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An Introduction to Natural Biological control Enemies for Biological Control of Use of natural enemies to keep unwanted pest populations low

Anna Fiedler, Doug Landis, Rufus Isaacs, Julianna Tuell Dept. of , Michigan State University

Natural enemies Lady () Predator

• Predators: eat many prey • Most adults and larvae feed in a lifetime, feeding both on soft-bodied insects. These as young and as adults. may be important in • : specialized population control. insects that develop as a • Adults are rounded, and young in one host, range in size from tiny to ¼ Scott Bauer eventually killing it. inch long. Color ranges from • : , black to brightly colored. , , fungi, • Larvae are active and protozoans. elongate with long legs, and look like tiny alligators. Mary Gardiner

Soldier beetles Predaceous ground (Cantharidae) Predator beetles (Carabidae) Predator

• Adults feed on and and • Most are predaceous on are often found at . insects in and on the soil as • Some adults eat , adults and larvae. and larvae or feed on both flowers • Adults are most active at and insects. night, dark in color, with long • Adults are elongate, with red, orange, legs. or yellow and black patterns on head • Larvae are often in leaf litter and abdomen. Adults are ¼ to ¾ inch or soil and are elongate.

long, with soft wing covers. Susan Ellis • Some feed on seeds and can Debbie Waters, Univ. of Georgia • Larvae are dark, flattened and reduce the number of elongate. Larvae feed on eggs and seeds in agricultural systems. larvae of beetles, , and • Over 40,000 known species in soil, leaf litter or under bark. in the world.

1 Green lacewings Rove beetles (Staphylinidae) Predator () Predator

• Most are predators and live in • Adults have thin, green bodies and leaf litter as adults and green wings with lacy veins; many larvae. are not predators. • Prey on small soft-bodied • Larvae are predators, with long, insects and insect eggs, curved mandibles that they use to Larva larvae, and pupae. suck the fluids out of prey. short wing covers • Adults brown or black with • Larvae are about ¼ inch long, look soft, short wing covers. like tiny alligators, and feed on most • Larvae are long and thin with small soft bodied insects. Eggs are a large head. laid on individual silken stalks. Cedar Creek Natural History Area • About 3,100 species in North • Common in , gardens and Adult America. landscapes.

Syrphid , flies, Minute pirate bugs hover flies (Syrphidae) Predator ( insidiosus) Predator

• This predator about ⅛ inch long • Most adults eat pollen and nectar. feeds on aphids, , , • Adults are black and yellow, often psyllids, and insect eggs. hover around flowers, and look like • The insidiosus species occurs in (but do not sting). the Eastern , and

• Most larvae are predators on aphids another species, tristicolor, is Dept. of Entomology, Univ. of Nebraska-Lincoln and other soft-bodied insects. common in the Western U.S. These insects are abundant in • Larvae usually have an opaque skin many . with internal organs visible, and are usually green to dark brownish. • Adults are oval, black with white markings and a triangular head. • About 1,000 species in North Nymphs are slightly pear-shaped America. Susan Ellis and reddish brown or yellow.

Damsel bugs (Nabidae) Predator Stink bugs (Pentatomidae) Predator

• Genus Perillus and Podisus

• These bugs prey on aphids, are predators with forward Genus Podisus , mites, pointing tubular mouthparts. , and other insects. • Most other stink bugs are plant feeders. • Often gray or dull brown, about ¼ inch long. Slender • Shield-shaped, often insects with an elongated brownish, usually less than ½ head and long antennae. inch long. • Nymphs sometimes look like • Nymphs are rounder than adults with underdeveloped . Whitney Cranshaw Susan Ellis wings.

2 Long-legged flies (Dolichopodidae) Predator Dance flies () Predator

• Adults prey on small insects • Predators as larvae and adults. and are less than ¼ inch long, • Larvae are pale and cylindrical, often metallic. feed on varied prey in litter, soil, • They are abundant, especially water, or under bark. near swamps, streams, in • Adults stalk small insects on woodlands, and meadows. bark or flowers. Adults have a • Larvae are found in varied large thorax and smaller habitats, including water, abdomen, and often a beaklike

decaying wood, and grass Susan Ellis mouth. Most are less than ¼ Cedar Creek Natural History Area stems. Little is known of their inch long. feeding habits but some are • Over 700 species in North predators. America.

Jumping spiders (Salticidae) Predator Crab spiders (Thomisidae) Predator

• Crab spiders stalk and • Day active hunters in plants capture insects resting on or on the ground. surfaces or walking. They do • Do not make a web, but stalk not spin webs. and pounce on prey. • The front two pairs of legs • Distinctive eye pattern with a are enlarged and extend to front row of four eyes and two the side of their body, giving pairs behind the front row in a them a crablike appearance. perpendicular line. • Over 200 species in North David Keith • About 300 species in . America.

Hornets, paper Braconid wasps ( Polistes) Predator () • Adults eat mainly caterpillars and feed their larvae beetles, flies, true • Parasitize larvae of beetles, bugs, and other wasps. caterpillars, flies and sawflies. • Adults switch to feed on sugar in late • Adults usually are less than summer. ½ inch long with an thin • While some insects in this family are abdomen that is longer than ovipositor aggressive, native species in the the head and thorax genus Polistes are less likely to sting combined. people. • Over 1,000 named species Cedar Creek Natural History Area Jim Kalisch and Tom Clark • Adults are black and yellow and fold worldwide. their wings lengthwise when at rest. Colonies do not overwinter in areas with cold winters, but may grow for several years in milder climates.

3 Chalcid wasps Ichneumonid wasps (Chalcidoidea) Parasitoid () Parasitoid

• This group includes many • Ichneumonids attack specific families of wasps that have insects, but some species of many hosts. most types of insects are attacked by this family. • Many parasitize aphids; some lay eggs inside of • Common hosts include insect eggs. beetles, caterpillars, and wasps. • Other hosts include beetles, flies, moths, sawflies, • Adults are usually slender Gerald J. Lenhard ovipositor , and scales. with a long ovipositor. Gerald J. Lenhard • These insects are very small, • Over 3,100 species in North less than ¼ inch long. America.

Bee flies (Bombyliidae) Parasitoid Tachinid flies () Parasitoid

• Most are internal and • Hosts include larvae of external parasites of , beetles, butterflies, and , , and larvae. moths. • Some attack larvae of • Adults are often dark, thick- beetles, flies, moths, or bodied hairy flies that look eggs. like but with stout • Adults are short, very hairy, bristles at the tip of their medium to large flies with abdomen. long, thin mouthparts. Jeff Evans H. Gross • About 3,000 known species.

Acknowledgements

For more information: http://ipm.msu.edu/plants/home.htm

Natural Enemies Handbook: The Illustrated Guide to Biological , Publication 3386, - University of . Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, by Mary Louise Flint, Steve H. Dreistadt, Jack Kelly Clark (Photographer), University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program (Corporate Author).

Introduction to the Study of Insects by Norman F. Johnson and Charles A. Triplehorn.

Funding:

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