Icerya purchasi
cotton cushion scale on citrus
Vedalia beetles, Rodolia cardinalis
Icerya purchasi control agents
Importation
Classical biological control (CBC) is defined as the introduction of a natural enemy of exotic origin to control a pest that is usually also exotic, aiming at permanent control of the pest
Augmentation
is the periodic release of a natural enemy that does not occur naturally in sufficient numbers to keep a pest population below damaging levels (Sanda and Sunusi 2014). It’s also defined as the supplemental release of additional numbers of a natural enemy to boost naturally occurring population.
Inoculative release
relatively few natural enemies may be released at a critical time of the season such as in greenhouse production of several crops.
Inundative release
involves releasing large numbers of natural enemies for immediate reduction of a damaging or near damaging pest population. This achieved by flooding the crop with multiple releases of insectary-reared natural enemies.
Conservation biological control
supporting populations of natural enemies already present in the agroecosystem and promoting their effectiveness as predators, parasitoids or pathogens (Ehler, 1998; Pell et al., 2010; Seastedt, 2014). The abundance and diversity of natural enemies increases in response to a variety of conservation measures, including plant and habitat diversification, a reduction in cropping intensity, and increased landscape complexity