Home -> About Us -> Peter Samson

BAgrSc(Hons)(UQ) MAgrSc(UQ) PhD(ANU)

Senior Entomologist
Mackay

Phone: 07 4963 6815
Email: psamson@bses.com.au

Role:
Peter Samson provides on-going pest management advice in the central region, and supervises additional projects that are often the subject of external funding.  Two major current projects are the development of improved risk assessment and decision making systems for management of greyback canegrub, and the development of suitable canegrub management recommendations for new farming systems.

Expertise:
Sugarcane pest management.

Experience:
Peter has been with BSES Limited since 1988, based at Bundaberg until 1998 and at Mackay to the present.  He has worked on management of various cane pests, including canegrubs, soldier flies, black beetles, wireworms and earthpearls using a range of techniques.  He was heavily involved in the development of the fungal pathogen Metarhizium as a control option for canegrubs.

Prior to joining BSES, Peter was an entomologist with DPI&F at Indooroopilly where he worked for 5 years on insecticidal control of insect pests of stored grain in the humid tropics.  Before that he was based at the University of Adelaide studying introduced biological control agents of bark beetles in pine forests.

Publications 2001>:
Samson, P.R. (2001)  Book review: Butterflies of Australia: Their Identification, Biology and Distribution, by M.F. Braby.  Australian Journal of Entomology 40: 202-204.

Samson, P., Robertson, L., Bakker, P., Cocco, R., Horsfield, A., Logan, D., Kettle, C., Harris, W., Allsopp, P., McGill, N., Milner, R. and Bullard, G. (2001)  Development of Metarhizium-based biopesticides for use against sugarcane whitegrubs in Australia.  Proceedings of the International Society of Sugar Cane Technologists 24: 354-360.

Samson, P.R. (2002)  Attempted suppression of Inopus rubriceps (Macquart) (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) by application of insecticides to plant crops of sugarcane.  Plant Protection Quarterly 17: 148-150.

Samson, P.R. (2002)  Field response of sugarcane cultivars to sugarcane soldier fly, Inopus rubriceps (Macquart) (Diptera: Stratiomyidae).  Australian Journal of Entomology 41: 262-266.

Samson, P.R. (2002)  The early immature stages of Hypochrysops elgneri barnardi Waterhouse and H. hippuris nebulosis Sands (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae).  Australian Entomologist 29: 103-106.

Milner, R.J., Samson, P.R. and Bullard, G.K. (2002)  FI-1045: a profile of a commercially useful isolate of Metarhizium anisopliae var. anisopliae.  BioControl Science and Technology 12: 43-58.

Magarey, R.C., Kuniata, L.S., Croft, B.J., Chandler, K.J., Irawan, Kristini, A., Spall, V.E., Samson, P.R. and Allsopp, P.G. (2003)  International activities to minimise industry losses from exotic pests and diseases.  Proceedings of the Australian Society of Sugar Cane Technologists 25: 18.

Samson, P., Sander, E., Milner, R. and Bullard, G. (2003)  At-planting use of BioCane„§ for control of greyback canegrub.  Proceedings of the Australian Society of Sugar Cane Technologists 25: 74.

Samson, P.R. and Calder, A.A. (2003)  Wireworm (Coleoptera: Elateridae) identity, monitoring and damage in sugarcane.  Australian Journal of Entomology 42: 298-303.

Milner, R.J., Samson, P and Morton, R. (2003)  Persistence of conidia of Metarhizium anisopliae in sugarcane fields: effect of isolate and formulation on persistence over 3.5 years.  BioControl Science and Technology 13: 507-516.

Samson, P.R. (2003)  Metarhizium application to ratoons for control of greyback canegrub, Dermolepida albohirtum (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae).  International Society of Sugar Cane Technologists Entomology Workshop, Jamaica, 23-29 November 2003.

Samson, P.R. and Lambkin, T.A. (2003)  The immature stages and seasonality of Petrelaea tombugensis (Rober) (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae).  Australian Entomologist 30: 181-183.

Samson, P.R., Sander, E.D. and Hetherington, M.A. (2004)  Recent evidence for resistance to soldier fly among sugarcane varieties.  Proceedings of the Australian Society of Sugar Cane Technologists 26.

Samson, P.R. (2004)  Chemical and biological weapons ˇV saving money while managing canegrubs with insecticides.  BSES Bulletin 2004(2): 9-11.

Samson, P.R. (2004a)  Planning for planting ˇV canegrub control.  BSES Bulletin 2004(4): 7-10.

Samson, P.R., Hunt, W.D., Chandler, K.J., Horsfield, A, Cocco, R., Matthews, R and Sgarbossa, P.J. (2005)  GrubPlan, a training program to help growers manage greyback canegrub (Dermolepida albohirtum) in Australia.  Proceedings of the International Society of Sugar Cane Technologists 25(2): 755-761.

Samson, P.R., Milner, R.J., Sander, E.D. and Bullard, G.K. (2005)  Effect of fungicides and insecticides applied during planting of sugarcane on viability of Metarhizium anisopliae and its efficacy against white grubs.  BioControl 50: 151-163.