Beneficial insects in your farm & garden

Seven-spotted Lady Beetle; C.A.S. Mazzacano© 2016 C. A. Searles Mazzacano

Celeste A. Searles Mazzacano, Ph.D.Presented for EMSWCD Rural Land Program

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A. Roles of beneficial insects

B. Meet the beneficial insects (and other arthropods)

C. Invasives to watch out for

D. Creating & maintaining habitat

E. Resources

Convergent Lady Beetle; C.A.S. Mazzacano

Great Black Wasp; C.A.S. Mazzacano

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Oregon Zoo; C.A.S. Mazzacano

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• improve soil conditions

• food for wildlife

• medical benefits

• recreation

Cedar Waxwing eating dragonfly; Larry ReaRed Satyr;

C.A.S. Mazzacano

River Jewelwing; C.A.S. Mazzacano

Wood Ground Beetle; iNaturalist, oldbilluk

Benefits of insects

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• pollination

- 70% of flowering plants pollinated by insects

- bees, flies, beetles, moths

Sweat Bee; C.A.S. Mazzacano

Benefits of insects

Yellow-faced Bumble Bee; C.A.S. MazzacanoFlower Fly; Thomas Bresson

Soldier Beetle; David Hebert

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• decomposers

- beetles and flies break down & recycle animal dung and carcases

- beetles, flies, termites break down plant material

Burying Beetle; C.A.S. Mazzacano

Benefits of insects

Dung Beetles; C.A.S. Mazzacano

Black Soldier Fly; C.A.S. Mazzacano

“tumblebug”; C.A.S. Mazzacano

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• natural pest control

- predators

- parasitoids

Benefits of insects

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• Predators

- consume pest eggs, larvae, and/or adults

- beetles, lacewings, wasps, flies, bugs, thrips, mantids, spiders, mites

Assassin bug; kestrel360, iNaturalist

Natural Pest Control

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• Parasitoids

- lay eggs or insert larvae in or near host; developing larvae feed externally or internally on body of living host

- host dies when parasitoids become adults

- wasps, flies

Tachinid fly getting ready to parasitize elm leaf beetle larva; Jack

Kelly Clark/UC Davis

Natural Pest Control

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Japanese Giant Mantis; C.A.S. Mazzacano

Predators

Western Red Lady Beetle; C.A.S. Mazzacano

Black and Yellow Garden Spider; Kammy Kern-Korot

Great Black Wasp; C.A.S. Mazzacano

Spined Assassin Bug; Judy Welna, iNaturalist

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Predators - BeetlesLady Beetles

• round to oval

• bright colors, bold spotted patterns

• larvae & adults eat aphids, scales, mites, caterpillars, insect eggs

Lady Beetle larva; bugguide.net,

Jerry McCormick

Convergent Lady Beetle; C.A.S. Mazzacano

Multi-colored Asian Lady Beetle; C.A.S. Mazzacano

Sorrowful Lady Beetle; C.A.S. Mazzacano

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Predators - BeetlesGround Beetles

• broadly oval; dark to metallic

• large jaws, sculpted wing covers

• larvae & adults eat insect eggs, caterpillars, snails

European Ground Beetle;Biopix, EoL

larva; Phil Myers

Snail-eating Beetle; Ken-ichi Ueda

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Predators - Beetles

Rove Beetles

• elongated dark body

• short wing covers expose abdomen

• eat small soil organisms

Devil’s Coach Horse; Cedric Lee

Rove Beetle; Joyce Gross

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Predators - Beetles

Soldier Beetles

• long body, soft wing covers, long antennae

• yellow/orange & black markings

• eat mealybugs, aphids, soil organisms

Margined Leatherwing; David Hebert

Podabrus Soldier Beetle; vncdatatech01

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Predators - Lacewings

Brown & Green Lacewings

• soft delicate body; loose, oval, multi-veined wings

• eat mealybugs, aphids, scales, caterpillars

Brown Lacewing; James Bailey

Green Lacewing; C.A.S. Mazzacano

Green Lacewing egg

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Predators - WaspsPaper Wasps, Digger Wasps

