Project properties
Title Finding the needle in the haystack – making biological control of an invader possible
Group Entomology, Laboratory of
Project type thesis
Credits 12-39
Supervisor(s) Dr. Karin Winkler
Examiner(s) Prof. dr. ir. J.J.A. van Loon
Contact info karin.winkler@wur.nl
Begin date 2022/04/01
End date 2022/09/30
Description Four years ago, the brown marmorated stinkbug Halyomorpha halys arrived in the Netherlands and meanwhile can it be found all over the country. This pest has a broad range of hostplants, including fruits and vegetables and forms a thread for fruit production and IPM programs. In Italy and Switzerland first steps are taken for biological control of this pest with tiny egg parasitoids.
In this project you will work on the following aspects:
• Rearing H. halys to study phenology under Dutch climate conditions
• Study the local parasitoid community of H. halys in the Netherlands by exposing and recollecting egg masses
• coordinate a Citizen Sciences activity to collect parasitized egg batches from all over NL
Used skills rearing of insects, field monitoring, communication skills, data-analysis, writing scientific report.
Requirements Two of the following four courses: ENT-30806, ENT-50806, ENT-30306, GEN-20306. For MPS-students, ENT-30806 is compulsory