Introduction and establishment of tadpole shrimp Triops newberryi (Notostraca: Triopsidae) in a date garden for biological control of mosquitoes in the Coachella Valley, Southern California.

Tadpole shrimp (TPS), Triops newberryi (Packard), has been reported to have a potential as a biocontrol agent for larval mosquitoes breeding in intermittently flooded habitats. To develop and promote this predator for controlling mosquitoes, a date garden devoid of preexisting TPS populations was chosen in the Coachella Valley, southern California in 2000 to receive introductions of TPS eggs and mature TPS. Mosquito control by TPS was assessed in the plots one year after their introductions. In a selected block on this ranch, 2 rows were stocked with TPS eggs, where soil containing approximately 2,000 eggs was spread over the surface of dry ground in each row before flooding. Another 2 rows were used for mature TPS introduction, where about 400 mature TPS were released into standing water in each row 1 day after flooding. After a single egg or mature TPS introduction, active TPS in water and viable eggs in dry surface soil were noted in increasing numbers during the 3-4 subsequent irrigations. Disking before irrigation, which turned the eggs over and mixed them into the soil column, reduced TPS egg populations at the soil surface and subsequent active TPS populations in standing water after irrigation. After one or two irrigations, viable eggs and active shrimp were found in centers adjacent to the introduced plots in the stocked rows. Ample evidence is presented to show that TPS populations were established after a single introduction of eggs or mature TPS. TPS eggs and/or newly hatched TPS were also carried into the neighboring rows across the borders by the overflowing irrigation water, and TPS populations became established there too, as active TPS were noted after each irrigation in the adjacent unstocked rows. Considering the ease and economical storage, transportation and handling, dessication--resistant eggs have advantages over mature TPS for field introductions. Mosquito control by TPS was assessed in rows with and without TPS in July 2001, one year after TPS introductions. Production of Psorophora columbiae Dyar and Knab and TPS populations were determined 4-5 days after each of 2 irrigations, when there was no or little vegetation inside the rows. As compared with the row without TPS, the presence of relatively high numbers of TPS reduced Ps. columbiae by 73 to 99% as based on the average numbers of larvae, pupae and exuviae per dip in the rows with versus without TPS.