Delphastus catalinae
Identification
Delphastus catalinae or Whitefly lady beetle is a specialized whitefly predator in the lady beetle family. This small black beetle has been used to control and eradicate almost every whitefly species of commercial importance. It’s native to Florida where its’ natural host is, Bemisia. Because of this, Delphastus will seek out and destroy any Bemisia colonies before it moves on to other species of whitefly.
Adults are tiny, 1.4 mm (1/15 inch) long, dark brown to black, hemispherical beetles; females have reddish yellow heads, lighter coloured than males. Larvae are elongated, cream coloured, covered with short fine hairs and have conspicuous legs. Eggs are yellowish ovals, laid on end, in clusters on the underside of leaves.The adult beetles fly, while larvae are slow moving and travel from plant to plant on leaves.
Whitefly lady beetle adult is able to detect pest outbreaks and they will disperse by flying in the infected area. Delphastus can be used in combination with the parasitoid wasp Encarsia formosa as it does not eat the parasited whitefy.
This ladybug is widely used in poinsettia production in Canada. Its preventive introduction, with the parasitoid wasps Encarsia formosa or Eretmocerus eremicus, allows to maintain control throughout the duration of production..
- Market garden crops (cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, etc.)
- Ornamental plants (diversified, poinsettia, etc.)
- Fruit trees
- Greenhouse whitefly (Trialeurodes vaporariorum)
- Banded-winged whitefly (Trialeurodes spp.)
- Sweetpotato whitefly, silverleaf whitefly (Bemisia spp.)
- Woolly whitefly (Aleurothrixus floccosus)
- Azalea and hibiscus whitefly (Pealius spp.)
- Cloudywinged, citrus and rhododendron whitefly (Dialeurodes spp.)
- Citrus blackfly (Aleurocanthus woglumi)
- The complete life cycle takes 25-21 days at 25-30°C.
- Optimal conditions for development are temperatures between 16 and 35°C, with 30 to 80% relative humidity.
- Females lay 2-6 eggs per day, and can lay over 300 eggs in their 65-day life time.
- Adults can eat 150-640 whitefly eggs or 11 large larvae per day.
- Do not enter dipause under short-day conditions.
- Older larvae migrate down the plant to pupate. Pupae are often found clustered along leaf veins on the undersides of leaves.
- Adults emerge from pupae in 6 days.
- A single beetle can consume as many as 10,000 whitefly eggs or 700 larvae during its lifetime.
- Is not active below 13°C.
Bottle
Bottle of Delphastus catalinae adults with paper strips.
Application rate
| Introduction | Quantity | Surface | Frequency | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Curative light | 0,2-0,5 | per m2 | bi-weekly | 3 introductions in total |
| Curative heavy | 1-2 | m 2 | weekly | 4 introductions in total |
| Hot spot | 100 | m 2 | weekly | as needed |
Precautions
- Sponges can not be subdivided, however well mixed solution can be portioned.
- Once a sponge is mixed with water into a suspension, use the entire suspension immediately.
- Use cool/tepid water for mixing and keep tank out of direct sunlight.
- Remove filters that are finer than 100 mesh from application equipment and nozzles.
- Do not use in application systems where nozzle aperture is smaller than 0.149 mm (149 microns).
- Do not exceed 300 PSI pump pressure.
- Provide gentle agitation or aeration to the nematode solution during application.
- Do not store extra product once mixed with water.
- Upon receipt of product, remove from shipping packaging and use immediately or store in a refrigerated area 5 °C (40 °F) Do not freeze.
- Do not freeze.
- Do not use if incorrectly stored.
- Store for a maximum of 6 weeks.
- Always check viability before making the root application (see section Before starting)
- - Delphastus Technical Manual (Applied Bio-Nomics Ltd., 2018)
- - Delphastus catalinae : Applied Bio-Nomics Ltd. (Applied Bio-Nomics Ltd., 2015)
- - Whitefly predatory lady beetle - Delphastus catalinae (University of Florida, 2017)
- - The pest status of Bemisia tabac in China and non-chemical control strategies (Insect science, 2001)
- - Searching and Feeding Behavior of Nephaspis oculatus and Delphastus catalinae (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), Predators of Bemisia argentifolii (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) (Environmental Entomology, 1999)