Distribution of Cotesia rubecula (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) and its displacement of Cotesia glomerata in eastern North America

A survey was conducted from May to Oct of 2011 of the parasitoid community of the imported cabbageworm, Pieris rapae (Lepidoptera: Pieridae), in cole crops in part of the eastern United States and southeastern Canada. The findings of our survey indicate that Cotesia rubecula (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) now occurs as far west as North Dakota and has become the dominant parasitoid of P. rapae in the northeastern and north central United States and adjacent parts of southeastern Canada, where it has displaced the previously common parasitoid Cotesia glomerata (Hymenoptera: Braconidae). Cotesia glomerata remains the dominant parasitoid in the mid-Atlantic states, from Virginia to North Carolina and westward to southern Illinois, below latitude N 38° 48′. This pattern suggests that the released populations of C. rubecula presently have a lower latitudinal limit south of which they are not adapted

INTERACTIONS BETWEEN PIERIS OLERACEA AND PIERIS RAPAE (LEPIDOPTERA: PIERIDAE) BUTTERFLIES, AND THE BIOLOGICAL CONTROL AGENTS COTESIA GLOMERATA AND COTESIA RUBECULA (HYMENOPTERA: BRACONIDAE).

Pieris oleracea, formerly Pieris napi, was once a widespread pierid butterfly in New England until the introduction of a biological control agent, Cotesia glomerata. It has been suggested that C. glomerata is responsible for the range reduction of P. oleracea. There are been several introductions of a second more specialized biological control agent, Cotesia rubecula, to the United States since the 1960’s. My first goal was to determine the current distribution and status of P. rapae parasitoids and the effectiveness of C. rubecula as a biological control agent since its release. The findings of a survey I conducted of the parasitoid community of P. rapae indicate that C. rubecula now occurs as far west as North Dakota and has become the dominant parasitoid of P. rapae in the northeastern and north central United States and adjacent parts of southeastern Canada, where it has displaced , the previously dominant parasitoid. Survival of artificially established cohorts of P. rapae larvae was assessed in a collard patch on an organic vegetable farm in western Massachusetts. There was a significant drop in larval survival between the 4th and 5th instar due to parasitism by C. rubecula. This was change from survival curves of P. rapae from a 1985-1986 study, in which there was a significant drop in survival between the 5th instar and pupal stage due to C. glomerata. The final goal of my thesis work is to try to understand why P. oleracea was able to survive at the focal study site in Lenox, MA despite parasitoid pressure and range reduction elsewhere in New England. In olfactometer tests, there was no difference in attractiveness of naïve C. glomerata females to volatiles of either Cardamine pratensis (cuckooflower) foliage, the host plant of P. oleracea or Brassica olercea (collard) foliage (P = 0.51). In order to determine if overtopping by other vegetation may provide an enemy free space for P. oleracea by affecting detection by C. glomerata, cage experiments were conducted. Overtopping vegetation had a significant effect on parasitism by C. glomerata (F = 12.8, df = 3, P \u3c0.001), and may be the reason P. oleracea has been able to thrive at the Lenox, MA site

Attack and Success of Native and Exotic Parasitoids on Eggs of Halyomorpha halys in Three Maryland Habitats.

Egg parasitoids of the exotic invasive brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys (Stål), were investigated using lab-reared fresh (live) and frozen (killed) lab-reared sentinel egg masses deployed for 72h on foliage in three habitats-woods, orchard, and soybean field-in Maryland, USA, in summer 2014. Four native hymenopteran species, Telenomus podisi Ashmead (Scelionidae), Trissolcus euschisti (Ashmead) and Tr. brochymenae Ashmead (Scelionidae), and Anastatus reduvii (Howard) (Eupelmidae), developed and emerged from H. halys eggs. One exotic parasitoid, Trissolcus japonicus (Ashmead), emerged, providing the first known occurrence of this species in North America. Native parasitoids emerged from frozen eggs significantly more often than from fresh eggs (89.3% of egg masses and 98.1% of individual eggs), whereas the exotic Tr. japonicus did not show a similar difference, strongly suggesting adaptation to H. halys as a host by Tr. japonicus but not by the native species. Parasitoids were habitat-specific: all three Trissolcus species were significantly more likely to occur in the woods habitat, whereas Te. podisi was found exclusively in the soybean field. Further investigations are required to elucidate evolving host-parasitoid relationships, habitat specificity, and non-target effects of Tr. japonicus over the expanded range of H. halys in North America

