On this page the following entries were made in the “Industry News” category. Check out other categories in our Archives.
Bug Blog Archives for “Industry News”
BIRC Recognized Internationally, Finally
One of our favorite organizations, BIRC, the Bio-Integral Research Center, was recognized at the 2009 International IPM Symposium with a Lifetime International IPM Achievement award given by the IPM Institute. It stands to reason because between the original founders, William Olkowski, Helga Olkowski, and Sheila Daar — authors of the famous Common-Sense Pest Control — with the longtime leadership of William Quarles, have done some pretty great things for the entire IPM industry (not just in our little corner).
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Packaging Biocontrols for Shipment
[…] the boxes look fragile (they’re not really) and “perishable” from all angles!
It’s not easy packaging bugs, but we’ve gotten really good at it over the years. It boils down to understanding the bugs’ requirements, preferred conditions, tolerances, and durability. Then taking into consideration the destination, transit route, weather and temps along the way, and time of year. We then have to understand the materials we’re working with and how they mitigate the pitfalls we face. And since we try to contain costs, we must of course give them due consideration as well. All these factors in concert determine how we pack. We’ll break it down more.
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The Industry Loses a Pioneer
On December 23rd we lost an industry giant, a pioneer, and recognized leader in the field of biocontrol and integrated pest management: Everett “Deke” Dietrick. We’ve never met the man but have discussed his work and he is mentioned on this site on our “History of Biocontrol” pages. What follows is part of a press release from a competitor, Rincon-Vitova, announcing his passing.
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BIRC’s 30th Year
The Bio-Integral Resource Center (BIRC) is an organization we’ve been associated with for at least a decade. But they were around long before we met them and BIRC director William (Bill) Quarles, Ph.D. 2008-2009, after all, marks BIRC’s 30th year. To Bill and the others who drive the organization, congratulations. 30 years of hard work is something to be very proud of. We’re happy we met you.
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Dissecting the Pros and Cons of Biocontrol
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.
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Bumblebees in California… Permit Required
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.
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