Predatory beetle may suppress silverleaf whitefly

Abstract

The coccinellid beetle, Delphastus pusillus, may be able to suppress the silverleaf (or strain B sweetpotato) whitefly that has infested California agriculture. Life history characteristics of this predatoi indicate that it is most effective as a biological control agent at high whitefly densities. D. pusillus releases in Imperial Valley cotton trials reduced immature whitefly densities to one-third of the densities found in cotton plots receiving no releases.