Pollen grains are suitable alternative food for rearing the commercially used predatory mite Neoseiulus cucumeris (Acari: Phytoseiidae) 

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shima Yazdanpanah ◽  
Yaghoub Fathipour ◽  
Elham Riahi
Keyword(s):  
Biological Control ◽  
Castor Bean ◽  
Date Palm ◽  
Predatory Mite ◽  
Alternative Food ◽  
Intrinsic Rate Of Increase ◽  
Neoseiulus Cucumeris ◽  
Suitable Alternative ◽  
Maize Pollen ◽  
Bitter Orange

The generalist predatory mite, Neoseiulus cucumeris (Oudemans) is one of the most effective natural enemies on many crops in indoor cultivations. As supply of alternative food such as pollen is generally thought to enhance the reproductive and biological control performance of generalist predatory mites, the life table parameters of the predatory mite, N. cucumeris were determined  in laboratory at 25±1°C, 60±5% RH, and a photoperiod of 16:8 (L: D) hours when fed on seven different pollen (almond, bitter orange, maize, date palm, castor bean, sunflower, and bee-collected). Our results indicated that feeding the predator on castor bean, almond, date palm, and sunflower pollen led to better performance in terms of higher oviposition (38.18, 33.53, 32.87, and 29.48 eggs/female, respectively), intrinsic rate of increase (0.146, 0.129, 0.152, and 0.123 day-1, respectively) and net reproductive rate (19.55, 12.58, 14.93, and 14.06 eggs/individual, respectively), and shorter development time (7.08, 7.73, 7.19, and 9.30 days, respectively). Bitter orange and bee-collected pollen were not suitable diets for both development and reproduction of N. cucumeris. The shortest (7.08 days) and longest (16.09 days) development times were observed on castor bean and bee-collected pollen, respectively. Adult longevity varied from 6.88 days on maize to 60.4 days on castor bean pollen. The highest fecundity was obtained on almond, followed by date palm, and castor bean pollen, while feeding on maize pollen did not lead to oviposition. Overall, we found that castor bean along with date palm, almond, and sunflower pollen are suitable diets for large scale rearing of N. cucumeris for subsequent use in biological control of pests in greenhouses.

scholarly journals Life history of Neoseiulus californicus (McGregor, 1954) (Acari: Phytoseiidae) fed with castor bean (Ricinus communisL.) pollen in laboratory conditions

2014 ◽  
Vol 74 (3) ◽  
pp. 691-697 ◽  
Author(s):  
PP Marafeli ◽  
PR Reis ◽  
EC. da Silveira ◽  
GC Souza-Pimentel ◽  
MA. de Toledo
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Castor Bean ◽  
Ricinus Communis ◽  
Intrinsic Rate ◽  
Predatory Mite ◽  
Neoseiulus Californicus ◽  
Intrinsic Rate Of Increase ◽  
Ricinus Communis L ◽  
Rate Of Increase ◽  
History Of

The predatory mite, Neoseiulus californicus(McGregor, 1954) (Acari: Phytoseiidae) is one of the principal natural enemies of tetranychid mites in several countries, promoting efficient control of those mites in several food and ornamental crops. Pest attacks such as that of the spider mite, Tetranychus urticaeKoch, 1836 (Acari: Tetranychidae), is one of the problems faced by farmers, especially in the greenhouse, due to the difficulty of its control with the use of chemicals because of the development of fast resistance making it hard to control it. The objective of this work was to study the life history of the predatory mite N. californicus as a contribution to its mass laboratory rearing, having castor bean plant [Ricinus communis L. (Euphorbiaceae)] pollen as food, for its subsequent use as a natural enemy of T. urticae on a cultivation of greenhouse rosebushes. The studies were carried out in the laboratory, at 25 ± 2°C of temperature, 70 ± 10% RH and a 14 hour photophase. The biological aspects and the fertility life table were appraised. Longevity of 32.9 days was verified for adult females and 40.4 days for males. The intrinsic rate of increase (rm) was 0.2 and the mean generation time (T) was 17.2 days. The population doubled every 4.1 days. The results obtained were similar to those in which the predatory mite N. californicus fed on T. urticae.

scholarly journals A life table analysis to evaluate biological control of banks grass mite using the predatory mite, Galendromus flumenis (Acari: Phytoseiidae)

2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fatemeh Ganjisaffar ◽  
Thomas M. Perring
Keyword(s):  
Biological Control ◽  
Growth Parameters ◽  
Intrinsic Rate ◽  
Developmental Time ◽  
Predatory Mite ◽  
Reproductive Rate ◽  
Intrinsic Rate Of Increase ◽  
Net Reproductive Rate ◽  
Rate Of Increase ◽  
Banks Grass Mite

