The Rasberry crazy ant or tawny crazy ant, Nylanderia fulva, is an ant originating from South America. This species is called “crazy ant” because of its quick, erratic movements. It is also called the “Rasberry crazy ant” in Texas after the exterminator Tom Rasberry, who noticed that the ants were increasing in numbers in 2002.

The ant is about 0.125 inches long, thus smaller than the red imported fire ant. It is covered with reddish-brown hair. The colonies live under stones or piles; they have no centralized nests, beds, or mounds. The ants appear to prefer the warmth and moisture of the coast. The simplest way to describe tawny crazy ant behavior is disorganized, chaotic foraging by worker ants, and colonies with queens who possess enormously abundant reproductive potential.

The Texas A&M University research extension service quotes the annual rate of spread by ground migration as about 240 and 360 m per year in neighborhoods and industrial areas, respectively, and 207 m/year in rural landscapes, hence spreading more slowly than fire ants. Other sources quote 800 m per year. Being carried by people, animals, and vehicles (in trash for example), the observed rate is much higher: the spread from five Texas counties in 2002 to 20 in 2007 yields an accelerated rate of 8 km (5.0 mi) per year, at which rate it would take about 70 years for them to reach New Orleans. However, in 2011, tawny crazy ants were reported in Mississippi, in August 2012 in Port Allen Louisiana, and in 2013 in Georgia.

Tawny crazy ants are omnivores. They consume just about any sweet or protein substances. Sweets commonly eaten are honeydew (excretions produced by aphids and other insects), sweet portions of plants, over-ripe fruits, and honey from beehives. Protein sources include small insects and small mammals that are overcome by the numerous workers that attack. The workers are most active and plentiful in the early spring, while foraging is limited in the winter months. Colonies produce millions of workers by mid-summer and continue to thrive throughout the fall. Crazy ants build nests under almost any object or inside any void that remains moist.

One of the more fascinating aspects of tawny crazy ant behavior is their habit of infesting electronic equipment in large numbers. Infestations in electrical equipment can cause short circuits, sometimes because the ants chew through insulation. Overheating, corrosion, and mechanical failures also result from accumulations of dead ants and nest detritus in electrical devices. If an ant is electrocuted, it can release an alarm pheromone in dying, which causes other ants to rush over and search for attackers. If a large enough number of ants collects, it may short out systems.

It is unclear why colonies of Nylanderia fulva, like many species of ants, are attracted to electrical equipment. They may sense the magnetic fields that surround wires conducting electric current, or they prefer the warmth produced by resistance to the currents in the wires. Some argue they simply are searching for food or an attractive place to nest.

Let us look at some current news articles pertaining to the damages caused by these crazy ants:

Exterminator says ‘Rasberry Crazy Ants’ coming to SC
July 27, 2016, South Carolina, USA

Exterminators are issuing a warning for homeowners about a type of ant we haven’t seen in the Carolinas but could be here before we know it.

Swarming by the millions, this isn’t something you’ll want to find in your house.

“And these will be the dominant ant, they will wipe out everything in its path,” said Brandon Johnson of ipest inc. “And the threat they pose to us is they can virtually live in anything, anywhere.”

Johnson says they’re called Rasberry Crazy Ants. They were founded by an exterminator in Texas back in 2002, but as their numbers have grown, they’ve continued to expand their territory. Cases have been seen in Georgia in recent years and Johnson says South Carolina is next.

“What we need to worry about is the electrical panels being shorted out by these massive numbers,” Johnson said. “We don’t know why, but they are attracted to electricity fields.”

Johnson says nothing you can buy in a store will stop them from getting into your home and multiplying. While they don’t sting or bite, he says they’ll get into your food, they could be a fire hazard with your electrical equipment and besides, do you really want all those ants running around everywhere?

Another incident pertaining to the destruction of electronics by these ants was reported recently in Texas, USA.

Ant invaders making Texans crazy
December 20, 2016, Texas, USA

There’s a hitchhiker traveling across Texas, and if it hasn’t yet crawled into your computer, plugged up the electrical pump on your well or just chewed through your serenity, standby.

Seven Texas counties have reported crazy ants this fall, adding to the 28 reported last year, and Robert Puckett, a Texas A&M entomology professor, thinks there are probably others that don’t yet realize they’re infested.

“They’re a beast,” said Puckett, who is part of the team at A&M’s Center for Urban and Structural Entomology. “I always tell people we’re going to take care of it, but they’re going to be trouble for a long time.”

Crazy ants — also called the Rasberry crazy ant or tawny crazy ants — like enclosed spaces, have hundreds of queens in a colony and can shut down productions lines by short-circuiting electronics. They can even drive out fire ants, surviving the competition’s stings by detoxifying its venom.

Do we have an effective solution for this crazy ant menace? Yes, we do!

C Tech Corporation offers a non-toxic and non-hazardous product, Termirepel™ to protect the electrical application and cables from these ravenous insects.

It is an environmentally safe product that works by repelling the insects without causing any harm to the target or non-target species. Termirepel™ is available in three forms, solid masterbatch, liquid concentrate and lacquer form.  Termirepel™ masterbatch can be safely incorporated into the PVC insulation of wires and cables while manufacturing or coated on surfaces to keep crazy ants away from the application. Termirepel™ can also be incorporated in agricultural films and mulches for the protection of trees and bushes against these creatures.

The mountain pine beetle Dendroctonus ponderosae is a species of bark beetle native to the forests of western North America from Mexico to central British Columbia. It has a hard black exoskeleton and measures approximately 5 mm, about the size of a grain of rice.

The first mountain pine beetle outbreak started in British Columbia in the early 1990s. The insect has since killed about 50% of the total volume of commercial lodgepole pine in the province. Not just limiting itself to lodgepole pine any longer, the beetle is also reproducing in jack pine.

The mountain pine beetle has a one-year life cycle in most of its range but may take more or less time to complete its development, depending on local temperatures. Adult beetles usually disperse in July or August, depending on the region, to colonize new host trees. Females attack first and release semiochemicals called aggregation pheromones that attract more females and males to the tree. Female beetles lay eggs along the sides of vertical galleries that they excavate in the inner bark of the tree. Newly hatched larvae mine away from the egg galleries. Insects usually overwinter as larvae, completing their development the following spring and pupating in June or July.

During gallery construction, fungal symbionts carried by beetles in specialized pockets in one of the mouthparts are introduced to the trees. The fungi colonize the inner bark and sapwood, interrupting tree function and defence in addition to changing the moisture and chemistry of tree tissues in which insects are developing. The fungi sporulate in pupal chambers and new adults feed on the spores before emerging and dispersing to a new host tree.

Trees defend themselves against mountain pine beetle attack with toxic resin. Low or endemic beetle populations cannot overcome the defences of healthy trees and attack suppressed weak or dying trees. Suppressed and weak trees are usually poor-quality hosts for the beetles because they may already have been attacked by competing insects and the thin inner bark layer is a poor habitat.

As populations increase, the mountain pine beetle is able to overwhelm the defence of larger and healthier trees through a rapid, coordinated group or mass attack. Large trees provide better habitat and produce more beetles. This results in positive feedback and rapid population growth. Tree defence may be important in regulating low or endemic populations, but they become inconsequential when beetle populations are high.

Now to identify a pine beetle infestation one must look for the following signs:

Pitch Tubes: Popcorn-shaped globs of sap called pitch tubes will be found in the trunk where the beetle begins tunneling. These indicate the tree has tried to “pitch out” the beetle. A red or brown color in the pitch tube indicates a successful attack by the beetle. The color comes from boring dust on the pitch.  A white color indicates an unsuccessful attack – the tree was able to get rid of the beetle before it began boring.  A tree with only a few white tubes has a chance of survival.  If there are several colored tubes present, the tree should be removed.

Heavy Woodpecker Damage: Evidence of woodpeckers feeding on the trunk may indicate mountain pine beetle infestation in a tree. Signs include patches of bark missing where the woodpecker was feeding and bark flakes on the ground below the tree. Woodpeckers also like to feed on the its beetle.

Foliage Color Change: The foliage of trees that have been fatally infested will change color from green to yellow to red.  This color change starts the following spring after the previous summer’s mountain pine beetle flight.  A tree with red needles is beyond the point of saving.

Boring Dust: Pine beetles produce a boring dust as they successfully enter into the host tree. You may notice this sawdust-like material in bark crevices or on the ground around the base of the tree. If boring dust is present around the entire base of the tree, the tree is beyond the point of saving.

Presence of Live Beetles: One can identify mountain pine beetles throughout their lifecycle by peeling the bark off an infested tree; one can find eggs, larva, pupae and/or adult beetles underneath.

Blue Stain: Pine beetles introduce a fungus as they bore into the tree that stains the sapwood a blue or grey color.

Let us look at some of the recent news pertaining to the damage caused by mountain pine beetles

Mountain Pine Beetles Still Beating the Cold in K-Country
18 December 2016, Canada

It’s supposed to be a long, cold and nasty winter this year if you believe the Farmer’s Almanac.  That’s just what Alberta Forestry officials are hoping.

The battle against Mountain Pine Beetle has been a long one.  Our mild winters over the past few years have allowed the Mountain Pine Beetle population in the province to rise and become harder to manage.

Mountain Pine Beetle is a species of Bark Beetles that unlike the rest of their creepy-crawly family, target healthy trees in our forests and have damaging effects on overall forest health.

California: Why tiny insects are tearing up Sierra forests
December 14 2016, California, USA

Western pine beetles, native inhabitants of Sierra Nevada forests, typically go unnoticed. The grain-of-rice-sized insects live a quiet life, spent mostly beneath the bark of weak, diseased or injured trees.

But the beetles of late have been causing uproar. They have been decimating ponderosa pine trees throughout the central and southern Sierra, turning entire hillsides red — the color the pines turn just before they die. Last month, the U.S. Forest Service reported that there are over 100 million dead trees in the Sierra — more than double the amount in 2015, when the dying trees prompted Gov. Jerry Brown to declare a state of emergency.

We need an immediate solution for this problem of mountain pine beetle infestation. Do we have any effective and long lasting solution? Yes, we do.

Termirepel ™, an anti-insect additive, a C Tech Corporation product is an ideal solution for the prevention and control of pine beetle infestation.

Termirepel™ is non-toxic, non-carcinogenic, non-hazardous and environment-friendly insect repellent. Termirepel™ works against 500 species of insects.

Termirepel™ is available in form of solid masterbatches, liquid form, and lacquer. The product does not kill the target species; it just repels them. It follows 6 tiered mechanism, which is extremely effective on insects like pine beetles, aphids, ants, termites etc. It does not volatilize and does not degrade the soil. It is RoHS, RoHS2, REACH, ISO, APVMA, NEA compliant and FIFRA exempted. The liquid concentrate and the lacquer can be coated on the fencing, tree guards etc. Also, Termirepel™ masterbatch can be incorporated in agricultural films, mulches, etc. during polymer processing.

