Rhyzobius =Lindorus lophanthae, or the Singular Black Lady Beetle, is used for the control and management of various scale insects.
Like Harmonia axyridis, R. lophanthae are ladybug beetles. These lady beetles are small with fuzzy black bodies and dull-orange head/thorax region and love scale insects! And, as most beetles are, R. lophanthae are very opportunistic and will eat pests other than scales: mealybugs (their crawlers or immature forms), insect eggs, etc.
R. lophanthae are shipped as pre-fed, pre-mated, insectary-reared (for the citrus industry) adults. Some popular prey of these beetles include: the scale insect species listed as hosts for Aphytis melinus and Metaphycus helvolus (both listed in this section) and other related species as well. In fact, success has been obtained when nothing else would work; for these beetles, the list of prey is quite long.
The smallish 2.5 mm. adult female beetles lay their eggs underneath scale insects. The eggs hatch into small gray larvae; and these are also fierce predators, growing up to 3 mm. long and consuming vast numbers of small scale crawlers and eggs (they'll always eat the youngest, most tender morsels first).
Please note that shipping live animals will incur a higher shipping cost.
The life-span of these predators is roughly 3 weeks in their immature stages, then 5-8 weeks as adults. The conditions for optimum performance will be between 73-87°F with a relative humidity of around 65%. But these are optimum conditions, and not necessarily a prerequisite of successful implementation. Please note, however, significantly cooler or warmer temperatures and humidity fluctuations may hamper reproduction and development a certain degree.
These beetles have been observed going about their business in temperatures as low as 40°F. R. lophanthae have an excellent establishment ability in the right environment. Singular black lady beetles are pretty tough, and have an excellent ability to chew right through the hard covers of both armored and soft scales.
Aside from misting the site with water before releasing and doing so in the evening (sometimes not necessary in interiors), there are other things you can do to ensure the maximum number of beetles concentrate on the pests at hand. Flowering, pollen producing plants are a big plus.
Great for greenhouses, interiorscapes, southern orchards and citrus; really anywhere conditions are right and food is plentiful!
