Mass Production and Quality of

Biological Control Agents

Jennifer L. Gillett, Heidi N. HansPetersen & Norman C.
Leppla
UF/IFAS~IPM Florida
Of all known insects only
<1/10 of 1%
are serious pests
Development of Commercial
Biological Control
California Environmental
Protection Agency- Department
of Pesticide Regulation

142 suppliers, 130 species

(1997)
 New Product Development
35
Number of Species

30
Cumulative

25
20
15
10
5
0

Year
Amblyseius swirskii
Feltiella acarisuga Diptera: Cecidomyiidae
(Therodiplosis persicae in Europe)
Multi-cellular Invertebrate
Natural Enemies
Purposes for Rearing Insects
Purposes for Rearing Insects
Types of Insect Rearing Systems

Blister Beetles
Medflies
 Medfly

Screwworm
Options for Colonizing Insects
Parasite and Predator Rearing
Options for Colonizing Insects
 Maintaining the Quality of
Colonized Insects
• Collection of appropriate biotypes
• Colonization and strain development
• Rearing proficiency
• Colony management
• Behavior-genetic selection
• Strain replacement
 Quality Control Criteria
• Quantity- number of pupae & adults
• Size- weight of pupae
• Fecundity- oviposition & egg hatch
• Rate of Development- synchronization
• Adult Behavior- flight & longevity
• Field Performance- achieve purpose
Structured
Diagnostic
Procedures
 Periodic Review Versus
Crisis Review

Screwworm
Total Quality
Management
 Generic Guidelines for
Quality Systems

• Policy, planning and administration

• Design assurance and change control
• Control of purchased materials
• Production quality control
• User contact and field performance
• Corrective action
• Employee selection, training and motivation
 IOBC
To facilitate and advance
cost-effective rearing of high-
quality insects and other
arthropods in support of
biological control and
integrated pest management
 Workshops of the IOBC,
WGQC (AMRQC)
1982 Gainesville, Florida E. F. Boller and D. L. Chambers
1984 Wadenswil, Switzerland E. F. Boller and D. L. Chambers
1986 Guatemala City, Guatemala C. 0. Calkins
1988 Vancouver, Canada C. 0. Calkins
1991 Wageningen, The Netherlands F. Bigler and J. C. van Lenteren
1992 Horsholm, Denmark F. Bigler
1993 Rimini, Italy M. Benuzzi and N. C. Leppla
1995 Santa Barbara, California R. F. Luck and N. C. Leppla
1998 Cali, Colombia N. C. Leppla and T. R. Ashley
2003 Montpellier, France K. Bolckmans, P. De Clercq,
S. Grenier, A. Hale and N. Leppla
IOBC, AMRQC
Commercial Biological Control
Organizations
 Global QC Programs
• Individual Companies
Customers
• International Standards
ISO 9000
ASTM (Amer. Soc. for Testing & Materials)
IOBC Guidelines (European Community)
• The Marketplace
Quality Products
 Insect Rearing and Quality
Control References
 Rearing of Insects (Encyclopedia of Insects, Resh &
Carde 2002)
 The Basics of Insect Rearing (Encyclopedia of
Entomology, Capinera 2004)
 Guidelines for quality control of commercially
produced natural enemies (Quality Control and
Production of Biological Control Agents, Theory and
Testing Procedures, van Lenteren 2003).
 The Foundation of Quality Control for Insect Rearing
(Principles and Procedures for Rearing Quality
Insects, Mississippi State University, Schneider 2006)
Information on Commercial
Biological Control

http://ipm.ifas.ufl.edu