Bed bugs are flat, reddish-brown, oval insects. They are wingless. A few decades ago, bedbugs were somewhat of a novelty in developed countries. But since the early 2000s, infestations have become more common in places like the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Europe, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Bedbugs feed on the blood of humans by inserting a sharp proboscis, or beak, into the victim’s skin. The critters become engorged with blood in about 10 minutes, which fills them up for days. The insects are most active at night, though they are not exclusively nocturnal. Bedbugs are attracted to warmth, moisture and the carbon dioxide released from warm-blooded animals, according to Purdue University. On sleeping human hosts, bedbugs often bite exposed areas of the body, such as the face, neck, arms, and hands.

Adult bedbugs are brown in color, although their bodies redden after feeding. Full-grown bedbugs move relatively slowly and measure between 4 to 5 mm. Homeowners sometimes have the misconception that bed bugs are too small to see with the naked eye. The nymphs may be small and difficult to see, but the adults are detectable with the naked eye and may be found in the cracks and crevices they use to hide. Newly hatched nymphs are approximately the size of the head of a pin and are white or tan until they feed. They often are described as being about the size and shape of an apple seed. Also, bedbugs reproduce by a gruesome strategy appropriately named “traumatic insemination,” in which the male stabs the female’s abdomen and injects sperm into the wound. During their life cycle, females can lay more than 200 eggs, which hatch and go through five immature “nymph” stages before reaching their adult form, molting after each phase.

Bedbugs lurk in cracks and crevices and they’ve been living on human blood for centuries. They can crawl more than 100 feet in a night but typically creep to within 8 feet of the spot its human hosts sleep. Although they do not transmit disease or pose any serious medical risk, the stubborn parasites can leave itchy and unsightly bites. There have also been some strange cases linked to bedbug infestations. Researchers reported in the Canadian Medical Association Journal in 2009 that they treated a 60-year-old man for anemia caused by blood loss from bedbugs. Another study published in 1991 in the Journal of the Egyptian Society of Parasitology found that people with asthma might be more susceptible to allergic reactions from bedbug bites. A bedbug infestation can take a psychological toll on those affected: People whose homes have been infested with bedbugs may have trouble sleeping for fear of being bitten in the night. Also, there is social, public health and economic consequences; office buildings and schools often have to close if they are dealing with a bedbug infestation.

Bed bugs are found in cracks and crevices, including mattress seams, sheets, furniture, behind baseboards, electrical outlet plates, and picture frames. They are often found sneaking in hotels where they can travel from room to room, in visitors’ luggage or other personal belongings like briefcases, handbags, etc.

Let us look at some current updates pertaining to bedbug nuisance:

Bed bugs a growing concern in Muskogee
By David Norris, December 2016, abcTulsa, USA

If you feel itchy at the mere thought of bed bugs, you’re not alone.

And if you think your house is safe, C.B. Abel of Vanish Pest Control in Muskogee says you could be wrong.

“I’ve seen houses that were extremely clean, that had maids who came out twice a week and cleaned the house,” said Abel. “And they had an infestation of bed bugs.”

He says over the years bed bugs have become more resistant to chemicals.

“Three years ago, we’d get six calls a month, six calls every three months for bed bugs, and now, we’re getting six calls a week,” said Abel.

He says the problem gets even worse during winter months when people spend more time indoors.

“Which makes them feed more, which makes them lay more eggs, which makes them populate more,” said Abel.

Bed bug infestation hits a public housing building in Green Bay
By Aisha Morales, December 12, 2016, USA

A bed bug infestation is causing some headaches for residents of Mason Manor, a public housing building in Green Bay. The housing authority says it is doing all it can to clean it up, but what bed bug experts want you to know is, this can happen to anyone.

“While bed bugs are known to carry 45 different human pathogens, they don’t actually give disease,” said bedbug inspector Jon Sandberg, who owns K9 Solutions.

Sandberg says he’s been to Mason Manor where 20 units have been infested with bedbugs. The Green Bay Housing Authority says it’s doing all it can to get the situation under control.

So how do we get rid of them? Regular pest control is considered to be one of the solutions. However, the use of toxic insecticides is now proving to be futile in getting rid of these nasty little creatures. A 2013 study in the journal Nature Scientific Reports suggested that bedbugs have evolved ways to resist insecticides.

So is there any other effective solution for this problem?

Yes, there is!

Termirepel™, an anti-insect additive, a C Tech Corporation product is an ideal solution for the prevention and control of bedbug infestation. It follows 6 pronged strategy which is extremely effective in preventing the damage caused by bedbugs as well as insects like ants, beetles, grasshopper, termites, etc.

Termirepel™ is an extremely low toxic and low hazard insect aversive repellent. It is thermally stable and does not degrade on exposure to heat and sunlight. It does not kill or harm the insect but repels them. It is RoHS, RoHS2, REACH, APVMA, NEA, EU BPR compliant and FIFRA exempted. The product in the form of liquid concentrate can be blended in any paint or organic solvent and can be applied to the various surfaces vulnerable to damages caused by bedbugs like the walls, ceiling, etc. Termirepel™ lacquer can also be used as a coating for furniture for protection. The masterbatch of Termirepel™ can be incorporated into wires and cables which are used in domestic wiring.

Aphids belong to the family of Aphididae. They are a group of sap-sucking, soft-bodied insects and are about the size of a pinhead. Aphids are most passionate, prolific and damaging. They are one of the serious plant pests and they hinder plant growth, transmit plant diseases, and lead to the deformation of leaves, flowers, buds, roots, and sap. There are about 6000 aphid species found in North America alone. Rosy apple aphid is one of several aphid species that can occur on apple trees and is generally the most damaging.
Rosy apple aphid is a tiny soft-bodied sap-sucking insect that feeds on apple foliages and fruits during spring and early summer. They are one of the major agricultural pests when it comes to apple. Even small numbers of aphids can cause significant damage to these fruits. The body of aphid has a waxy coating and usually a slight purplish or rosy tint. Rosy apple aphids lay oval-shaped eggs in bark crevices and around the buds of shoots of apple trees in autumn. When first laid the eggs are bright yellow that gradually changes to greenish yellow and finally within two weeks to shiny jet black. These eggs hatch in spring as the leaves begin to emerge from the buds.

Colonies of pinkish grey aphids develop on the underside of the foliage. Affected leaves at the shoot tips become curled and yellowish. Heavily infested shoots show curbed growth with distorted leaves which start to turn brown during the summer season. Also, the prolonged sucking of sap destroys the normal growth of fruits. While sucking up sap, the aphids secrete chemicals into the foliage with the help of its saliva, which causes the distorted growth and also develops a sooty mold on fruits and leaves. Systemic effect of malignant saliva also leads to reduced growth of roots, photosynthesis, and other woody tissues. Damage can be most severe on young trees where shoots are affected badly leading to permanent damage to the plant. The fruits attacked by aphids often remain small in size with a pinched appearance around the eye end which is formed in the growing season.

Rosy apple aphids are capable of attacking all apple varieties; therefore it is essential for apple growers to monitor their trees carefully for rosy apple aphids. A few colonies are potent of rapidly infesting the entire tree. Rosy apple infestations often go unnoticed until the leaf curl damage is observed. As control becomes extremely difficult in the later stages, aphids are best controlled at the pink stage of bud development, before the serious leaf curl has occurred. It is reported that these noxious insects can cause 50% of fruit injury in severe cases and are most difficult to control.

To tackle this problem of aphids various methods have been tried and tested, the conventional toxic chemicals, pesticides are no longer effective in protecting the attack of these vile pests and also pollute the soil, groundwater reserves and harm the beneficial species like bees, earthworms etc. The use of pyrethrins as a pesticide destroys the aphid predators and parasites leading to the surplus gathering of aphids. Also, there are reported incidences of insects becoming resistant to many toxic pesticides. Unlike these chemicals, CTech Corporation’s product Termirepel™ is the best solution to deal with the problem of these pests. Termirepel™ is non-toxic, non-carcinogenic, non-hazardous and environment-friendly insect repellent. Termirepel™ works against 500 species of insects. Termirepel™ is available in form of solid masterbatches, liquid form, and lacquer. The product does not kill the target species; it just repels them.

It follows 6 tiered mechanism, which is extremely effective on insects like aphids, ants, beetles, grasshopper, termites etc. It does not volatilize and does not degrade the soil. It is RoHS, RoHS2, REACH, APVMA, NEA compliant and FIFRA exempted. Termirepel™ masterbatch can be incorporated in agricultural films, mulches, etc. during polymer processing which would provide protection from the pesky aphids. The liquid concentrate and the lacquer can be coated on the fencing, tree guards etc.

“The ants go marching one by one…” goes the famous nursery rhyme describing the brilliant teamwork and management skills possessed by ants. Although small, these bugs are a remarkable example of working together. Each tiny ant labors diligently in constructing its colony. Even a single ant makes a huge and significant difference. The leaf-cutter ants are one such type.

Leafcutter ants, a non-generic name, are any of 47 species of leaf-chewing ants belonging to the two genera Atta and Acromyrmex. Leaf Cutter Ants originate mainly in the USA. They are found in eastern and south central Texas. They also can be found in parts of western Louisiana and are considered an agricultural pest.

Leaf cutter ants have mainly three body parts-the head, thorax, and abdomen, with jointed legs, antennae and an exoskeleton, similar to the hardness of an adult human’s fingernails. Their exterior colors range from orange, brown, red or black typically depending on geographical area. Their sharp mandibles allow the ants to cut pieces of leaves from plants and trees. Leafcutter ants live in huge colonies on the forest floor. They vary in size and appearance depending on their role within the colony. These physical differences are so large that it is hard to believe that ants in the same colony are actually the same species. Some ants are large; some are small; some have wings, and some have big mandibles! Their colonies are very complex, and every ant has a specialized role to play within the colony. Another very interesting fact about the leaf cutter ants is that they live in colonies that can contain over eight million insects!  Most of the ants in a colony are workers, but they often have different jobs depending on their body size. The smallest ants, called minims, grow the fungus food and watch over eggs the queen ant has laid. The very largest worker ants, called majors, go out to collect bits of plants and defend the colony from intruders.

Over the years, leaf cutter ants have gained the nickname of “fungus farmers” from the scientists who have closely studied them. This is due to the fact that the ants do not actually eat the leaves they gather into their nest; they ‘farm’ with them and grow mushroom-type fungus to feed on. These ants tuck the bits of leaves into their tunnels and wait for the fungus to grow. Then they harvest and eat it. Leafcutter ants can carry more than 50 times their body weight and cut and process fresh vegetation like leaves, flowers, and grasses to serve as the nutritional substrate for their fungal cultivars.

