Tag: Prairie Pest Monitoring Network

Insect of the Week – Natural predators

Last year, the focus of the
Beneficial Insect of the Week was crop pests. This year,
we’re changing things up and highlighting the many natural enemies that
help you out, silently and efficiently killing off crop pests. [note: featured
Insects of the Week in 2015 are available on the Insect of the Week page] 
Natural enemies don’t just appear from nowhere – they rely on nearby
non-crop and (semi-)natural sites for shelter, food, overwintering sites and
alternate hosts for when crop pests are either not present or in low numbers.
How you manage these sites can have a huge impact on natural enemies’ capacity
to supress pests when you need them to. These same sites are also essential
habitats for pollinators, important for maximizing yield of non-cereal seed
crops (e.g. oil seed crop). A recent publication, ‘Agricultural practices that
promote crop pest suppression by natural predators’, describes the role of
non-crop areas and management practices to nurture natural enemy populations.
Go to the Insect of the Week page for download links for
this publication. There you will also find more information about natural
enemies, the pests they control and details about important crop and forage
pest insects by downloading the new Field Crop and Forage Pests and their
Natural Enemies in Western Canada – Identification and Management Field Guide.



Insect of the Week – Natural Predators

The importance of non-crop areas as habitat for beneficial insects



Last year, the focus of the
Beneficial Insect of the Week was crop pests. This year,
we’re changing things up and highlighting the many natural enemies that
help you out, silently and efficiently killing off crop pests. [note: featured
Insects of the Week in 2015 are available on the Insect of the Week page] 
Natural enemies don’t just appear from nowhere – they rely on nearby
non-crop and (semi-)natural sites for shelter, food, overwintering sites and
alternate hosts for when crop pests are either not present or in low numbers.
How you manage these sites can have a huge impact on natural enemies’ capacity
to supress pests when you need them to. These same sites are also essential
habitats for pollinators, important for maximizing yield of non-cereal seed
crops (e.g. oil seed crop). A recent publication, ‘Agricultural practices that
promote crop pest suppression by natural predators’, describes the role of
non-crop areas and management practices to nurture natural enemy populations.
Go to the Insect of the Week page for download links for
this publication. There you will also find more information about natural
enemies, the pests they control and details about important crop and forage
pest insects by downloading the new Field Crop and Forage Pests and their
Natural Enemies in Western Canada – Identification and Management Field Guide.



Weekly Update – Crop protection guide

Reminder – Crop Protection Guides – If you don’t have a copy of your province’s Crop Protection Guide, please make use of these links to access:

PPMN Blog – Subscribe to receive updates

The Prairie Pest Monitoring Network’s Blog will e-mail updates to subscribers so they receive information as it is posted.  “Unsubscribe” at any time.


If you are interested in following the Blog, please follow the steps listed below:


Step 1 – Hyperlink to http://prairiepestmonitoring.blogspot.ca/ (web version) to access the page below.

Step 2 – Type your e-mail address into the white box then click “Submit”.


Step 3 – Watch your e-mail account for a confirmation message from noreply+feedproxy@google.com and please respond to reconfirm your subscription.



Seasonal canola scouting chart

Field scouting is critical because it
enables the identification of potential risks to crops.  Canola production
systems across the Canadian prairies will suffer insect pest outbreaks.
 However, the identification of these insect pests PLUS the application of
established monitoring methods will enable growers to make informed pest
management decisions.
This year we offer a generalized canola
scouting chart to aid in-field scouting on the Canadian prairies. Two versions
are offered below –
the first
version contains
hyperlinks to help growers learn more about some of our insect pests and how to
monitor while the second version may be easier to view or print.  

Whenever possible, monitor and compare to
established economic thresholds so pollinators and beneficial arthropods are
preserved.  Economic thresholds, by definition, can help growers avoid crop losses due to an insect pest.
Good luck with the growing season!