Conviron Entomology Chamber

Need an Entomology Chamber? The Challenge: The need for safer and more sustainable agriculture has grown to become a pressing global challenge. As part of the sustainability challenge the role of pesticide usage has received significant attention—and for good reason. In the past, farmers have relied on chemical pesticides to protect their crops from insects and diseases. This has led to significant environmental damage, including soil degradation, water contamination, and harm to non-target species. Concerns over human health impacts have prompted a reevaluation of pesticide methods and practices. Today, there has been a significant shift toward biopesticides and integrated pest management strategies to avoid negative effects on the environment and beneficial insect species. Client Spotlight – Impetus Ag: Based in St. Louis, Missouri, Impetus Ag develops cutting edge technology to address the increasing threat of insect pests to the global food supply. Impetus Ag has developed a novel platform that enhances the performance of Bt (bacillus thuringiensis) pesticides. Bt pesticides are recognized as among the safest and most widely used pesticides in agriculture. The platform enables a discovery pipeline for new biological and transgenic insect control products, that are safe, effective, and sustainable while seamlessly integrating with modern agricultural practices. Bug Dorm: In order to evaluate its solutions, Impetus Ag needed a controlled environment where they could grow the plant in tightly controlled conditions, then introduce the insects to the plant to evaluate their development and their platform’s effectiveness. Central to this process is not only providing a uniform and stable climate for the insects but also to not let the insects escape from the growth chamber. To support Impetus Ag’s research and testing requirements and contain the insects, Conviron utilized the internal dimensions of one of it’s popular chambers (the GEN1000) and worked together with a specialized vendor of insect containment products (Bug Dorm) to develop a custom built solution that would meet Impetus Ag’s requirements. www.conviron.com/products/gen1000-sh shop.bugdorm.com/ The insect containment enclosure fits the precise internal dimensions of the GEN1000 growth chamber, ensuring no wasted space and enabling the Impetus Ag team to conduct their work without concern of the insects escaping. Other Considerations: When rearing insects in controlled conditions, other considerations and layers of protection can also be incorporated into growth chambers, including: • Hepa Filtration: In other insect rearing chambers, Conviron has modified the chamber to include up to three-stages of filtration. The first stage incorporates a removable woven filter on the back plenum to catch larger particles from the insects. The latter two stages eliminates the smallest particles from the air before recirculation with a bank of pleated and true HEPA filters. A True HEPA filtration device or filter is the only type of HEPA filter that conforms to the US Department of Energy (DOE) standard for HEPA filtration, has the highest efficiency, and achieves the 99.97% threshold. The following case study provides additional details on a walk-in growth room that was modified to raise Lepidoptera. Commonly known as “leps” many types of lep larva injure valuable plants such as grains, sugar beets, cotton, fruits and even trees. Learn more: www.conviron.com/products/custom/custom-insectary-… • Phenolic coated coils: In some cases clients rearing insects may also opt for a phenolic coated refrigeration coil. Phenolic coated evaporator coils treated with a protective phenolic coating are ideal for entomology research as they protect against the airborne corrosive particles inherent when rearing insects and thereby extending the life of the refrigeration system. For additional information on custom entomology chambers or rooms learn more at www.conviron.com or by contacting Conviron directly.