Biological Control with macrobials offers an ecological crop protection alternative to chemical insecticides
Macrobials
Ladybugs
The beneficial species of ladybugs kill aphids, chinch bugs, asparagus beetle larvae, alfalfa weevils, bean thrips, grape root worm, Colorado potato beetles larvae, spider mites, whiteflies, mealybugs, among other insects
Ladybugs
Most ladybugs are predators. They eat other insects, most of which are pests for farmers’ cultivations. They are often called a ‘farmer’s best friend’. The beneficial species of ladybugs kill aphids, chinch bugs, asparagus beetle larvae, alfalfa weevils, bean thrips, grape root worm, Colorado potato beetles larvae, spider mites, whiteflies, mealybugs, among other insects. For example, two species – Harmonia axyridis and Hippodamia convergens – prey on aphids. A single ladybug may consume as much as 5,000 aphids in its lifetime.
Farmers can use ladybugs in several different ways. The release can manipulative biological control using the domestic and supplementary population of ladybugs as a preventive method for ecosystem balancing. Augmentative biological release means by creating population of ladybugs in the field targeting to eliminate a specific pest population as a curative method. In addition to being beneficial, their help comes cheap. Ladybugs are an inexpensive solution to warring on fields pests and are cheaper than chemical pesticides. They also won’t hurt people, plants or pets.
Gall Midges
The aphid midges are small mosquito-like flies. They will grow to a length of 3-4 mm in their adult stage while the legless and orange larvae stage seldom exceed 3 mm.
Gall Midges
Aphid midge (Aphidoletes aphidimyza)
The aphid midges are small mosquito-like flies. They will grow to a length of 3-4 mm in their adult stage while the legless and orange larvae stage seldom exceed 3 mm. Adults are nocturnal honeydew feeders, who hide underneath leaves and shrubs during daytime. The smell of honeydew guides females to aphid colonies where they deposit their eggs. A single female can deposit up to 250 eggs in her lifetime. The larvae, who will hatch within a week, are predator and feed on all stages of the aphids. It often kills more than it eats; it hunts by excreting toxin through its legs and a single larva may kill up to 50 aphids per day. After a few weeks, the larva will fall to the ground and complete the transformation into its pupae stage from which it will emerge as an adult individual after about two weeks.
Aphid midges have proven successful to control aphid population on numerous plants in almost any kind of cultivated plant habitat and can be applicated to fields, green houses, orchards and gardens. Furthermore, it is effective against over 60 species of aphids. As aphid midges are sensitive to ambient temperature and tend to go into a resting stage during cold periods, the optimal control effect is reached in summer months with temperatures above 20 ° Celsius.
Lacewings
The common green lacewing (Chrysoperla carnea) is found naturally in numerous habitats throughout the northern hemisphere. Adult lacewings feed exclusively on plant-based materials such as nectar, pollen and aphid honeydew while the larvae are active and voraciouspredators on especially aphids.
Lacewings
Green lacewing (Chrysoperla carnea)
The common green lacewing (Chrysoperla carnea) is found naturally in numerous habitats throughout the northern hemisphere. Adult lacewings feed exclusively on plant-based materials such as nectar, pollen and aphid honeydew while the larvae are active and voraciouspredators on especially aphids. It has earned the nickname The aphid lion, although the hunting approach makes it more of a Trojan horse. During spring and summer, the adult female deposits hundreds of eggs in the proximity of prey populations and in 3-6 days the larvae will emerge and start feeding. After sucking out an aphid, the larva will stick the leftovers to its body along with molted skins as camouflage. This allows it to move unnoticed among the aphids and protects it from attacks by ants, who guard the aphids for their honeydew.
Green lacewings has broad utility in biological control. Regardless its suggestive nickname it is a generalist predator that needs to feed continuously throughout its 2-3 week long larval state. It has been reported preying on other pest types such as whiteflies, beetle larvae, long-tailed mealybug, leaf miners, several types of mites and even caterpillars. Furthermore, it is relatively habitat stable and can be used in a wide array of green crops such as corn, strawberry, cole crops and several types of orchards.
