2006 Annual Report 1.What major problem or issue is being resolved and how are you resolving it (summarize project aims and objectives)? How serious is the problem? Why does it matter? This project supports work in National Program 304, Crop & Commodity Pest Biology, Control, & Quarantine; Component A, Identification and Classification of Insect and Mites. The Communications & Taxonomic Services Unit (CTSU) processes incoming specimens, assigns them to specialists in the SEL or to cooperating specialists at other institutions, and sends reports of specialists' identifications to submitters. Identification of insect pests of crops and commodities supports studies of the biology of the pests as well as their control and quarantine. Identifications of insect species are needed by many individuals, and Federal and private, domestic and foreign organizations. The Systematic Entomology Laboratory is one of the few labs remaining in the world that can supply this data to customers. Customers include action agencies such as APHIS/PPQ, other federal and state regulatory groups, university and extension personnel, growers, pest control companies, physicians, homeowners, and others. The vast majority of identifications are provided to APHIS/PPQ. Identifications and associated data supplied to APHIS/PPQ are vital to movement of commodities through ports of entry. APHIS uses these identifications in support of its efforts to prevent invasive species from being introduced into the U.S. or to retard or prevent the spreading of those that have been accidentally introduced. Second in terms of number of number of identifications provided are those in support of research programs, both domestic and foreign. Accurate and timely identification of both pest species and beneficial species is of critical importance for research, quarantine, and biological control programs. It is also essential for extension agents, farmers, and homeowners who wish to control pests infesting crops, office buildings, or homes. Along with their identifications, SEL scientists also supply vast amounts of information on hosts, distributions, taxonomy, and identification characteristics to customers. In FY 2006, requests for identification came from twenty-eight countries and forty-four U.S. states and territories. The numbers of requests for identifications and reasons indicated for submittal of specimens to SEL during this reporting period are summarized as follows: 9,031 Suspected pest of regulatory concern, 100 Survey, 72 Biological control, 58 Other, 51 Reference collection, 50 Damaging crop/plants, 31 Possible immigrant, 17 Thesis problem, 9 Livestock, wildlife or domestic animal pest, 7 Household pest, 6 Stored product, and 4 Danger to human health. 2.List by year the currently approved milestones (indicators of research progress) FY 2005-6 U.S. Port of entry APHIS form 309 URGENT processing (specimen) U.S. Port of entry APHIS form 309 URGENT processing (digital) U.S. Port of entry APHIS form 309 Non-URGENT 309 processing Non-quarantine form 748 submittals processing & filing Report new invasive taxa to APHIS SELIS maintenance, planning, & upgrading Communicate & coordinate with APHIS/PPQ/NIS SEL LAN user maintenance & support Workstation maintenance/support/replacement Maintain & update LAN file servers Maintain & update SEL web server FY 2006-7 U.S. Port of entry APHIS form 309 URGENT processing (specimen) U.S. Port of entry APHIS form 309 URGENT processing (digital) U.S. Port of entry APHIS form 309 Non-URGENT 309 processing Non-quarantine form 748 submittals processing & filing Report new invasive taxa to APHIS SELIS maintenance, planning, & upgrading Communicate & coordinate with APHIS/PPQ/NIS SEL LAN user maintenance & support Workstation maintenance/support/replacement Maintain & update LAN file servers Maintain & update SEL web server FY 2007-8 U.S. Port of entry APHIS form 309 URGENT processing (specimen) U.S. Port of entry APHIS form 309 URGENT processing (digital) U.S. Port of entry APHIS form 309 Non-URGENT 309 processing Non-quarantine form 748 submittals processing & filing Report new invasive taxa to APHIS SELIS maintenance, planning, & upgrading Communicate & coordinate with APHIS/PPQ/NIS SEL LAN user maintenance & support Workstation maintenance/support/replacement Maintain & update LAN file servers Maintain & update SEL web server FY 2008-9 U.S. Port of entry APHIS form 309 URGENT processing (specimen) U.S. Port of entry APHIS form 309 URGENT processing (digital) U.S. Port of entry APHIS form 309 Non-URGENT 309 processing Non-quarantine form 748 submittals processing & filing Report new invasive taxa to APHIS SELIS maintenance, planning, & upgrading Communicate & coordinate with APHIS/PPQ/NIS SEL LAN user maintenance & support Workstation