In apple orchards near Dnipro, about two dozen houses for beneficial insects (entomophages) were installed. The purpose of such “buildings” – to increase the yield of apples in a natural way and minimize the use of chemical plant protection products. This has a positive effect on the state of the ecology of the area, and also improves the quality of apples.
The houses are made of such attractive materials for insects as wood, cones, reeds, bricks, clay and others like them. In this way, the designs recreate the natural habitats of insects in nature.
Such “hotels” for insects were established by the company “Gardens of Dnipro” on its territory. The founder of the company is the famous Ukrainian businessman Vadym Iermolaiev. The company cooperates with Dutch specialists, and it was they who advised Ukrainian gardeners to use entomophagous houses in their work. As it turned out, in European gardens, “hotels” for insects have already become a real trend.
“Houses for insects – one of the ways to completely regulate the number of pests. Entomophages detect harmful insects even earlier than agronomists, as they are constantly in search of food. They destroy them, and we may not even notice that there were pests! ”, Said Oleksandr Vyhovskyi, chief agronomist at the Gardens of Dnipro.
In addition, some residents of the houses, such as osmium and bumblebees, help the bees to pollinate the trees during flowering.
Ladybugs, ground beetles, fleuriches, bug-bugs and many other members of the class become the inhabitants of the “hotels” for insects. Some of them settle in the houses only for the summer, and in the winter they go under the ground. But others remain and pupate until spring.
In some European farms such houses are artificially populated. To do this, gardeners even buy refrigerators for transporting beneficial insects to a new place of residence and storing them, in case the “relocation” is delayed.
However, the company “Gardens of Dnipro” decided to go a more natural way.
“Of course, it is possible to populate insects in an artificial way, but how far this experiment will be successful is not yet known. But we believe that everything that is done naturally will definitely have greater success. Therefore, we gain patience and wait, ”the chief agronomist states.
How successful and useful was such a project for Dnipro Gardens will be known after several seasons. However, as European experience shows, “hotels” for insects significantly help protect gardens from pests and increase crop volumes.