Farmscaping for Insect Management: Integrated Parasite/Predator/Pathogen Management & Strategies for Encouraging Beneficial Insects in the Field or "if you plant it, they will come...." Richard McDonald, Ph.D., Symbiont Biological Pest Management, 194 Shull's Hollar, Sugar Grove NC 28679;(828) 297-BUUG (2884); e-mail: the_edge@goboone.net website: www.drmcbug.com.
Start With Pyramid of Soil, plants, insects: all levels need to be healthy first!!!Next are the "GOVERNING FORCES":

THE BALANCE OF NATURE: for every force in Nature, there is an equal and opposite force. This balance is a phenomenon of which we can use beneficial insects to our advantage to keep crops and other things healthy and clean. We can "tip the balance" in our favor.
Recognize "Lux Natura" - the force behind nature - Learn to listen to nature's messages to you. Love and Respect Nature's Inherent Wisdom - use nature to control itself. Operate from the paradigm that "we don't know" - i.e. we are billions of times more ignorant than we will ever be knowledgeable. Use the controls that are already present in the system.
Pests are Messengers - Pest insects should be recognized as messengers (what happens in Rome to the bearers of bad news?). Figure out the message behind the problem. These messages are not always spoken or written in English. They are in an older language that you can learn to remember. IPPM - INTEGRATED PARASITE AND PREDATOR MANAGEMENT (staying well - "balance of nature"). FOCUS - MAINTAINING A HEALTHY POPULATION OF BENEFICIALS IN THE FIRST PLACE.
***My IPPM GOAL-you want 1/4 to 1/3 of the "target" plants you sample to have some indication of beneficial insect activity***(wasps, cocoons, mummies, partially eaten egg masses, etc.) or to be relatively pest free. Remember the goal is a "balance" tipped in our favor. Sample at least weekly or more often if a pest problem is present - if possible, sample about 1/4 to 1/3 of the plants (if you want to run statistics on your data). Vs. IPM-INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT (take medicine when sick)
Farmscaping - Dr. Robert BUGG - Definition: Deliberate use of specific plants and landscaping techniques to attract and conserve "Beneficials". Feed your bugs - Dr. McDonald's Baker's Dozen: Applied Farmscaping Principles:
1) Farmscaping is part of a Multiple Redundant Systems (MRS) approach - MRS is a form of disaster preparedness - triple redundancy is desirable for plants and insects. So for both you want "guilds" of food plants and natural enemies to protect your plants. This is why we list more than 10 beneficial food plants per season - more than one natural enemy attacking each life stage is better, too. Less can lead to breakdowns.

Stage	Egg	Larva 1	Larva2	Larva3	Larva4	Larva5	Pupa	Adult
Pest- Imp. Cab- Worm	Ladybugs Syrphids Lacewings Trichogr.	Braconids Ladybugs Syrphids Lacewing	Same As Larva 1	Assassin Bugs, Carabid Stink Bug	Same As Larva 3	Paper Wasps Bugs, Carabid	Ptero Pupa, Bugs, Carab	Dragonfly Robber Fly Spiders
Japan- Ese Beetle	Carabids Nematodes	Nematodes (Hb), Milky spore	Tiphia, Nemas, Milky Spore	Tiphia, Nemas, Milky Spore	No Such Stage	No Such Stage	None	Tachinid

[Table 1. Example listing for Imported Cabbageworm and Japanese beetle of more than one natural enemy/life stage, thus achieving Guilds of Natural Enemies for each life stage. Japanese beetle needs more natural enemies for each life stage.]

2) Anticipate Pest Problems - Think Ahead - encourage the right beneficial insects to be there when you need them to attack the pests. Ladybugs/trichogramma wasps attack the eggs of caterpillars.

3) Specific Plants attract specific beneficials - example: fennel is great for attracting parasitic wasps, syrphid flies, and ladybugs. So one plant can bring in a guild of beneficials.

4) 5-10% of crop area should be planted in farmscaping plants- "lots of clumps of food plants spread out over an area is much better than one big clump"!

5) Consider Dispersion indices for insects when foraging - "Insect Specs":

Low Dispersion- (Stay in field)	Medium Dispersion (forage 1/4 mile)	High Dispersion (forage > 1/4 mile)
Ground Beetles (Carabids) Ladybeetles (when happy)	Most Parasitic wasps Predatory Wasps - Paper	Syrphids - Hover Flies Dragonflies, Tachinid Flies
Smaller Parasitic Wasps	Predatory Bugs	Larger Parasitic Wasps

6) Have something blooming all the time - Flowers are prime food & mating sites for wasps. Important to have a well fed, mated female beneficial! Green House - use to Jump-start garden areas.

