Archive for the 'RVI' Category

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A Prophet-Able Insect Idea for Homeschool

Published on June 29, 2009 in Life on the Farm and RVI. 2 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

A friend of mine is home-schooling her daughters and asked if I had any ideas for their insect projects. Of course, I thought there must be something suitable right here at Rincon Vitova. So I asked Ron, here at the Bugfarm, what insects are most often used in a classroom situation? He immediately suggested the use of Lacewing larvae or Preying Mantis eggs—both of which are readily available at RVI.
I could see that both of those would be good to use, because, for one, they’re not microscopic in size, and, two, they’re almost mascot-like in the field of bio-control, i.e., both the Lacewing and Mantis adults are easily recognizable by children and adults, so much so that hosting these insects takes on the feel of raising a small pet. At least that’s how it felt for me, when I did a bit of a pre-test project: I chose to house a few Mantis eggs for a while at the RVI office before sending anything off to the home-schoolers.

mantisjpg

Now, Mantises eat both beneficials and pests, so they are often sold more for educational value than strict bio-control. So, the Lacewing larvae might have made a better choice. Known as the Aphid Lion, Lacewing larvae are described as little alligators, consuming up to 400 aphids or 11,200 spider mites per individual as well as a variety of other pests, e.g., thrips, whitefly, and moths. So they would have been a good choice, especially for release into a garden. Still, I felt something calming about the thought of releasing the little insect that strikes a prophet’s pose, so I chose the Mantis.

I simply placed a couple of the Mantis eggs in a terrarium, and each week I eagerly anticipated the arrival of the little Mantes or Mantises. I anticipated about a month wait and put a little moisture and plant debris in the terrarium at week four. And, in just over a month, there they were. Each of the Mantis eggs contains 50 -100+ Mantes, so there wasn’t much time to leave the little brood of hatchlings in the terrarium following their emergence. I thought there would be some juvenile stage and an outer transformation into their classically esoteric adult pose, but, there, posed at the tip of my finger before releasing, was a young and fragile baby Mantis, a tiny image of their adult self. We released all of them onto some nearby rose bushes. A note, though, after the initial burst of young Mantises and their release, I’ve kept the eggs for awhile, and there are still a few small groups emerging well into the second month. So, this little insect project keeps on giving opportunities to watch for new emerging life and to care for and release insects over an extended period of time.

At the end of my pre-test project, I am convinced that the Mantises will supply a prophet-able project idea, suitable to both the home-schooled children and their garden. –end June 09 Duke

RVI and BBB All A-Buzz with Spring

Published on May 1, 2009 in B3 Demo Garden and RVI. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Too much going on! Between spring being sprung and populations of everything increasing, including unwelcome weedy plant species in the BBB garden, RVI is buzzing with a hive-like energy. Of course, maybe I see it as hive-like because Ron and I are moving a beehive onto the farm. Resident beneficial insect populations at RVI are also on the rise and so are customer phone calls and orders. Dozens of other things keep popping up at RVI, all needing attention: finishing the new catalog, finish up website renewal, building, improving and expanding! It really is amazing all the work that goes on behind the scenes and the brainpower constantly in use here at the RVI offices.

Our latest outside project is preparing some test plots where a variety of insect attracting flora blends will be planted, e.g., a low mix, a standard height mix, an interflora mix, as well as a little gopher stopper clover. All these mixes are available from Rincon-Vitova for habitat enhancement for beneficials.

The mixes will be planted adjacent to the BBB garden, so as Spring turns to early Summer there should be a veritable bouquet or beneficial insect banquet growing out there. We’ll be sure to post some pictures, too. As for the BBB garden, while it had been a little low-key for a while, it is starting to brighten up a bit with more color and blossoms again. The Milkweed, in particular, is starting to show some new blossoms as well and is putting on a few more leaves to its near bare stems and a few new shoots have popped up.

I’ve seen a couple of Monarchs here and there and a number of Painted Lady butterflies lately, so all the butterflies and beneficial insect populations are increasing as the BBB garden plants surge towards summer’s life.  There’s a surge here both inside and out and RVI is a-buzzin!

BBB Seasonal Seesaw

Published on March 6, 2009 in B3 Demo Garden. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

BBB Garden—Seasonal Seesaw Urgency

It’s just past February—Winter in the nation’s southwest coastal zone. The BBB garden has been dry for a while now and blossoming less. There are bare stems and browning leaves here and there. No snow, ice, or hail like the rest of the nation, the BBB garden has been sitting through days and weeks of clear blue skies and dry winds.

