At Bakers Acres in North Lansing, NY

 

Herbs
– Strawberry
– Catnip & mixed
– Oregano
– Woodsage
– Lemon verbena
– Scented geranium

Protocol

  • 11 weekly releases of 1000 Encarsia March 9 through May
  • 1 Lantana Guardian Plant per herb crop on 55 ft2 table
  • 10 samples per crop, 2 samples per Lantana plant

Results

  • Whitefly parasites readily found on Lantana every week after establishment, but almost undetectable on crop.
  • Less than 1 adult whitefly per 5 crop samples most of the season

Season Long Average Key Indicators

  • Pull Ratio 79
  • Balance Ratio 0.6
  • Presence of Natural Enemy immatures constant
  • Pest Frequency 0.17

 

chart-th
Click to enlarge for better viewing
Acknowledgements

  • USDA Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Grants ONE05-03, ONE06-056, ONE07-071, and ONE11-142
  • NE IPM Center Grants 3376-IPM-USDA-2103 & 3613 IPML-USDA-8446
  • Mark Yadon, Mischler’s Florist and Greenhouse
  • Reenie Sandsted and Cathy Kessler, Bakers Acres of N. Lansing
  • Lloyd Traven and Joe Volpe, Peace Tree Farm, Kintnersville, PA
  • Mark Zittel, Amos Zittel & Sons, Eden, NY
  • Joe Ogrodnick, NYS Agricultural Experiment Station
  • Dr. Kevin Zippel and Michelle Ten Eyck, IPM Laboratories, Inc.
  • Dr. Sally Newman, Flora & Fauna
  • Margaret Skinner and Cheryl Frank, University of Vermont
ideal-1
Aphid mummy on ornamental pepper
ideal-2
Syrphid adult, aphid predator, visiting lantana
ideal-3
Parasitized greenhouse whitefly scale on Lantana
  • Pests are rare, only concentrated on Guardian Plants which act as an early warning system.
  • There is a steady supply of natural enemies that find and reduce pest hot spots before they flare up high enough to require pesticides.
  • Greenhouses offer support for natural enemy reproduction and establishment in the greenhouse so that weekly purchases of fresh natural enemies are not required.
  • Staff can easily evaluate whether the natural enemies have established in the greenhouse and are reproducing in high enough numbers to do their job.
ideal-4
Orius nymph – Evidence of Orius reproduction on marigold
ideal-5
Predatory mite that eats spider mites
ideal-6
Jumping spider on lantana
ideal-7
Michelle Ten Eyck – Guardian Plant Scout

Challenges

  • Labor involved in special watering & grooming.
  • “Alternate” pests produced on Guardian Plants. Eggplants also harbor aphids, spider mites, & thrips. Marigolds harbor spider mites & whiteflies.

ideal-8

Cultural / Physical Control

MANURE MANAGEMENT: In the summer, the fly life-cycle takes about two weeks: one week for the larvae to develop and one week to pupate before emerging as new adults. Weekly removal and spreading of manure disrupts the fly life-cycle, preventing new adults from emerging in and around the barn. Removing the manure also helps the parasitic wasps, which find fly pupae more easily if the depth of the manure is relatively shallow.
Cleaned Areas: Areas that are cleaned daily or weekly need a minimum number of parasites to patrol the corners and pockets of manure.
Moisture control through good drainage and aeration, will reduce the number of eggs that each fly lays, thereby requiring fewer fly parasites for the same area.

OTHER BREEDING SITES: Calf bedding and wet edges. Any accumulation of wet feed or bedding is a potential fly breeding site if it is allowed to accumulate for more than a week. Calf bedding may be the most important site to place fly parasites. It is important to place fly parasites inside calf hutches because it is unlikely that they will find the front entrance of the hutch quickly enough to kill the first generation of fly pupae.
Wet areas around water troughs and moist areas along the edges of spilled feed or manure piles are also prime sites for growing fly maggots.
Traps. Sticky paper, tapes, or ribbons and bait traps will help reduce the adults fly population without hurting the natural enemies.

