Early stages of evaluation and testing took place in the Insect Quarantine Facility, a joint Minnesota Department of Agriculture and Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station facility on the St. Paul Campus. Special security and air filtration systems ensure the insects being evaluated don't venture out on their own.

Approval for field testing came after six years of research and extensive state, federal and international approvals. Ragsdale, fellow University of Minnesota Entomologist George Heimpel and Minnesota Department of Agriculture Entomologist Zhishan Wu began the process by searching Chinese soybean fields to find minute (1/25 of an inch) stingless wasps that naturally control soybean aphids. “China has a lot of soybeans, but we had to really look hard to find soybean aphids. Many of the aphids we did find were already killed by parasitoids,” Heimpel said. Their hunt focused on parts of China where the weather is similar to Minnesota.

Binodoxys communis, the first species approved for field testing, will be evaluated in grower fields and Research and Outreach Centers throughout the state.This species was approved for release based upon four years of laboratory safety testing. It is an especially promising species for control of soybean aphid because it comes from a region in China that is a good climate match to Minnesota, and also because it specializes on soybean aphid and has been observed apparently controlling it in China.

A cooperative effort between the University, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and soybean growers is a key part of the research and field testing. “The soybean check-off is committed to supporting research that will mitigate this devastating pest,” says Larry Muff, a soybean farmer from New Richland, Minn. and co-chair of the Minnesota Soybean Research and Tech Transfer Committee. “Organic growers will also benefit from this biological control of aphids.”

University researchers and Minnesota Department of Agriculture scientists will monitor the ability of Binodoxys communis to kill soybean aphids this summer and continue the attack this fall when soybean aphids move to buckthorn plants and survive the winter to battle soybean aphids in 2008. They also have a backup plan. Eleven other species and strains of stingless wasps are under evaluation and some of these that have shown promise from both a safety and efficacy standpoint may be field tested in 2008.

“Science and cooperation are key to using insects to naturally control crop pests. Scientists select the right insects for this task and cooperation between the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council creates the environment where beneficial insects can be studied, evaluated and tested,” said Bev Durgan, dean, University of Minnesota Extension and director, Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station.

The Insect Quarantine Facility opened in 2003 and allows researchers to analyze the potential usefulness of beneficial insects to control soybean aphids, buckthorn, garlic mustard, leafy splurge and other pests. A companion bio-safety level (BL3) facility under construction will allow scientists to conduct research on exotic plant pathogens. The University of Minnesota is the only Midwest university with the combination of insect and plant pathogen quarantine facility.

"Crop pests and diseases are a constant threat to our agricultural community, and as we fight invasive pests like soybean aphid, it only makes sense that we look for their natural enemies to help us control their populations," said Minnesota Department of Agriculture Commissioner Gene Hugoson.

More information on the field testing, high resolution photos for download and other soybean aphid information is available at www.soybeans.umn.edu