Mary Beth Henry, Small Farms & Pesticide Licensing Extension Agent from Polk County will lead a great session that will help you take your pest management program to the next level!
Listen to a recent radio interview where Jon Butts from WMNF 88.5 talks with Mary Beth about the Small Farms Conference, the “What’s bugging you?” session, and much more! The interview starts on marker 18 minutes, 10 seconds. Click here to listen and enjoy!
What you will experience at the “What’s bugging you” session.
Learn to identify common pests and beneficials and new pests on the horizon with a variety of visual aids, from hand lenses to microscopes. Interact with live insects as experienced Extension faculty guide you through what to look for and resources for the future. Demonstrations and displays will provide examples of tools and technologies you can implement on farm today to improve pest management tomorrow.
Below are some the arthropods that will be discussed at the conference.
Good bug- Predatory Mite, Neoseiulus californicus (McGregor) (Arachnida: Acari: Phytoseiidae) http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in639
Bad Bug- Twospotted Spider Mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch (Arachnida: Acari: Tetranychidae) http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in307
Good bug- Swirski mite (suggested common name) Amblyseius swirskii Athias-Henriot (Arachnida: Mesostigmata: Phytoseiidae) http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in1001
See this one in action below. People usually like to see the blood and guts of a predator attacking its prey!
Adult Amblyseius swirskii feeding on thrips larvae. Credit: Steven Arthurs, University of Florida from http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in1001
Bad Bug- Chilli Thrips (castor thrips, Assam thrips, yellow tea thrips, strawberry thrips), Scirtothrips dorsalis Hood http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in638
See an example of the damage it causes below.
Curling of pepper leaves caused by feeding of S. dorsalis. Credit: M. A. Ciomperlik, APHIS, USDA from http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in638
See below pictures from Dr. Hugh Smith at the UF/IFAS Gulf Coast Research and Education Center in Balm. They are of common good bugs people may encounter in their yards.
You probably know what ladybugs (ladybird beetles) look like but they may not recognize the immature (attached) which is also predacious.
Lacewing are also called trash bugs and they are predacious as immatures. Adults fly to light and are green or brown with lace-like wings. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in382
Minute pirate bugs are out and about and are generalists. They are fun because they stick their mouthparts into their prey and suck the juice out like a straw.
Your may also be interested in this general publication about biological control. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in120
See you at the conference!
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