Objectives

1) Test two options for reducing damage from Mexican bean beetle in the first year of release: a) Raise the release rate of wasps, and b) Apply one spray of a botanical insecticide to reduce the initial density of adult beetles, then release the wasps at the usual rate after the spray residue is gone and when remaining beetles are in the appropriate larval stage.

2) Accurately measure the initial density of adult Mexican bean beetles at first , second, and third year release sites and control sites, and follow the population through the season, with an emphasis on measuring the effect of Pediobius on production of pupae and adults in the first and second beetle generations.