Aphidoletes aphidimyza adults hatching
Aphid midge, Aphidoletes aphidimyza are hatching in this photo. Aphidoletes are released by opening the bottle in the greenhouse near aphid colonies. Adult midges will leave container. To prevent dehydration, they should not be sprinkled onto plants.
The larval stage of this fly are effective predators of aphids. Females may live for one to two weeks, laying about 70 upright, orange eggs on leaves among aphids. The eggs hatch into larva in two to four days and paralyze each aphid by attacking its leg joints and then sucks it dry, leaving a blackened, collapsed aphid attached to the leaf. Adult midges fly at night and feed on honeydew.
Aphidoletes enter diapause (hibernation) in the fall when daylength is short and evening temperatures drop.
