SSAWG - Ecological Overview of Principles Used to attract and encourage beneficial insects for forests, farms, gardens and yards.

1. Farmscaping and EPM
Integrated Parasite, Pathogen & Predator
Management; Or:
Plant It and They Will Come!
Richard C. McDonald, Ph.D.
Symbiont Biological Pest Management
Patryk Battle
Living Web Farms

2. Farmscaping
 Definition: Dr. Robert Bugg - Deliberate use of
specific plants and landscaping techniques to
attract and conserve “Beneficials”.
 All Trophic levels (soil, plants, insects) must be
healthy & balanced; especially soil!
 Once these levels are set, then “Governing Forces”
can take control - Balance of Nature - tip it in our
favor slightly
 View pests as messengers - what are they saying -
Rome - kill the bearer of bad news.

3. Farmscaping - 5 Main Points
 I. Increase plant species diversity (correct ones).
 II. Increase plant structural diversity (food, mating
sites, overwintering sites, pupation sites, etc.).
 III. Increase the time these resources are available.
 IV. Decrease distance beneficials have to travel to
find requisites.
 V. Take advantage of insect and plant behavioral
traits.

4. Farmscaping
 EPM - Integrated Parasite, Pathogen and Predator
Management (IPPPM)
 1969 - Everett Dietrich’s Paper on IPPM - read
and understand his 5 principles.
 Shift focus away from ‘pest’ to having a healthy
population of beneficials as the primary focus.
Prevention is primary.
 BB50 - beneficial insect seed blends – read
through the instructions – key ideas.

5. Farmscaping
 My EPM goal: When sampling, I want to
see 1/4 to 1/3 of the plants with beneficial
insect(adult wasps, beetles, larvae, cocoons,
insect
pupae, mummies, partially eaten egg
masses, etc.) activity or plants should be
fairly pest free - economic threshold.
 Sample size power analysis to determine
how many plants to sample.

6. Farmscaping is Proactive!
 These two systems are
totally different in the
amount and kinds of
beneficials that are
present, based on the
biodiversity of plants
present. Rebuilding
clock: how long it
takes to create a
healthy farmscape.

7. Farmscaping: Applied Principles
I. Increase plant and insect
species diversity
 BB50 - 1) Multiple
Redundant Systems -
both plants and
beneficials - Guilds
 Goal - Bracketing -
having a natural
enemy(s) present for
every life stage of the
pest(s).

8. Farmscaping Principles:
I. Increase plant and insect
species diversity
⇒
Pest Stage Egg Larva 1 Larva2 Larva3 Larva4 Larva5 Pupa Adult
Ladybugs Braconids Same Assassin Same Paper Pteromal Dragonfly
us
Imported Syrphids Ladybugs As Bugs, As Wasps Robber
puparum,
Cabbage- Lacewings Syrphids Larva Carabid Larva Bugs, Fly
Trichogramma Bugs,
Worm Lacewing 1 Stink 3 Carabid Spiders
Carabi
Bug Beetles
ds
Japanese Carabids Nematodes Tiphia Tiphia, No No None Tachinid-
Beetle Nematodes (Hb), vernalis Nemas, Such Such Istocheta
Milky Nemas Milky Stage Stage aldrichi
spore Milky Spore
Spore

9. Farmscaping Principles
II. Increase Plant Structural Diversity
 Think Ahead - encourage
the right beneficial insects
to be there when needed
them to attack the pests.
Timing of
ladybugs/Trichogramma
wasps to attack the eggs of
caterpillars.
 Work Backwards from the
PEST to the Beneficials to
the plants/requisites that
attract the beneficials.

11. Farmscaping Principles
II. Increase Plant Structural Diversity
 Fennel is great for
attracting parasitic
wasps, syrphid flies,
and ladybugs. So one
plant can bring in a
guild of beneficials.

12. FS Principles- II. Increase Plant
Structural Diversity:
Overwintering  It turns out that many
beneficials make cocoons
and hibernate in or very
near the plants where they
find their hosts. Recent
research has shown that
yarrow and comfrey are
also excellent
overwintering plants for
parasitic wasps.

13. FS Principles - III. Increase time plant
resources are available
 1 to 5% of crop area
should be planted in
farmscaping plants- “lots
of clumps of food plants
spread out over an area is
much better than one big
clump”. Or, incorporate
farmscaping into borders,
ditches, and fencerows.

14. FS Principles: Have something
blooming all the time
 Flowers are prime
food & mating sites
for wasps. Important
to have a well fed,
mated female
beneficial! Green
House – use to Jump-
start garden areas.

15. FS Principles: Nectar!
 Nectar – liquid sugar
food + vitamins for
beneficials. Nectar is
critical for optimum
performance of many
beneficials. Many
beneficials will lay
over 3-10 fold more
eggs if properly fed.

16. FS Principles: Extra-Floral
Nectaries
 Nectar glands that are not
associated with flowers.
Peonies, Sweet potatoes,
bachelor buttons, kenafe,
all have extrafloral
nectaries. Parasitic insects
use these extrafloral
nectaries as important
food sources.

17. FS Principles: Pollen
 Is an alternative form
of protein. Once
again, many plants in
the wild carrot family
can provide pollen.
Another good pollen
producer is the corn
plant. Syrphid flies
need pollen to lay
eggs.

18. FS Principles: IV. Decrease Distance
beneficials travel
⇒
Low Medium High
Dispersion Dispersion Dispersion
(Stay in field) (forage 1/4 (forage > 1/4
mile) mile)
Ground Beetles Most Parasitic Syrphids –
(Carabids) wasps Hover Flies
Ladybeetles Predatory Dragonflies,
(when happy) Wasps – Paper Tachinid Flies
Smaller Predatory Bugs Larger Parasitic
Parasitic Wasps Wasps

19. FS Principles: V. Take Advantage
of Insect/Plant Behavior:
Entrainment
Entomologists have

discovered that insects
(especially parasitic wasps
and flies) can perform
associative learning, so if
you get insects (especially
young ones) happy in their
environment, they will
“tune in” to a particular
pest and food plants.

20. FS Principles: Drought/Stress
 These systems can also
fail! In drought years
insects from all over will
come to your area and can
overwhelm a system. Be
ready with backups
additional insects,
ladybugs/lacewings, Bt,
soaps, diatomaceous earth.

21. FS Principles: Hold Yer Fire!
 “I didn’t know what is
was….. So I killed it.”
 Remember you need some
pests around in order to
feed your beneficials. If
you have to spray, use
materials that are
biorationals (like Bt) and
won’t kill your
beneficials. Realize that
broad-spectrum pesticides
kill everything and you
are resetting your
beneficial clock back to

22. FS Principles: Lastly -Encourage
Diversity!
 Remember that insects are part
of the web of life in your
garden or farm. The beneficial
insect complex is not only
composed of parasitic wasps
and flies, predatory beetles,
lacewing larvae, ladybugs and
so on, but ALSO the
pollinators,
antagonists/competitors that
occupy and compete for space
and food with potential pests,
and finally the saprophytes and
decomposing insects that help
complete the food cycle back to
the soil so the cycle can start
again.