ORIUS LAEVIGATUS

Orius laevigatus is a polyphagous bug from the Anthocoridae family that has been successfully used to control thrips for over 20 years. The natural habitat of this insect covers the entire Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic coasts of southern Europe to the Middle East. The body of the bug is oval in shape, reaches a length of 1.4-2.4 mm and has a characteristic brown-black color with gray spots. The bug has a piercing-sucking mouthpart and a pair of wings, the first pair being partially rigid. Both pairs of wings are longer than the body. The female differs from the male in a pointed abdomen due to the presence of an ovipositor. This view does not range. The optimal conditions for a predator are temperatures of 21-27 degrees and humidity of about 70%.

LIFE CYCLE:

Ontogeny of Orius laevigatus includes 7 stages: egg, 5 nymphal instars, and imago. The female lays 60-150 transparent white eggs in the parenchyma of a leaf or stem, from where nymphs hatch after 4-5 days. Eggs are not visible to the naked eye. As they grow older, the nymphs change color from yellow to orange and brown, and the first instar nymphs can be confused with thrips larvae. Older nymphs have wing buds and are similar in color to adults. Under favorable conditions, the development of nymphs takes 6-8 days. Adults start mating 3-5 days after emergence. The ratio of males to females is 1: 1. The lifespan of adults is 3-4 weeks, and males live less than females.

FEEDING:

Being a commonly used predator, Orius laevigatus is capable of feeding on a wide range of pests, including aphids, whitefly larvae, spider mites and moth eggs. However, he gives preference to certain species, primarily thrips, especially the western flower thrips. An adult predator eats more than 30 thrips per day, besides, with a high number of pests, it kills more than it needs for nutrition. The body of Orius laevigatus nymphs and adults is flattened, which helps them to move easily between the petals, making the predator an ideal solution for thrips control. Also, adults fly actively in search of food. In the absence of pests or pollen, the bug is able to eat predatory mites, gall midges and parasitic wasps, but this does not do much harm to entomophage populations.

APPLICATION:

It is used to control thrips on a wide range of vegetables, flower-ornamental and tree-shrub crops in protected and open ground, especially in pollen-rich crops such as sweet peppers. The only greenhouse crop that CANNOT be used on it is tomato.

Application rate:

- Preventive introduction: 2-4 introductions of 0.5-3 individuals / m2 in places where there is a risk of developing a pest population; it should be remembered that in the absence of prey, Orius laevigatus is able to gain a foothold only on crops with abundant pollen.

- Low density of the pest: introduction of the pest into the outbreaks of 3-5 individuals / m2 (1-3 introductions);

- High density of the pest: introduction of the pest into the outbreaks of 5-10 individuals / m2 (1-3 introductions).

Introduction features:

- introduction is carried out immediately after receiving the products;

- it is advisable to introduce early in the morning or late in the evening at relatively moderate temperatures;

- gently rotate the bottles with the entomophage around its axis to increase the homogeneity of the contents;

- the predator is moved to mats, crops or special bio-boxes in groups of 75-100 individuals;

- in the hotspots of the pest, they are introduced directly to the infected plant;

- an empty container is kept for several more days in the greenhouse, since there may be remaining insects inside;

- application of Orius laevigatus is recommended to be combined with the use of predatory mites such as Amblyseius swirskii or Amblyseius cucumeris.

STORAGE:

Store bottles with entomophages horizontally, in the dark, at a temperature of 10-15 degrees. The maximum shelf life is 48 hours.