Searles Mazzacano Beneficial Insects

Beneficial Insects Beneficial insects

in your garden A. Roles of beneficial insects

B. Meet the beneficial insects (and other arthropods)

Great Black Wasp; C. Invasives to watch out for C.A.S. Mazzacano Celeste A. Searles Mazzacano, Ph.D. Presented for EMSWCD D. Creating & maintaining habitat

E. Resources & projects

Convergent Lady Beetle; C.A.S. Mazzacano © 2016 C. A. Searles Mazzacano Seven-spotted Lady Beetle; C.A.S. Mazzacano 1 2

How I think of insects

European mantis, OR: C.A.S. Mazzacano

Darner: C.A.S. Mazzacano

Great Spangled Fritillary: C.A.S. Mazzacano

Giant Robber Fly, TX: C.A.S. Mazzacano

Flatheaded mayfly; C.A.S. Mazzacano

Mole Cricket, Costa Rica: C.A.S. Mazzacano Blood-colored Milkweed Bug; C.A.S. Mazzacano Dung beetle: C.A.S. Mazzacano

3 4 Searles Mazzacano_Beneficial Insects - September 12, 2016 How many people think Can you tell the difference between the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly? of insects

NOT giant mosquitoes

Crane Flies; C.A.S. Mazzacano Crane Flies; Deborah Gitlitz

5 6

Can you tell the difference between Can you tell the difference between the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly? the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly?

VERY unlikely to sting NOT a bee

Bumble bee; C.A.S. Mazzacano Carpenter bees; C.A.S. Mazzacano Bee Fly; Flower Fly; C.A.S. Mazzacano C.A.S. Mazzacano

7 8 Searles Mazzacano_Beneficial Insects - September 12, 2016 Benefits of insects Benefits of insects

• improve soil conditions • pollination

• food for wildlife - 70% of flowering plants pollinated by insects

Wood Ground Beetle; iNaturalist, • aesthetic and oldbilluk recreational use - bees, flies, beetles, moths Soldier Beetle; David Hebert

River Jewelwing; C.A.S. Mazzacano

Cedar Waxwing eating dragonfly; Larry Rea Red Satyr; Sweat Bee; C.A.S. Mazzacano C.A.S. Mazzacano Flower Fly; Thomas Bresson Yellow-faced Bumble Bee; C.A.S. Mazzacano

9 10

Benefits of insects • • decomposers natural pest control - beetles and flies break down & recycle animal dung and carcases

- beetles, flies, termites break down plant material Burying Beetle; C.A.S. Mazzacano

“tumblebug”; Black Soldier Fly; C.A.S. Mazzacano C.A.S. Mazzacano Dung Beetles; C.A.S. Mazzacano

11 12 Searles Mazzacano_Beneficial Insects - September 12, 2016 Natural Pest Control Natural Pest Control

• Parasitoids • Predators - lay eggs or insert larvae in or near host; - consume pest eggs, developing larvae feed externally or internally larvae, and/or adults on body of living host

- beetles, lacewings, wasps, - host dies when flies, bugs, thrips, mantids, parasitoids spiders, mites become adults

- wasps, flies

Assassin bug; kestrel360, iNaturalist

Tachinid fly getting ready to parasitize elm leaf beetle larva; Jack Kelly Clark/UC Davis

13 14

Predators - Beetles Predators - Beetles

Lady Beetles Ground Beetles

• round to oval • broadly oval; dark to metallic

• bright colors, bold • large jaws, Convergent Lady Beetle; C.A.S. Mazzacano Wood Ground Beetle; iNaturalist, oldbilluk spotted patterns sculpted wing

Lady Beetle larva; bugguide.net, covers carabid larva; Phil Myers • larvae & adults eat Jerry McCormick aphids, scales, • larvae & adults mites, caterpillars, eat insect eggs, Bronzed Tiger Beetle; insect eggs caterpillars, snails C.A.S. Mazzacano Sorrowful Lady Beetle; C.A.S. Mazzacano

