[en] With the world population attaining the six billion mark, the urgency of increasing quality food production and reducing the spread of diseases transmitted by insects, without affecting our fragile environment, will be of paramount importance. Losses currently experienced in agricultural production, due to insect pests and through diseases transmitted by insect vectors, are very high especially in developing and poor countries. Many insect pests and vectors are of economic importance, and several such as fruit flies, mosquitoes and tsetse flies have attracted international concerns. Most pests are traditionally controlled through heavy reliance on pesticides which can cause environmental pollution, pesticide resistance, and pest resurgence. The control, management or eradication of insect pests and vectors with minimal adverse impact on our food quality, environment, health and well-being should be of great concern to many agriculturists, biological and physical scientists as well as to national and international agencies responsible for pest control. Steps taken by the various concerned agencies to improve and implement the area-wide control will hopefully lead us into the next millennium free from major insect pests and vectors while at the same time protect our precarious global environment. This volume is the culmination of proceedings conducted in two recent international meetings, FAO/IAEA International Conference on Area-Wide Control of Insect Pests, 28 May - 2 June 1998, and the Fifth International Symposium on Fruit Flies of Economic Importance, 1-5 June 1998, held in Penang, Malaysia. Over three hundred papers (both oral contributions and posters) were presented at the two meetings. The manuscripts submitted by authors are divided according to broad topics into eighteen sections originally defined by the organisers as corresponding to the sessions of the meetings. The organisers identified one to several individuals in each of the sessions to deliver an oral presentation of general and/or a specific interest, the subject matter of which is related to the respective sessions in the meetings. This book is organised into parts that follow the sequence of the two meetings. Due to space and financial constraints, an international panel selected ninety-one papers for inclusion into this book. It contains an opening session and three parts, each with one to several sections consisting of invited contribution(s) and selected poster(s). Overview or review chapters form. the major part of these joint proceedings. At the end of this volume are appended a) the final programmes of the two meetings reflecting further the diverse topics presented but not included in this book, and b) taxonomic, author and subject indices

[en] Technology progress impacts upon our lives creating new relationships and opportunities. Development of the microprocessor has been a cornerstone of change and advancing processing capability makes complicated calculations and the activities born of them accessible to increasingly large portions of humanity. The microprocessor, as it relates to sterile insect release, has also impacted many aspects of the sterile insect technique

[en] Since 1981, the sterile insect technique (SIT) has been applied commercially for the control of the onion fly (Delia antiqua Meigen, Diptera: Anthomylidae) in the Netherlands, by a private company called de Groene Vlieg. This paper describes the practical application and problems encountered

