Neoseiulus californicus (Acari: Phytoseiidae) shows good predation potential when reared on an artificial diet supplemented with Tetranychus cinnabarinus

Author(s):  
ChunXian Jiang ◽  
Lin Chen ◽  
TingTing Huang ◽  
Maryam Mumtaz ◽  
Qing Li

To evaluate the predation potential of Neoseiulus californicus (McGregor) reared on an artificial diet as a biological control agent for Tetranychus cinnabarinus (Boisduval), life table and functional response studies were performed. To identify alternative food sources for rearing N. californicus, we compared the nutritional values of the basal diet (composed of sucrose, yeast extract, honey, tryptone and egg yolk), meridic diet (add T. cinnabarinus on the basis of basal diet) and control (T. cinnabarinus). Further, the predation ability of N. californicus continuously reared for ten consecutive generations on a meridic diet to control T. cinnabarinus was assessed. The results showed that N. californicus fed the basal and meridic diets successfully completed development from eggs to adults, but they did not oviposit when fed the basal diet. The high fecundity (41.00 eggs per female) and intrinsic rate of increase (0.2357 d-1) recorded in the meridic diet group suggests that it is a suitable diet for N. californicus rearing. Additionally, a functional response (type II) was observed in N. californicus reared on the meridic diet. We found that when the predator was reared on the meridic diet, the estimated maximum attack rate (T/Th) associated with larvae was 58.67, which was only 13.94% lower than the control (68.17). The 10th generation of N. californicus did not lose the ability to capture and kill T. cinnabarinus when fed on meridic diet. In conclusion, N. californicus reared on the meridic diet containing T. cinnabarinus showed good predation ability; therefore, this diet may be beneficial for the mass production of N. californicus.

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jingqi Ouyang ◽  
Yajing Tian ◽  
Chunxian Jiang ◽  
Qunfang Yang ◽  
Haijian Wang ◽  
...  

AbstractObjectiveExploring the effects of acaricides on predatory mites is crucial for the combination of biological and chemical control of pests. In this study, sublethal effects of the new acaricide SYP-9625 on Tetranychus cinnabarinus (Boisduval), effects of application concentration of SYP-9625 on the predatory mite Neoseiulus californicus (McGregor) and functional responses of N. californicus were assessed. The aim of the present study was to evaluate and explore the application of new acaricide SYP-9625 with natural enemy N. californicus.MethodAll the experiments were under laboratory conditions [25 ± 1 °C, 16:8 (L:D) h and 75 ± 5% RH] and based on an age-stage, two-sex life table. The sublethal concentrations against T. cinnabarinus, including LC10 (0.375 μg/mL) and LC30 (0.841 μg/mL) and the application concentration (100 μg/mL) of SYP-9625, were used to evaluate effects on population parameters of N. californicus.ResultT. cinnabarinus females treated with LC30 exhibited significantly reduced net reproductive rates (R0=11.02) of offspring compared to females treated with LC10 (R0=14.96) and untreated females (>R0=32.74). However, the intrinsic rate of increase (rm) and finite rate of increase (λ) of N. californicus indicated that the application concentration of SYP-9625 had no significant negative effect on treated N. californicus eggs (rm=0.277, λ=1.319) compared to the control (rm=0.292, λ=1.338). Additionally, the sublethal concentrations against T. cinnabarinus including LC10 and LC30 showed a dose-dependent mechanism on the predatory mite. SYP-9625 also stimulated the predatory capacity of N. californicus against immobile stages such as eggs and larvae.ConclusionIt is demonstrated that sublethal concentrations of SYP-9625 can inhibit population growth of T. cinnabarinus. And the sublethal concentrations and application concentration had little effect on the population growth of N. californicus. The two advantages showed great commercial potential of this new acaricide. Therefore, N. californicus can manage T. cinnabarinus populations effectively with appropriate SYP-9625 concentrations.


Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 203
Author(s):  
Xue-Yuan Di ◽  
Bin Yan ◽  
Cheng-Xu Wu ◽  
Xiao-Fei Yu ◽  
Jian-Feng Liu ◽  
...  

Host plant preference during the larval stage may help shape not only phenotypic plasticity but also behavioral isolation. We assessed the effects of diet on population parameters and mate choice in Spodoptera litura. We raised larvae fed on tobacco, Chinese cabbage, or an artificial diet, and we observed the shortest developmental time and highest fecundity in individuals fed the artificial diet. However, survival rates were higher for larvae on either of the natural diets. Population parameters including intrinsic rate of increase and finite rate of increase were significantly higher with the artificial diet, but this diet led to a lower mean generation time. Copulation duration, copulation time, and number of eggs reared significantly differed between diets. In terms of mate choice, females on the artificial diet rarely mated with males fed on a natural host. Our results support the hypothesis that different diets may promote behavioral isolation, affecting mating outcomes. Thus, findings for populations fed an artificial diet may not reflect findings for populations in the field.