In some parts of their range, leafcutter ants can be a serious agricultural pest, defoliating crops and damaging roads and farmland with their nest-making activities. For example, some Atta species are capable of defoliating an entire citrus tree in less than 24 hours. One researcher in South America estimated that a large leaf cutting ant colony harvested approximately 13,000 pounds of leaves over a 6-year period. This same colony excavated 802 cubic feet of soil weighing over 44 tons. Considerable damage to a plant can occur in a few hours. Small- to medium-sized trees can be stripped in one night.

During the growing season, ants primarily feed on herbaceous plants and deciduous trees and shrubs. During the dormant season when these plants do not have live foliage, leaf cutter ants damage most species of southern pine trees. The ants prefer loblolly and shortleaf pine trees, though they will also damage slash and longleaf pine trees. The ants are particularly destructive to agricultural operations that grow pine seedlings for the lumber industry.

Let us have a look at the following news article:

Leaf Cutter Ants Chew up Photographer’s Camera Gear

June 8, 2016

“It’s not just the big guys you have to be worried about when setting up a camera trap in the jungle, you should probably look out for ants too” explains Naturalist Phil Torres

Torres is a biologist, conservationist, naturalist, and photographer, and he was in the Amazon rainforest with photographer Jeff Cremer of Rainforest Expeditions when they tried to set up a simple camera trap using a Canon 7D, an off-camera flash, and an IR sensor.

Everything was neatly bagged up to keep it out of the rain, and the gear was tested and in good condition. But when they arrived the next morning, they found all the bags and coverings gone, Jeff’s tripods and cables chewed up, and all of his gear waterlogged beyond saving.

The culprit? The tiny leaf cutter ants!

It turned out Cremer and Torres had set up the trap just a few feet away from the ants’ nest. Overnight, the ants came and cut the bags to pieces, chewed into the gorilla pods and cables, and left whatever gear was still working exposed to the elements so the rain could finish the job. In all, the ants caused about $2,800 worth of damage.

Looking for a sustainable solution?

We at C Tech Corporation have a solution to avoid the damages caused by these pesky ants. Termirepel™ anti-insect additive, a C Tech Corporation product is the best solution for the prevention and control of insect infestations.

It follows 6 tiered mechanism, which is extremely effective on insects like ants, termites, beetles etc. Termirepel™ masterbatch can be incorporated in agricultural films, mulches, greenhouse films etc. during polymer processing. The incorporation of our masterbatches into the films would keep the leaf-cutter ants away from the crops which need to be protected.  Also, Termirepel™ liquid concentrate can be added to paints which can then be applied to fencing, etc. for protection. Termirepel™ is a nontoxic and nonhazardous anti-insect additive.

It is thermally stable and does not degrade on exposure to heat and sunlight. It does not kill or harm the insect but repels them. It does not volatilize and does not degrade the soil. It is RoHS, RoHS2, REACH, APVMA, NEA compliant and FIFRA exempted.

Whiteflies, also known as Aleyrodidae, are soft-bodied, winged insects closely related to aphids and mealy bugs. These pests are omnipresent and they are so tiny that they are usually camouflaged. They can be as small as 1/12 of an inch, somewhat triangular in shape, and are often found in clusters on the undersides of leaves.

Whiteflies tend to suck on ornamentals and warm-weather vegetable plants, including tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, and okra. They also like sweet potatoes and plants from the cabbage family. They suck plant juices and produce a sticky substance known as honeydew which can cause fungal diseases in leaves! This, in turn, leads to weakening of plants and also in some cases the plants may not be able to carry out photosynthesis. Leaves turn pale yellow and there is deterioration in the plant quality. In addition to this ants get attracted to the honeydew causing further damage.

Whiteflies are capable of overwintering and reproducing throughout the year in warmer climates. Many times the whiteflies lay eggs on the undersides of leaves. This is the beginning of a new generation! When the eggs hatch, the larvae look like teeny white ovals without legs; they don’t move but they immediately start sucking the plant juice. This is why gardeners miss the whiteflies until it’s too late. Adult females can produce up to 400 eggs, which can hatch in between one week and a month.

In the year 2015, about two-thirds of Punjab’s cotton crop was destroyed by whiteflies causing an estimated loss of Rs 4,200 crore. There were reports of at least 15 cotton farmers committing suicide. Punjab had nearly 12 lakh acres of cotton and almost all of it was BT cotton. Over the years the whitefly attacks and the population had been controlled by extensive use of chemical pesticides. The farmers had sprayed pesticide for about 10-12 times in a period of two months. Each spray had a cost of about Rs 3,300 per acre. But the whitefly was unaffected. On investigation, it was concluded that the whiteflies had developed a resistance to the commonly used pesticides.

Let us look at some other recent news where these pesky pests have been found guilty of destroying valuable produce.

Whitefly populations explode on Georgia fall vegetables

 By Kyle Dawson, November 5, 2016, University of Georgia, USA

Whitefly populations in South Georgia have exploded over the past several weeks, troubling vegetable producers during the fall growing season. University of Georgia horticulturist Tim Coolong said growers must be up to date on spray programs, though combating whitefly populations of this magnitude will still be difficult. In some cases, it might be impossible to stop whiteflies before they spread viruses.

The damage and loss caused by these tiny whiteflies are huge! We cannot afford this significant amount of crop damage caused by pests like whiteflies. There is an urgent need for a sustainable solution.

Termirepel™ anti-insect additive, a C Tech Corporation product is the best solution for the prevention and control of insect infestations. Termirepel™ masterbatch can be incorporated in agricultural films, mulches, greenhouse films etc. during polymer processing. It can also be incorporated in silage bags and packaging films to protect the crops in the post-harvest stage from pest damage.

Termirepel™ lacquer can be added to paints which can then be applied to fencing, etc. It follows 6 tiered mechanism, which is extremely effective on insects like whiteflies, ants, beetles, grasshopper, termites etc. Termirepel™ is a nontoxic and nonhazardous anti-insect additive. It is thermally stable and does not degrade on exposure to heat and sunlight. It does not kill or harm the insect but repels them. It does not volatilize and does not degrade the soil. It is RoHS, RoHS2, REACH, APVMA, NEA compliant and FIFRA exempted.

 

Hey! are you coming to the party? Oh yes definitely I have visited that place before, it’s awesome and a great spot the whole place will be available for us to party, eat, have fun and chill. I am excited to reach the venue, meet you there at night Bye!

This is the conversation between mites and the party is held at poor farmer’s farm.

A mite is teeny-weeny and itty-bitty yet catastrophic. Mites, along with ticks, are small arthropods belonging to the class Arachnida. In soil ecosystems, mites are favored by high organic matter content and by moist conditions, wherein they actively engage in the fragmentation and mixing of organic matter.

Mites are among the most diverse and successful group of all the invertebrate groups. They have exploited an incredible array of habitats, and because of their small size (most are microscopic), they go largely unnoticed. Mites occupy a wide range of ecological niches.

Termite colonies eat nonstop, 24 hours a day, seven days a week! This results in up to $ 2 billion damage in every year.

Most mites are difficult to see clearly without magnification. However, their movement across a surface can sometimes be detected. Some species of plant-feeding mites produce webbing and silk like the spider mites. They also can cause discoloration of leaves and eventually leaf drop. Other mites like the clover mite can easily be seen due to their bright red colouration.

Spider mites are less than 1 millimeter (0.04 in) in size and vary in color. They lay small, spherical, initially transparent eggs and many species spin silk webbing to help protect the colony from predators, they get the “spider” part of their common name from this webbing.

Hot, dry conditions are often associated with population build-up of spider mites. Under optimal conditions (approximately 80 °F or 27 °C), the two-spotted spider mite can hatch in as little as 3 days, and become sexually mature in as little as 5 days. One female can lay up to 20 eggs per day and can live for 2 to 4 weeks, laying hundreds of eggs. This accelerated reproductive rate allows spider mite populations to adapt quickly to resist pesticides, so chemical control methods can become somewhat ineffectual when the same pesticide is used over a prolonged period.

Thus the quick reproductive cycle of spider mites accelerates the number of mites attacking the field, farm, crops.

Spider mites generally live on the undersides of leaves of the plants, where they may spin protective silk webs, and can cause damage by puncturing the plant cells to feed. Spider mites are known to feed on several hundred species of plants. They attack a wide range of plants, including peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, beans, corn, strawberries, etc.This leads to a vast amount of damage to the crops, farmer, nation, and economy.

So getting rid of spider mites is of top priority in an infestation. In the world of horticulture there are mites and then there are spider mites, or what we can call the two-spotted mite.

Warm, dry temperatures make the perfect climate for the spider mites reproductive cycle, which leaves plants susceptible not only to drought but also to the mite’s tenacious appetite.

The natural method of protection from mites like the application of Neem oil, insecticidal oil, may provide control when combined with a suitable surfactant and diluted with water but a continuous repeated application is required therefore it is not that resistant to mites.

Acaricides, Insecticides, Miticides are applied to crops to control spider mites.  The disadvantage associated with this includes toxicity, and the resistance to all the mite species even the useful ones are resisted.

Pesticides don’t work on the mites as they have adapted to them. Using a pesticide will only kill off the beneficial bugs that eat spider mites, which will only make the spider mite infestation worse.

Spider mite damage can not only make a plant look unsightly, it can even kill the plant.

It is important to use such a product which would not damage the crop yet keep way the insects and mites. A product which is non-hazardous, non- carcinogenic, non-toxic.

ARE SUCH PRODUCTS AVAILABLE??

GOOD NEWS IS, YES THEY ARE AVAILABLE!!

Termirepel™ anti-insect additive a C Tech Corporation product is an ideal solution for the prevention of attack of termites and other insects.

It is made from a combination of green practices and best of chemistry to give an environmentally safe product. It is being used worldwide for a myriad of applications.

Termirepel™ does not kill but only keeps away the insect by making use of sensory mechanisms. Aggressive species are further deterred from attacking by advanced mechanisms like aversion, feeding deterrents, mating disruption, reproduction cycle inhibition, growth impairment and chemo sterilization thus modifying their response towards the Termirepel™ containing products resulting in them staying away from the application.

The active life of Termirepel™ ranges from 5-40 years and it is on an average
found to be effective for 15 years. Since Termirepel™ is designed to averse effectively and not kill the insects, it doesn’t harm the target as well as the non-target species in any way. It is RoHS, RoHS2, REACH compliant and FIFRA exempted.

We believe in repelling and not destroying.

