How flowers replace pesticides in olive orchards

Picture copyright GONZÁLEZ et al.

The olive moth is a major pest of olive trees, causing up to 40% fruit fall. A potential solution is to use the common green lacewing because its larvae is a voracious predator of the eggs of the olive moth. But how to favour the abundance of green lacewings? Scientists González et al. found that flowering plants such as pignut, wild fennel, honeysuckle and wild asparagus are food resources that increase the longevity and fecondity of green lacewings.

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