This project was made possible by the collaborative efforts of nursery intern Kendra Potoshnik, former nursery managers Derek Allen & Sarah Shank, and dozens of exuberant volunteers.
Beneficial insectaries are a form of integrated pest management (IPM) that uses biological control. Insectaries are designed to attract and create habitat for the natural enemies of pests, which then predate nursery pests. Our primary interest is in the attraction of predators and parasitoids, who can help us reduce our pesticide usage to an absolute minimum by preying on any herbivorous pest populations that develop in our nearby nursery.
We currently have three beneficial insectary beds, all with beautiful plants that were planted throughout 2019 by volunteers at our weekly work parties. The array of plant species included in our insectaries were designed to provide beneficial insects with an ideal environment in which they can complete their life cycles. This was accomplished by choosing plant species with varying and overlapping growth rates and bloom periods, ensuring that there will always ample habitat, hunting ground, and overwintering structures available for predators and parasitoids. Many of the included plant species also serve as supplemental food sources for beneficial insects, mostly via nectar and pollen (this behavior is especially common for predatory species such as lacewings and syrphid flies once they have reached their adult forms). Another positive impact of our beneficial insectaries is that they attract a wide variety of pollinators, including many native bees and butterflies. Some of the plant species in our insectaries even serve as hosts for the larvae of certain native butterflies!
Ladybug pupa on yarrow (Achillea millefolium) in on of our insectary beds.
An adult ladybug has found it’s way onto a Cornus sericea
This Green Lacewing is invited to feast on the caterpillars in our hoophouse.
The species in our beds are all native and grown from seed in our nursery, including Yarrow (Achillea millefolium), Nodding Onion (Allium cernuum), Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea), Canadian Goldenrod (Solidago canadensis), Kinnickinnick (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi), Slender Cinquefoil (Potentilla gracilis), and Oregon Sunshine (Eriophyllum lanatum).
The fencing around the beds are to bunny proof the plants. We thought having the beds two feet off the ground would be enough, but the high-jumping bunnies proved us wrong! We completed the construction of this bed in the summer of 2019, and planted in the fall of 2019.
