Features Agronomy Insect Pests
Biocontrol to battle kudzu bug

May 4, 2012 - It looks like the kudzu-eating insect Megacopta cribraria also has a taste for legumes, such as soybeans, which has lead the USDA to try to use biological control methods.

The research is currently taking place at the Agricultural Research Service Stoneville Research Quarantine Facility in Stoneville, Miss. by entomologist Walker Jones on the parasitic wasp Paratelenomus saccharalis.

According to the article, the wasp is harmless to humans and other animals. However, it lays its eggs in those of Megacopta's. Upon hatching, the wasp's maggot-like brood devour the pest's own developing embryos, reducing the size of the next generation.

For more information, see the complete USDA article.

May 4, 2012  By David Manly