Beneficial insects in your garden Beneficial Insects A. Roles of beneficial insects Celeste A. Searles Mazzacano, Ph.D. Presented for EMSWCD B. Meet the beneficial insects (and other arthropods) C. Invasives to watch out for D. E. Resources & projects Great Black Wasp; 2016 C. A. Searles Mazzacano Seven-spotted Lady Beetle; Convergent Lady Beetle; 1 2 How I think of insects European mantis, OR: Darner: Great Spangled Fritillary: Giant Robber Fly, TX: Flatheaded mayfly; Mole Cricket, Costa Rica: Blood-colored Milkweed Bug; Dung beetle: 3 4
How many people think of insects Can you tell the difference between the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly? NOT giant mosquitoes Crane Flies; Crane Flies; Deborah Gitlitz 5 6 Can you tell the difference between the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly? Can you tell the difference between the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly? VERY unlikely to sting NOT a bee Bumble bee; Carpenter bees; Flower Fly; Bee Fly; 7 8
Benefits of insects Benefits of insects improve soil conditions pollination food for wildlife aesthetic and recreational use Wood Ground Beetle; inaturalist, oldbilluk - 70% of flowering plants pollinated by insects - bees, flies, beetles, moths Soldier Beetle; David Hebert River Jewelwing; Red Satyr; Cedar Waxwing eating dragonfly; Larry Rea Sweat Bee; Flower Fly; Thomas Bresson Yellow-faced Bumble Bee; 9 10 decomposers Benefits of insects - beetles and flies break down & recycle animal dung and carcases natural pest control - beetles, flies, termites break down plant material Burying Beetle; tumblebug ; Black Soldier Fly; Dung Beetles; 11 12
Predators Natural Pest Control - consume pest eggs, larvae, and/or adults - beetles, lacewings, wasps, flies, bugs, thrips, mantids, spiders, mites Parasitoids - lay eggs or insert larvae in or near host; developing larvae feed externally or internally on body of living host - host dies when parasitoids become adults Natural Pest Control - wasps, flies Assassin bug; kestrel360, inaturalist Tachinid fly getting ready to parasitize elm leaf beetle larva; Jack Kelly Clark/UC Davis Lady Beetles round to oval 13 Predators - Beetles 14 Predators - Beetles Ground Beetles broadly oval; dark to metallic bright colors, bold spotted patterns larvae & adults eat aphids, scales, mites, caterpillars, insect eggs Lady Beetle larva; bugguide.net, Jerry McCormick Convergent Lady Beetle; Sorrowful Lady Beetle; large jaws, sculpted wing covers larvae & adults eat insect eggs, caterpillars, snails carabid larva; Phil Myers Wood Ground Beetle; inaturalist, oldbilluk Bronzed Tiger Beetle; Multi-colored Asian Lady Beetle; Snail-eating Beetle; Ken-ichi Ueda 15 16
Rove Beetles Predators - Beetles elongated dark body Soldier Beetles Predators - Beetles long body, soft wing covers, long antennae short wing covers expose abdomen Rove Beetle; Joyce Gross yellow/orange & black markings Podabrus Soldier Beetle; vncdatatech01 eat small soil organisms eat mealybugs, aphids, soil organisms Devil s Coach Horse; Cedric Lee Margined Leatherwing; David Hebert 17 18 Predators - Lacewings Predators - Wasps Brown & Green Lacewings soft delicate body; loose, oval, multi-veined wings eat mealybugs, aphids, scales, caterpillars Green Lacewing; Green Lacewing egg Wasps victims of bad PR! paper wasps, hornets, and yellowjackets feed their young on live insects Brown Lacewing; James Bailey 19 20
Predators - Wasps Predators - Flies Paper Wasps Flower Flies native Polistes generally not aggressive larvae (maggots) eat aphids, scale insects European P. dominula can be confused with yellowjacket Polistes aurifer; Edward Rooks adults are bee mimics, good pollinators Toxomerus syrphid; MJ Hatfield Andrea Joy Davis European Paper wasp; Helophilis syrphid; 21 22 Predators - Flies Predators - Bugs Robber flies adults eat anything they can catch larvae prey on insect larvae in leaf litter, loose soil, decaying wood Laphria robber fly with blister beetle; Assassin Bugs large, spiny body; flared abdomen stout needle-like mouthparts eat all types of insects Pselliopus Assassin Bug; John & Jane Balaban Assassin bug; kestrel360, inaturalist Giant Robber Fly; Rhynocoris Assassin Bug; Phil Huntley-Franck 23 24
