Aphidius gifuensis: a promising parasitoid for biological control of two importantaphid species in sweet pepper

Abstract: The parasitoid Aphidius gifuensis is able to parasitize both the green peach aphidMyzus persicae and the foxglove aphid Aulacorthum solani in sweet pepper. In a greenhouseexperiment we showed that rates of parasitism on green peach aphids alone were equal to thecommonly used Aphidius colemani, but lower than with Aphidius matricariae. Foxglove aphidswere suppressed very effectively by A. gifuensis. In contrast, A. matricariae was not able toparasitize this aphid. When the two aphid species were offered simultaneously, A. gifuensissuppressed both aphid species, whereas the presence of foxglove aphids had a negative effect onthe control of green peach aphids by A. matricariae. We conclude that A. gifuensis is a promisingcandidate for biological control of both foxglove aphids and green peach aphids in sweet pepper,especially when these aphids occur together.