Tip Top Bio-Control Technical Bulletin

Aphidius ervi
Parasitic wasp

Target Pest:
Most Aphids. Potato aphid - Macrosiphum euporbiae, Greenhouse potato aphid - Aulacorthum solani, Pea aphid - Acyrthosiphon pisum, Green peach aphid.

Description:
A parasitic wasp that attacks several species of aphids. Used mostly in greenhouses producing vegetables and ornamentals. Adult wasps are black 4-5 mm long. Adult females lay eggs from their abdomen by quickly curling their abdomen and puncturing an aphid simultaneously with its ovipositor. The egg once inside the aphid will hatch into a larva and consumes the aphid. The larvae when fully grown will cut a slit in the carcass and attaches it to a fixed object. The larvae then pupates (spins a cocoon) inside the dead aphid. The mummified aphid swells into a characteristic round, golden brown mummy. The emerging adult will cut a symmetrical hole at the bottom end to escape from the mummified aphid.
After injecting the aphid with an egg it takes about a week for the mummy to form and then another week for the adult to appear. Each female can lay more than 100 eggs.

Product information:
Aphidius ervi are shipped in containers of 250 adults.

Release Rates:
Release wasps as soon as possible between plants in the morning or evening in mild/cool temperatures and low light levels.

Lifespan:
Egg to adult about 2 weeks, adults live for about 14 days.

Strategic Considerations:
Apply this parasite before a colony of aphids are large. Be proactive not reactive. Aphids reproduce faster than the A. ervi.