1st Edition

Applications of Genetics to Arthropods of Biological Control Significance

By Sudhir Karl Narang Copyright 1993

    Written by experts in the fields of insect pest genetics, the genetics of biological control organisms, and the application of biological control, this book provides the first up-to-date summary of the genetic literature on the genetics of arthropod biological control agents. It identifies successful programs and also gaps and needs in research, research constraints, and possible research approaches in this important field of pest control.
    The power and applicability of new genetic and molecular biology methods have created new and exciting possibilities to greatly improve the effectiveness of traditional biological control programs. This book provides essential information about the state-of-the-art application of these new methods. It explains how biological control procedures can be improved, covers methods for selecting pesticide-resistant strains of natural enemies, and looks at methods for maintaining genetic diversity and quality control during the rearing of biological control agents in the laboratory. The book also provides information regarding the application of powerful PCR methods for taxonomic identification of strains and species of biocontrol agents.

    1. Genetics and Insect Biotypes: Evolutionary and Practical Implications 2. Complexities of Population Genetic Structure and Implications for Biological Control Programs 3. Dichotomous RAPD-PCR Key for Identification of Four Species of Parasitic Hymenoptera 4. Genetics of Parasitic Hymenoptera 5. Laboratory Selection for Pesticide Resistance in Natural Enemies 6. Genetic Analysis of the Resistance of Two Strains of Typhlodromus pyri to Synthetic Pyrethroid Insecticides 7. Long-Term Culturing and Quality Assessment of Predatory Big-Eyed Bugs, Geocoris punctipes 8. Genetic Diversity in Laboratory Colonies of Parasites and Predators 9. Host-Range Increase of Indigenous and Introduced Parasitoids 10. Increasing Genetic Diversity for Release of Parasites and Predators 11. Improvement of Natural Enemies for Biological Control: A Genetic Engineering Approach