Insect Testing & Lab Services
The Hubbard Urban Entomology Lab conducts contract and collaborative bioassays for industry, government, and academic partners. We maintain well-characterized laboratory colonies of urban and veterinary pests, including a behaviorally insecticide-resistant house fly strain under continuous selection since 2015, and we run standardized, reproducible assays that reflect how pests actually behave in the field. Studies are designed around the client’s question, from a quick screening bioassay to a multi-season field trial, and every project is carried out under a confidentiality agreement. We do not disclose client identities, products, or results.
Assays we perform
Bait acceptance and feeding assays. No-choice and choice feeding trials with house flies and cockroaches that measure consumption, palatability, time to knockdown, and mortality for granular, liquid, and gel baits.
Behavioral resistance and avoidance assays. Side-by-side testing against our imidacloprid behaviorally resistant and susceptible house fly strains, including proboscis extension response, concentration-dependent feeding, and cross-avoidance screening, to determine whether a product will be avoided before it is ever fielded.
Dose-response and susceptibility testing. Topical, dietary, and residual-contact bioassays that generate LC50 and LD50 values, resistance ratios, and time-mortality curves for flies and cockroaches.
Residual surface efficacy. Aged-residue trials on tile, concrete, painted drywall, and other common substrates, with exposure periods and evaluation intervals tailored to label claims.
Repellent and attractant assays. Y-tube olfactometer and two-choice arena assays, plus trap and lure evaluations, with adult house flies, blow flies, and cockroaches.
Larvicide and developmental assays. Larval-medium bioassays for house flies and secondary screwworm, and insect growth regulator trials that track development, molting, and reproduction in cockroaches.
Cockroach bait station and harborage trials. Arena and semi-field evaluations of gel baits, bait stations, and dusts using field-collected Turkestan, oriental, German, and American cockroach colonies adapted to the arid Southwest.
Screwworm proxy studies. Adult attraction, oviposition, and larval behavior assays with secondary screwworm (Cochliomyia macellaria) to support trap, lure, and wound-treatment development ahead of New World screwworm.
Field and on-animal trials. Peri-urban and livestock field trials in southern New Mexico, including biting-fly repellent and control trials on cattle with fly counts and quantitative scoring of animal defensive behavior.
Custom protocol development. If your question does not fit an existing assay, we will design one with you, including statistical design, sample size, and reporting format.
Colonies available for testing
House fly (Musca domestica), imidacloprid behaviorally resistant and susceptible strains; secondary screwworm (Cochliomyia macellaria); Turkestan cockroach (Periplaneta lateralis), multiple field-collected strains; oriental cockroach (Blatta orientalis); German cockroach (Blattella germanica); American cockroach (Periplaneta americana); and Arizona bark scorpion (Centruroides sculpturatus). Additional species can be field-collected or sourced for specific projects.
How to work with us
Email Dr. Caleb Hubbard at calebh@nmsu.edu with a short description of the product or question, the target species, and your timeline. We will respond with a proposed study design, timeline, and quote. Projects are contracted through New Mexico State University, and a confidentiality agreement is standard before any product information is exchanged. Turnaround for most laboratory bioassays is two to six weeks depending on colony availability and study design.