Description
Aphidoletes Larvae (Aphidoletes aphidimyza) is a fly larva that is a voracious consumer of all species of aphids.
The adult is a gall midge with very long legs and slender body (2-3 mm long). They have very long antenna that are bent backwards. The larvae are elongated and translucent orange (2.5 mm long) and vary in colour (yellow, orange, red, brown, grey) depending on prey consumed.
The adults must feed on aphid honeydew and can enter diapause if daylength is shorter than 12- 14 hours of light per day. Growers must use supplemental lighting to avoid diapause and maintain high levels of reproduction under low light conditions. They are weak fliers, but very efficient at prey location. They are active at night, and best released into the crop at dusk.
The eggs are laid near aphid colonies (female can lay 100- 300 eggs in a lifetime). The small, red (or other colour) larvae hatch in 2-3 days at 21˚C. These larvae feed on aphids (up to 50 per day) and kill more than they consume.
