I love seeing this sort of thing in Farming. Are there any other places where dungbeetles are used as an input to a farm?
What other insects are being introduced to farms? I know of bees (pollination) and ladybirds (pest control)
I manage a couple commercial greenhouses. We’re a pesticide-free cannabis farm, and we utilize lots of different commercially available predatory insects to deal with pests. While we are not yet currently rearing/breeding any ourselves, we do try to create conditions and spaces in the greenhouses for that to happen naturally. We also sow companion plants that help to draw in our native predatory bugs as well.
A short list of some of the predators we use here:
A. cucumeris - a generalist predator mite that loves to feed on western flower thrips, spider mites, and fungus gnat larva
P. persimilis - another predatory mite that feeds exclusively on spider mites
Stratiolaelaps scimitus - a soil mite that feeds on soil dwelling pests such as fungus gnat larva, thrip larva, and springtails
Aphidius colemani - a species of parasitic wasp that parasitizes aphids (these guys’ mode of action is like something out of the movie Alien, definitely recommend reading more about them)
Green lacewing larva - also known as “aphid lions” these larval stage bugs devour aphids! And once they reach their adult stage, they turn into beautiful neon green flying critters with wings that look like, well, lace
Orius insidiosus - aka the Pirate Bug. These are also generalist predators that love to feed on thrips, aphids, and other soft bodies pests
Aphidius colemani
i think this is always freaky horror movie sort of stuff.
Do you go to generalist bug suppliers?
We have a local distributor that we use. Usually ordering direct from the insectaries requires very large wholesale orders, and our farm is much too small for that kind of volume
Insectary is not a word I have heard before… or even thought would exist!
Just Nother thought, how well do you notice the impact of having/not having them?
This is the best summary I could come up with:
On Western Australia’s south coast, farmers are taking advantage of their output by breeding their own stocks, with more than 40,000 beetles released in recent years.
Beef farmer Kylie Cook is on the Wilson Inlet Catchment Committee that has been breeding different species of dung beetles and helping landholders establish their own populations.
Ms Cook said the project had generated a fantastic response locally, and so far the committee had released 40 colonies consisting of about 1,000 dung beetles each.
Naturally occurring summer dung beetles have been helping farmers for years, but now Ms Cook and her team are breeding multiple species, including active winter varieties.
Eventually, Mr McHenry hopes to have these super-efficient farm workers employed all year round — and he sees huge financial and environmental benefits.
A starter kit included 100 dung beetles, and once they have bred and laid their eggs in the ground, Ms Cook expects the population to grow to 1,000.
The original article contains 501 words, the summary contains 151 words. Saved 70%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
