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