About Tool

Biological control can play a significant role in aquatic and terrestrial plant management at federal, state, and local levels if proper knowledge and information on the use of various organisms is available. Increasing the awareness of operational personnel to the potential of this management technique was the driving force behind the development of this LUCID based Expert Information System. The system is composed of 28 genera and 38 beneficial weevil species. Among these species, 36 species are exotic and two species are endemic in the United States and Canada. The weevil species currently identified as a potential biological control agents in the United States particularly Anthonomus tenebrosus Boheman (native to Argentina and Brazil), Homorosoma chinensis Wagner (native to China), and Ceutorhynchus alliariae (Brisout) (native to Europe), C. roberti Gyllenhal (native to Italy), C. scrobicollis Nerensheimer and Wagner (native to eastern Germany and Eastern Austria), and C. constrictus (Marsham) (native to Europe) are not yet included in the identification tool. These species if found suitable to be released in the United States and Canada will be included at the time of revision of this tool.

Biological control of weeds is considered to be environmentally safe, energy self-sufficient, cost-effective, and often self-sustaining. Over the past 100 years, more than 200 control agents have been released against 114 weed species worldwide. Of these, 165 have been imported and released in the continental United States and Canada. Although biological control agents can include nematodes, pathogens, and vertebrates, 114 of the 165 released organisms are arthropods (insects and mites). The vast majority of biological agents released have been targeted against non-indigenous rangeland weeds. The use of weevils as biological control agents against aquatic and terrestrial weeds has been demonstrated to be highly successful in many instances in North America and throughout the world.

The increasing diversity of introduced and native insects that impact aquatic and terrestrial plants is causing complications for operational and other non-technical personnel. This occurs because these personnel are now faced with a large complex of organisms (both introduced and native) that offer potential as biological control agents, instead of only minimal numbers commonly found just a few years ago.

The need to provide the ability to rapidly and effectively disseminate information on the use of biological control led to the development of this Expert Information System, which allows for ready identification of the weevil biological control agents, even by non-taxonomic specialists. The Expert Information System also provides detailed textual information, images of diagnostic characters and dorsal and lateral habitus for each species using recent Auto-Montage imaging technology. The system initially works on 32 features (species characters), 145 states (sub-characters), and 144 images. In addition, through the Help Function, general concepts of insect biological control in aquatic and terrestrial plant management, as well as available information on population biology, ecology, hosts, identification, descriptions and use of selected weevil biological control agents are provided.

The Help Functions of this Expert Information System are organized roughly as follows: (1) general concepts of biological control which include historical, ecological, and philosophical aspects of biological control; (2) an overview of the problems posed by specific exotic aquatic plants; (3) the impact of various herbivores on aquatic and terrestrial plants; (4) releases and establishment in the United States and Canada, and (5) descriptions, life histories, and plant damage caused by the specific organisms.

Each section is self-explanatory, but some general information is worth considering for instance the basic ecological concepts illustrate the manner by which biological control agents are able to suppress target populations effectively, as well as to address the practicality of using biological control management techniques as part of an overall aquatic and terrestrial plant management strategy.

In order to effectively assess the potential and probable impact caused by various agents it is important to be able to recognize each species and more importantly to understand their potential impact. Knowing the identity of specific biological control agents allow operational personnel to begin to "actively" use biological control procedures. Finally, familiarity with the computer-based Lucid Expert Information System permits operational personnel without formal training in plant and insect taxonomy quickly to identify insect species with a high degree of accuracy.