Show Us the Money                   

With much fanfare, the soybean aphid biocontrol group will soon be spouting praise and high
promise on soybean aphid biocontrol agents.  What will be missing, as usual, is a discussion
on the economics of biocontrol agents.  Exactly what is the cost and benefit of biocontrol
agents? What is it in soybean bushels per acre?

Biocontrol agents may not be free; opportunity costs will have to be considered and quantified
relative to the cost of chemicals, market value of soybean, and the influence of biocontrol agents
on harvestable soybean yield (tonnage, oil, protein).  What about the lag period inherent in prey-
predator cycles?

According to www.investopedia.com, "opportunity cost is the cost of an alternative that must be
forgone in order to pursue a certain action. Put another way, the benefits you could have received
by taking an alternative action."

If I were a soybean farmer, can I really count on the Asian lady beetle to control my soybean
aphids and give me a yield increase of a certain bushel per acre?  Can I entrust my potential
income to a parasitic wasp knowing that I really need the money for my daughter's college
tuition?
                                                                                                                         
And by the way, another thing that most biocontrol folks will not tell you is the fact that some
of the introduced biocontrol agents such as the Asian lady beetle and the seven-spotted lady
beetle may actually be responsible for driving our native lady beetles to near extinction.

My friends, this is very serious business.  Nobody should ever take the word "extinct" lightly,
especially if you call yourself a biologist or an entomologist.

Have you ever heard of insecticides driving an insect species to near extinction?  The last
time I checked, when we tried to spray Anopheles mosquitoes to oblivion, all they did was
develop resistance to . . . .

Which one is more deleterious to the environment now, certain introduced biocontrol agents
or certain synthetic insecticides?

Which one is worse - resistance or extinction?  Artificial gain in fitness or absolute lack of fitness?

References:


Hesler, L.S., R. W. Kieckhefer, and M. A. Catangui.  2004. Surveys and field observations of Harmonia
               axyridis and other Coccinellidae (Coleoptera) in eastern and central South Dakota.
               Transactions of the American Entomological Society 130(1): 113-133.

Kingsley, P. C., M. D. Bryan, W. H. Day, T. L. Burger, R. J. Dysart, and C. P. Schwalbe.  1993.
               Alfalfa weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) biological control: spreading the benefits.
               Environmental Entomology 22: 1234-1250.

Losey, J. E. and M. Vaughan.  2006.  The economic value of ecological services provided by insects.
                BioScience 56: 311-323.

Insect Conservation Biology

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 Web Posted on Tuesday, February 20, 2007 by Mike Catangui. Last Updated on Friday, March 30, 2007.