Description. Adults are generally 5-20mm in size, often with a yellow stripe and black body resembling small honey bees or wasps, and have large compound eyes that nearly cover the head. Adults fly, larvae do not.
Life cycle. Females lay eggs near aphid colonies. The slug-like, pale green to yellow maggots feed on aphids, scales, and other insects, growing to 10-15mm in length. Some pupate on the foliage near the feeding site, other pupate in the soil. The life cycle for most species lasts 2-4 weeks. Behavior. Predator. The larvae of many species of syphids are insectivores. Larvae can consume as many as 400 aphids during their development. However, in the absence of aphids, larvae of some species can subsist and develop entirely on diets of pollen.
Buckwheat family
Mint family
Goosefoot Family
Figwort family
Mallow Family
Cabbage family
Casper Family
Resemble bees or wasps, but they do not sting;
Larvae of hoverflies are often found in stagnant water;
Adults of many species feed mainly on nectar and pollen;
Maintain cover crops (buckwheat).
Parasitic Mini-Wasps
Flee beetle,
Armyworm,
cabbageworm,
codling moth,
gypsy moth,
European corn borer,
beetle larvae,
flies,
caterpillars,
sphinx moths,
cabbage
(see description)
Braconid & Chalcid parasitoid wasp (Braconidae/Chalcididae families among others)
Description. Adults are typically under a half-inch; may be slender or stout, with long antennae; frequently, a dark spot on the forewing; color varies Life Cycle. Complete metamorphosis. The life cycle length will vary by species. Behavior. Parasites. Braconids usually parasitize the immature stages of their hosts. The adult females have long ovipositor and lays eggs inside of an insect host. The larva feeds on the inside of the host until it is ready to pupate. The wasp can either pupate inside the host, or on the outside of the host. The wasps will then emerge and look for more hosts.
Also controls: butterflies, almond moth, Indian meal moth, grain weevil, leaf miners
Carrot family
Daisy/Sunflower family
Cabbage family
Casper family
Legume family
Buckwheat family
Mallow family
Mint family
Legume family
Mint family
Other nectar-rich plants with
small flowers.
Attracted to yellow.
Adult wasps are attracted to the color yellow, so any yellow sticky cards used to monitor pests should be removed;
Generally not strong fliers and are generally moved through the air by the prevailing winds;
Important in preventing crop damage because they kill their hosts before the insect causes damage to the plant;
Maintain cover crops (alfalfa).
Harmless to people, animals, and plants (they do not sting).
Aphids (primary)
green peach aphid,
melon aphid,
pea aphid,
cotton aphid,
green peach aphid,
potato aphid,
foxglove aphid and many other aphid species
Aphid parasitoid wasp (Aphidiinae subfamily)
Description. A subfamily of parasitoid wasps that used aphids as their host.
Life Cycle. Complete metamorphosis. A complete life cycle takes 10-14 days. Females lay eggs singly in aphid nymphs. As the larvae mature and the aphids are killed, the aphids turn into mummies. Behavior. Parasites. In addition to killing aphids directly, mechanical disturbance of aphid colonies by the searching behavior of the adult wasps causes many aphids to fall off the plants and die. Each female lays about 100 eggs in aphids but may attack 200 to 300 aphids in the process.
Moths and butterflies
Spruce budworm,
cotton bollworm,
tomato hornworm,
Parasitoid wasp of eggs (Trichogrammatidae family)
Description. Tiny wasps that include some of the smallest of all insects, with most species having adults less than 1mm in length. Life Cycle. Complete metamorphosis. The female lays an egg into a recently laid host egg. As the wasp develops, the host egg is killed. The wasp's short life cycle of 8-10 days allows for their population to increase rapidly.
