Material - Crop and Soil Science

Pests and
Beneficials
Silvia I. Rondon
Extension Entomologist
Hermiston Agricultural Research & Extension
Center
What is entomology?
study of insects
How do we recognized Insects?
Are these insects?
Insect Facts
• Over 1 million
different known
species of insects
in the world
(might be as many
as 10 million)
• Divided up into
about 32 orders
• The largest is the beetles (Coleoptera),
with 125 different families and around
500,000 species
Everywhere on land, very few
insects have colonized the sea
The biggest …..
Titanus giganteus – 6.6 inches
French Guiana, Brazil
Megasoma actaeon – 5.3 inches
Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil
Megasoma elephas – 5.4 inches
Mexico through Venezuela
Goliathus regius – 4.3 inches
Ghana, Ivory Coast
Goliathus goliatus – 4.3 inches
Equatorial Africa, central and east
The smallest …..
0.08 inches
Entomology Program
You can volunteer !!!
• Agricultural crops
• Riparian studies
Outline
Pests & Beneficials
Pest Management
What is a pest?
Pest
• Term pest is arbitrary
• Some insects can be
considered pests at certain
times-beneficials at other times
• Usually consider a pest when it
is in competition with humans
for some resource
• When large numbers are
present
Integrated Pest Management
(IPM)
A strategy to prevent and
suppress pests with
minimum impact on human
health, the environment and
non-target organisms
Biological
Cultural
Physical
IPM
Sampling
Mechanical
Chemical
Principles of IPM
• Monitor the plants: sampling
• Identify the pest organism
• Establish an acceptable
injury level
• Manage using all available
strategies
Know the pest
Once the pest is
identified, learn
about its life
cycle and its
natural enemies
Root weevil pupa
Root weevil larva
Root weevil adult
Resistant varieties
Eliminating weeds
Sanitation
Eliminating cull piles
Crop rotation
Physical control
Blocking,
removing, or
trapping pests
Barrier: curtains
Handpicking
Beneficials
• Predators
• Parasitoids
• Microbials
• Bt
• Beneficial
nematodes
• Pollinators
Predators
• Require many
preys during their
lifetime
• They are very
active (seeking for
food)
• Superior in size and
mobility as compared
with the prey
• They can be
extremely specialists
(monophagous) or
they can be
generalistics
(polyphagous)
Yum! Caterpillar for lunch!
Lacewings
Ground beetles
Praying
mantis
Yellow
Warblers
Violet-green
swallow
Domestic ducks love
slugs !!!
Bat species
in Oregon are
insectivores
Spiders
Parasitoids vs. parasite
• Parasitoids develop in
or on a host and cause
the host to die
• Parasites tend to
weaken the prey rather
than to kill the prey
• Most of them are
monophagous
micro-wasps
egg parasitoids
Parasitoid wasp laying eggs in aphid
Pathogens
• In the form of
bacteria, fungi, or
viruses, they infect
the hosts and lead
to their weakening
and eventual death
of the pest
attacked
Pollinators
European Honey Bee
You cannot recommend
homemade solutions!