Koppert Foundation

Customer testimonial from S&A, UK - Strawberry pollination. S&A have been using Natupol bees for more than 15 years and can no longer envisage producing a successful crop of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries or blackberries without pollination of Koppert bumblebees.

Buzz pollination is essential for greenhouse tomatoes and blueberries. It’s a pollination technique that’s unique to bumblebees and certain solitary bees, and it’s a skill that honeybees don’t have.

Neoseiulus cucumeris is widely used for the biological control of thrips. The nymphs and adults actively search for food. When cucumeris finds its prey, it pierces it with its mouthparts and sucks out the contents. The mites can reproduce while feeding on prey and non-prey food sources.

The predatory bug Nesidiocoris controls different kind of pests. It is an effective natural enemy against Tuta absoluta. Nesidiocoris eats the eggs and all larval stages of Tuta absoluta, although it prefers first-instar larvae.

The predatory bug Macrolophus pygmaeus has a varied diet. While it shows a preference for whitefly it is also very effective against Tuta absoluta. Macrolophus eats the eggs and all larval stages of Tuta absoluta, although it prefers first-instar larvae.

The predatory bug Macrolophus pygmaeus has a varied diet. It is effective against different kinds of pests, but shows a clear preference for whitefly. All stages of whitefly are eaten, but it mainly focuses on eggs and larvae.

Sciarid flies can cause damage to cuttings and other young growing plant material. They are key pest in the cultivation of mushrooms. Sciarid flies cause indirect damage by spreading mites, viruses and fungi. Direct damage is the result of the larvae chewing on the roots.

Nematodes, also known as roundworms, can parasitize a wide range of insect pests. There are various species and strains, all with great differences in efficacy. The nematode Steinernema feltiae is used to control thrips.

The predatory bug Orius laevigatus is the most widely used Orius species for the biological control of thrips. Under normal conditions the females consume around 12 thrips a day. The bug sucks out the body contents, leaving only the empty skin.

The predatory mite Neoseiulus californicus is an effective natural enemy of various species of spider mite. Although the mite cannot see, it is well able to find its prey. It detects webs, produced by spider mites through touch and leaf damage by scent.

Diglyphus isaea is an ectoparasite, which means that it lays eggs beside the host. It can parasitize many species of leaf miner. In order to produce eggs it punctures mainly larvae, to feed on their body fluids. Once parasitized by the wasp, the leaf miner stops feeding.