Most Whitefly. Including: Greenhouse Whitefly (Trialeurodes vaporariorum), Tobacco Whitefly, Banded-winged Whitefly (Trialeurodes spp.),Sweet Potato Whitefly, Silverleaf Whitefly (Bemisia spp.), Woolly Whitefly (Aleurothrixus floccosus), Azalea and Hibiscus Whitefly (Pealius spp.), Cloudy Winged, Citrus and Rhododendron Whitefly (Dialeurodes spp.), Citrus Blackfly (Aleurocanthus woglumi); They will also feed on other small insects, such as spider mites, broad mites and aphids.
Description:
Delphastus is a native, small 1/15th inch, black/ brown beetle in the lady beetle family. During their approx. 30 day life cycle females can lay up to 4 eggs per day. In order to lay eggs the female must consume at least 100 whitefly eggs a day. Larva and pupa stages take approx. 6 days each. Larvae are cream colored, alligator like insects. Research has found that each beetle can eat up to 10,000 whitefly eggs.
Delphastus work best if your whitefly population is high, while encaria and eretmocerus do better with light to moderate infestations. Delphastus do not enter diapause/ hibernation during the fall and winter, therefore they can be used indoor or outdoors all year long.
Other whitefly predators such as; Encarsia formosa and Eretmocerus eremicus will co-exist with Delphastus beetle and help expedite control.
Release Rates:
Adults are small, shiny, and are approximately 1.3-1.4 mm in length. Adults are dark brown to black, hemispherical beetles; females have reddish yellow heads, lighter color than males. Development is about a month long and females lay 3-4 eggs per day.
