In recent years, the glassy-winged sharpshooter, Homalodisca coagulata (Homoptera: Cicadellidae), has dramatically increased its pest status in California. There are extensive programs in insecticidal control and classical biological control underway. In some crops (e.g., citrus under IPM for its primary pests) and urban gardens there may be grower or public resistance to the application of the most effective pesticides. In addition, it will take time before newly introduced biological control agents begin to exert control. The augmentative release of natural enemies could allow such areas to be treated and avoid leaving untreated areas within a larger area-wide control effort.
In the spring and summer of 2002, a series of replicated field cage trials were conducted in citrus in the southern San Joaquin Valley. Commercially available green lacewing, Chrysoperla rufilabris (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae), were released onto caged citrus trees inoculated with uniform numbers of sharpshooter eggs or first and second instar sharpshooter nymphs. Lacewing release treatments were releases of: eggs, neonate larvae, and second and third instar larvae. The results indicate that predation rates were lower for egg and neonate lacewing release as compared to releases of older larvae.
In another series of trials, several species of mymarid egg parasitoids in the genus Gonatocerus were evaluated in field and sleeve cage release studies. The relative performance of native versus exotic species of Gonatocerus were compared to determine which species is most effective at attacking glassy-winged sharpshooter on citrus.
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