Chemical Control

Insecticides. Baits do not harm the parasites. For space sprays, recent studies conducted by Cornell University on three 50-70 cow dairy farms demonstrated that weekly releases of 25,000 fly parasites, combined with good manure management reduced fly numbers by more than half during peak season between mid-July and mid-August. Non-residual space sprays with synergized pyrethrins were used by two of the farmers to keep fly numbers below their personal tolerance. Sprays should be timed a couple of days before or after a parasite release. These non-residual insecticides are not as hard on the fly parasites as residual sprays, which will do more harm to the parasites than to the flies.

IPM Laboratories, Inc. warrants that the biological controls you receive will be alive and healthy when received and will contain the correct number of the species you ordered. However, as with any pest control measure, success cannot be guaranteed. IPM Laboratories, Inc. makes no guarantee, express or implied, as to the effectiveness of these products. All images are copyrighted to IPM Laboratories, Inc. and may not be copied or reproduced without permission.

Using Fly Parasites

Fly Parasites Prevent Fly Emergence in Dairy Farms

Fly parasites are natural inhabitants of cattle manure. However, their numbers are reduced to zero with manure cleanouts or after the use of strong pesticides. Without help, fly parasite numbers rebuild slowly. The major fly outbreaks that occur after cleanouts in poultry barns demonstrate the massive effect that natural enemies normally exert on fly populations.

Use of Fly Parasites:

Fly parasites prevent adult flies from hatching. These tiny beneficial insects kill fly pupae and then use the killed pupae as “nurseries” to grow new parasites. Fly parasites are tiny insects in the wasp family that live only to search out, kill, and lay eggs in fly pupae. They move about unnoticed because of their small size.

img14

  • No Side Effects
  • Long-term Fly Control
  • Natural, Organic
  • Reduces Chemical Use

Pest Management

The illustration shows the stages of the fly life cycle. The fly adult, fly eggs and maggots are light grey in the background. The fly pupae are black and each has a fly parasite on it. The fly parasite to the left is a mature adult female that is preparing to sting and kill the pupa. It may also lay an egg inside the pupa that will mature into a new fly parasite. The fly parasite on the right is a new adult that has just chewed its way out of the host pupa.

Quality Assured: IPM Laboratories Fly Parasites come in units of 10,000 host pupae called colonies. Host pupae are inspected prior to shipment to assure that they carry fly parasites. Some pupae that have been killed by fly parasite attack do not carry new fly parasites. These empty pupae are not counted as host pupae.

FLY PARASITES SPECIES MIX: IPM Laboratories varies the mixture of species with the time of year: Muscidifurax raptor for the cold winter months. During the warmer seasons, we add Muscidifurax raptorellus. M. raptorellus produces multiple offspring per host pupa. M. raptor produces a single offspring in each host pupa. Nasonia vitripennis, a commonly available fly parasite, is not recommended for dairies since it has not been recovered from dairy barns.

Program Planning

Plan your fly control program in the spring. Call us and set up an IPM Laboratories Fly Parasite introduction program to kill fly pupae. Introduce fly parasites weekly or biweekly throughout the fly season, approximately May 15 through October 1 in the Northeastern United States.

Strategy for Fly Control in Dairies

Tipping the balance to favor the natural enemies and reduce the fly population requires an integrated approach that includes weekly removal of manure and other fly breeding sites, use of fly bait and sticky traps, release of parasitic wasps, and avoidance of residual insecticides. Residual sprays will continue to kill fly parasites for several weeks after they have stopped killing flies.

Release Parasitic Wasps in Fly Breeding Areas
Release parasitic wasps in fly breeding areas. A fly breeding area is usually moist organic matter which attracts flies to lay eggs and then supports the growth and maturation of fly maggots. Favorite breeding areas for flies include calf hutches, wet spilled feed, and moist manure and bedding (particularly straw). Under optimum conditions, with no natural enemies, 2 square feet of moist organic material can generate 10,000 flies in two weeks. Release fly parasites in the drier areas directly adjacent to breeding areas to kill the fly pupae before they turn into adult flies. Application rates are listed on the chart below. Scatter the package contents next to the fly breeding sites, or in nearby corners where they
will not be crushed, buried, or disturbed for several days.

