Predation and oviposition potential of Brazilian populations of the predatory mite Amblyseius tamatavensis (Acari: Phytoseiidae) on eggs of Bemisia tabaci (Insecta: Hemiptera)

Amblyseius tamatavensis has been reported from over 20 countries around the world, and is also widely distributed in Brazil. It has been reported as potentially useful for the control of Bemisia tabaci, a pest/vector insect of great economic importance worldwide. Some studies have reported some biological differences among phytoseiid populations. The objective of this work was to compare 14 populations of different regions of Brazil (from the states of Alagoas, Goiás, Minas Gerais and São Paulo; straight line distance between northern and southern extremes of 2,560 km) in relation to the predation and oviposition potential when fed with eggs of B. tabaci biotype B. The morphological characterization of these mites showed that the population from Olhos d'Agua das Flores (Alagoas state) and a population from mixed origin maintained in the laboratory for about 5 years were constituted by mites with larger dorsal and ventrianal shield dimensions and presented the highest rates of daily predation (respectively 7.9 and 7.0 eggs/ female) and oviposition (1.2 and 1.1 eggs/ female). A positive and significant relationship was observed between mean population predation and oviposition rates. The results suggest that subsequent efforts should focus on exploring the variability of mites of these two populations in relation to predation and oviposition potential, in order to select a new, more promising population to control B . tabaci biotype B.