Drought tolerant, beneficial insect attracting plants holding to gray, dry and dusty soil, the BBB garden appears to be holding its breath right now and waiting for the invigoration of Spring.
At last, a steady light rain has come—cool, cleansing, refreshing rain that the BBB garden soil drinks greedily into its top layer.

Underneath the moistened, black, top-layer of moist soil, the dryness of Southern California’s drought continues its hold— although we’re getting a couple of inches of rain in February, we’ll only be up to about 70-80% normal rainfall for this area.
So there’s a kind of a seasonal seesaw effect going on in the BBB garden. You can see and sense winter’s dormancy and spring’s urgency all at the same time.

Now, with the rain, the ground is black and wet but still gray and dry at the same time in different places and depths. Some of the plants are nearly bare of leaves, while others are holding on to a few bright flowers. The milkweed still looks pretty bare—just like the monarchs left it in my last post Greek Monarchs.

A little bit barren with just a bit of bloom—the BBB garden is hanging in there, and I’m sure some beneficials are keeping an eye on it just like we are—waiting on the urgency of spring.

What we're up to…

Published on March 4, 2009 in RVI. 0 Comments

Hi Everyone,

We’re in the process of revamping our main website (rinconvitova.com), finishing our most recent Catalog of Beneficials, and getting ready for 2009 busy season!  Once we have all this together (whew) we’ll start getting some more posts up.  We have a lot of exciting ideas to share…  Thanks so much for checking us our and we look forwards to providing more biocontrol content asap!

The Bugfarm

Talking IPM with Andy Force at the Foellinger-Freimann Botanical Conservatory

Published on January 29, 2009 in RVI and Spotlight. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .
 View of the Botanical Gardens from W Jefferson Blvd, Ft. Wayne, IN
While I was at home in Fort Wayne, Indiana, visiting my family for the holidays, I visited with Andy Force, the Supervisor of Horticulture for the Foellinger-Freimann Botanical Conservatory. The conservatory consists of three indoor gardens and showcases over 500 species of plants and 72 types of cacti. A Jaboticaba tree, native to South Brazil, is one of the oldest plants in the conservatory, and has been growing since the gardens opened in 1983.
Andy has been working with the conservatory since 1989, when this Staghorn fern was roughly the size of a basketball.

  

 

Staghorn Fern

Staghorn Fern

 Back in those days, the pest control was accomplished with chemicals, and once a week they would bring in the machines and spray everything. Andy noticed that spraying did help to reduce the pest populations, but only temporarily. In 1991 he started using beneficial insects, and has been fine-tuning his program ever since. “One of the great things about the beneficial insects, that I keep telling people, is that the beneficial insects usually find the problems that we have before we know we have them. We’ve come out here and seen there are mealybugs here and we looked at it and found Cryptolaemus already on the plant working on it. So a lot of the time we don’t need to do anything except watch.”
 

Andy notices that the south side of the rooms in the conservatory get the most pest problems, and it is there that he does the most releases of beneficial insects. “The bananas, normally mealybugs like, but they tend to leave them alone. I bet if they were on that [the south] side of the house, they would get more mealybugs.” Since Andy has been working with an IPM program since 1991, he has an excellent handle on what pest problems his plants get, as well as when to expect them. The Ficus tree gets a lot of thrips, for which he periodically releases Atheta coriaria, Amblyseius cucumeris, and Orius insidiosus. Also, Andy has seen that the thrips are attracted to the light coming in through the exit door so he’ll open the door and shoo the thrips outside, as another control strategy. The Butterfly Palm frequently gets a scale infestation, and receives many of the Lindorus lopanthae beetles sent to the conservatory. Andy uses the Encarsia formosa cards on the Hibiscus to help combat the whitefly problems, and in the spring, the cacti bloom and typically get spider mites, which he controls with releases of the predatory mite, Phytoseiulus persimilis.

This Jaboticaba tree has been growing in the conservatory since 1983. As the tree matures, the bark peels and takes on a look similar to camouflage.

This Jaboticaba tree has been growing in the conservatory since 1983. As the tree matures, the bark peels and takes on a look similar to camouflage.

 

In my opinion, Andy exemplifies how one should approach biological control. He is very familiar with the plants in the collection and the typical challenges that are associated with each. Not only is he observant of the pests and natural enemies that help control them, but he is also patient with the level of control that is achieved naturally. Andy understands that biological control is not total eradication of a pest problem, but rather, suppression of a pest to a level such that the pest is in balance with the natural enemies present, and that the damage is not devastating to the plant. Further, Andy embraces the idea that for biological control to be effective releases need to be proactive, not reactive. Every year before spring, Andy sets up advance orders to ship monthly for the duration of the year. Andy knows when to expect certain pests, and releases the beneficials in anticipation of these outbreaks, which allows the beneficial insects to establish themselves in the conservatory and seek out the pest problems, often even before they are apparent. 
  

