experiences and learning opportunity are also important factors, which contributed
to the host preference and behavior of the produced adult parasitoids (Pungerl 1984;
Powell and Wright 1992; Vafaie et al. 2013). Several technical methods are
suggested (Halfhill 1967; Halfhill and Featherstone 1967; Starý 1970b; Hägvar
and Hofsvang 1990) for the mass rearing of the common aphid parasitoids. A general
scheme is presented in Fig. 9.7.
Depending on ability of the aphid parasitoid species, cold storage can be applied
to enhance the durability of product by keeping the mummies at low temperatures
(Hofsvang and Hägvar 1977). Like many other commercial activity, it is necessary
Fig. 9.7 General procedure for mass production of Aphidius colemani/platensis (a, b) colony of
parasitized host aphids on their food plants – (a) Phaseolus vulgaris, (b) Triticum vulgare; (c, d),
separating the detached mummies containing live pupae of the aphid parasitoids; (e) cold storage;
(f) packing the boxes for transportation to the field and/or to the costumers
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E. Rakhshani and P. Starý