Tip Top Bio-Control Technical Bulletin

Anagyrus pseudococci
Parasitic wasp

Target Pests:
Citrus mealybug (Planococcus citri); mainly the third larval stage and Vine mealybug. The second and fourth larval stage can be parasitized as well. Used mainly in citrus and grape crops.

Description:
About 50-60% are female. Adult females are 1.5-2.0 mm in size. They are brown with distinctive white and black antennae. Males are much smaller 0.8 mm and are entirely black. The other stages of development occur inside the host. Each female can lay up to 45 offspring. Females can live up to about 40 days and males about 30.

Product information:
Anagyrus pseudococci are shipped in bottles of 1,000 per unit or in cups of 5,000. Adult parasitic wasps parasitize citrus mealybug larvae. The pupa swells and hardens into a yellow-brown mummy, with residual units of wax on the exterior. After development, the adult A. pseudocci emerge through an irregular exit hole at the posterior end of the mummy. The first mummies should be seen in your crop in about 3 weeks after introduction.

Release Rates:
Anagyrus pseudococci should be released in the early morning or in the evening by sprinkling among leaves of infested plants upon receipt. Ant control is critical.

Preventive rate release - 4,000 per 40-sq. ft. of canopies every 2 weeks.
Curative light release - 2,000 per 40 sq. ft. 2 introductions 2 weeks apart.
Curative heavy release - 1,000 per 40 sq. ft. minimum of 2 weekly introductions.

Strategic Considerations:
Pesticides and even wetting agents and spreader-stickers may adversely affect Anagyrus pseudococci survival. Broad spectrum and systemic insecticides are toxic to Anagyrus pseudococci.