searching efficiency (a') (attack rate) and handling time are two major components of natural enemies’ functional response and are usually used to evaluate their effectiveness. the age-specific searching efficiency of aphidoletes aphidimyza (rondani) was studied during its larval stage. the experiment was conducted in terms of age-specific functional response to the varying density (5, 1...

To enhance biological control of insect pests in greenhouses, facilities and procedures for mass production of the parasitoids, Eretmocerus sp., Encarsia formosa, and Trichogramma brassicae, and the predator, Aphidoletes aphidimyza were successfully developed in Hengshui, Hebei province, China. Mass production of the aphelinid wasps was achieved by using different plant varieties and host insec...

We integrated a natural enemy survey of the broader landscape into a more traditional survey for Aphis glycines Matsumura (Hemiptera: Aphididae), parasitoids and predatory flies on soybean using A. glycines-infested soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merr., placed in cropped and noncropped plant systems to complement visual field observations. Across three sites and 5 yr, 18 parasitoids and predatory fl...

Interactions between herbivores and their predators are shaped, in part, by plant phenotype. Consequently, ubiquitous symbionts of plants below-ground, such as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), may influence interactions above-ground prey altering However, the ecological relevance below-ground organisms on predator–prey under field conditions remains unclear. We assessed how AMF herbivore–pre...