Beneficial nematodes for pest control.

Excellent article on using beneficial nematodes for control of pests in greenhouses.
Boosting your BCAs

Free good bug guide for the garden

Looking for a way to ID those beneficial in your garden? This FREE printable pocket guide is a great tool to do that for you. Downloadable and printable these quick reference cards will be a big help in the garden, keeping gardeners from killing the good guys. A must for organic gardeners! FREE NATURAL ENEMIES GUIDE

Database for Insects, Mites and Nematodes

Need to locate Insects, Mites or Nematodes in culture? Natural Resources Canada has put together a database online to help locate them.

"The primary purpose of this database is to provide a comprehensive world-wide listing of producers and distributors who are willing to sell or donate live insects, mites or nematodes. It is intended to provide those in need with a current source for accessing live cultures and to give registrants the opportunity to expand their client base. Registrants listed on the database can be sorted by the viewer according to order, family, genus, scientific name, common name¹, use category, geographical region of production², or target pest of biological control agent..."

EPA issues second list of endocrine disruptors

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published on 17 November 2010 a second list of chemicals for which it intends to issue test orders under the Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP). more...

Systemic Insecticides and Birds

Are we surprised that some birds species are declining? People seem to forget what someone does up stream from you and even down stream will impact your local ecology. A new book talks about this issue, The Systemic Insecticides: A Disaster in the Making.

Links

• Insecticides killing the Earth
• None flew over the cuckoo's nest: A world without birds
• e360 Digest
  

Exotic Fruit Fly Found In Miami-Dade County

Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles H. Bronson announced today that a peach fruit fly, Bactrocera zonata, has been found in a trap in a guava tree in Miami-Dade County. More...

Buglady Consulting now has a Facbook Page

Buglady Consulting has now added a Facebook page, posting stories related to pest management and the environment. Buglady on Facebook

Bark Beetles Key

Now online you can find the Lucid(R) Interactive Identification Tool for "Bark Beetles of the Southeastern United States. This tool uses Lucid v.3.4.1 technology to separate genera of Curculionidae bark beetle subfamily Scolytinae, of the southeastern United States, that are classified into the two tribes Hylesinini and Scolytini. Link to the key

Conference on Floricultures Environmental Footprint

Seeley Conference to Discuss Environmental Footprint
An Inconvenient Truth or Consumer Opportunity? June 26 - 29, 2010, Ithaca, N.Y.

"Seeley Conferences promote discussion of issues important to the future of commercial floriculture. The meetings are structured to foster discussion by industry leaders and increase the level of understanding of topics through presentations by speakers with a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. The goal of the Conference is to better prepare attendees to make decisions on issues that have a great impact on their businesses and the industry as a whole." For more information visit the Seeley Conference website.

Phenology and Degree day model calculator

Online Phenology and Degree day models for agricultural and pest management decision making in the US. Very helpful for timing pesticide applications and biological control releases. This is targeting more the Pacific NW and Canada. Calculator link

Lebbeck mealybug now in Florida

There is a new mealybug in Fl. Nipaecoccus viridis (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) (Lebbeck Mealybug). There is a fact sheet available on this new pest from the Florida Department of Agriculture here.

For more information you can visit: USDA Lebbeck mealybug

Biological Control in PA Orchards

In PA growers are finding that using biological control is work well for the control of pest mites in their crops. With the use of predatory mites and a specialized ladybird beetle that are reducing the amount of pesticides used. Read more...

Whiteflies sabotage alarm system of plant in distress

ScienceDaily (2009-12-28) -- When spider mites attack a bean plant, the plant produces odors attracting predatory mites. These mites then exterminate the spider mite population, thus acting as a type of "bodyguard" for the plant. However, if the plant is simultaneously attacked by whiteflies, insects that are related to aphids, the plant becomes less attractive to the mites and therefore more vulnerable to spider mites, say entomologists. Read more...

Parasitic Wasps Studied

"Gardeners have long turned to parasitic wasps and other beneficial insects to control unwanted insects, and new genetic research suggests even more ways to harness these species' potential"..... Read more on Beyond Pesticides Daily News.

Ants and Answers - E.O. Wilson

On The New Yorker Website there is a great interview with E.O Wilson. If you love ants or ecology you will love reading this. He talks about his book "Anthill" that will be published this April.

First slow-release bag Amblyseius californicus

Koppert Biological Systems has developed a new product to help with the release of Amblyseius californicus. The are slow release bags called Spical-Plus, you can hang in crops allowing the predatory mites to slowly release. They are used to control spider mites and several tarsonemid mites. For more product info click here

Bigger is not always better...

New research out of London is showing that just because you have a bigger brain does not mean that you are necessarily smarter. They are working with insects to show just how intelligent they are. Read on here at Science Daily.

Bed Bug Identification for Travelers

Worried about bed bugs when you travel? Well now there is a tool to help you out. The "Bed bug identifier" is now available on iTunes for just $4.99. It includes photos of the different life stages, where to look for bed bugs in your hotel room, tips, insects that look like bed bugs and more...
Bed Bug Itunes app.

Want to learn more about bed bugs?

• Bed bugs University of KY
• The Bedbug Registry (where have the little suckers been reported)
• Wikipedia bed bugs

Kinder, Gentler Spider Eats Veggies, Cares for Kids

Who knew there was a vegetarian spider, Bagheera kiplingi. From Central America, it feeds on Acacia trees and helps care for its young, very unheard of in the spider world. Read more here

IPM celebrates 50 years!

Fifty years ago in October, four pioneering University of California scientists outlined a new way of thinking about pest control, establishing a pest management framework that changed the way the world farms.

Read the rest in California Agriculture magazine "The 50th anniversary of a great idea"