UTAH PESTS News Utah Plant Pest Diagnostic Laboratory and USU Extension Vol. VII, Summer 2013 Gastronomical Insects Grilling season is here, so fill up What’s Inside your propane Trap Cropping to Manage tanks and polish up Grasshoppers your skewers for a shish kebob feast Monitoring for Invasives of crickets, cicadas Beneficial Nematodes and palm weevils. Don’t eat bugs? It Biocontrol Website might be time to Arthropod Traps give them a try. Not only has the U.N.’s Getting Personal with Food and Agriculture Personatus Organization made nytimes.com Fire Blight Management the case for why insects should be on News and Publications your dinner plate, but many U.S. restaurants insect parts per person per year, in foods News Highlights have started serving up tasty insect such as chocolate, peanut butter, and fruit delicacies to rave reviews. That's a new NEW FACT SHEETS juice. An FAO spokesperson comments twist to integrated pest management! Necrotic Ring Spot and that "although it will require considerable Summer Patch of Turf convincing to reverse [feelings of disgust], it In the report released in May 2013, Edible is not an impossible feat." TURF WOES Insects: Future Prospects for Food and Feed Security, the FAO argues that in the The diagnostic lab has According to the FAO, more than two bil- future, insects could be essential to feeding received many turf samples lion people–30 percent of humanity–already the world’s population. Insects are nutri- this season. Most were supplement their diet with insects. The tious, can generate jobs, and their produc- diagnosed as "abiotic" (not most widely consumed insects worldwide tion is safer for the environment than other caused by insect or disease). are the larvae of palm weevils. Indigenous protein sources such as beef. For example, Several management tools cultures in Africa, South America, Southeast are recommended to keep to produce 1 pound of meat, insects require turf healthy, including 2 pounds of feed while cattle require 8 aeration, de-thaching, pounds. Insects beat out beef when it and proper watering (too comes to essential nutrients like iron, too: much water can be just as 100 grams of locusts contain 8 to 20 milli- detrimental as not enough). grams of iron while the same weight of beef Dr. Kelly Kopp and others contains 6 milligrams. This FAO website have developed a "sprinkler offers more nutritional content information performance" fact sheet for for insects. each county of the state. See the list here (among The FAO wants all locales, including devel- others; scroll down). oped nations, to stop turning up their noses at eating insects. In the U.S., we already econews.com.au www.utahpests.usu.edu unknowingly consume about 1 pound of continued on next page Gastronomical Insects, continued from page 1 UTAH PESTS Staff Asia, and New Guinea have all developed techniques for mass-producing these Diane Alston larvae, which involves cutting down select Entomologist species of palms and returning 6 to 10 [email protected] weeks later to harvest the larvae from 435-797-2516 the fallen trees. While weevils are some- Ryan Davis times eaten raw, in most cases, they are Arthropod Diagnostician dried, boiled, fried, or roasted. [email protected] 435-797-2435 In central Mexico, red and white maguey list of 13 restaurants in the U.S. that serve up insect delicacies. Marion Murray larvae (of the butterfly, Aegiale hesperiaris IPM Project Leader and the moth, Comadia redtenbacheri) that Editor, Utah Pests News feed on the leaves of agave are consid- Caramel Popcorn Cicadas [email protected] ered a delicacy. When fully mature, the Mix ½ lb cicadas with ½ cup brown 435-797-0776 highly nutritious caterpillars are eaten sugar and 2 tbsp Sriracha. Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes. Claudia Nischwitz deep fried or braised, seasoned with Plant Pathologist a spicy sauce, and served in a tortilla. [email protected] The red maguey worms are also found From “Girl Meets Bug” 435-797-7569 in bottles of mezcal liquor (made from Cabbage, Peas, N Crickets agave). (See page 4 for an edibles list.) This recipe stars crickets as the main Ricardo Ramirez protein, calcium and iron source. Stir Entomologist [email protected] While insects are not routinely eaten fry the following for 5-10 minutes: 435-797-8088 in most western societies, the common • handful of crickets European cockchafer bug (Melolontha • 1 cup chopped snap peas Lori Spears melolontha), was used in a gourmet soup • 1 cup chopped red cabbage USU CAPS Coordinator • 1 tbsp olive oil [email protected] in France, Germany, and other European 801-668-4056 countries from the early 18th century • 1 crushed clove of garlic to the mid-20th century. The soup was • pinch of salt prepared from ground larvae, vegetables, herbs, and bouillon. It was said to From Iowa State compare to lobster stew. Despite the Chocolate Covered Grasshoppers • baker's chocolate Utah Plant Pest dish’s status as a delicacy, controversy in • candied crickets Diagnostic Lab