Why lacewings may fail to suppress aphids ... Predators that eat other predators disrupt cotton aphid control

Abstract

The predatory green lacewing, Chrysoperla carnea, is often abundant in mid-and late-season cotton fields in the San Joaquin Valley. However, neither these natural populations nor insecfary-reared and mass-released lace-wings appear to suppress populations of the cotton aphid. The key reason for the ineffectiveness of biological control appears to be the heavy mortality imposed on lacewing larvae by other general-ist insect predators. Results of a study suggest that interactions between different species of insect predators may disrupt the biological control of pest species.