Common Fly Parasite Release Rates

Site No. Host Pupae Unit
Calf Hutches 500-1000 per hutch
Bedded Pack 250 per animal
Cleaned Areas 1 5000-10,000 per barn or site
Wet Edges 2 25-100 per sq. foot

1 see text under Manure Management
2 see text under Other Breeding Sites

Equivalencies (volumetric, liquid measure):

Number of host pupae How to measure
500 1/20 colony 3 Tablespoons
1000 1/10 colony 3 ounce cup, or 6 Tablespoons
2500 ¼ colony 1 cup
5000 ½ colony 2 cups
10,000 1 colony 4 cups

IPM Laboratories, Inc. warrants that the biological controls you receive will be alive and healthy when received and will contain the correct number of the species you ordered. However, as with any pest control measure, success cannot be guaranteed. IPM Laboratories, Inc. makes no guarantee, express or implied, as to the effectiveness of these products. All images are copyrighted to IPM Laboratories, Inc. and may not be copied or reproduced without permission.

FLY PARASITES PREVENT FLY EMERGENCE
In Long-Term Poultry Manure Accumulations

Fly parasites are natural inhabitants of poultry manure. However, their numbers are reduced to near zero following manure cleanouts or the use of strong pesticides. Without help, fly parasite numbers rebuild slowly. The major fly outbreaks that occur after cleanouts demonstrate the massive effect that natural enemies normally exert on fly populations.

No Side Effects
Long-term Fly Control
Natural
Reduces Chemical Use

THE ILLUSTRATION: The fly parasite to the left is a mature adult female that is preparing to sting and kill the pupa. It may also lay an egg inside the pupa that will mature into a new fly parasite. The fly parasite on the right is a new adult that has just chewed its way out of the host pupa.

The remainder of the illustration shows the stages of the fly life cycle. The fly adult, fly eggs and maggots are light grey in the background. The fly pupae are black and each has a fly parasite on it.

QUALITY ASSURED: IPM Laboratories Fly Parasites come in units of 10,000 host pupae. Host pupae are inspected prior to shipment to assure that they carry fly parasites. Empty pupae may have died from fly parasite attack but are not counted as host pupae.

Fly Parasites Prevent Fly Emergence

Fly parasites prevent adult flies from hatching. These tiny beneficial insects kill fly pupae and then use the killed pupae as “nurseries” to grow new parasites. Fly parasites are tiny insects in the wasp family that live only to search out, kill, and lay eggs in fly pupae. They don’t affect mammals and move about unnoticed because of their small size.

Fly Parasite Species IPM Laboratories produces Muscidifurax raptor, a species well suited to the cooler climate of the area of North America that experiences snowy winters. In summer, we add M. raptorellus, which has multiple offspring per host pupa but requires warm temperatures to thrive.

Plan your next fly control program prior to clean-out

Call IPM Laboratories and set up a Fly Parasite introduction program to kill fly pupae. To reestablish a multi-aged fly parasite population, you will need a shipment of fly parasites every week for a minimum of 4 weeks. To exert fly parasite pressure during heavy fly reproduction, choose the 8-week saturation schedule. Also inquire about the Combination Plans that include both Fly Parasites and Hister Beetles.

IPM Strategy for Using Fly Parasites in Poultry Manure

4 WEEK FLY PARASITE INOCULATION PLAN
Use this plan after cleanout to reestablish a fly parasite population. Release one host pupa per bird per week every week for 4 weeks starting in the first week of manure accumulation. The fly parasites purchased in week one will lay eggs most heavily during the following week. These eggs will become adults and start laying eggs in week 4. In turn, the adults that develop from these eggs will start laying eggs in week 7. It is very important to make several weekly releases in order to establish overlapping generations of egg-laying adults. For example, for 100,000 birds, release 100,000 host pupae per week for 4 weeks.

