Publications

flight activity of usda-ars russian honey bees (hymenoptera: apidae) during pollination of lowbush blueberries in maine.	flight activity was compared in colonies of russian honey bees, apis mellifera l. (hymenoptera: apidae), and italian bees during commercial pollination of lowbush blueberries (principally vaccinium angustifolium aiton) in washington co., me, in late may and early june in 2003 and 2004. colonies of the two stocks were managed equally in louisiana during autumn through early spring preceding observations in late spring each year. resulting average populations of adult bees and of brood were simila ...	2007	17461046
harvestman (opiliones) fauna associated with maine lowbush blueberry fields in the major production areas of washington and hancock counties.	over a period of 19 yr, the harvestman (opiliones) community associated with the lowbush blueberry agro-ecosystem in maine was studied. eight species representing five genera, four subfamilies, and two families of harvestmen belonging to the suborder eupnoi were collected. the harvestman community was dominated by two introduced, synanthropic species: phalangium opilio in all but 1 yr (that year dominated by rilaena triangularis). rilaena was recorded for the first time from eastern north americ ...	2010	22546437
ant diversity and distribution (hymenoptera: formicidae) throughout maine lowbush blueberry fields in hancock and washington counties.	a 6-yr survey (2003-2008) identifying the ant fauna present in maine lowbush blueberry fields was conducted in washington and hancock counties. pitfall trapping, leaf litter, and hand collections, as well as protein and sugar baits were used to characterize the resident ant community in this habitat. estimates of faunal richness as impacted by the blueberry crop stage (pruned or fruit-bearing), methods of pest management (grower standard, reduced-risk, or organic), and location within fields (mi ...	2012	22506993
the influence of insecticides and vegetation in structuring formica mound ant communities (hymenoptera: formicidae) in maine lowbush blueberry.	assessing the influence of new, reduced-risk insecticides on natural enemies within agroecosystems is essential to developing integrated pest management strategies. three species of mound-building formica ants are abundant throughout maine lowbush blueberry fields (formica exsectoides forel, f. glacialis wheeler, and f. ulkei emery). all three species have been described in the literature as predaceous, with research demonstrating that f. exsectoides preys on major pest insects of lowbush bluebe ...	2013	23786059
abundance and diversity of wild bees (hymenoptera: apoidea) found in lowbush blueberry growing regions of downeast maine.	insect-mediated pollination is critical for lowbush blueberry (ericaceae: vaccinium angustifolium aiton) fruit development. past research shows a persistent presence of wild bees (hymenoptera: apoidea) providing pollination services even when commercial pollinators are present. we undertook the study to 1) provide a description of bee communities found in lowbush blueberry-growing regions, 2) identify field characteristics or farm management practices that influence those communities, 3) identif ...	2015	26314043
exobasidium maculosum, a new species causing leaf and fruit spots on blueberry in the southeastern usa and its relationship with other exobasidium spp. parasitic to blueberry and cranberry.	exobasidium leaf and fruit spot of blueberry (vaccinium section cyanococcus) is an emerging disease that has rapidly increased in prevalence throughout the southeastern usa. to determine whether this disease is caused by a new species of exobasidium, we studied the morphology and phylogenetic relationship of the causal fungus compared with other members of the genus, including the type species e. vaccinii and other species that parasitize blueberry and cranberry (v. macrocarpon). both scanning e ...	2016	24871592
predator- and scavenger-mediated ecosystem services determined by distance to field-forest interface in the maine lowbush blueberry agroecosystem.	predators and scavengers play a vital role in regulating insect pests, weeds, and vertebrate scat in perennial agroecosystems. understanding how farm management practices and surrounding habitat influence these beneficial ecosystem services contributes to our understanding of these complex ecological systems and guides future management decisions. in a mensurative 2-yr study, we determined how different pest management strategies and surrounding forest composition influenced levels of sentinel i ...	2016	27436844
economic risk of bee pollination in maine wild blueberry, vaccinium angustifolium.	recent pollinator declines highlight the importance of evaluating economic risk of agricultural systems heavily dependent on rented honey bees or native pollinators. our study analyzed variability of native bees and honey bees, and the risks these pose to profitability of maine's wild blueberry industry. we used cross-sectional data from organic, low-, medium-, and high-input wild blueberry producers in 1993, 1997-1998, 2005-2007, and from 2011 to 2015 (n = 162 fields). data included native and ...	2017	28981673
pupation behavior and predation on drosophila suzukii (diptera: drosophilidae) pupae in maine wild blueberry fields.	drosophila suzukii (matsumura; diptera: drosophilidae) is an invasive vinegar fly and pest of soft fruits in north america, including wild blueberries (vaccinium angustifolium aiton) in maine. despite its presence in the continental united states for 9 yr, little is known about its natural enemy complex. here we report the results of a 3-yr study designed to identify naturally-occurring predators in maine's wild blueberry fields. experiments were conducted to determine pupation site and pupation ...	2017	29029219