Erfahrungen mit Nützlingen bei Schädlingsbefall in lebensmittelverarbeitenden Betrieben

Summary

Stored products may be prone for insect damage. Storage management and process-ing of organic products allow the use of chemicals in empty storage rooms only. Bene-ficial insects might be an alternative in special environments and for direct control in and on organic produce. The deliberate release of beneficial insects in storage rooms has not been tested to a large extend and if so, in small enterprises only. In the time span 2006 - 2008, a practical approach for the control of stored-product pest insects is followed amongst others in a pasta factory and a large bakery in Switzerland. Part of the project is the establishment of laboratory-mass-reared parasitoids and predators, e.g. the parasitic wasp Anisopteromalus calandrae for the control of the drugstore beetle Stegobium paniceum and the parasitic wasp Trichogramma evanescens for the control of the Indian meal moth, Plodia interpunctella. The objectives of the project are i) the development of release strategies of beneficial insects in the organic food proc-essing industry in order to prevent pesticide applications and ii) the establishment of a guidance document on the maintenance of beneficial insects prior and during release, the preparation of facilities and the inclusion of employees. To date, results have not yet been evaluated. However, the stored-product pest insects were kept in check by the released beneficial insects. In none of the environments tested, pesticides were applied.