A beetle bank, in

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

and

horticulture Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

, is a form of biological pest control. It is a strip, preferably raised, planted with

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns a ...

es (

bunch grass Tussock grasses or bunch grasses are a group of grass species in the family Poaceae. They usually grow as singular plants in clumps, tufts, hummocks, or bunches, rather than forming a sod or lawn, in meadows, grasslands, and prairies. As perennia ...

es) and/or

perennial plant A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

s, within a crop field or a garden, that fosters and provides

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

for

beneficial insect Beneficial insects (sometimes called beneficial bugs) are any of a number of species of insects that perform valued services like pollination and pest control. The concept of ''beneficial'' is subjective and only arises in light of desired outcome ...

s, birds, and other fauna that prey on pests.

Usage

Beetle banks are typically made up from plants such as sunflowers, ''

Vicia faba ''Vicia faba'', commonly known as the broad bean, fava bean, or faba bean, is a species of vetch, a flowering plant in the pea and bean family Fabaceae. It is widely cultivated as a crop for human consumption, and also as a cover crop. Varieti ...

'', '' Centaurea cyanus'', coriander,

borage Borage ( or ; ''Borago officinalis''), also known as starflower, is an annual herb in the flowering plant family Boraginaceae. It is native to the Mediterranean region, and has naturalized in many other locales. It grows satisfactorily in gard ...

, ''

Muhlenbergia ''Muhlenbergia'' is a genus of plants in the grass family. The genus is named in honor of the German-American amateur botanist Gotthilf Heinrich Ernst Muhlenberg (1753-1815). Many of the species are known by the common name muhly. The greatest ...

'', ''

Stipa ''Stipa'' is a genus of around 300 large perennial hermaphroditic grasses collectively known as feather grass, needle grass, and spear grass. They are placed in the subfamily Pooideae and the tribe Stipeae, which also contains many species for ...

'', and

buckwheat Buckwheat (''Fagopyrum esculentum''), or common buckwheat, is a flowering plant in the knotweed family Polygonaceae cultivated for its grain-like seeds and as a cover crop. The name "buckwheat" is used for several other species, such as ''Fagopy ...

s (''

Eriogonum ''Eriogonum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Polygonaceae. The genus is found in North America and is known as wild buckwheat. This is a highly species-rich genus, and indications are that active speciation is continuing. It incl ...

spp.''). Beetle banks are used to reduce or replace the use of insecticides, and can also serve as habitat for birds and beneficial rodents. For example, insects such as '' Chrysoperla carnea'' and the Ichneumon fly can prey on pests. The concept was developed by the

Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (formerly the Game Conservancy Trust) is a British charitable organisation promoting game and wildlife management as a part of nature conservation, whilst working with the shooting and hunting community. For ...

in collaboration with the

University of Southampton , mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour , type = Public research university , established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...

. Other important benefits can be providing habitat for pollinators and endangered species. If using local native plants,

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

and indigenous flora and fauna restoration ecology is supported.

History of the term

According to a March 2005 draft entry for the ''

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a co ...

'', the term first came into use in the early 1990s, with published examples including the August 22, 1992 issue of the ''

New Scientist ''New Scientist'' is a magazine covering all aspects of science and technology. Based in London, it publishes weekly English-language editions in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. An editorially separate organisation publish ...

'' and an October 12, 1994 reference in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' society section: :‘Beetle banks’, a recent initiative by the

Game Conservancy Trust The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (formerly the Game Conservancy Trust) is a British charitable organisation promoting game and wildlife management as a part of nature conservation, whilst working with the shooting and hunting community. For ...

, would also help encourage ground-nesting birds while creating cover for

aphid Aphids are small sap-sucking insects and members of the superfamily Aphidoidea. Common names include greenfly and blackfly, although individuals within a species can vary widely in color. The group includes the fluffy white woolly aphids. A t ...

-eating bugs with more pay-off in savings on aphicides.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Beetle bank
from the

website
Create and maintain beetle banks
from the

DEFRA DEFRA may refer to: * Deficit Reduction Act of 1984, United States law * Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, United Kingdom government department {{Disambiguation ...

website, 2021 Biological pest control beetles Sustainable agriculture Ecological restoration 1990s neologisms

Usage

History of the term

See also

References

External links