3/5/2013 Bring on the Bugs….Beneficial ones that is! What is a Benificial “Bug”? Any arthropod that is advantageous to a gardener or a farmer. 1 3/5/2013 What is an Arthropod? Animal with segmented bodies, exoskeletons and jointed appendages. Trilobites Crustaceans Spiders Millipedes Centipedes Insects 2 3/5/2013 Identification Easy Spider Identification 3 3/5/2013 Easy Millipede Identification Easy Centipede Identification 4 3/5/2013 Easy Insect Identification 5 3/5/2013 Insect Diversity • Over 1 million described species (>65% animal diversity) • 5-80 million species total • Well over 16,000 species in NY State • Of the million described ~1000 are considered serious pests (about 1/10 of 1%) Calligrapha rowena Incomplete Metamorphosis 6 3/5/2013 Complete Metamorphosis Insect Feeding Habits: • Predators • Parasites / Parasitoids • Herbivores • Fungivores / detritivores Important to know in order to provide food source/habitat 7 3/5/2013 Attracting Beneficials: Generally Speaking… Change Our Thinking/Behavior Invite Them In “….we are part of an integrated ecosystem, with a set of principles that are nature’s not man’s.” 8 3/5/2013 Ecosystem Gardening “When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.” ~John Muir 9 3/5/2013 Eliminate/Reduce Pesticides Invite “Bugs” In!? • Provide Food, Shelter, Water & a Place to Reproduce • Create Diverse Habitats Interplant veggies & flowers Underplant Trees & shrubs Vary plant heights REDUCE LAWN/Monocultures 10 3/5/2013 Plant Selection Factors: Bloom period for entire growing season Perennials or reseeding annuals NATIVES or NON-invasive Mixed plant forms and heights Plants not host to insect pests Plants in Parsley (Umbilliferae ) & the Sunflower/Daisy (Compositae) Family 11 3/5/2013 12 3/5/2013 13 3/5/2013 Native Plant Sources: We Flag Natives Program -LOCAL GREENHOUSES & NURSERIES ! • Please add Harvestview Greenhouse 4936 West Main Rd Fredonia, NY 14063 716.672.4822 Ernst Conservation Seeds- Meadville PA Plantsmen Nursery – Ithaca, NY Amanda’s Garden – Springwater, NY Lockwood’s Gardens – Hamburg, NY Meet the Beneficials 14 3/5/2013 Spiders Feeding Habit & Keys for ID Ronald F. Billings Texas Forest Service www.forestryimages.org • Predatory • 8 legs • 2 body segments Left: Yellow garden spider (Argiope aurantia) (Araneidae) 15 3/5/2013 James O. Howell, The University of Georgia, www.forestryimages.org The vast majority of spiders are harmless to humans. Above and right: Wolf Spiders (Lycosidae) actively hunt for prey rather that catch prey in webs. Centipedes Feeding Habit & Keys for ID: • active NOCTURNAL predators • one pair of legs per body segment • fast moving, can give painful bite • common in soils and rotting wood Tree of Life http://tolweb.org/tree/phylogeny.html Scolopendra cingulata Scutigera coleoptrata Lithobius forficatu 16 3/5/2013 Millipedes Feeding Habit & Keys for ID: • mostly scavengers or fungivores • two pairs of legs per body segment • slow moving, some produce cyanide • common in soils and rotting wood Narceus americanus Insects • 3 main body parts • 6 jointed legs • 1 pair of antennae • compound eyes • usually some sort of metamorphosis 17 3/5/2013 Insects: Butterflies Feeding Habit & Keys for ID: • Nectar Feeders • Scaly Wings • Smooth Antennae How to Attract: Benefits: • Species Dependent • Pollinators • Need both Nectar & Host Plants • Puddles • Sunshine • Windbreaks-shelter 18 3/5/2013 Insects: Bees Feeding Habit & Keys for ID: • Nectar Feeders • Fuzzy bodies Benefits: How to Attract: • Pollinators • General plants • Create Honey, include: peas, Beeswax borage, aster family & milkweeds • Cover crops (clover & vetch) 19 3/5/2013 Dragonflies & Damselflies Feeding Habit & Keys for ID • Predatory • Aquatic nymphs • Dragonflies wings lay flat, damsels-”upright” Celithemis eponia Benefits (aka pests How to Attract: they manage): • Nearby Water Source • Flying Insects: (nymph stage is midges, gnats & AQUATIC) mosquitos • Nymphs live underwater and eat aquatic insects & even small fish Calopteryx maculata Enallagma ebrium 20 3/5/2013 Mantids Feeding Habit & Keys for ID • Predatory, cannibalistic • Modified raptorial forelegs • Leathery forewings • EGG SACS Tenodera sp. Mantis religiosa Benefits (aka pests How to Attract: they manage): • Don’t squish egg • Variety of insects sacs! • Grasses/shrubs for adults to lay eggs on. 21 3/5/2013 Minute Pirate Bugs Feeding Habit & Keys for ID: • Predatory • Oval shaped with black & white wings • Nymphs – yellow tear-drop shaped Anthocoris melanocerus Benefits (aka pests How to Attract: they manage): • Plants in Carrot & • Spider Mites Aster Family • Thrips • Yarrow • Leafhoppers • Sunflowers • Corn Earworms • Goldenrod • Small Catepillars • Boneset • Other insects 22 3/5/2013 Assassin Bugs Feeding Habit & Keys for ID • Predatory - feed by piercing prey with their beaks to suck out juices. Benefits (aka pests How to Attract: they manage): • Permanent Plantings • Caterpillars for shelter • Small flying insects (windbreaks) • Aphids • If there’s prey, they’ll • Leafhoppers. be there! 