Lacewing insects are replacing pesticides by eliminating up to 98 per cent of aphids in potato, tomato, capsicum, and eggplant farms.
The tiny lacewing larvae which is brown or grey is commonly referred to as the ‘aphid lion’ because of its big appetite for aphids. One eats 100 to 600 of them in the first four weeks of its life.
Lacewings have been used for pest control as early as the 1980s. Agriculturalists have found that lacewing larvae can eat up to 120 and 105 aphid and mealybug nymphs daily. They also eat 11,000 spider mites and 6,000 scales. For farmers growing in greenhouses, they are the most effective, clearing 98 per cent of aphids without using any pesticides and 78 per cent of mealybugs.
Aphids destroy 10-90 per cent of farm output in Kenya. They are present in almost every crop from vegetables like sukumawiki, cabbage, tomato, beans, green grams, cereals like maize, sorghum, and barley to fruits such as passion and watermelon, as well as roses.
They eat the sap of the plant causing it to lose strength, become stunted and yellow. They also develop mold on leaves and spread more than 150 plant diseases.
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Lacewing’s larvae which pick on other soft-bodied pests such as thrips, caterpillars, and mites move around mainly in the night looking for groups of aphids and use their strong jaws to grab and competley ‘drink’ them dry.
Koppert Kenya, a shop for biological pesticides such as lacewing predators sell lacewing eggs mostly to organic farmers in bottles that contain 500 eggs to ones that weigh 500Ml and contain up to half a million eggs for Sh2,937- 20,365.
The bought lacewing eggs are just about to hatch and should be applied as soon as possible. At most they can be stored for 1-2 days in a dark area at 8-10°C.
Lacewing eggs are sprinkled on the farm preventatively or in an area or leaves where infestation has already occurred, usually at a rate of 10-100 eggs for every meter squared of farmland. This is done every week or until the aphids are eliminated. As a general rule of thumb, the eggs should not be released in one place because lacewings can cannibalise or eat each other.
However, the amount of lacewing eggs released should be adjusted according to the specific crop, weather, and amount of pest on a farm. Koppert advises farmers to consult its experts on how to best use them.
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Camilla Ingosi, a technical consultant at Koppert Kenya explained that lacewings hatch, mate, reproduce and lay eggs to form new larvae in just 37 to 60 days. “To have a continuous and good number of lacewing predators always on your farm you should provide adult lacewings which do not feed on pests but rather nectar and pollen by providing them with nectar rich flowers in your farm,” she said.
Lacewings are most effective at temperatures between 20-28°C, but unlike most bugs, they are still effective in temperatures as low as 12°C.
Koppert Kenya: 0731202191