GreenMethods.com
Bug Blog Archives for 2008 September

If you would like to get involved, more information about the project, plus tips on scouting, photographing beetles, and quite a bit more, is available […]

In a September 18th, 2008 Agricultural Research Service (ARS) news posting titled “ARS Scientists and Cooperators Surveying for Rare Ladybugs” we have learned that a few once-common ladybug species are no longer being found in the numbers reported just twenty years ago. Here’s a section quoted directly from the article:

Continue reading “Where Have the Lost Beetles Gone?” »

Counting the total number of pests on a sticky tap is unnecessary. All that’s really needed is a representative number to indicate the developmental direction of the pest population in question — is it going up, going down, or remaining stable? Obtaining a representative count instead of a total count is especially important in a larger operation where there are hundreds of traps. But how do we get this representative number? The answer is simple: count only part of the trap. A square inch of trap surface is all that’s needed, provided the one-inch represents the average distribution of pests on the trap in question.

Continue reading “Sticky Trap Counting Shortcuts” »

Every year we tell people who grow strawberries and other field crops, even orchards, that putting out small numbers of Neoseiulus fallacis in the fall can be beneficial to next year’s growth, mitigating the chances of the following year’s crop being ravaged by spider mites. And every year, someone tries it and ends up appreciating the outcome, realizing that the old saying — an ounce of prevention and all that — is right on target. This year we won’t just advise you on what to do, we’ll also offer you a monetary incentive.

Continue reading “Fall Fallacis Sale” »

In the August, 2008 print issue of GrowerTalks magazine there was an article titled the “Pros and Cons of Biocontrol,” by Mark Berner, head grower for the Apopka, Florida facility of Deroose Plants. It was a good article and one we were encouraged to see. It was positive, open, and forthright, all based on the writer’s experiences. It was also a balanced article, equal time given to both the pros and the cons. But based on our years of experience, some flags were raised when we read it, and realized that things could have been different regarding this balance, not so much that the grower had done things differently — it’s a fairly accurate assertion for a first season — but mostly that the cons will likely not be cons when viewed differently and over time. In order to understand our belief of this, let’s break down the article and examine the parts.

Continue reading “Dissecting the Pros and Cons of Biocontrol” »

Here’s a quick quiz for you: What’s a grower’s most important pest control responsibility? If you answered “scouting” then you’re right. You may know this by intuition — it does make sense — you may know it from years attending the school of hard knocks, or maybe you picked it up from us. We have been saying it all along. We’ve been telling you that every successful grower needs a solid scouting plan. And we’ve also been telling you that sticky or monitoring traps are an important part of this plan. Now happily we’re telling you we’ve put them on sale!

Continue reading “The Stock Up on Stickies Sale” »

Bumblebees (Bombus impatiens), shipped to California, now require the importer to obtain a permit from the state’s food and agricultural department. This isn’t necessarily a new ruling, but it is new to us. Being east coasters we don’t sell many bumblebees in the western states, so this was just brought to our attention. Two things were brought to our attention, actually. Not only is a permit required, but bumblebees can only be used in greenhouses in California.

Continue reading “Bumblebees in California… Permit Required” »