ARTHROPOD PREDATORS IN CABBAGE (CRUCIFERAE) AND THEIR POTENTIAL AS NATURALLY OCCURRING BIOLOGICAL CONTROL AGENTS FOR PIERIS RAPAE (LEPIDOPTERA: PIERIDAE)

We used three sampling methods to identify the arthropod predators most abundant and active in fields of cabbage, Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata, and determined those most likely to be important predators of the imported cabbageworm, Pieris rapae L., by testing the predators’ abilities to forage on cabbage plants and to feed on Pieris rapae in small arenas in the laboratory. Abundance and activity in the field were monitored with pitfall traps, sticky traps applied directly to leaves, and plant samples. Four criteria were used to assess the species’ potential value as a predator of Pieris rapae in cabbage: relatively high overall abundance in trap catches and plant samples, occurrence on plant foliage in the field, a high propensity to feed on Pieris rapae eggs and first instars, and the ability to search for larval Pieris rapae on cabbage plants. Four species, the wolf spider Pardosa milvina (Hentz) (Araneae: Lycosidae), the harvestman Phalangium opilio L. (Opiliones: Phalangiidae), and the lady beetles Coleomegilla maculata lengi Timberlake and Hippodamia variegata (Goeze) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), demonstrated these attributes, although all four species appeared unable to search for prey on some parts of the cabbage plants, owing to unsure footing on the plants’ slippery cuticular wax. Linyphiids (Araneae) and syrphids (Diptera), the most abundant taxa in the plant samples, may prove better at thoroughly searching cabbage plants, but remain to be tested in future laboratory trials. Our results show that only a small portion of the predatory arthropod species that occur in cabbage fields is likely to prey on Pieris rapae on the plants, although important questions remain about the roles of some taxa. Future efforts to enhance biological control of Pieris rapae by naturally occurring predators can now focus on further elucidating and finding ways to enhance the roles of those predators that are effective.