7) Nectar - liquid sugar food + vitamins for beneficials. Nectar is critical for optimum performance of many beneficials. Many beneficials will lay over 3-fold more eggs if properly fed. Example: Parasitic wasps egg laying capacity - poorly fed - 30 eggs; if she is well fed, over 300 high quality eggs. Some of the best plants you can have for this purpose are those in the wild carrot family (also known as Umbellifera), such as dill, fennel, tansy, queen Anne's lace, caraway, coriander, parsnip, etc.

8) Extra-Floral Nectaries - nectar glands that are not associated with flowers. Peonies, Sweet potatoes, bachelor buttons, all have extrafloral nectaries. Parasitic wasps and flies use these extrafloral nectaries as important food sources.

9) Pollen - Is an alternative form of protein. Once again, many plants in the wild carrot family can provide pollen. Another good pollen producer is the corn plant. Syrphid flies need pollen to lay eggs.

10) Overwintering sites for beneficials - It turns out that many beneficials make cocoons and hibernate in or very near the plants where they find their hosts. Recent research has shown that yarrow and comfrey are also excellent overwintering plants for parasitic wasps.

11) Entrainment - (entomologists- Joe Lewis really opened up this field) have discovered that insects (especially parasitic wasps and flies) can perform associative learning, so if you get insects (especially young ones) happy in their environment, they will "tune in" to a particular pest. A good way to do this for a predator or parasite is to release it on or nearby the intended prey.

12) Drought/Stress - These systems can also fail! In drought years insects from all over will come to your area and can overwhelm a system. Be ready with backups additional insects,ladybugs/lacewings, Bt, soaps, diatomaceous earth. Save the soap/de for last, because they kill anything. Finally,

13) Your Design Decisions Mantra: Encourage Biodiversity! - Remember that insects are part of the web of life in your garden or farm. The beneficial insect complex is not only composed of parasitic wasps and flies, predatory beetles, lacewing larvae, ladybugs and so on, but ALSO the pollinators, antagonists/competitors that occupy and compete for space and food with potential pests, and finally the saprophytes and decomposing insects that help complete the food cycle back to the soil so the cycle can start again. And remember, "If you plant it, they will come...." For further information on Farmscaping, go to my web site (www.drmcbug.com) and click on the farmscaping section. Also see ATTRA's Farmscaping publication at their website (www.attra.org).
The gist of this message is that, just like us, beneficial insects need sources of food and shelter in order to stick around. You can weave "web of life" in your garden/farm by planting specific plants that attract specific beneficials. Also, by thinking ahead and anticipating the types of pest problems you might have, you can encourage the right beneficial insects to be there when you need them to attack the pests. My motto is: "If you plant it, they will come. Or, I will buy them (beneficials) once and have them here forever after..."

FARMSCAPING - Top Plants for Beneficials
Spring: brassicas - ground ivy, wild mustards, Tulip poplar, vetches, pussy willow, yarrow, umbels - parsley/parsnip/ coriander, buckwheat, clovers, mints, Norway Maple, grains, peonies, borage.
Summer: mints, wild carrots- cow parsnip, tansy, bronze fennel, smartweed-Vietnamese Cilantro, Jerusalem artichoke, kenafe, sweet potato, borage, smartweed, bachelor buttons.
Fall: Patrina, Autumn joy sedum, vetches, chrysanthemum (Pacifica), tansy, bronze fennel, Queen Anne's Lace/other wild carrot family plants, garlic chives, Goldenrod, yarrow, comfrey and some of the last broccoli for overwintering on/underneath.

Top Beneficials
1. Ladybugs 2. Predatory Bugs - Big-Eyed/Nabid(Damsel)/Assassin/Stink/Pirate(Orius) Bugs. 3.Syrphid Flies 4. Parasitic wasps 5. Lacewings 6. Parasitic flies 7. Ground beetles 8. Spiders 9. Mantids 10. Dragonflies
Common Pests that we can control:
1. Whiteflies 2. Flea beetles 3. Spider Mites 4.Cucumber beetles 5. Aphids 6. Japanese beetle/Exotic scarabs 7. Squash Vine Borers 8. Cabbage Caterpillars 9. Mexican Bean Beetle 10. Stink bugs

I welcome inquiries/comments/suggestions sent to the address(es) at the top. Good luck and keep on farmin'! "If you plant it, they will come...."