The house fly, Musca domestica Linnaeus, is a well-known cosmopolitan pest of both farm and home. This species is always found in association with humans or the activities of humans. It is the most common species found on hog and poultry farms, horse stables and ranches. Not only are house flies a nuisance, but they can also transport disease-causing organisms. Excessive fly populations are not only an irritant to farm workers but, when there are nearby human habitations, a public health problem could occur.

This common fly originated on the steppes of central Asia, but now occurs on all inhabited continents, in all climates from tropical to temperate, and in a variety of environments ranging from rural to urban. It is commonly associated with animal feces, but has adapted well to feeding on garbage, so it is abundant almost anywhere people live.

The house fly has a complete metamorphosis with distinct egg, larval or maggot, pupal and adult stages. The house fly overwinters in either the larval or pupal stage under manure piles or in other protected locations. Warm summer conditions are generally optimum for the development of the house fly, and it can complete its life cycle in as little as seven to ten days. However, under suboptimal conditions the life cycle may require up to two months. As many as 10 to 12 generations may occur annually in temperate regions, while more than 20 generations may occur in subtropical and tropical regions.

Flies commonly develop in large numbers in poultry manure under caged hens, and this is a serious problem requiring control. Although this fly species does not bite, the control of Musca domestica is vital to human health and comfort in many areas of the world. The most important damage related with this insect is the annoyance and the indirect damage produced by the potential transmission of pathogens (viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and nematodes) associated with this fly. Pathogenic organisms are picked up by flies from garbage, sewage and other sources of filth, and then transferred on their mouthparts, through their vomitus, feces and contaminated external body parts to human and animal food.

Of particular concern is the movement of flies from animal or human feces to food that will be eaten uncooked by humans. Also, when consumed by flies, some pathogens can be harbored in the mouthparts or alimentary canal for several days, and then be transmitted when flies defecate or regurgitate. In situations where plumbing is lacking, such as open latrines, serious health problems can develop, especially if there are outdoor food markets, hospitals, or slaughter houses nearby. Among the pathogens commonly transmitted by house flies are Salmonella, Shigella, Campylobacter, Escherichia, Enterococcus, Chlamydia, and many other species that cause illness. These flies are most commonly linked to outbreaks of diarrhea and shigellosis, but also are implicated in transmission of food poisoning, typhoid fever, dysentery, tuberculosis, anthrax, ophthalmia, and parasitic worms.

The threshold density for determining when to control flies depends on the area where the control measures will be taken. In general, at homes the threshold is very low and control actions are taken with few flies. The complaint threshold density of the house fly at waste management sites may be 150 individuals per flypaper per 30 minutes.

Tolerance of flies depends greatly on circumstances. In sensitive environments such as food preparation and packing facilities, restaurants, and hospitals, even small numbers of flies cannot be tolerated. In the context of livestock or poultry production, however, some flies are inevitable. Serious problems occur when cities or suburban development occur near poultry production facilities, as residents usually will not tolerate the large numbers of flies emanating from such facilities.

Let us look at the below news that shows house fly menace:

Housefly menace makes life miserable for Karnal villagers
Tribune News Service, Karnal, June 16, 2016, India

Residents of Rasoolpur Kalan village, around 7 km from here, are facing a hard time because of swarms of houseflies. Villagers said they were worried as the houseflies could lead to an outbreak of an epidemic. They said the unhygienic conditions in poultry farms situated near the village were responsible for the nuisance.

Sarpanch of Rasoolpur Kalan village Rameshwar Dass said despite approaching the authorities several times, no action had been initiated so far against the poultry farm owners. The sarpanch said flies breed in the waste from the poultry farms, making the lives of the residents miserable.

“I have been running from pillar to post since taking charge as sarpanch to eradicate this menace. I have approached the CM window, Deputy Commissioner, Sub-Divisional Magistrate and even the Pollution Control Board, Yamunanagar, but the authorities have taken no action so far,” he maintained.

Dass said the villagers would protest at the Chief Minister’s camp office on Friday in support of their demand. He alleged that the owners of the poultry farms were reaping profit and not taking steps to ensure cleanliness of their farms.

The sarpanch said swarms of houseflies could be seen in the village as a result of which the livestock were also badly affected. He alleged that the housefly menace was the reason for low milk production in the village.

A villager, Bittu, said they had given a representation to the authorities seeking action against the poultry farms that were allegedly dumping waste of the farms in an unscientific way, thereby, causing air pollution in the area.

To prevent and control house fly menace the use of pesticides and insecticides is not beneficial because the effect of them stays only for certain period of time. The toxic chemicals present in them cause harm to beneficial insects and microorganisms. The evaporated toxic fumes from them are hazardous to human health. They can also degrade the quality of product they are applied to.

Termirepel™- anti insect additive a C Tech Corporation product is an ideal solution for the prevention and control of house fly menace. The masterbatch of Termirepel™ can be incorporated in various polymeric applications which are used. While Termirepel™ solution and lacquer can be coated to fence, wooden objects, furniture, walls, ceilings etc. It follows 6 pronged strategy which is extremely effective on house flies as well as insects like ants, beetles, grasshopper, termites etc.

Termirepel™ is a non toxic and non hazardous anti insect additive. It is thermally stable and does not degrade on exposure to heat and sunlight. It does not kill or harm the insect but repels them. It does not volatilize and does not degrade the soil. It is RoHS, RoHS2, REACH compliant and FIFRA exempted.

The emerald ash borer (EAB) is a metallic green beetle that bores into ash treesfeeding on tissues beneath the bark, ultimately killing the tree. The emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis, is a very destructive insect pest of ash trees (Fraxinus spp.), the only known hosts of this borer in North America. This exotic borer is a native of Asia with its natural range including China, Japan, Mongolia, Korea, the Russian Far East and Taiwan.

EABs generally have a one-year life cycle although that can be extended to two years in a vigorously growing host. After feeding on leaves, adults mate and females lay eggs on the bark or into small cracks. Eggs hatch in 7 to 10 days. The whitish larvae, called flatheaded borers, tunnel under the bark creating a winding, S-shaped galleries in the phloem and outer sapwood. These tunnels girdle the trunk and branches, interrupting the flow of water and nutrients. The larvae feed until fall and then overwinter as prepupal larvae.

EAB populations can quickly rise to damaging levels. After initial infestation, all ash trees are expected to die in an area within 10 years without control measures. Every North American ash species shows susceptibility to EAB as North American species planted in China also shows high mortality due to EAB infestation.

Host species include green ash, white ash, black ash, blue ash, and pumpkin ash. Tens of millions of ash trees have been lost to this pest, which usually kills ash trees within 3-4 years of infestation.

Green ash and the black ash trees are preferred by EAB. White ash is also killed rapidly, but usually only after all green and black ash trees are eliminated. Blue ash displays some resistance to the emerald ash borer by forming callus tissue around EAB galleries but is eventually killed. Many of the specialized predators and parasitoids that suppressed EAB populations in Asia are not present in North America. Predators and parasitoids native to North America do not sufficiently suppress EAB, so populations continue to grow. EAB populations can spread 20 km (12 mi) a year. However, it primarily spreads to longer distances by transport of firewood and other wood products that contain ash bark, which allows EAB to reach new areas and create satellite populations outside of the main infestation.

EAB threatens the entire North American Fraxinus genus. It has killed at least tens of millions of ash trees so far and threatens to kill most of the 8.7 billion ash trees throughout North America. Emerald ash borer kills young trees several years before reaching their seeding age of 10 years. The loss of ash from an ecosystem can result in increased numbers of invasive plants, changes in soil nutrients, and effects on species that feed on ash.

Ash wood is greatly valued for its strength and elasticity and is often used for baseball bats, bows, tool handles, and other products that require durability, strength, and resilience. Green ash is planted widely as a landscape tree in urban areas and is a valuable native component of wetland areas. Ash foliage and seeds are fed upon by numerous animals as well as butterfly and moth caterpillars. And these valuable ash trees have a huge threat from EAB.

Damage and efforts to control the spread of EAB have affected businesses that sell ash trees or wood products, property owners, and local or state governments. Quarantines can limit the transport of ash trees and products, but economic impacts are especially high for urban and residential areas due to treatment or removal costs and decreased land value from dying trees. Costs for managing these trees can fall upon homeowners or local municipalities. For municipalities, removing large numbers of dead or infested trees at once is costly.

Let us look below news articles that show EABs are threatening our trees:

• Emerald ash borer found in Longmont
  Jacy Marmaduke, Coloradoan, June 9, 2016, US

The news of a relatively nearby infestation is significant for Fort Collins because nearly one in five of 40,000 city-owned trees are ash. The beetle, which is native to Asia, has killed more than 50 million ash trees in the United States since appearing in the Detroit area in 2002. It’s predicted to kill 9 billion ash trees by 2019.

• Emerald Ash Borer invades metro neighborhoods, causes millions in damages
  By Nicole Diantonio, June 6, 2016, US

SHAWNEE, Kan. — A beetle infestation in the metro area is causing millions of dollars in damages and thousands of Ash trees are being cut down because of the Emerald Ash Borer. Experts are now saying the problem has spread a lot faster than anticipated to every major county and city in the metro. Now, there are many Ash trees in the neighborhood near McCory Street in Shawnee that is either dead or dying.

With nearly 4 million Ash Trees in the metro area, the infestation is costing the community millions of dollars in damages. In February, Lawrence, Kan., received nearly $240,000 to fight the beetles during the next decade.

Below is figure that shows distribution of EAB throughout North America:

Insecticides with active ingredients such as imidacloprid, emamectin benzoate, and dinotefuran are currently used. These insecticides are toxic in nature. They kill target as well as the non- target species. They are harmful to human health.

C Tech Corporation can offer a solution to overcome the damage caused by EAB to our trees. Termirepel™ is an ideal solution for prevention from damages inflicted by EAB. Termirepel™ is a nontoxic and nonhazardous insect aversive.  Although it is non-hazardous anti termite aversive, it is effective against insects like EAB, grasshopper, worms etc. It is cost effective and cost efficient, inert, stable up to 1400 deg Celsius temperature, long lasting etc.

Termirepel™ is manufactured with a unique set of complex compounds. It is available in the form of polymer masterbatches which can be incorporated in plastic tree guards, fencing of trees, etc.

 

Tent caterpillars are moderately sized caterpillars, or moth larvae, belonging to the genus Malacosoma in the family Lasiocampidae.

The larvae of several moth and butterfly species are collectively referred to as tent caterpillars. These tent caterpillars multiply rapidly and can defoliate a large number of deciduous trees and shrubs in a short time. They are often seen on roadside trees and in neglected orchards. Besides defoliation, the larvae produce large unsightly webs, or tents, in the crotches of tree branches. These webs are used to protect the caterpillars from predators.

