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About WyeBugs | WyeBugs - History and Personnel | ||||||||
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Throughout the 1970s and 80s the Entomology Group at Wye College, University of London distributed biological control agents produced as part of their research projects to professional growers and amateur horticulturalists. These biocontrols were mainly predators and parasites of mealy bugs and soft scale insects, in particular the Australian ladybird Cryptolaemus montrouzieri and the parasitoid wasps Leptomastix dactylopii and Metaphycus helvolus. In the late 1980s the group had the vision of biocontrol being used as a first choice for pest control by amateur gardeners - but that required a source of reasonably priced biocontrols packaged in quantities small enough for even a single 10' x 8' greenhouse. In 1991 we launched WyeBugs at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, offering a full range of biocontrols by mail order for as little as £3 per pack. We produced the renowned WyeBugs Biological Control Handbook, which demystified the science behind the technique and gave home horticulturalists access to some of the knowledge previously only enjoyed by professionals. Our service to commercial customers was also enhanced, offering despatch direct to their customers under their own brand names. Once the retail biocontrol market had been proved viable, due in no small part to WyeBugs, other companies joined the scene and offered glossy catalogues and credit card facilities. As we still had our main task of scientific research, we handed over the retail side of WyeBugs to those better able to cope with the burgeoning demand. WyeBugs continued, as it still is today, to be a major producer and distributor of biocontrols for mealy bug, scale insect and other pests, supplying both professional and retail outlets. It wasn't only biocontrol that occupied the entomology team at Wye during this period, however. They also built excellent links with non-agricultural industries, doing experimental work on insect repellents and attractants. This work encompassed the fields of domestic pests and life-threatening disease carriers such as mosquitoes. The group gained a reputation for producing commercial information rapidly and cost-effectively, but with scientific thoroughness and accuracy uncompromised. In 2000 Wye College was merged with Imperial College London and became the Wye Campus of that institution. In summer 2002 the entomologists responsible for WyeBugs decided to leave higher education and launch a fully fledged commercial enterprise. WyeBugs is based on the Imperial College campus at Wye, with access to the College's glasshouse and experimental facilities as well as their own. The development of WyeBugs as a comprehensive entomological research and development service was further enhanced in the summer of 2005 when we were granted certification by the Pesticides Safety Directorate (PSD) as an 'Officially Recognised Testing Facility / Organisation' (ORETO 190). With the expansion of our team we are now able to offer our clients a pesticide efficacy evaluation trials service able to evaluate a wide range of plant protection products.
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Above: Citrus mealy bug Planococcus
citri |
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Below: Soft scale Coccus hesperidum | |||||||||
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WyeBugs PersonnelDr Mike CoplandSuzanne Stickels
Janet Astles![]() Dr Roshan Heidari![]() Roshan spent 10 years as Middle East Manager of Technical Division of Rhone-Poulenc agrochemicals involved in registration trials, experimentation and development. He obtained his PhD degree at Wye studying the biology of Cryptolaemus and subsequently became an honorary Research Fellow there. Richard Bucknall![]() Richard is the latest member of the WyeBugs team, joining in 2005 with a background in biological control trials and quality control work. His main role within the team is in our pesticide efficacy trials work. Richard has a first class honours degree in Commercial Horticulture from the University of Greenwich and an M.Sc in Integrated Pest Management from Imperial College London Silwood Park. |
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