Cales noacki Howard
Taxonomic placing: Insecta, Holometabola, Hymenoptera, Apocrita, Chalcidoidea, Aphelinidae.
Distribution: A South American taxon (which may actually consist of several species) that was successfully introduced into several African, Mediterranean and North American countries.
Morphology: Body of females about 0.7-1.0 mm in length, dark yellow, eyes almost black, wings with only a single vein, strogly fringed. The males are slightly smaller and their abdomen is darkish.
Life history A solitary endoparasitoid of whiteflies (Aleyrodidae), which attacks most host stages. Development at 26°C requires about 3 weeks and the sugar-fed females live for one week. The threshold of developmental was calculated to be at 10.0°C and females parasitized an average of 37 hosts. High temperatures and low humilities may curtail the activities of Cales noacki.
Economic importance: Cales noacki is a major and very effective biological control agent of Aleurothrixus floccosus. It has successfully been introduced into many countries where it controlled the whitefly. If co-occurring with another enemy, Eretmocerus sp., C. noacki displaces Eretmocerus sp. to become the dominant endoparasitoid, and rapidly suppresses the pest.
References
Ilusoy M.R., Vatansever, G., Erkilic, L. and Uygun, N. 2003. Studies on Aleurothrixus floccosus (Maskell) (Homoptera, Aleyrodidae) and its parasitoid, Cales noacki Howard (Hymenoptera, Aphelinidae) in the East Mediterranean Region of Turkey. Journal of Pest Science 76: 163-169.
Mercado, V.T., Fernandez, E.S. and Giliomee, J.H. 2014. Life table parameters of the woolly whitefly Aleurothrixus floccosus (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) and its parasitoid Cales noacki (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae). European Journal of Entomology 111: 251-256.
Miklasiewicz, T.J. and Walker, G.P. 1990. Population dynamics and biological control of the woolly whitefly (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) on citrus. Environmental Entomology 19: 1485-1490 ·
Mottern, J.L. and Heraty, J.M. 2014. Revision of the Cales noacki species complex (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea, Aphelinidae). Systematic Entomology 39: 354-379.
Seguni, Z.S. and Mfugale, O. 2016. Biological control of citrus woolly white fly Aleurothrixus floccosus Mask (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) by Cales noacki How. (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) in some Tanzanian small scale citrus orchards. International Journal of Research – GRANTHAALAYAH 4: 82-91.
Vatansever, S.G. and Ulusoy, M.R. 2009. The effects of different temperatures and diets on the biology of Cales noacki Howard (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae), a parasitoid of the citrus woolly whitefly. Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry 33: 267–275.
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