Fungus Gnats and Shore Flies in Bedding Plants

Predatory Mite for Control of Fungus Gnats and Shoreflies: Hypoaspis miles
Fungus Gnats: Apply one liter of Hypoaspis miles per 1000 square feet at the beginning of the crop. This predatory mite is a scavenger that will survive in the absence of fungus gnats, but consume the larvae as they appear. It also eats western flower thrips. It is not good for knocking down a fungus gnat outbreak.

Shoreflies: Hypoaspis can exert control on shoreflies similar to that with fungus gnats provided that there is no standing water. Shorefly larvae can survive under standing water, whereas Hypoaspis can not.

ScanMask™ for Control of Fungus Gnats
A single application of ScanMask™ beneficial nematodes is sufficient for preventing fungus gnat outbreaks or in the beginning phase of an outbreak. The nematodes do not attack shoreflies. They kill only fungus gnat larvae. Adult fungus gnats will linger for several weeks after treatment as they gradually age and die off. The application should be repeated once if the first treatment was not effective. The best strategy to detect effectiveness is to count fungus gnat larvae in potato slices (see below). Larval numbers should decline rapidly over the week after treatment. Adult numbers will decline over a period of three weeks and are easily monitored on yellow sticky cards.

Acknowledgements: Information in this program is based on writings of and personal communications with Albert Pye, Mary Harris, Richard Lindquist, John Sanderson, James Matteoni, Don Elliot, Gerard Ferrentino, Bastian Drees,and Margery Daugherty. IPM Laboratories, Inc. gratefully acknowledges their work in IPM and biological control.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. 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.

Crop Management

Minimize moisture under the benches to reduce breeding of fungus gnats there. Ample moisture favors development of fungus gnat larvae. However, existing larvae may attack plant roots if pots are under watered. Depending on level of fungus gnats, apply either a pesticide or biocontrol under benches to minimize fungus gnat numbers prior to starting crop. High numbers of fungus gnat larvae can cause serious damage to plant roots. Shore fly larvae feed only on algae and can breed in standing water. It is important to be able to distinguish between the two insects for control purposes.

Identifying

Fungus gnat adults are delicate black insects usually less than 1/8 inch long, with long legs and antennae. Their wings are clear, and have a distinctive Y-shaped vein that distinguishes them from shoreflies (both are about the size of fruit flies). Fungus gnat larvae are slender with clear bodies and a black head capsule.

Shore fly adults are more stout and usually larger than fungus gnat adults. They have short legs and antennae, and dark wings with clear spots on each wing. Larvae are yellowish-brown, maggot-shaped, and do not have a distinct head capsule. Larvae of both shore flies and fungus gnats are found in the surface of the growing medium.

Monitoring

Yellow Sticky Cards: Count fungus gnat and shorefly adults weekly on yellow sticky cards. Place some horizontally a little above soil level; others, vertically at the plant canopy level. Examine sticky cards weekly and renew them every 1-4 weeks. Your time is an important factor in choosing the number of cards that will be monitored. A few cards counted per week is infinitely better than none at all. However, fungus gnat and shorefly populations vary considerably from place to place in the greenhouse, so place them thoughtfully.

Potato Slice Inspections: You can monitor the relative number of fungus gnat larvae in the soil by placing a disk of raw potato on the soil surface.

After 7 days, turn the disk over and count the number of fungus gnat larvae. Mary Harris used this technique to study fungus gnats and their control at the University of Georgia. You can assess whether a control measure has killed fungus gnats by comparing larval numbers before and after treatment. Make disks of thesame diameter by punching them out of potato slices with a cork borer or sharpened piece of pipe. Place 10 disks per 1000 square feet of growing area.

Acknowledgements: Information in this program is based on writings of and personal communications with Albert Pye, Mary Harris, Richard Lindquist, John Sanderson, James Matteoni, Don Elliot, Gerard Ferrentino, Bastian Drees,and Margery Daugherty. IPM Laboratories, Inc. gratefully acknowledges their work in IPM and biological control.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. 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.

Interior Landscapes – Scale and Mealybugs

Scale Controls

Armored scale parasite: Aphytis melinus
This tiny yellow wasp lays its eggs under the covering of mid-sized scales. Larvae develop over 2-3 weeks, pupate, and emerge as adults by cutting a hole in the outer covering of the scale.

