Publications by authors named "Joseph A Francese"

Management responses to invasive forest insects are facilitated by the use of detection traps ideally baited with species-specific semiochemicals. Emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire, is currently invading North American forests, and since its detection in 2002, development of monitoring tools has been a primary research objective. We compared six trapping schemes for A.

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The spotted lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula (White), an invasive, phloem-feeding fulgorid generalist, was recently discovered in the United States. Current trapping methods include placing glue-covered sticky bands around trunks of host trees to exploit the lanternfly's behavior of climbing up tree trunks. These bands are messy and need to be replaced often as they become covered in both target and nontarget insects and debris.

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The velvet longhorned beetle, Trichoferus campestris (Faldermann) ("VLB"; Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), is native to eastern Asia where it infests and damages a wide range of deciduous and coniferous tree species, including orchard and timber species. Immature stages of VLB are transported to new countries via international commerce, and populations have established outside the native range of the species. Here, we show that identification of pheromones of invasive pest species can be expedited by knowledge of the semiochemistry of related taxa.

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The Asian longhorned beetle, Anoplophora glabripennis (Motschulsky) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Lamiinae), is an invasive woodborer that poses a serious threat to urban and natural landscapes. In North America, this beetle is a quarantine pest, and populations are subject to eradication efforts that consist of the identification, removal, and destruction of infested host material, and removal or prophylactic treatment of high-risk host plant species. To enhance Asian longhorned beetle eradication protocols in landscapes with extensive host availability, we assessed the dispersal potential of male and female adults of varying age, mating, and nutritional status using computerized flight mills.

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The emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), is a serious invasive pest of North American ash (Fraxinus spp.) that has caused devastating mortality since it was first identified in North America in 2002. In 2012, we conducted field trapping assays that tested the efficacy of purple prism and fluon-coated green multifunnel (Lindgren funnel) traps.

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Field assays were conducted in southeastern and south-central Michigan in 2011 and 2012 to optimize green and purple multifunnel (Lindgren funnel) traps for use as a survey tool for the emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire. Larger sized (12- and 16-unit) multifunnel traps caught more beetles than their smaller-sized (4- and 8-unit) counterparts. Green traps coated with untinted (white) fluon caught almost four times as many adult A.

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The current emerald ash borer survey trap used in the United States is a prism trap constructed from a stock purple corrugated plastic. In recent years, several colors (particularly shades of green and purple) have been shown to be more attractive to the emerald ash borer than this stock color. Our goal was to determine if plastics produced with these colors and incorporated into prism traps can improve and serve as a new alternative to plastics already in use for the emerald ash borer survey.

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Emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) is an invasive species from Asia that was discovered in North America Canada, in 2002. Herein, we describe studies to develop an autocontamination trapping system to disseminate Beauveria bassiana to control beetle populations. The standard trap for emerald ash borer in Canada is a light green prism trap covered in an insect adhesive and baited with (Z)-3-hexenol.

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Tens of thousands of adhesive-coated purple prism traps are deployed annually in the United States to survey for the invasive emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera: Buprestidae). A reusable, more user-friendly trap is desired by program managers, surveyors, and researchers. Field assays were conducted in southeastern Michigan to ascertain the feasibility of using nonsticky traps as survey and detection tools for emerald ash borer.

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Field assays were performed to determine the optimal color for Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) traps. Previous studies have found that more A. planipennis are caught on purple or green traps than traps of other colors.

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Retinal sensitivity of Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) was examined with an aim to improve trap efficacy for the beetle. Electroretinogram (ERG) recordings from dark-adapted compound eyes of male and female were measured at different wavelengths across the spectrum ranging from 300 to 700 nm. The spectral sensitivity curves revealed peaks in the UV (340 nm), the violet/purple (420-430 nm), blue (460 nm), and green (540-560 nm) regions of the spectrum.

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The key to an effective pest management program for the emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera Buprestidae), is a survey program equipped with tools for detecting and delimiting populations. We studied the effects of trap design, color, and placement on the efficacy of sticky traps for capturing the emerald ash borer. There were significant differences in trap catch along a transect gradient from wooded to open field conditions, with most beetles being caught along the edge, or in open fields, 15-25 m outside an ash (Fraxinus spp.

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Bark volatiles from green ash Fraxinus pennsylvanica were tested for electrophysiological activity by Agrilus planipennis using gas chromatographic-electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD) and for behavioral activity using baited purple traps in Michigan. GC-EAD analysis of the headspace volatiles of bark tissue samples from 0- and 24-h-old fully girdled (stressed) ash trees showed that the latter had elevated sesquiterpene levels. Six of the elevated compounds consistently elicited antennal responses by both male and female A.

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