Predators - Bugs Predators - Bugs Ambush Bugs Damsel Bugs stout body with flared abdomen small, slender, yellow/brown body enlarged forelegs Phymata americana; Kurt Schaefer thickened forelegs Nabis roseipennis; Jason Michael Crockwell bright colors & patterns eat all types of insects eat insect larvae, small insects, eggs Nabicula subcoleoptrata; Jason Michael Crockwell Jagged Ambush Bug; Dale & Elva Paulson 25 26 Predators - Bugs Predators - Bugs Minute Pirate Bugs Big-eyed Bugs tiny, straight-sided body small oval body black & white pattern broad head with large bulging eyes eat spider mites, thrips, aphids, insect eggs Anthocoris musculus; Lynette Elliott eat small insects, mites, eggs Geocoris; Jack Dykinga, USDA Minute Pirate Bug nymph; Lynette Elliott Geocoris uliginosus; Lyle J. Buss, U of FL 27 28
Predators - Bugs Predators - Mantids Praying Mantis Predatory Stink Bugs triangular brown/grey body with shield-like cover eat large prey such as caterpillars & beetle larvae Two-spotted Stink Bug; Matthew Priebe large elongated body; brown or green triangular head, large eyes spiny raptorial forelegs Mantis religiosa; eat whatever they can catch Rough Stink Bug; Lynette Elliott Stagmomantis californica; randomtruth Stagmomantis californica egg case; 29 30 Predators - Thrips Banded-winged, Black Hunter, & Six-spotted Thrips Spiders Predators - Spiders long, minute, slender body adults black, may have white wings strap-like, feathery wings Black Hunter Thrips Aeolothrips; Christophe Quinton round body, 8 legs often with bright colors or patterns web builders & active hunters eat whatever they can catch Black and Yellow Garden Spider; Araneus diadematus; Black Hunter Thrips; Ilona L. Franklinothrips nymph; Jack Kelly Clark/UC Davis Jumping Spiders mating; Wolf Spider; 31 32
Predatory Mites tiny, pear-shaped, shiny body 6 or 8 legs Predators - Mites Red Velvet Mite; Univ. of WI-Milwaukie Predators - Centipedes Centipedes long segmented body 1 pair of legs/segment fast-moving eat thrips, spider mites, insect eggs eat small arthropods in & on the soil Stone Centipede; inaturalist, Cristophe Quintin Western Predatory Mites eating Spider Mite; UC Davis centipede; inaturalist, Paul Heiple 33 Parasitoids - Flies 34 Parasitoids - Flies Tachinid Flies Tachinid; Jack Kelly Clark/UC Davis Bee Flies resemble house flies but with stout bristly hairs on tip of abdomen parasitize caterpillars, beetles, bugs, earwigs, grasshoppers hairy, brightly colored wings held to side at rest adults are pollinators larvae external parasitoids of soil-dwelling beetles, caterpillars, wasps, bees Bee Fly (IVilla sp.): Tachinid eggs on leafroller caterpillar; Jack Kelly Clark/UC Davis 35 36
Parasitoids - Wasps Parasitoids - Wasps Ichneumon Wasps Braconid Wasps Braconid wasp parasitizing garpe leaffolder; UC Davis long slender body long antennae & ovipositor parasitized catalpa caterpillar; John Obermeyer/Purdue Entomology similar to ichneumonid but smaller fast-moving parasitize caterpillars, beetles, wasps parasitize larval beetles, bugs, flies, aphids Braconid larvae feeding on host; UC Davis Ichneumonid wasp; Nuytsia@Tas 37 Parasitoids - Wasps 38 Invasive Insects to Watch For Trichogrammatid Wasps tiny (<1 mm), compact body Trichogramma attacking corn earworm egg; UC Davis short antennae, hairy wings parasitize insect eggs EAB damage; Christopher Asaro Paul Gordy ALB damage; OH Extension 39 40
Invasive Insects to Watch For Invasive Insects to Watch For Asian Gypsy Moth females 2, white/cream wings; males 1.5, dark brown Asian Gypsy Moth females lay eggs in oblong masses on trees, cover with body scales several detections & eradications in Oregon Purdue Extension feed on >500 spp. of trees & shrubs John H. Ghent, USDA Forest Service 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 slender, elongated body (1/4-1/2 ) Emerald Ash Borer larvae chew S-shaped galleries into trees metallic green wing covers Howard Russell, MSU pupate & emerge following spring David Cappaert, MSU purplish-red abdomen not yet established in OR newly-emerged adults create D-shaped exit hole Kenneth R. Law, USDA APHIS New York Invasive Species 43 44
Invasive Insects to Watch For Invasive Insects to Watch For EAB: Look-alikes: Asian Longhorned Beetle long black body (0.75-1.25 ) with mottled white spots very long, banded antennae blue-ish feet Oklahoma State University outdoorhub.com Bronze Birch Borer Golden Buprestid Lang s Buprestid ODA not yet established in OR 45 46 Invasive Insects to Watch For Invasive Insects to Watch For Asian Longhorned Beetle females chew shallow pits in bark to lay eggs ALB: Look-alikes: larvae eat most hardwoods except oak Pest and Disease Image Library, bugwood.org tunneling girdles & kills tree Banded Alder Borer Oregon Fir Sawyer, male Oregon Fir Sawyer, female Daniel Herms, Ohio State Univ. 47 48
