President
Les Shipp
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Harrow, Ontario, Canada
Les.Shipp@agr.gc.ca
Expertise: Development of integrated pest management programs for pests of greenhouse vegetable and ornamental crops with the emphasis on biological control. Also, conduct research to determine the influence of greenhouse climate on pest management strategies. Current projects include investigation of intraguild relationships among predator and parasitoid communities and the development of novel application technologies for the application of microbial control agents using pollinators.
President-Elect
Doug Landis
Center for Integrated Plant Systems
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
landisd@msu.edu
Expertise: I am interested in the application of ecological theory to problems of importance in entomology and natural resource management. Together with my students, I attempt to understanding the influence of landscape structure on insect ecology and management, particularly in regard to biological control of insects and weeds. I hope to use these insights to aid in the design of sustainable landscapes that promote arthropod-mediated ecosystem services such as pollination and pest suppression. I am also interested in invasive species ecology and management, and more recently in the conservation and restoration of rare species and communities.
Past President
Marshall W. Johnson
Department of Entomology
University of California-Riverside
Kearney Agricultural Center
Parlier, CA
mjohnson@uckac.edu
Expertise: Integrated pest management of arthropods attacking olives, stone fruit, almonds, walnuts, and grapes; biological control of arthropods; pesticide resistance in pests and natural enemies. Currently focusing on a) classical biological control of the olive fruit fly; b) implementing pest management systems in cling peaches based on reduced risk pesticides and conservation biological control; c) analysis of the potential threat of olive psyllid to California’s olive industry; and d) effective management of the tenlined June beetle, a challenging pest attacking the roots of several major tree crops in the San Joaquin Valley.
Vice-President
James Hagler
Pest Management & Biological Control Research Unit
Arid Land Agricultural Research Center
USDA-ARS
Maricopa, AZ
James.Hagler@ars.usda.gov
Expertise: My areas of expertise include biological control, predator biology, and arthropod dispersal. My current interests include: (1) characterizing and estimating the impact of arthropod predation on pests using molecular gut content assays (e.g., ELISA and PCR) and (2) developing protein marking immunoassays for studying insect dispersal.
Secretary Treasurer
Stefan Jaronski
Pest Management Research Unit
Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory
USDA-ARS
Sydney, MT
bug@midrivers.com
Expertise: My research at Sidney centers on development of a fungal biocontrol of the Sugar beet Root Maggot (SBRM) and study of grasshopper pathogens on U. S. rangeland. The SBRM research is directed towards developing a practical mycoinsecticide that can be transferred to industry for commercialization. This work is in the larger context of a biologically based management system for both sugar beet pests and pathogens, using microorganisms, cultural practices, resistant/tolerant beet hybrids, and induced systemic response. My grasshopper work concerns evaluating new technologies and new fungi for the microbial control of grasshoppers in cooperation with USDA APHIS. I am also studying the population genetics of Beauveria bassiana derived from grasshoppers, using molecular techniques.
Corresponding Secretary
Jonathan Lundgren
North Central Agricultural Research Laboratory
USDA-ARS
Brookings, SD
Jonathan.Lundgren@ars.usda.gov
Expertise: I am a predator ecologist, and my main areas of research include predator feeding ecology and nutritional physiology, integrating generalist predators within modern farming systems, the importance of biodiversity in managing pests, and carabid taxonomy and natural history.
Members-At-Large
Ray Carruthers
Exotic and Invasive Weeds Research
Western Regional Research Center
USDA-ARS
Albany, CA
Ray.Carruthers@ars.usda.gov
Expertise: I am an entomologist currently working on the use of biological control for management of invasive weeds including saltcedar, yellow starthistle and several aquatic weeds. Since joining ARS in 1985, he has specialized his research in using biological control to regulate insect and weed pests, in developing and implementing integrated pest management programs, and in the application of computer technology to agricultural situations.
Mark Hoddle
Department of Entomology
University of California-Riverside
Riverside, CA
mark.hoddle@ucr.edu
Expertise: My research is primarily involved in the identification of pest problems where biological control could be a successful approach. The location, release and evaluation of natural enemy impacts on population growth features strongly in his research. The evaluation of biological control agents are conducted primarily in the field and, when necessary, aspects of both pest and natural enemy biology and behavior are studied in the laboratory.
Janet Knodel
Department of Entomology
North Dakota State University
Fargo, ND
janet.knodel@ndsu.edu
Expertise: Currently, my biological control research is focusing on the use of beneficial insects and aphid-resistance breeding to mitigate damage by soybean aphid, Aphis glycines Matsumura (Hemiptera: Aphididae) to North Dakota soybean production. Other areas of interest include evaluation of pest monitoring systems and alternative pest management tactics (cultural, biological control) for insect pests of field crops.