272 J.C. van Lenteren et al.
100806040200% Parasitoids trapped15 25
Test temperature (°C)18Fig. 19.4.Percentage Encarsia formosafemales capable of flying (= percentage of parasitoids trapped in
glue of glass plate) at three temperatures.
Description of Quality Control Tests in Alphabetical Order
Anthocoris nemoralis(Fabricius) (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) Provisional test
Test conditions
Temperature: 25 ± 1°C
Relative humidity (RH): 70 ± 5%
Light regime: 16 hours light (L) : 8 hours dark (D)
Quality control criteria
Quantity The number of living adults/nymphs as specified on the container.
Batch-wise or weekly test.
Sex ratio 45% females; n= 100; a seasonal test.
Fecundity 30 eggs per female per 28 days; n= 30 pairs; an annual test.
Description of testing methods
Counting method Take a container with Anthocorisand leave it for about 20 min at 8°C.
Then sieve the material of the container to separate vermiculite,
buckwheat husk and insects; thereafter all the individuals can be
counted using an aspirator.
Fecundity Take about 100 Anthocorisadults from a bottle ready for shipment or
from a rearing cage with adults that emerged less than 24 h ago.
Maintain these individuals for 4 days in a cage, feeding them with
Ephestia kuehniellaeggs and supplying a French bean pod. Then
determine their sex under stereomicroscope. Subsequently, put a pair
of predators in a ventilated transparent container of c. 75 ml (3–4 cm
of diameter) that contains a French bean pod. Provide new E.
kuehniella eggs ad libitum. Every 2–3 days the bean pod is substituted
with a fresh one, eggs are counted and new prey is added. The total
number of eggs is calculated for a 28-day oviposition period. Exclude