Macrolophus pygmaeus

Macrolophus pygmaeus

Predatory green bug. It lives in nature in the European part of the continent. Macrolophus is a polyphage and attacks many types of pests — whitefly, Tuta absoluta, mites, aphids, thrips, miners, etc. Since 2008, it has been actively used as an entomophage to protect greenhouse crops — tomato, eggplant, pepper. Macrolophus is a fairly large bug, so optics are not required to see it on a plant. The size of an adult bug is up to 3.5 mm. Adult bugs are winged, larvae are wingless. The population consists of males and females in a 50/50 ratio. Both adult bugs and younger stages are active predators. In the absence of protein nutrition (pest), bugs are able to feed on plant juice, and cannibalism is also not excluded. The optimal temperatures of the working range of this predator are from +19 to +32, the optimal humidity is above 65%.

Note:

At the beginning of the growing cycle, Macrolophus bugs are introduced at the rate of 2 individuals per square meter for one or two applications. The goal during the season is to reach a bug population of at least 10-15 bugs per plant so that they can control the pest. Therefore, it is important to introduce bugs as early as possible so that the bugs have enough time to reproduce. After making them, it is important to feed them weekly with protein nutrition, for example, Sitotroga eggs for 6-7 weeks to stimulate the growth of the Macrolophus population. For the successful survival of bugs in your greenhouse, you should abandon highly toxic pesticides, otherwise they will simply die. Macrolophus is a polyphage and attacks many types of pests — whitefly, Tuta absoluta, mites, aphids, thrips, miners, etc. Each crop and each specific pest requires an individual approach, our specialists are always ready to give professional advice on these issues.