Tent caterpillars can be classified into different types as follows:

Eastern Tent Caterpillar: The eastern tent caterpillar is a native insect that was first reported in 1646. Eastern tent caterpillars prefer wild cherry, apple, and crabapple. They also feed on ash, birch, black gum, maple, oak, poplar, cherry, peach ,and plum etc. The caterpillar grows up to two inches long. They are black with a white stripe down the back. On either side of the stripe are blue spots and reddish or yellowish stripes.

Female moths lay egg masses of 100 to 300 eggs around a twig in mid-summer. The egg mass is very dark. The eggs overwinter and hatch the following spring. When the larvae (caterpillars) hatch, they are small. They immediately climb up the tree to a crotch of branches and build a silk tent. Eastern Tent Caterpillars use the tent for protection. They leave the tent during the day to feed and return to it at night. As the caterpillars eat and grow larger, the tent grows larger also. It can get to be about two feet long.

Western Tent Caterpillar: Western Tent caterpillars are troublesome in the northern and western portions of the United States and adjoining Canada. These hairy caterpillars are yellowish-brown in color and have a row of blue spots on their backs, with orange spots interspersed in between. Adult moths (1-1/2 inches long) are orange-brown in color with two narrow yellow lines on the wings. Willow, poplar, cottonwood, birch, apple, plum, cherry, roses and oak are favorite host plants of these pests. Hosts for these caterpillars include a wide range of tree and shrub species. In the central and the southern Rocky Mountains, quaking aspen is the preferred host. Other reported tree hosts include alder, cottonwood, crabapple, fruit trees, oak, poplar, and willow. Chokecherry is a host throughout its range. Other shrub hosts include bitterbrush, Ceanothus spp., mountain mahogany, nine-bark, serviceberry, sumac, wild currant, and wild rose.

Forest Tent Caterpillar:  The forest tent caterpillar is quite similar to the eastern tent caterpillar.  Despite its name, this pest does not spin a true tent; instead, it forms a silken mat on the surface of branches where they congregate. Larvae have a series of keyhole-shaped white spots running down their back instead of a solid line. Adults are light yellow to tan colored moths with two dark bands on their forewings. Host plants include wild cherry, aspen, maple, oak, and hawthorn.

The damage caused by the tent caterpillars is tremendous. The tent caterpillar feed on tree’s new foliage and they defoliate the trees if present in large numbers. Defoliation stunts the growth and vigor of trees. Because tent caterpillars feed in large groups, they can quickly destroy large sections of a tree’s canopy.

Larvae of a single tent caterpillar colony can strip the leaves from a small tree if allowed to develop and is more of a threat in nurseries or newly planted orchards. On larger trees they are only a serious problem if there are several colonies on the same tree. While fruits are not directly attacked, fruits on branches that have had leaves consumed will not develop normally. Moreover, heavy feeding during one year may reduce tree growth.

• Tent Caterpillars Are Taking Over the Town In Livingston

By Kaitlin McCulley, April 01, 2016, abc13.com, Livingston, UK

Tent caterpillars are taking over the town in Livingston.

Their acrobatics may be fun to watch from a distance, but these creepy crawlers are getting up close and personal.

Amanda Fowler and her daughter Savannah want the circus act to hit the road.

“The webs go from the trees and connect to the house and they swarm the porches and you literally can’t step out your front door without having six or seven of them on you,” Fowler said.

Another type of damage that tent caterpillars cause is damage to electrical equipment, insulation etc.  leading to power blackouts.

Let us have a look at some news articles pertaining to this type of damage:

• Tent caterpillar swarms causing power outages near Houston
  ByCarol Christian, July 30, 2015, Chron, Texas, USA

Tent caterpillars are so abundant in East Texas that some residents have been left in the dark. Sam Houston Electric Cooperative said that the colorful caterpillars have been hatching by the millions and covering homes, trees, and electrical equipment. Line technicians report that the caterpillars can engulf transformers, resulting in blown fuses.”The caterpillars can completely cover a piece of electrical equipment,” said Sam Houston Electric Cooperative line technician Virgil Cain. “They can actually disrupt the insulating ability of the equipment and cause a power outage.”

There are few conventional solutions available to combat this plague of tent caterpillars. Damage can be reduced by removing and destroying tents and caterpillars as soon as they are noticed, but this technique is not very effective and cannot provide a sure shot solution. Conventional insecticides which are toxic in nature are also proving to be ineffective and also have a significant share in environmental degradation.

C Tech Corporation offers a non-toxic and non-hazardous product, Termirepel™ to protect the trees and electrical equipment from these ravenous insects. It is an environmentally safe product that works by repelling the insects without causing any harm to the target or non-target species. Termirepel™ is available in solid masterbatches, liquid concentrate, and lacquer form.  Termirepel™ can also be incorporated in agricultural films and mulches for the protection of crops against these creatures. Also, the electrical equipment can be protected by incorporating our solid masterbatches while manufacturing them.

Gone are the days when we used paper or foil packaging to protect the goods. Plastic packaging took over the paper packaging and solved many problems like mechanical damage, damage due to moisture, weight, smell, texture, etc. Plastic packaging reduced the usage of paper products and contributed to the gradual decrease in cutting of trees and conserved the environment. Plastic films now have myriad applications in all sector like agriculture, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, construction, automotives, aerospace, etc. According to the Global Industry Analyst, Inc, the global market for plastic films is projected to reach 68.4 million tons translating to USD 117.6 billion by 2020, driven by growing demand from packaging as well as non packaging applications.

However, these plastic films which are used in storing the materials or goods in storage units or warehouses have a huge threat from insects. These vile creatures damage the packaging of the material and can sometimes further damage the material itself, resulting into huge monetary loss.

Packaging pests are classified into two categories, penetrators and invaders. Invaders are insects that typically have weakly developed mouthparts at both the larval and adult stages. The invaders account for more than 75% of the infestations. Invaders commonly enter packages through openings resulting from mechanical damage, defective seals, or holes made by other insects penetrating the package. The newly hatched larvae of invaders typically cause the most damage because they are able to fit through holes as small as 0.1 mm wide. Most infestations are the result of invasion through seams and closures, and rarely through penetrations. These refuges provide a safe place to lay eggs and also give the newly hatched larvae an ideal location to invade the packages.

Insects classified as penetrators are those that can chew holes directly into packaging materials. Penetrators are most dangerous at the larval stage, though some beetle species can also be dangerous as adults. Insects such as the lesser grain borer, the cigarette beetle, the warehouse beetle, the rice weevil, the cadelle, and the larvae of the rice moth, are known to be good package penetrators and are capable of boring through one or more layers of flexible packaging materials. The larvae of the Indian meal moth, under some conditions are also good penetrators and may be the most serious pests of packaged foods. The warehouse beetle, classified as a penetrator, is more specialized in the food products it infests. It can create an additional problem to the consumer because the cast skins of the larvae can cause allergic reactions. The drugstore beetle is a strong penetrator and infests a wide variety of foods.

Aside from stored-product insects, which do not feed, most stored-product insect adults and larvae feed in order to sustain themselves. When faced with consumer food packages both invaders and penetrators will take advantage of any sort of opening in a packaging material in order to gain entry. These openings may form as a result of the chewing of penetrators, as rips, tears, or as punctures resulting from normal wear and tear throughout the handling process. Openings in packaging may also be made deliberately by the manufacturer in the form of “vents” which allow pressure equalization. This way, the manufacturer can avoid the bursting or shrinking of food packages during shipment over changing altitudes and temperatures. In most cases, insect pests enter packages through existing openings that are created from poor seals, openings made by other insects, or mechanical damage. Most infestations are the result of invasion through seams and closures, and rarely through penetrations.

Throughout the years many solutions like the use of pesticides and insecticides are proven to be ineffective. They are toxic in nature and kill the target species as well as non target species. It apparently decreases the quality of the product. Moreover, the chemicals used in insecticides are harmful to human health. There is a need of non toxic, environmental friendly solution.

C Tech Corporation can offer a solution to overcome this problem. Termirepel™– anti termite and anti insect polymer additive is an ideal solution to repel insects like termites, ants, grasshopper, beetles, bugs etc. Termirepel™ masterbatch can be incorporated in plastic packaging films and sheets.

Termirepel™ follows 6 pronged strategy which is extremely effective on insects as well as rodents. It is thermally stable and does not degrade on exposure to heat and sunlight. It does not kill or harm the insect but repels them. It does not volatilize and does not degrade in the soil. It is RoHS, RoHS2, REACH compliant and FIFRA exempted.

 

‘Nylanderia fulva’ are commonly known as crazy ants. This species is known worldwide as an invasive species and environmental pest. The ants are obnoxious because they reproduce in large numbers, sometimes outnumbering all other ants 100-to-1. Edward LeBrun, a researcher at the University of Texas at Austin, who has conducted various studies/research, said, “That’s a problem since ecosystems depend on a wide variety of ants to perform different tasks; domination by one species is highly unusual”,

Crazy ants are highly versatile, living in both moist and dry habitats. They generally nest in rotten wood, soil, the cavities of trees and plants, trash and under rocks and buildings. They cannot survive extremely cold climates and may infest houses and buildings when the weather changes. They often invade our homes, buildings, industrial plants, and even our electronic equipment.

These ants are difficult to control because they are ready to abandon their homes and find new ones at a moment’s notice. Like many invasive ants, including some populations of the red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta), crazy ant colonies contain multiple queens. This allows them to reproduce faster than single-queen species and makes it hard to kill the entire colony.

Crazy ants are always looking for cavities to nest in — unlike most ants, they don’t excavate their own holes and tunnels, beyond minimal expansion. That is also the reason they move into people’s houses, nesting in any area with protected holes and cavities, such as the insides of walls and in basements and crawlspaces.

Edward LeBrun, a researcher at the University of Texas, explained – Their small size, less than one-eighth of an inch in length, allows them to crawl inside cell phones, computers and appliances, which all are home to protected cavities and are “just great” for these ants. Most commonly, they swarm inside sheds and pumps in rural areas, which has been a problem for industries in Texas and elsewhere along the Gulf Coast. When the crazy ants enter these devices their bodies can create connections between electrical contacts, which can lead the circuits to short out and electrocute the ants. This causes them to release an alarm pheromone, a scent ants use to communicate that they are “under attack,” likely attracting the ants’ kin to come and fight. This creates a vicious cycle that can leave appliances broken and full of dead and angry ants.

Crazy ants have unique body structure. Their jaws are not strong enough to cut through metal wires, but they can chew through the softer insulation around them, exposing the live wires and causing electrical shorts.