23 3/5/2013 Lacewings Feeding Habit & Keys for ID: • predatory as adults and larvae • larvae with modified hollow mandibles • Eggs laid in single row on stalks of plants Chrysoperla sp. Benefits (aka pests How to Attract: they manage): • Plants in Carrot & • Mites Aster Family • Aphids • Coreopsis • Mealybugs • Sunflowers • Scales • Goldenrod • Whiteflies • Boneset • Other soft-bodied arthropods • Adults feed on honeydew & pollen 24 3/5/2013 Green or brown, the lacewing, or aphid lion, is known to eat as many as 600 aphids during the larval stage. Lady Beetles Feeding Habit & Keys for ID: • predatory as adults and larvae • LARVA ARE APHID PREDATORS! 25 3/5/2013 Benefits (aka pests How to Attract: they manage): • Plants in Carrot & • Aphids Aster Family • Scale insects • Butterfly weed • Giant Hyssop • Mealybugs • Yarrow • Whiteflies • Black Locust • Spider mites • Insect eggs Multicolored Asian Lady Beetle • Introduced • Invades homes in fall • Attracted to light colored surfaces John Davidson Prey: Aphids and scales. John John Davidson Davidson 26 3/5/2013 Ground Beetles Feeding Habit & Keys for ID: • Nocturnal predators • In or on soil • Large, dark, and sometimes metallic • Some live up to four years Vera Krischik Benefits (aka pests How to Attract: they manage): • Diversity of plants • Slugs • Bunch grasses • Snails • Permanent plantings for shelter • Cutworms • Hiding Places • Colorado Potato Beetles (rocks/boards) for • Gypsy Moth daytime • Catepillars • Asparagus Beetles • Squash Vine Borers 27 3/5/2013 Brachinus sp. Agonum sp. Cicindela longilabris Rove Beetles Feeding Habit & Keys for ID: • Nocturnal predators • In or on soil 28 3/5/2013 Benefits (aka pests How to Attract: they manage): • Native Grasses • Soil dwelling insects • Permanent Plantings • Aphids for Shelter • Nematodes • Flies Ichneumonid Wasps Feeding Habit & Keys for ID: • Larvae are internal or external parasitoids. • Some have long ovipositors 29 3/5/2013 Benefits (aka pests How to Attract: they manage): • Pollen & nectar • Larvae and pupae of plants beetles, wasps, and • Wild Carrot caterpillars • Armyworms • Yarrow • Cabbage looper • Fall webworm • Oakworms • Tent caterpillars • Tussock moths • European corn borer Ophion sp. Theronia atalantae 30 3/5/2013 Braconid Wasps Feeding Habit & Keys for ID: • Larvae are internal parasitoids. • Most pupate outside the host Benefits (aka pests How to Attract: they manage): • Nectar Plants with • Aphids Small flowers • Larvae of beetles, flies, • Yarrow sawflies, & caterpillars • Sunflowers • Tomato hornworm • Cowparsnip • Imported cabbageworm • Gypsy moth • Armyworm • European Corn Borer 31 3/5/2013 Braconid Wasps John Davidson Aphid mummies with braconid emergence holes Syrphid or Hover Flies Feeding Habit & Keys for ID: • Adults feed on nectar & pollen. • Larvae are predaceous. • Bee Mimic but has a flat abdomen 32 3/5/2013 Benefits (aka pests How to Attract: they manage): • Nectar & Pollen • Aphids Plants • Scales • Carrot & Aster • Cabbage worms Family • other insects • Goldenrod • Sunflowers • Boneset Tachinid Flies Feeding Habit & Keys for ID: • Parasitoids • Adults lay eggs on plants or hosts. • “Bristle-Butt” Flies 33 3/5/2013 Wasps & Hornets Though often considered pests, these insects feed heavily on caterpillars, flies and other soft-bodied insects. 34 3/5/2013 Identifying Samples Collecting Samples for Identification at MG Helpdesk Put specimen(s) inside a small crush-proof container! Collect and send 1 or more whole individuals. If the insects are abundant, collect 5 to 10 of the same kind of insect, if possible. If insects are alive, please put in a container and place in the freezer overnight to kill them before bringing them into the office. 35 3/5/2013 Master Gardener Helpline Wednesdays 1-3 PM April – September (716) 664-9502 x 224 Neighbors Teaching Neighbors Insect Diagnostic Lab • >350 samples last year • >18 000 IDs for NY Ag. & Markets • occasionally IDs can be made from a photo • mostly local, but some submissions worldwide • $25 fee • http://entomology.cornell.edu/IDL 36 3/5/2013 Cornell U. Insect Collection • > 7 million specimens • ~200 000 species • worldwide coverage • http://cuic.entomology.cornell.edu/ • on facebook Resources: in addition to the Master Gardeners that is…. Handouts: Natural Enemy Field Guide –Ohio State University Attracting Beneficial Insects with Native Flowering Plants – Michigan State Native Shrubs & Perennials Brochures – Chaut. Co. Master Gardeners Websites: http://blogs.cornell.edu/horticulture/insects/ http://Bugguide.net Books: Good Bug, Bad Bug by Jessica Walliser 37 3/5/2013 38 .