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WATER QUALITY AND USE: INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT [continued]

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  MG Manual Reference
Ch. 16, pg. 18

[Intergrated Pest Management: ipm | example | cultural | biological ]

BIOLOGICAL CONTROL PRACTICESTop

Numerous organisms exist in nature which feed upon or infect insect pests. Collectively, these organisms provide a significant level of "natural control," in many cases preventing many insect species from ever reaching the status of "pests." The importance of natural control is frequently exhibited when natural enemy populations are destroyed by insecticides, and a previously unimportant insect suddenly escapes from natural control and becomes a major pest.
There are three general categories of natural enemies:
(1) predators,
(2) parasitoids (commonly called parasites)
(3) pathogens
An individual predator, such as the lady beetle, will consume many host individuals in its lifetime. An individual parasitoid, on the other hand (such as the Trichogramma wasp), will generally only consume one host during its lifetime. This isn't meant to imply that predators are better biocontrol agents than parasitoids, however. Adult parasitoids are usually active and will parasitize (lay eggs in) many individual hosts. Parasitoids are usually (Trichogramma excepted) host-specific. Pathogens are organisms such as fungi, bacteria, viruses, nematodes, and protozoa that infect insects and cause disease.
Other biological practices include:
  • Microbial insecticides such as Bacillus thuringiensis and Bacillus popillae.
  • Botanical and low-toxicity insecticides such as pyre- thrum, rotenone, ryania, and sabadilla.
  • Other insecticides such as insecticidal soap, dormant oils, neem, and d-limonene.


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