Section Abstracts: Entomology

FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS; NATURAL ENEMIES AND POLLINATORS IN VIRGINIA CUCURBIT PRODUCTION. James M. Wilson & Thomas P. Kuhar, Department of Entomology, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061. Cucurbit production in Virginia provides the commonwealth with melons, pumpkins, summer squashes, and cucumbers, all of which are dependent upon adequate pollination for fruit set and development. Growers liberally apply fungicides in Virginia, and often will tank-mix broad-spectrum insecticides that are known to have negative effects on both natural enemy populations and pollinators regardless of pest pressure. Here we examine the potential role of narrowspectrum insecticides and their interactions with the squash bug egg parasitoid, Gryon pennsylvanicum (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae). G. pennsylvanicum has been identified around the commonwealth and is capable of high levels of parasitization on eggs of the squash bug, Anasa tristis (Hemiptera: Coreidae) a pest of many cucurbit crops. Bioassays were conducted utilizing field collected squash bug egg masses with four narrow-spectrum insecticides and a broad-spectrum insecticide (used as a baseline). Squash bug egg masses were dipped in formulations of labelrate insecticides, and squash bug nymphs and parasitoid wasp adults were allowed to hatch. In 2015, there were no significant differences between treatments after a χ2 goodness of fit test, in which the control replicate data were used as the “expected” values of background parasitization levels. A shift away from broad-spectrum insecticide use may reduce the risk of releasing secondary pest populations. Adapting effective narrowspectrum insecticide use may help to mitigate the negative impacts of insecticides on pollinators and the natural enemy complex in cucurbit crop systems.