2014 ◽  
Vol 74 (3) ◽  
pp. 691-697 ◽  
Author(s):  
PP Marafeli ◽  
PR Reis ◽  
EC. da Silveira ◽  
GC Souza-Pimentel ◽  
MA. de Toledo

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.


2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (8) ◽  
pp. 1512-1525
Author(s):  
Niloufar Sangak Sani Bozhgani1 ◽  
Katayoon Kheradmand ◽  
Aliasghar Talebi

Estimating sublethal effects of acaricides on phytoseiid mites and their prey as a reliable approach in predicting the acaricides impacts is mandatory for IPM programs. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of spiromesifen on life history traits and demographic parameters of the offspring of Neoseiulus californicus and Tetranychus urticae under laboratory conditions [25 ± 2ºC, 70 ± 5% RH and 16:8 (L:D) h]. The experiments were conducted based on the leaf-dip technique. The crude data were analysed based on age-stage, two-sex life table analysis. The pre-adult and adult longevity of both sexes significantly reduced for N. califonicus and T. urticae with the concentration enhancing from LC20 to LC35. In addition, the oviposition period for both species significantly decreased as a consequence of treatment with LC25 and LC35 of spiromesifen. The minimal values of the total fecundity for N. califonicus and T. urticae were 16.58 and 19.35 (offspring/individual), respectively, which was related to LC35 concentration. Further, the lowest values of R0 and GRR of N. califonicus and its prey were 48.88 and 31.14 (offspring/individual) in LC35, respectively. However, the intrinsic rate of increase (r) and finite rate of increase (λ) were not significantly influenced by sublethal concentration in N. californicus while the r and λ were significantly reduced in T. urticae treated by LC20, LC25 and LC35. Therefore, spiromesifen could profoundly decrease the population growth rate of T. urticae but can not be considered as a compatible acaricide with N. califonicus because of its negative effect on the longevity, total lifespan, and reproductive periods and should not be used with this predatory mite in integrated pest management programs.


2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 411
Author(s):  
Mohammadreza Havasi ◽  
Katayoon Kheradmand ◽  
Hadi Mosallanejad ◽  
Yaghoub Fathipour

Knowledge of the effects of pesticides on biological control agents is necessary for the successful implementation of integrated pest management programs. Laboratory bioassays were conducted to evaluate the effects of Biomite®, a natural acaricide, on the life table parameters of Neoseiulus californicus McGregor (Acari: Phytoseiidae), as one of the most important natural enemies of Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae) under laboratory conditions at 25 ± 2°C, 65 ± 5% RH and a photoperiod of 16:8 (L:D) h. The raw data were analyzed based on the two-sex life table theory. Biomite® concentrations LC10 and LC20 gradually and significantly reduced the longevity and total life span of both sexes, as well as total fecundity. Besides, concentration LC20 significantly reduced the gross reproductive rate (GRR) and the net reproductive rate (R0). However, the intrinsic rate of increase (r) and the finite rate of increase (λ) were not significantly affected. Thereby, due to an unfavorable shortened in life history characters of N. californicus such as total life span, reproductive periods and biological parameters (such as R0 and GRR), as a consequence of Biomite® treatment, it can be concluded that this acaricide should not be used with N. californicus in integrated pest management programs.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuping Gou ◽  
Peter Quandahor ◽  
Kexin Zhang ◽  
Sufan Guo ◽  
Qiangyan Zhang ◽  
...  

Abstract In order to investigate the effects of artificial diets on the population growth of root maggot Bradysia impatiens, its population growth parameters were assayed on eight artificial diets (Diet 1, D2, D3, D4, D5, D6, D7, and D8). Results showed that developmental duration from egg to pupa was successfully completed on all eight artificial diets. However, the egg to pupal duration was shortest, while the survival rate of four insect stages was lowest when B. impatiens was reared on D1. When B. impatiens was reared on D7 and D8, the survival rate, female longevity, and female oviposition were higher than those reared on other diets. When B. impatiens was reared on D7, the intrinsic rate of increase (rm = 0.19/d), net reproductive rate (R0 = 39.88 offspring per individual), and finite rate of increase (λ = 1.21/d) were higher for its population growth with shorter generation time (T = 19.49 d) and doubling time (Dt = 3.67 d). The findings indicate that the D7 artificial diet is more appropriate for the biological parameters of B. impatiens and can be used an indoor breeding food for population expansion as well as further research. We propose that vitamin C supplement added to the D7 is critical for the improvement of the B. impatiens growth.