8 WEEK FLY PARASITE SATURATION PLAN
Use this plan after cleanout to establish a fly parasite population that can exert immediate pressure on the fly population. Release 1 host pupa per bird in the first week of manure accumulation, then 2 host pupae per bird weekly for 4 weeks, then 1 host pupa per bird weekly for 3 weeks. The advantage of this program is that the populations established by the larger releases will multiply more than twice as fast as the inoculation plan.
For example, for 100,000 birds, the releases would be as follows:

HOST PUPAE
Week 1: 100M
Week 2: 200M
Week 3: 200M
Week 4: 200M
Week 5: 200M
Week 6: 100M
Week 7: 100M
Week 8: 100M

MULTIPLE RELEASES ARE ESSENTIAL FOR CONTINUOUS FLY PARASITE ACTIVITY DURING ESTABLISHMENT
Fly Parasites can lay eggs for several weeks, but their peak and most effective egg-laying period lasts approximately 7 days. Their eggs are the beginning of the next generation, which takes approximately three weeks to mature and lay its own eggs. Repeat weekly releases a minimum of 4 times to assure constant fly parasite reproduction during the fly parasite startup.

USE FLY PARASITES AS PART OF A COMPLETE INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

Monitor and Keep Records Keep some kind of records of relative fly numbers. These can be recorded as number of fly specks on 3” X 5” cards, or the numbers of flies caught on sticky tapes in a given period of time. Records of past fly population will help in making decisions. One of the easiest ways to interpret the data is in graph form.

Cultural Control Control moisture in the manure by ensuring proper drainage, stopping leaks, and keeping fans in good operating condition. Leave an absorbent base of old manure after cleanout to help control moisture.

Conserve your beneficial parasites and predators during cleanout by leaving some of the old surface manure in the barn. Some farms clean out in phases so that there is always old manure in the barn to serve as a source of beneficials. Another way is to leave some old manure along the edges when cleaning out.

Biological Control Conserve natural population as mentioned above. Use either the 4-week Inoculation Plan or the 8-week Saturation Plan to reestablish the fly parasite population.

Reestablish Hister Beetle Population using trapping methods or by purchasing Adult Hister Beetles. Ask your supplier for information regarding Hister Beetle products.

Chemical Control Use chemical pesticides only when necessary.

Kill adult flies with fly baits, fly traps, and/or residual sprays on fly resting spots (walls, lines in ceilings). Avoid contaminating the manure with insecticides so that you don’t harm the beneficials. If a heavier adult knockdown is required, a space spray with synergised pyrethrum will kill the adult flies and do the least harm to the fly parasites.

Using Hister BeetlesHister Beetles Prevent Fly Outbreaks in Long-Term Poultry Manure Accumulations

Fly control is excellent in manure packs that have high numbers of Hister Beetles. We have observed beetle densities as high as 250 beetles per quart of manure and 12 beetles per square inch of manure. Houses that have been completely cleaned out and disinfected often need to be recolonized with Hister Beetles.

img16

Use of Hister Beetles

  • No Side Effects
  • Long-term Fly Control
  • Natural, Organic
  • Reduces Chemical Use

The beetles are so tiny that 250 can fit in a milliliter.

They should not be confused with the much larger litter beetles (which are the same as darkling beetles and lesser mealworms). Litter beetles are brown and more than ¼ inch long. Litter beetles destroy insulation and structures. Hister beetles do NOT harm insulation or structures.

Hister beetles are shiny black beetles that are slightly longer than 1/16 inch. When you normally see them, they will have their legs and head tucked in under their bodies. The beetle in the illustration is crawling with a fly egg in its mandibles.

Pest Management

THE HISTER EFFECT: The Hister Beetle consumes large numbers of house fly eggs and small housefly larvae in poultry manure. Each adult destroys an average of 54 housefly immatures per day at 80° F. Hister larvae are also predaceous and highly aggressive.

