Improved methods of testing and release of Aphidoletes aphidimyza (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) for aphid control in glasshouses

Abstract

Abstract. The gallmidge Aphidoletes aphidimyza is used commercially to control aphids infesting greenhouse crops such as sweet pepper and tomato. In this study we investigated several different ways of improving its use as a biocontrol agent. In the laboratory there was a very strong relation between the availability of spider's webs and successful mating. When mated in cages containing spider's webs a greater proportion of the females were mated and the females laid more eggs compared to the females in cages without spider's webs. As adults emerging from cocoons can crawl up through 15 cm of vermiculite it is possible to transport and release them from bottles, which can be placed open in a greenhouse instead of having to spread the material around the plants. Dis persal of adults from the bottles was measured by placing sentinel plants around a single release point. Eggs of the gallmidge were found on plants at distances up to 45 m from the release point. Intraguild predation of the eggs of the gallmidge by the mites Amblyseius degenerans and Amblyseius cucumeris was also assessed.

Morphology of putative female sex pheromone glands and mating behaviour in Aphidoletes aphidimyza

“…Very little information is available on calling periods and duration of calling bouts in gall midges. Van Schelt & Mulder (2000) observed A. aphidimyza mat-ing in spider webs the morning following the night of emergence. Calling bouts can last from less than 1 min (Douglas fir cone midge) to up to 20 h (Hessian fly) (Harris & Foster, 1999).…”

“…Gall midges show a wide variety in feeding habits, including mycetophagy, zoophagy, and phytophagy (Barnes, 1956). The species Aphidoletes aphidimyza (Rondani) is entomophagous, and is used in commercial inundative or seasonal inoculative biological control programmes for control of several aphid species in greenhouse crops such as sweet pepper and tomato since the 1970s (van Lenteren & Woets, 1988;Rabasse & van Steenis, 1999; van Lenteren, 2000;van Schelt & Mulder, 2000). The species Aphidoletes aphidimyza (Rondani) is entomophagous, and is used in commercial inundative or seasonal inoculative biological control programmes for control of several aphid species in greenhouse crops such as sweet pepper and tomato since the 1970s (van Lenteren & Woets, 1988;Rabasse & van Steenis, 1999; van Lenteren, 2000;van Schelt & Mulder, 2000).…”

“…Still, mass rearing is cumbersome, and A. aphidimyza is therefore expensive in comparison with other natural enemies (Gilkeson, 1987;van Lenteren et al 1997). Van Schelt and Mulder (2000) found under laboratory conditions a strong correlation between the availability of spider webs and mating. During mass rearing, the gall midges are often kept in small containers and reproduction is poor.…”

Concepts and Methods of Quality Assurance for Mass-Reared Parasitoids and Predators

“…Customized production, process, and product quality control procedures are needed for each arthropod mass rearing system, along with appropriate statistical procedures (Pashley and Proverbs, 1981;Nordlund et al, 1997). Moreover, postproduction research could provide methods for customers to efficiently evaluate products at receipt and in the field (van Schelt and Mulder, 2000). Efficient scouting techniques could be developed by entomologists to optimize natural enemy release numbers, rates, and timing.…”

Descriptions of two new endoparasitic cecidomyiids (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) from Japan

“…At least 20 genera and 300 species of zoophagous (predacious and parasitic) cecidomyiids (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) occur worldwide (Gagné 2004), but only a few of them, for example, Aphidoletes aphidimyza (Rondani) and Feltiella acarisuga (Vallot), are used as biological control agents against aphids and spider mites, respectively (e.g., Solarska 2004;van Schelt and Mulder 2000;Blindeman and van Labeke 2003). Yukawa (1971) enumerated seven nominal and three unidentified species of predacious cecidomyiids that feed on aphids, scale insects and mites in Japan.…”