• build nest of chewed fibers, nest in existing holes, or dig tunnels

• bring live paralyzed prey to young

European Paper wasp; C.A.S. Mazzacano

paper wasp nest; Andrea Joy Davis

Polistes aurifer paper wasp; Edward Rooks

Sphex digger wasp; C.A.S. Mazzacano

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Predators - Flies

Flower Flies

• larvae eat aphids, scale insects

• adults are bee mimics, pollinators

Helophilis syrphid; C.A.S. Mazzacano

Toxomerus syrphid; MJ Hatfield

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Predators - Flies

Robber flies

• adults eat anythingthey can catch

• larvae prey on insect larvae in leaf litter, loose soil, decaying wood

Laphria robber fly with blister beetle; C.A.S. Mazzacano

Giant Robber Fly; C.A.S. Mazzacano

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Predators - BugsAssassin Bugs & Ambush Bugs

• large body; flared abdomen

• stout needle-like mouthparts

• eat anythingthey can catch

Assassin bug; kestrel360, iNaturalist

Phymata americana; Kurt Schaefer

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Predators - BugsDamsel Bugs

• small, slender, yellow/brown body

• thickened forelegs

• eat insect larvae, small insects, eggs

Nabicula subcoleoptrata; Jason Michael Crockwell

Nabis roseipennis; Jason Michael Crockwell

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Predators - Bugs

Minute Pirate Bugs

• tiny, straight-sided body

• black & white pattern

• eat spider mites, thrips, aphids, insect eggs

Minute Pirate Bug nymph; Lynette Elliott

Anthocoris musculus; Lynette Elliott

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Predators - Bugs

Big-eyed Bugs

• small oval body

• broad head with big bulging eyes

• eat small insects, mites, eggs

Geocoris uliginosus; Lyle J. Buss, U of FL

Geocoris; Jack Dykinga, USDA

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Predators - Bugs

Predatory Stink Bugs

• triangular brown/grey body with shield-like cover

• eat large prey such as caterpillars & beetle larvae

Rough Stink Bug; Lynette Elliott

Two-spotted Stink Bug; Matthew Priebe

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Predators - MantidsPraying Mantis

• large elongated body; brown or green

• triangular head, large eyes

• strong spiny forelegs

• eat whateverthey can catch

Stagmomantis californica egg case; C.A.S. Mazzacano

Mantis religiosa; C.A.S. Mazzacano

Stagmomantis californica; randomtruth

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Predators - ThripsBanded-winged, Black Hunter, & Six-spotted Thrips

• long, minute, slender body

• strap-like, feathery wings

• eat mites

Franklinothrips nymph; Jack Kelly Clark/UC Davis

Aeolothrips; Christophe Quinton

Black Hunter Thrips

Black Hunter Thrips; Ilona L.

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Predators - SpidersSpiders

• round body, 8 legs

• often bright colors or patterns

• web builders & active hunters

• eat whatever they can catch

Wolf Spider; C.A.S. Mazzacano

Cross Spider; C.A.S. Mazzacano

Black and Yellow Garden Spider; C.A.S. Mazzacano

Zebra Jumping Spiders; C.A.S. Mazzacano

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Predators - MitesPredatory Mites

• tiny, pear-shaped, shiny body

• 6 or 8 legs

• fast-moving

• eat thrips, spider mites, insect eggs

Red Velvet Mite; Univ. of WI-Milwaukie

Western Predatory Mites eating Spider Mite; UC Davis

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Predators - Centipedes

Centipedes

• long segmented body

• 1 pair of legs/segment

• eat small arthropods in & on the soil

centipede; iNaturalist, Paul Heiple

Stone Centipede; iNaturalist, Cristophe Quintin

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Tachinid; BioImages, EoL

Parasitoids

Bee fly; Siegrun Storer, EoL

Braconid; kimberlietx, iNaturalist

Trogus ichneumonid; Lea Gelling, iNaturalist

Braconid pupae on Sphinx moth larva; Tim Guida, iNaturalist

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Tachinid; Jack Kelly Clark/UC Davis