Multi-colored Asian Lady Beetle; C.A.S. Mazzacano Snail-eating Beetle; Ken-ichi Ueda

15 16 Searles Mazzacano_Beneficial Insects - September 12, 2016 Predators - Beetles Predators - Beetles

Soldier Beetles Rove Beetles • long body, soft wing • elongated dark body covers, long antennae

• • short wing covers yellow/orange & black markings Podabrus Soldier Beetle; vncdatatech01 expose abdomen Rove Beetle; Joyce Gross

• • eat small soil organisms eat mealybugs, aphids, soil organisms

Margined Leatherwing; David Hebert Devil’s Coach Horse; Cedric Lee

17 18

Predators - Lacewings Predators - Wasps

Brown & Green Lacewings Wasps

• soft delicate body; loose, oval, • victims of bad PR! multi-veined wings Green Lacewing; C.A.S. Mazzacano • paper wasps, • eat mealybugs, aphids, scales, hornets, and caterpillars yellowjackets feed their young on live insects Green Lacewing egg

Brown Lacewing; James Bailey

19 20 Searles Mazzacano_Beneficial Insects - September 12, 2016 Predators - Wasps Predators - Flies

Paper Wasps Flower Flies

• native Polistes generally • larvae (maggots) eat not aggressive aphids, scale insects

• European P. dominula • adults are bee mimics, Toxomerus syrphid; MJ Hatfield can be confused with good pollinators yellowjacket Polistes aurifer; Edward Rooks

Andrea Joy Davis European Paper wasp; C.A.S. Mazzacano Helophilis syrphid; C.A.S. Mazzacano

21 22

Predators - Flies Predators - Bugs

Assassin Bugs Robber flies • large, spiny body; • adults eat anything flared abdomen they can catch

Laphria robber fly with blister beetle; • stout needle-like C.A.S. Mazzacano • larvae prey on insect mouthparts Pselliopus Assassin Bug; larvae in leaf litter, loose John & Jane Balaban soil, decaying wood • eat all types of insects

Assassin bug; kestrel360, iNaturalist

Giant Robber Fly; Rhynocoris Assassin Bug; C.A.S. Mazzacano Phil Huntley-Franck

23 24 Searles Mazzacano_Beneficial Insects - September 12, 2016 Predators - Bugs Predators - Bugs

Ambush Bugs Damsel Bugs

• stout body with • small, slender, flared abdomen yellow/brown body

Phymata americana; Kurt Schaefer • enlarged forelegs • thickened forelegs Nabis roseipennis; Jason Michael Crockwell • bright colors & patterns • eat insect larvae, small insects, eggs • eat all types of insects

Nabicula subcoleoptrata; Jason Michael Crockwell Jagged Ambush Bug; Dale & Elva Paulson

25 26

Predators - Bugs Predators - Bugs

Big-eyed Bugs Minute Pirate Bugs • small oval body • tiny, straight-sided body • broad head with • black & white pattern large bulging eyes

Anthocoris musculus; • eat spider mites, thrips, Lynette Elliott • eat small insects, aphids, insect eggs

mites, eggs Geocoris; Jack Dykinga, USDA

Minute Pirate Bug Geocoris uliginosus; nymph; Lynette Elliott Lyle J. Buss, U of FL

27 28 Searles Mazzacano_Beneficial Insects - September 12, 2016 Predators - Bugs Predators - Mantids

Praying Mantis Predatory Stink Bugs • large elongated body; brown or green • triangular brown/grey body with shield-like cover • triangular head, large eyes Two-spotted Stink Bug; Matthew Priebe • eat large prey such as • spiny raptorial forelegs caterpillars & beetle larvae Mantis religiosa; C.A.S. Mazzacano • eat whatever they can catch