Target pests: Oleander, California Red, Yellow, & Dictyospermum scales

Scale Predator: Lindorus lophanthae or Rhyzobius lophanthae

Singular lady beetle or ‘scale destroyer’.
A small beetle with a black wing covers and burnt-orange head, thorax and abdomen. Adult females lay hundreds of eggs under scales that hatch as alligator-shaped larvae that feed on scale eggs and crawlers for about two weeks before pupating. Adults feed on all stages of scales and are quite voracious.

Target pests: California Red, Purple, and other armored and soft scales
Optimal environment: 75-80° F (OK down to 40°F)

Mealybug Controls

Predator: Cryptolaemus montrouzieri
(‘Crypts’ for short, also, the ‘mealybug destroyer’)

These tropical lady beetles exert rapid control over high populations of citrus mealybugs. They do not do well when the mealybug population is sparse. Both adult and larval crypts actively prey on mealybugs. Adult crypts are about 1/6 inch long, and black with orange heads and “tails”. Crypt larvae are covered with white waxy filaments, which makes them look similar to mealybugs. Adults lay 200-700 eggs during their 27-70 day lifespan. Development from egg to adult is nearly twice as fast at 80°F as it is at 70°F. Crypts are inactive at temperatures below 60°F, slow at 70° but stop searching when the temperature is above 90°F.

Optimal Environment: 75-80°F, 60% RH
Application Rate: 2-5 per infested plant or 2-5 per 10 square feet. 20-100 per tree.

Predator: Lacewing larvae These voracious young of the familiar lacewing insect are known as aphid lions, but they also feed on mealybugs, scales, spider mites, and other pests. Lacewings are shipped as eggs or larvae. After hatching, the larvae remain active for 10-14 days. Mature larvae pupate and later emerge as adults, which typically disperse before laying eggs for future generations of larvae.

Optimal Environment: 60-80°F

Application Rate:

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.

Interior Landscapes – Scale and Mealybugs

Description
Scale identity has a large impact on biological control success. Scales are sucking insects about 1/16 to 1/4 inch in diameter. They are covered with a tan or brown scale that protects the soft underparts, and may look like plant bumps. Scales suck plant juices and are classified as soft or armored. Both have hard shells, but the shell may be removed from armored scales by lifting with a sharp knife. Only soft scales and mealybugs secrete a sweet, sticky honeydew which may drop onto lower leaves or floors and support the growth of a black, powdery fungus called sooty mold.. Soft scales usually have one generation per year; armored scales, several. The females are the immobile lumps. Under the scales, each may hatch up to 1000 eggs at a time. When eggs hatch, the first larval stage is mobile and known as crawlers.

Know your mealybugs!! Mealybugs are small, sucking insects with a white, waxy covering that gives them a woolly appearance. One species, the citrus mealybug, Planococcus citri, is oval and pink, with short filaments of wax radiating from the body. Citrus mealybug eggs are laid in cottony appearing groups. The other common mealybug species, the longtailed mealybug, (Pseudococcus longispinus) has long ‘tail’ filaments which may stick up like little spikes from each cottony mass of long-tailed mealybugs. Longtailed mealybugs lay live young, not eggs.

Identifying
There are many species of scale. IPM Labs offers a scale identification service.

Crop Management
Avoid over-fertilizing with nitrogen, and control ants that may protect aphids from predators.

Early Detection
Control mealybugs and scales first by limiting new introductions on new plants brought into the interiorscape. Inspect new plants carefully and control the pests before installation. Monitoring every other week for scales and mealybugs will give you a better probability of early detection and more effective biological control. Examine leaves, stems and leaf axils and plan for action on first detection.

Physical or Chemical Controls
Reduce scale and mealybug populations directly by pruning infested plant parts and carefully removing them so that pests do not accidentally transfer onto clean areas of the plant.

Syringing ”knocking mealybugs off plants with a water spray” is a time-honored method of mealybug control.

Insecticidal soaps, horticultural oils (when not phytotoxic), and insect growth regulators can be 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.

Predatory mites:
Phytosieulus persimilis, Mesoseiulus longipes, Neoseiulus californicus, Neosiulus fallacis, Galendromus occidentalis, and combination of longipes + californicus.

Spider Mite Predator: Feltiella acarisuga

These are tiny midges that feed on two-spotted spider mites, unique in their ability to forage on hairy leaves. This ability enables them to complement Phytoseiulus persimilis , which does not work on tomato leaves because they become trapped in the sticky leaf hairs. Feltiella increase in numbers when spider mite populations increase.

