FROM THE LARGEST HORNETS TO SOME OF THE SMALLEST WASPS
California citrus farmers are using a tiny stingless wasp, known as Tamarixia radiata, to attempt to destroy the Asian citrus psyllid, which causes citrus fruit to turn lumpy, and eventually destroys the trees. The female wasp lays an egg in the psyllid's belly. When the egg hatches, the nymph devours the Asian Citrus Psyllid.
University of California, Riverside scientists released a natural enemy of the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP).
University of California, Riverside scientists released Tamarixia radiata (tiny, stingless parasitic wasps that lay eggs in ACP nymphs) -- a natural enemy of the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) in a citrus grove on the UC Riverside campus in 2011. The scientists are using Tamarixia radiata to help control the spread of the psyllid -- an invasive pest that could devastate the state's $1.1 billion citrus industry.
UC Riverside Executive Vice Chancellor Dallas Rabenstein and Mark Hoddle, the director of the Center for Invasive Species Research, released Tamarixia radiata – tiny, stingless parasitic wasps that lay eggs in ACP nymphs – in a citrus grove near the UCR Botanic Gardens. A total of 281 wasps (95 males and 186 females) were released [...]
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