Development of efficacious ribonucleic acid-based formulations for the control of spongy moth

The European spongy moth (Lymantria dispar dispar ) (ESM) is a non-native insect pest withlarvae that feeds on leaves of over 300 broad-leaved species including forest shade ornamentaland fruit trees as well as shrubs. The spongy moth defoliated over 98 million acres of U.S.forests from 1924 to 2018. Current biological insecticides used in spongy moth control have notbeen efficacious enough and chemical insecticides cause ecological damage. The ranking of thespongy moth as the third most expensive invasive insect in the world with an estimated annual3.2 billion dollars cost just in North America is indicative of the impact of this lepidopteranpest.NanoSUR's demonstrated RNAi-based insecticides technology will result in the development ofa selective affordable safe and effective insecticide suitable for the large-scale control of theESM. In anticipation of a possible break out spread of the more devastating Asian Spongy Moth(ASM) we will also propose RNAi treatments designed to control it. The successful execution ofthis grant will provide an RNAi trigger formulation ready to initiate field testing in the forest.Thus we will accomplish our overall goal of creating a product for broad use in controlling ESMand eventually ASM that is effective environmentally friendly and safe to non-targetorganisms including other lepidoptera present in the forest such as the monarch butterfly. Toaccomplish this technical challenge we will build on prior research funded by NSF and USDAwork in collaboration with the Beltsville USDA Agricultural Research Station.