Teeming out of electrical outlets and short-circuiting electronics, these tiny reddish-brown crazy ants have been making headlines as their numbers climb in the southeastern U.S. The ants swarm inside the units, causing them to short-circuit and preventing them from turning on. Often the switches inside them need to be replaced, thanks to the ants, said Matthews, who works for the Austin-area pest control business The Bug Master.

‘Crazy ants’ that feast on electronics and are invading the U.S. cannot be killed with normal insecticide

By Mail Online, 10 June 2013, US

According to ABC News, the chemicals that kill the more common red ant aren’t effective on crazy ants, so residents should call pest control if they find an infestation in their home.

The insects, bizarrely, are attracted to electrical wiring and components and in one year alone caused $146.5 million in damages in Texas, ABC reported.

The devastation occurs when one ant discovers the transformer then gets electrocuted when it touches it, and ‘waves its abdomen in the air’ omitting a certain scent.

The scent lures for ants to the scene and they too are electrocuted, again sending the scent into the air to attract their friends.

Eventually, there are so many dead ants that the electric switches get stuck or the insulation fries and the system shut down.

The crazy ants are most commonly found in coastal areas with warmer temperatures. Known scientifically as ‘Nylanderia fulva,’ they are also referred to as ‘rasberry’ after the exterminator Tom Rasberry who discovered them in Houston in 2002.

The ‘crazy’ ants do not have such a painful sting as their insect counterparts, but they are still a nuisance for homeowners.

‘Crazy ants’ that spread disease are invading Britain from Argentina
By Mirror, 18 Aug 2015, UK

The Argentinian variety is particularly vicious, attacking crops and animals.

And the pests, from Pampas, have teeth sharp enough to gnaw through thick wiring, causing short circuits and fires.

Expert David Cross said that the new arrivals are the latest additions to a growing list of fearsome tropical ants that have colonized areas across the country. Mr. Cross said: “Species like these were once contained in their own parts of the world, but they now seem to be on something of a world tour.

“The population of tropical ants in this country is certainly growing all the time and we’re now seeing many more problems with colonies of certain species than we have witnessed in the past.

“Most arrive here via container ships from different parts of the world, either in food or perhaps soft furnishings.”

He added: “Most tropical ants can’t live outside and need warmth to survive so they can thrive in places where heating is on all the time.

Conventional insecticides have proven to be a failed solution to give effective results. These insecticides are toxic in nature. They kill target as well as nontarget species. They are also hazardous to human health. Moreover, species like crazy ants are not at all affected by the toxic effects of these insecticides.

C Tech Corporation can offer a solution to overcome the damage caused by crazy ants. Termirepel™ anti-termite, an anti-insect additive is an ideal solution for the prevention and control of crazy ants. It follows 6 pronged strategy which is extremely effective on crazy ants as well as insects like termites, beetles, grasshopper, bugs etc.

Termirepel™ is thermally stable and does not degrade on exposure to heat and sunlight. It does not kill or harm the insect but repels them. It does not volatilize and does not degrade the soil. It is RoHS, RoHS2, REACH, APVMA, NEA compliant and FIFRA exempted.

Agriculture plays a crucial role in the development of an economy. It is the backbone of our economic system. Agriculture not only provides food and raw material but also employment opportunities to a very large proportion of the population.

However, the damages inflicted by insects to crops lead to huge productivity losses along with crop contamination. About 200 different types of diseases in plants are solely caused due to insects. Although these pests are small in size, the damage they cause is very evident.

A plant disease is usually defined as an abnormal growth and/or dysfunction of a plant.  Plant diseases are generally caused by microscopic organisms such as fungi, bacteria, protozoa, parasitic green algae, etc. Many plant diseases in the field become much more serious and damaging in the presence of insect vectors that spread the pathogen to the new hosts.

Continuous feeding and tunneling of insects into the plant tissue create an entry point for the diseases which are not transmitted by the insects. In some cases, plants themselves carry the causative agents of the disease and spread them from one plant to other. Otherwise, insects carry the pathogens either on the outside or inside of their bodies and inject plants hypodermically as they feed on them.

Insects with chewing mouthparts, for example, grasshoppers, caterpillars, and beetles cause feeding damage such as holes or notches in foliage and other plant parts, leaf skeletonizing, leaf defoliation, cutting plants off at the soil surface, or consumption of roots.

The appearance of spots of various shapes and size on leaves, shoots, stems, fruits etc. is one of the most commonly observed signs of insect damage. As insects feed on plants, they simultaneously secrete toxins into the various parts of the plant namely the shoots, leaves etc. For instance, the toxic saliva secreted by leafhoppers, known as ‘’hopper burn’’, causes yellowing of leaves.

Other harmful effects of insect infestation include stunted growth and deformed leaves and flowers, reduced photosynthesis, weakening of plants, interference with the process of translocation, etc.

Many insects have a tendency of inserting their mouthparts into the plant tissues and sucking out all the necessary nutrients and juices essential for the plant growth and nourishment. This sucking action acts as a hindrance to plants growth.

Insects also secrete honeydews on the leaves which support mold growth on plant surfaces. Although sooty molds don’t infect plants, they can indirectly damage the plant by coating the leaves that inhibit sunlight penetration.  Thus the plant’s ability to carry out photosynthesis is reduced, further resulting in weakening of leaves, premature leaf drop, etc.

Insects can also cause injury to plants when they lay eggs (oviposit) into plant tissue. Heavy oviposition into stems can cause death or dieback of stems or branches on the plant. Dieback of the ends of stems or branches is often called flagging. Oviposition in fruits can result in misshapen or aborted fruits. For instance, cucumber beetles lay orange egg masses on the underside of leaves. They also munch holes in the same leaves.

The use of conventional pesticides to combat the problems caused due to insects is proving to be dangerous to the environment. Apart from polluting the soil as well as the groundwater reserves, these pesticides also affect the beneficial non-target species such as bees, earthworm etc. which are necessary for human survival.

Today we are facing an acute problem of food shortage. About 11.3% of the total population of the world is starving. Thus there is an immediate need to find a solution to avoid the damages caused by insects to our plants.

At C Tech Corporation we have come up with a solution to avoid the damage caused by insects to plants. Our product Termirepel ™ is a non-toxic, non-hazardous insect aversive. Termirepel ™ is available in the form of solid masterbatches, liquid concentrate and in lacquer form. The product is compliant with RoHS, RoHS2, REACH, APVMA, NEA and is FIFRA exempted. This product acts through a series of highly developed intricate mechanism ensuring that insects are kept away from the target application.

The product can also be incorporated into agricultural films, greenhouse films, plastic mulches used on a large scale in the agriculture as well as horticulture sector. The fencing and the tree guard can be coated with Termirepel™ to protect the plants from insect damage. Termirepel ™ does not leach out, thus there is no soil pollution. Groundwater reserves are also not polluted. Also the non-target beneficial species like earthworms, bees etc are not affected.

Termites are the worst fears for a homeowner as these tiny creatures have the power to reduce a building to a heap of sawdust. Where are they found? Are they in the cupboard..? Or under the stairs..? No, they are found everywhere. They may be small but the damage they do to our home or office is huge and sometimes irreplaceable.

Termites are a kind of white ant that differ from other Xylophagous insects because they are organized into a society like bees and ants. In the wild, they feed on barks of the trees or through soil damage our environment. Whereas in our houses or offices they feed on wood as they have mouthparts that chew up wood bit by bit. But the real trick is that these termites carry formic acid that digests the cellulosic fibers making up the wood.

Termites are a terrible pest because they penetrate into houses and wooden structures along mortar joints, through waste pipes, through electric cable ducts, and through inner partitions. They take advantage of any cracks in the structure of a building, entering into the woodwork and beginning their destruction. They always eat away in the opposite direction to the light, thus making them very difficult to detect. The main problem is that termites eat the wood from the inside out, so it is impossible to see the damage until it is too late. They are also likely to go for wood that is close to the ground, so foundations in older buildings are particularly susceptible.

According to the National Pest Management Association (USA), termites cause more than $5 billion in property damage every year, an expense not typically covered under homeowners’ insurance policies. Indeed, damage from termites is five times more likely than damage from fire. To heighten awareness of these pervasive pests, the association designated March 25 to 29 as “Termite Awareness Week.

The different types of Termites found in nature are Drywood termites, Subterranean termites, Formosan termites and Dampwood termites. Amongst these, the subterranean termites are the most commonly found species of termites in Europe.

Let us look at how these termites damage our wooden objects. The Subterranean termites eat wood, along the grain. They prefer to eat the light parts of the wood and leave the dark rings. Their galleries often look long and narrow because they follow the grain of the wood. During the excavation of wood subterranean termites bring soil particles into the galleries. They stick the soil particles and their droppings onto the walls of the galleries which help in keeping the environment humid in the gallery.

Whereas when Drywood termites eat wood, they eat the light parts and the dark rings. They form galleries which are larger in size than the one formed by the subterranean termites. Since dry wood termites do not go into the soil, their galleries are smooth and clean. These termites dispose off their droppings by pushing them out of the galleries.

These termites have caused a huge amount of damages. Let us look at some of these damages:

• 10-year-old hospitalized after termite fumigation at Florida

September 5, 2015, CNN, USA

A young boy has suffered severe brain damage – which will likely affect him for life – after he and his family were apparently cleared to return to their home following botched termite fumigation. Peyton McCaughey, 10, went back inside the house in Palm City, Florida, alongside his mother, Lori, father, Carl, and little sister on August 16 – two days after it had been tented for termites. Although the family had been told by a Terminix subcontractor that it was safe to return to the fumigated property, they all started vomiting that night, a lawyer for the McCaugheys alleges. While Mr and Mrs McCaughey and their daughter recovered the next day, Peyton deteriorated.

• Termites eat away currency worth over $65,000 in China

June 11, 2013 ,China

A chinese woman almost lost her life savings recently when termites invaded a wooden drawer in which she kept a plastic bag containing 400,000 yuan: the equivalent of $65,000 U.S. dollars.”The remains of the cash stick together by termite`s mucus …” she said.

• Termites damage century old section of WA’s Parliament House

September 17 2015, ABC News, Australia

Termites have left a $50,000 damage bill at WA’s Parliament House, with extensive repair works planned for later this year to fix a trail of destruction. The Parliamentary Services’ annual report, tabled this week, revealed the insects had caused substantial damage to the Legislative Assembly chamber.

• Under attack : termites take over forest in Adilabad

February 19, 2016, THE HINDU, India

Forests in Adilabad district, especially the vegetation in the core area of Kawal Tiger reserve (KTR), are currently under attack by termites. The stems of thousands of trees in the jungle are covered with mud layers which is a characteristic of the termites when they go attacking trees.

