1. Please state project objectives and what work was done this quarter to address them: 1. Near term field management(a) Develop methods to time management actionsIn the previous report, I described initiation of research to determine odors (VOCs from points of injury) that are attractive to lebbeck mealybug. This research continued through this reporting period, however slowly as the cooler weather appears to have induced a version of winter diapause whereby there was less reproduction in our colonies and the individual juveniles tested in January and February were less likely to respond to those tested in March. While this does not progress this research area, it does help explain the trends seen in groves- we can find the mealybugs, generally not at high densities, and they are generally in very small clusters. It is likely that, with exposure to consistent warmer weather they break this period of reduced activity. However, this can only be truly determined via temperature-based activity studies which are outside of the scope of the current project. b. Expand laboratory insecticide and adjuvant screening As previously stated, laboratory colonies were less active in the cooler months (insect rearing space lacks temperature controls and is dependent on ambient outdoor temperatures), so testing only recently resumed in this area. We are currently lab testing an array of chemistries that are used in greenhouses for other mealybug species to determine if they have potential to use to manage lebbeck mealybug in citrus nurseries and CUPS houses. II. Long term managementb. Determine how to implement mealybug management concurrent with other pest management programs Analysis of the seasonal trapping data, performed at six commercial groves, is completed with population trends now easily observable. Using these trends, we can make initial recommendations. These recommendations will need field validation beyond the timeline of our current project.First, mealybug populations are not strongly tied to flush (Figure 1), so their management cannot be planned around peaks in flush production. Second, while not statistically significant, we believe that their population is more tied to moreso to climatic variables than citrus tree phenology. And of course, the availability of resources, like food and shelter, always support insect populations. Both of these are readily available in groves. However, without true winter periods in Florida, timing populations to temperature may not be the best option to decide on management as this would be a moving target. Based on our data (Figure 1), we see populations growing during fruit set, which is also the time at which fruit are most vulnerable to damage from their feeding. While not quantified, growers that have known populations of lebbeck mealybug and who have adopted the practice of applying Movento prior to fruit set have reported less fruit drop and visible damage from the mealybug. By looking at the population structure (Figure 2), we see that the population is largely composed of crawlers and immatures throughout the year. These two life stages are susceptible to most chemistries and even many adjuvants, suggesting that chemistries applied for other pests including ACP, CLM, Diaprepes, and rust mites throughout the remainder of the fruit production period should reduce the overall impact of lebbeck mealybug by reducing the number surviving to reproductive maturity. This strategy should work for juice production, however increased management will be required for fresh fruit production.c. Determine what insecticide chemistries inhibit feedingDuring the past quarter, we have worked to remedy challenges in documenting the feeding interactions and have come closer to describing these interactions, the baseline of which is necessary to determine if systemic chemistries impact feeding and thereby offspring production. Addition of voltage regulators has helped clean up the data, but we are now learning that due to the extremely small size of this mealybug compared to other species, we need to work with a difference type of wire to make clear enough wave forms to quantitatively describe the necessary interactions. This type of wire is generally only used with whiteflies and was an unexpected necessity. 2. Please state what work is anticipated for next quarter: We have additional lab, open grove, and CUPS insecticide tests planned for the spring through early summer of 2023. Sanitation testing will resume (halted due to reduced colonies in cooler temperatures).We will continue working towards identifying attractive odors for mealybug scouting and towards developing the data to understand the interactions of lebbeck mealybug with systemic chemistries. This final goal is imperative to make better management recommendations as not all systemics have shown common efficacy in groves. 3. Please state budget status (underspend or overspend, and why): We are slightly behind on spending still from the vacant postdoc position mentioned last quarter. Some of the salary funds have been requested to be moved into equipment to support ordering platinum wire for EPG based work and we may request a 2-3 month NCE to support this EPG work through the summer months when populations of lebbeck mealybug are most active.