-The attack of phytophagous mites may induce plants to produce volatiles, which in turn may attract predators. The occurrence of multiple phytophagous infestations on plants may infl uence predator response. In this paper, we investigated whether the attraction of the predatory mite Phytoseiulus macropilis (Banks) to phytophagous-infested plants would change with the simultaneous presence of two tetranichid mites Oligonychus ilicis (McGregor) and Tetranychus urticae Koch. While the former species is rarely found on strawberry plants and is only occasionally found in association with P. macropilis, the latter is commonly found on strawberry plants and is frequently found in association with P. macropilis. Y-tube olfactometer test assays demonstrated that the predator preferred plants infested with T. urticae, avoided plants infested with O. ilicis, and had no preference for plants infested with both phytophagous mite species. These results indicated that the presence of a non-prey species (O. ilicis) on a given plant can alter the response of the predator to one of its prey (T. urticae). The consequences of the predatory behavior determined in this study on the predator ability to control T. urticae population on strawberry plants are discussed.
KEY WORDS: Induced defense, Fragaria, Tetranychus urticae, Oligonychus ilicisThe attack of phytophagous mites to plants may induce the production of plant volatiles, which in turn may attract natural enemies (Dicke et al 1998, Arimura et al 2005.The role of such herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPV) on predator attraction has been studied under laboratory (Pallini et al 1997, Takabayashi et al 2000, greenhouse (Janssen 1999, Venzon et al 1999, Holtz et al 2003 and fi eld conditions (De Moraes et al 1998, Drukker et al 2000, Kessler & Baldwin 2001, Heil & Kost 2006. The complexity of these studies increases with the experimental scale. Under natural conditions, for instance, the presence of more than one species of herbivore on the same plant may alter the blend of HIPV and thereby interfere with the response of natural enemies (Vos et al 2001, Shiojiri et al 2002, Moayeri et al 2007.Few studies have investigated the effects of multiple herbivore infestations on natural enemy attraction. Shiojiri et al (2002) found that the parasitoid Cotesia plutellae Kurdjumov (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) prefers odours of cabbage plants infested with its host Plutella xylostella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) alone, to cabbage plants infested with its host and a non-host herbivore species, Pieris rapae (L.) (Lepidoptera: Pieridae). In contrast, parasitism by Cotesia glomerata (L.) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) was higher on plants infested with these two herbivores than on plants infested with P. rapae (host) alone.Moayeri et al (2007) observed a stronger attraction of the predator Macrolophus caliginosus Wagner (Heteroptera: Miridae) when plants were infested by spider mites and aphids than when plants were infested by only one of these herbivores. They suggested that the attrac...