Rough Stink Bug; Lynette Elliott Stagmomantis californica; randomtruth Stagmomantis californica egg case; C.A.S. Mazzacano

29 30

Predators - Thrips Predators - Spiders

Banded-winged, Black Hunter, & Six-spotted Thrips Spiders

• long, minute, • round body, 8 legs slender body • often with bright • adults black, may colors or patterns Araneus diadematus; C.A.S. Mazzacano have white wings Black Hunter Thrips Aeolothrips; Christophe Quinton • web builders & Black and Yellow Garden Spider; C.A.S. Mazzacano • strap-like, active hunters feathery wings • eat whatever they can catch

Black Hunter Thrips; Ilona L. Franklinothrips nymph; Jack Kelly Clark/UC Davis Jumping Spiders mating; C.A.S. Mazzacano Wolf Spider; C.A.S. Mazzacano

31 32 Searles Mazzacano_Beneficial Insects - September 12, 2016 Predators - Mites Predators - Centipedes

Predatory Mites Centipedes • tiny, pear-shaped, shiny body • long segmented body

• • 1 pair of legs/segment 6 or 8 legs Red Velvet Mite; Univ. of WI-Milwaukie

Stone Centipede; iNaturalist, • eat small arthropods Cristophe Quintin • fast-moving in & on the soil • eat thrips, spider mites, insect eggs

Western Predatory Mites eating Spider Mite; UC Davis centipede; iNaturalist, Paul Heiple

33 34

Parasitoids - Flies Parasitoids - Flies

Bee Flies Tachinid Flies Tachinid; Jack Kelly Clark/UC Davis • hairy, brightly colored • resemble house flies but with stout bristly hairs on • wings held to side at rest tip of abdomen • adults are pollinators • parasitize caterpillars, beetles, bugs, earwigs, • larvae external parasitoids grasshoppers of soil-dwelling beetles,

Bee Fly (IVilla sp.): caterpillars, wasps, bees C.A.S. Mazzacano

Tachinid eggs on leafroller caterpillar; Jack Kelly Clark/UC Davis

35 36 Searles Mazzacano_Beneficial Insects - September 12, 2016 Parasitoids - Wasps Parasitoids - Wasps

Ichneumon Wasps Braconid Wasps Braconid wasp parasitizing garpe leaffolder; UC Davis

parasitized catalpa caterpillar; John • long slender body Obermeyer/Purdue Entomology • similar to ichneumonid but smaller • long antennae & ovipositor • fast-moving

• parasitize caterpillars, • parasitize larval beetles, Braconid larvae feeding on host; UC Davis beetles, wasps bugs, flies, aphids

Ichneumonid wasp; Nuytsia@Tas

37 38

Parasitoids - Wasps Invasive Insects to Watch For

Trichogrammatid Wasps

• tiny (<1 mm), Trichogramma attacking corn earworm egg; UC Davis compact body

• short antennae, EAB damage; Christopher Asaro

hairy wings Paul Gordy

• parasitize insect eggs

ALB damage; OH Extension

39 40 Searles Mazzacano_Beneficial Insects - September 12, 2016 Invasive Insects to Watch For Invasive Insects to Watch For

Asian Gypsy Moth Asian Gypsy Moth • females lay eggs in oblong • females 2”, white/cream wings; masses on trees, cover males 1.5”, dark brown with body scales

John H. Ghent, USDA Forest Service • several detections & • feed on >500 spp. eradications in Oregon Purdue Extension of trees & shrubs

• defoliation, landscape- scale devastation

John H. Ghent, USDA Forest Service

John H. Ghent, USDA Forest Service

41 42

Invasive Insects to Watch For Invasive Insects to Watch For

Emerald Ash Borer Emerald Ash Borer

• slender, elongated body • larvae chew S-shaped (1/4-1/2”) galleries into trees

• pupate & emerge David Cappaert, MSU • metallic green wing covers Howard Russell, MSU following spring • purplish-red abdomen • newly-emerged adults • not yet established in OR create D-shaped exit hole