 

 

Stay tuned to learn about the Foellinger-Freimann Botanical Conservatory’s involvement with CITES and the exciting story that Andy Force shared with me about illegally smuggled orchids.

Fungus Gnats Neutralized

Published on January 28, 2009 in Product Articles and RVI. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Gnatrol is a microbial insecticide that attacks the maggots of fungus gnats, shore flies, and other flies in the soil. The active ingredient Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti) bacteria doesn’t kill the flying adults; the maggots must eat it. Hydroponic growers like Gnatrol’s cost-effective control of fungus gnats. Gnatrol WDG (water dispersible granules) is OMRI listed for organic, and pending CA EPA approval. The liquid comes in 2.5 gallon jugs and the graunles in 16 lb pails.

For more info, check out our Gnatrol bulletin.

This product article originally appeared in our Biocontrol Beat Winter 2008.

Everett J. “Deke” Dietrick 1920 – 2008

Published on January 22, 2009 in Ecology, History and RVI. 0 Comments Tags: , .
Everett "Deke" Dietrick

Everett "Deke" Dietrick

Our founding entomologist Everett “Deke” Dietrick died on December 23 at age 88. For over 40 years he mentored many who went on to build successful careers and businesses promoting biocontrol and sustainable agriculture. He did biocontrol research for the University of California, quit when the funding ran out (with a family of five small children including me), and began selling advice as well as growing and selling good bugs. He pioneered both the practice of ecologically based pest management and the insectary industry helping people at all stages on the path away from CCC (conventional chemical control) towards BC by NE (biological control by natural enemies).

Sometimes called the “Father of Commercial Biocontrol”, Deke inspired field advisors to identify markets and insectary teams working for Rincon-Vitova Insectaries, Inc. to innovate mass production systems for beneficials. The goal was often to jumpstart the predators and parasites on vulnerable farms in transition and sometimes to combat a key pest. However, in many situations the main value of the beneficials was to keep farmers from killing them with pesticides. By including releases with monitoring and forecasting, he helped many farmers in over 50 crops in many countries get off of the ‘pesticide treadmill’. He helped entrepreneurs to sell biocontrol in Central America and the Mexican government to establish its network of insectaries. How his work inspired the development of the Soviet biofactories in the Amu-Darya cotton belt is a story in itself. He started D-Vac Company as a separate break-even family business to provide an international scientific standard for sampling arthropods and a tool for applied insect ecologists.

Highly regarded not just by biocontrol researchers and a counter-culture movement of farmers rediscovering organic methods, he was also honored by professionals in the Association of Applied IPM Ecologists that he helped found, and by business people in the Association of Natural Bio-Control Producers. The latter serves the industry that Deke encouraged through decades of sharing of insights and encouragement and watching employees learn, leave and start their own businesses. The insectary business was an economically independent outlet for demonstrating the value of biocontrol. Dietrick saw the Fillmore Insectary, a regional cooperative, as a more sustainable model for providing biocontrol resources to farmers.

Deke sweeping for insects 1993

Deke sweep sampling to monitor beneficial and pest insect populations, 1993

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Unlike Robert van den Bosch who published an exposé The Pesticide Conspiracy and Don Dahlston who spoke at public hearings against the malathion bait sprays for Medfly, Dietrick kept a lower profile, concerned about risking an attack on the business. He did spend hours with activists, teaching them enough to ask penetrating questions and speak out. “They were burning the books on biocontrol” was his description of the powerful influence of the pesticide industry. He said that he did what he did because there was nobody else who could do it. He also maintained that he only did things that were fun. Deke’s memoirs (to be published) tell about the mentors who prepared him for this role and the challenges he faced. More by and about him is available at dietrick obituary at rinconvitova.com.

Wearing his trademark white canvas hat shading his twinkling eyes, he was a familiar figure at the Ventura Farmer’s Market and was appreciated by so many around town for his engaging spirit. Contributions in his memory can be sent to the Dietrick Institute for Applied Insect Ecology, PO Box 2506, Ventura, CA 93002 to help edit videos of him teaching in the field. A 501c3 non-profit organization, the institute www.dietrick.org offers training in ecologically based pest management in recognition of what a legend he is within our field.

Enhancing Farms and Gardens with Insecta-Flora Low

Published on January 20, 2009 in Product Articles and RVI. 1 Comment Tags: , , , .
A handful of Insecta-Flora can help to attrach beneficial insects.

