In late 2021, relatively simple adjustments made to plant and agent mass rearing protocols produced exponential increases in F. perrepae colony productivity. This increase is attributed to several key changes in colony maintenance that optimized the host-parasite population ratio. We developed a systematic method involving a weekly plant readiness criterion and a predefined sequence of stages to select plants for release, which ensures galls are correctly aged to maximize mite numbers.
This project was partially funded by the USDA, through the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) (USDA agreement 58-6032-1-001) co-directed by the South Florida Water Management District and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and through Southwest Florida Water Management District (USDA agreement 58-6032-3-003).
Version 2 of dataset updated the title of the dataset, added an additional author, corrected the temporal start and end dates, and added additional data files.
", "distribution": [{"@type": "dcat:Distribution", "downloadURL": "https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/51334826", "format": "xlsx", "mediaType": "application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet", "title": "Improving mass rearing techniques for Floracarus perrepae.xlsx"}], "identifier": "10.15482/USDA.ADC/27037888.v2", "keyword": ["ARS", "Floracarus perrepae", "Lygodium microphyllum", "biological control", "data.gov", "mass rearing"], "license": "https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/", "modified": "2026-02-12", "programCode": ["005:040"], "publisher": {"@type": "org:Organization", "name": "Agricultural Research Service"}, "temporal": "2014-07-09/2023-12-13", "title": "Data from: Improving mass rearing techniques for Floracarus perrepae, a biological control agent for Old World Climbing Fern (Lygodium microphyllum), for releases"}