“We have designed our pest problems into our current system of agriculture, so we can also design them out...if we understand ecology better. Thirty plus years of INTEGRATING farmscaping with other farm activities, strategies and resources will be featured, not just a rote list of plants and bugs. Many of the best farmscaping plants are flowers, medicinal herbs, and spices that can supplement and add value to your main crops and can be sold alongside them, like pickling spices (dill, garlic, grape leaves, etc.) for cucumbers. Bring your plant samples, questions, bug samples, or other farmscaping questions...no holds barred! Learn how to work backwards from your pest problems to the beneficials that attack your pests, to the plants and resources that YOUR beneficials need for control, and how these fit more neatly into your production program(s). Work smarter, not harder! Join longtime producer Patryk Battle and entomologist Richard “DrMcBug” McDonald in a lively, FUN, information filled session that will give you new insight into approaches for the NEW and OLD pests we face now. Yes, Carolina, farmscaping can be FUN!”

1. Farmscaping and EPM
Integrated Parasite, Pathogen & Predator
Management; Or:
Plant It and They Will Come!
Richard C. McDonald, Ph.D.
Symbiont Biological Pest Management
Patryk Battle
Living Web Farms

2. Farmscaping
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Definition: Dr. Robert Bugg - Deliberate use of
specific plants and landscaping techniques to
attract and conserve “Beneficials”.
All Trophic levels (soil, plants, insects) must be
healthy & balanced; especially soil!
Once these levels are set, then “Governing Forces”
can take control - Balance of Nature - tip it in our
favor slightly
View pests as messengers - what are they saying Rome - kill the bearer of bad news.

3. Farmscaping - 5 Main Points
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I. Increase plant species diversity (correct ones).
II. Increase plant structural diversity (food, mating
sites, overwintering sites, pupation sites, etc.).
III. Increase the time these resources are available.
IV. Decrease distance beneficials have to travel to
find requisites.
V. Take advantage of insect and plant behavioral
traits.

4. Farmscaping
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EPM - Integrated Parasite, Pathogen and Predator
Management (IPPPM)
1969 - Everett Dietrich’s Paper on IPPM - read
and understand his 5 principles.
Shift focus away from ‘pest’ to having a healthy
population of beneficials as the primary focus.
Prevention is primary.
BB50 - beneficial insect seed blends – read
through the instructions – key ideas.

5. Farmscaping
My EPM goal: When sampling, I want to
see 1/4 to 1/3 of the plants with beneficial
insect(adult wasps, beetles, larvae, cocoons,
insect
pupae, mummies, partially eaten egg
masses, etc.) activity or plants should be
fairly pest free - economic threshold.
 Sample size power analysis to determine
how many plants to sample.


6. Farmscaping is Proactive!

These two systems are
totally different in the
amount and kinds of
beneficials that are
present, based on the
biodiversity of plants
present. Rebuilding
clock: how long it
takes to create a
healthy farmscape.

7. Farmscaping: Applied Principles
I. Increase plant and insect
species diversity
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BB50 - 1) Multiple
Redundant Systems both plants and
beneficials - Guilds
Goal - Bracketing having a natural
enemy(s) present for
every life stage of the
pest(s).

8. Farmscaping Principles:
I. Increase plant and insect
species diversity
⇒
Pest
Stage Egg
Ladybugs
Imported Syrphids
Cabbage- Lacewings
Trichogramma
Worm
Larva 1
Braconids
Ladybugs
Syrphids
Lacewing
Larva2
Same
As
Larva
1
Larva3
Assassin
Bugs,
Carabid
Stink
Bug
Larva4
Same
As
Larva
3
Larva5
Paper
Wasps
Bugs,
Carabid
Beetles
Japanese
Beetle
Nematodes
(Hb),
Milky
spore
Tiphia
vernalis
Nemas
Milky
Spore
Tiphia,
Nemas,
Milky
Spore
No
Such
Stage
No
Such
Stage
Carabids
Nematodes
Pupa
Pteromal
us
puparum,
Adult
Dragonfly
Robber
Fly
Spiders
Bugs,
Carabi
ds
None
TachinidIstocheta
aldrichi

9. Farmscaping Principles
II. Increase Plant Structural Diversity
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Think Ahead - encourage
the right beneficial insects
to be there when needed
them to attack the pests.
Timing of
ladybugs/Trichogramma
wasps to attack the eggs of
caterpillars.
Work Backwards from the
PEST to the Beneficials to
the plants/requisites that
attract the beneficials.