Parasitoids - Flies

Tachinid Flies

• resemble house flies but with stout bristly hairs on tip of abdomen

• parasitize caterpillars, beetles, bugs, earwigs, grasshoppers

Tachinid eggs on leafroller caterpillar; Jack Kelly Clark/UC Davis

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Bee Fly (IVilla sp.): C.A.S. Mazzacano

Parasitoids - FliesBee Flies

• hairy, brightly colored

• wings held to side at rest

• adults are pollinators

• larvae parasitoids of soil-dwelling beetles, wasps, caterpillars, bees

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Ichneumonid wasp; Nuytsia@Tas

parasitized catalpa caterpillar; John Obermeyer/Purdue Entomology

Parasitoids - WaspsIchneumonid and Braconid Wasps

• long slender body

• long antennae & ovipositor

• parasitize caterpillars, beetles, wasps, bugs, flies, aphids Braconid larvae exiting host;

UC Davis

Braconid on grape leaffolder; UC Davis

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Trichogramma attacking corn earworm egg; UC Davis

Parasitoids - Wasps

Trichogrammatid Wasps

• tiny (<1 mm), compact body

• short antennae, hairy wings

• parasitize insect eggs

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Invasive Insects to Watch ForGypsy Moth pheromone trap; Paul GordyJapanese Beetle; C.A.S. Mazzacano

Japanese Beetle; Les Mehrhoff, Discover Life

Gypsy Moths; Tom Murray

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Invasive Insects to Watch For

Japanese Beetle

• medium-sized oval scarab (0.5”)

• bright metallic green thorax, coppery wings

• 2 small white hair tufts behind wings, 5 patches on each side of abdomen

• larvae C-shaped, up to 1” long

Ohio State University

Ohio State University

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Invasive Insects to Watch For

Japanese Beetle

• adults eat >300 tree & vine fruits, crops, shrubs, trees

• prefer grape, apple, cherry, peach, plum, rose, corn

• larvae pests in turf grass

• several detections & eradications in OR

Purdue Extension

Univ. of IL Extension

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Invasive Insects to Watch For

Asian Gypsy Moth

• females 2”, white/cream wings; males 1.5”, dark brown

• several detections & eradications in Oregon

Purdue Extension

John H. Ghent, USDA Forest Service

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Invasive Insects to Watch For

Asian Gypsy Moth

• eggs in oblong masses on trees, covered with scales

• feed on >500 spp. of trees & shrubs

• defoliation, landscape-scale devastation

John H. Ghent, USDA Forest Service

John H. Ghent, USDA Forest Service

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For reporting, information, and resources:

• Oregon Department of Agriculture: www.oda.state.us

• Oregon Forest Pest Detectors: pestdetector.forestry.oregonstate.edu

• Oregon Invasives Hotline: oregoninvasiveshotline.org

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Creating habitat

Portland OR; C.A.S. Mazzacano

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Creating & maintaining habitat

“If you build it, they will come”…

• conservation biocontrol

• better to create habitat for local species than to buy insects

flowering cover crop in California vineyard to enhance beneficials; after Nicholls & Altieri, 2013

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• complex landscapes with semi-natural habitat give natural enemies:

- shelter from land management disturbances

- overwintering habitat

- alternative prey

- additional energy sources (nectar, pollen)

Creating & maintaining habitat

flower fly; C.A.S. Mazzacano

ground beetle; C.A.S. Mazzacano

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Creating & maintaining habitatPotential costs

• loss of cultivated land area/product yield

• cost of site prep & planting (labor, seeds, machinery)

• monitoring & maintaining newly-planted habitat

• potential variability in outcomes

Potential benefits

• program aid (i.e. NRCS), higher prices for environmentally friendly practices

• reduced pesticide use

• increased soil fertility & water quality

• income (wildflower seeds, game bird hunting)

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• additional benefits of beneficial insect habitat:

- enhance pollinator populations

- sustain additional wildlife

- mitigate runoff

- reduce soil erosion

- suppress weeds

Natural Pest Control

Bumble bee on daisy; C.A.S. Mazzacano

Oregon tiger beetle; C.A.S. Mazzacano

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Creating & maintaining habitat

• survey in advance to find types of beneficials already present

• soil preparation & weed control important during establishment

alyssum strips, Stahlbush Island Farms; OSU Extension

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Creating & maintaining habitatPrepare planting area