194_01_030111.book(her10385_fm.fm)

ABSTRACT Objective: To determine the prevalence and diagnosis rates of Klinefelter syndrome (KS) in Victoria, Australia, and compare these to previous international findings. Design, setting and participants: A Victorian population-based descriptive study of all cytogenetic examinations resulting in a diagnosis of KS, including prenatal diagnoses from 1986 to 2006 and postnatal diagnoses from 1991 to 2006. Main outcome measures: Birth prevalence and diagnosis rates of KS. Results: The birth prevalence of KS in Victoria is estimated to be 223 per 100 000 males (95% CI,, with about 50% of cases remaining undiagnosed. Conclusions: KS may be occurring more frequently than has been reported previously, yet many cases remain undiagnosed. Our results highlight the need for increased MJA 2011; 194: 24-28 awareness leading to timely detection

Attack and Success of Native and Exotic Parasitoids on Eggs of <i>Halyomorpha halys</i> in Three Maryland Habitats

<div><p>Egg parasitoids of the exotic invasive brown marmorated stink bug, <i>Halyomorpha halys</i> (Stål), were investigated using lab-reared fresh (live) and frozen (killed) lab-reared sentinel egg masses deployed for 72h on foliage in three habitats—woods, orchard, and soybean field—in Maryland, USA, in summer 2014. Four native hymenopteran species, <i>Telenomus podisi</i> Ashmead (Scelionidae), <i>Trissolcus euschisti</i> (Ashmead) and <i>Tr</i>. <i>brochymenae</i> Ashmead (Scelionidae), and <i>Anastatus reduvii</i> (Howard) (Eupelmidae), developed and emerged from <i>H</i>. <i>halys</i> eggs. One exotic parasitoid, <i>Trissolcus japonicus</i> (Ashmead), emerged, providing the first known occurrence of this species in North America. Native parasitoids emerged from frozen eggs significantly more often than from fresh eggs (89.3% of egg masses and 98.1% of individual eggs), whereas the exotic <i>Tr</i>. <i>japonicus</i> did not show a similar difference, strongly suggesting adaptation to <i>H</i>. <i>halys</i> as a host by <i>Tr</i>. <i>japonicus</i> but not by the native species. Parasitoids were habitat-specific: all three <i>Trissolcus</i> species were significantly more likely to occur in the woods habitat, whereas <i>Te</i>. <i>podisi</i> was found exclusively in the soybean field. Further investigations are required to elucidate evolving host-parasitoid relationships, habitat specificity, and non-target effects of <i>Tr</i>. <i>japonicus</i> over the expanded range of <i>H</i>. <i>halys</i> in North America.</p></div

Occurrence of successful egg parasitism by species, with tests for differences between fresh and frozen sentinel eggs.

<p>Occurrence of successful egg parasitism by species, with tests for differences between fresh and frozen sentinel eggs.</p

Occurrence of successful egg parasitism by species, with tests for differences among habitats, including both fresh and frozen sentinel eggs.

<p>Occurrence of successful egg parasitism by species, with tests for differences among habitats, including both fresh and frozen sentinel eggs.</p

Trissolcus japonicus (Ashmead) (Hymenoptera, Scelionidae) emerges in North America

Trissolcus japonicus (Ashmead) is an Asian egg parasitoid of the brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys (Stål). It has been under study in U.S. quarantine facilities since 2007 to evaluate its efficacy as a candidate classical biological control agent and its host specificity with regard to the pentatomid fauna native to the United States. A survey of resident egg parasitoids conducted in 2014 with sentinel egg masses of H. halys revealed that T. japonicus was already present in the wild in Beltsville, MD. Seven parasitized egg masses were recovered, of which six yielded live T. japonicus adults. All of these were in a wooded habitat, whereas egg masses placed in nearby soybean fields and an abandoned apple orchard showed no T. japonicus parasitism. How T. japonicus came to that site is unknown and presumed accidental

