Subject: Root Aphids ?

From: [email-masked] (Grimm Albert)
Date: Tue, 23 Jul 1996 23:45:35 GMT

I am looking for help in identifying and controlling root aphids. 
In a reference book I found a list of probable species, including
Dysaphis, Myzotoxoptera, Pemphigus, and Rhizoecus, but the book gave
no description or help in identification. I found also a photo showing
"root mealybugs", but they seem to be bigger.

The insects are very small (less than 0.5 mm long] and oval in shape.
The upper side of their abdomen is flat and does not show any
distinctive features. The insects are white, slightly translucent, and
very soft and fragile. They produce large amounts of a white waxy
substance, similar to mealybugs. They seem to lay immense numbers of
white oblong eggs, about 1/10 the size of and adult. The eggs are
distributed throughout the medium, rather than beeing concentrated in
egg sacs like those of "above-ground" mealybugs.

Would Steinerma or related Nematodes control this class of insects ?

I have searched the WWW without result. If anybody could give me a
hint where I can find information about life-cycles etc, I would
appreciate that very much.

Albert