Where on earth do all those aphids come from? Seriously, how do they find their way into our homes in the dead of winter? What were they living on until I so graciously started some seedlings?
What they lack in size, they make up in numbers. Debbie Hadley, About's Guide to Insects, says "...a single aphid could produce 600 billion descendants in one season." What chance does a gardener have against those kinds of odds? And they apparently have some type of twisted relationship with ants, who protect them in order to get their fix of honeydew. Debbie sheds some light on these little suckers of the plant world.
- All About Aphids
- Where Did All These Aphids Come From?
- The Odd Couple - Ants and Aphids
- Two Homemade Aphid Sprays
- Houseplant Pest Problems
Photo: rgrabe / stock.xchng.
Where Do All the Aphids Come From? originally appeared on About.com Gardening on Saturday, February 6th, 2010 at 01:09:53.
After the hype and rumours the first phase of the A 25m butterfly park is now open and attracting quite a lot of attention so I thought it was time to go along there and find out just what it is all about.
A Seed Shortage May Come In 2010Will there be a shortage of vegetable seeds for gardeners in 2010? It is possible, says Barbara Melera, owner of the oldest seed house in the country, D. Landreth Seeds, formerly of Baltimore and now of New Freedom, Pa.
Organic pesticides come from innovationThe organic movement has, and will always have, a significant amount of push back. It comes from many different sources but usually it's from chemical manufacturers, and their paid lobbyists and advocates. They argue that their products are irreplaceable and losing them would result in millions of dollars in crop loss and outbreaks of pests and diseases (I know this because I get spam from one fervent herbicide devotee on a weekly basis).
As the danger of chemical pesticides and synthetic fertilizers becomes more widely know and the demand for natural products increases, so to does the research and innovation into natural alternatives. A scientist from Tel Aviv University's Department of Plant Sciences has harnessed the power of scorpion venom and hopes to develop a natural and safe insecticide as a result.
From the article:
Prof. Gurevitz says that some neurotoxins in the scorpion are highly active against some insects -- leaf-eating moths, locusts, flies and beetles -- but have no effect on beneficial insects like honeybees or on mammals like humans. He continues to pursue an effective mode of delivery for what could be a new insecticide.
The increasing demand for natural products will ultimately drive the quest for such alternatives to dangerous chemical pesticides. Even the villainous chemical companies will be involved if there's money to be made. Let's just hope it happens sooner rather than later.
Read the article:
A Deadly Scorpion Provides a Safe Pesticide
More about organic lawn care
Organic pesticides come from innovation originally appeared on About.com Lawn Care on Wednesday, January 13th, 2010 at 20:38:20.