Beetles
Weapon
(Continued from Page A 1)
destroy an average of 54 housefly
eggs per day per beetle at 80
' degrees Fahrenheit per day.
According to IPM Laboratories,
well-fed female beetles lay server
al eggs per day and live more than
three months. The beetles take 3-4
weeks to mature from egg to adult
at 86 degrees Fahrenheit. Hister
beetle larvae are active and vora
cious predators of housefuly eggs
and young fly maggots, according
to IPM Laboratories.
Within eight weeks, the beetles
can produce enough larvae and
adult beetles to eat house fly eggs.
Generally when adult beetle popu-
Clark and Seller were able to transfer the carcinops to
layer house complexes in Lancaster County.
Prove An Effective
In Controlling Flies
lations are 40 per square foot or
higher, fly control is usually
adequate without additional
measures.
Adult beetle populations typi
cally reach 100 or more per square
foot. IPM Laboratories indicated it
has “frequently observed beetle
densities as high as 250 beetles per
quart of manure or 12 beetles per
square inch of manure.”
Under suitable conditions, fly
control is achieved in 10-12 weeks
and will continue until cleanout
Using beetle eggs from EPM
Laboratories, Clark and Beilcr
were able to transfer the carcinops
to layer house complexes in Lan
caster. This is in culmination of
research undertaken by the Uni
versity of North Carolina, Cornell,
and Penn State.
IPM Laboratories has been
working for several years to deve
lop a method to mass-produce the
beetle and successfully implement
it into layer houses in the area.
Clark, who has worked in the
poultry industry for 10 years, has
“read a lot of books on pest man
agement and fly control,” he said.
The company wants to tackle the
“whole issue” of pest management
using nontoxic methods.
Clark noted the challenge was to
come up with methods to allow
producers to rethink their pest
management strategies.
Instead of using expensive and
unreliable chemical controls, a
natural way of keeping flics under
control in houses was needed.
In August, the company suc
cessfully implemented the beetle
program in a Lancaster County
poultry house. In all, about
50,000-60,000 beetles were
released in in 30 different sections
of the house for 95 percent control
of the flics, according to Clark.
After the beetles reproduced, in a
couple of months, the IPM Labor
atories found 8-10 beetles per half
pint of manure, according to Gle
nistcr. The beetles are self
replicating.
The beetle population rises and
falls according to the amount of fly
egg “food" that exists. The whole
“ecosystem” of the layer or broiler
house adjusts accordingly. IPM
Laboratories has even come up
with a way to trap the beetles
(called the “Hister House") and
clean the manure out
Clark said that, in many cases.
A A
yt*
/ >y
In the past, researchers knew about the effects of using
the “hister beetle” (known scientifically as Carcinops
Pumilio) to live in poultry house manure and eat fly eggs
and larvae.
the costs can be readily justified
compared to other control
methods. The houses are healthier
and diseases can be readily
controlled.
The beedes provide a more
stable environment, especially
since the advent of avian influenza
(A. 1.) There are no harmful side
effects from using the beetles,
according to Clark.
Beetles can be placed in broiler,
layer, and pullet houses. In fact,
producers can use the beedes in
any livestock, manure-producing
operadon to control flies.
Regarding the beede, Penn
State’s research has not centered
on mass-producing the beedes in a
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✓ *
laboratory; instead, the focus has
been on whether the beetles can
cany Salmonella Enteritidis (SE)
bacteria and the avian influenza
(A. 1.) virus.
So far, laboratory results were
conclusive about salmonella,
according to Pitts. Working in con
junction with the Penn State
Department of Veterinary Science,
Pitts has found out that the beetles,
if not carefully handled, can trar:s
mit the salmonella bacteria in the
house.
Clark noted the beetles raised at
IPM Laboratories are guaranteed
SE-free.
Within the next several weeks,
Penn State will be looking into
whether the beetle can cany the
A.I. vims.
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