The pine bark adelgid, Pineus strobi (Hemiptera: Adelgidae) is a native herbivore of eastern white pine, Pinus strobus (Pinales: Pinaceae), in eastern North America. It is a sessile insect that settles on P. strobus and inserts its stylet bundle to feed on the tree’s phloem. Although P. strobi is not considered a serious pest, it shares its range with the invasive hemlock woolly adelgid, Adelges tsugae Annand (Hemiptera: Adelgidae). Predators introduced as biological control agents of A. tsugae interact with P. strobi and its native predators, including Laricobius rubidus LeConte (Coleoptera: Derodontidae). Prior to this study, little work had been done to document the phenology or predators of P. strobi, particularly in its southern range. In the present study, the phenology of P. strobi is reported in southwestern Virginia. Patterns in overwintering population dynamics varied notably from those described from this species’ northern range. The number of annual generations could not be measured due to overlap following two distinct spring generations. Adult body size varied seasonally and was greatest in the spring. Variation between observations from the northern and southern ranges of P. strobi indicate phenological plasticity that informs biological control efforts and offers insight into implication of climatic effects on population dynamics of this and related species. Arthropod predators associated with P. strobi in forests of southwest Virginia were collected during a two-year survey. Morphology and DNA barcoding were used for identification. Species of predators found included: Laricobius rubidus (Coleoptera: Derodontidae), a native adelgid specialist, and two species from the dipteran family Chamaemyiidae, Leucopis piniperda Malloch and L. argenticollis Zetterstedt, which are adelgid specialists. Members of the families Cecidomyiidae, Coccinellidae, Chrysopidae, Hemerobiidae, and Syrphidae were also recovered. Most diverse were the Cecidomyiidae, with 15 different species inferred from their DNA barcodes. Additional work was performed to quantify supercooling points of L. rubidus collected from November – December 2016. These will be compared to those of other Laricobius species in a parallel study. Knowledge of this predator complex is beneficial to describing P. strobi ecology, and also with regard to potential biological control of invasive adelgids in the same region. / Ph. D.

Hybridization was evaluated among three Laricobius spp. involved in the biological control of hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae Annand). Following lab mating studies, there was no evidence that Laricobius osakensis Montgomery and Yu could produce hybrid progeny with either Laricobius nigrinus Fender or Laricobius rubidus LeConte. Interaction between L. osakensis and L. nigrinus did not result in a lower production of progeny as a result of fitness costs associated with interspecific mating attempts. Laricobius nigrinus and L. rubidus hybrids were produced in the lab and collected in the field. Hybrid progeny showed very little evidence of decreased fitness. For example, there was no significant difference in the number of days it took for hybrids and pure parental species to develop from egg hatch to the prepupal stage, there was no difference among hybrids and pure parental species in the head capsule widths and larval lengths for the first through third instar, and there was evidence of an F2 generation from field collected specimens. Hybrids produced in the lab had intermediate shaped genital paramere angles compared with parental species, and had elytra coloration similar to that of L. rubidus. Hybrids showed no host preference in the lab, but a preference for Adelges tsugae in the field. Of 12 site factors examined, only the number of years that L. nigrinus was present at the site was found to be associated with percent hybrids. Contamination of the L. osakensis colony with Laricobius naganoensis Leschen resulted in the need to develop molecular methods to differentiate L. osakensis from L. naganoensis. Three restriction enzymes were found that correctly differentiated the two species. / Ph. D.