Thrips, mealybugs and scale insects hide in flowers and crevices, beneath layers of wax and under shields of their own making. An army of predators and parasitoids can be deployed against them, but each unit has a different task, its own requirements and limits to what it can achieve. In this article The flower that…
Tag: beneficial insects
Invisible Army. Part I: Who Guards the Orchids?
A small sachet hangs from a moth orchid leaf. It looks unremarkable, rather like a teabag that someone has attached to the plant instead of dropping it into a cup. It neither smells nor glows, and it makes no martial noises. Yet a breeding colony is at work inside. There are microscopic predators, their food…