July 6th- Blog post 3

One of the most interesting parts of my job is the work that I get to do with insects. This is true mostly because I have so little experience with insects so most of what I see and do is for the first time. Some might find this area to be disconnected from my groundskeeping duties, but, in reality, they are intricately interconnected. For the purpose of this program is to use insects as biological controls for greenhouse crops when pest species are reducing their productivity and resiliency. My supervisor Meg and I work closely with the Research Station’s entomologist Peggy who frequently provides important insight and helps maintain our colonies. There are multiple insect rearing rooms in the Research Station’s main building and each one has regulated temperature and light to cater to the needs of the insects. This weeks blog post describes four of our insect crops Dicyphus, Aphilinus abdominalus, Podisus maculaventris (Stink Bugs) and Tenebrio molitor (meal worms) while the next post (July 20th) will provide an in depth description of our Aphidoidea (Aphid) and Chrysoperla (Green Lacewing) colonies.

Podisus maculaventris (Stink Bug)

Our Stink Bug colony is without a doubt my favorite to work with because of their brilliant colors and violent hunting methods. We rear these bugs as a biological control to feed on aphids in our greenhouses (one of our dominant pests). However, Stink Bugs are known to eat any soft shelled insect so we take extra care so that none escape as they could attack other insect cages and completely decimate their colony. Unfortunately, this occurred one sad morning (for Meg) when a Stink Bug broke in to the Stick Bug cake and killed them all. For this same reason, we rear the Stink Bugs and Green Lacewings in different rooms and we never release the two into the same greenhouse as the Stink Bugs would eat the Green Lacewings. When they are truly desperate for food, adult Stink Bugs will turn on their young and eat them- this is always a sign for Meg and I that the bugs are starving and need to be fed immediately or else the colony will be destroyed. Alternatively, we rear Meal Worms as food for the Stink Bugs. It is always fascinating to watch the Stink Bugs feed as they pierce the shell of the worm with a needle that is attached to the front of their face. Then, they suck out the insides of the worm as if it’s a smoothie! Admittedly, I have a bit of a gory mind as I confess I enjoy watching this and seeing the worm writhe as it dies. Interestingly, Stink Bugs do not require any water as they get a sufficient amount from the worms and from the fava bean plants we leave in their cage. Fava beans are used because they are fast growing and they provide a good habitat for the insects- the young bugs hide under the bean leaves that we cut from the plant tops and lay at the bottom of their cage. Shown below is a picture of our Stink Bug house:

Tenebrio molitor (Meal Worm)

Most students are familiar with a meal worm’s life cycle from their elementary school science classes and have fond memories of watching them evolve from a worm to a beetle. It is very fun for me as an adult to be able to work with them again in a practical and scientific way. These worms are reared to serve as food to the Stink Bugs and they are particularly easy to work with and they are cheap to keep. All they require is food (either an apple or a carrot) and habitat (a cornmeal bed covered with a layer of paper towel). Interestingly, they use the paper towel as food as well as shelter and when searching for worms to feed to the Stink Bugs, I am always sure to find some directly under a paper towel piece. The worm habitat is shown below:

Dicyphus and Aphilinus abdominalus

These two insect colonies are relatively new to Meg and she does most of the work with them alone. The Dicyphus is a white fly predator while the Aphilinus is an aphid predator and parasitoid. As with the Stink Bugs, these two colonies have plant material inside which serves to provide habitat. Interestingly, we feed the Aphilinus moth eggs which we stick to a neon sticky note and place in their habitat while Dicyphus is fed “blue food” (a mixture of essential nutrients). Since we are completely wrapped up in our outdoor work during the summer months, we don’t have time to experiment with these insects so increased use of their colonies won’t happen until the fall and winter. Shown below are the Dicyphus and Aphilinus houses:

On July 16th, our Research Station is hosting an Open House with the UBC Dairy Farm where all people in the community are invited to come and see our work and facilities. Tours, displays, games, food and lectures have been scheduled and we hope to get nearly 1,000 visitors throughout the day (if weather permits). I will be running the kids zone where we will have games, crafts, face painting and an insect display. Admittedly, I am excited to show off some of the insects to children and it is my hope that they will find them interesting, even “cool” rather than gross or scary. As this day is a week and a half away, we are busy working to get the kids zone supplies ready and to get the grounds fixed up for the crowds.