[en] Conventional Insect Control The usual approach to insect control is to treat the commodity only after a damaging population of insects has developed. In other words, the producer, home owner or casual gardener fights a defensive battle. He reacts to an insect attack. When he sees the enemy or the damage caused by the enemy, he loads up his sprayer with an insecticide and mounts a counter attack. Most insect control procedures are applied by an individual producer on his own relatively small production area. This conventional insect control approach encourages the producer to make his own decisions about whether or not any insect control is to be used, which insect control method or product to use, when to use it, how to use it, who applies it, etc. Advice to producers on insect control is usually available from government extension personnel, private insect control consultants or representatives of companies that sell insecticides or other insect control materials or methods. The conventional procedure results in great variability in the efficacy of insect control because each producer makes his own decisions. The objective of conventional insect control is to protect the commodity. This is usually accomplished by treating the commodity, be it cows or corn or rice in a warehouse. Conventional insect control requires virtually no planning to achieve results. The 'programme' is short-term, frequently measured in days until the next insecticide application is needed. It is reactive (defensive). Area-wide Insect Control Area-wide insect control is applied against an important insect pest over a relatively large area involving many individual producers of the same or similar crops. The 'area' is a combination of geography and the range of hosts of the target insect pest. The term 'area' in 'area-wide' refers to the area where the target insect population survives. The area is not limited to production of the major crop(s) to be protected. It is very likely that a large part of the cost of an area-wide programme will be fighting the target pest away from the commercial production - before the commercial crops are susceptible - on wild or alternate hosts or abandoned orchards, untreated host plants in homeowners' gardens, etc. In most cases, area-wide insect control will be the responsibility of a separate organisation hired by the producers. A separate organisation can plan an aggressive offense against the target pest population over the entire area. High technology systems can be effectively utilised to plan the population management programme. Included will be satellite imagery to detect alternate hosts, sensitive methods to detect movement of the pest populations, computer programmes to predict changes in the pest insect population based on biological parameters, a systems approach to utilise natural enemies on an area-wide basis, genetic analysis to detect the development of resistance and utilisation of systems to delay the development of resistance over the total area. Further, area-wide programmes encourage the use of specialised methods of insect control that are not effective or are not used on a farm by farm basis. These include the sterile insect technique (SIT), male annihilation, inundative releases of parasites, mating inhibitors, large-scale trap cropping with very attractive plants, treatment of alternate hosts on public lands and hosts in private gardens, etc. The objective of area-wide control is to reduce the pest population within the target area to a non-economic level. This is accomplished by attacking the entire insect pest population in the target area. Conventional insect control attempts to protect the plant or animal, is carried out by individual producers over a small area with little planning, is short-term, low technology and is a reactive (defense) approach to insect control. Area-wide insect control attempts to reduce the pest population to a non-economic level over a large area involving many individual producers, is conducted by a special organisation which will carry out a thoroughly planned long-term proactive (offense) approach to insect control. High technology systems that reduce costs and environmental problems and increase efficacy will be used

[en] Food security and economic security are unarguably desirable objectives for all nations - indeed for the world. Equally important is the sustainability of designs that achieve these objectives without disadvantaging others or damaging the environment. Considering area-wide pest management in the context of these interrelated global policy forces is essential to fully understand its role in both the protection of plant resources and in facilitation of trade. The case for food security begins with the realisation that there are currently about 800 million people in the world who are suffering from malnutrition due to lack of food. The World Food Summit, convened in November 1996, urgently called for coordinated world-wide action to ensure 'food for all'. A key strategy for realising this goal is reducing losses due to plant pests. In this light, area-wide pest management can be viewed as a valuable addition to the toolbox of pest management strategies. It can also be one of the most sustainable and cost-effective options to consider for pest management. However, just as the problem of world hunger is not solved by a single farmer, area-wide pest management cannot be successful at the individual level. It requires commitment and cooperation to make it feasible - the same type of commitment and cooperation that was expressed at the World Food Summit. Where economic security is concerned, one need not look far to see a world of growing economic integration and widening circles of development. As the World Trade Organisation celebrates the 50th anniversary of the rules-based trading system which began with the GATT after World War II, it is clear that globalisation and the liberalisation of trade have become permanent fixtures in international policy formulation and are integral to the economic security of all nations. Now, more than ever before, the world's prosperity rests on maintaining an open international economy based on commonly agreed rules. The significance of agriculture in this international economy is quickly evident, as we see enormous quantities of fresh and processed agricultural commodities racing across borders and seas to markets in the far corners of the globe where the availability of such products had been inconceivable only decades before. For every country in the world, the import and export of agricultural products are essential to the health of the economy as well as the population. Non-industrialised countries, in particular, rely upon agriculture as a cornerstone for commerce. Industrial countries rely upon trade in agricultural products to provide the quantity, quality and variety of goods demanded by modern consumers. However, more trade, faster trade, and the opening of new markets for agricultural products also offer greater opportunities for the movement of pests that can have deleterious consequences. This raises significant concerns in policy formulation, especially as measures for protection can affect the free movement of commodities in trade. On the one hand, countries need to be able to import, to meet their needs and market demands, and they have the reciprocal need to have their exports accepted by others. On the other hand, countries must exercise a certain amount of care to ensure that they do not unduly jeopardise their own resources by introducing harmful new pests. This must be considered against the corresponding need to ensure that they do not ship harmful pests to other countries. As a result, there emerges a strong need for a balanced, dynamic, multi-disciplinary approach to policies concerned with pest management - for both domestic and foreign pest management. These policies are increasingly based on international cooperation, sophisticated technologies, and the marriage of economic and biological analyses. We are currently experiencing this transition in practice based on a more holistic approach, as evidenced in part by the expanding interest in applications for area-wide pest management. The evidence indicates that this shift will bring significant benefits in increased production and trade, as well as offering more sustainable and environmentally acceptable pest management options. There is also the concern that as tariffs and other barriers are removed, countries may impose measures under the guise of protection in order to secure market or other unfair advantages. It is the nature of quarantine to follow the old adage, 'an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure', i.e., it is comparatively cheaper and easier to prevent the entry of pests with strongly restrictive measures than it is to deal with the result of pest introduction. But while a certain degree of care is clearly justified, unreasonably conservative policies are seen to unnecessarily restrict trade. The question revolves around the issue of justification. As globalisation and the liberalisation of trade have matured, and international trade in agricultural products has grown in importance, it has become necessary for 'free trade' and 'fair trade' to evolve still further to embrace the concept of 'safe trade'. That is to say, disciplines are necessary to ensure that protective measures are used to the extent justified by legitimate concerns, but not as unjustified barriers to trade. This brings the discussion to the early part of the 1990s and the last round of multilateral trade negotiations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) - the Uruguay Round, and the agreements therein related to agriculture. Emerging from these negotiations was the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (the SPS Agreement) which dealt specifically with the issue of measures to protect plant, animal and human health and life

