Reading Time: 3 minutes Beneficial insects can be an unpaid workforce on your farm by killing pest species. And if you don’t help out the good ones, then you’re favouring those you don’t want, says an entomologist with Manitoba’s Agriculture Department. “Nature does not like a void,” said John Gavloski. “If you had no insects in a field or […] Read more
In a bug-eat-bug world, farmers should help out their insect friends
Beneficial insects are tiny killing machines that can significantly reduce crop pests, says entomologist
Some soybean aphids showing up so scout your fields
Soybean aphids are being found in some soybean fields near Portage la Prairie and some fields have been sprayed, while others are being monitored, Red Beard Farms aerial applicator Chris McCallister said in an interview July 27. The threshold for applying an insecticide to control soybean aphids is 250 and rising. The “rising” part is […] Read more
Website identifies your insect friends
WGRF works with Prairie Pest Monitoring Network to develop online and social media sites
Reading Time: < 1 minute Not all heroes wear capes. That’s the message behind a new communications campaign to increase awareness of some unsung heroes — beneficial insects. Recently launched by Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF), the ‘Field Heroes’ campaign encourages growers and agronomists to consider beneficial insects in crop production recommendations and decisions. “Beneficial insects play a vital pest […] Read more
Getting the good bugs on your side
Tweaking your pesticide applications and field management can boost the populations of beneficial bugs
Reading Time: 2 minutes Encouraging and protecting natural enemies can be an excellent way to control pest populations. “Everybody is familiar with ladybugs and lacewings as voracious, pest-consuming beneficial insects,” said Dustin Morton, commercial horticulture specialist with the Alberta Ag-Info Centre. “But fewer are familiar with how natural enemies such as hover flies, ground beetles, and even yellow-jacket wasps […] Read more
A better way to beat your bug troubles
Integrated pest management allows beneficial bugs to prosper
Reading Time: 2 minutes Prevention — not eradication — is the trick to managing pest outbreaks in crops, says a B.C. government entomologist. “In integrated pest management, pest suppression is truly the goal,” Tracey Hueppelsheuser said at a workshop in late July. “The end goal is to limit pest outbreaks and impacts — not completely remove them, but limit […] Read more
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