I wrote a few months ago about the activity at RVI, when everything was all a-buzz with the beginning of spring. Now, here we are in late September, and I just overheard someone say, “Phew, too much going on!” And, it’s true. Our clients’ agricultural seasons have been peaking, and so has our production and supply; new customers are calling every day, and, still, there is so much else going on. There is a push to finish construction on a new on-site solar hydronic heating system, and a collaborative project with our neighbors to grade and pave our road and install more parking for visitors, continuing renovation of a caretaker residence that will accommodate summer entomology interns, ongoing landscaping, manufacturing improvements to the D-Vac vacuum insect net accessories, e-newsletter production, a website overhaul with the addition of on-line shopping, and the distribution of the new expanded and reorganized edition of the Catalog of Beneficials. So, with all of that going on, and more coming down the track, it’s not surprising that an occasional “Phew!” is heard, even out of Jan or Ron. While working here through seasonal changes is sometimes hectic, there is a dedication amongst the staff that continues to invigorate our work. We personally support the same ideas and perspectives that draw our customers to us in the first place, i.e., we are ecologically-minded individuals, working to better the planet. We are fortunate to help farmers and gardeners all over the world to develop new perspective, IPM strategies, and ecologically positive alternatives to using noxious chemicals and other environmentally degrading practices. Similar to the famous sentiments of teacher and astronaut Christa McAuliffe, who said, “I touch the future…I teach,” working with RVI clients allows each of us to touch the future of our environment, and that, too, invigorates our dedication. Reminding ourselves of that along with the occasional “Phew!” keeps us on track through all the changes a-buzz. Posted by Duke
Archive for the 'Life on the Farm' Category
Rincon Vitova is busy as a bee
Published October 7, 2009 B3 Demo Garden , Life on the Farm Leave a CommentA Prophet-Able Insect Idea for Homeschool
Published June 29, 2009 Life on the Farm , RVI 2 CommentsTags: homeschool, insects, Lacewing, mantis, projects, school
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.
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
Day to Day: Wildfires!
Published December 1, 2008 Life on the Farm Leave a CommentTags: Personal Stories
From left, Jan, Ron and Duke position themselves to take in the fire.A small hillside fire broke out approximately two miles west of the Rincon-Vitova Insectaries (RVI) around 4:45pm on Tuesday, October 22, 2008. While the late day skeleton crew clicked away at computer monitors, Kyra and Gabe had left early and called in from the road. “You could see the fire from the [RVI] driveway,” Kyra explains. “It looked really close, but driving towards it we realized just how far it was.”
“It was the perspective. At first we thought we might have to evacuate,” said Gabe thinking back on the fire. “We joked about picking which DVDs to leave behind.”
The fire’s distance from the insectaries didn’t ease everyone’s mind. Duke lives nearby and was initially worried his house would be threatened, but it didn’t take long to notice the winds were blowing the opposite direction. “I did make a call to check, though” he said.
When asked if he was worried about the fire’s proximity, Ron shook his head no. “I used to live at the base of that hill 6 years ago. Conditions in the area are ripe. It’s a reminder to be prepared. Fire is part of the ecology and learning to live with it and having contingency plans is essential.” Ron went on to describe priority boxes or even fire wells to store information below ground.
“It’s about what’s important. We’d shut down the server and grab the basic computer units. If we had more time we’d take the [insect] cages with all the mother cultures. We could take a few trays of [fly] pupae, but if we didn’t get back in three days we’d have a fly problem,” Ron laughs.
In the end, the fire burned approximately 5 acres, accrued no property damage and the unnamed hill stands with a black eye to the north. If there was any common thread felt here at the insectary, it was the realization of choice and priority. Insects may be small, but not everything can fit in a pillowcase.
For more info, check out the Ventura County Star article.
*Second Image: Kyra snapped this with her cell phone on the way home.
Photo Series: Lacewing Larvae Units
Published November 20, 2008 Life on the Farm , RVI Leave a CommentTags: Lacewing, Photo Series
We’re starting a series of photo posts here at The Bug Farm. Every few weeks, we’ll be putting up some slices of life with quotes and helpful tips from the Rincon Vitova Team. The captions might be a bit formal, but we’re working on a system to have some slide shows which will make it all the better. Stay tuned!
Resident entomologist Ron Whitehurst inspects a Lacewing Larvae Unit for larvae size and distribution at Rincon Vitova Insectaries in Ventura, Calif., on Wednesday, October 17, 2008. “They start out as an egg about 1/30th of an inch and are 5/8th inch when full grown,” explains Whitehurst. Using syringe like pincers to inject digestive enzymes and liquefy their prey, the lacewing larvae “can become effective predators for any soft bodied insects.”
Kyra Ankenbruck and Ron Whitehurst drop moth eggs into the lacewing larvae units in the assembly room at Rincon Vitova Insectaries in Ventura, Calif., on Wednesday, October 17, 2008. The eggs act as a food source during transit. “They’ll have enough food while en route to end users plus they will eat any other lacewing larvae in the cell. [The customer gets] whoever wins.” Ankenbruck says with a smile. Lacewing larvae are voracious predators resorting to cannibalism if there is no other prey.
Stacks of Lacewing Larvae Units stand behind the glue board in the assembly room at Rincon Vitova Insectaries in Ventura, Calif., on Wednesday, October 17, 2008. The glue glob on the board has grown layer by layer as a paint roller is used to glue the organdy covers on. Kyra Ankenbruck encountered the glue board in May 2006. “It wasn’t much smaller than now,” Ankenbruck comments.
Kyra Ankenbruck waters down the floor of the Lacewing Larvae Unit incubation room at Rincon Vitova Insectaries in Ventura, Calif., on Friday, November 14, 2008. In dry weather, watering the floor keeps the high humidity the larvae need. “You wouldn’t believe how many we’ve lost when the Santa Anas [hot California winds], blow in,” says Ankenbruck.
For more info on Lacewings and their larvae, check out Rincon Vitova’s Lacewing Bulliten.
All Images copyright: Bryce Yukio Adolphson © 2008 and may not be reused without express permission.
The Bug Farm 