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Encarsia Perniciosi
''Encarsia perniciosi'' is a tiny parasitic wasp, a parasitoid of the California red scale (''Aonidiella aurantii'') and the San Jose scale (''Quadraspidiotus perniciosus'') on citrus in California. Description ''Encarsia perniciosi'' is a tiny dark-coloured wasp, rather smaller than '' Comperiella bifasciata'', another parasitoid of scale insects. ''E. perniciosi'' is common near the coast in California, and used to be present in citrus groves inland until the introduction of '' Aphytis melinus''. The two co-exist in coastal areas but not inland, a fact that has not yet been explained. Life cycle ''Encarsia perniciosi'' is an endoparasite, the female inserting its ovipositor into a scale, either male or female, and laying an egg inside. It can use any scale stage but prefers to use second instar An instar (, from the Latin '' īnstar'', "form", "likeness") is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, between each moult (''ecdysis''), until sexual maturity is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parasitoid
In evolutionary ecology, a parasitoid is an organism that lives in close association with its host (biology), host at the host's expense, eventually resulting in the death of the host. Parasitoidism is one of six major evolutionarily stable strategy, evolutionary strategies within parasitism, distinguished by the fatal prognosis for the host, which makes the strategy close to predation. Among parasitoids, strategies range from living inside the host (''endoparasitism''), allowing it to continue growing before emerging as an adult, to Paralysis, paralysing the host and living outside it (''ectoparasitism''). Hosts can include other parasitoids, resulting in hyperparasitism; in the case of oak galls, up to five levels of parasitism are possible. Some parasitoids Behavior-altering parasite, influence their host's behaviour in ways that favour the propagation of the parasitoid. Parasitoids are found in a variety of Taxon, taxa across the insect superorder Endopterygota, whose compl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
California Red Scale
''Aonidiella aurantii'' or red scale is an armored scale insect and a major pest of citrus. It is thought to be a native of South China but has been widely dispersed by the agency of man through the movement of infected plant material. In the United States it is known as California red scale. It was first found in California between 1868 and 1875, apparently brought there on planting material imported from Australia. Description The female scale insect has a circular, brownish-red cover about 1.8 millimetres in diameter. It is firmly attached to the surface when the female is moulting or reproducing. The insect itself is visible through the cover and has an oval body which becomes kidney-shaped at the last instar stage. The female molts twice, exuding the material from which the cover is formed and developing a concentric ring in the center each time. There is a characteristic whitish coating on the underside of the body which separates it from the host plant. The female is vi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
San Jose Scale
The San Jose scale (''Quadraspidiotus perniciosus'') is a hemipterous insect in the family Diaspididae. It is an agricultural pest as it causes damage and crop losses to many fruit crops. In 1914, ''Q. perniciosus'' became the first documented case of insecticide resistance.Melander, A. L. 1914. "Can Insects Become Resistant to Sprays?" Journal of Economic Entomology. Volume 7, Number 2 Distribution This species originated in Siberia, north east China and the northern part of the Korean peninsula. It has spread to every continent except Antarctica and is a major pest of fruit trees. Arrival in the United States The San Jose scale derives its popular name from San Jose, California where Comstock discovered and named it in 1881. It has been considered the most pernicious scale insect in the United States. It was probably introduced at San Jose about 1870 on trees imported from China by James Lick. By 1890 it had spread over the greater part of California, but was not recognized ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Comperiella Bifasciata
''Comperiella bifasciata'' is a parasitic wasp species in the genus '' Comperiella'' in the family Encyrtidae. It is used in biological control of California red scale and yellow scale of citrus. Description ''Comperiella bifasciata'' is a tiny black wasp with two white bars on the head. These are more prominent in females, which also have dark patches on the wings, giving them the appearance of having a forked tail; the wings of males are unblotched. History ''C. bifasciata'' is a parasite of the red scale (''Aonidiella aurantii''), a major insect pest of citrus. This pest was accidentally brought into the United States in the second half of the nineteenth century, and is known there as California red scale. In attempts to try to control the red scale, in 1908 ''Comperiella bifasciata'', and two other parasitic wasps, were introduced into California from Japan. It failed to become established on red scale but was found by 1931 to have become established on yellow scale ('' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aphytis Melinus
''Aphytis melinus'' is an internal parasite of the California red scale, ''Aonidiella aurantii'', which is a pest of citrus in California and elsewhere. This wasp drums its antennae against the scale insect to find out if it is healthy, if it is already parasitized, how large it is, etc., to decide how to use this prey. It has four choices (from worst to best): leave the scale to keep searching, feed directly on the scale, use the scale as a host for a male ''A. melinus'', or use the scale for a female ''A. melinus''. If it accepts the scale as a host, the female will lay an egg in the host. When the egg hatches, the larval wasp consumes the internal organs of the pest. When finished with its host, the larva enters the pupal, or cocoon, stage. From the pupa emerges the adult wasp, smaller than the scale it consumed, which goes off in search of more scale insects. This beneficial insect has controlled a key pest in citrus, significantly reducing pesticide Pesticides are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Instar
