Predatory insects such as spined soldier bugs and green lacewings eliminate crop pests without noxious sprays. Too bad they require $400-a-pound moth-egg meals to reach maturity. Or at least they did. Allen Cohen, an entomologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, has concocted a gruel of chicken egg, beef liver, and fatty hamburger that satisfies the dietary needs of beneficial bugs for just $2 per pound. Cohen also devised a blood test to make sure his recipe keeps the insects fertile so they can get the next generation going.
Insect Slop
published online May 1, 2001
Predatory insects such as spined soldier bugs and green lacewings eliminate crop pests without noxious sprays. Too bad they require $400-a-pound moth-egg meals to reach maturity. Or at least they did. Allen Cohen, an entomologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, has concocted a gruel of chicken egg, beef liver, and fatty hamburger that satisfies the dietary needs of beneficial bugs for just $2 per pound. Cohen also devised a blood test to make sure his recipe keeps the insects fertile so they can get the next generation going.


