. Commercial mass culture of the California red scale parasite : Aphytis lignanensis. Citrus; Scale insects. would seriously disrupt the scale-produc- tion program, and thereby increase the cost involved in such a program. Entomophagous Pests. Among the insect pests that directly attack the scale, parasites comprise the greatest single threat to a scale culture. They are highly motile and are capable of a rapid and continuous build-up on oleander scale. If left unhindered, parasites can destroy a scale culture in a short time. Predators as a class rank second only to the parasites as a threat
. Commercial mass culture of the California red scale parasite : Aphytis lignanensis. Citrus; Scale insects. would seriously disrupt the scale-produc- tion program, and thereby increase the cost involved in such a program. Entomophagous Pests. Among the insect pests that directly attack the scale, parasites comprise the greatest single threat to a scale culture. They are highly motile and are capable of a rapid and continuous build-up on oleander scale. If left unhindered, parasites can destroy a scale culture in a short time. Predators as a class rank second only to the parasites as a threat to an insectary scale culture. Unless their activity is limited, coccinellids such as Lindorus can be quite as destructive as parasites. Control by Exclusion of Pest Species. Since insect pests generally present a definite threat to the mainte- nance of the host scale, and therefore to the maintenance of Aphytis production, it is very important to exclude such con- taminants from the rearing areas. This can be done very easilv if simple pre- cautions are observed unwaveringly. These include: (1) Personnel should move about the insectary with caution. The scale-production area should not be entered by anyone engaged previously in the parasite area. Personnel returning from the field (those engaged in parasite- release work) should not enter any por- tion of the insectary until all chance of carrying a contaminant into the rearing areas has been eliminated. Release of parasites late in the day so that personnel so engaged would not have to return to insectary duties, or a shower and change of clothes for such personnel, may be desirable. (2) All equipment and ma- terials being moved into the insectarv should be free from any organism which might pose a problem to the continuous production program. In short then, the best method of pest control in the insectary is total exclusion of such potential pest species. Control of Established Pest Spe- cies. In the event of an outbreak of
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