In agricultural production, aphids are mostly controlled by spraying chemical pesticides such as imidacloprid. However, with the emphasis on food safety, green prevention and control has been more widely promoted. The aphid cocoon bee, which is the natural enemy of aphids, is also valued by growers (tobacco farmers).
<h1>What is aphid cocoon bee? </h1>
The aphid cocoon wasp is a parasitic wasp. Simply put, it grows on others and absorbs other people's nutrients, parasitic bees are the most common type of parasitic insects, and its hosts are mainly aphids. The scientific use of aphid cocoon bees can efficiently control almost all kinds of aphids such as vegetable aphids, peach aphids, soybean aphids and wheat aphids.
<h1>How do aphid cocoon bees kill aphids? </h1>
Aphids are the fastest-breeding insects on Earth, and can reproduce 10-30 generations a year, and a single aphid may replicate 1 billion aphids. Female aphids are born to give birth, and aphids do not need a male to conceive. Aphids are one of the most destructive pests in the world, threatening not only tobacco leaves, but also vegetables, fruit trees and other plants!
Adult female bees lay their eggs in aphids, and after the aphid cocoon eggs hatch, they feed on the tissues and organs in the aphids, which ossify to form zombie aphids (aphids have died). The cocoon bee larvae bite a small hole in the ventral surface of the zombie aphid and secrete viscose from the silk glands to stick the zombie aphid to the plant. Then, the larvae in the cavity of the zombie aphid body with the help of the fine protrusions on the surface of the body to form a cocoon to pupate, and finally the baby aphid cocoon bee feathers out and continue to look for aphid parasitism.
Zombie aphids
A mature female cocoon wasp is full of hundreds of eggs, and it will find a suitable "home" for the eggs before the end of life. During spawning, the female bee crawls while gently tapping the surface of the plant with her antennae, looking for the breath left by the aphid through the olfactory receptors on the antennae, and tracking all the way under the guidance of the smell until the aphid is found.
<h1>How do aphid cocoon bees release bees? </h1>
1. Direct release in the tobacco field
According to the occurrence of tobacco field aphids, a small number of aphid-attached leaves are continuously scattered to the tobacco field several times. Soon, the aphid cocoon wasps in the zombie aphid will feather out and continue to look for aphids to lay eggs and parasitize.
Scatter the leaves into the tobacco fields. Generally, it is necessary to release aphids from mid-April to early May, divided into 3-4 batches, with an average release of 300-500 zombie aphids per mu, which can achieve the purpose of effective control of smoke aphids.
2. The large-scale reproduction of aphid cocoon bees adopts the three-level nutrient expansion mode, namely: plant-aphid-aphid cocoon bee three-level
First, host plants (mostly tobacco leaves) are cultivated under artificially controlled conditions, and aphids can be inoculated to host plants when they grow to the right size. Second, wait for the aphids to multiply to a sufficient number before inoculate the aphid cocoon wasps in proportion. Finally, the zombie aphids are collected, or the adult insects are collected after the aphid cocoon wasps are feathered, and packaged in the form of bee cards or bee bags, which can be released in the field.
How to store beep cards for a long time? Using the reproductive characteristics of the mature larvae of the aphid cocoon wasp in diapause at low temperatures, the zombie aphid is placed in an environment of 8-10 °C and maintaining 8 hours of light every day, and the diapause rate of zombie aphids can reach more than 50%.
The big role of the small aphid cocoon wasp: no need to apply chemical pesticides, reduce pesticide pollution, protect the environment. Aphid cocoon bees can not only control aphids on tobacco leaves, but also release on vegetable crops, which has a significant effect on crop control aphids.
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