THE EFFECT OF EXTENDED IMMERSION IN AGITATED LIQUID CARRIERS ON THE VIABILITY OF 2 ENTOMOPHAGOUS INSECTS

Chrysoperla ryfilabris Burmeister eggs and Trichogramma pretiosum Rile y pupae were immersed in water and a commercial carrier [BioCarrier(TM )] for extended periods under conditions similar to those employed in a recently developed mechanical delivery system for natural enemies [B ioSprayer(TM)], A series of experiments was conducted to determine rat es of eclosion by C. rufilabris and emergence by T. pretiosum, followi ng immersion, as a measure of their viability versus non-immersed cont rols. In the case of C. rufilabris, control and carrier treatments did not differ significantly. For T. pretiosum, water and carrier treatme nts did not differ significantly, but emergence was significantly lowe r than in the non-immersed control.