Flight Mills Studies

How far does a moth fly? Do pesticides effect the spread (dispersal) of insects? Does wind speed effect how far an insect can fly?  These are just a few questions that can be answered using a Flight Mill. A flight mill is a device that allows you to measure the speed, distance and periodicity of flight of an insect. This is just one of many studies conducted at the Insect Ecology and Behavior Laboratory at WSU's Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center in Wenatchee, WA.




The video shows graduate student Teah Smith demonstrating how a moth is attached to the flight mill. The original design of this device is credited to Dr. Steve Naranjo of the USDA-ARS Arid-Land Agricultural Research Center in Maricopa, AZ.
 

Pear Grower Survey: The experiences and perspecitves of OR and WA pear growers

Pear with Convergent Ladybird Beetle Eggs

Biological control is a complex, knowledge‐intensive practice that requires growers and pest management consultants to learn natural enemy and pest life cycles, toxicity and effectiveness of insecticides at different life cycle stages, strategies for managing insecticide resistance, and maintenance of long‐term ecological balance while controlling pests and maximizing production. As part of a large USDA Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) project, researchers at Washington State University, University of California‐Berkeley, and Oregon State University are seeking to better understand apple, pear, and walnut growers’ experiences and perspectives related to pest management, in general, and biological control, in particular. This report presents results from a 2011 survey of Oregon and Washington pear growers. Survey results will inform future educational and outreach efforts.

To read the full results of this survey visit: http://enhancedbiocontrol.org

New look, new address, new features

Adult female Ascogaster wasp

We've just completed the upgrades to our website. All features should now be compatible with most browsers, including  iPhone Safari. We've improved the photo galleries and will be adding more images soon. When you tour the new site you will notice some pages showing "coming soon!" We have many exciting features in the works including:

• Visual ID guides of natural enemies (by type, and by crops) showing pesticide effects for each;
• Downloadable PDF ID guides; and
• Videos of natural enemies in action.

In addition to the new look, we've also simplified the address making it easier to find. The new address is http://enhancedbiocontrol.org Check us out!

Natural Enemies at work

This video shows how a parasitic Tachinid fly finds and lays her eggs on a leafroller larva. (no audio)

EWOBC is now on Facebook!

We are happy to announce our new Facebook page where we will post event notices and any new items that will appear in more detail on this blog.

Welcome to the EWOBC Blog!

Our Blog is intended to help share timely information about our project and to highlight our discoveries, successes and new information. We hope that the information found here is useful to our industry clients, as well as anyone looking for information about the use of biological control in commercial orchards.