For over a century biological control has provided a safe and effective control method for many arthropod pests and weeds in the USA and throughout the world. Realizing that pests and management efforts cross state boundaries, the four regional associations of State Agricultural Experiment Stations have long maintained multi-state research projects in biological control of arthropods and weeds. We seek permission to renew NE-1332 Biological Control of Arthropod Pests and Weeds- a project that builds upon our national expertise in biological control and specifically addresses pest complexes and research opportunities that are unique to our region. The term ‘biological control’ refers to applied efforts to manage pest problems through importation, conservation or augmentation of natural enemies, and it is generally distinguished from natural control, which is provided by unmanaged indigenous natural enemies in the native or introduced range of a pest species. 

Non-native plants and insects introduced into North America generally come without the natural enemies that keep them in check in their native habitats. Freed from these natural controls, these species often increase in numbers and distribution, adversely affecting the environment, the economy, and human health (Pimentel et al. 2000). Classical Biological Control, a deliberate process whereby these pests are reunited with their effective natural enemies, offers a potential for permanent control of these pests over widespread areas (Van Driesche et al. 2008; Hajek & Eilenberg 2018). Despite such advances in pest management as more selective pesticides, use of behavior modifying chemicals, resistant varieties and transgenic plants, pest arthropods and weeds continue to damage our agricultural crops and natural ecosystems. Biological control, used singly or in combination with other management options, should be the centerpiece of successful pest management programs (Van Driesche et al. 2008; Hajek & Eilenberg 2018). In recent years, researchers in the northeast have worked with many types of biological control agents including predaceous insects, mites, parasitoids, nematodes and pathogens in successfully managing key pests including gypsy moth, purple loosestrife, birch leafminers, mites on apples and vegetables, fruit moths, alfalfa weevil, Mexican bean beetle, whiteflies and other pests in greenhouses, imported cabbageworm, euonymus scale, etc. and in addition to other agricultural pests, are currently working against such critical forestry pests as hemlock woolly adelgid, Asian longhorned beetle, emerald ash borer, water chestnut, swallow-wort and mile-a-minute weed. These successes and ongoing efforts have generally involved cooperative work by scientists from several states and agencies.

Interdependencies: Those attributes that make Classical Biological Control so attractive also require careful consideration of target selection, agent discovery, and pre-and post-release evaluation of agents for both efficacy and impact on non-target organisms (Mason et al. 2005; Barratt et al. 2006). These issues generally require regional input and cooperative research over a range of environmental conditions. Individual agricultural experiment stations in the Northeast Region seldom have the resources or expertise to conduct a complete Classical Biological Control program, and thus we have a long history of cooperation among state Universities, as well as with scientists from USDA-ARS, USDA-APHIS, USFS, state departments of agriculture, and specialists in foreign countries. Success in developing and implementing biological control programs is closely linked to the development of effective communication and coordination among participants. Other biological control approaches, including augmentative and conservation biological control, also require collaboration across a range of regions and environmental conditions to be successful.  The focus of this multi-state research project is to enhance biological control of arthropod pests and weeds in the Northeast Region through increased communication and collaboration among practitioners in the region and beyond. The umbrella of a northeast multi-state project provides the framework for dialogue on pest target selection and pooling of expertise and resources to allow coordinated research and outreach programs.

Many biological control programs seek to permanently establish introduced species across a regional or even a continental scale.  Conventional science, performed primarily by specialists, is not well-suited for monitoring at these broad temporal or spatial scales so researchers in the Northeast have been on the leading edge of utilizing citizen science to enhance monitoring for released biological control agents.  Compared to conventional science, programs such as the Lost Ladybug Project (www.lostladybug.org) have proven to be superior for tracking introduced and native species (Losey et al. 2012) and more cost effective per data point gathered (Gardiner 2012).