1994/03/01 by Gilberto S. Albuquerque, G.S. Albuquerque, Catherine A. Tauber +3 · 1 citation
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Environmental Science · #Biological Control of Invasive Species #Freshwater macroinvertebrate diversity and ecology #Insect behavior and control techniques
paper · doi:10.1006/bcon.1994.1002
openalex publication_date 1994/03/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
The predacious insect Chrysoperla externa (Hagen) has a number of traits that make it amenable to mass-rearing and use as a biological control agent. Developmental and reproductive rates were relatively high and directly related to temperature between 15.6 and 26.7°C. Survival also was high throughout this temperature range. Lower thermal thresholds for development (t) of all immature stages fell between 11 and 12.5-degrees-C, and the K value for total development was 320 heat degree-days above 11.8°C. At 21.1°C, oviposition averaged 284 eggs during the first 30 days. Variability in diapause induction occurred within and among populations: a proportion of the Chilean and the Brazilian populations went into diapause under a short daylength, whereas no diapause occurred in the Honduran population. Chrysoperla externa appears well suited as a biological control agent for use in pest management programs in tropical and temperate regions of Central and South America.