The range of biological control agents

Natural Enemies

1. Predators

2. Parasites

3. Pathogens

what are natural enemies

1. kill pests

2. decrease pest reproduction potential

3. compete with pest organisms for use of plants

How is Biological Control Implemented

1. Conservation, use what you have

2. Augmentation, add what you need

Characteristics of Predators

bigger, fewer, faster, big mouthparts

Characteristics of Parasites

small, not easily seen, many flies and wasps

Characteristics of Pathogens

cause disease in insects, not harmful to other organisms

why flowers attract natural enemies

to attract natural enemies and to provide shelter/ shade

Example of predators

1. Mantids

2. Spined solider bug

3. Minute pirate bug

4. The green lacewing

5. The yellow jacket wasp

6. Spiders

7. Adult Lady beetle

8. The black and orange insect

9. The ground beetle

10. Adult flower fly

11. hover fly

12. mites

Mantids Modification

Big legs, big eyes, grasping forearms to grab, and big mandibulate

How does the praying mantis kill

rips the head off of its prey, and eats it alive

Pests attacked by mantids

they eat whatever they can catch

Solider bug modification

its bigger, has legs to run, and a piercing - sucking mouthparts to attack its prey

how does the spined soldier bug kill

injurs its prey and injects it with digestive enzyme to dissolve the inner body cavity. then, it will suck out the contents and toss the “outer shell” away

how does a pirate bug kill

by jabbing its beak into its prey and sucking out the contents

Pest attacked by minute pirate bug

control many soft-bodied insects, like mites, aphids, eggs or small caterpillars in gardens and landscapes

seasonality and habitats of minute pirate bug

late in the fall or late summer season

The green lacewing modification

the big jaws used to catch and consume prey

Why do they lay eggs on stalks - stems

to protect them from predation

what do lacewings eat

feed on aphids or other soft-bodied prey, pollen, and honey

how does the lacewing kill

by grasping the prey with its jaws and sucking out the contents

yellow jacket wasp modification

chewing mouth parts and theyre shaped like bees

what do yellow jackets wasps eat

eat some insects and some spiders

Spider Modification

Spinning strings

what do spiders eat

they eat flies and anything else that comes into their field of vision

Adult Lady Beetle Modification

Chewing mouth parts and warning colors

Bigger =

fewer predator

lady adult feeds on?

aphids, scale insects, mealy bugs, mites, and insect egg

why lady beetle is an effective predator

one beetle can get rid of many aphinds

Black and orange insect

lady beetle larvae

Black and orange insect modification

strong jaws, moves fast and feed on aphids

the ground beetle

is a big and fast- moving insect that feeds at night and hides in the day

what do ground beetle modification

many insects that dare to cross their path but mainly caterpillar

adult beetles are called

caterpillar hunters

Adult Flower fly modification

a fly with two wings and is found hovering around flowers to eat pollen

where do adult flower fly lay their eggs

in colony of aphids

what do adult flower fly eat

larvae feed on soft-bodies insects and adults feed on nectar pollen

How do you distinguished a predatory mite from a pest mite

predatory mite run fast , theyre bigger and fewer than pest mites

passive predators

sit and wait for prey to come close

example of passive predators

mantids

Active predators

usually search or hunt for their prey

example of active predators

dragonflies and robber flies

the fringed jumping spider specializing in

eating other spiders

Predators oviposition strategy is determined by

bottlenecks in the availability of prey that occur during development of predators offspring

if the existence of a patch of prey is limited

then it is advenatougeous for the predator to lay eggs early in existence of a patch, as future prey availabilty is uncertain

the risk of cannibalism

predators tend to lay fewer eggs in a patch, but continue to oviposit until cues indicate highly unlikely that their eggs will be eaten

cannibalism regulates

the numbers of predators per patch

Praying Mantids

Solider bug

Predator solider bug

Pest solider bug

Minute Pirate bug

The green lacewing

Yellow jacket

paper wasp

Spiders

Lady beetle

The black and orange insect

the ground beetle

flower fly

fringed jumping spider