maintenance/support/replacement Maintain & update LAN file servers Maintain & update SEL web server FY 2009-10 U.S. Port of entry APHIS form 309 URGENT processing (specimen) U.S. Port of entry APHIS form 309 URGENT processing (digital) U.S. Port of entry APHIS form 309 Non-URGENT 309 processing Non-quarantine form 748 submittals processing & filing Report new invasive taxa to APHIS SELIS maintenance, planning, & upgrading Communicate & coordinate with APHIS/PPQ/NIS SEL LAN user maintenance & support Workstation maintenance/support/replacement Maintain & update LAN file servers Maintain & update SEL web server 4a.List the single most significant research accomplishment during FY 2006. SEL scientists identify over 30,000 insects and mites. This CRIS reported 10,659 identifications (5,256 of URGENT priority) of 30,863 insects and mites to serve as the first line of defense against the introduction of invasive species specimens into the U.S. as they are intercepted at U.S. ports of entry as well as for research projects on the biological control of insects and weeds. This project supports work in National Program 304, Crop & Commodity Pest Biology, Control, & Quarantine; Component A, Identification and Classification of Insect and Mites. 4b.List other significant research accomplishment(s), if any. This project supports work in National Program 304, Crop & Commodity Pest Biology, Control, & Quarantine; Component A, Identification and Classification of Insect and Mites. SEL identification database compatible with National APHIS database: The SELIS application and its supporting file exchange software were updated to be compatible with the new APHIS Pest ID database that replaced the prior PIN (Pest Identification Network) database that SELIS had exchanged data with for years. To meet the more stringent security requirements of the facility housing the Pest ID database, NFS (Network File System) file exchange software was replaced by software supporting SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol). Seven species reported as new to the U.S. Seven insect species were reported to the APHIS New Pest Advisory Group as new invaders of the USA or North America. This project supports work in National Program 304, Crop & Commodity Pest Biology, Control, & Quarantine; Component A, Identification and Classification of Insect and Mites. 4c.List significant activities that support special target populations. None. 4d.Progress report. None. 5.Describe the major accomplishments to date and their predicted or actual impact. This project reported 21,804 identifications (10,339 of URGENT priority) of 59,973 insects and mites to serve as the first line of defense against the introduction of invasive species specimens into the U.S. as they are intercepted at U.S. ports of entry as well as for research projects on the biological control of insects and weeds. This project supports work in National Program 304, Crop & Commodity Pest Biology, Control, & Quarantine; Component A, Identification and Classification of Insect and Mites. 6.What science and/or technologies have been transferred and to whom? When is the science and/or technology likely to become available to the end-user (industry, farmer, other scientists)? What are the constraints, if known, to the adoption and durability of the technology products? This unit is the conduit for massive technology transfer on a daily basis to APHIS on the part of SEL scientists. Insects and digital photos are sent to the SEL scientists through CTSU, the SEL scientists make the identifications based on scientific knowledge about the insect groups worldwide. CTSU then transmits this information back to APHIS where they can make decisions that impact millions of dollars of commodities being brought into the U.S. at all major U.S. ports. The transfer of information also allows APHIS to make informed decisions about possible invasive species. 7.List your most important publications in the popular press and presentations to organizations and articles written about your work. (NOTE: List your peer reviewed publications below). This unit transfers scientific information on a daily basis to APHIS from scientists in the Systematic Entomology Laboratory. The information consists of scientific names, distributions, hosts, and related organismal groups. Miller, G. L., Kane, E., Eibl, J., and Carlson, R. W. 2006. Resurrecting Asa Fitch's Aphid Notes: Historical Entomology for Application Today (193010). Web Pages. URL: http://www.ars.usda.gov/Services/docs.htm?docid=12851 Review Publications Miller, G.L., Kane, E.C., Carlson, R.W. 2006. Ressurecting Asa Fitch's Aphid Notes: Historical Entomology for Application Today. Systematic Entomology Laboratory World Wide Web Site. http://www.ars.usda.gov/Services/docs.htm?docid=12851.