Encarsia formosa

Exterior

Encarsia is an endoparasitoid wasp used worldwide for biological control of greenhouse whitefly. Adult females have a black head and thorax, with yellow abdomen, opalescent wings and are about 1mm long. Males are completely black in coloration. Nearly all adult wasps are female.

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Life span

Encarsia lays the eggs inside whitefly nymphs (about 5 eggs daily), prefer the 3d and 4th instars. In 2 -3 days, the wasp larva hatches and feeds inside the whitefly nymph. The larval instar lasts 7 days. The pupal instar lasts 8 days. Parasitized greenhouse whitefly pupae turn black. After several days a new adult wasp emerges from the black mummy to complete the cycle.

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Influence of temperature on beneficial insects’ development rate

Developmental time from egg to adult at temperature:

• 16 °C – 32 days
• 23 °C – 21 days
• 26 °C – 15 days

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Feeding

Encarsia kills all whitefly instars except imago and egg. It pierces with the ovipositor and sucks out hemolymph secretions from the wounds. The nymphs of whiteflies, which were used for feed, are not used for eggs.

Encarsia can be introduced into all crops in glasshouses. Colonization of beneficial insects begins since whiteflies’ imago appears. During this period, cards with mummified nymphs are placed throughout the greenhouse area. Continue weekly releases, if possible adjust temperatures to 25-30°C and humidity to 50-70%. The life cycle is highly reduced at high temperatures (over 30 ° C).

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Recommended standards for Encarsia applying

The bioagent name in Latin	Doses of the application by a degree of infection
	Small	Average	High
Encarsia formosa	6 ind/m2	15 ind/m2	30 ind/m2

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• Cards 50 pc. (3,000 individuals);
• Cards 100 pc. (6,000 individuals);
• Cards 1250 pc. (15,000 individuals);
• Bottle 30 ml (10,000 individuals).

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