The predatory mite, Galendromus flumenis (Chant) (Acari: Phytoseiidae), has shown promising traits for biological control of Banks grass mite, the major pest of date palms in California. In the present study, reproduction and population growth parameters of G. flumenis on Banks grass mite eggs were studied at 34ºC, 50±10% RH and a photoperiod of 16: 8 (L: D) hours. 100 percent of eggs hatched and 63.5 percent of the emerged larvae survived to adulthood. The total immature developmental time was 5.7 and 5.5 days for females and males, respectively. The sex ratio of G. flumenis was 0.70 (females/ females+ males). Mated females laid on average 1.6 eggs per day and 19.9 eggs during their mean ovipositional period of 12.5 days. The net reproductive rate (R0) was 11.5 females/ female/ generation, the intrinsic rate of increase (rm) was 0.200 females/ female/ day, the finite rate of increase (λ) was 1.222 population multiplication/ day, the mean generation time (T) was 12.2 days, and the doubling time (DT) was 3.5 days. The lower rm value of G. flumenis than that of its prey (0.24–0.48) explains why Banks grass mite escapes control by G. flumenis in field. These results suggest that augmentative release of this predator would offset the lower rm of the predator, thereby contributing to the control of Banks grass mite. Combined with the benefit of early releases determined in companion studies, future field studies with G. flumenis are being planned.

scholarly journals Immature development and survival of Neoseiulus cucumeris (Oudemans) (Acari: Phytoseiidae) on eggs of Tyrophagus curvipenis (Fain & Fauvel) (Acari: Acaridae)

Acarologia ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 84-93
Author(s):  
Guang-Yun Li ◽  
Nick Pattison ◽  
Zhi-Qiang Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Biological Control ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Prey Density ◽  
Food Source ◽  
Biological Control Agent ◽  
Survival Rates ◽  
Alternative Food ◽  
Neoseiulus Cucumeris ◽  
Supplementary Food ◽  
Significant Difference

Establishment and maintenance of the natural enemy are critical for successful biological control of pests on plants without alternative food for predators. Great efforts have been devoted to exploring suitable supplementary food for predators. In this study, we evaluated the feasibility of using Tyrophagus curvipenis (Fain and Fauvel) (Acari: Acaridae) as a supplementary food source for Neoseiulus cucumeris (Oudemans) (Acari: Phytoseiidae) by investigating the survival and development of N. cucumeris at different prey densities with the influence of conspecifics. Furthermore, we investigated predation rates and their body size at adult emergence. The results showed that N. cucumeris developed from egg to adult in approximately six days. Survival rates of immature predators increased significantly with the given prey density. No significant difference in body size was found between the survived adults fed at different prey density, but the females were always larger than males. To conclude, T. curvipenis can be an excellent alternative food source for the biological control agent N. cucumeris.

Diverse non-crop vegetation assemblages as banker plants for predatory mites in strawberry crop

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Fernando Teruhiko Hata ◽  
Pedro Henrique Togni ◽  
Maurício Ursi Ventura ◽  
José Eduardo Poloni da Silva ◽  
Nilson Zacarias Ferreira ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biological Control ◽  
Predatory Mites ◽  
Predatory Mite ◽  
Plant Composition ◽  
Field Crops ◽  
Banker Plant ◽  
Solanum Americanum ◽  
Leonurus Sibiricus ◽  
Plant Inventory ◽  
Diverse Plant

Abstract Non-crop plant diversity plays a fundamental role in the conservation of predatory mite (PM) and can be proposed as a banker plant system (BPS). BPSs provide plants that host natural enemies in greenhouses or field crops and may improve the efficiency of biological control. The aim of this study was to investigate if a diverse plant composition could be a suitable BPS for PMs in strawberry crops. A plant inventory characterized 22 species of non-crop plants harboring PMs. The most abundant PMs, in decreasing order, were Neoseiulus californicus, Neoseiulus anonymus, Euseius citrifolius, and Euseius concordis. PMs were randomly distributed among plants. We also found specific associations of Phytoseiidae species and phytophagous or generalist mites on plants. Due to this, four species were deemed suitable as banker plants: Capsicum sp., Leonurus sibiricus, Solanum americanum, and Urochloa mutica. Moreover, these plants combined a high PMs density and a low occurrence or absence of pest-mites. This study suggests shifting the traditional view that BPSs are composed of a limited number of species to use plant assemblages. This contributes to both conservation and augmentative biological control.

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