''Aphidoletes aphidimyza'', commonly referred to as the aphid midge, is a

midge A midge is any small fly, including species in several families of non- mosquito Nematoceran Diptera. Midges are found (seasonally or otherwise) on practically every land area outside permanently arid deserts and the frigid zones. Some ...

whose

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. ...

e feed on over 70

aphid Aphids are small sap-sucking insects and members of the superfamily Aphidoidea. Common names include greenfly and blackfly, although individuals within a species can vary widely in color. The group includes the fluffy white woolly aphids. A ...

species, including the green peach aphid.

Description

The adults are small (less than long), black, delicate flies (similar to a

fungus gnat Fungus gnats are small, dark, short-lived gnats, of the families Sciaridae, Diadocidiidae, Ditomyiidae, Keroplatidae, Bolitophilidae, and Mycetophilidae (order Diptera); they comprise six of the seven families placed in the superfamily Sciar ...

) that live for an average of 10 days, feeding on aphid honeydew. They hide beneath the leaves during the day, and are active at night.

Life cycle

Females deposit 100-250 tiny () shiny orange eggs singly or in small groups among aphid colonies that hatch in 2–3 days. After 3–7 days the larvae drop to the ground and burrow inches into the soil to pupate. They are most effective at and high relative humidity.

Behavior

The small, bright orange, slug-like larvae inject a toxin into aphids' leg joints to paralyze them and then suck out the aphid body contents through a hole bitten in the thorax. Larvae can consume aphids much larger than themselves and may kill many more aphids than they eat when aphid populations are high. A single larva grows up to long and kills 4-65 aphids per day.

Use in biological pest control

The aphid midge is commercially grown by insectaries for use as

biological pest control Biological control or biocontrol is a method of controlling pests, such as insects, mites, weeds, and plant diseases, using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or other natural mechanisms, but typically also inv ...

in commercial greenhouse crops. It is supplied as pupae in trays or bottles containing a moist substrate such as

vermiculite Vermiculite is a hydrous phyllosilicate mineral which undergoes significant expansion when heated. Exfoliation occurs when the mineral is heated sufficiently, and commercial furnaces can routinely produce this effect. Vermiculite forms by the w ...

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficie ...

moss for the pupae to complete their development. Once they are placed in the greenhouse they usually emerge from the shipping container as adults to begin egg-laying in 3–7 days depending on temperature.

External links

Images representing Cecidomyiidae
at

BOLD In typography, emphasis is the strengthening of words in a text with a font in a different style from the rest of the text, to highlight them. It is the equivalent of prosody stress in speech. Methods and use The most common methods in W ...

''Aphidoletes aphidimyza''. Bugguide.net''Aphidoletes aphidimyza''. Cornell UniversityOviposition behavior of the biological control agent ''Aphidoletes aphidimyza''. USDA
{{Taxonbar, from=Q4779604 Cecidomyiinae Insects used as insect pest control agents Insects described in 1847 Taxa named by Camillo Rondani