be used when pest populations reach economically damaging levels. Applications should be made when adults move into cereal fields. Research has been ongoing for decades to develop and improve management of the sunn pest. In 1997, scientists from the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), the University of Vermont, and national agricultural researchers throughout the infested region began working together to develop a model sunn pest integrated management plan. Sunn pest research A cooperative program between the University of Vermont Entomology Research Laboratory and the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), in Aleppo, Syria was initiated in 1997. Several strains of entomopathogenic fungi have been isolated from insects in their over wintering sites in Turkey, Syria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Russia. In laboratory bioassays, they were tested against sunn pests, tarnished plant bug and western flower thrips. Several were highly pathogenic to all of these insects, and selected for further evaluation. The next step in the development of these biological agents is to determine at what stage in the pests' life cycle fungi could best be used. Two possibilities are As they migrate to the fields in the early spring In their over wintering sites among the foothills surrounding the fields. Six of the most promising isolates were tested in on-plant and in-litter bioassays in January 2000. Several of the tested isolates provided 80-100% mortality within 10 days. Though sunn pest mortality occurred more rapidly among the in-litter assays, by day 15 sunn pest mortality was equally high in the on-plant assays. These results demonstrate the great potential of fungi for sunn pest integrated pest management. It may be possible to use them both in over-wintering sites and on plants in the field. Plans are underway to conduct small-scale pilot tests to further evaluate their efficacy under field conditions. The compatibility of fungi with non-target organisms and chemical pesticides are also planned for the future. References Shield bugs Agricultural pest insects