Published online by Cambridge University Press: 31 May 2012
This study confirms an earlier finding that the oystershell scale, Lepidosaphes ulmi (L.) is normally controlled in Nova Scotia apple orchards by the aphelinid Aphytis mytilaspidis Le B. and the predacious mite Hemisarcoptes malus (Shimer). The effectiveness of the former may be limited in colder areas by low winter temperatures, and both species are detrimentally affected by some spray chemicals. The evidence presented indicates that either A. mytilaspidis, or H. malus, or the two of them together, may operate as key-factors in regulating the density of oystershell scale populations.