D–Vac Sample Report: July 26 & 27
Kern County BASIC Pilot Program
Deke and Francisco Cornejo made and compiled the report.
D–Vac Vacuum Insect Samples
A combined report for all five growers’ cotton blocks
This is a list of insects that we have encountered during July. It represents only a few of the one thousand or more that have been found in alfalfa hay and cotton in past research in this farming area. They are rated according to the significance of their possible damage thresholds (not just according to numbers). The codes are defined as follows:
0 = none,
L = low presence, a few
M = more than 5, up to common
H = 10 or 20,, a lot in case of aphids, mites and whitefly, according to possible damage thresholds
Aphids: 0 to H
Corn aphids – H (in spots) Immigrating from corn harvesting
Cotton Aphid L
Ladybugs: Immature: H; adults: M
Syrphids: L immature and adults.
Predatory midges – L adults.
Whitefly – L
Green lacewings H – adults; immature – L
Hyperaspis ladybugs
Encarsia 0
Eretmoscerus 0 Releases of insectary sources of these work animals are being made.
Predatory bugs: Minute pirate bug, Big–eyed bug, Damsel bug, Assassin bug, Stilt legged bug.
(The immature stages of all insects are tiny and seek stationary small food like the immature scale or whitefly fastened to underside of the leaves).
NOTE: Nature has ways to prevent most pest eggs and immature offspring from reaching adult reproductive stages. This unseen predation is often not accounted. It has the effect of suppressing pests on which they forage for their survival when they can’t find the prey that is most suitable. Pesticides unwisely prevent this.
Lygus – O immatures L adults
Big–seyed bugs H adults and immatures
Egg parasite – Telenomus sp. on eggs of
Damsel bugs – L immature and adults
Mymarid egg parasite of lygus
Predatory Mirids (red and black)
Crab spiders and other spiders web weavers, wolf spiders, jumping spiders, dwarf etc.
Big–eyed fly – Pipunculus sp.
Says stink bugs mostly adults, few egg masses and nymphs. L and declining populations
Collops beetles.
Anthicidae
Trissolcus Scelionidae (parasite of eggs)
Tachind fly–Gmnosoma (attacks adults).
Worms
Leaf worm Cabbage looper – M Nearly all are small (less ½ inch) shows they are being eaten before they can grow larger.
Predatory bugs ie. Minute pirate bugs, Big–eyed bug, damsel bugs, Assassin bugs, Stilt legged bugs, Preatory preying mantids
Apanteles wasp Braconidae – attacks worms
Hyposoter wasp Ichneumonidae attacks worms
Copidosoma – egg larval parasite
Trichogramma – egg parasite
Voria ruralis – attacks large worms
Pimpla sp. IchneumonidM
Beet armyworm – L
Apanteles – small worms
Chelonis – egg–larval parasite
Campoletes – (Ichnemonid) attacks small larva
Hyposoter (Ichnemonid) attacks half inch worms
Meteorus – Braconidae
Therion – (Ichnemonid) attacks large worms
Archaetoneura – Tachinid fly, attacks medium to large worms
Eucelatoria Tachinid fly attacks medium to large worms
Predatory bugs listed above.
Bollworms 0 to L Moths are highly attracted to corn (corn earworm) less so to cotton bolls &squares
Minute pirate bug
Hyposoter Ichneumonid wasp
Eucelatoria Tachinid fly
Apanteles
Mites 0 to L
Minute pirate bug
Predatory midges
Green lacewings
Six–spotted thrips
Black hunter thrips
Western flower thrips
Mite destroying ladybug Stethorus sp.
Oligota – Staphlinidae
Predatory mites
Western flower thrips
Black Hunter thrips
Notoxis – Hooded beetles Anthicidae
Western Fire Ant
L to M (seen nesting sites along drive roads). (May affect bio control by destroying beneficial insects while harvesting pollen and honey–dew for whitefly and aphids).
Miscellaneous beneficial insects with unknown prey preferences seen in samples:
Chloropid flies
Fruit flies
Lathrididae beetles possibly fungus feeders.
Psocids Book lice, feed on dead insects & sooty mold from whitefly and aphid honeydew sources.
Parasites of leaf miners Liriomyza sp. and other parasitic wasps and flies whose hosts are still unkown to us.
Plant feeding insect that are present, feed on weeds etc. but are fed upon by general predators
Potato leafhopper, Empoasca sp.
Clover leafhopper, Aceratogalia sp.
Leaf miners Liriomyza sp.('Diptera)
Other aphids, grain aphids, alfalfa aphids, aphids on weed species
Flower visiting Staphlinid beetles
Chalcids – Wasps known to be parasites or predators of beneficial insects, so–called hyper–parasites.