• exhaust weed seed bank

- till-water-mow-weed (hand pull, flame, spot-treat)

• smother cropping (buckwheat, millets, sorghum grasses)

• solarization

Sustainable Living Center Oregon

buckwheat cover crop; Alex Stone, OSU Extension

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Creating & maintaining habitatSeeding

• aerial/broadcast or seed drill

• even distribution, good contact with soil

• mix with bulking agent (sand, sawdust)

• seed from 2 different directions

Texas A&M Univ.

wildflower seed mix; Central Coast gardening

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Creating & maintaining habitat

Seeding

• if broadcast seeding, firm with roller or cultipacker

• 1/8”- 1/4” deep

• thin cover of straw mulch

cultipacker; Forestry Supply

Texas A&M Univ.

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Creating & maintaining habitat

Weed control

• denser plantings help establish full cover faster

• mulch gaps or use weed cloth

Texas A&M Univ.

BEFORE

AFTER

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Creating & maintaining habitat

Weed control

• tillage or herbicide on cropland before planting

• hand pull or spot-treat

• mow annual weeds before they flower (8-12” mower height)

Royal Horticultural Society

Northwest Meadowscapes

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Creating & maintaining habitat

Common name bloom time

California poppy* spring

globe gillia* spring

trillium spring

self-heal early summer

farewell-to-spring* early summer

yarrow summer

Oregon sunshine summer

showy milkweed summer

lupine summer

Douglas aster fall

Canada goldenrod fall

blue wild rye N/A

*annual

• plant from seeds or plugs

• strip or block plantings in crop field or orchard

• flowering cover crops

• field borders & hedgerows

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Creating & maintaining habitat

• flowers for nectar & pollen

- increases survival, fecundity

• insects with small mouthparts, short tongues

- good landing pad & easy access important

zinnea

yarrow; C.A.S. Mazzacano

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Creating & maintaining habitat

• designate at least 10% of space to plants for beneficials

• provide bloom ~Feb. - Oct.

• variety of flower shapes (umbel, daisy, spike, ball)

yarrow

Baby Blue Eyes; C.A.S. Mazzacano

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Creating & maintaining habitat

• annuals provide nectar, pollen, egg-laying sites

• perennials provide stable habitat

• flowering herbs very attractiveTrillium; C.A.S. Mazzacano

Spirea; C.A.S. Mazzacano

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Creating & maintaining habitat

• Early spring flowers:

- Oregon grape

- Red-flowering currant

- Black twinberry

- Spring beauty

Oregon Grape; C.A.S. Mazzacano

Spring Beauty; Keir MorseBlack Twinberry;

C.A.S. Mazzacano

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Creating & maintaining habitat

Oregon Iris; WSU Extension

Red Columbine; C.A.S. Mazzacano

Pacific Bleeding Heart

• Late spring flowers:

- Red columbine

- Pacific bleeding heart

- Oregon iris

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Creating & maintaining habitat• Summer

- Tapertip & nodding onion

- Showy milkweed

- Graceful cinquefoil

Showy Milkweed; C.A.S. MazzacanoGraceful Cinquefoil; Ben Legler

Tapertip Onion; Colorado Wildflowers

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Creating & maintaining habitat• Late summer/fall

- West Coast goldenrod

- Pearly everlasting

- Slender tarweed

- AstersWest Coast Goldenrod;

Univ. of Waterloo

Slender Tarweed; Mark Turner Pearly Everlasting; Al Schneider

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Creating & maintaining habitat

• trees & shrubs give shelter from sun, wind, rain, predators

- willow, Indian plum, maple

- roses (baldhip, Nootka, swamp), elderberry, oceanspray

Swamp rose; C.A.S. Mazzacano

Blue elderberry; Mike Cardwell

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Creating & maintaining habitat

• grass clumps provide shelter, overwintering habitat

- California brome-grass

- Blue Wild-rye

California brome-grass: Matt Lavin

fescue; C.A.S. Mazzacano

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Creating & maintaining habitat

• patches of undisturbed soil

• water source

C.A.S. Mazzacano

C.A.S. Mazzacano

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Creating & maintaining habitatIntegrated pest management (IPM):

