Gudrun STRAUSS

Gudrun Strauß has been working as a research entomologist at the Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety, Vienna since 2009. She is mainly concerned with invasive insect pest species, particularly non-native vector species in viticulture.

She graduated in Zoology at the University of Vienna, Austria (2002) and did her master thesis about the communication system of stingless bees (Meliponinae) at the University of Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, in Brazil. After finishing University she worked in the Natural History Museum Vienna in the department for knowledge transfer and public relations. During a beekeeper training course she became attentive to her thesis topic, the introduced planthopper Metcalfa pruinosa. She investigated the host range of Neodryinus typhlocybae and environmental risks for the safe use as exotic biological control agent against M. pruinosa in Austria. During these studies she deepened her knowledge about Auchenorrhyncha identification, one of her key qualifications beside risk assessment, modelling pest distribution, biological control and monitoring of insect pest species. For over seven years Scaphoideus titanus has represented her main task. In this context Gudrun participated in several national and international research projects in which she evaluated e.g. the ability of the entomopathogenic fungus Lecanicillium lecanii as biological control agents against S. titanus.

She participated in the IOBC/WPRS Study group meeting “Benefits and risks of exotic biological control agents” (Hluboka, 2011), the Working group meeting on “Integrated protection and production in viticulture” (Ascona, 2013) and organized the following meeting held in Vienna 2015.