Examine individual changes

'{{Short description|Species of wasp}} {{Speciesbox | taxon = Encarsia formosa | authority = [[Arthur Burton Gahan|Gahan]], 1924 | image= Encarsia formosa.jpg | image_caption = | display_parents = 3 }} '''''Encarsia formosa''''' is a species of [[Chalcid wasp|chalcidoid]] [[Parasitoid wasp|wasp]] and a well known [[parasitoid]] of [[greenhouse whitefly]], one of the first to be used commercially for [[biological pest control]], from the 1920s. They can use at least 15 species of [[whitefly]] as a host, including ''[[Silverleaf whitefly|Bemisia tabaci]]'' and ''[[Aleyrodes proletella]].''<ref name="HoddleVan Driesche1998" /> The tiny females (about 0.6&nbsp;mm long) are black with a yellow abdomen and opalescent wings. This species reproduces asexually via [[thelytoky]] induced by [[Wolbachia]] infection.<ref name="HoddleVan Driesche1998" /> Males are produced only rarely. They are slightly larger than females and are completely black in coloration. == Life cycle == [[File:Waspcycle.png |thumb|450px|left|Life cycles of [[greenhouse whitefly]] and its parasitoid wasp ''Encarsia formosa'']] [[File:Tomate Blatt Eier Weiße Fliege parasitiert.jpg|thumb|Tomato leaf with whitefly nymphs (white) parasitized by E. formosa (black).]] Females deposit 50-100 eggs individually inside the bodies of [[nymph (biology)|nymphs]] or [[pupa]]e of the host species. The wasp larvae develop through four instars in about two weeks at optimum temperatures. Parasitized greenhouse whitefly pupae turn black in about 10 days, while parasitized sweet potato whiteflies turn amber brown. Both are easily distinguished from unparasitized host pupae. Wasp pupation occurs within the whitefly body. Adult wasps emerge about 10 days later. == Use in biological control == [[File:Encarsia formosa, an endoparasitic wasp, is used for whitefly control.jpg |thumb|''Encarsia formosa'', a parasitoid, is sold commercially for [[biological control]] of [[whitefly]], an [[pest insect|insect pest]] of tomato and other horticultural crops.]] ''Encarsia formosa'' has been used as a natural pesticide to control whitefly populations in greenhouses since the 1920s. Use of the insect fell out of fashion due to the increased prevalence of chemical pesticides and was essentially non-existent by the 1940s. Since the 1970s ''E. formosa'' has seen something of a revival, with renewed usage in European and Russian greenhouses.<ref name="HoddleVan Driesche1998">{{cite journal |last1=Hoddle |first1=M. S. |last2=Van Driesche |first2=R. G. |last3=Sanderson |first3=J. P. |title=Biology and Use of the Whitefly Parasitoid Encarsia Formosa |journal=Annual Review of Entomology |volume=43 |issue=1 |year=1998 |pages=645–669 |doi=10.1146/annurev.ento.43.1.645 |pmid=15012401 |url=http://www.biocontrol.ucr.edu/hoddle/ccbcdisk_g000027.pdf}}</ref> In some countries, such as New Zealand, it is the primary biological control agent used to control greenhouse whiteflies, particularly on crops such as tomato, a particularly difficult plant for predators to establish on.<ref>[http://www.bioforce.net.nz/products/enforce.html Bioforce Limited, New Zealand]</ref> == Clap and fling flight == {{See also|Insect flight#Clap and fling}} ''E. formosa'' utilizes the clap and fling mechanism often seen in sub-mm insects. The wings, at the apex, and nearly touching, fling apart and generate strong vortices along the leading edge and wing tips. This mechanism works well in low [[Reynolds number]] flight as the generated vortices remained attached through the stroke cycle. Flexible wings and bristles along the wing edges help mitigate the large drag forces that the insect must overcome. Unlike normal flight, this method would work in an entirely [[inviscid]] medium, as it does not rely on a [[starting vortex]] to create [[circulation (fluid dynamics)|circulation]] about the wing.<ref>T. Weis-Fogh, Quick estimates of flight fitness in hovering animals, including novel mechanisms for lift production, J. Expl. Biol. 59, 169-230, 1973</ref><ref>M. J. Lighthill, On the Weis-Fogh mechanism of lift generation, J. Fluid Mech. 60, 1-17, 1973</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bennett |first=L. |date=1977 |title=Clap and fling aerodynamics- and experimental evaluation |journal=Journal of Experimental Biology |pages=261–272}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Miller |first1=L |last2=Peskin |first2=C.S. |date=2009 |title=Flexible clap and fling in tiny insect flight |journal=The Journal of Experimental Biology |volume=212 |issue=19 |pages=3076–3090 |doi=10.1242/jeb.028662 |pmid=19749100 |s2cid=29711043 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Santhanankrishnan |first1=A. |last2=Jones |first2=S. |last3=Low |first3=A.A |last4=Gadi |first4=S. |last5=Hedrick |first5=T.L. |last6=Miller |first6=L. |date=2014 |title=Clap and fling mechanism with interacting porous wings in tiny insect flight. |journal=The Company of Biologists |pages=3898–3909}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lehmann |first1=F.-O |last2=Sane |first2=S.P. |last3=Dickinson |last4=M. |date=2005 |title=The aerodynamics effects of wing-wing interaction in flapping insect wings |journal=The Journal of Experimental Biology |volume=208 |issue=Pt 16 |pages=3075–3092 |doi=10.1242/jeb.01744 |pmid=16081606 |s2cid=7750411 |doi-access=free}}</ref> == References == <references/> {{Taxonbar |from=Q614882}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Encarsia Formosa}} [[Category:Aphelinidae]] [[Category:Biological pest control wasps]] [[Category:Insects used as insect pest control agents]] [[Category:Insects described in 1924]] [[Category:Taxa named by Arthur Burton Gahan]]'