The rearing facility supports national and international research projects aimed at managing corn rootworm populations. The facility maintains several unique colonies of corn rootworms collected from different areas of the U.S. Corn Belt. Millions of these corn rootworm eggs, larvae, and adults are shipped to scientists and graduate students at other ARS facilities, universities, and industry. The corn rootworm rearing facility has significant impact on research focused at managing corn rootworm populations in the United States Corn Belt, and elsewhere in the world where they are agricultural pests.

 
Historically, the facility has been used mainly to rear northern and western corn rootworms, and it currently maintains specific strains of rootworms that are adapted to cultural and chemical control strategies. Because of our specialty in rearing corn rootworms, we collaborate worldwide with scientists on research to manage corn rootworms.

Colonies of cereal aphids and a strain of barley yellow dwarf virus are also maintained at our facility. Recently, colonies of soybean aphid and bean leaf beetle have been established to support new research on emerging and invasive insect pests.

Contact us to request additional information about the Insect Rearing Faciltiy at the North Central Agricultural Research Laboratory in Brookings, South Dakota.