Trichogramma Parasitoid Wasps
Trichogramma wasps are tiny parasites that attack the eggs of over 200 species of moths and caterpillars. They are extremely small – 4 or 5 will fit on the head of a pin.
Trichogramma Parasitoid Wasps
Trichogramma wasps are tiny parasites that attack the eggs of over 200 species of moths and caterpillars. They are extremely small – 4 or 5 will fit on the head of a pin. Trichogramma lays its eggs inside the eggs of moths preventing the moth egg from hatching into a caterpillar. This prevents the damage caused by the feeding caterpillars, and also breaks the life cycle of the pest, effectively preventing the pest from reproducing. In some species of moth up to 5 parasite eggs may be laid in each moth egg. As the parasite develops within the egg, it turns black, and after about 10 days, an adult Trichogramma emerges. Adult Trichogramma can live up to 14 days after emergence.
Some of the common pests Trichogramma combat are: Cabbageworm, Tomato Hornworm, Corn Earworm, Codling Moth, Cutworm, Armyworm, Webworm, Cabbage Looper, Corn Borer, Fruitworms, and Cane Borers. Some of the popular hosts of T. brassicae mini-wasps are the eggs of: the Gypsy moth, codling moth, diamondback moth, Oriental fruit moth, tomato pinworms, cabbage loopers, imported cabbage worms, tent caterpillars, even the grossly damaging tobacco/tomato hornworms.
Predatory Mites
Cucumeris is a small predatory mite with a length of half a millimeter. In biological control it is mainly used as a predator of various thrips species, but also feed on other pest-related mites and even on pollen.
These tropical mites are tiny, bright orange eating machines. They specialize in preying on species of spider mites and need a large input of food to keep up their development and life cycle. They have a very effective reproduction rate; about 80% of the population are females, which in their adult life span can deposit up to 60 eggs each.
Predatory Mites
Amblyseius cucumeris
Cucumeris is a small predatory mite with a length of half a millimeter. In biological control it is mainly used as a predator of various thrips species, but also feed on other pest-related mites and even on pollen. This flexibility makes it a stable control agent even at low pest densities and ideal for preventive application. In nature, the adult female deposits approximately 35 eggs on the underside of leaves in the presence of prey. A few days after hatching, the larvae will molt into nymphal form and further develop into adults in 1-2 weeks. Both the nymph and the adult mites are fierce predators of eggs and young stages of thrips and one single individual will consume about 40 prey items during its lifetime.
Cucumeris has proven successful in controlling pest densities of many species of thrips, for example western flower thrips, onion thrips and greenhouse thrips, but also certain species of mites such as spider mites and cyclamen mites. As they are cheap and comes in high numbers, they are very cost effective. As pollen is a part of the diet of especially immature stages, the best control effect may be on flowering plants. Due to its generalist taste in prey it is advised not to combine cucumeris with other predatory mites used in biological control such as Phytoseiulus persimilis.
Phytoseiulus persimilis
These tropical mites are tiny, bright orange eating machines. They specialize in preying on species of spider mites and need a large input of food to keep up their development and life cycle. They have a very effective reproduction rate; about 80% of the population are females, which in their adult life span can deposit up to 60 eggs each. Like other mites, the persimilislarvae will not feed before molting into its nymphal stage. However, both nymphs and adults, who live 35 days in average, are very effective predators and will consume up to 60 prey items per day. Thus, they can provide very fast and effective control in spider mite-infested crops. To achieve the most effective control level it is best to apply persimilis as soon as the spider mites or their webbing is spotted.
As persimilis prey exclusively on spider mites, they are very effective against species within this family such as the two-spotted spider mite and the carmine red mite. They can be applied in almost every crop and are utilized in for example corn, strawberry, various green house plants and in gardens. They are very cost effective, however, as they are tropical, they do thrive in cold weather, where their reproduction- and feeding rate is hampered. The best effect of application will therefore be reached during warm and not too dry summer months.
Biological Control with macrobials offers an ecological crop protection alternative to chemical insecticides.