Since Hister Beetles attack the early fly stages, your biological control program should include fly parasites to attack the flies that make it to the pupal stage.

Program Planning

Plan your next fly control program prior to cleanout. Call your beneficial insect supplier and set up a Fly Parasite introduction program to kill fly pupae AND order laboratory-reared Hister Beetle Adults to introduce into three week old manure.

IPM Laboratories, Inc. warrants that the biological controls you receive will be alive and healthy when received and will contain the correct number of the species you ordered. However, as with any pest control measure, success cannot be guaranteed.

IPM Laboratories, Inc. makes no guarantee, express or implied, as to the effectiveness of these products.

All images are copyrighted to IPM Laboratories, Inc. and may not be copied or reproduced without permission.

LAB-REARED ADULT HISTER BEETLES

HISTER BEETLES FOR CLEAN CONDITIONS
Lab-reared beetles are produced in an environment with no birds. IPM Laboratories’ beetle colony is
periodically tested for evidence of Salmonella, and remains Salmonella-negative.

TEN THOUSAND BEETLES PER PIT
An inoculation of 10,000 hister beetles is an effective way to assure colonization of the manure with hister beetles. Release beetles in small clumps onto every manure pile, as they do not travel easily between piles.

RELEASE INTO MANURE AT LEAST 3 WEEKS OLD
The beetles need habitat that has both dryness, moisture and food. Do not release into wet
sites.

BEETLES ARE WELL-FED AND READY TO LAY EGGS

The beetle larvae that hatch from these eggs will start consuming fly eggs immediately. The second generation of adult beetles will be begin to be evident 4 to 6 weeks after initial beetle introduction at 80°F. The beetle populations will grow very slowly at 60° F.

 

IPM Laboratories, Inc. warrants that the biological controls you receive will be alive and healthy when received and will contain the correct number of the species you ordered. However, as with any pest control measure, success cannot be guaranteed. IPM Laboratories, Inc. makes no guarantee, express or implied, as to the effectiveness of these products. All images are copyrighted to IPM Laboratories, Inc. and may not be copied or reproduced without
permission.

Cultural / Physical Control

MANURE MANAGEMENT: In the summer, the fly life-cycle takes about two weeks: one week for the larvae to develop and one week to pupate before emerging as new adults. Weekly removal and spreading of manure disrupts the fly life-cycle, preventing new adults from emerging in and around the barn. Removing the manure also helps the parasitic wasps, which find fly pupae more easily if the depth of the manure is relatively shallow.
Cleaned Areas: Areas that are cleaned daily or weekly need a minimum number of parasites to patrol the corners and pockets of manure.
Moisture control through good drainage and aeration, will reduce the number of eggs that each fly lays, thereby requiring fewer fly parasites for the same area.

OTHER BREEDING SITES: Calf bedding and wet edges. Any accumulation of wet feed or bedding is a potential fly breeding site if it is allowed to accumulate for more than a week. Calf bedding may be the most important site to place fly parasites. It is important to place fly parasites inside calf hutches because it is unlikely that they will find the front entrance of the hutch quickly enough to kill the first generation of fly pupae.
Wet areas around water troughs and moist areas along the edges of spilled feed or manure piles are also prime sites for growing fly maggots.
Traps. Sticky paper, tapes, or ribbons and bait traps will help reduce the adults fly population without hurting the natural enemies.

Chemical Control

Insecticides. Baits do not harm the parasites. For space sprays, recent studies conducted by Cornell University on three 50-70 cow dairy farms demonstrated that weekly releases of 25,000 fly parasites, combined with good manure management reduced fly numbers by more than half during peak season between mid-July and mid-August. Non-residual space sprays with synergized pyrethrins were used by two of the farmers to keep fly numbers below their personal tolerance. Sprays should be timed a couple of days before or after a parasite release. These non-residual insecticides are not as hard on the fly parasites as residual sprays, which will do more harm to the parasites than to the flies.