Feltiella are sold as pupae and come in tubs or units of 250. Once the tub lid is opened (in the shade) near a spider mite infestation, adult midges emerge from pupal cases in 3-4 days, mate and fly off to lay eggs on mite-infested leaves. Eggs hatch in 2 days to become Feltiella larvae: tiny, beige maggots that munch mites for a week before pupating in cocoons, repeating the cycle as adults within 6-7 days. Two to three weeks after application, all stages of Feltiella will be present, and will continue to prey on spider mites until the infestation is controlled. They do not persist in the absence of prey.

Spider Mite & Spruce Spider Mite Predator: Stethorus Punctillum

A tiny lady beetle that is a new biological control product. They prey on all stages of spider mites, and are able to fly to find them. These abilities make them an effective control in cases of mite outbreaks.

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.

Crop Management

Spider mites prefer hot, dry conditions. Frequent watering or misting of plants can help to prevent mite outbreaks. Spider mites frequently become resistant to insecticides; the application of nonselective insecticides may cause mite outbreaks by killing naturally-occurring mite predators. Severe spider mite infestations can be treated with products that are less toxic to predators, such as insecticidal soaps. Prevent spider mite outbreaks by scouting and applying biological controls as needed.

Identifying

Spider mites have 4 pairs of legs, thus they are arachnids, not insects. They are susceptible to miticides more than insecticides. The most common species in interior environments is the two spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae. With a hand lens, two lateral spots on the body and red eye spots may be seen. Mites puncture cells and suck up cell contents, causing spotting or stippling of leaves. They are found first on the undersides of leaves, sometimes with silken webbing.

Monitoring

Typical damage symptoms are small yellowish flecks resulting from mites feeding on leaves. As mite populations increase, areas infected increase. In severe cases, whole leaves appear pale or ghostlike. To prevent such a damaging build-up, plants should be inspected regularly for the presence of mites. Inspect once weekly in the winter and twice weekly in the summer, if possible. Look at undersides of leaves with a 10X hand lens in several locations. Introduce mite predators as soon as mites are observed.

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.

Predator: Neoseiulus cucumeris or Amblyseius cucumeris

This is a tan-orange predatory mite. Adult females consume up to 10 thrips per day and have a 30 day life span. They can survive on pollen and spider mites in the absence of thrips.
Optimal Environment: 70°F min.; moderate RH.

Use of Cucumeris:

Predatory mites are distributed over the crop weekly or biweekly, or released in convenient breeding units in which several hundred mites reproduce several thousand predatory mites over a six-week period. You can purchase these breeding units as slow release bags (SRB) or use IPM Laboratories’ Release Points™.

Predator: Orius insidiosus Minute Pirate Bug, Orius sp.

Minute pirate bugs (MPB) are small, predaceous bugs that kill their prey by attacking with their piercing mouthparts and sucking out the body contents. Both adults and nymphs are predaceous. Adults lay eggs beneath the surface of plant tissue, often on stems or near leaf veins. The eggs hatch into small, yellow nymphs that develop into adults in 9-25 days, depending on temperature. Adult Orius can eat 5-20 thrips per day. They can survive on pollen in the absence of prey.

Optimal Environment: 70-90°F, day length 11+ hrs

Predator: Stratiolaelaps scimitus = Hypoaspis miles

This predatory mite is a scavenger that eats thrips pupae and fungus gnat larvae in the soil. Adults lay eggs in the soil, which hatch in 1-2 days. The nymphs develop into adults in 5-6 days. The mites reproduce quickly, and few are needed to establish an effective population.

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

Thrips are tiny, barely visible insects that are found on leaves, blossoms, buds, and leaf sheaths of plants. Adult and immature thrips damage plants by puncturing plant cells with their mouthparts, leaving behind white streaks or blotches flecked with specks of black fecal material. Adult females lay 25-200 eggs in plant tissue. The eggs are nearly impossible to detect. Nymphs are similar to adults, but are smaller, wingless, and often lighter in color. Nymphs feed from 7-10 days, and then pupate either on the ground or on the leaf, depending on the species. Ground pupation makes control more complex, since pupae are then protected from most biological or chemical controls (the soil-dwelling predaceous mite, Hypoaspis miles, may be used for control of thrips in growing media or greenhouse floors). Adults emerge from the pupation site after 4-14 days, depending on the temperature.

