TEDxTelAviv - Shimon Steinberg - Bugs are Good for your Health
The speaker details the discipline of biological pest control, defined as using living organisms to reduce noxious pests, demonstrating how natural predators control pests like spider mites and aphids. They propose amplifying this natural control through mass production in greenhouses to reduce chemical pesticide use in agriculture. The speaker concludes that bridging the gap between the current biopesticide industry turnover and the global pesticide industry requires finding more natural solutions, increasing public demand, and raising grower awareness.
## Speakers & Context
- Speaker: An expert in Entomology and biological pest control.
- Initial interest in bugs developed late after bachelooring in Zoology at Tel Aviv University.
- Topic context: Explaining biological pest control, which aims to reduce chemicals in plant protection.
## Theses & Positions
- Biological Pest Control: Defined as the use of living organisms to reduce populations of noxious plant pests.
- Natural Control Existence: The phenomenon of natural pest control exists "literally everywhere," requiring exploitation.
- Need for Amplification: To achieve impact, natural control must be amplified through systematic means, specifically mass production.
- Vision for Agriculture: The goal is to use natural enemies to reverse the disruption caused by chemicals, restoring natural balance to agricultural plots.
- Final Plea: Humanity must "give nature a chance" by supporting biological control methods.
## Concepts & Definitions
- **Biological Pest Control:** The use of living organisms to reduce populations of noxious plant pests.
- **Natural Control Phenomenon:** The natural existence of pest control mechanisms, visible in any backyard setting.
- **Aphids:** Insects that primarily have females (parthenogenesis), secrete sticky sugary liquid called honeydew.
- **Honeydew:** Sugary liquid secreted by pests like aphids, which can cause black fungus mold to develop underneath.
- **Parasitic Wasp:** An organism that uses another as a host, unlike a predator.
- **Parthenogenesis:** Reproduction in which females produce female offspring without fertilization; aphids exhibit this.
- **Biocontrol Industry:** The global industry related to biological pest control.
## Mechanisms & Processes
- **Biological Control Process:** Identifying a pest (e.g., spider mite) and then identifying its natural enemy (e.g., predatory mite, ladybug) that controls it.
- **Pest Example:** Spider mites inflect damage via stippling, turning leaf green to white.
- **Natural Enemy Example:** Predatory mite pierces and sucks body fluids from spider mites.
- **Aphid Control Example:** Parasitic wasp inserts an egg into an aphid; the resulting larva consumes the aphid from within, leaving a mummified shell.
- **Amplification:** Mass producing natural enemies (predatory mites, parasitic wasps) in greenhouses.
- **Mass Production:** Occurs in state-of-the-art greenhouses (30,000 square meters) under optimal conditions, without genetic manipulation.
- **Impact Measurement:** One gram of predatory mites can control one acre (4,000 square meters) of strawberry plot against spider mites for almost a year.
- **Adoption/Shift:** Growers are motivated to use bio-control due to perceived safety, resistance concerns, and public demand.
- **Goal:** To reverse the disruption of balance in agricultural plots caused by chemicals.
## Timeline & Sequence
- Development of interest in insects: Occurred after bachelooring in Zoology at Tel Aviv University.
- Understanding of biological control: Became possible because humans could exploit this natural phenomenon over the last **120 years**.
- Timeframe for pesticide impact: Israeli growers employ biopesticide control over more than **1,000 hectares (10,000 dunams)**.
- Current Vision: To narrow the massive gap between the $250 million worldwide biocontrol industry and the estimated $25 billion global pesticide industry.
## Named Entities
- **Tel Aviv University** — Institution where the speaker bacheloored in Zoology.
- **Israel** — Location where the speaker draws expertise and references successes (Arava Valley, kibbous Deliao).
- **Amazon (term)** — Used to describe the female aphids.
- **Jordian mountains / Jordan Valley** — Geographical area associated with optimal conditions for mass production.
## Numbers & Data
- Time frame for natural knowledge of control: **120 years**.
- Scale of monitoring: **Magnifier times 10**.
- Insect dimensions mentioned: **one millimeter, one and a half millimeters, two millimeters**.
- Pest mite count observed: **about five individuals** (of spider mites) are consumed in 24 hours.
