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Delphastus catalinae is a specialized whitefly predator in the lady beetle family. The adult beetles fly, while larvae are slow moving and travel from plant to plant on leaves. Adults are tiny, 1/15th in. long, dark brown to black in color, and hemispherical in shape. Females have reddish-yellow heads, which are lighter than males. Larvae are elongated, cream colored, covered with short fine hairs, and have conspicuous legs. Native to the Western United States, occurring frequently in California.
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Delphastus is used to control whiteflies in tropical and semi-tropical plantings as well as commercial greenhouses.Delphastus avoids feeding on parasitized whiteflies, therefore is compatible with the use of Encarsia spp. (see Encarsia) and Eretmocerus spp. whitefly parasites. Delphastus also tends to feed in high-density whitefly populations, while parasites do best at lower densities of whiteflies. Delphastus adults prefer feeding on whitefly eggs. Delphastus do not survive in the absence of prey, therefore should be released only after whiteflies are detected.
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The complete life cycle takes 21-25 days at 78-86°F (25- 30°C).
Eggs are yellowish ovals, laid on the end in clusters on the underside of leaves. Females lay 2-6 eggs per day, and can lay over 300 eggs in their 65-day life time. Females must eat 100-150 whitefly eggs per day to initiate and sustain egg laying. Larvae feed for 7-10 days. Older larvae migrate down the plant to pupate. Pupae are often found clustered along leaf veins on the undersides of leaves. Adults emerge from pupae in 6 days. Adults can eat 150-640 whitefly eggs or 11 large larvae per day.
A single beetle can consume as many as 10,000 whitefly eggs or 700 larvae during its lifetime. Both adults and larvae feed on whitefly eggs and immature stages. If food is scarce, they will also feed on other small arthropods, such as spider mites and aphids, and will cannibalize their own species.
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0.5-1.0 predators per 1 sqft
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Once the beetles warm up they become active immediately, therefore should be released as soon as possible. If necessary, beetles can be stored for 1-2 days at 50-61º F (10-16º C), but longer storage will reduce egg laying.