Kenneth R. Law, USDA APHIS

New York Invasive Species

43 44 Searles Mazzacano_Beneficial Insects - September 12, 2016 Invasive Insects to Watch For Invasive Insects to Watch For

Asian Longhorned Beetle EAB: Look-alikes: • long black body (0.75 - 1.25”) with mottled white spots

• very long, banded antennae

• blue-ish feet Oklahoma State University ODA

outdoorhub.com Bronze Golden Lang’s • not yet established in OR Birch Borer Buprestid Buprestid

45 46

Invasive Insects to Watch For Invasive Insects to Watch For

Asian Longhorned Beetle ALB: Look-alikes:

• females chew shallow pits in bark to lay eggs

Pest and Disease Image Library, bugwood.org • larvae eat most hardwoods except oak

• tunneling girdles & kills tree

Banded Oregon Fir Oregon Fir Alder Borer Sawyer, male Sawyer, female

Daniel Herms, Ohio State Univ.

47 48 Searles Mazzacano_Beneficial Insects - September 12, 2016 For reporting, information, and resources: Creating & maintaining habitat

• Oregon Forest Pest Detectors: http:// pestdetector.forestry.oregonstate.edu “If you build it, they will come”…

• Oregon Invasive Species Online Hotline: • conservation oregoninvasiveshotline.org; 1-866-INVADER biocontrol

• better to create habitat for local species than to buy insects

C.A.S. Mazzacano

49 50

Creating & maintaining habitat Creating & maintaining habitat

• many beneficials also • designate 5-10% of eat nectar & pollen garden space to plants for beneficials • often small insects with small mouthparts, short • bloom throughout season tongues zinnea • variety of flower shapes - good landing pad & (umbel, daisy, spike, ball) easy access important

yarrow; C.A.S. Mazzacano Attracting Native Pollinators; Xerces Society

51 52 Searles Mazzacano_Beneficial Insects - September 12, 2016 Creating & maintaining habitat Creating & maintaining habitat

• annuals provide nectar, • carrot family: yarrow pollen, egg-laying sites (Achillea), dill (Anethum), fennel (Foeniculum) • perennials provide

stable habitat sunflower; Donna, iNaturalist • daisy family: gayfeather yarrow (Liatris), sunflower, marigold

• cabbage family: sweet alyssum; broccoli

Spirea; C.A.S. Mazzacano Baby Blue Eyes; C.A.S. Mazzacano marigold; Wikimedia Commons gayfeather; Joseph Dougherty/ecology.org

53 54

Creating & maintaining habitat Creating & maintaining habitat

• Early spring flowers: • legumes: lupine, clover - Oregon grape • stonecrops: sedum spp. - Red-flowering currant • flowering herbs attractive Lupine; C.A.S. Mazzacano Oregon Grape; C.A.S. Mazzacano (dill, fennel, parsley, mint, - Black twinberry angelica, cilantro, lavender) - Spring beauty

Lavender; C.A.S. Mazzacano Spring Beauty; Keir Morse Black Twinberry; C.A.S. Mazzacano

55 56 Searles Mazzacano_Beneficial Insects - September 12, 2016 Creating & maintaining habitat Creating & maintaining habitat

• Summer • Late spring flowers: - Tapertip onion - Red columbine - Showy milkweed - Pacific bleeding heart

Red Columbine; C.A.S. Mazzacano - Graceful Tapertip Onion; Colorado Wildflowers - Oregon iris cinquefoil

Pacific Bleeding Heart Oregon Iris; WSU Extension Graceful Cinquefoil; Ben Legler Showy Milkweed; C.A.S. Mazzacano

57 58

Creating & maintaining habitat Creating & maintaining habitat

• Late summer/fall • trees & shrubs offer shelter - West Coast goldenrod from sun, wind, rain, predators - Pearly everlasting Blue elderberry; Mike Cardwell - conifers, willow, maple - Slender tarweed

