Combating aphids with biological crop protection agents is everything but easy. This is why Biobest is involved in relentless research into new ways to get rid of aphids. The result? The hoverfly, Sphaerophoria rueppelli, is being deployed in the battle.
Many commercial crops are plagued by a plethora of aphid varieties that can create a tremendous amount of damage. A lot of preventive pest control strategies have already been explored. Many of these focus on the use of parasitoids. Although these are quite effective, they still aren’t effective enough to be truly reliable. According to Biobest, the biggest problem is that every parasitoid attacks only a limited number of hosts.
The latest weapon in the war against aphids, Sphaerophoria rueppelli, is a native species that is very common throughout Europe and in numerous Mediterranean countries. Its larvae are highly efficient predators of various ahipd vaieties, including Macrosiphum euphorbiae. Not only do hoverflies feast on aphids, they also consider whiteflies, thrips, and spider mites to be a delicacy. ‘Sphaerophoria rueppellii will go actively in search and fly long distances to detect even the first signs of an aphid colony,’ explains Yann Jacques, Product Manager for Macrobials at Biobest. ‘The Sphaerophoria System is therefore also a preventative system. It is a perfect complement to our existing range of parasitoids and predators.’
Biology
Adult hoverflies are virtually harmless, as they feed only on pollen and nectar. It’s the larvae, however, that are the leading players in the war against aphids. Adult females prefer to lay their oval-shaped greyish white eggs in large colonies of aphids, to ensure that their offspring will have plenty of nourishment. Each female can lay up to 20 eggs a day, and up to 400 eggs in all. The green larvae that are hatched can consume an average of 200 aphids during their larval stage, which lasts nine days at a temperature of 25°C. They will also feed on other pests, such as whiteflies, thrips, and spider mites. ‘What’s so interesting about this system is that the hoverflies can be deployed concurrently with aphid parasitoids. Hoverfly larvae will devour only the non-parasitised aphids. By deploying both, the number of aphids will be reduced even more dramatically,’ concludes Jacques. S. rueppellii is highly efficient when deployed in sweet pepper crops, but it looks as if this system will also promote aphid control substantially in other vegetable, fruit and decorative plant crops.
Source/photo: Biobest.