State and local efforts to investigate the validity and reliability of scores from teacher evaluation systems

Abstract Context: In the past two years, states have implemented sweeping reforms to their teacher evaluation systems in response to Race to the Top legislation and, more recently, NCLB waivers. With these new systems, policy-makers hope to make teacher evaluation both more rigorous and more grounded in specific job performance domains such as teaching quality and contributions to student outcomes. Attaching high stakes to teacher scores has prompted an increased focus on the reliability and validity of these scores. Teachers unions have expressed strong concerns about the reliability and validity of using student achievement data to evaluate teachers and the potential for subjective ratings by classroom observers to be biased. The legislation enacted by many states also requires scores derived from teacher observations and the overall systems of teacher evaluation to be valid and reliable. Focus of the study: In this paper, we explore how state education officials and their district and local partners plan to implement and evaluate their teacher evaluation systems, focusing in particular on states&apos; efforts to investigate the reliability and validity of scores emerging from the observational component of these systems. Research design: Through a document analysis and interviews with state education officials, we explore several issues that arise in observational systems, including the overall generalizability of teacher scores, the training, certification, and reliability of observers, and specifications regarding the sampling and number of lessons observed per teacher. 2 Findings: Respondents&apos; reports suggest that states are attending to the reliability and validity of scores, but inconsistently; in only a few states does there appear to be a coherent strategy regarding reliability and validity in place. Conclusions: There remain a variety of system design and implementation decisions that states can optimize to increase the reliability and validity of their teacher evaluation scores. While a state may engage in auditing scores, for instance, it may miss the gains to reliability and validity that would accrue from periodic rater retraining and recertification, a stiff program of rater monitoring, and the use of multiple raters per teacher. Most troublesome are decisions about which and how many lessons to sample, which are either mandated legislatively, result from practical concerns or negotiations between stakeholders, or, at best case, rest on broad research not directly related to the state context. This suggests that states should more actively investigate the number of lessons and lesson sampling designs required to yield high-quality scores. 3 Executive Summary Context: In the past two years, states have implemented sweeping reforms to their teacher evaluation systems in response to Race to the Top legislation and, more recently, waivers of The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. With these new systems, policy-makers hope to make teacher evaluation both more rigorous and more grounded in specific job performance domains such as teaching quality and contributions to student outcomes. Each of these new teacher evaluation systems produces overall performance scores for individual teachers that are derived from multiple sources of data, including classroom observation systems. What these scores mean, and how reliably they measure differences in teacher or teaching quality, is an open question. In some states, new legislation also attached important consequences to the performance evaluation scores teachers receive. For example, teachers who receive excellent ratings may receive financial bonuses, salary increases, non-probationary status, or tenure. Teachers judged as performing poorly may be denied pay raises or tenure, enrolled in mandatory assistance or remediation plans, or terminated. Attaching high stakes to teacher scores has prompted an increased focus on the reliability and validity of these scores. Teachers unions have expressed strong concerns about the reliability and validity of using student achievement data to evaluate teachers and the potential for subjective ratings by classroom observers to be biased. The legislation enacted by many states also requires scores derived from teacher observations and the overall systems of teacher evaluation to be valid and reliable. Focus, Design, and Sample: In this paper, the authors explore how state education officials and their district and local partners plan to implement and evaluate their teacher evaluation systems, focusing in particular on states&apos; efforts to investigate the reliability and validity of scores emerging from the observational component of these systems. To this end, we began with a document analysis of teacher evaluation legislation and guidelines in 17 states. We then conducted a series of interviews with officials representing 12 states, asking about current concerns, efforts, and issues surrounding the production of high-quality teacher scores. We focused in particular on areas known to be of concern in the generation of high-quality observational scores, including the choice of the observational instrument, rater training and certification, and the number of lessons evaluated per teacher per year

Secretary Institute of Education Sciences

IES evaluation reports present objective information on the conditions of implementation and impacts of the programs being evaluated. IES evaluation reports do not include conclusions or recommendations or views with regard to actions policymakers or practitioners should take in light of the findings in the reports. To order copies of this report