For reporting, information, and resources: Oregon Forest Pest Detectors: http:// pestdetector.forestry.oregonstate.edu Oregon Invasive Species Online Hotline: oregoninvasiveshotline.org; 1-866-INVADER If you build it, they will come conservation biocontrol better to create habitat for local species than to buy insects 49 50 many beneficials also eat nectar & pollen often small insects with small mouthparts, short tongues - good landing pad & easy access important zinnea designate 5-10% of garden space to plants for beneficials bloom throughout season variety of flower shapes (umbel, daisy, spike, ball) yarrow; Attracting Native Pollinators; Xerces Society 51 52
annuals provide nectar, pollen, egg-laying sites perennials provide stable habitat yarrow carrot family: yarrow (Achillea), dill (Anethum), fennel (Foeniculum) daisy family: gayfeather (Liatris), sunflower, marigold sunflower; Donna, inaturalist cabbage family: sweet alyssum; broccoli Spirea; Baby Blue Eyes; marigold; Wikimedia Commons gayfeather; Joseph Dougherty/ecology.org 53 54 legumes: lupine, clover Early spring flowers: stonecrops: sedum spp. - Oregon grape flowering herbs attractive (dill, fennel, parsley, mint, angelica, cilantro, lavender) Lupine; - Red-flowering currant - Black twinberry Oregon Grape; - Spring beauty Lavender; Spring Beauty; Keir Morse Black Twinberry; 55 56
Late spring flowers: - Red columbine - Pacific bleeding heart Summer - Tapertip onion - Showy milkweed - Oregon iris Red Columbine; - Graceful cinquefoil Tapertip Onion; Colorado Wildflowers Pacific Bleeding Heart Oregon Iris; WSU Extension Graceful Cinquefoil; Ben Legler Showy Milkweed; 57 58 Late summer/fall - West Coast goldenrod - Pearly everlasting - Slender tarweed trees & shrubs offer shelter from sun, wind, rain, predators - conifers, willow, maple Blue elderberry; Mike Cardwell West Coast Goldenrod; Univ. of Waterloo - roses (baldhip, Nootka, swamp), elderberry, oceanspray Slender Tarweed; Mark Turner Pearly Everlasting; Al Schneider Swamp rose; 59 60
grass clumps can provide shelter, overwintering habitat - California brome-grass - Blue Wild-rye patches of undisturbed soil water source California brome-grass: Matt Lavin 61 62 Integrated pest management (IPM): ecosystem-based strategy long-term prevention of pests/damage using multiple techniques - biological control, habitat manipulation, modification of cultural practices, use of resistant varieties preserves natural system as much as possible Reduce/eliminate pesticides - pesticides can disrupt natural enemies - pests faster to disperse & re-colonize treated areas than natural enemies Oleander aphids on rush milkweed; 63 64
Reduce/eliminate pesticides - removing natural enemies may allow secondary pests to establish Oleander aphids on rush milkweed; use pesticides only after monitoring indicates need treat with goal of removing target organism only Oleander aphids on rush milkweed; - non-lethal levels can impair reproduction, foraging select & apply to minimize risks to human health, nontarget organisms, & environment 65 66 build healthy soil proper plant placement and irrigation tolerate a certain level of damage use multiple compatible methods plant mostly natives scout your gardens Indian plum; if pesticides deemed necessary, select most suitable, timely, selective, least toxic to non-targets Oregon grape; Black Twinberry; Camas; 67 68
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 minicreatures, http://whatcom.wsu.edu/gardenshare/ documents/attracting_beneficials.pdf Meet the Beneficials, http:// www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/faq/naturalenemies-poster.pdf 71 72
What sort of insects do you rejoice in, where you come from? the Gnat inquired. Visit emswcd.org to find additional workshops and resources! I don t rejoice in insects at all, Alice explained, because I m rather afraid of them at least the large kinds. Through the Looking Glass, Lewis Carroll Snap-dragon fly 73 74 Questions? Celeste A. Searles Mazzacano, cmazzacano@gmail.com Yellow-faced Bumble Bee; Netwinged Beetle, Cardinal Meadowhawk; Western Swallowtail, 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