western nations over eating insects has BNR Room 203 continued through the years. Melt baker's chocolate in double boiler. Utah State University Fill molds halfway with chocolate, add 5305 Old Main Hill To help change perceptions, restaurants grasshoppers, fill rest of the way. A Logan, UT 84322 and organizations are delving into inge- tasty surprise in every bite! nious ways to use insects as food. For UTAH PESTS News example, The Nordic Food Lab and Uni- From "Insects are Food" is published quarterly. versity of Copenhagen received almost Mealworm French Fries To subscribe, click here. $630,000 to expand their research into 4 large potatoes All images © UTAH PESTS and USU insect gastronomy, by identifying ways to 2 dozen mealworms – boiled but Extension unless otherwise credited. make insects delicious to the Western not roasted palate. The group recently participated 1 cup chopped scallions in a gala feast (“Pestival”), where they ½ tsp smoked salt served moth larvae mousseline, cricket utahpests.usu.edu broth with grasshopper garum, butter- Cut and slice potatoes into strips. roasted desert locust with wild garlic and Deep fry potatoes, mealworms and ant emulsion, and an oatmealworm stout. scallions together for 3 minutes in oil, and season to taste. Ready to take the plunge? Get brave with the recipes below, or check out this - Marion Murray, IPM Project Leader www.utahpests.usu.edu Utah Pests News - Summer 2013 - page 2 IN THE SPOTLIGHT.... Trap Cropping to Manage Grasshoppers By Clint Burfitt, State Entomologist for the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food. Clint is co-coordinator of the Utah Cooperative Agriculture Pest Management Survey program, and manages the statewide grasshopper and Mormon cricket surveys. Grasshopper infestations are difficult to predict, and over One treatment option that has been conducted successfully the years, have caused widespread damage to Utah's crop in Utah is trap cropping. One Hurricane farmer, who grows and rangeland habitats. Infestations are cyclic, occurring watermelon, planted rows of grains (wheat, triticale, and every 3 to 7 years. They can last up to 5 years depending rye) early in the spring to serve as wind breaks for the upon environmental conditions such as food availability, watermelon crop. The grass borders, so long as they stay weather, and presence of pathogens. When a community, green, create a barrier between areas where grasshoppers neighborhood, or large area is experiencing the onset hatch and where they prefer to feed. They are particularly of a grasshopper infestation, it is best if landowners can effective in areas where there is a lack of attractive or green communicate and coordinate treatments. Just treating a small grasshopper forage in the surrounding areas. part of an infested area will not be effective. As range or weed plants die down, grasshoppers migrate Treatment efforts should occur before grasshoppers become to feed on the grain strips. After the grasshoppers build in adults and begin mating (by early August in northern Utah and numbers in the border grasses, they are sprayed or baited mid June in southern Utah). Before conducting any sprays or to reduce the population. Treating trap crops reduces the control efforts, applicators should contact nearby beekeepers amount of pesticides used on food crops and gardens, helps and organic-certified producers to avoid negatively impacting to protect beneficial and pollinator insects, and saves money. their businesses. Ranchette developments and absentee landowners can complicate treatment efforts and often create Green borders as trap crops can also work in home gardens. situations where coordinated actions are not possible. In Plants should be started early in the spring or late fall to these situations, homeowners and agricultural producers can protect crops or gardens from grasshoppers. be subject to the nuisance and crop damage associated with large numbers of grasshoppers. - Clint Burfitt, Utah State Entomologist www.utahpests.usu.edu Utah Pests News - Summer 2013 - page 3 CAPS UPDATE The Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey is a federal program, administered jointly by USDA-APHIS-PPQ and each state, whose purpose is early detection of invasive species that could threaten U.S. agriculture. In Utah, the program is co-coordinated by Lori Spears (USU) and Clint Burfitt (UDAF). Early and Ongoing Monitoring of Invasive Pests In Utah, agricultural commodities are largely grown along the major N-S interstate highway, which makes this state vulnerable to introduced exotic pests and increases the likelihood of their spread once introduced. It is therefore critical that Utah crops be safeguarded and regularly monitored for invasive pests. In 2013, the Utah Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey (CAPS) program will survey agricultural and horticultural crops for various exotic pests, including insects and plant pathogens, and will set and monitor more than 400 traps statewide.