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Abstract

Sasajiscymnus tsugae Sasaji and McClure (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), is a biological control agent imported for management of hemlock woolly adelgid, Adelges tsugae Annand. In mass rearing S. tsugae, accurate estimation of egg numbers is important because larvae are cannibalistic, especially at higher densities. To determine the most accurate means of estimating egg production, three brands of gauze were compared as oviposition substrates. Curad® gauze provided the most accurate estimate of egg production, and was the most cost effective brand. When eggs were collected from oviposition jars, similar adult yields of S. tsugae occurred between rearing cages infested with 1,650 eggs from gauze compared to eggs on the twigs from within these jars. Additionally, orientation of oviposition jars impacted S. tsugae egg production as significantly more eggs were produced in horizontally oriented oviposition jars.

Keywords: biological control, invasive species

Correspondence: ^a*hugh.e.conway@aphis.usda.gov, ^bjculin@clemson.edu, ^claylab@clemson.edu, ^dcallara@clemson.edu, *Corresponding author
Associate Editor: Allen Cohen was editor of this paper.

Received: 22 May 2009 | Accepted: 24 September 2009 | Published: 14 September 2010

Copyright: This is an open access paper. We use the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license that permits unrestricted use, provided that the paper is properly attributed.  

ISSN: 1536-2442 | Volume 10, Number 152

Conway HE, Culin JD, Burgess LW, Allard C. 2010. Maximizing oviposition efficiency when mass rearing the coccinellid, Sasajiscymnus tsugae, a predator of the hemlock woolly Adelgid, Adelges tsugae. Journal of Insect Science 10:152, available online: insectscience.org/10.152