Whitefly parasites (Encarsia formosa) lay their eggs in immature stages of whitefly, parasitizing and killing them. They are shipped as mature pupae in host eggs, glued to cards and ready to hatch out as adult wasps. Each individual card will yield a minimum of 70 parasites.
To release, simply hang the individual cards or strips in shaded locations so they are evenly distributed throughout the infested area. Handle the cards by the edges to avoid squashing the parasites. Whitefly parasites will emerge from the black host eggs over a period of 2 weeks and will immediately seek out and parasitize immature whitefly. Once parasitized the young whitefly will also turn black and eventually a new encarsia adult will emerge. It is important to realize that the black eggs on the cards will stay behind after emergence of the whitefly parasites. You should be able to observe an emergence "hole" with a 10x hand lens.
Release at a rate of 2-4 whitefly parasites per sq. ft. for four consecutive weeks. For best results releases should be made when average temperatures are above 62 degrees F and light intensities are high.