[en] Grasshoppers and locusts are among the most devastating pests of human agriculture. These insects cause serious damage to crops and forage on every arable continent, and their depredations have become the basis for legends, myths, and (in recent times) complex political and economic programmes. No pest problem spans such immense areas, with up to 8 million ha treated for rangeland grasshoppers during outbreaks in the US and 16 million km² prone to outbreaks of the Desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria Forskal, alone. The traditional management approach has involved extensive, regionalised control programmes, but recent trends suggest a decentralised future for grasshopper and locust management. Hence, we have a dynamic situation that presents the opportunity for a comparative analysis of the costs and benefits of an area-wide approach to pest management at different scales. As political, cultural, and communication barriers between scientists dissolve, the possibility of learning from one another's experiences (both failures and successes) promises to dramatically accelerate the rate of innovation, progress and discovery in pest management. For example, the recent advances in Reduced Agent-Area Treatments (RAAT, in which insecticide is applied to swaths, separated by untreated swaths or buffers) for management of rangeland grasshoppers in the US (Lockwood and Schell 1997) are based on the adaptation of tactics developed by African, Australian, Asian, and European scientists (Rachadi and Foucart 1996, Musuna and Mugisha 1997, Scherer and Celestin 1997, Wilps and Diop 1997, Launois and Rachadi 1997). The key to successful adaptation of management methods must begin with intellectual modesty and nationalistic humility so that the insights of non-scientists and experts from outside one's country are given respect and serious consideration. It is subsequently necessary to recognise the essential similarities and differences between land use systems and understand the political and socioeconomic contexts in which strategies have developed. In the light of these considerations, I shall briefly review the comparative ecologies, economics, and politics of area-wide locust and grasshopper management in Africa and the US and derive a set of common concerns and approaches to resolving the emergent issues. I cannot claim to fully understand the complexities of locust management in Africa, as it has taken more than a decade for me to gain insight regarding the biological and cultural subtleties of grasshopper management on rangeland in the US. However, I am confident that we have a great deal to gain from an open dialogue, and this paper is an attempt to open such a discussion with apologies for what are sure to be simplifications and errors of interpretation in summarising an enormously complicated and sophisticated system of locust management