11. Farmscaping Principles
II. Increase Plant Structural Diversity
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Fennel is great for
attracting parasitic
wasps, syrphid flies,
and ladybugs. So one
plant can bring in a
guild of beneficials.

12. FS Principles- II. Increase Plant
Structural Diversity:
Overwintering  It turns out that many
beneficials make cocoons
and hibernate in or very
near the plants where they
find their hosts. Recent
research has shown that
yarrow and comfrey are
also excellent
overwintering plants for
parasitic wasps.

13. FS Principles - III. Increase time plant
resources are available
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1 to 5% of crop area
should be planted in
farmscaping plants- “lots
of clumps of food plants
spread out over an area is
much better than one big
clump”. Or, incorporate
farmscaping into borders,
ditches, and fencerows.

14. FS Principles: Have something
blooming all the time
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Flowers are prime
food & mating sites
for wasps. Important
to have a well fed,
mated female
beneficial! Green
House – use to Jumpstart garden areas.

15. FS Principles: Nectar!
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Nectar – liquid sugar
food + vitamins for
beneficials. Nectar is
critical for optimum
performance of many
beneficials. Many
beneficials will lay
over 3-10 fold more
eggs if properly fed.

16. FS Principles: Extra-Floral
Nectaries
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Nectar glands that are not
associated with flowers.
Peonies, Sweet potatoes,
bachelor buttons, kenafe,
all have extrafloral
nectaries. Parasitic insects
use these extrafloral
nectaries as important
food sources.

17. FS Principles: Pollen
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Is an alternative form
of protein. Once
again, many plants in
the wild carrot family
can provide pollen.
Another good pollen
producer is the corn
plant. Syrphid flies
need pollen to lay
eggs.

18. FS Principles: IV. Decrease Distance
beneficials travel
Low
⇒
Dispersion
(Stay in field)
Medium
Dispersion
(forage 1/4
mile)
High
Dispersion
(forage > 1/4
mile)
Ground Beetles
(Carabids)
Ladybeetles
(when happy)
Smaller
Parasitic Wasps
Most Parasitic
wasps
Predatory
Wasps – Paper
Predatory Bugs
Syrphids –
Hover Flies
Dragonflies,
Tachinid Flies
Larger Parasitic
Wasps

19. FS Principles: V. Take Advantage
of Insect/Plant Behavior:
Entrainment
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Entomologists have
discovered that insects
(especially parasitic wasps
and flies) can perform
associative learning, so if
you get insects (especially
young ones) happy in their
environment, they will
“tune in” to a particular
pest and food plants.

20. FS Principles: Drought/Stress
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These systems can also
fail! In drought years
insects from all over will
come to your area and can
overwhelm a system. Be
ready with backups
additional insects,
ladybugs/lacewings, Bt,
soaps, diatomaceous earth.

21. FS Principles: Hold Yer Fire!
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“I didn’t know what is
was….. So I killed it.”
Remember you need some
pests around in order to
feed your beneficials. If
you have to spray, use
materials that are
biorationals (like Bt) and
won’t kill your
beneficials. Realize that
broad-spectrum pesticides
kill everything and you
are resetting your
beneficial clock back to

22. FS Principles: Lastly -Encourage
Diversity!
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Remember that insects are part
of the web of life in your
garden or farm. The beneficial
insect complex is not only
composed of parasitic wasps
and flies, predatory beetles,
lacewing larvae, ladybugs and
so on, but ALSO the
pollinators,
antagonists/competitors that
occupy and compete for space
and food with potential pests,
and finally the saprophytes and
decomposing insects that help
complete the food cycle back to
the soil so the cycle can start
again.