WSU graduate student Robert Orpet is researching whether earwigs can serve as a biological control for wooly apple aphid, a recurring pest of concern for Washington apple growers. In this 2016 Quincy trial, he noticed trees not populated by earwigs had up to six times the number of wooly aphid colonies as those in which earwigs lived. Growers can help preserve earwig populations by leaving soil undisturbed because the insects overwinter in underground nests. (Ross Courtney/Good Fruit Grower)