IPM Laboratories, Inc. warrants that the biological controls you receive will be alive and healthy when received and will contain the correct number of the species you ordered. However, as with any pest control measure, success cannot be guaranteed. IPM Laboratories, Inc. makes no guarantee, express or implied, as to the effectiveness of these products. All images are copyrighted to IPM Laboratories, Inc. and may not be copied or reproduced without permission.

Using Fly Parasites

Fly Parasites Prevent Fly Emergence in Dairy Farms

Fly parasites are natural inhabitants of cattle manure. However, their numbers are reduced to zero with manure cleanouts or after the use of strong pesticides. Without help, fly parasite numbers rebuild slowly. The major fly outbreaks that occur after cleanouts in poultry barns demonstrate the massive effect that natural enemies normally exert on fly populations.

Use of Fly Parasites:

Fly parasites prevent adult flies from hatching. These tiny beneficial insects kill fly pupae and then use the killed pupae as “nurseries” to grow new parasites. Fly parasites are tiny insects in the wasp family that live only to search out, kill, and lay eggs in fly pupae. They move about unnoticed because of their small size.

img14

  • No Side Effects
  • Long-term Fly Control
  • Natural, Organic
  • Reduces Chemical Use

Pest Management

The illustration shows the stages of the fly life cycle. The fly adult, fly eggs and maggots are light grey in the background. The fly pupae are black and each has a fly parasite on it. The fly parasite to the left is a mature adult female that is preparing to sting and kill the pupa. It may also lay an egg inside the pupa that will mature into a new fly parasite. The fly parasite on the right is a new adult that has just chewed its way out of the host pupa.

Quality Assured: IPM Laboratories Fly Parasites come in units of 10,000 host pupae called colonies. Host pupae are inspected prior to shipment to assure that they carry fly parasites. Some pupae that have been killed by fly parasite attack do not carry new fly parasites. These empty pupae are not counted as host pupae.

FLY PARASITES SPECIES MIX: IPM Laboratories varies the mixture of species with the time of year: Muscidifurax raptor for the cold winter months. During the warmer seasons, we add Muscidifurax raptorellus. M. raptorellus produces multiple offspring per host pupa. M. raptor produces a single offspring in each host pupa. Nasonia vitripennis, a commonly available fly parasite, is not recommended for dairies since it has not been recovered from dairy barns.

Program Planning

Plan your fly control program in the spring. Call us and set up an IPM Laboratories Fly Parasite introduction program to kill fly pupae. Introduce fly parasites weekly or biweekly throughout the fly season, approximately May 15 through October 1 in the Northeastern United States.

Strategy for Fly Control in Dairies

Tipping the balance to favor the natural enemies and reduce the fly population requires an integrated approach that includes weekly removal of manure and other fly breeding sites, use of fly bait and sticky traps, release of parasitic wasps, and avoidance of residual insecticides. Residual sprays will continue to kill fly parasites for several weeks after they have stopped killing flies.

Release Parasitic Wasps in Fly Breeding Areas
Release parasitic wasps in fly breeding areas. A fly breeding area is usually moist organic matter which attracts flies to lay eggs and then supports the growth and maturation of fly maggots. Favorite breeding areas for flies include calf hutches, wet spilled feed, and moist manure and bedding (particularly straw). Under optimum conditions, with no natural enemies, 2 square feet of moist organic material can generate 10,000 flies in two weeks. Release fly parasites in the drier areas directly adjacent to breeding areas to kill the fly pupae before they turn into adult flies. Application rates are listed on the chart below. Scatter the package contents next to the fly breeding sites, or in nearby corners where they
will not be crushed, buried, or disturbed for several days.