A handful of Insecta-Flora can help to attrach beneficial insects

Insecta-Flora is a flower seed blend that blooms through the seasons and years providing habitat for beneficial insects. Clovers and alfalfa are great habitat plants, but sometimes the showy look of Insecta-Flora containing less grass and legumes is preferred to the ever-popular and less expensive Beneficial Blend. Insecta Flora comes in Low (up to a foot high), Standard, and High (3 foot high). The Low mix provides nitrogen-fixing and erosion control as well as habitat.

Insecta-Flora as a vineyard covercrop in California.

Insecta-Flora as a vineyard covercrop in California.

Smaller beneficial insects will fly a couple hundred feet to an island of flowers that keep them going. Enhancing an upwind vineyard border yields a beneficial welcoming committee for invading pests. Covering bare ground with beneficial habitat mixes cuts heat reflection and dust to prevent spider mite problems. Mow or weed-whip half at a time and then the other half a few weeks later to concentrate the beneficials without driving them away. Wait until the flowers set to encourage reseeding.

Visit our Beneficial Materials Catalog at rinconvitova.com for more information.

You can also download our Insecta-Flora Bulletin as a PDF.


This article originally appeared in our Biocontrol Beat Winter 2008 Newetter.

Lacewing Marathoners

Published on January 19, 2009 in Product Articles and RVI. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Lacewing larvae feeding on Aphid (Photo © Rincon Vitova Insectaries, Inc.)

Lacewing larvae feeding on Aphid (Photo © Rincon Vitova Insectaries, Inc.)

An efficient green lacewing larva might consume 350 aphids, 11,200 spider mites or 3,780 scale crawlers! They are good at cleaning up eggs and young larvae of many beetles and caterpillars, mealybugs, whiteflies, thrips, leafhoppers and more without wasting time eating the whole thing. They drink the juice and toss away the exoskeleton terminating the prey before moving on. They compete in endurance as well, walking seven miles as larvae. Launch these hungry long-distance runners in pest hotspots.

To sustain these general predators, first control ants by baiting their runs or turn mounds inside out. Then cultivate habitat for beneficials. Corn stalks and sunflowers when shaken at dusk in the peak of bloom will send lacewing fluttering overhead. Borders of alfalfa and oilseed Brassicas, Beneficial Blend or Insecta-Flora seed mixes support lacewing and other natural enemies.

For more info, check out our Lacewing Bulletin on at rinconvitova.com.

This article originally appeared in our Biocontrol Beat Winter 2008 Newsletter.

Use “Ant Trees” and Scale Hotspots to Grow Lindorus

Published on January 17, 2009 in Ecology and RVI. 0 Comments Tags: .

Releasing Lindorus beetles on a mandarin tree for citrus scale control.

Releasing Lindorus beetles on a mandarin tree for citrus scale control.

Ant trees are what we call trees that ants pick out and work over more than most of the trees in the area so that they become chronic hotspots for homopteran and other pests including scale pests. Take advantage of a scale-infested ant tree by creating a barrier for the ants (see future posts about ant management) and release on the scale. They will produce Lindorus for the whole grove for the season and grow there if they don’t freeze or get disrupted by pesticides. You are unlikely to catch them in the act, but you can tell they’re working by the way they rip up the hard scale covers leaving raggedy edges where they got access to their prey. Green lacewing larvae leave similar signs but not as ragged.

Releases of Lindorus are especially valuable in a biological control programs against citrus red and yellow scale, and purple scale. You cannot afford not to do this when surplus beetles are available at deep discounts. Backgrounders about scale IPM programs are described at: IPM.ucdavis for both Red and Yellow and Purple Scale. Note that the University researchers writing these guidelines refer to Lindorus as Rhyzobius lopanthae. They are similar but distinct genera.

Red Scale on Mandarin (Photo by Dan Papacek)

Red Scale on Mandarin (Photo by Dan Papacek)

We especially appreciate Dan Papacek’s work in citrus. His excellent biocontrol tips and photos like this one can be found at bugsforbugs.com.

Florida wax scale on Indian Hawthorns could not be controlled with pesticides, but a report at U of Florida’s site includes Lindorus in an effective program. Check it out here.

Pseudaulacaspis pentagona white peach scale is also a good food for Lindorus. A classic report in the Florida Entomological Society (F.A. Collins and W. H. Whitcomb, 1975). In a more recent report in the same journal, the deleterious effect of “soft pesticides” on Lindorus. We are surprised that, “At one-half the field rate, R. lophanthae [Lindorus] had 43% mortality with insecticidal soap, 63% mortality with imidacloprid, and 46% mortality with fish oil. …the soap and oil were the least toxic of all pesticides tested.” See the full report here.