Apart from the above incidences, there have been many other incidences as well which shows the damage caused due to termites. The threat of termites is increasing rapidly and new species of termites are coming up due to their mating. One such incident was reported in Florida on April 1, 2015. The article says,

Termite “Superswarms” threatens South Florida- Two of the world’s most destructive termite species are swarming South Florida, and the fact that they are mating has scientists sweating. The Asian and Formosan subterranean termite species are producing hundreds of thousands of winged males and females (known as alates), which are in turn creating hybrid colonies, according to University of Florida entomologists. The two species are no joke, and hybrid colonies could prove even more disastrous for homeowners. “They are the two most destructive termite species in the world,” University of Florida Entomology Professor Nan-Yao Su told FoxNews.com.

So what do we do now? Prevent them? But how? 

There is an efficient solution that we at C Tech Corporation, have come up with. We have a unique product known as Termirepel™ which solves all our grievances. So let us look at some of the salient features of Termirepel™ and how it drives these mischievous termites away from our houses, offices, and workplaces.

Termirepel™ is non-toxic and non-hazardous insect/termite aversive. Termirepel™ which is an anti-termite has been designed for polymeric applications as well as for natural materials like wood. It combines the best of chemistry and green practices to give an environmentally safe product which keeps the termites away effectively while at the same time guaranteeing safety to the environment, plants, animals and fragile ecosystems.

Agriculture is the one of the greatest milestones in human history which led to the rise of civilization. It covers the largest sector of livelihood and plays an important role in development and growth of nation’s economy. It is the one of the largest contributors to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

According to the 2^nd Advance Estimates (Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare, Gov. of India) for 2015-16 total foodgrains production in the country has been higher than that in the last year. Total foodgrains production during 2015-16, estimated at 253.16 million tonnes, has been higher by 1.14 million tonnes over the production of 252.02 million tonnes during 2014-15. Although rising production capacity is trying to bridge the gap between ever-increasing demand and a meager supply of food grains, of the total food produced, roughly one third i.e. approximately 1.3 billion tonnes is lost or wasted. Every year, consumers in rich countries waste almost as much food (222 million tonnes) as the entire net food production of sub-Saharan Africa (230 million tonnes).

In the face of ever-increasing demand for food, farmers face many challenges like drought, shortage of water reservoir, etc. One of the major problems is pest infestation. 10-16% of global crop production is lost due to pests.

To meet up the increasing demand for food, farmers have acquired many modern technologies. One of them is the use of plastic mulch films. It is a highly specialized film to enhance the growth of various crops. Mulching is the process or practice of covering the soil/ground to make more favorable conditions for plant growth, development, and efficient crop production. The mulch-technical term means ‘covering of soil’. Commonly used mulch films are LDPE, HDPE, PVC, etc.

When compared to other mulches, plastic mulches are completely impermeable to water; they, therefore, prevent direct evaporation of moisture from the soil and thus limit the water losses and soil erosion over the surface. They control weeds, reduce leaching of fertilizer, prevent root damage to the plants, conserve water and help in soil enrichment ensuring a better quality of the crop.

Mulching is mainly employed for moisture conservation in rainfed areas, reduction of irrigation frequency and water saving in irrigated areas, soil temperature moderation in greenhouse cultivation, soil solarization for control of soil-borne diseases, reduce the rain impact, prevent soil erosion and maintain soil structure, in places where high-value crops can only to be cultivated, etc.

General instructions for selecting the correct plastic mulch are shown in the table given below:

Rainy season	Perforated mulch
Orchard and Plantation	Thicker mulch
Soil Solarisation	Thin transparent film
Weed control through solarisation	Transparent film
Weed control in cropped land	Black film
Sandy soil	Black film
Saline water use	Black film
Summer cropped land	White film

Source: Sustainable Sanitation and Water Management

Plastic mulches have been used commercially for the production of crops since the early 1960’s, and their usage is still increasing throughout the world. The use of plastic mulch in agriculture has increased in the last 10 years throughout the world. According to marketsandmarkets.com the agricultural films market is expected to grow at a decent pace during the coming decade driven by its increasing demand from the Asia-Pacific region. The increased demand for controlled agricultural activities drives the market for agricultural films. The agricultural films market is projected to register a CAGR of 6.5% between 2015 and 2020 to reach $11,743.7 Million, by 2020.

Every solution has advantages as well as some disadvantages. A thick layer of mulch can be effective in suppressing weeds and reducing maintenance, but it often causes additional problems. Deep mulch can lead to excess moisture (root rot, mould fungus); it can create a habitat for rodents, which damage the plant. Slugs and snails can multiply very quickly under a mulch layer. Ants or termites, which may cause damage to the crops, may find ideal conditions for living. When crop residues are used for mulching, in some cases there is an increased risk of sustaining pests and diseases.

C Tech Corporation can offer a solution to overcome this problem. Termirepel™ anti termite and anti-insect polymer additive is an ideal solution to repel insects like termites, ants, grasshopper, beetles, bugs etc. Termirepel™ masterbatch can be incorporated in plastic mulch films.

Termirepel™ follows 6 pronged strategy which is extremely effective on insects. It is thermally stable and does not degrade on exposure to heat and sunlight. It does not kill or harm the insect but repels them. It does not volatilize and does not degrade in the soil. It is RoHS, RoHS2, REACH, APVMA, NEA compliant and FIFRA exempted.

Grasshoppers are insects of the order Orthoptera. They are typically terrestrial insects with powerful hind legs which enable them to escape from threats by leaping vigorously.

The voracious species of grasshoppers are all alike in their cycle of development. Eggs are laid in late summer in elongated masses or pods inserted in the soil. These pass through the winter, and on hatching in the spring, the young seek food in the immediate area. As they increase in size and food becomes scarce, their migration to other places for food begins. The grasshopper usually molts for 5 times, during a period of 40-60 days, becoming more similar to the adult insect at each developmental stage.

Adult grasshoppers are 1-2 inch long. They are brown to reddish yellow or green in color with prominent jaws, fully developed wings, and short antennae. They have enlarged hind legs and can jump great distances. Immature stages, or nymphs, are similar in appearance to adults, but are smaller and have wing buds instead of wings.

Grasshoppers are insatiable feeders, consuming approximately one-half of their body weight per day. They show a great amount of determinacy in damaging the leaves and stems of plants, by continuously chewing on them. Also, severe infestations may decimate entire fields. In fact, in peak years, grasshopper infestations have been known to destroy or consume entire crop fields.

They make holes in the tissue of the plant as well as the leaves. They also leave dark droppings on the plant leaves. The growth in fruits is underdeveloped.

Severe financial losses can occur when infestations of grasshoppers wipe out crops in a field.  Each year they destroy at least 80 million dollars worth of forage crops in USA. Also, it is estimated that grasshoppers consume up to 25 percent of the available forage in the western United States annually. A classic study showed that 6-7 adults per square yard on 10 acres of pasture ate as much as a cow. Damage is most severe when hot, dry weather slows the growth of the forage crop thereby preventing a rapid recovery

Grasshoppers mainly prefer and cause the most damage to small grains, corn, alfalfa, soybeans, cotton, rice, clover, grasses, and tobacco. They may also eat lettuce, carrots, beans, sweet corn, and onions. Grasshoppers are most likely to cause damage in sub-humid, semi-arid areas.

•  Argentina Locust Plague: Armageddon, End of Days or   Climate Change Disaster?

January 26, 2016, New York Times, Argentina

Fumigators in Argentina have continued their efforts to exterminate the locusts as farmers warned their crops may already be too damaged to be salvaged. “It’s the worst explosion in the last 60 years,” Diego Quiroga, the agriculture agency’s chief of vegetative protection, told the New York Times. “It’s impossible to eradicate; the plague has already established itself,” he said, adding, “We’re just acting to make sure it’s the smallest it can be and does the least damage possible.”

• Grasshoppers Continue Damaging Crops and Move into Texoma Cities

July 15 2014, texoma’s.com, USA

Farmers are welcoming the forecast of possibly a lot of rain and cooler temperatures.
However, as Mechell Dixon reports, they and other Texomans are cursing an insect that’s damaging crops and irritating people. As Kenneth McAlister walked through his son’s sesame field in Iowa Park the plants didn’t catch his attention as much as the grasshoppers.
They’ve damaged much young sesame plant leaves here. And he says this isn’t the first crop he’s planted this spring.

“We’ve actually had two fields of sesame that we planted and had to replant cause they totally took it out,” says McAlister. These annoying insects and their voracious appetites are causing farmers headaches and costing them lots of money on chemicals to kill them off in rural parts of Texoma counties.

Today food scarcity is one of the major issues that the world is facing.About 11.3 % of the world population is hungry. Thus we cannot afford this significant amount of crop damage caused by pests like grasshopper. There is an urgent need for a sustainable solution.

Termirepel™ anti-insect additive, a C Tech Corporation product is the best solution for the prevention and control of insect infestations. Termirepel™ masterbatch can be incorporated in agricultural films, mulches, etc. during polymer processing. It can also be incorporated in silage bags and packaging films to protect the crops in post-harvest stage from pest damage.

Termirepel™ lacquer can be added to paints which can then be applied to fencing, garbage cans etc. It follows 6 tiered mechanism, which is extremely effective on insects like ants, beetles, grasshopper, termites etc. Termirepel™ is a non-toxic and non-hazardous anti-insect additive. It is thermally stable and does not degrade on exposure to heat and sunlight. It does not kill or harm the insect but repels them. It does not volatilize and does not degrade the soil. It is RoHS, RoHS2, REACH, NEA, APVMA compliant and FIFRA exempted.

Today the world is facing an acute shortage of food. It is one of the most complex and controversial issues in the world today that concerns human population. The number of people living off the earth’s resources and stressing its ecosystem has more than doubled in just fifty years. In 1960 there were 3 billion of us while today there are 7 billion.

Statistics show that more than 860 million people in the world are suffering from chronic hunger. The vast majority of the world’s hungry people live in developing countries, where 12.9 percent of the population is undernourished.

Emerging superpower like India is home to the largest number of hungry people. The National Family and Health Survey (NFHS), last carried out in 2004-05, had shown that 23% of married men, 52% of married women and 72% of infants were anemic and were caught in a downward spiral of slow starvation. Thus food scarcity is undoubtedly a dire issue to be addressed immediately.

Apart from unpredictable rains, droughts, natural disasters, insects are major contributors in lowering the agricultural yield every year. According to Food and agricultural Organization of United States, herbivorous insects are said to be responsible for destroying one fifth of the world’s total crop production annually.

