Have you read the introductory First Thing’s First?
Caterpillar Controls
Trichogramma spp.
Upon receipt, open the bag to see if emergence has begun, being careful not to touch the eggs. If it hasn’t, open or expand the bag to nearly its full size, re-secure the top and hold it at 70-90°F in a moderately humid, shaded location until emergence begins (check four times daily). Allow up to 10 days for emergence. As an option, you may wish to put the cards into position in the area to be treated prior to emergence (detailed below); this is the preferred method. If you wish to cut the card halves into smaller sections, in order to obtain more even distribution, doing so prior to emergence is ideal. To cut the cards into squares, flip the card over (egg side down) and cut with scissors along the perforation lines, do not try to tear. If emergence has begun, or after the wasps start emerging, place the cards or squares as evenly throughout the area as possible and tap the wasps remaining in the bag evenly throughout the orchard area. Do this in the evening or in the very early morning hours. To place the cards, staple them to a leaf, or wedge them in the foliage of a tree, field or other planting requiring treatment. Try to place the cards or squares in a location which will be shaded from the sun at midday, and somewhat protected from the rain. Ants may steal some of the eggs before they emerge (detected if the eggs are removed from the card completely), especially in the spring, for this reason it is sometimes best to cut them and then put them back into the bag for emergence. Do not store the emerged adult wasps in the bag for more than 4 hours. Hold at a moderately humid 55-65°F. Do not cold-store the wasps’ pupae for more than 10 days. Hold at a moderately humid 45-50°F (fridge best).
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Leafminer Controls
Dacnusa siberica
Hold these parasitoids for release at sundown the day of receipt. Open the bottle in the crop and allow the wasps to fly out on their own as you walk among the plants. You can speed up their exit by gently tapping them out. If they begin to exit too quickly, re-secure the cap between release points. Concentrate the bulk of them at release points on or near the most heavily infested plants. For any that will not readily come out of the bottle, simply tuck it into the foliage of a plant, preferably one with a heavier pest population. Do not store D. siberica adult wasps in the bottle for more than 8 hours. Hold at a humid 45-50°F (fridge best).
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Diglyphus isaea
Hold these parasitoids for release at sundown the day of receipt. Open the bottle in the crop and allow the wasps to fly out on their own as you walk among the plants. You can speed up their exit by gently tapping them out. If they begin to exit too quickly, re-secure the cap between release points. Concentrate the bulk of them at release points on or near the most heavily infested plants. For any that will not readily come out of the bottle, simply tuck it into the foliage of a plant, preferably one with a heavier pest population.
Do not store D. isaea adult wasps in the bottle for more than 8 hours. Hold at a humid 55-60°F.
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Scale and Mealybug Controls
Aphytis melinus
Release these parasitoids at sundown the day of receipt. To release, open the jar or bottle in the crop and allow the wasps to fly out on their own as you walk among the plants. You can speed up their exit by gently tapping them out. If they begin to exit too quickly or if dispersal control is not manageable (which may happen when they’re warm), re-secure the cap between release points or try removing the filter paper (if present) then re-secure the cap, then release the wasps through the lid’s opening. Concentrate the bulk of them at release points on or near the most heavily infested plants. For any wasps that will not readily come out of the jar or bottle, simply tuck the perching material inside the jar (for jar releases only) into the foliage of a plant, preferably one with a heavier pest population. Use this technique for tree releases, and try to get the perching material into the canopy. Do not store A. melinus adult wasps in the jar for more than 8 hours. Hold at a slightly humid 55-60°F.
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Cryptolaemus montrouzieri
Release these beetles at sundown the day of receipt. Mist the foliage of the plants to be treated just prior to release. To release, open the jar in the crop and gently tap out the beetles directly onto the foliage of the infested plants, or evenly throughout the crop if the infestation is widespread. If possible, release the beetles next to or on the “cottony egg masses,” if present. If the beetles begin to exit too quickly or dispersal control is not manageable (which may happen when they’re warm), try removing the filter paper then re-securing the cap, then release the beetles through the lid’s opening. Another way to do this, when doing releases in interior trees, is to insert a long, thin pole into the lid’s opening. The beetles may climb the pole directly into the canopy of the trees. Concentrate the bulk of the predators at release points on or near the most heavily infested plants. For any that will not readily come out of the jar, simply tuck the perching material inside the jar into the foliage of a plant, preferably one with a heavier pest population. Use this technique (or the previously mentioned pole method) for tree releases, and try to get the perching material into the canopy. Leave the filter paper at the release site, it is coated with a beneficial insect food (as a paste). Please note the following: If you wear white or lightly colored clothing during the release, some of the beetles may be attracted to you. Experimentally, to assist the beetles in locating their prey, place white 3"x5" cards close to a mealybug hot-spots. Also, experimentally, if you are using this predator against the long-tailed mealybug or other species which does not lay its eggs in cottony masses, place pea-size amounts of synthetic batting (available at craft stores) near mealybug colonies. This may facilitate and encourage egg laying resulting in a higher fecundity. Do not substitute batting with cotton balls, they may contain pesticide residues. Supplying these beetles with certain plantings (flowering, pollen producing plants), at or near the release site, may also increase their egg laying activity. Do not store the adult beetles in the jar for more than 18 hours. Hold at a humid 55-65°F.
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