Common Fly Parasite Release Rates

Site No. Host Pupae Unit
Calf Hutches 500-1000 per hutch
Bedded Pack 250 per animal
Cleaned Areas 1 5000-10,000 per barn or site
Wet Edges 2 25-100 per sq. foot

1 see text under Manure Management
2 see text under Other Breeding Sites

Equivalencies (volumetric, liquid measure):

Number of host pupae How to measure
500 1/20 colony 3 Tablespoons
1000 1/10 colony 3 ounce cup, or 6 Tablespoons
2500 ¼ colony 1 cup
5000 ½ colony 2 cups
10,000 1 colony 4 cups

IPM Laboratories, Inc. warrants that the biological controls you receive will be alive and healthy when received and will contain the correct number of the species you ordered. However, as with any pest control measure, success cannot be guaranteed. IPM Laboratories, Inc. makes no guarantee, express or implied, as to the effectiveness of these products. All images are copyrighted to IPM Laboratories, Inc. and may not be copied or reproduced without permission.

Parasites for Control of Aphids

Aphid parasite: Aphidius colemani

For green peach and melon aphids. Aphidius colemani is a small parasitic wasp that lays its eggs in aphids. The eggs hatch inside and the larvae spin cocoons which swell the aphid’s body. The adult wasp then exits the aphid body, leaving behind a hard brown shell called an aphid mummy. Larval development takes 2 weeks at 21° C. (70° F.). These wasps do not diapause, and in fact are most effective from September -March because their own parasites are not present. Used with Aphidoletes in greenhouse peppers in Canada.
Optimal Environment: 50-76°F. Tolerates cool temp., low light.

Aphid parasites: Aphidius ervi and Aphelinus abdominalis

Tiny parasitic wasps that are unique in their ability to control potato aphids and greenhouse potato aphids.

Predators for Control of Aphids

Aphid Predatory Midge: Aphidoletes aphidimyza

This delicate midge produces orange larvae that feed on aphids. Females lay 100-200 tiny orange eggs near aphid colonies. Each larva kills from 4-65 aphids. The short days of winter can cause diapause (dormancy) – prevent by supplemental lighting (one 60 watt bulb per 30 feet, or 100 watt bulb per 65 feet).
Optimal Environment: 73-77°F, OK to 60°F; 80-90% RH.

Lacewings: Chrysoperla rufilabris

Lacewings are general predators: aphids are the main prey, but they also feed on mealybugs, scales, spider mites, thrips, and small caterpillars. The adult is 1/2-3/4 in. long, green or light brown, and has large clear wings with lacy markings. The larvae are voracious predators known as aphid lions, and look like small, mottled alligators. A single aphid lion will consume 200-300 aphids. Lacewing eggs are light green and elevated on tall slender stalks, but lacewings almost never reproduce in the greenhouse.
Optimal Environment: 60-80°F.

Field-collected Ladybeetles: Hippodamia convergens

Ladybeetles are general predators that prefer aphids, but will also feed on scales, thrips, and small caterpillars. They are expecially attracted by aphids. Adult females lay clusters of orange, bullet shaped eggs on the underside of leaves, but only near heavy aphid infestations. Adults can consume 5000 aphids each during their lifetime. One pint contains approximately 9,000 ladybeetles
Optimal Environment: 61-82°F, OK to 55°F.

Aphid Guard™ Aphid Banker Plants for Aphidius colemani

Barley with bird cherry oat aphids (aphids that attack cereals but do not attack broad leaved plants). Aphid banker plants are used to support a healthy beneficial population. Each unit has 4500 to 11,000 aphids. Grow your own investment in A. colemani and protect plants season-long.

Optimal temperature: 70 to 75 F.

Aphid Guard™ Banker Aphids for Aphidius ervi

Pea aphids support robust production of A. ervi. These aphids grow on fava beans, peas, sweet peas and lupines, among other legumes. The pea aphids are sold by the tenth of a gram. Grow your own investment in A. ervi and protect plants season-long.

Optimal temperature: 65 to 75 F.

Can I still spray if I need to?

Yes. If pest populations reach threshold levels, you can choose pesticides that will not harm beneficials. Or you can move the banker plants out of the greenhouse until the pesticide has dissipated.

When should I order?

