Application timing and efficacy of alternatives for the insecticidal control of Tipula paludosa Meigen (Diptera: Tipulidae), a new invasive pest of turf in the northeastern United States

BACKGROUND: Two invasive crane flies, Tipula paludosa Meigen and Tipula oleracea L. (Diptera: Tipulidae), were detected in New York State for the first time in 2004. Both are damaging pests of turfgrass and other horticultural systems in North America where establishment has already been documented. To develop management recommendations for the Northeast and define opportunities for preventive (autumn) and curative (spring) control, four insecticide trials targeting T. paludosa larvae were conducted over a 2 year period.RESULTS: The most efficacious (>=70% control in both trials) products against early instars in autumn were bifenthrin, carbaryl, chlorantraniliprole, clothianidin and trichlorfon. Results varied for azadirachtin, Beauveria bassiana, cyfluthrin, dinotefuran, imidacloprid, imidacloprid + bifenthrin and indoxacarb. Clothianidin and dinotefuran were most efficacious against fourth instars in spring; results varied for imidacloprid, indoxacarb and trichlorfon.CONCLUSION: Several insecticides offer alternatives for preventive and curative control of T. paludosa, but, because there is little overlap with application windows for scarab larvae pests, management may entail an entirely new insecticide treatment window, implying new economic and environmental burdens to the turfgrass industry. Moreover, curtailing the impact and spread of these invasives may be severely hampered because the best performing alternatives (clothianidin, dinotefuran) are not registered in New York.