Identification and Monitoring

It is often easier to find thrips damage than to find the actual thrips. Damaged plants may have short, whitened lines where thrips have fed, often with tiny dark specks of fecal deposits. Several species of thrips are found in greenhouses, and they are difficult to distinguish. Two species of flower thrips, Frankliniella tritici and F. occidentalis (Western flower thrips), damage flowers and leaves, and pupate mostly on the ground. The onion thrips, Thrips tabaci, has several hundred host plants, including many vegetables and ornamentals, and pupates mostly on the ground. The banded greenhouse thrips, Hercinothrips femoralis, damages foliage, and pupates on the leaf.

Biological control programs should begin at the first sign of thrips. Sticky traps may help to detect thrips up to a month before they are seen on plants. Yellow sticky cards or ribbons should be hung just at the tops of plants and examined weekly. Blue sticky cards will sometimes, but not always, catch more thrips than yellow sticky cards. Thrips are the tiniest insects you will find in any numbers on sticky traps. Thrips are found with wings folded, so they appear like tiny brown flecks of peat moss. Some specimens will show hairs on edges of wings when viewed with a hand lens; often their stocky antennae stick out at the front in a V-shape.

Crop Management

Healthy, vigorous plants usually outgrow thrips damage. Thrips like dry conditions, so keep plants well-watered, and relative humidity high. Periodic flooding of greenhouse floors will drown ground-pupating thrips. Keep floors clean of debris, or cover with plastic or other mulch. Consider screening greenhouse vents. Control weeds in and around greenhouses to prevent a build-up of thrips in these areas. In the case of moderate to heavy thrips infestations, use a biorational pesticide to reduce their numbers before using biological controls. Consult with IPM Laboratories to choose a pesticide that can reduce thrips numbers without destroying your biological control program.

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.

Whitefly Parasite: Encarsia formosa
Encarsia formosa is a tiny (0.6mm) wasp that attacks only whiteflies. Adult female Encarsia kill whitefly scales in two ways: by puncturing and feeding on scales, or laying their eggs in scales (each female may produce 30-500 eggs during her lifespan). Encarsia eggs hatch into tiny larvae, which cause the whitefly pupae to turn black as the young wasps mature. At 70°F, a new adult wasp emerges about 21 days after the egg is laid. The parasites are shipped inside the blackened whitefly scales which are attached to cards in batches of 50-100 per card.

Target pests: Greenhouse whitefly, and mixed greenhouse/silverleaf whitefly populations.
Favorable environment: Daily average temperature above 64° F, supplementary light in winter, 70% RH . At temperatures above 70° F, Encarsia develop faster than whitefly.
Release Strategy: Release Encarsia at the first sign of whiteflies on yellow sticky cards. Release at 1-2 week intervals for 6-8 weeks.

Application Rates:
Preventive: 1 per 6 sq.ft. biweekly
At 1st whitefly sign: 1 per 3 sq ft/wk for 3-6 wks.
Up to one whitefly per plant: 1 per sq ft/wk for 6 wks.
Poinsettias: 0.1 or more /plant weekly, combined with the release of Eretmocerus below. If used alone on poinsettias, use 2 or more per plant weekly.
Cucumbers: 20,000/acre weekly, 3-3+ times
Tomatoes: 10-20,000/acre (1 per 2-4 plants) weekly, 3-3+ times

Whitefly Predator: Delphastus catalinae
This minute black lady beetle has a voracious appetite for whitefly eggs, scales, and adults. Each beetle is about the size of the bottom half of this “8″. The beetle matures from egg to adult in about 3 weeks at 80°F. Females will live for about 50 days, laying 3-4 eggs per day, if well supplied with whitefly prey. They require 100-150 whitefly eggs per day to maintain egg-laying. They eat about eleven whitefly scales per day, or from 150-640 whitefly eggs per day. Delphastus beetles complement Encarsia and Eretmocerus biocontrol programs. They do not eat parasitized whiteflies.

Target pests: Greenhouse and silverleaf whitefly
Favorable environment: 65-90° F
Release strategy: Concentrate releases of adults near areas of high whitefly populations so that beetles have sufficient food for reproduction and establishment. Subsequent generations will disperse through the greenhouse and provide control in other areas.
Application Rates: These release rates serve to inoculate a whitefly infestation with beetles. Use ½ to 1 per sq ft, but concentrate at least 25 beetles per release site.