[en] The area-wide pest population control concept began with E.F. Knipling (1979) in the 1970s. Control of a pest population on individual fields does little to control the overall pest population because only a portion of the population is being affected. Expanding control tactics beyond individual farms tends to suppress the population on a wider scale and frequently results in suppression of the population for more than one year. The Agriculture Research Service (ARS) believes that this concept has not been addressed with the focus and support that it deserves. The ARS Administration made a conscious decision in 1994 to create a series of area-wide programmes funded out of ARS-based funds that had previously been used for pilot tests. These programmes involve a coordinated effort among ARS and university scientists, growers, and fieldmen for agriculture supply centres and fruit packing houses. The first area-wide programme supported by ARS was the codling moth (CM), Cydia pomonella L. (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) suppression programme. The codling moth is the key pest of pome fruit throughout the western United States (Beers et al. 1993). About half of the insecticides applied on these crops are directed toward this pest. A non-insecticidal control technique, mating disruption (MD), is available to replace the organophosphates. Removal of the hard pesticides directed against this pest would do the most to allow natural enemies to survive and reproduce in the orchards, which in turn would have the effect of reducing secondary pests. Elimination of the pesticides would also remove much of the health risks to workers and would minimise buildup of pesticide resistance. The objectives of the Codling Moth Area-wide Program are to enhance the efficacy of the non-pesticide approach, to demonstrate that mating disruption will work if conducted properly, to develop biological technology to lower costs of control that complement mating disruption, to implement effective biological control systems, to improve monitoring systems for all pests and their principal natural enemies, to improve worker safety and to improve the perception that fruit production is safe for consumers, especially for children and infants

[en] The aim of our work is to provide an alternative to broad-scale pesticide spraying for crop protection. The need for such a development, in order to protect the environment, wildlife and human health, has never been more urgent. The project was conceived in 1992 deriving from concepts which are the subject of patent applications in 60 countries throughout the world. Since then, feasibility studies have been completed and links have been made with other organisations keen to evaluate and develop the technique. A parallel project, using similar electrostatic powder technology, was the development of an environmentally-friendly cockroach trap, which received a Prince of Wales Award for Innovation in 1997. In order to hasten the commercialisation of the technology, a new company, ExoSect Ltd, has been set up in association with the University of Southampton. The technique is based on the discovery that certain inert powders that can be electrostatically charged will adhere to the insect cuticle. The cuticle appears to be permanently electrically polarised (i.e., it functions as an electret). Powders of opposite polarity to the surface will therefore attach readily and it is extremely difficult for the insect to dislodge itself. In contrast, powders which do not charge easily or which rapidly lose their charge, quickly fall off, or can be groomed off by the insect. Male insects are lured to a source of charged powder by odour attractants (e.g., sexual pheromones). They then contaminate themselves with the powder. After leaving the trap, they pass on the powder to females in mating attempts. An insecticidal material formulated with the powder can thus be delivered to the females. The insecticide must be slow-acting in order for this transfer to take place. The components of the method are the following: Carrier Particles There are various inert or biodegradable materials with appropriate electrostatic characteristics which can be used as carriers for other biologically active materials. Long-lasting charge retention is perhaps the most important factor. Pesticide Slow-acting approved insecticides in a dry powder formulation can be applied to an insect long enough for it to be killed. The knock-down time can be varied between one and three days for certain synthetic insecticides, or over four days for biological insecticides, during which time the insect behaves normally. Spores of the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium can be used as biological insecticides, for example. Dry spores of the fungus can be formulated with suitable electrostatically chargeable particles. Particle Transfer There is a high rate of loss of particles during the first 48 hours, particularly from hairs and other projections of the insect (after which the loss is very low). This means that particles are readily transferred to females in mating attempts. A Selective Attractant Pheromones or parapheromone attractants for males are available for almost all of the major insect pest species. Control by trapping males alone, however, is generally not a viable method because over 90% must be trapped to ensure that sufficient eggs in the next generation are infertile. A Dissemination Station Bait stations have been developed which retain formulated powders, minimising their loss by wind and facilitating transfer to insects (Patent applied for). This method mimics a natural epidemic infective process (such as a sexually-transmitted disease), with the following advantages: insecticides do not come into contact with the crop or soil, extremely small amounts of insecticide are used, the method targets the pest species only, and others (beneficial insects etc.) are unaffected materials are all low-cost, unskilled labour is required only for placing devices around the crop, does not preclude the use of other methods that might be used in integrated pest management, the way is open to using a range of pesticides to which insects have not previously been exposed and to which they will not have started evolving resistance

