By Denis Crawford
I wrote an article in March 2009 titled ‘Why do we have pests?’ The main themes of that Pest Files were monoculture, invasive insects, suppression of beneficials, and resistance to pesticides. What has changed in the last 13 years?… Continue reading
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Varroa mite, the invasive parasite of European honey bees, has been detected in NSW. The current outbreak is very concerning but is there possibly a silver lining to this outbreak?
At the time of writing this article, the NSW outbreak of varroa mite (Varroa destructor) appears to be contained.… Continue reading
Read MoreBy Bruce Thompson
Australian households waste more than 2.5 million tonnes of food per year which equates to around 4kg per household per week. Although the various tiers of government would prefer all households to use compost bins, worm farms and bokashi systems to remove food waste from landfill, the reality is that machinery is required to make the process of food waste conversion to soil additive viable from a time-cost analysis perspective.… Continue reading
Read MoreBy Horticulture Innovation Australia
The Hort Frontiers Fruit Fly Fund aims to control the fruit fly populations that impact the productivity of Australian horticulture industries. At the core of the Fruit Fly Fund is the ground-breaking $60 million SITplus partnership. The SITplus program pulls together some of the world’s leading fruit fly experts and research organisations, to deliver an integrated solution to the management of Queensland Fruit Fly (Qfly).… Continue reading
Read MoreBy Denis Crawford
There is more than one type of insect life cycle. Understanding the life cycles of insects can help when managing pests and/or encouraging beneficial insects.
In Pest Files of April this year I described the insect life cycle of ‘complete metamorphosis’ or holometabolous development, from egg to larva to pupa to adult.… Continue reading
Read MoreBy Denis Crawford
Biodiversity in gardens means growing a variety of plants, which are likely to attract a variety of insects. That might sound alarming to some, but it’s actually a good thing.
Biodiversity can be a bit of a buzzword, but the way I look at it, is insects are the foundation of biodiversity.… Continue reading
Read MoreBy Bruce Thompson
Australians produce 3.4 million tonnes of plastic each year but just 13% is recycled. And we’re above average because globally, only 9% of all plastic is recycled. With the future forecast of there being more pieces of plastic than fish in the world’s oceans by 2050, it’s a fate our quickly plasticising oceans seems unable to avoid.… Continue reading
Read MoreBy Denis Crawford
Sap-feeding insects may be quite small, but they usually leave signs of their feeding activity.
I had a couple of speaking engagements at the Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show (MIFGS) this year. I was always on the lookout for insect specimens to show people, either the insects themselves, or the damage they cause, or other signs of their activities.… Continue reading
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SPICEE, Installed 2016, suspended rotating living air plant sculpture, The Friends School, Hobart, Australia, photgraphed July 2019
By Lloyd Godman
With expanding cities, foliage cover is often displaced and replaced with concrete and bitumen. A changing climate and increasing temperatures will place greater demands on ways to integrate plants into the urban environment to mitigate the heat island effect.… Continue reading
Read MoreBy John Fitzsimmons
By now, most of us are familiar with the key performance criteria of potting mixes but it doesn’t hurt to refresh our knowledge periodically, particularly with the growth in specialist lines available to industry and for resale. It’s also worthwhile to consider the expanding list of applications; potting mixes are not necessarily just for pots any more.… Continue reading
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