How to Manage Pests

Pests in Gardens and Landscapes

Parasitic wasps and flies

Parasitic wasps and flies are important natural enemies of stink bugs or other true bugs. Wasps attack the eggs and parasitic flies attack nymphs and adults.

Insect parasitic wasps, or parasitoids, are smaller than their host and develop inside the host's body. The immature stage of the parasite feeds on the host and it kills only one host during its development. The parasitic wasp, Trissolcus basalis, has been imported from Europe and released in several locations throughout the state.

The most common parasitic flies are in the family Tachinidae. Adult tachinids often resemble houseflies, and their larvae are maggots that feed inside the host they parasitize.

The parasitic wasp
The parasitic wasp Trissolcus basalis


Statewide IPM Program, Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of California
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