An adult Aphidoletes is only active during dusk and night. Females have a strong ability to search for aphid hot spots. Eggs are laid on these nutrient-rich spots. The eggs are orange to red in color and so small that they are barely visible to the naked eye. 

Once the eggs hatch - approximately 2 to 5 days - the larva takes over as the biological control agent. Aphidolete larvae feed on aphids, killing more aphids than they can consume. The aphids are injected with a paralyzing substance, after which the Aphidoletes larva sucks up the contents of the body. All that remains is the empty skin of the aphid. The larvae are orange, but this can change depending on the color of the aphid species they consume.  

In total, a larva eats between 10 to 100 aphids. After 5 to 10 days, the larva drops from the leaf to the ground where pupation takes place. Most pupating larvae will die if they cannot reach the ground. After 8 to 16 days an adult gall midge emerges from the pupa. Mating takes place in the first night after the gall midge has hatched, after which the females live an average of 1 week.  

The development speed of the gall midge, the number of eggs and the number of aphids that are consumed strongly  depend on temperature, humidity and the amount of food present.  

Temperature and humidity are important factors for the Aphidoletes gall midge. The optimal conditions are a temperature of 20 to 30 °C, an air humidity of at least 60% and a day length of 16 hours. The night temperature should be at least 12-16 °C. When the night temperature drops below 12 °C, no eggs are deposited. 

It is important to release enough Aphidoletes at the time aphids are detected. Aphidoletes are supplied as pupae in a carrier material. The release of the gall midge pupae can be done in two ways, depending on the type of product you are using:

• By spreading the material over the crop (this applies to Agrobio products).
• By opening the tubes and placing them on one side. It is important that the tubes are not placed in the sun or in damp places (this applies to Bio Innovations products).

At Royal Brinkman, a team of specialists checks the quality of the gall midges. Based on a protocol, they work to deliver the best quality to the customer. Have a look at the gall midge and its application in the videos below. 

Good to know is that the Aphidoletes does not go together with the predatory mite Amblyseius swirski. In addition, sulphur in the greenhouse can negatively influence the search ability of the gall midge. The gall midge can cooperate well with spiders, because mating often takes place in cobwebs. 

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