The parasitic wasp Aphidius colemani is a polyphagous parasitoid, attacking many aphid species including the species mentioned above.

The adults are small (2-3 mm long) slender wasps with black, brown and yellow coloration. They live for only a few days. Their populations comprise rather more females (60%) than males.
After mating, and upon encountering an aphid, the female parasitoid inserts her ovipositor into the aphid by bending her abdomen forward between her legs, and lays a minute (0.1 mm) egg in the aphid's body cavity. Any aphid instar is usually acceptable for the wasp.
Once within the aphid, the egg expands to several times its original size. The larva then hatches and begins feeding osmotically. It grows, passing through three instars, without interfering markedly with the development or behavior of the aphid host.
When the parasitoid larva has reached the 4th instar, the aphid has usually become an adult and the parasitoid has consumed all the internal tissues of the aphid, completely filling its cuticle. The parasitoid larva then cuts a slit in the underside of the aphid, attaches the cuticle to the leaf by silk and finally spins a cocoon within the dying aphid, where it pupates.
The aphid turns into a "mummy" which resembles a swollen, papery aphid, yellow and brown in color. When mature, the adult parasitoid cuts a circular lid in the upper-distal part of the mummy (in between the cornicles) through which it emerges.The life cycle of the parasitoid, from egg to adult, lasts 13 days at 21°C and 11 days at 27°C. The adult lives 5-7 days at these temperatures.
The wasps' activity is optimal between temperatures of 20-30°C. Below 15°C, the adult is inactive. An adult female parasitoid may perform several hundred oviposition attempts during its lifespan, out of which up to 200 eggs will develop successfully to adulthood.

APPLICATION
 A. colemani is delivered as pupae within mummified aphids. The mummies are mixed with sawdust and packed in small containers from which a minimum of 500 adult parasitoids should emerge.
Adult emergence will take place in the field 1-7 days following introduction, depending upon temperature and the developmental state of the parasitoid pupa within the mummy.
 The APHIPAR® container should preferably be placed next to an aphid hot spot (if traced) at the upper level of the plants.
 The container should be left open, thus enabling the emerging adult wasps to fly out towards the plants. It must be ensured that the APHIPAR® contents will not spill on the ground to avoid damage to the mummies. 
 Ants should be prevented from reaching the APHIPAR® containers. Ants endanger the mummies and parasitoid pupae inside.
 Soon after it is received by the user, APHIPAR® should be released in the field. If necessary, APHIPAR® can be stored for 48 hours at a temperature of 6-8°C (not lower) from the moment of arrival until release. The product should never be placed under direct sunlight.
 The use of A. colemani relies upon strict and reliable monitoring of aphids present in the crop. Because of the high susceptibility of many crops to damage caused by aphids (e.g. sweet pepper and cucumber under protection), it is highly recommended to introduce the parasitoid preventively (i.e. before aphids are monitored on the target crop).
A commercial preventive introduction of A. colemani is therefore applied by the use of a banker plant system (APHIBANK®) that consists of trays of cereal plants infested by grain aphids. The latter survive only on monocotyledonous crops, hence the cultivated crops are not infested. The parasitoid readily attacks the grain aphids, thus building up populations that will effectively parasitize the target aphids once they appear on the cultivated crop.

Declaration:
Bio-Bee Sde Eliyahu Ltd. produces and markets biological products. Production is carried out using innovative techniques under controlled quality assurance standards such as ISO 9001:2000, as well as IOBC's international standards for mass-production of insects.
All products are tested to meet specification requirements before leaving the factory.
Bio-Bee is not responsible for the outcome of implementation in the field, as it has no control over the method of application, local conditions, treatment/storage of product not according to instructions, etc.