Need Help Finding Natural Enemies? There’s An App For That
March 6, 2013 
The Great Lakes Vegetable Working Group (GLVWG), in conjunction with The Ohio State University (OSU), will be releasing a new resource through the Apple App Store that will help growers identify natural enemies, native plants, and pollinators in the field.
The app is called “Good Bugs +.”
Typically, Extension educators encourage growers to use fact sheets and bulletins to help them identify plants and insects. With this app, growers will be able to access information with the swipe of a finger.
This app “gives [growers] instant information that’s portable … [it’s] easier for growers to have one resource to diagnose [beneficials] in the field,” says Jim Jasinski, assistant professor at OSU Extension, IPM Program, and one of the lead authors involved with the app.
Jasinski, a member of the GLVWG, said the group wrote a grant to turn the extensive information on natural enemies into a smart phone app. Later, they added native plants and pollinators because all three are ecologically linked. He worked with Mary Gardiner and Celeste Welty, both in the OSU Department of Entomology, for a year to develop this app.
He noted that growers are using mobile technology more and more. So, instead of having the growers go back to their office or vehicle to find reference material, Jasinski says, “we took the reference material [we had on hand] and transformed it into a database, full of pictures and text.”
Although the group focuses their work in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Ontario, Canada, Jasinski says the app is really applicable to the Northeast and North Central U.S.
How To Use
The easy-to-navigate app opens with a basic description of what natural enemies, pollinators, and native plants are and how all three are beneficial to growers. The information is broken down into three categories: “Natural Enemies,” “Native Plants,” and “Pollinators.” Once the user selects a particular category, a list of 48 natural enemies, 48 native plants, or six pollinators are available to peruse.
Natural enemies are divided into lady beetles, ground beetles, true bugs, lacewings, mantids, predatory wasps, parasitoid flies, parasitoid wasps, predatory flies, and spiders. Once a natural enemy is selected, a biology section offers key information such as distinctive features, life cycle, prey, habitat, floral resources, size, and color. There is a pop quiz available under the natural enemies section.
Under the advanced search section, users are able to search by name, size, color, and prey. There are also short videos describing individual natural enemies which require an Internet or cellular connection to view. Under the media tab, multiple scalable photos are available to use in the field.
The native plant section is divided into highly attractive, moderately attractive, and least attractive to natural enemies and pollinators. Once a plant is selected under the “Native Plants” category, the biology section offers key information such as natural enemies, pests, and bees attracted, as well as culture and management availability. Under the media tab, a scalable photo is available to use in the field.
Once a bee is selected under the “Pollinator” category, the biology section offers classification, general description, distinctive features, life cycle, habitat, floral resources, distribution, origin, occurrence, size, and color. A scalable photo is available to use in the field in the media tab. Under the Management section, information on pollinator management is available on grazing, fire, mowing, herbicides, insecticides, colony collapse disorder, and value to agriculture.
The app will be for sale this spring in the Apple App Store for $2.99 “with all proceeds plowed back into the app for future revisions and content additions. With the iOS version complete, the developer is now tasked with converting the app over for use on Android devices,” Jasinski says.
Jasinski attributes the app’s development to a successful collaboration, noting the North Central IPM Center for providing funding, and the GLVWG for providing information and evaluation for the app, as well as Michigan State University, Oregon State University, The Xerces Society, and USDA-Agricultural Research Service for contributing to the app.
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