DALOTIAforce™ (500/ 1,000/ 3,000/ 5,000)

Product Description

DALOTIAforce™ is the predatory rove beetle Dalotia coriaria (=Atheta coriaria), which lives mostly in the top half-inch of soil and media and clears soil-stage pests. Both the adults and larvae hunt fungus gnats, shore flies, and the soil-pupating stages of certain thrips. The very mobile adults crawl and fly from pot to pot, eating pests along the way, and they stay effective even in soilless hydroponic greenhouses. Use it in ornamentals, hemp/cannabis, covered crops, and mushrooms.

What it targets

• Fungus Gnats
• Shore Flies
• Certain thrips species that pupate in soil or on the ground

Crops it supports

Ornamentals, hemp/cannabis, covered crops, and mushrooms — in greenhouses, indoor facilities, fields, and gardens.

How Dalotia coriaria controls soil pests

The adult beetles are highly mobile, crawling or flying from pot to pot and from one area of the greenhouse to another, eating pests all along the way. Because they hunt in the top layer of soil and media where fungus gnat and shore fly larvae and soil-pupating thrips develop, they remain effective even in hydroponic greenhouses with no soil.

Release Rates

Release Instructions

Release timing: It is best to release these beetles at sundown. Water the media no sooner than ten minutes before releasing, and wait a couple of hours before watering again after release.

From a bottle: Gently rotate the shaker tube to distribute the beetles evenly within the carrier, then open the bottle in the crop and gently tap the contents out throughout the target area.

From a bulk bag: Open the bag in the crop area and use the included scoop to distribute the beetles throughout the target area.

Where to release: They can also be released onto dirt or gravel floors, greenhouse weeds, under benches and ground covers, and anywhere fungus gnat or shore fly larvae, or thrips pupae and pre-pupae, may develop. Leave the bottle or bag in the treatment area for 24 hours so all beetles have exited.

Storage: Do not store the beetles for more than two days. Hold at 45–55°F in high humidity, keeping the bottle or bag on its side to give the beetles more surface area.

Monitoring: They are primarily nocturnal but can sometimes be seen during the day, often on the soil surface, on rockwool, or climbing the facility’s walls. High populations can be counted on sticky cards. The potato test also works: place a slice of potato in the soil to attract both fungus gnat larvae and their predators, and Dalotia can often be found near it after a few days.

Advisories: While Dalotia can and should be used in most hemp/cannabis grows, overpopulation can lead the beetles to climb the plants and get stuck to the buds in flower — one of the few cases where there can be too many biocontrol agents. Do not exceed the recommended rate in hemp/cannabis, and keep a close eye on the population.