Peristenus Parasitoid
Dr. Hector Carcamo was thinking about Lygus bugs and the Peristenus parasitoids that prey on them. He noticed lots of Lygus in seed alfalfa in the Rosemary area in early June.
Peristenus attack the young lygus babies. The seed alfalfa is interesting because producers cannot spray after they release the bees, so they do it before. The timing may coincide with the Peristenus flight. Dr. Carcamo wants to check the data collected to determine if this is the case.
Ross Weiss provided a model that should provide help, although it is not the same species that occur in the region. From the sample collected in early June the dominant species appear to be L. keltoni and L. borealis.
Peristenus parasitoid[/caption]