Mission -- Releases of Beneficial Organisms in the United States and Territories (ROBO)

The goal of the ROBO program is to provide information on invertebrate and microbial germplasm for biological control of invertebrate pests and weeds and ecological research. Users of this database are expected to be foreign and domestic scientists and students involved in biological control and ecological studies, public and private biological control practitioners, and officials in state and federal regulatory agencies dealing with issues involving the introduction of non-indigenous organisms.

The primary organisms covered by this database include: arthropod (insects, mites, and ticks), nematode and other invertebrate pests, weedy plants, and their microbial (bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa, etc.), arthropod, nematode and other invertebrate natural enemies. The primary emphasis of the database is collection, introduction, release, culture, establishment, recolonization and impact of non-indigenous organisms on pests in the United States, and their shipment to other countries. The database also includes information on the collection, introduction and release of non-indigenous invertebrate pollinators in the United States.