4 to 6 weeks before you expect aphids. Beneficials reproduce at a much slower rate than their prey. Help them get well established before pests arrive.

IPM Laboratories, Inc. warrants that the biological controls you receive will be alive and healthy when received and will contain the correct number of the species you ordered. However, as with any pest control measure, success cannot be guaranteed. IPM Laboratories, Inc. makes no guarantee, express or implied, as to the effectiveness of these products.

All images are copyrighted to IPM Laboratories, Inc. and may not be copied or reproduced without permission.

Description

Aphids are soft-bodied, pear-shaped insects about 1/16 – 3/8 inch long. They are sucking insects that form colonies, often on tender plant tissue such as newly-opened leaves, where they cause curling. They are very prolific, especially when they lay live young instead of eggs. Under greenhouse conditions, all aphids are usually females that give birth to live offspring (3-6 per day). Young start feeding immediately, and may mature and be ready to reproduce in a week. There are over 400 species of aphids; common colors are green, pink, red, orange, yellow, black, brown, and gray. Aphids may be winged or wingless; new infestations are usually wingless. Besides weakening plant growth by sucking plant phloem, aphids secrete a sticky honeydew which can become black and moldy. Aphids are also responsible for the transmission of plant viruses

Identifying

img4

The key characteristic for distinguishing aphids from all other groups is their “tail pipes” or cornicles on the rear of the abdomen – all aphids have two there. It would be best to have an entomologist that is familiar with aphids identify the species, however, that is not often possible. The most common species found in the greenhouse are the green peach (Myzus persicae), melon or cotton (Aphis gossypii), potato (Macrosiphum euphorbiae), and chrysanthemum (Macrosiphoniella sanborni) aphids. To distinguish the green peach aphid (which varies in color from light green to rose) from the melon aphid, take a close look at the head. The green peach aphid has an indentation which looks (in the words of Dr. Jim Price of the Univ. of Fla.)like it “was struck between the antennae with a 2 x 4″.

Melon aphids may be yellow, green, dark green, or black. Potato aphids are large, long-legged pink or green aphids that form colonies which fall quickly off the plant when startled. Their head structure looks more similar to the melon aphid drawing. They can be differentiated from green or pink melon aphid by their large body size, their long thin cornicles (melon aphids’ are short and stubby). Black melon aphids automatically are differntiated by their color. Chrysanthemum aphids are not as common. They are shiny, dark red-brown to blackish-brown, and their colonies often line up uniformly along stems.

Crop Management

Aphids are serious greenhouse pests mainly because they reproduce so rapidly. Control aphids first by limiting introductions from outside the greenhouse. Screen entrances, inspect plant introductions for aphids, remove weeds that may harbor aphids, and dispose of plant debris promptly. Avoid over-fertilizing with nitrogen, and control ants that may protect aphids from predators.

Pest Monitoring

Plants must be monitored frequently for the first sign of aphids – check growing tips and undersides of leaves. Yellow sticky cards are not useful for monitoring aphids, since only winged aphids are attracted to them. If winged aphids are found on sticky cards, they may be strays from outside, which may or may not be crop pests. Or, if they are the winged type of a common greenhouse aphid pest, this usually means that aphid colonies are crowded – and thus a serious aphid problem already exists, and it’s too late for biological control.

Physical or chemical controls

Syringing – knocking aphids off plants with a water spray – is a time-honored method of control. Aphids frequently become resistant to pesticides; using beneficial insects can delay development of resistance. Insecticidal soaps and summer horticultural oil (when not phytotoxic) are effective. Avoid using most residual insecticides for a period of three months prior to planned use of biological controls.

IPM Laboratories, Inc. warrants that the biological controls you receive will be alive and healthy when received and will contain the correct number of the species you ordered. However, as with any pest control measure, success cannot be guaranteed. IPM Laboratories, Inc. makes no guarantee, express or implied, as to the effectiveness of these products.

All images are copyrighted to IPM Laboratories, Inc. and may not be copied or reproduced without permission.