Mortality factors of the avocado lace bug, Pseudacysta perseae (Heteroptera: Tingidae), in Florida

Abstract

The avocado lace bug (ALB), Pseudacysta perseae (Heidemann) (Heteroptera:Tingidae), is a pest of avocado, Persea americana, in Florida, the Caribbean Basin, California and northern South America. Different biotic mortality factors, i.e., the egg parasitoids Erythmelus (Erythmelus) klopomor, a new species of Trichogrammatidae, and the predators, Chrysoperla rufilabris, Paracarniella cubana, Stethoconus vitripennis, and Tingidoletes praelonga, have been reported as natural enemies of P. perseae in Florida. We determined the effect of these biotic factors during 3 seasons, by exposing P. perseae cohorts to known biotic factors, and compared their survival to cohorts protected from these factors. The total percent mortality caused by biotic factors was 16 to 90% above the mortality caused by abiotic factors during 3 seasons.