One fly pollinates crops and eats pests at once
Li H, Wyckhuys KA, Wu K.
Pollinators
If you grow tomatoes, eggplant, or melons under any kind of cover, a single insect that both sets your fruit and controls aphids means fewer sprays and fewer separate interventions to manage.
Scientists tested a hoverfly called Episyrphus balteatus in greenhouses growing tomatoes, eggplant, and muskmelon, and found it does double duty: it pollinates flowers just as well as hand pollination or hormone sprays, and it eats aphids, the sap-sucking pests that plague these crops. Fruits pollinated by the hoverflies actually came out rounder and more nutrient-rich than those treated with hormones instead. It's a rare case of one small creature handling both jobs that farmers usually solve with separate chemicals or labor.
Key Findings
Fruit set rates exceeded 97% in tomato, muskmelon, and eggplant under hoverfly treatment
Aphid biological control efficacy reached 88% in muskmelon and 92% in eggplant at a 1:200 hoverfly-to-aphid ratio
Hoverfly-pollinated fruits were more symmetrical, rounder, and had higher nutrient content than hormone-treated fruits
chevron_right Technical Summary
One insect can do two jobs at once in the greenhouse: hoverflies pollinated tomato, eggplant, and muskmelon flowers at rates above 97% while also eating up to 92% of aphid pests, cutting the need for separate chemical treatments.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
The role of the hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus) in greenhouse vegetable production: contributions as a pollinator and aphid predator.
<h4>Background</h4>The hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus (Diptera: Syrphidae) contributes to crop pollination and biological control; however, these two essential ecosystem services are seldom jointly ...
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