- Pest mite eggs: **15 to 20 eggs**.
- Aphid colony estimate: A female can give rise to around **400 eggs**.
- Required predatory mites: **one gram** of mites is enough to control **one acre (4,000 square meters)** of strawberry plot for almost one year.
- Annual production estimate: Several dozens of kilograms.
- Israeli biopesticide usage: Over **1,000 hectares (10,000 dunams)**.
- Reduction achieved in sweet pepper pesticide use: **75 percent**.
- Reduction achieved in Israeli strawberry pesticide use: **80 percent**.
- Global gap estimate: $250 million (biocontrol) vs. $25 billion (pesticides).
## Examples & Cases
- **Spider Mite/Predatory Mite:** Comparison of visible damage (stippling) versus active predation.
- **Aphid/Parasitic Wasp:** Demonstration of asexual reproduction (parthenogenesis) leading to infestation, followed by parasitism resulting in a mummy.
- **Aphid/Black Fungus:** Evidence of environmental consequence (honeydew causing mold) countered by biological control.
- **Thrips/Minute Pirate Bug:** Demonstration of a pest (thrips) causing viral disease in non-consumable sweet peppers, controlled by the minute pirate bug.
- **Field Implementation:** Photograph showing farmers in Southeast Israel distributing natural enemies by hand, avoiding chemical application.
## Tools, Tech & Products
- **Magnifier:** Used for close inspection of small insects.
- **Artificial Greenhouses / Climate Rooms:** Facilities used for mass production of natural enemies.
## References Cited
- None mentioned beyond general scientific disciplines (Zoology, Entomology).
## Trade-offs & Alternatives
- **Chemical Control vs. Biological Control:** Chemical use leads to pest issues, resistance, and negatively impacts the environment (e.g., fungal growth).
- **Mass Production Methods:** Amplification in controlled greenhouses (non-GMO) is presented as the alternative to relying solely on uncontrolled natural incidence.
## Counterarguments & Caveats
- **Pest Resistance:** Growers fear that pests will become resistant to chemicals, similar to antibiotic resistance in bacteria.
- **Initial State:** The current agricultural balance is already disrupted by the chemicals, necessitating intervention.
## Methodology
- **Observation & Demonstration:** Using live specimens and magnified views to show pest-pathogen/enemy interactions.
- **Field Amplification:** Establishing controlled commercial facilities (greenhouses) to multiply natural enemies.
- **Data Quantification:** Providing hard metrics (e.g., 1 gram controls 1 acre) to demonstrate efficacy.
## Conclusions & Recommendations
- **Three Pillars for Growth:**
1. Find more robust and reliable biological solutions (good bugs) for mass production or field conservation.
2. Create intensive and strict public demand for chemical reduction in fresh produce.
3. Increase grower awareness regarding the potential of biopesticide industry.
- **Final Action:** Give nature a chance.
## Implications & Consequences
- **Ecological Shift:** Successful adoption leads to a reversal of chemical damage and restoration of natural balance in agriculture.
- **Economic Opportunity:** Represents a potential shift from a massive global chemical market ($25B) to a growing biocontrol industry.
- **Sustainability:** Biocontrol offers a way to sustainably feed populations while safeguarding biodiversity.
## Verbatim Moments
- *"i'm a bug lover myself not from childhood by the way but rather late when I bachelored majoring in Zoology in Tel Aviv University"*
- *"biological pest control which we actually Define as the use of living organisms to reduce populations of noxious plant pests"*
- *"by the way or these good bugs that we are talking about they exist in the world for thousands and thousands of years for a long long time"*
- *"these little stippling they can literally turn from green to White because of the sucking piercing a mouth parts of those spiders"*
- *"here comes the Salvation through this parasitic wasp here we are not talking about a predator here we are talking about a parasite"*
- *"this is all natural this is all natural this is not fiction nothing at all again"*
- *"if we spread those minute pirate bugs the good ones for example in a sweet pepper plot they go to the flowers and look this flower is flooded with predatory bugs with the good ones"*
- *"we amplify we amplify the natural control of the biological control phenomenon"*
- *"number two many Growers are in fact petrified from the idea of resistance that the pests will become resistant to the chemicals"*
- *"can actually sing it give nature a chance"*