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Praon volucre - Aphelinus abdominalis

 

Praon Volucre
A tiny wasp that lives as a parasite on several species of aphid.

Targets pets

Aphids, including potato aphid (Macrosiphum euphorbiae), rose aphid (Macrosiphum rosae), glass house potato aphid (Aulacorthum solani), green peach aphid (Myzus persicae)…

Host plants

Cucumbers, sweet peppers, eggplants, tomatoes, strawberries, beans.

Many ornamental plants, roses, chrysanthemums.

Performs well in greenhouses and under lab conditions.

Method of action

Praon volucre are small (2 to 3 mm long) black parasitic wasps with long antennae. The female parasitoid injects her egg into the aphid; inside the aphid the egg hatches into a larva that consumes the aphid. The larva then pupates in a characteristic whitish cocoon beneath the dead aphid's transparent skin. The first aphid mummies can be seen 10 days after introduction (18°C). The mature Praon volucre emerges a week and a half later by cutting a hole in the cocoon. This new Praon volucre will then search for more aphids to attack.

Advantages

• Applicable on many crops to control several species of aphids.
• Very efficient.
  • High fertility: one female can lay hundreds of eggs in a matter of days.
  • Homogeneity and constancy.
  • Good searching ability.
• Parasitization is easy to recognize.
• Long life cycle, can overlap with other species.
• Continuous emergence during 2 weeks.
• Mummies can be stored for one week in a refrigerator (at 6-8 °C in the dark).
• Possibility to mix the product with your substrate (sawdust, vermiculite, etc).
• No risk for the user and the environment.
• Possibility to mix this species with others (depending on the culture) for a better and long

  lasting efficiency.

Application

For a higher efficiency, the product should be introduced before the arrivals of the aphids, as a preventive agent. P. volucre has quite a long life cycle so it should survive more than 10 days in a greenhouse with an average temperature between 20-25°C.

Packaging

Mummies without substrate.

Packaging size: 5000 and 10000 in a box; bulk packages also available on request.

Precautions

• Should only be used when temperature is above 10°C; activity decreases sharply when the temperature rises above 30°C.
• Praon volucre does not control every species of Aphids.
• Do not use pesticides before or when using P. volucre without checking if they are harmful to beneficial insects.