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Welcome Community Scientist!
What is a Community Scientist? Community Scientists are people like you that help scientists like Dr. Paula Shrewsbury and Madeline Potter gather information from our natural environment to increase scientific knowledge. For us that means working toward sustainable management of pest insects. For this project, Community Scientists will help reduce stink bugs that damage our crops and invade our homes.
Project Leaders: Entomologist Dr. Paula M. Shrewsbury and entomology graduate student Madeline E. Potter.
Below, we answer frequently asked questions (FAQs) about Project Stink-be-Gone "2". Some words and phrases below are clickable and lead to websites and documents with further information. |
FAQs
Who are Maddie and Paula and what do we research?
We are scientists at the University of Maryland, studying the biology, ecology, and management of native and non-native pest insects. Insects are everywhere throughout our landscapes and we research methods to prevent insect plant damage. Biological control is a form of sustainable management of pest insects. Biological control is the reduction of insect pest populations by predation or parasitism from other living organisms.
Our current focus is determining practices that support and increase predator and parasitoid populations to increase biological control of insect pests and to reduce insect pest damage. Predator and parasitoid populations are supported through conserving and creating habitat for predators and parasitoids to hide, eat, and reproduce. Conserving habitat to increase biological control is a strategy called conservation biological control.
We are scientists at the University of Maryland, studying the biology, ecology, and management of native and non-native pest insects. Insects are everywhere throughout our landscapes and we research methods to prevent insect plant damage. Biological control is a form of sustainable management of pest insects. Biological control is the reduction of insect pest populations by predation or parasitism from other living organisms.
Our current focus is determining practices that support and increase predator and parasitoid populations to increase biological control of insect pests and to reduce insect pest damage. Predator and parasitoid populations are supported through conserving and creating habitat for predators and parasitoids to hide, eat, and reproduce. Conserving habitat to increase biological control is a strategy called conservation biological control.
What is Project Stink-be-Gone "2"? Who is the pest insect? What are parasitic wasps/parasitoids?
Project Stink-be-Gone "2" aims to improve biological control strategies against the invasive brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB). You may have seen these stink bugs gathering by your windowsill or hiding in your attic. BMSB enjoy spending winters inside your house but once it is warm outside they disperse into the landscape feeding on several economically important crops and landscape plants throughout the United States. BMSB is originally from northeast Asia and was accidentally introduced to the United States in the mid-1990s. In 2010, US$37 million were lost to BMSB apple damage, and this damage and economic loss continues today. In response to BMSB damage, fruit growers had no choice but to increase insecticide applications, potentially harming beneficial insects and leading to outbreaks of other pest insects (known as secondary pest outbreaks) (Leskey et al., 2012; Rice et al., 2014).
An alternative to spraying insecticides is supporting biological control organisms, such as parasitic wasps, that can reduce BMSB populations through parasitism. A parasitoid is an insect that lays its eggs on the outside or inside of insect bodies or insect eggs (parasitism). Research to date shows the native parasitic wasp, Anastatus, provides some biological control of BMSB through egg parasitism; more than other native parasitoids. We are greatly interested in learning more about the biology and ecology of Anastatus to identify measures to increase its biological control impact on BMSB. This wasp parasitizes not only BMSB eggs but other insect eggs as well. Project Stink-be-Gone "2" seeks to identify what types of insect eggs (hosts) Anastatus wasps use to reproduce, other than BMSB eggs. |
A female Anastatus reduvii, a parasitic wasp that parasitizes insect eggs, shown under magnification (scale is in mm).
A male Anastatus reduvii shown on a pointer finger to show the small size of the parasitic wasp.
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Why collect insect egg masses? Why do we need your help?
We need your help to collect ANY insect egg(s) that are in your backyard, neighborhood, nearby park, and/or woods, that may have a parasitic wasp inside. We want to identify what types of insect eggs BMSB parasitic wasps use to reproduce. When you send eggs to the Shrewsbury lab, we will place them in growth chambers to rear out anything inside the eggs. Identifying insect host eggs of BMSB parasitic wasps informs us what insects and plants we should support/conserve in order to support parasitic wasp populations. Thus, supporting conservation biological control of BMSB. When Community Scientists collect insect egg masses throughout Maryland, it greatly broadens our search for BMSB parasitic wasps and their insect hosts, increasing the scientific rigor of the project results. We only need you to spend at least 1 hour per week searching for insect eggs March-August 2021. We will provide all the collection materials including prepaid shipping labels for you to ship us your insect eggs. What do Community Scientists get out of this project?
Participants will learn about stink bugs, biological control, parasitic wasps, insect egg identification, data collection, and so much more; adding to your knowledge of landscape pests and sustainable management of insect pests. You can practice and hone your plant identification skills. You will be a part of a Project Stink-be-Gone "2" community where you can ask each other and Maddie questions throughout the insect egg collecting process, and share tips, tricks, and interesting findings. You will be a part of a socially distant project, while still being able to interact with peers and colleagues. You can recruit housemates to come outside and search for insect egg masses with you - more time outside with friends. Your eyes will be opened to the diverse world of insects and insect eggs hidden amongst the plants around you. You will be a scientist observing your environment, collecting and contributing valuable data toward the management of an invasive pest that affects your food and homes. Was there a first Project Stink-be-Gone?
Yes. Drs. Paula Shrewsbury and Rebeccah Waterworth led the first Project Stink-be-Gone, 2017-2018, identifying what species of parasitic wasps successfully parasitize and emerge from BMSB eggs. Community Scientists like you helped collect BMSB egg masses for the project and sent them to the lab where eggs were monitored to rear out, identify, and count any wasps that emerged. To learn about the results and learning impact on project volunteers of the first Project Stink-be-Gone click here. Project Stink-be-Gone's results also contributed to a peer reviewed paper. |
Maddie Potter and research technician Adelaide Figurskey searching for insect eggs on a white oak tree.
Bugs You Could See
Eggs You Could Find
All photos taken by Maddie Potter.
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Project Materials:
Click images to access files. Click videos, to play videos. Click square in bottom right corner of the video box to enlarge the video or click the title in the video box to open the video in a separate website page.
How to Search, Find, and Collect Insect Eggs
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How to Pack Collection Materials and Shipping Box
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GPS Coordinates Tutorials:
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Plant Identification Tools Tutorials:
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Supplemental Information
Follow on YouTube (click image below to go to YouTube channel):
Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB) Resources
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Anastatus Wasp Videos
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