Orius | Pirate bugs for thrips

Orius pirate bugs for thrips

Orius are predatory bugs that will eat the adult thrips insects. Other natural enemies do not attack the adult stage of thrips. Orius is useful in breaking the thrips life cycle of thrips in heavy infestations when used combined with other thrips fighters such as Cucu-mite (cucumeris predatory mites in shaker), Cucu-care (predatory mites in slow-release sachets), or Chrysop / Chrysopa (green lacewing delivered in egg form / larval form respectively).

How to release Orius

Wait until dusk or nightfall to release Orius into your plants. Orius is packed in a buckwheat-hull substrate in a tube. Rotate the tube several times before releasing the insects to ensure that the bugs are evenly distributed in the substrate. Scatter Orius in small piles directly onto plant leaves when possible, with a minimum of 5 to 10 predatory bugs per square meter, depending on the infestation. When it's not practical to release Orius directly on leaves, you can use Bioboxes instead.

Leave the substrate on the plant leaves / the Bioboxes hanging in the plants for at least a few days so the insects have time to settle into the plants. After that, you can carefully remove the substrate from the leaves if there are no Orius bugs hanging about at the introduction points. Unlike predatory mites, Orius bugs are easily visible with the naked eye.

How effective is Orius?

Orius is an ambush predator, meaning that they will lie in wait for thrips to pass by. Although they may do so, it is not typical for them to actively comb the leaves searching for prey. They are very effective when used in large thrips infestations with many adult thrips insects present; otherwise, they die off quickly due to a lack of food.

For this reason, we only recommend using Orius in the following situations:

Very large thrips infestations with many adult thrips present
When you have a lot of plants to treat
and combined with other thrips fighters such as Chrysop / Chrysopa, Cucu-care and / or Cucu-mite

Orius laevigatus

Orius laevigatus, also called the pirate bug or the flower bug (because it is very often found there by nature), is a small flattened bug with a long and mobile rostrum. It is oval in shape and measures only 2 to 3 mm. The red eyes are striking. The eggs are invisible and are embedded in plant tissue. Nymphs are wingless insects, initially yellow in color. Older nymphs are yellow with brown spots. In later stages, the nymph becomes increasingly darker in color than the adult predatory bug.

Curative thrips control

Orius is often used in combination with Cucu-care to control thrips. Cucu-care predatory mites eatsthe eggs and larvae of thrips, but do not touch the adult thrips. In combination with Orius, you can combat all life stages of thrips.

Preventive thrips control

If you want to use Orius preventively or in case of small infestation, it is possible in some situations. You can introduce Orius preventively in crops containing pollen, as Orius can also survive on it. But the number of adult predatory bugs will decrease if there are not enough thrips and they can only survive on pollen. Orius is a flying and native insect, and will naturally and quickly seek out areas where there is enough food. In a confined space, a better alternative is Cucu-care.

Cucu-care are slow release predatory mite sachets that protect your plants from thrips for four weeks. The predatory mites will be present before the thrips and will attack the eggs and larvae directly at the source. After 4 weeks, you will need to replace the bags for continued protection.