• ecosystem-based strategy that preserves natural system as much as possible

• long-term prevention of pests/damage using multiple techniques

- biological control, habitat manipulation, planting & watering practices, using resistant varieties wildflower meadow;

C.A.S. Mazzacano

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Creating & maintaining habitat

• Reduce/eliminate pesticides

- disrupt natural enemies

- pests faster to disperse & re-colonize treated areas than natural enemies

Oleander aphids on rush milkweed; C.A.S. Mazzacano

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Creating & maintaining habitat

• Reduce/eliminate pesticides

- removing natural enemies may allow additional pests to establish

- non-lethal levels can impair longevity, reproduction, foraging

Oleander aphids on rush milkweed; C.A.S. Mazzacano

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Creating & maintaining habitat

• if pesticides used, treat to suppress target organism only

• spot-treat when possible

• minimize risks to human health, non-target organisms, & environment

Oleander aphids on rush milkweed; C.A.S. Mazzacano

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Creating & maintaining habitat

• build healthy soil

• proper plant placement and irrigation

• “scout” your gardens

• tolerate some damage

Indian plum; C.A.S. Mazzacano

Black Twinberry; C.A.S. Mazzacano

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Creating & maintaining habitat

Ballard, 2006

Tallamy, generalist insect biomass on woody plants in PA

Tallamy, caterpillars on woody plants in PA

Tallamy, herbivorous insects on native vs alien woody plants in PA

Generalist insects on perennials

Inse

ct b

iom

ass

(mg/

g le

af)

0

125

250

375

500

July 2004 August 2004 July 2005 August 2005

Native plantsAlien plants

• plant mostly natives

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Creating & maintaining habitat

• vegetated buffers protect from spray drift

- permeable (40-50% porosity)

- multiple rows; narrow leaves, needles

- at least 2X taller than crop

- intercept prevailing winds

www.omafra.gov.on.ca

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Creating & maintaining habitat

Insectary garden; Rincon-Vitova

Insectary garden; New Mexico State University

• strips & blocks

- dense plantings

- intersperse rows in fields

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Creating & maintaining habitathedgerow; Frederique Lavoipierre

• hedgerows

hedgerow; Janet Allen

- include trees, shrubs, understory

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Creating & maintaining habitat

scale model beetle bank, Tualatin, East Multnomah and West Multnomah SWCD

Beetle banks

• shelter for ground beetles

• berm planted in bunch grasses (blue wild rye, California oatgrass, slender wheatgrass, prairie junegrass)

• can add wildflowers

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Creating & maintaining habitatinsect hotel; Cheshire Wildlife Trust

• insect hotels provide brush pile, snag, & nesting tunnel habitat insect hotel; Susan Mulvihill

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Resources

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Resources

• Encouraging beneficial insects in your garden, https://catalog.extension.oregonstate.edu/sites/catalog.extension.oregonstate.edu/files/project/pdf/pnw550.pdf

• A pocket guide to common natural enemies of crop and garden pests in the Pacific Northwest, http://ipmnet.org/Pocket_Guide_of_Natural_Enemies.pdf

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Resources

• Beneficial insects, spiders, and other mini-creatures, http://whatcom.wsu.edu/gardenshare/documents/Attracting_Beneficials.pdf

• Meet the Beneficials, http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/FAQ/natural-enemies-poster.pdf

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Resources

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Resources• CanVis: free software;

create visual simulation from scanned photo(http://nac.unl.edu/simulation/products.htm#canvis)

• Conservation Buffers (http://nac.unl.edu/buffers/docs/conservation_buffers.pdf)

- ¡también disponible en español!

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Visit emswcd.org to find additional workshops and resources!

* annual native plant sale!

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Questions?Yellow-faced Bumble Bee; C.A.S. Mazzacano

Western Swallowtail, C.A.S. Mazzacano

Cardinal Meadowhawk; C.A.S. Mazzacano

Netwinged Beetle, C.A.S. Mazzacano

Celeste A. Searles Mazzacano, cmazzacano@gmail.com

Copyright © 2016 Celeste A. Searles Mazzacano. All rights reserved. This presentation or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author.

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