indeed -- and that's the problem - there aren't any real studies. Â=
I've just returned from a week-long session with elaine, and have done some=
looking around -- i can find only one study on the impact of beauveria on =
ground-nesting bees, and it ain't good:
http://www.i-sis.org.uk/Parasiticfu=
ngi.php
During the session, Elaine was asked about this directly, and she stated (o=
n tape) that spraying beauveria was fine, as long as it was on foliage and =
not when plants are in flower. Also, that adding it to compost, and s=
preading that compost was also fine "as long as its because of an infestati=
on of some sort". She did not discuss the issue of the impact on grou=
nd-nesting beneficials, or of beneficials on the foliage who are assured to=
be the recipients of the spray or spread. She stated that you could =
"put back the biology" afterwards.
I've gone back and listened to the tape to be sure -- and must heartily dis=
agree with this particular recommendation with respect to pollinators and b=
eneficial destructors (like native bees and wasps). There is no tea t=
hat can restore your nests of native bees, and no study to show how many de=
cades it takes to restore their populations. That advice was speculat=
ion, I submit, not research.
A side note:Â sometimes the term "biological control" is used as a syn=
onym for "safe", or organic, or somesuch. This is only sometimes the =
case -- agent orange was a "biologic".  Beauveria is a *pesticid=
e*, with a full title of a "biologic pesticide":Â
http://en.wikipedia.=
org/wiki/Beauveria .  Â
This could be a bit of semantics, but i'd rather see a *safe* pine beetle c=
ontrol, not merely a biologic control - they can be the same thing, but are=
n't necessarily. Â
mark
________________________________
From: cpp_rj <cpp_rj_at_yahoo.com>
To: compost_tea_at_yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thursday, July 21, 2011 8:20 AM
Subject: [compost_tea] Re: Cordyceps or beuvaria?
Â
I understand the application of these biological controls are very tricky. =
I've spoken with Elaine on this, and her recommendations are to use a very=
little for the compost/compost tea. Within the trickiness of this, i'm re=
luctant to utilize either of these strains in any application. But do feel=
they can be used responsibly. From all the research that I have done, comp=
iling information, I can rest assured that there are Cordyceps that are hos=
t selective, not so much with Beuvaria... I'm still unclear about this. Th=
e long ranch goal is to find some kind of biological control to help with t=
he massive pine beetle issue in the Rocky Mountains, Cordyceps seems like i=
t may be the best way to go, rather than using pyrethrum or other more conv=
entional ways. I'm just looking for ideas, but thank you for your reply. =
Again... utilizing the species, has never been done (by me, or anyone that =
I know) because I know the massive ramifications they could have on
the entire food web.
Manik
Rooted Cultures, LLC
--- In compost_tea_at_yahoogroups.com, "mtrease" <mtrease_at_...> wrote:
>
> I'm new around here, but: browsing through the archives i see this has c=
ome up a number of times, you'll likely find some answers there.
>
> As a beekeeper, i'm *stunned* to arrive here and find that some people ma=
y be inoculating their compost with a pesticide (biologic or no).
>
> over 200 species of indigenous american ground-nesting bees, plus benefic=
ial destructors like yellow jackets and wasps (yes, they have a use also) l=
iving in the ground.... receiving the drip from a foliar spray of beauveri=
a, or worse - having an inch of pesticide-laced compost applied over their =
nests in the orchard... hmmm.
>
> My approach would be "show me the data" in how quickly they can recover t=
heir population post exposure. I strongly suspect the answer is measured i=
n years or decades.
>
> mark
>
>
>
> --- In compost_tea_at_yahoogroups.com, "cpp_rj" <cpp_rj_at_> wrote:
> >
> > Has anyone had success utilizing any Cordyceps strains or Beauvaria as =
an inoculate for compost tea?
> >
> > Manik
> > Rooted Cultures, LLC
> >
>
Received on Fri Jul 22 2011 - 13:16:13 EDT