The Canola Council of Canada was kind enough to fly me out to Edmonton this past week for CanoLAB 2013. This was the second year of this unique extension workshop that combines real plants and real insects demonstrating real problems faced by canola producers. I was involved with the preperations for the inaugural event last year and it was encouraging to see the event improve and expand this year. I was invited this year to present a poster (shown above) summarizing my previous work on Cabbage Seedpod Weevil (Ceutorhynchus obstrictus) as well as to assist with the more general entomology extension on Bertha Armyworm (Mamestra configurata), Diamondback Moth (Plutella xylostella) and Cutworms (Euxoa spp.).

I must admit the highlight of the week for me was Vincent Hervert’s session on Cutworms. In addition to having live specimens of several Cutworm species, and a live demo on each table showing parasitism of Cabbage Looper larva (Trichoplusia ni) by the parasitoid wasp Cotesia vanessae, Vincent had such great knowledge of his parasitoids that he was able get Cotesia vanessae larva to emerge from a Cabbage Looper larvae in front of an audience not just once but during each of the six sessions. I took the video below of the emergence with using my iPhone with a clip on macro lens. It was a great demo and got a great reaction from the crowd.