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AbstractGiven the prevalence of adoption in the United States, adoptive families need clinicians to be informed and aware of the unique experiences and needs of adoptive families. This study adds to our knowledge of adoption through examining the stories of adoptive parents to gain a deeper understanding of the facilitators and barriers to effective parenting, building attachment, and maintaining post-permanency continuity for their families. Results highlight specific areas that practitioners working with adoptive families should pay close attention to including (a) family systems related issues, (b) attachment and trauma related factors, and (c) grief and loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mental health impact of adoption on people adopted at birth has been largely neglected in social work research and literature. Authored from my perspective as a clinical social worker experiencing reunion with my birth family, seeking guidance, and coming up empty, I explore the relationship between adoption, trauma, and mental health, challenging the perception that adoption is singularly and only good. I propose a framework, the Adoption Trauma Spectrum, from which mental health professionals and adoptees can better understand adoption trauma. This framework suggests adoption trauma may occur across the spectrum of human development, potentially affecting bonding, individuation, and relationship and attachment styles. This paper emphasizes the need for more research on the impact of adoption trauma on people adopted at birth and identifies implications for future research on adoption related issues such as the psychosocial impact of at-home DNA testing on adoptees, first families, and adoptive families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The invasive and accidently introduced insect, the spotted lanternfly, is spreading rapidly and becoming abundant in the mid-Atlantic region of the USA. Though this insect prefers to feed on the also invasive tree-of-heaven, its ability to feed on other native and crop plant species is concerning, and therefore eradication and control efforts are underway. These efforts include targeting the difficult to control tree-of-heaven for removal. Recently, researchers have found that a naturally occurring fungus effectively kills the tree-of-heaven and work towards making this fungus publically available is ongoing. Therefore, we tested whether the spotted lanternfly is capable of spreading the pathogen between symptomatic fungus-inoculated tree-of-heaven seedlings or plant material to healthy tree-of-heaven seedlings in a controlled laboratory setting. In these conditions, we found no evidence that this transmission occurred. This included monitoring the seedlings for symptoms and sampling the seedlings and the insects for the fungus. This lack of transmission may indicate that the spotted lanternfly cannot help spread this fungus to other tree-of-heaven. With the recent introduction of the non-native spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) to the USA, research and concern regarding this insect is increasing. Though L. delicatula is able to feed on many different plant species, its preference for the invasive tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima) is apparent, especially during its later life stage. Therefore, management focused on A. altissima control to help limit L. delicatula establishment and population growth has become popular. Unfortunately, the control of A. altissima is difficult. Verticillium nonalfalfae, a naturally occurring vascular-wilt pathogen, has recently received attention as a potential biological control agent. Therefore, we studied if L. delicatula fourth instars or adults could vector V. nonalfalfae from infected A. altissima material to healthy A. altissima seedlings in a laboratory setting. We were unable to re-isolate V. nonalfalfae from the 45 A. altissima seedlings or from the 225 L. delicatula utilized in this experiment. We therefore, found no support that L. delicatula could effectively vector this pathogen between A. altissima in laboratory conditions. Since L.delicatula's ability to vector V. nonalfalfae has implications for the dissemination of both this beneficial biological control and other similar unwanted plant pathogens, future research is needed to confirm these findings in a field setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hemlock woolly adelgid, Adelges tsugae Annand, is an invasive insect that threatens hemlock species in eastern North America. Several species from the genus Laricobius are predators of A. tsugae in its native areas of Asia and the western United States. Two Laricobius species have been released as biological control agents: Laricobius nigrinus Fender, and Laricobius osakensis Montgomery and Shiyake. Laricobius rubidus LeConte is an adelgid predator native to the Eastern United States, where it can feed and complete development on A. tsugae opportunistically. Laboratory assays were conducted to assess the cold hardiness of these three Laricobius species, including two distinct populations of L. osakensis, by measuring the supercooling points of each species from November 2016 through March 2017. This information may be useful for choosing the best-suited biological control agent for a particular region to control A. tsugae. There was a significant difference between the overall mean supercooling point of L. rubidus compared to the other Laricobius spp. There were also significant differences of supercooling points between L. rubidus and both strains of L. osakensis in January, and significant differences between L. rubidus and all other strains in February. L. rubidus appear better adapted to cold extremes in the eastern U.S. than imported Laricobius spp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA) is an invasive insect species native to Japan causing significant hemlock mortality in the eastern United States. Laricobius spp. have been targeted as biological control agents because they are adelgid specialists. Laricobius osakensis Montgomery and Shiyake is native to the same region of Japan from which the strain of HWA found in the eastern United States originated. Studies in Japan found that it is phenologically synchronous with HWA. Following approval to release L. osakensis from quarantine in 2010, approximately 32,000 were released at a total of 61 sites starting in 2012. In winter of 2014 and 2015, periods of extreme cold temperatures throughout the eastern USA, as well as the polar vortex, resulted in extensive mortality to HWA, which likely delayed the establishment of L. osakensis. The ability of the beetle to survive and establish in the eastern United States is reported here. In the first year of this study (2015–2016), limited numbers of L. osakensis were recovered, as HWA populations were still rebounding. In the second year (2016–2017), 147 L. osakensis were collected at 5 of 9 sites sampled, coinciding with rebounding HWA populations. Larval recovery was much greater than adult recovery throughout the study. HWA density was directly correlated with warmer plant hardiness zones and recovery of Laricobius beetles was significantly correlated with HWA density. Our results suggest that L. osakensis is successfully establishing at several of the sampled release sites and that the best predictor of its presence at a site is the HWA density. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]