These four creatures have survived pesticide treatments to become the most important biocontrol agents in eastern apple orchards. There are two species of predatory mites (far left and far right pictures); the “mite destroyer” ladybeetle Stethorus punctum (center left); and the woolly apple aphid parasitic wasp, Aphelinus mali. The arrival of the brown marmorated stinkbug in the eastern United States has upset efforts by growers to effectively use biological agents to control secondary pests. It has also stalled efforts toward developing more ecologically based integrated pest management practices using mating disruption and more pest-selective insecticides. These would conserve biological control […]