Silverleaf Whitefly Parasite/Predator: Eretmocerus eremicus
Eretmocerus eremicus is the first parasite specifically adapted to silverleaf whitefly (Bemisia argentifolii), formerly known as the B strain of the sweet potato whitefly (Bemisia tabaci). Eretmocerus lays its eggs under small young scales of silverleaf whitefly. It differs from the greenhouse whitefly parasite, Encarsia formosa, which lays eggs directly into the whitefly scale. We recommend Eretmocerus on vegetables and foliage plants where silverleaf whitefly is the predominant species. This new biocontrol does not reproduce on poinsettia, but it may provide complete control of whitefly infestations when used properly. Hoddle, Van Driesche and others at U. Mass. recently found that a release rate of 1-3 Eretmocerus /plant/wk. gave better than 95% control of silverleaf whitefly on poinsettias. Eretmocerus is used in European greenhouses with good success.

Favorable environment: Native to desert areas of California & Arizona; tolerant of higher temperatures than Encarsia. 75°-100°F.
Release strategy on poinsettias: Before whitefly detected or with very low levels, 2-3/10 sq ft/week. With whitefly, 1 or more /plant/wk.
For other crops, try doubling Encarsia rates (Encarsia is nearly 100% female). Avoid getting release material (sawdust or bran) wet by using Release Points™ or other careful placement.

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

Whiteflies are tiny white 4-winged insects that are closely related to aphids, scales, and mealybugs. Adults are easily observed fluttering about when disturbed. Eggs are tiny, spindle-shaped, and laid vertically on undersides of leaves. Eggs may be single or arranged in a crescent. First stage nymphs are “crawlers” that move a short distance and settle. Three immobile nymphal stages follow; during this period the whitefly loses its legs and antennae and is called a scale. Scales are oval, flattened, and translucent The final part of the immobile period is the pupal stage. Pupae of the two common whitefly pests are most reliably distinguished.

Economic Effects

Whiteflies infest a wide variety of plant species, including the ornamentals poinsettias, begonias, coleus, fuchsias, primulas, salvia, and verbena, and vegetables such as cucurbits, beans, tomatoes and cole crops. Whiteflies suck sap from plants and excrete a sticky exudate called honeydew, which can support the growth of a sooty mold fungus. Whitefly feeding may result in stunting, wilting, and/or yellowing of plants, defoliation, reduced yields, even plant death. They reproduce rapidly in a favorable environment in the absence of natural predators and biocontrols.

Identifying

The pupal stage of greenhouse whitefly (GHWF) and silverleaf whitefly (SWF) are found on leaf undersides. GHWF pupae are shaped like a disk or cake, and have a fringe of short hairs on the rim. SWF pupae are rounded or shaped like a dome, and are not fringed with hairs on the edges. Viewed from above, GHWF pupae usually show longer hairs protruding from the pupal body, but this may vary and is not a defining characteristic. GHWF are white; SWF, yellowish. GHWF adults are larger, and their wings are held fairly parallel to the surface; the SWF adult folds its wings at a 45° angle, tightly to its body. A hand lens of at least 10x magnification is needed for positive identification of the species.

Crop Management

In order to minimize introduction of whiteflies into the crop environment, sanitation and prevention are essential. Reduce or eliminate broadleaf weeds outside the greenhouse, which serve as whitefly hosts. Screening vents properly helps to exclude whiteflies and other pests, and also helps to keep beneficial insects indoors. Don’t wear white or yellow clothing, as whiteflies are attracted to these colors. A rest period for greenhouses when no crop is grown is used to eliminate whiteflies before starting a new crop. Don’t forget to consider “pet plants” or propagation material as possible whitefly hosts. Vacuuming plants early in the day before whiteflies are active may be effective to reduce numbers of adults. Inspect all incoming stock and treat if needed.

Pesticide compatibility:Chemical controls may help to reduce whitefly numbers before introducing beneficials, but use materials that are least toxic such as insecticidal soap, horticultural oil. Neem products, or insect growth regulators (IGR’s). Dr. Hoddle observed compatilibity of Eretmocerus with IGR’s to be highest with buprofezin and ranked compatibility as follows: buprofezin>fenoxycarb>pymetrozine>pyriproxifen. Hoddle and Van Driesche report that kinoprene use reduces effectiveness of parasitic wasps.

Pest Monitoring

Use yellow sticky cards to monitor numbers of adults. Use a minimum of 1 trap per 1000 sq. ft at the height of the crop canopy and count numbers weekly or biweekly. Look for adults near plant tops or ends of branches. Check leaf undersides for eggs, scales, and adults. Adults and eggs are more often found on younger leaves; scales on older leaves. Scales are difficult to see because they are translucent unless parasitized. If eggs and scales are found, return to observe hatch of crawlers from those plants. Crawlers are susceptible to chemical controls; eggs and scales are not.

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.