3/30/2015

Program Overview A review of

Beneficial  Beneficial roles of insects in a garden ecosystem

 A little about natural enemies: Predators &

 Some common & not-so-common beneficial insects

 Encouraging beneficial insects in the Susan Mahr home garden University of Wisconsin - Madison

Most Insects are NOT Bad As Food for Wildlife

 Over 1 million species worldwide, with over 87,000 species in the U.S. and Canada  Only about 1% of all species of insects are serious pests

Butterflies Beneficial Activities of Insects

 Pollinate flowers  Many people want to  Help decompose dead encourage these insects to visit their plants and gardens  Kill pest insects

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Pollinators Decomposers

 Break down dead  animals and plants  Flies  Recycle nutrients  Others

Natural Enemies Predators

 Beneficial insects or other organisms that  Eat other insects destroy harmful insects  Usually larger than their prey  Predators eat other insects  Parasitoids develop in other insects  Consume many prey  Pathogens cause diseases in insects  Feed as adults and/or immatures

Predators Parasitoids

 Generally fairly mobile  Smaller than their host

 Most have fairly broad host  Only the larval stage is range parasitic

 May be large, conspicuous  Immatures develop in/on other insects

 A single host for development

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Parasitoids The Cast of Characters: Some beneficial insects

 Adults free-living, usually winged and mobile

 Tend to be host-specific

 Often small, inconspicuous

Praying Mantids True Bugs Order Mantodea Order

 Generally large  Sucking mouthparts  Raptorial front legs  Simple metamorphosis  Many crop pests and some  Generalist, opportunistic blood feeders, too

Minute Pirate Bugs Big-eyed Bugs Family Anthocoridae Family Lygaeidae

 1-2 mm  Similar to plant bugs  Black and white  Feed on mites, small insects  Feed on mites, insects eggs and small insects  Geocoris spp.  Orius species

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Perillius bioculatus (twospotted stink bug) Assassin Bugs Stink Bugs Family Reduviidae Family Pentatomidae

 Relatively large  Medium sized  Raptorial front legs  Green, brown, black  Feed on caterpillars, other  Produce foul odor when large insects bothered  Not all predators; some  Includes ambush bugs important pests

 Feed on caterpillars, beetle Podisus maculiventris larvae and adults (e.g. (spined soldier bug) Colorado potato beetle, Mexican bean beetle), others

Beetles Lady Beetles Order Coleoptera Family Coccinellidae

 Largest group of animals on earth  Many species  ¼ of all species; 40% of all insects  Eat soft-bodied insects, especially aphids  30,000 species in North America  Complete metamorphosis  Larvae often unrecognized  Chewing mouthparts  Great diversity of lifestyles, includes many predators and a few parasitoids in 40 families

Ground Beetles Fireflies Family Carabidae Family Lampyridae

 40,000 species worldwide  Adults produce light flashes  Usually dark colored, nocturnal  Larvae feed on slugs  Adults feed on caterpillars, grubs, maggots, earthworms  Some larvae bioluminescent (= glowworms)  Larvae also predaceous

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Lacewings and Allies Green Lacewings Order Neuroptera Family Chrysopidae

 Lacewings, antlions and their relatives  Adults have membranous wings  Eggs laid on stalks  Most are predators  Larvae have sickle-shaped mouthparts  Mantidflies (Family Mantispidae) are  All larvae, some adults predators parasitic within the egg sacs of  Feed on aphids, other soft-bodied ground-dwelling spiders insects  Adults require honeydew or nectar

True Flies Flower or Hover Flies Order Diptera Family Syphidae

 Complete metamorphosis  Adults look like bees

 Many lifestyles, including predators  Larvae look like miniature slugs and parasitoids  Larvae eat soft-bodied insects,  Predaceous as adults, larvae, or both especially aphids

Other Predatory Flies Tachinid Flies Family Tachinidae

flies (Family Bombyliidae)  1,300 species in North  Longlegged flies (Family Dolichopodidae) America  Robber flies (Family Asilidae)  All species parasitic  Marsh flies (Family Sciomyzidae)  Resemble bristly houseflies  Most attack caterpillars and beetles  Voria ruralis parasitizes cabbage looper

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Sawflies, Bees, Wasps, & Order Predatory Hymenoptera

 18,000 species in North America  Large wasps in  Complete metamorphosis (muddaubers) and  Various lifestyles, including predators (paper wasps, yellowjackets) and parasitoids  Ants  The stingless wasps are the largest  Feed on caterpillars, various and most important group of natural insects enemies of pests

Trichogramma Wasps Braconid Wasps Family Family

 Egg parasitoids  Small adults with long antennae  Very small  Attack caterpillars, immatures of  Widely used for biological other insects control; several species  Many important in agriculture, commercially available especially Aphidiinae  Attack eggs of moths and butterflies, beetles, flies, wasps, true bugs

Fairyflies (Family Mymaridae) Scelionids (Family Scelionidae)

Ichneumonid Wasps Other Important Wasps Family

 Variable in size, but generally larger  Family Aphelinidae than braconids  Family  Ovipositor often quite long  Family  Family  Most attack caterpillars and larvae of beetles and

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Other Predatory Biological Control

 Mites  Purposeful manipulation of beneficial organisms  Spiders – Predators  Others – Parasitoids – Pathogens

Encouraging Beneficial Reducing Pesticide Impacts Insects in the Garden

 Learn to recognize pollinators, natural  Most insecticides are more toxic to natural enemies, and others and appreciate enemies than to pests their role in the garden ecosystem  More selective materials include insecticidal soaps and microbial insecticides  Increase garden diversity to provide  Many “botanical insecticides” such as alternate food and shelter pyrethrum are directly toxic to natural  Incorporate specific flowering plants enemies, but are very short-lived  Avoid / reduce broad-spectrum and  Use “spot” treatments if possible preventative pesticides  Consider cultural controls and other methods besides chemicals as part of IPM

Adult Nectar Adult Nectar Resources Resources

 Various species

 Annuals, biennials and perennials

 Small nectaries for small insects! Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) Cilantro (Coriandrum sativum)  Large flowers or “platforms” for larger insects

Queen Anne’s Lace Alfalfa Yellow rocket Butterflyweed Sweet Alyssum (Lobularia maritima) Dill (Anethum graveolens) Asclepias Daucus carota Medicago sativa Barbarea vulgaris

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For More Information For Insect Identification

 Extension Publications on Biological Control Insect Diagnostic Laboratory – Natural Enemies in Your Garden: A Homeowner’s Guide to Biological Control (MSU) PJ Liesch, Insect Diagnostician – Biological Control of Insects and Mites: An Department of Entomology Introduction to Beneficial Natural Enemies and Their Use in Pest Management. UWEX Pub A3842 1630 Linden Dr. – Alternatives in insect management. NCR Pub 401 (Univ. Illinois) Madison, WI 53706

 Articles on the WI MG website (608) 262-6510 wimastergardener.org [email protected]  Websites http://www.entomology.wisc.edu/diaglab/entodiag.html – The Pollination Page – pollinator.com/ @WiBugGuy – Pollinator Partnership – www.pollinator.org – Biological Control News website – www.entomology.wisc.edu/mbcn/mbcn.html

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