On this page the following entries were made in the “Editorial” category. Check out other categories in our Archives.
Bug Blog Archives for “Editorial”
Can Crypts be Problematic in Interiorscapes?
We are often asked this very question. And invariably the answer is the same: yes, Crypts, like many biocontrols, can be a problem — we won’t lie — but it is an improbable possibility and actually quite atypical. In fact, as of the time of this writing, we’ve only heard of one issue with using them. In this rare case, it was in a doctor’s office reception area/waiting room. It happened like this:
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End Bug-Seller Shuck and Jive
We talk to maybe fifteen to twenty people per year who had already taken the plunge into biocontrol and Integrated Pest Management (IPM), failed at it, dropped out, but are back to give it another go because they like the quantity and perceived quality of our supporting information. They felt they weren’t given enough info when they dealt with their previous beneficial insect supplier. That’s what they know. What they don’t know, as we sometimes learn, runs deeper and is more damaging still.
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Red Ladybug, Black Ladybug
Ladybugs are insects, and this means they undergo a complete metamorphosis: hatching from eggs into larvae, then transforming into pupae, and finally emerging as adult beetles. When they first emerge from their snug pupal cocoons, they look like ladybugs in shape and size, but their coloration isn’t yet set; they will typically be a pale orange-yellow or a grayish color. You see, when they first emerge their wing covers, also known as eletra — their shells or modified wing covers if you will — are wet and quite soft. It’s nothing a few hours in the sun won’t fix, though.
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Living with Pests on a Warming Planet
In a previous post announcing the return of ladybugs I asked no one in particular if this might happen again next year. I brought up the fact that the possibility does indeed exist because mother nature is having her way with us by way of the unnaturally and unprecedented accelerated rate of global warming. I got an indirect answer to this recently thanks to the Bio-Integral Resource Center (BIRC).
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Why We Don’t Call Them Beneficial Insects
Will we start calling them beneficial insects? Nah, it’s unlikely, but we did want to share this back-story.
For marketing reasons, due to its common usage, the term beneficial insects, or beneficials as some say, is a good one to apply in the pursuit of sales of good bugs. If you’ll notice, though, we rarely use the term on this site or in any of our literature. We’ve always tried to be proper and true in our dissemination of information — factual information we believe. Thus, we usually call them biocontrols (the contraction of biological pest controls). We will also refer to them as natural enemies and, of course, oddly enough within this context, good bugs. But why? What’s up with that?
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What Business Experience Do You Give?
There is a basic understanding that the best writing is that which makes the reader nod with empathy. If the reader says, “no kidding, ain’t that the truth,” the writer has succeeded in pushing that magical button of ultimate communication — by binding the reader and writer into a single collective that nods with understanding and appreciation. This happened to me recently. I read a business-related article that I could connect with on many levels. It is the topic of that article that I write about here.
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