Carole A. Cheah

Carole Cheah

Valley Laboratory
The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station
153 Cook Hill Road
Windsor, CT 06095

Voice: (860) 683-4980 Fax: (860) 683-4987
E-mail: Carole.Cheah@ct.gov


Expertise:
I am trained in the research, application, assessment and implementation of the theory and practice of biological control of invasive agricultural and forest pests and weeds.  My areas of expertise center on the evaluation of attributes of natural enemies as potential candidates for biological control of the invasive insect pests, hemlock woolly adelgid and elongate hemlock scale threatening the sustainability of eastern hemlock, Tsuga canadensis. My expertise is in the detailed study of the biology, behavior and field adaptation of biological control agents such as the Japanese coccinellid, Sasajiscymnus (=Pseudoscymnus) tsugae, and other predator species, and on the development of improved laboratory mass-rearing methods for them.  I also conduct surveys and long-term field assessments of forest hemlock health to monitor the effects of biological control in the context of changing climatic and environmental conditions. I am the author and recipient of over 12 major federal grants from the USDA Forest Service and USDA APHIS for such research and employment over the past decade as a durational research entomologist with the CAES.

Education:
Ph.D. Wolfson College, University of Cambridge, England 1988
M. Phil. (Applied Entomology), Wolfson College, University of Cambridge
1984
B.A. (Hons.) Zoology, University of Oxford, England 1982

Station career:
Assistant Agricultural Scientist II 2003- present
Assistant Agricultural Scientist I 2000-2003
Postdoctoral Research Scientist 1994-2000

Past research:
I have worked on numerous projects evaluating the potential of biological control agents, parasitoids and predators, for pests such as the chrysanthemum leaf-miner, hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA), elongate hemlock scale (EHS) and mile-a-minute weed (MAM).  Many of the predator species originate from Asia and I have experience working in the federal quarantine laboratory of the USDA Forest Service.  Extensive collaborations with Dr. Allen Cohen of North Carolina State University have resulted in the development of a novel and superior artificial dietary supplement for enhancing the survival and longevity of diverse predators imported for biological control of HWA and MAM.  Together with Dr. Cohen, we have also developed a series of process and production quality control tests for improving the laboratory rearing of predators for biological control of HWA.

Current research:
I am continuing research into the evaluation of plant volatiles as potential attractants for improved field monitoring of Sasajiscymnus tsugae, a Japanese ladybeetle predator of HWA discovered by CAES; development of laboratory methods for culturing native predators of EHS for augmentative biological control, and continuation of the implementation and monitoring in Connecticut of the imported weevil, Rhinoncomimus latipes, for biological control of MAM.

Selected publications available from author, carole.cheah@ct.gov

Cheah, C. 2011.  Chapter 4. Sasajiscymnus (=Pseudoscymnus) tsugae, a ladybeetle from Japan. In: Implementation and Status of Biological Control of Hemlock Woolly Adelgid. Tech.Coor. Onken, B. and Reardon, R. USDA Forest Service FHTET Publication FHTET-2011-04 pp. 43-52.

Cheah, C.  2010. Connecticut’s threatened landscape: natural enemies of biological control of invasive species. Frontiers of Plant Science 57(2) 5-16

Cheah, C. 2006.  Hope for hemlocks.  Connecticut Woodlands 71(3):13-15.

Cheah, C. S-J. 1987. Temperature requirements of the chrysanthemum leaf miner, Chromatomyia syngenesiae (Dipt.: Agromyzidae), and its ectoparasitoid, Digylyphus isaea (Hym.:Eulophiodae). Entomophaga 32: 357-365

Cheah, C.A. S-J. & McClure, M.S. 2010.  Sasajiscymnus (formerly Pseudoscymnus) tsugae (Coleoptera:Coccinellidae). In: Biological Control: A Guide to Natural Enemies in North America. A. Shelton.  Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Department of Entomology website. Online at:

http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/ent/biocontrol/predators/sasajiscymnus.html

