Associates Insectary is a grower-owned cooperative which provides its Members with professional pest control advice, beneficial organisms, and spray applications when needed. Combining the use of these three “tools” in a thoughtful manner is the cornerstone of the highly successful Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program used at Associates. We are proud to be one of the pioneers in implementing this integrated approach to pest control back in the 1920’s. The Insectary has continually expanded its facilities and production capacity over the past 90 years. We are now the leading producer of “Mealybug Destroyer” beetles, Anagyrus wasps, Californicus predatory mites and Aphytis melinus parasites in the country. While most of our predators and parasites are used to combat pests in our Member’s groves, increasing numbers of our “Good Bugs” are being sold to outside sources. We have become one of the largest domestic suppliers of beneficial organisms to resale distributors and growers across North America. Rearing predators and parasites requires that we operate 365 days a year. The Insectary raises about two million organisms each day. That equates to 500-800 million beneficial organisms grown here each year. In addition to raising Cryptolaemus or “Mealybug Destroyer” beetles as we like to call them, our staff of highly trained individuals also raises several other species of beneficial organisms including: Anagyrus pseudococci, a mealybug parasitic wasp which specifically targets Vine mealybug (VMB) and complements our predator Mealybug Destroyer beetle in suppressing VMB outbreaks in vineyards; Neoseiulus californicus, a predatory mite is reared to help control mites in avocado groves and many other crops; and Aphytis melinus, a tiny wasp that parasitizes California Red scale insects. Many of these beneficial insects are raised in the same buildings constructed and used when the Insectary was first founded in 1928.