West Coast Goldenrod; Univ. of Waterloo - roses (baldhip, Nootka, swamp), elderberry, oceanspray

Slender Tarweed; Mark Turner Pearly Everlasting; Al Schneider Swamp rose; C.A.S. Mazzacano

59 60 Searles Mazzacano_Beneficial Insects - September 12, 2016 Creating & maintaining habitat Creating & maintaining habitat

• grass clumps can provide • patches of undisturbed soil shelter, overwintering habitat • water source - California brome-grass

C.A.S. Mazzacano - Blue Wild-rye

C.A.S. Mazzacano

California brome-grass: Matt Lavin C.A.S. Mazzacano

61 62

Creating & maintaining habitat Creating & maintaining habitat

Integrated pest management (IPM): • Reduce/eliminate pesticides Oleander aphids on rush milkweed; C.A.S. Mazzacano • ecosystem-based strategy - pesticides can disrupt • long-term prevention of pests/damage natural enemies using multiple techniques - pests faster to disperse & - biological control, habitat manipulation, re-colonize treated areas modification of cultural practices, use of than natural enemies resistant varieties

• preserves natural system as much as possible

63 64 Searles Mazzacano_Beneficial Insects - September 12, 2016 Creating & maintaining habitat Creating & maintaining habitat

• Reduce/eliminate pesticides Oleander aphids on rush milkweed; Oleander aphids on rush milkweed; C.A.S. Mazzacano • use pesticides only after C.A.S. Mazzacano monitoring indicates need - removing natural enemies may allow secondary • treat with goal of removing pests to establish target organism only

- non-lethal levels can • select & apply to minimize impair reproduction, risks to human health, foraging nontarget organisms, & environment

65 66

Creating & maintaining habitat Creating & maintaining habitat

• tolerate a certain • build healthy soil level of damage

• proper plant placement • use multiple and irrigation compatible methods

• Indian plum; C.A.S. Mazzacano plant mostly natives • if pesticides deemed Oregon grape; C.A.S. Mazzacano necessary, select most • “scout” your gardens suitable, timely, selective, least toxic to non-targets

Black Twinberry; C.A.S. Mazzacano Camas; C.A.S. Mazzacano

67 68 Searles Mazzacano_Beneficial Insects - September 12, 2016 Resources Resources

• Encouraging beneficial insects in your garden, https://catalog.extension.oregonstate.edu/sites/ catalog.extension.oregonstate.edu/files/project/pdf/pnw550.pdf

• A pocket guide to common natural enemies of crop and garden pests in the Pacific Northwest, http://ipmnet.org/ Pocket_Guide_of_Natural_Enemies.pdf

69 70

Resources Projects

• Beneficial insects, spiders, and other mini- creatures, http://whatcom.wsu.edu/gardenshare/ documents/Attracting_Beneficials.pdf

• Meet the Beneficials, http:// www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/FAQ/natural- enemies-poster.pdf

71 72 Searles Mazzacano_Beneficial Insects - September 12, 2016 “What sort of insects do you rejoice in, where you come from?” the Gnat inquired.

“I don’t rejoice in insects at all,” Alice explained, “because I’m rather afraid of them — at least the Visit emswcd.org to find large kinds.” additional workshops Through the Looking Glass, Lewis Carroll

and resources! Snap-dragon fly

73 74

Questions? Celeste A. Searles Mazzacano, [email protected]

Yellow-faced Bumble Bee; Netwinged Beetle, C.A.S. Mazzacano C.A.S. Mazzacano

Cardinal Meadowhawk; Western Swallowtail, C.A.S. Mazzacano C.A.S. Mazzacano

Copyright © 2016 Celeste A. Searles Mazzacano. All rights reserved. This presentation or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author.

75 Searles Mazzacano_Beneficial Insects - September 12, 2016