Integrated Pest Management Guide

NATURAL ENEMIES OF PESTS

Entomophagous insects are those that feed on other insects. Entomophagous insects play a major role in keeping down the population of pest species. For this reason, they are commonly called beneficial insects. Beneficial entomophagous insects are either predators or parasites.

Predators are usually active and strong insects that attack smaller and weaker insects. Parasitic insects, also called "parasitoids", are usually tiny insects that live in or on their hosts, consuming all or most of them and eventually killing them. More than one parasitoid may live in or on the same host. The majority of parasitoids are parasitic only during the larval stage. As adults they locate hosts and lay their eggs in, on or near hosts.

Nematodes are microscopic round worms: non-segmented invertebrates that can parasitize plants or animals, including insects. Nematodes applied to cranberry beds for control of insects parasitize only insects.

This section describes the most important groups of predators, parasitoids, nematodes, bats, and birds seen or used in cranberry beds in British Columbia.

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