The state bug lab in Palisade

In Palisade, surrounded by orchards, sits a quiet building that does something unusual: it raises bugs on purpose.

The Palisade Insectary is run by the Colorado Department of Agriculture. Its job is biological control, raising beneficial insects that prey on or parasitize harmful pests, so growers can lean less on chemicals. The facility grew out of a 1940s crisis, when a moth that damaged peaches and other fruit reached the Grand Valley and threatened the orchard economy. The state’s answer was to mass-rear a helpful insect to fight it, and the program has continued from there into work on invasive weeds and other pests across Colorado.

Why care: it is a small, real example of how the valley’s fruit industry is supported behind the scenes, and of how local agriculture and state agencies connect. It also explains why “beneficial bugs” are part of the conversation among Grand Valley growers.

For what the insectary does today, and the documented history of why it was created, see the Colorado Department of Agriculture’s official insectary pages.