York. 1046 p. Taylor, T. H. C.
1955. Biological control of
insect pests. Ann. Appl. Biol.
112: 190-196. Thompson, S. N. & K. S. Hagen. 1999.
nutrition of entomophagous insects and other arthropods. In: T. S. Bellows & T. W. Fisher (eds.),
Chapter 22, p. 594-651, Handbook of
Biological Control: Principles and
Applications. Academic Press, San
Diego, New York. 1046 p. Unruh, T. R. & J. BV. Woolley. 1999.
Molecular methods in classical biological control. In: T. S. Bellows & T. W. Fisher (eds.), Chapter 4, p. 57-85, Handbook of Biological Control: Principles
and Applications. Academic Press,
San Diego, New York. 1046 p. Whitten, M. J. & M. J. Hoy. 1999. Genetic
improvement and other genetic considerations for improving the efficacy and
success rate of biological control. In: T. S. Bellows & T. W. Fisher (eds.), Chapter 12, p. 271-295, Handbook of Biological Control:
Principles and Applications.
Academic Press, San Diego, New York.
1046 p. |
