California grown and raised beneficial insects ready for quick shipping and maximum predator count.

We ARE the Grower

California grown and raised beneficial insects ready for quick shipping and maximum predator count.

Let nature fight nature with beneficial organisms – ready to ship almost anywhere.

Big Results, Minimum Impact

Let nature fight nature with beneficial organisms – ready to ship almost anywhere.

Associates Insectary is the oldest commerical insectary in the United States and a pioneer in Sustainable Pest Management.

Unmatched Experience

Associates Insectary is the oldest commerical insectary in the United States and a pioneer in Sustainable Pest Management.

We are the primary suppliers of Mealybug Destroyer Beetles for customers from Costa Rica to Canada

Worldwide Trust

We are the primary suppliers of Mealybug Destroyer Beetles for customers from Costa Rica to Canada

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Liberation of Californicus mites on avocado trees

Producer to Grower Sales

As a DIRECT PRODUCER, Associates Insectary has vast experience in domestic and international sales and shipping.  Our high quality insects are available year round in large numbers.  Let us know where you are in the world and what you need.  If expedited shipping is available to your location, our team will handle the logistics.

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  • Mealybug Control

    Mealybug Control

    Mealybugs are pests on many permanent and greenhouse crops causing significant damage when not properly controlled. Chemical control is effective in some cases. However, in most situations, the unseen control of these pests by beneficial wasps and beetles is substantial. Like other pests in the Pseudococcidae family, mealybugs attract ants and create sooty mold which [...]
  • Vine Mealybug (VMB) Control

    Vine Mealybug (VMB) Control

    Vine mealybugs (VMB) can cause severe damage in your vineyard in several ways: VMB transmit viruses that cause Grapevine Leafroll and Red Blotch. VMB deposits copious amounts of honeydew on grape bunches. Honeydew serves as a substrate for black sooty mold. VMB can infest bunches directly, making the grapes unfit for harvest. Some of the [...]
Associates Insectary raises beneficial insects which are released into orchards.
Associates Insectary raises beneficial insects which are released into orchards.
Beneficial Organism Release
Liberating Cryptolaemus beetles in the 1930's.
Beneficial Organisms Producer
Packing Aphytis parasitoids for shipment.
Lower Biological Building and Experimental Greenhouses

When it comes to controlling insects and other agricultural pests, there’s nothing more natural than using natural enemies to do the job for you.

In operation in Santa Paula, California since 1928, Associates is the oldest commercial insectary in the United States and is the prime producer of Cryptolaemus montrouzieri in all of the Americas. Known as the Mealybug Destroyer, this beetle is used in groves, vineyards and commercial greenhouses to control many types of mealybug pests.  Associates is also a major producer of the parasitoids Aphytis melinus and Anagyrus vladimiri (formerly pseudococci) which attack scale pests and vine mealybugs respectively. To control pest mite outbreaks, the predatory mite Neoseiulus californicus is also raised here. These predators and parasites are released in Member’s citrus and avocado groves and are also widely used for pest control in vineyards and in commercial greenhouses globally.