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Bugs for Bugs Orius tantillus
Bugs for Bugs Orius tantillus adds a mobile predatory bug to a thrips-management programme, feeding on adult thrips as well as immature stages. Both Orius nymphs and adults hunt prey, while the winged adults can move through the crop looking for food. That makes Orius a useful partner for biological agents working on young thrips in the foliage or pupal stages around the growing medium.
Orius uses piercing mouthparts to feed on prey and can also use aphids, mites, whiteflies and moth eggs when thrips are scarce. Pollen is an essential part of its diet, however, so a suitable food environment needs to be established before release. Capsicums, eggplant, strawberries and raspberries naturally provide pollen; crops with too little available pollen need flowering banker plants to support the predators. Basil is a recommended banker plant for that role.
Females lay eggs directly into plant tissue, and the developing nymphs feed before becoming winged adults. Adults may begin hunting soon after introduction, but seeing a new population establish takes longer. Flower tapping is a practical way to look for nymphs and adults, while sticky traps help track adult thrips activity. Changes in pest numbers, predator numbers and crop condition together give a better picture than any single observation.
The pack contains adult bugs with a distribution medium, transit food and a piece of green bean. The bean can carry freshly laid Orius eggs, so it is placed into the crop at release rather than discarded. Start releases when pollen is available, keep the living material out of excessive heat and check the crop's pesticide history. Harmful residues can affect Orius for a long time, and establishment still depends on prey, pollen and a suitable crop environment after the adults leave the tube.
NOTE: These are living insects with a short shelf life, so we don't hold them in store. Your order ships fresh, direct from the breeder.
Species image credit: Historical scientific illustration of Orius tantillus; this is an illustration, not a photograph. From W. L. Distant, The Fauna of British India, Rhynchota Vol. III (1906), p. 8, Fig. 8, under the historical Triphleps name. Smithsonian Libraries and Archives / Biodiversity Heritage Library, via Internet Archive. Source and public-domain status; public domain. Individual illustrator unestablished. Cropped to the complete figure, resized and white-padded; original caption and scale marker retained.
Pirate bugs that hunt adult thrips as well as the young!
Searches Through Crops
Flying adults move between suitable feeding sites
Targets Thrips Stages
Nymphs and adults feed on developing thrips
Establishes With Pollen
Flowering banker plants support early predator populations
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Bugs for Bugs Orius tantillus
Key Highlights
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Key Highlights
- Feeds on adult and immature thrips
- Adult pirate bugs supplied for release
- Can use alternative prey when thrips are scarce
- Pollen is an essential part of the diet
- Green bean transit material can carry new eggs
Directions for Use
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Directions for Use
Application Rate
- Preventative thrips management: 2 - 4 bugs per m² per release; make 2 - 3 releases at 1 - 2 week intervals.
- Curative thrips management: 5 - 10 bugs per m² per release; make 2 - 3 releases at 1 week intervals.
- Flowering basil banker plants: about 200 plants per hectare, distributed through the crop and inoculated with Orius when flowering begins.
Application
- Release preventatively as soon as pollen is available in the crop or in flowering banker plants.
- Release during the cooler morning or late-afternoon to early-evening hours. Gently roll the tube to distribute the bugs, then sprinkle the material over plant heads close to flowers, keeping it on the foliage where possible.
- Place the supplied bean segment in the crop too, because it may contain newly laid Orius eggs.
- Monitor flowers by tapping for nymphs and adults, and use yellow or blue sticky traps to monitor adult thrips. Make top-up releases under high pest pressure.
- Rates are guides and depend on the crop and infestation level.
- Crops without enough pollen: in crops such as cucumbers, or where flowers are harvested before opening, such as roses, establish pollen-bearing banker plants such as basil.
Safety
Check pesticide history and side-effects before introduction. Synthetic pyrethroids, organophosphates and neonicotinoids can leave residues harmful to Orius for months.
Release as soon as possible after delivery. If necessary, store tubes on their side for up to 2 days at 10 - 15 °C.
Beneficial Profile
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- Scientific Name: Orius tantillus
- Beneficial Type: Predatory Bugs
- Target Pests: Thrips; Western flower thrips
- Pack Content: At least 1,000 adult bugs
- Distribution Medium: Buckwheat hulls
- Transit Materials: Sterilised moth eggs and a green bean segment
- Diet Requirement: Pollen as well as suitable prey
- Product Code: OT-1
Resources
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Resources
Shipping & Returns
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Shipping & Returns
Check delivery options for the currently selected item and quantity.
Estimate is for this item and quantity only. Final whole-order freight is confirmed at checkout.
We have a 30-day return policy, which means you have 30 days after receiving your item to request a return.
To be eligible for a return, your item must be in the same condition that you received it, unused, with tags, and in its original packaging. You’ll also need the receipt or proof of purchase.
To start a return, you can contact us at info@hydrooasis.com.au
If your return is accepted, we’ll send you a return shipping label, as well as instructions on how and where to send your package. Items sent back to us without first requesting a return will not be accepted.
You can always contact us for any return question at info@hydrooasis.com.au.
Size: 1000 Adults
