GrainsWest Spring 2021

Spring 2021 Grains West 24 t was eminent insect and plant scientist, professor Carl Huffaker at the University of California at Berkeley and Riverside, who in 1976 coined the phrase famous among entomologists: “When we kill a pest’s natural enemies, we inherit their work.” This message resonates loud and clear with Haley Catton, an Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) entomologist stationed in Lethbridge. “It reminds us that these beneficials are just out there doing what they do, which involves eating other insects, or cycling nutrients, or just being predators,” she said. “If we wipe them out by unnecessary pesticide use, those pests bounce back, and we inherit their work.” I BY TREVOR BACQUE How to identify the good, bad and ugly inside the insect kingdom FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS Beneficial insects are old news, at least to entomologists. However, their benefits, hence the name, are in the limelight once again. This is thanks to a recent promotional campaign and the reinforcement of the notion that positive alternatives beyond blanket spraying exist. She said pests usually have quick lifecycles whereas beneficials are often a more delicate and complex insect. An aspect of her work that began in 2019 is the compilation of an ambitious catalogue of all Prairie bugs that consume pests and weed seeds. The project is sponsored by the Alberta Wheat Commission, Alberta Barley, SaskWheat and Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. “Those are ecosystem services for free,” she explained. “If we were to lose those services, we would have to pay for them with increased chemical usage. The services they are providing have value, but how much value? If we could demonstrate how much value these insects are providing in their field it would create more incentive for “The goal is to be able to say to farmers: ‘this many beneficials are worth this much money.’” —Haley Catton FEATURE Macroglenes penetrans beneficial wasp. Photo: Courtesy of Kristy Vavra