- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
The seminar is from 12:05 to 1 p.m. in Room 1022 of the Life Sciences Addition, corner of Hutchison and Kleiber Hall drives. Professor Frank Zalom and Ph.D candidate Kelly Hamby of the Zalom lab are the hosts.
Plans call for recording the seminar for later posting on the UCTV Seminar series.
Aldrich will describe the history of the discovery of the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB) in Allentown, Penn,. in 2000, and its subsequent spread and damage in North America. He will detail the discovery of the bug's chemical communication system and ongoing pheromone commercialization efforts. He then will present results of laboratory experiments using native egg parasitoids exposed to the stink bug eggs.
An expert on BMSB, Aldrich established that BMSB in the U.S. is cross-attracted to the pheromone of a congeneric species; he facilitated commercialization of this cross-attractant lure; and he led the team that identified the pheromone of the BMSB. The significance: Aldrich created the basis for monitoring the spread of BMSB, a major agricultural pest that causes vegetables and fruit to rot (USDA has estimated $21 billion worth of crops are at risk). BMSB is also a pervasive residential nuisance. The research is potentially useful in systems to mass trap and/or attract-and-kill BMSB.
In other work, Aldrich pioneered the discovery/application of general predator pheromones to enhance biocontrol: for example, he identified the male-produced aggregation pheromone of the spined soldier bug, and patented the invention, which Sterling International commercialized. He also discovered a similar system in green lacewings that awaits development. The significance: he established the concept that using male-produced aggregation pheromones to induce females to lay eggs in pest infestations can create armies of predator offspring that must search for prey in the area. This pheromone market is defined by the number of prey species the predator attracts, thus increasing the likelihood of commercialization.
A member of the Entomological Society of America since 1972, Aldrich is a past president of both the International Society of Chemical Ecology and the Entomological Society of Washington, D.C., and was appointed associate editor of the Journal of Chemical Ecology in 2009.
Aldrich served as a research entomologist for the U.S. Department of Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, MD, from 1980 to 2011, including five years as a laboratory research leader (1999-2004).
His other research experience includes:
- 1990-2010, visiting scientist annually in government and academic laboratories in Brazil for up to four months at a time.
- 1991 and 2007, visiting scientist, Queensland Department of Primary Industries, Australia, six months and five weeks, respectively.
- 1996, visiting scientist, Ministry of Agriculture, Tsukuba, Japan, six weeks.
- 1994, visiting scientist, Perugia University, Italy, three months.
- 1978-1980, research associate, New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, Geneva, N.Y.
- 1977-1978, Rockefeller Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Georgia, Athens, Ga.
- 1975, Tropical Ecology Field Course, Organization for Tropical Studies, Costa Rica, two months.
Aldrich has published his work in journals including Science, Journal of Chemical Ecology, Chemoecology, and Environmental Entomology. He has presented more than 150 lectures at national and international venues, including technical organizations, universities, government agencies, and lay groups.
The New York Times, Washington Post, Baltimore Sun, Discovery, U.S. News and World Report, and Organic Gardener have covered his work. In addition, he has been interviewed by a number of radio and TV stations in the United States and Brazil.