Louise Lawrence

THE EFFECT OF AGE ON CALLING BEHAVIOUR OF VIRGIN FEMALES OF EPIPHYAS POSTVITTANA (LEPIDOPTERA) AND ON THEIR PHEROMONE CONTENT AND OVARIAN DEVELOPMENT

Observations were made on the calling behaviour of virgin female Epiphyas postvittana, and on associated factors. The amount of calling varied with the age of the female, the longest total durations being on days 2 and 6 of adult life and the shortest on day 4. It is probable that the peak of activity occurs on day 2. The pattern of calling on day 6 was abnormal, probably as a result of the onset of senescence.

Should we be worried about developing insecticide resistance in aphids

Owain Edwards and Louise Lawrence from CSIRO Entomology discuss this important question especially in relation to the development of insecticide resistance in green peach aphid - a major pest in the Western Australian wheatbelt.

Conserving and promoting parasitoids of helicoverpa in cotton

Louise Lawrence from CSIRO Entomology, Nancy Schellhorn from the South Australian Research and Development Institute, and Mary Whitehouse and Geoff Baker from Australian Cotton CRC and CSIRO Entomology describe current research being carried out in Australia into IPM strategies to reduce insecticide use on cotton, especially the use of parasitoids.

Controlling the redlegged earth mite

Louise Lawrence outlines work being done at CSIRO in Australia to control the red-legged earth mite (RLEM) with a single spray in the spring.

The Role of Landscape in Area Wide Management of Silverleaf Whitefly

W hen individual farmers try to control mobile insect pests on their own farms without reference to other crops and vegetation in the surrounding landscape, it can be a frustrating experience. Like the proverbial cat, the pests sometimes come back. Unfortunately, mobile pests don’t recognise farm boundaries. A research team at CSIRO Entomology has been investigating the behaviour and management of insects at the landscape level. The example they used was silverleaf whitefly (SLW), Bemisia tabaci Biotype B, in a tropical horticultural production area near Bundaberg in Queensland. While, the research trials were conducted predominantly in horticultural crops, the findings are also relevant to broadacre grain production. SLW is only about one mm long but it is a major global pest of grain, vegetables, cotton and ornamentals. Now found across Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas and several Pacific countries, it attacks more than 600 plant species. First detected in Australia in 1994, it causes problems in horticultural, cotton and grain crops in Queensland, northern New South Wales and parts of Western Australia. The pest status of SLW is compounded by the fact that it is pesticide-resistant. Mobile pests such as SLW are most troublesome when they arrive as crops are emerging and are vulnerable to attack. In this situation their numbers can build rapidly, particularly if there are no natural enemies around to keep the numbers down. Early colonisation of crops by pests (and their natural enemies) depends on pest populations in the surrounding region. This includes the number and size of the populations and the distance of these pest populations from the newly planted crop.