USDA Agricultural Research Service Biological Control Center Records

Collection

Identifier: MS0389

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Biological Control Documentation Center Collection includes correspondence, unpublished reports, research reports, grant applications, publications, shipping records, databases, photographs, and videotapes. The materials cover the time period from 1860 to 1998 with the majority from the 1930s to the late 1980s. Most of the material is original with some copies of published publications that may be available elsewhere.

The materials in the fifteen series of records are research documents and reports on the development of biological control which were written by ARS employees. The collection is arranged alphabetically by laboratory/division in which the research was done or by type of record if multiple agencies are represented. Many of the series based on laboratory/division is separated into subseries based on the types of records found in the series. The collection gives an in-depth look at the growth and changes to biological control research around the world and the major research projects, such as control of the gypsy moth, that have shown the success of biological control.

Dates

Creation: 1920-1990

Conditions Governing Access

Contact Special Collections for access.

Organizational History

Biographical / Historical

1934: Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine (BEPQ) was created.

1953: Agricultural Research Service (ARS) was established and BEPQ was abolished.

1954: Insect Identification and Parasite Introduction (IIPI) Research Branch was formed under ARS. Staff conducted foreign exploration research and maintained all ARS biological control quarantine-receiving stations in the United States. Three foreign locations initially reported to IIPI one of which was the European Parasite Lab (EPL).

1964: Biological Control of Insects Research Laboratory (BCIRL) in Columbia, Missouri was created. The mission of BCIRL was to discover, develop and refine principles and methods to effectively use biological control agents for the management of pest populations of insects and weeds. Specifically included in this mission were evaluation and enhancement of the activity, safety and production of effective beneficial pathogens, parasitoids and predators for biological control. BCIRL objectives were part of the larger ARS initiative to integrate the use of biological control agents into sustainable pest management systems.

1975-1993: Asian Parasite Laboratory (APL) was reestablished with the help of special funds for ARS biological control research on the gypsy moth. It was located in Seoul, South Korea and sponsored by the Beneficial Insect Introduction Branch (BIIB), Agricultural Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Administrative responsibility was provided by the International Programs Division of the ARS, USDA. Objectives were to conduct research, to evaluate natural enemies (parasites, predators, and pathogens) as potential biological control agents, and to collect and export beneficial agents to the United States. The principal pest insect was the gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar japonica), but natural enemies of a variety of other pests were to be investigated as time permitted.

1980s: North American Invasive Arthropod Database (NAIAD) and Western Hemisphere Invasive Arthropod Database (WHIAD), part of ARS and the Biosystematics and Beneficial Insects Institute were created. They were originally two separate databases with WHIAD being created first, but the two were later combined to create NAIAD.

Total Size of Collection

2 records_box

303 letter_document_box

1 half_letter_document_box

16 boxes (1 box, 12 x 15 x 2; 12 boxes, 15.5 x 12.5 x 3.5; 3 boxes, 8.5 x 12.5 x 5.25)

138 Linear Feet (322 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Content Description

The USDA Agricultural Research Service Biological Control Center Records contain materials relating to biological control research conducted within the branches and divisions of the Agricultural Research Service (ARS). Materials include correspondence, unpublished reports, research reports, grant applications, publications, shipping records, databases, photographs, and videotapes. Materials from closed international laboratories are also included.

Custodial History

Jack R. Coulson collected the records throughout his career working at various branches and divisions of ARS that dealt with biological control. He later transferred the records to the USDA National Agricultural Library.

Related Materials

Some of the records were separated and accessioned as smaller collections because they were related to biological control, but were not directly part of the ARS Biological Control Center records. The International Organization for Biological Control Records (collection number MS 405) contain membership records and journal abstracts of the nonprofit organization. The Jack R. Coulson Papers (collection number 404) contain Coulson’s personal papers and editing contributions to biological control articles. Books accompanying the manuscript materials are held in the Special Collections of the USDA National Agricultural Library.