Rearing Method for the Two Strains of Encarsia smithi（Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae）Using Citrus Seedlings Infested with Aleurocanthus spiniferus（Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae）

Abstract

The parasitoid Encarsia smithi comprises two phylogenetic groups. Type I is a strain that was introduced from China in 1925 to control the orange spiny whitefly, Aleurocanthus spiniferus, in Japanese citrus orchards. The other strain, type II, was accidentally introduced and has recently been found in tea fields infested with the tea spiny whitefly, A. camelliae. In this report, we describe our developed rearing method for successive generations of the two strains using A. spiniferus-infested citrus seedlings. In rearing experiments, we found these strains to have different ecological characteristics in terms of number of offspring and emergence pattern.