Author(s):  
Jie Su ◽  
Fang Dong ◽  
Si-min Liu ◽  
Yan-hui Lu ◽  
Jian-ping Zhang

Abstract The predatory mite, Neoseiulus bicaudus (Wainstein), is a potential biological control agent against spider mites and thrips. The objective of this experiment was to compare the effects of three diets on the life table of N. bicaudus. The three diets were 1) Tetranychus turkestani (Ugarov & Nikolskii) (Acari: Tetranychidae), the natural prey of N. bicaudus; 2) Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Schrank) (Acari: Acaridae), an alternative prey; and 3) artificial diet primarily consisting of decapsulated shrimp cysts, egg yolk, and honey. The computer simulation was used to project the population growth of N. bicaudus fed on different diets. The preadult developmental time (3.83 d) of N. bicaudus was shortest, and the intrinsic rate of increase (r = 0.2782 d−1) and the net reproductive rate (R0 = 18.98 offspring) were highest when reared on the alternative prey Ty. putrescentiae. The total development time (7.37 d) was longest, and the population parameters were the lowest (r = −0.0081 d−1, R0 = 0.85 offspring) when N. bicaudus was reared on artificial diet. The population projection showed that the population of N. bicaudus reared on Ty. putrescentiae could increase fast. Our results showed that the Ty. putrescentiae was the most suitable prey for mass rearing of N. bicaudus. The artificial diet could not support the N. bicaudus population and needs to be improved.


2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-138
Author(s):  
Mohammadreza Havasi ◽  
Katayoon Kheradmand ◽  
Hadi Mosallanejad ◽  
Yaghoub Fathipour

Knowledge of the effects of pesticides on biological control agents is necessary for the successful implementation of integrated pest management programs. Laboratory bioassays were conducted to evaluate the effects of Biomite®, a natural acaricide, on the life table parameters of Neoseiulus californicus McGregor (Acari: Phytoseiidae), as one of the most important natural enemies of Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae) under laboratory conditions at 25 ± 2°C, 65 ± 5% RH and a photoperiod of 16:8 (L:D) h. The raw data were analyzed based on the two-sex life table theory. Biomite® concentrations LC10 and LC20 gradually and significantly reduced the longevity and total life span of both sexes, as well as total fecundity. Besides, concentration LC20 significantly reduced the gross reproductive rate (GRR) and the net reproductive rate (R0). However, the intrinsic rate of increase (r) and the finite rate of increase (λ) were not significantly affected. Thereby, due to an unfavorable shortened in life history characters of N. californicus such as total life span, reproductive periods and biological parameters (such as R0 and GRR), as a consequence of Biomite® treatment, it can be concluded that this acaricide should not be used with N. californicus in integrated pest management programs.


2017 ◽  
Vol 108 (6) ◽  
pp. 707-714 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Jaleel ◽  
J. Yin ◽  
D. Wang ◽  
Y. He ◽  
L. Lu ◽  
...  

AbstractFruit flies in the genus Bactrocera are global, economically important pests of agricultural food crops. However, basic life history information about these pests, which is vital for designing more effective control methods, is currently lacking. Artificial diets can be used as a suitable replacement for natural host plants for rearing fruit flies under laboratory conditions, and this study reports on the two-sex life-table parameters of four Bactrocera species (Bactrocera correcta, Bactrocera dorsalis, Bactrocera cucurbitae, and Bactrocera tau) reared on a semi-artificial diet comprising corn flour, banana, sodium benzoate, yeast, sucrose, winding paper, hydrochloric acid and water. The results indicated that the larval development period of B. correcta (6.81 ± 0.65 days) was significantly longer than those of the other species. The fecundity of B. dorsalis (593.60 eggs female−1) was highest among the four species. There were no differences in intrinsic rate of increase (r) and finite rate of increase (λ) among the four species. The gross reproductive rate (GRR) and net reproductive rate (R0) of B. dorsalis were higher than those of the other species, and the mean generation time (T) of B. cucurbitae (42.08 ± 1.21 h) was longer than that of the other species. We conclude that the semi-artificial diet was most suitable for rearing B. dorsalis, due to its shorter development time and higher fecundity. These results will be useful for future studies of fruit fly management.


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