Effect of a UV-deficient environment on the biology and flight activity of Myzus persicae and its hymenopterous parasite aphidius matricariae

Laboratory and field experiments were conducted to study the effect of UV filtration on the population growth, distribution and flight activity of the green peach aphid Myzus persicae (Sulzer) (Homoptera: Aphididae), and on the fecundity and host-finding behavior of the parasitic wasp Aphidius matricariae (Haliday) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae). The work was done in the Arava Valley of Israel, in walk-in tunnels covered with polyethylene film, to compare the effects of UV-absorbing film versus those of regular film. Following artificial aphid infestation on pepper grown under the tested films, aphid population growth and spread under the UV-absorbing films were significantly less than under the regular films. The greatest impact of UV-absorbing film on aphid behavior was observed in winter and early spring, when temperature conditions favor aphid development. Elimination of UV by UV-absorbing film did not affect the parasitic activity of A. matricariae. Previous results had indicated that covering the greenhouse with UV-absorbing films inhibited the invasion of aphids and other insect pests into it. That effect, in combination with those described in the present paper, makes the use of UV-absorbing films an effective component of IPM that aims to reduce the application of toxic insecticides.