File: <chlor1.ima.htm> [For educational purposes only] Terminology Glossary <Principal Natural Enemy Groups > <Citations>

Immature Stages of Chloropidae

Detailed information on immature stages of Chloropidae (= Oscinidae) is being acquired. However, Clausen (1940) noted that Latrodectes mactans F. (Jenks 1936) lays spindle shaped eggs on the outer surface of a spider's egg sac; and after hatching in 2-3 days, the young larvae burrow through the covering to feed on the eggs. After consuming the eggs over a period of ca. 2 days, they pupate in the same area. Chloropisca glabra Meig. is a predator of the sugar beet root aphid, Pemphigus betae Doane, and has been considered to be the most effective natural enemy of this pest (Parker 1918). Hundreds of individuals are found on a single infested plant. The female crawls down the base of the plant to insert her ovipositor by a backward thrust into a soil crevice, where the eggs are laid. Aphids in the habitat provide the oviposition stimulus because no eggs are found on uninfested plants. Eggs hatch in 3-5 days, and each larva consumes up to 50 mature aphids during a 9-12 day development period. They remain, as pupae for ca. 9 months, although some individuals emerge in 2-3 weeks and there is therefore a partial 2nd generation.

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