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ACORN NEWSLETTER
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Table
of Contents
Links………….…….1
Featured
Natural Enemy: Ground
Beetle………….2
Featured
Alternative Control: Sugar-Water Spray…………4
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ACORN News
ØThe Alternative Control Guide for vegetable
crops is online and available to anyone. Please feel free to give us
some feedback <<http://entm29.entm.purdue.edu/acorn/acornsearch.aspx>>.
ØWe have scheduled several all-day workshops
for the Spring 2002.
o
January 22 Champaign IL o January 24 Fountain county, IN o April 9 and 10 Ohio/Kentucky/Indiana o May 6, 7 and 8 Wisconsin.
ØWe are trying to schedule a 3-hour workshop
with Allen and Lake counties, IN.
Ø We are looking for volunteers to repeat the new and improved experiments in Spring 2002. Please contact Farah Heraux at farah_heraux@entm.purdue.edu to sign up. ACORN needs your help!
Some Useful Links
- Internet IPM Resources
on Slugs and Snails:
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Featured Natural Enemy: Ground Beetle
Introduction: Ground beetles
are very abundant in garden settings. They are commonly found under leaves
or debris, rocks, logs, in cracks in the soil or running along the ground.
Most ground beetles are nocturnal, feeding at night. The ground beetle larva
and adult are fierce predators that can consume their body weight in food
each evening. Ground beetles belong to the family Carabidae. There are hundreds
of species in the Midwest.
What to look for: Adults are usually dark brown or black though a few may have brilliant colors. They vary in size from ¼" to over 1 ½" long. They have hard and shiny wing covers. Their dark heads have antennae about the 1/3 the length of their bodies. These beetles run quickly when disturbed, but they rarely fly. Adults lay eggs in the soil or packed in cells made of mud and attached to plants. Eggs hatch into larvae that spend most of their time underground. You are most likely to encounter them when digging in your garden. Larvae are elongate with a wormlike appearance with powerful prominent mandibles. They vary from dirty white to dirty yellow to almost black. Larvae of many species take about a year to develop to adults. Adults can live for a year or more.
How They Kill Pests: Both adults and larvae slice and chew their prey using large sickle shaped mandibles. In some species, the ground beetle larva is an external parasite.
Who They Kill: (For more information on these pests see <http://entm29.entm.purdue.edu/acorn/acornsearch.aspx>)
Aphid
Bean
Leaf Beetle
Colorado
Potato Beetle
Diamondback
Moth
Cabbage
Looper
Common
Asparagus Beetle
Squash
Vine Borer
Fall
Armyworm
Imported
Cabbageworm
Onion
Maggot
Spotted
Asparagus Beetle
Spotted
or Striped Cucumber Beetle
Sugarbeet
root maggot
White
Grub
Cabbage
Maggot
Nematode
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Use straw mulch to provide shelter and humidity for beetles. See how ACORN
experimenters attracted beetles in their gardens with straw http://entm29.entm.purdue.edu/acorn/Tpretio.htm#potato
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Help beetles survive the winter by providing an un-mowed area where beetles
can find shelter. Beetles tend to winter in stubble of perennial and annual
plants (e.g., grassy areas, and evening primrose).
Should You Release Ground
Beetles in Your Garden?
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Source: Biological Control News vol.3 no.4, Susan Mahr, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Featured Alternative Control: Sugar-Water Spray
What is a Sugar-Water Spray?
Why Use a Sugar-Water Spray
in Your Garden?
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Ants that feed on pest such as caterpillars.
o Stinging wasps that parasitize the caterpillars.
o Lady beetles that feed on many kinds of soft-bodied insects: aphids, mealybugs, whiteflies and scale.
Does Sugar
Spray attract enough natural enemies to control pest problems?
We don't know. ACORN experimenters are working to find out the answer to this
problem. In our 2001 experiment we were unable to have the sugar provide any
significant control against cabbage worms feeding on cabbage. More work is
planned. Areas that need to be explored include spraying more often, and trying
this strategy on a different pest that is less problematic in our region.
What did ACORN
do with sugar spray?
In
2001, we had 17 gardeners experimenting with sugar spray (SS) on cabbage.
To minimize the workload of our experimenters, we sprayed the plots three
times only during the growing season at week 2, 5 and 7. No significant differences
were found between number of cabbageworms and lady beetles found on the plants
treated with SS and those without SS. The size of the cabbage heads was similar
in both the SS and the no SS treatment. However, the SS attracted 7 times
more ants and some stinging wasps compare to no SS. See 2001 experiment results
for details.
Cost of Sugar-Water Spray:
The sugar spray treatment is relatively cheap
since 5 pounds of sugar cost less than $2 and one tablespoon is more than
enough to treat one plant. Water costs little to be use as a solvent.
How are We
Doing?
ACORN wants to hear form YOU! Send us an email or visit the bulletin
board on the website < http://entm29.entm.purdue.edu/acorn/bb_main.asp>.
ACORN is listening!
If you have any inputs for us or any comments
please visit the bulletin board on the website at <http://entm29.entm.purdue.edu/acorn/bb_main.asp>.