Blackburn Info Michael Blackburn Pest insects may often be controlled by other insects that prey on or parasitize the pest. Sometimes the predator or parasite becomes established in the environment, providing continuous control of the pest. In other cases, these natural enemies must be replenished periodically to provide control. I am currently studying the development of parasitic wasps that attack whiteflies.
Whiteflies are serious pests of many important crops.
By understanding how the parasite's development is linked to the physiology of the whitefly we hope to develop new, inexpensive, methods of growing mass numbers of parasites for release in the field. Our goal is to reduce the need for chemical insecticides.