An instar (, from the Latin '' īnstar'', "form", "likeness") is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, between each moult (''ecdysis''), until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to grow or assume a new form. Differences between instars can often be seen in altered body proportions, colors, patterns, changes in the number of body segments or head width. After shedding their exoskeleton (moulting), the juvenile arthropods continue in their life cycle until they either pupate or moult again. The instar period of growth is fixed; however, in some insects, like the salvinia stem-borer moth, the number of instars depends on early larval nutrition. Some arthropods can continue to moult after sexual maturity, but the stages between these subsequent moults are generally not called instars. For most insect species, an ''instar'' is the developmental stage of the larval forms of holometabolous (complete metamorphism) or nymphal forms o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thelytoky
Thelytoky (from the Greek ''thēlys'' "female" and ''tokos'' "birth") is a type of parthenogenesis in which females are produced from unfertilized eggs, as for example in aphids. Thelytokous parthenogenesis is rare among animals and reported in about 1,500 species, about 1 in 1000 of described animal species, according to a 1984 study. It is more common in invertebrates, like arthropods, but it can occur in vertebrates, including salamanders, fish, and reptiles such as some whiptail lizards. Thelytoky can occur by different mechanisms, each of which has a different impact on the level of homozygosity. It is found in several groups of Hymenoptera, including Apidae, Aphelinidae, Cynipidae, Formicidae, Ichneumonidae, and Tenthredinidae. It can be induced in Hymenoptera by the bacteria ''Wolbachia'' and ''Cardinium''. Arrhenotoky and thelytoky in Hymenoptera Hymenoptera (ants, bees, wasps, and sawflies) have a haplodiploid sex-determination system. They produce haploid males ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arrhenotoky
Arrhenotoky (from Greek -τόκος ''-tókos'' "birth of -" + ἄρρην ''árrhēn'' "male person"), also known as arrhenotokous parthenogenesis, is a form of parthenogenesis in which unfertilized eggs develop into males. In most cases, parthenogenesis produces exclusively female offspring, hence the distinction. The set of processes included under the term arrhenotoky depends on the author: arrhenotoky may be restricted to the production of males that are haploid (haplodiploidy); may include diploid males that permanently inactivate one set of chromosomes (parahaploidy); or may be used to cover all cases of males being produced by parthenogenesis (including such cases as aphids, where the males are XO diploids). The form of parthenogenesis in which females develop from unfertilized eggs is known as thelytoky; when both males and females develop from unfertilized eggs, the term "deuterotoky" is used. In the most commonly used sense of the term, arrhenotoky is synonymous with ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aphelinidae
The Aphelinidae are a moderate-sized family of tiny parasitic wasps, with about 1100 described species in some 28 genera. These minute insects are challenging to study, as they deteriorate rapidly after death unless extreme care is taken (e.g., preservation in ethanol), making identification of most museum specimens difficult. The larvae of the majority are primary parasitoids on Hemiptera, though other hosts are attacked, and details of the life history can be variable (e.g., some attack eggs, some attack pupae, and others are hyperparasites). Males and females may have different hosts and different life historie They are found throughout the world in virtually all habitats, and are extremely important as biological control agents. The oldest fossils are known from the Eocene aged Baltic Amber. They are difficult to separate from other Chalcidoidea except by subtle features of the wing venation and other difficult characters, and the family appears to be paraphyletic, so is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biological Pest Control Wasps
Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary information encoded in genes, which can be transmitted to future generations. Another major theme is evolution, which explains the unity and diversity of life. Energy processing is also important to life as it allows organisms to move, grow, and reproduce. Finally, all organisms are able to regulate their own internal environments. Biologists are able to study life at multiple levels of organization, from the molecular biology of a cell to the anatomy and physiology of plants and animals, and evolution of populations.Based on definition from: Hence, there are multiple subdisciplines within biology, each defined by the nature of their research questions and the tools that they use. Like other scientists, biologists use the scientific metho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Insects Used As Insect Pest Control Agents
Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes and one pair of antennae. Their blood is not totally contained in vessels; some circulates in an open cavity known as the haemocoel. Insects are the most diverse group of animals; they include more than a million described species and represent more than half of all known living organisms. The total number of extant species is estimated at between six and ten million; In: potentially over 90% of the animal life forms on Earth are insects. Insects may be found in nearly all environments, although only a small number of species reside in the oceans, which are dominated by another arthropod group, crustaceans, which recent research has indicated insects are nested within. Nearly all insects hatch from eggs. Insect ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
