Encarsia formosa

It is unknown where Encarsia formosa originates, however it is becoming available almost throughout the world. The insect has been used in greenhouses since 1972 using various species of whitefly as its host.

Use for the following pests:

Whitefly, particularly for Greenhouse whitefly (Trialeurodes vaporariorum);

Tobacco whitefly (Bemisia tabaci).

Encaesia formosa can either be used as a preventative or at first signs of whitefly presence

Description

The adult female parasitic wasps prefer to parasitize on the second through to the fourth larval stage of the whitefly. Encaesia formosa larvae then hatches several days later, dependent on the age of the whitefly larvae, through a round hole in the pupal cutical which the wasp eats its way through.

The parasitized pupae turn brownish -black.

Most of a population of Encaesia formosa wasps are female wasps, which are approximately 0.6mm in length, have a dark brown to black coloured head and thorax and a yellow abdomen. The male wasps are entirely black.

Delivery

Inside the box there are 3000 parasitized whitefly pupae which are stuck on the 10 strips in a plastic wrapper.
En-Strip is compatible with BioGrow products sold by Livingseeds.

Application

Open package carefully, by ensuring not to touch the pupae during handling the strips.
Gently bend and tear the strips apart.
Simply hook the strips onto the affected plant branches, preferably 75cm under the plant head
Avoid hanging the cards in direct sunlight.

Are IPMs safe for the environment?