Biological control or biocontrol is a method of controlling pests, whether pest animals such as insects and mites, weeds, or pathogens affecting animals or plants by using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or other natural mechanisms, but typically also involves an active human management role. It can be an important component of integrated pest management (IPM) programs.
Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, for example beetles or butterflies; birds, and bats; water; wind; and even plants themselves. Pollinating animals travel from plant to plant carrying pollen on their bodies in a vital interaction that allows the transfer of genetic material critical to the reproductive system of most flowering plants. When self-pollination occurs within a closed flower. Pollination often occurs within a species. When pollination occurs between species, it can produce hybrid offspring in nature and in plant breeding work.
Cypermethrin (CP) is a synthetic pyrethroid used as an insecticide in large-scale commercial agricultural applications as well as in consumer products for domestic purposes. It behaves as a fast-acting neurotoxin in insects. It is easily degraded on soil and plants but can be effective for weeks when applied to indoor inert surfaces. It is a non-systemic and non-volatile insecticide that acts by contact and ingestion, used in agriculture and in pest control products. Exposure to sunlight, water and oxygen will accelerate its decomposition. Cypermethrin is highly toxic to fish, bees and aquatic insects, according to the National Pesticides Telecommunications Network (NPTN). It is found in many household ant and cockroach killers, including Raid, Ortho, Combat, ant chalk, and some products of Baygon in Southeast Asia.
Pyrethrum was a genus of several Old World plants now classified in either Chrysanthemum or Tanacetum which are cultivated as ornamentals for their showy flower heads. Pyrethrum continues to be used as a common name for plants formerly included in the genus Pyrethrum. Pyrethrum is also the name of a natural insecticide made from the dried flower heads of Chrysanthemum cinerariifolium and Chrysanthemum coccineum. The insecticidal compounds present in these species are pyrethrins.
Beneficial insects are any of a number of species of insects that perform valued services like pollination and pest control. The concept of beneficial is subjective and only arises in light of desired outcomes from a human perspective. In agriculture, where the goal is to raise selected crops, insects that hinder the production process are classified as pests, while insects that assist production are considered beneficial. In horticulture and gardening, beneficial insects are often considered those that contribute to pest control and native habitat integration.
Pest control is the regulation or management of a species defined as a pest; such as any animal, plant or fungus that impacts adversely on human activities or environment. The human response depends on the importance of the damage done and will range from tolerance, through deterrence and management, to attempts to completely eradicate the pest. Pest control measures may be performed as part of an integrated pest management strategy.
Neem oil, also known as margosa oil, is a vegetable oil pressed from the fruits and seeds of the neem, a tree which is indigenous to the Indian subcontinent and has been introduced to many other areas in the tropics. It is the most important of the commercially available products of neem, and its chemical properties have found widespread use as a pesticide in organic farming.
Lepidosaphes ulmi also known as apple mussel scale or oystershell scale is a widely invasive scale insect that is a pest of trees and woody plants. The small insects attach themselves to bark and cause injury by sucking the tree's sap; this metabolic drain on the plant may kill a branch or the entire tree.
Coccinella novemnotata, the nine-spotted ladybug or nine-spotted lady beetle or C9, is a species of ladybug in the family Coccinellidae native to North America. This beetle was once ubiquitous across the continent but experienced a sharp and drastic decline around the 1960’s. Now, considered a rare species, the nine-spotted ladybug has received much attention from researchers who wish to understand the causes of its decline and restore the population of this charismatic beetle to benefit from their aphidophagous nature as biocontrol agents in agriculture.
Adelges tsugae, the hemlock woolly adelgid or HWA, is an insect of the order Hemiptera native to East Asia. It feeds by sucking sap from hemlock and spruce trees. In its native range, HWA is not a serious pest because populations are managed by natural predators and parasitoids and by host resistance. In eastern North America it is a destructive pest that threatens the eastern hemlock and the Carolina hemlock. HWA is also found in western North America, where it has likely been present for thousands of years. In western North America, it primarily attacks western hemlock Tsuga heterophylla and has only caused minor damage due to natural predators and host resistance. Accidentally introduced to North America from Japan, HWA was first found in the eastern United States near Richmond, Virginia, in 1951. The pest is now found from northern Georgia to coastal Maine and southwestern Nova Scotia as well as areas of western Michigan near the eastern Lake Michigan shoreline. As of 2015, 90% of the geographic range of eastern hemlock in North America has been affected by HWA.
Aonidiella aurantii or red scale is an armored scale insect and a major pest of citrus. It is thought to be a native of South China but has been widely dispersed by the agency of man through the movement of infected plant material. In the United States it is known as California red scale. It was first found in California between 1868 and 1875, apparently brought there on planting material imported from Australia.
Insecticidal soap is used to control many plant insect pests. Soap has been used for more than 200 years as an insect control. Because insecticidal soap works on direct contact with pests via the disruption of cell membranes when the insect is penetrated with fatty acids, the insect's cells leak their contents causing the insect to dehydrate and die. Insecticidal soap is sprayed on plants until the entire plant is saturated because the insecticidal properties of the soap occurs when the solution is wet. Soaps have a low mammalian toxicity and are therefore considered safe to be used around children and pets, and may be used in organic farming.
Coccinellidae is a widespread family of small beetles. They are commonly known as ladybugs in North America and ladybirds in the United Kingdom; "lady" refers to mother Mary. Entomologists use the names ladybird beetles or lady beetles to avoid confusion with true bugs. The more than 6,000 described species have a global distribution and are found in a variety of habitats. They are oval beetles with a domed back and flat underside. Many of the species have conspicuous aposematic (warning) colours and patterns, such as red with black spots, that warn potential predators that they taste bad.
The Chilocorinae are a subfamily of ladybugs in the family Coccinellidae. They feed predominantly on scale insects. They are usually shiny and often have no spots or patterns on their wing covers. Their bodies are in round helmet shapes. They are medium in size and are sometimes seen feeding on cowpea aphids. Some examples include the pine ladybird and kidney-spot ladybird which inhabit the UK, both of which are black ladybirds with red spots. A US example is the twice-stabbed lady beetle.
Chilocorus is a genus of beetles belonging to the family Coccinellidae, subfamily Chilocorinae.
Aonidiella orientalis is a species of insect in the family Diaspididae, the armored scale insects. It is known commonly as the Oriental yellow scale. It is an agricultural pest on a wide variety of crop plants.
Hemiberlesia lataniae, the latania or palm scale, is a species of armored scale insect in the family Diaspididae. It was first described by the French entomologist Victor Antoine Signoret in 1869 using Latania lontaroides, a species of palm tree endemic to Réunion as its host; since then, it has been found on avocado trees growing in South Africa, Australia, Israel, the United States, and on a range of other plants in many parts of the world.
Chilocorus orbus is a species of lady beetle in the family Coccinellidae. It is native to North America. It is a black, domed beetle with two large red spots and is commonly called the twice-stabbed lady beetle or the two-stabbed lady beetle. Both adults and larvae feed on scale insects.
Chilocorus cacti, known generally as the cactus lady beetle or the twice-stabbed cactus lady beetle, is a species of lady beetle in the family Coccinellidae. It is native to the Caribbean region, North America, Central America, and South America. The adults and larvae feed on scale insects and attempts have been made to use it for biological pest control.
Fiorinia externa, the elongate hemlock scale was accidentally introduced into North America from Japan and is now established in most parts of the north-eastern U.S. It has become a serious pest of hemlock (Tsuga) and some related conifers from the family Pinaceae. Dense colonies of the scale insect result in yellowing, shedding of leaves, dieback and occasional tree death.