Cheah, C.A. S-J. & McClure, M.S. 2002. Pseudoscymnus tsugae in Connecticut forests: the first five years. Proceedings of the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Symposium, East Brunswick, NJ, February 5-7, 2002.  Eds. Onken, B., Reardon, R. Lashomb, J.  p. 150-165

Cheah, C.A. S-J. & McClure, M.S. 2000. Seasonal synchrony between the exotic predator, Pseudoscymnus tsugae (Coleoptera:Coccinellidae) and its prey, the hemlock woolly adelgid, Adelges tsugae. Agriculture and Forest Entomology 2, 241-251

Cheah, C.A.S-J. & McClure, M. S.  1998.  Life history and development of Pseudoscymnus tsugae (Coleoptera:Coccinellidae), a new predator of the hemlock woolly adelgid (Homoptera: Adelgidae).  Environmental Entomology, 27, 1531-1536.

Cheah, C.A. and Coaker, T.H. 1992. Host finding and discrimination in Diglyphus isaea, a parasitoid of the chrysanthemum leaf miner, Chromatomyia syngenesiae. Biocontrol Science and Technology 2: 109-118

Cheah, C, Montogmery, M. Salom, S. Parker, B. L., Costa, S. and Skinner, M. 2004.  Biological control of hemlock woolly adelgid. USDA Forest Service. FHTET-2002-04, Reardon, R. and B. Onken (Tech. Coordinators), 22 pp.

Cheah, C.A. S-J., Mayer, M. A., Palmer, D., Scudder, T. and Chianese, R. 2005.  Assessments of biological control of hemlock woolly adelgid with Sasajiscymnus tsugae in Connecticut and New Jersey.  In: Proceedings of the Third Symposium on the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid in the Eastern United States, Feb.1-3, 2005, Asheville, North Carolina. Onken, B. and Reardon, R. (Compilers) FHTET 2005-01 pp. 116-130.

Coaker, T.H. and Cheah, C.A. 1993. Conditioning as a factor in parasitoid host plant preference. Biocontrol Science and Technology 3: 277-283

Cohen, A.C. and Cheah, C. 2010.  Packaging and Presentation of Artificial Diets for Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Predators In: Proceedings of the Fifth HWA Symposium in the Eastern United States, Asheville, NC August 17-19, 2010. Compilers Onken, B. and  Reardon, R.  USDA Forest Service FHTET-2010-07. p 33-35.

Cohen, A.C. and Cheah, C. 2011.  Chap. 14. Development of artificial diets for predators of hemlock woolly adelgids. In: Implementation and Status of Biological Control of Hemlock Woolly Adelgid. Tech. Coor. Onken, B. and Reardon, R. USDA Forest Service FHTET Publication FHTET-2011-04 pp. 148 - 160

Cohen, A.C., Cheah, C., Kidd, K. and Hodgson, T. 2011. Chap. 13. Defining PC/QC standards of mass-rearing HWA predators. In: Implementation and Status of Biological Control of Hemlock Woolly Adelgid. Tech. Coor. Onken, B. and Reardon, R. USDA Forest Service FHTET Publication FHTET-2011-04 pp. 139-147

Cohen, A.C., Cheah, C.A.S-J., Strider, J., and Hain, F.  2008.  Diet development for hemlock woolly adelgids and their predators In:  Proceedings of the Fourth Symposium on the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid in the Eastern United States, Feb.12-14, 2008, Hartford, Connecticut.. Onken, B. and Reardon, R.  (Compilers) FHTET 2008-01 p. 150-156.

McClure, M.S. and Cheah, C. A. S-J. 2002.  Important mortality factors in the life cycle of hemlock woolly adelgid, Adelges tsugae Annand (Homptera:Adelgidae) in the Northeastern United States.  Proceedings of the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Symposium, East Brunswick, NJ, February 5-7, 2002.  Eds. Onken, B., Reardon, R. Lashomb, J.  p. 13-22

McClure, M. S. & Cheah, C.A.S-J. 1999.  Reshaping the ecology of invading populations of hemlock woolly adelgid, Adelges tsugae, (Homoptera:Adelgidae) in eastern North America. Biological Invasions 1: 247-254.