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The Asian aphid parasitoid Binodoxys communis is the first candidate for classical biological control of the soybean aphid and has already been released in several North Central states...read more» A recent study concludes that predation of parasitoids by generalist predators was not sufficient to eliminate their contribution to soybean aphid control...read more» Researchers have recently shown that B. communis prefers to parasitize young and intermediate stages in the aphid life cycle. This is advantageous in several ways...read more» Within the assemblage of soybean aphid natural enemies in Michigan, lady beetles are reported to be critical to maintain aphids below economic injury levels...read more»

The soybean aphid, Aphis glycines, is native to Asia. The first North American record was from Wisconsin in 2000; later that same year significant infestations were also reported from Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan. By 2005 it had spread to 22 states and was resulting in millions of dollars of loss and management costs annually.

Soon after the aphid arrived in North America, several midwestern entomologists traveled to Asia to assess the aphid's pest status and learn about its ecology. Of the 3 countries surveyed, China, Japan and South Korea, the soybean aphid is considered a non-pest in Japan and Korea. In China, the aphid is a sporadic pest in northeast provinces, but is largely seen as a non-pest in other areas.

The surveys of Asian soybean fields confirmed that there are dozens of natural enemies that attack the soybean aphid, and studies in Asia have shown that natural enemies are key to their non-pest status (see, for example, Liu et al. 2004). If we add new natural enemies from Asia to midwestern soybean fields, the soybean aphid could potentially become a non-pest here as well.

Since 2005, a group of scientists from five North Central regional states and the USDA, with funding from the North Central Soybean Research Program, have been conducting research on importation biological control, also called classical biological control, of the soybean aphid, a process which identifies, locates, evaluates, and releases a pest's natural enemies that evolved with it in its native home, with the intent of significant long-term reduction of pest numbers.

At this website you will find background information on biological control in general, and biological control of the soybean aphid in particular. Further, through our regular updates of the site, growers, extension personnel, and scientists can track the progress of the importation biological control project.