Title: CSI for BUGS: Honing Your Diagnostic Skills

Summary: To conduct Plant Health Care or Integrated Pest Management programs effectively, technicians must be able to make accurate diagnoses. Symptomatology is a diagnostic approach first described in the field of arboriculture by Carl Koehler in 1987. Much the same way that a crime scene investigator uses clues to identify the perpetrator of a crime, symptomatolgy uses signs and symptoms left behind as insects feed to identify the causal agent of the damage. Attendees will learn five major categories of damage caused by insects and mites and associate this injury with specific pest groups. When coupled with information on host plant and seasonality, arborists can identify the pest responsible for the damage. Included in the diagnostic training will be a comprehensive review of larval identification using insect larvae keys created by Dr. Raupp.

Michael J. Raupp, PhD, Professor, University of MD, Entomology, College Park, MD, United States

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