Cucumeris

Have you noticed the white envelope type bags hanging from various plants around RBG centre and the Mediterranean Garden?  Did you wonder what was in them.

A good guess would be that the bags contain a type of biological pest control, a favourable alternative to chemical pesticide sprays. Various biological control agents can be used, with most belonging to one of the following categories: predators (eat the pest), pathogens (infect and kill the pest) and parasites (live on or in the pest, eventually killing it).  Much research is done to find appropriate beneficial agents to combat specific pest organisms.

Echinothrips americanus

These bags are tagged www.AppliedBio-nomics.com and stamped A. Cucumeris Slow Release, which makes it very easy to find out what they contain.  Amblyseius cucumeris is a species of predatory mite that feeds on a variety of thrips, the 2-spotted Spider mite as well as a few other species and whitefly eggs. Each bag contains about 30 mL of the predator, along with a food source.  The cucumeris will breed and over a four week span produce about 1000 offspring that will leave through a small hole and move about the plants to find food in the form of the targeted pests. Cucumeris adults are not readily visible since they are less than 0.5 mm long, pear-shaped and tan coloured.  The eggs are tiny, being 0.14 mm in diameter, round and transparent.

Amblyseius cucumeris

Have a look here to read more about cucumeris.  http://www.appliedbio-nomics.com/products/cucumeris/  Click on PRODUCTS at the top to see the other beneficial agents handled by this company.

If you are interested in more information on biological control there are many websites to visit, but an informative one is hosted by the University of California.

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74140.html

The Botanical Train Exhibit  

• If you have walked through RBG centre this past week, you can’t help but notice that the construction of the Holiday Traditions Train Display is almost done.
• This is the third year that the train display has been set up in McQuesten Theatre to be an integral part of RBG’s Christmas celebrations.
• This display is the product of Applied Imagination, a company that specializes in creating botanical train displays and it features several Canadian landmarks formed from natural materials.
• The garden-scale (G scale) trains are 1/29^th the size of life size trains.
• Although Applied Imagination set up the original exhibit, it was dismantled by RBG staff and a few Auxiliary volunteers.  Each year it is set back up by the staff, again with the help of volunteers.  Last year Auxiliary members added the pond skating scene and this year the figure 8 track has been replaced by a larger loop.
• The Wonders of the World train exhibit was installed in the Mediterranean Garden by Applied Imagination last year and this year RBG has set up a train track in Turner Pavilion, featuring Thomas the Tank engine to help entertain the children while they wait to see Santa.
• If you go to the following link you will see photos of the original setting up of the train exhibit by Applied Imaginations as well as photos of some of its features.

Set up of the exhibit in 2012

 http://appliedimaginationbiz.wordpress.com/category/royal-botanical-gardens/

• A visit to this page will show you some of the locations that feature installations of Applied Imagination trains including Botanic Gardens in New York and Washington D.C.  Scroll down the page to see the collections of photos.

              http://www.appliedimagination.biz/#welcome