Abstract: The Suction Trap Network (STN) was initially established in Illinois by aphid taxonomist, Dr. David Voegtlin, in 2001. After 2005 the STN expanded to include sites in Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, South Dakota and Wisconsin. The initial objective of the STN was to monitor the invasive soybean aphid species, Aphis glycines. The STN function includes i) providing information on counts of aphid species and other soybean and corn insect pests, ii) generates data for collaboration with other researchers and iii) provides information for outreach through online and extension activities. Records of aphids collected in the suction traps from 2005 to date have been databased and available at the Suction Trap Network website (https://suctiontrapnetwork.org/).
Short bio: I earned a BSc. in Agricultural Science in 1998 from University Agrarian La Molina, Peru, a MS and Ph.D. in entomology from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (U of I) in 2007 and 2013 respectively. I did work as USDA Postdoc at the Laboratory for Soybean Disease and Pest Research in Urbana unit located at the University of Illinois under the supervision of Dr. Glen Hartman, who was the PI for research grants on insect monitoring, soybean aphid virulence, and resistance screening against brown marmorated stink bug, and soybean thrips and soybean vein necrosis virus. I currently work for USDA-REE and University of Illinois at U-C.
