beetle bank
{{Short description|Biological pest control}}
File:Beetle_Bank_-_geograph.org.uk_-_150020.jpg
In agriculture and horticulture, a beetle bank is a form of biological pest control. It is a strip, preferably raised, planted with grasses (bunch grasses) and/or perennial plants, within a crop field or a garden, that fosters and provides habitat for beneficial insects, birds, and other fauna that prey on pests.
Usage
Beetle banks are typically made up from plants such as sunflowers, Vicia faba, Centaurea cyanus, coriander, borage, Muhlenbergia, Stipa, and buckwheats (Eriogonum spp.). Beetle banks are used to reduce or replace the use of insecticides,{{cite news |title= Connell organic farmer using 'beetle banks' |author= Kevin McCullen |url= http://www.seattletimes.com/life/lifestyle/connell-organic-farmer-using-beetle-banks/ |newspaper= Tri-City Herald |date= 14 June 2010 |accessdate=17 August 2012}} and can also serve as habitat for birds and beneficial rodents. For example, insects such as Chrysoperla carnea and the Ichneumon fly can prey on pests.{{Cite book | author=Felix Wäckers, Paul van Rijn and Jan Bruin | publisher=Cambridge University Press, UK, 2005 | year=2005 | title=Plant-Provided Food for Carnivorous Insects - a protective mutualism and its applications | isbn =978-0-521-81941-1}} The concept was developed by the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust in collaboration with the University of Southampton.
Other important benefits can be providing habitat for pollinators and endangered species. If using local native plants, endemic and indigenous flora and fauna restoration ecology is supported.
History of the term
According to a March 2005 draft entry for the Oxford English Dictionary, the term first came into use in the early 1990s, with published examples including the August 22, 1992 issue of the New Scientist and an October 12, 1994 reference in The Guardian society section:
:‘Beetle banks’, a recent initiative by the Game Conservancy Trust, would also help encourage ground-nesting birds while creating cover for aphid-eating bugs with more pay-off in savings on aphicides.
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.gwct.org.uk/farming/advice/sustainable-farming/beetle-banks/ Beetle bank], from the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust website
- [https://www.gov.uk/guidance/create-and-maintain-beetle-banks Create and maintain beetle banks], from the DEFRA website, 2021
Category:Biological pest control beetles
Category:Sustainable agriculture