[en] The Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata Wied. (Diptera: Tephritidae), has been artificially reared and used for the application of the sterile insect technique and other purposes, throughout the world. The larval diet used is rather expensive and it is mixed in the rearing facility. The most expensive ingredient used in this diet is yeast which is variable in composition and has a relatively short shelf life due mainly to its high nutritional value. This is particularly true for all countries like Greece which do not manufacture brewer's yeast. Also, it is widely known that the Mediterranean fruit fly larvae grow in a wide variety of fruits and artificial diets. These fruits and artificial diets, although very different in chemical/nutritional as well as physical/ecological parameters, are successfully tolerated and utilised by the larvae. These observations prompted the initiation of research into diets containing a variety of low cost ingredients widely used in the vertebrate feed industry and easily found in any country. To our knowledge, no one has tested complete diets produced by well-established feed manufacturers for larval rearing of this insect

[en] Pomiculture is a recent activity in southern Brazil. The first apple orchards were installed in the early 1970s. Recently, the area grown with apples exceeded 30,000 ha, concentrated in the regions of Fraiburgo and Sao Joaquim (state of Santa Catarina) and Vacaria and Bom Jesus (state of Rio Grande do Sul). Part of the 600,000 tons that are harvested every year is exported to the USA and European countries. Some exotic apple pests were unintentionally introduced, like the European red mite (Panonychuls ulmi Koch) and the Oriental fruit moth (Grapholita molesta Busck). Furthermore, some native species of insects became important pests, as in the South American apple leafroller (Bonagota cranaodes Meyrick) and the South American fruit fly (Anastrepha fraterculus Wiedemann). The South American fruit fly is the best-studied pest of apples in Brazil regarding its biology and ecology. In this paper, we synthesise the information available and discuss the feasibility of adopting new control methods. Most experiments were conducted in Vacaria where A. fraterculus populations reach levels as high as 150 flies/trap day in some years. Sixteen species of Anastrepha occur in the region of Vacaria and only A. fraterculus is considered economically important (Kovaleski et al., submitted). In addition to the typical morphology of A. fraterculus, the morphotype CSS (Selivon et al. 1996) was detected in McPhail traps and infested native fruits. The second most frequent species of Anastrepha is A. dissimilis Stone. It may be responsible for more than 20% of fruit flies in commercial apple orchards in some periods of the year (November-January) but does not attack apples (Kovaleski 1997). Adult population fluctuation has been studied for the last four years using plastic McPhail traps containing grape juice at 25% (v/v) as attractant. It is more efficient than corn protein hydrolysate, vinegar, and sugarcane molasses (Kovaleski et al. 1995) and is widely used by apple growers as the standard attractant for fruit fly monitoring. The highest population density is observed in mid-November and a second peak is observed in January-February in apple orchards and in forest areas surrounding these orchards (Kovaleski 1997). During this period, toxic bait sprays are applied on a weekly basis to prevent attack by ovipositing females. Females show an intense oviposition activity since fruits are 15 mm in diameter, with preference for bigger fruits when they are available (Sugayama et al. 1997). However, at this stage, fruits are unsuitable as hosts and more than 99% mortality occurs in the egg or first instar (Sugayama 1995). During harvest, larval development occurs satisfactorily even though it is slower than in primary hosts. A cohort of adults reared in apples shows positive values of intrinsic rate of increase, demonstrating that the population could be maintained using apples as hosts