Insects are the most diverse species of organisms living on earth. They can be found in jungles, swamps, deserts and even in highly harsh environments such as pool of crude petroleum. Insects are undoubtedly the most adaptable form of life as their total numbers far exceed that of any other animal category. Insect pests inflict damage on humans, farm animals and crops. The damages can be categorized into two types

• Pre-harvest damage
• Post-harvest damage

Pre-harvest damage: Due to lack of effective crop protection measures, the crop loss in pre harvest stages is substantial and is affecting the economy adversely. The loss due to insects and diseases is estimated to be around 20 percent. The major pests like stem borer and leaf folder in paddy, boll worm, white fly, red hairy caterpillar, leaf miner and prodenia in groundnut, pod borer in pulses cause several damages in the farm. The extent of crop loss either physical or financial depends on stages of crop growth, pests, and weather conditions.

The worldwide crop loss due to various types of pests was estimated at 37.4 percent in rice, 28.2 percent in wheat, 31.2 percent in maize and 26.3 percent in soybean. In India, crop loss estimate due to insect pests has been provided by Dhaliwal et al. (2010). According to their study, crop loss was estimated at 25 percent in rice and maize, 5 percent in wheat, 15 percent in pulses and 50 percent in cotton in India.

Post-harvest damages: Crop products are eventually stored for varied periods of time depending on market demand, size of production and the farmer’s needs. Storage is the most critical postharvest operation. Deterioration of the grain quality during storage can be due to improper storing conditions, which leads to contamination with fungi or insect infestation.

In addition to direct consumption of the product, insect pests contaminate their feeding media through excretion, dead bodies and their own existence in the product, which is not commercially desirable. There are two major groups of insects that damage the stored products

• Coleoptera (beetles)
• Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies)

Coleoptera: The order Coleoptera is the largest order of insects. They are either primary or secondary pests i.e. they either directly feed on the stored products or act as predators of other insects. Larger grain borer, seed beetles, maize weevil, rice weevil are some of the well-known coleoptera

Lepidoptera: Lepidoptera is the second most important order of insects. Lepidoptera larvae occur frequently in a wide range of habitats and are known for their silk-spinning activities that result in the additional loss of quality of stored products. Some species attack the product in both the field and store. Some common lepidoptera include grain moth, pyralidae and mites.

Major wet season maize post harvest losses in the Middle belt of Ghana

Let us have a look at some incidents where insect pests lead to immense damage partnered with economic losses:

• An attack of whitefly on cotton crops in North India has taken an ugly shape. Yields have dropped sharply, sparking farmer suicides. The state government of Haryana has decided to release an aid of Rs. 500 crore for Haryana cotton farmers as a compensation for the loss.

-March 28th 2015, DNA, India

Also in Vilavancode taluk of Kanyakumari, stem boarer, a common pest, is of huge concern for the farmers as well as the officials of the horticulture department as these areas had once been totally free from the pest. These insects are proving to be a nightmare for banana farmers.

-September 8th 2013, The Hindu, India

• Mediterranean fruit fly infestation has destroyed Gascoyne chilli crop in Australia. This particular infestation was found after nearby medfly traps recorded more than 500 insects per week.

-By Lucie Bell, ABC Rural, 15 Sep 2015, Australia

• Red spider mites are posing a great threat to coffee plantation by clinging to the leaves and gradually turning them reddish. A Columbian farmer named Jairo Morales is extremely worried, as his plantation is dappled with crimson by these tiny spider mites.

-September 6th 2012, Chicago Tribune, Columbia

• Also it has been reported that the Asian stink bugs are causing millions of dollars of losses, mainly to the apple industry. About 18 % of crop in Atlanta is ruined by these insects.

-May 21st 2011, Mail online, USA

All the above mentioned statistics and incidents are enough for us to realize the magnitude of harm that is caused by the insect pests in agricultural sector and understand the urgent need for a sustainable solution.

Termirepel™ anti insect additive, a C Tech Corporation product is the best solution for the prevention and control of insect infestations. Termirepel™ masterbatch can be incorporated in agricultural films, mulches, etc. during polymer processing. It can also be incorporated in silage bags and packaging films to protect the crops in post harvest stage from pest damage.

Termirepel™ lacquer can be added to paints which can then be applied to fencing, garbage cans etc. It follows 6 tiered mechanism, which is extremely effective on insects like ants, beetles, grasshopper, termites etc. Termirepel™ is a non toxic and non hazardous anti insect additive. It is thermally stable and does not degrade on exposure to heat and sunlight. It does not kill or harm the insect but repels them. It does not volatilize and does not degrade the soil. It is RoHS, RoHS2, REACH compliant and FIFRA exempted.

 

 

The most commonly encountered insect at home is ‘Drosophila melanogaster’ commonly known as Fruit Fly. These pesky pests can be found throughout the world, in homes, gardens, warehouse, grocery stores, wineries, restaurants etc. As the name suggests fruit flies commonly feed on fruits and other sugary substances. The fruit fly is most often found hovering around overly ripe fruit, fermenting materials, such as leftover beer or soft drinks, also are a favorite food of fruit flies.

Fruit flies can lay up to 500 eggs at a time near the surface of fermenting (ripening) foods or other organic materials. The entire life cycle from egg to adult takes only about eight to ten days so they proliferate with great rapidity. They also breed in drains, garbage disposals, empty bottles and cans, trash containers, mops and cleaning rags. Hence they also cause various bacterial diseases.

There are several types of fruit flies some of them are:

Mexican fruit flies:
-found most commonly in Central America
-pose a potential threat to agriculture in North America
-attracted to all citrus, particularly mango and grapefruit crops

Citrus fruit flies:
-citrus fruit flies are an agricultural pest
-the Queensland and Mediterranean fruit flies are primary citrus pests
-most attracted to grapefruits and Meyer lemons

Olive fruit flies:
-most commonly present in areas near the Mediterranean basin
-including the Middle East, Southern Europe, the Canary Islands, many parts of Africa, India, Western Asia and Northwestern Pakistan
-olive fruit fly lives exclusively within the olive fruit

Caribbean fruit flies:
-damage tropical and subtropical fruits such as peaches, guava, citrus, papaya, Surinam cherries and loquat
-mostly found in West Indies and US

Mediterranean fruit flies:
-the world’s most harmful fruit pests
-considered a major pest of citrus fruits
-it is a more serious threat to short-lived fruits such as apples, pears and peaches

Western cherry fruit flies:
-prefer domestic and wild cherry trees as their hosts
-found throughout regions of the western United States that grow cherries

Oriental Fruit Flies:
–hosts include guava, mango, papaya, starfruit, passion fruit, citrus, fig, rose apple, tomato, and many more
-commonly found in Asia, Africa, Australia, and islands of the Pacific

Let us look at some evidence how fruit flies affect our life:

Fruit flies are a serious pest causing an estimated $300 million towards control and lost market costs for horticulture across Australia. Queensland fruit fly (QFF) is a significant pest which can infest many varieties of fruit and vegetables.
– Agriculture Victoria, Australia

Moroccan citrus banned over Medfly fears
By Andy Nelson, The Packer, January 27, 2016, US

Live Medfly or Medfly larvae were found in a bulk shipment of fresh Moroccan clementines at the Port of Philadelphia Jan. 13, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

As a result, Moroccan clementines, mandarins, tangerines and sweet oranges will be banned from the U.S. effective Feb. 8.

Pesky fruit flies in Idaho adapt to cold weather
By Shanon Quinn, Daily News staff writer, January 9, 2016, Moscow, Russia

Entomologists find spotted wing drosophila still evident in November

Entomologist Stephen Cook, also a faculty member at the UI, has been trapping the red-eyed insects on a regular basis and was surprised to find mid-November’s cold weather – with temperatures dropping into the teens – didn’t leave his traps empty.

Cook said researchers have recently discovered the pesticide commercial orchardists use on their trees is effective against the damaging flies, but they aren’t sure whether the flies are simply relocating while the spray is in effect and returning to reinfest later.

Asian fruit fly a threat to food security
By The Monitor, 13 January 2016, Africa

With extreme weather patterns due to global warming, threatening not only the health of the nation, but food security, threat of crop disease is the last thing in the farmers’ minds. And the talk of the deadly Asian fruit fly in the last years is the worst nightmare for the fruit and vegetable farmers.

In 2014, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) sponsored a 24-months project to the tune of P1.7 million i.e. USD 150747.84. But, were the funds and the time enough to fight a huge and incurring problem as this? Protecting and securing food for the nation is an expensive and long-term exercise, which needs adequate resources.

Gascoyne chilli crop to be destroyed, due to Mediterranean fruit fly infestation
By Lucie Bell, ABC Rural, 15 Sep 2015, Australia

A chilli crop in Western Australia’s Gascoyne food bowl region is set to be destroyed, after it was found to be riddled with Mediterranean fruit fly (Medfly).

Work is underway across the horticultural town of Carnarvon to eradicate Medfly, through use of trapping and baiting, with plans to release millions of sterile male fruit flies next year.

This particular infestation was found after nearby Medfly traps recorded more than 500 insects per week.

Fruit fly infestation hits San Pedro
By Donna Littlejohn, Daily Breeze, 9 October 2015, California,     

The adult oriental fruit fly is somewhat larger than a housefly, about 8 mm in length. The body color is variable but generally bright yellow with a dark “T” shaped marking on the abdomen. The wings are clear. (Photo courtesy California Department of Food and Agriculture)

A fruit fly invasion has landed in San Pedro, but state agriculture authorities are hoping they can stop the insects in the early stages.

Three Oriental fruit flies — which harm fruits, vegetables and plants — have been found since July 22 near the intersection of North Gaffey Street and West Capital Drive, in the 1200 block of North Meyler Street and in the 500 block of MacArthur Avenue.

To prevent and control fruit fly infestation use of pesticides and insecticides is not beneficial because their effect stays only for certain period of time. The toxic chemicals present in them can cause harm to beneficial insects and microorganisms. The evaporated toxic fumes from them are hazardous to human health.

Termirepel™ anti-insect additive a C Tech Corporation product is the best solution for the prevention and control of fruit fly infestation. Termirepel™ masterbatch can be incorporated in agricultural films, mulches, etc during processing. It can also be incorporated in silage bags and packaging films to protect the crops in the post-harvest stage from pest damage.

Termirepel™ lacquer can be added to paints which can then be applied to fencing, garbage cans etc. It follows 6 pronged strategy which is extremely effective on fruit flies as well as insects like ants, beetles, grasshopper, termites etc.

Termirepel™ is a non-toxic and non-hazardous anti-insect additive. It is thermally stable and does not degrade on exposure to heat and sunlight. It does not kill or harm the insect but repels them. It does not volatilize and does not degrade the soil. It is RoHS, RoHS2, REACH, APVMA, NEA compliant and FIFRA exempted.