Spraying pesticides in the garden can hurt the good bugs as well as the bad. What's the solution? Ask Disney pest-management technician Holly Cromwell, who explains that a number of garden pests can be kept in check with biological controls (beneficial insects), which will eat, parasitize, or otherwise squelch these unwelcome visitors! The eggs and nymphs of whitefly on papaya (figure A) are prey for the delphastus beetle (a small, dark cousin of the ladybug). Ladybugs have a voracious appetite and eat aphids, mites and other soft, small insects. (Ladybugs come in several varieties; they may have a few spots, many spots or no spots at all.) Since the new growth of plants is the most succulent, you're likely to find the shoots covered with aphids (figure B). If you do, call in the parasitic wasp. Beneficial bugs are available from a wide variety of garden centers and mail-order companies. Release them early in the morning and make sure there's plenty of water close at hand -- they're sure to be thirsty.
RESOURCES :
Best Source for Identification of Pests
The first and best source for the identification of pests of all kinds is your local county agricultural extension office. Many extension services or their affiliating state universities offer web pages that aid identification and invite questions by e-mail. You can find links to 35 extension services on line at www. hortnet.com/default.html. Check Virginia Polytechnic University's (Blacksburg, Virginia) site at www. ext.vt.edu/departments/entomology/ornamentals/slideshow.html
Learning About and Living With Insects in the Southwest
Model: 1555610609
Author: Floyd G. Werner and Carl A. Olson
Fisher Books
1994
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