Alternative food and biological control by generalist predatory mites: the case of Amblyseius swirskii

Janssen, Arne; Sabelis, Maurice W.

doi:10.1007/s10493-015-9901-8

Cited by 54 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…The high predator densities may eventually have led to an enhanced thrips control, but our experiment did not last long enough to observe such effects. Better control may also be achieved by introducing the predators before the pests arrive and by trying to keep the predator densities with alternative food in a more or less stationary phase (Janssen and Sabelis 2015). The case for A. swirskii was different in the first trial: pollen clearly and significantly enhanced the control of E. americanus, but this effect was not found in the second trial.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biological control of Echinothrips americanus by phytoseiid predatory mites and the effect of pollen as supplemental food

Ghasemzadeh

Leman²,

Messelink³

2017

Exp Appl Acarol

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The poinsettia thrips, Echinothrips americanus Morgan, is an upcoming pest in greenhouse crops, causing serious damage in various vegetable and ornamental crops through extensive foliage feeding. We assessed which stages of E. americanus are attacked and killed by the phytoseiid predatory mites Amblyseius swirskii (Athias-Henriot), Amblydromalus limonicus (Garman and McGregor), Euseius gallicus Kreiter and Tixier and Euseius ovalis (Evans). Both the predation and oviposition rates were assessed in the laboratory to evaluate which mite species is potentially the most effective predator of E. americanus. In two greenhouse trials with non-flowering sweet pepper plants, we compared the efficacy of the predators E. gallicus and E. ovalis with A. swirskii and we assessed how this was affected by the application of cattail pollen. All stages of E. americanus, except adults, were consumed by all species of predatory mites. The highest predation and oviposition rates were recorded for A. limonicus followed by A. swirskii and E. ovalis when first and second larval stages were provided as prey, but E. ovalis appeared to be the best predator of thrips pupae. Euseius gallicus displayed very low predation and oviposition rates compared to the other species of predatory mites. Cattail pollen did not support the population growth of poinsettia thrips, but it strongly increased the predatory mite population densities, particularly those of E. ovalis. Both A. swirskii and E. ovalis significantly reduced thrips densities on plants. The application of pollen significantly enhanced the control of E. americanus by A. swirskii; this was not the case for E. ovalis. Euseius gallicus did not reduce densities of E. americanus on sweet pepper plants, not even at high densities in the presence of pollen.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biological control of Echinothrips americanus by phytoseiid predatory mites and the effect of pollen as supplemental food

Ghasemzadeh

Leman²,

Messelink³

2017

Exp Appl Acarol

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“…Pollen could also be added to young coconut bunches. Addition of alternative food to crops is a technique increasingly used in glasshouse production systems (van Rijn et al 1999;Sabelis and van Rijn 2006;Leman and Messelink 2015;Janssen and Sabelis 2015). A second option could involve actions to facilitate the movement of predators among bunches within a tree and among trees.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Size of predatory mites and refuge entrance determine success of biological control of the coconut mite

et al. 2016

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Predators face the challenge of accessing prey that live in sheltered habitats. The coconut mite Aceria guerreronis Keifer (Acari: Eriophyidae) lives hidden beneath the perianth, which is appressed to the coconut fruit surface, where they feed on the meristematic tissue. Its natural enemy, the predatory mite Neoseiulus paspalivorus De Leon (Acari: Phytoseiidae), is larger than this pest and is believed to gain access to the refuge only after its opening has increased with coconut fruit age. In the field, experimentally enlarging the perianth-rim-fruit distance beyond the size of the predators resulted in earlier predator occurrence beneath the perianth and lower numbers of coconut mites. On non-manipulated coconut fruits, the predators gained access to the prey weeks later than on manipulated ones, resulting in higher pest densities of coconut mites. Successful biological control thus critically hinges on the size of the predator relative to the opening of the prey refuge.

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“…Since then, generalist predatory mites gradually gained an increased attention as multi-purpose biocontrol agents (Messelink et al 2008, Nomikou et al 2001. Besides their wider prey spectrum, generalist predator mites have several further advantages compared to specialists (Janssen & Sabelis 2015), including easier and cheaper mass-rearing on alternative prey (Ramakers & van Lieburg 1982), the possibility of preventive release before pest abundance has become high (De Klerk & Ramakers 1986, van Rijn et al 2002, and lower levels of both competition and cannibalism, which allows for their application at higher densities (Messelink et al 2008, Pozzebon et al 2015.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Efficiency against the Two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae and prey-age-related choice of three predatory mites

Gyuris¹,

Szép²,

Kontschán³

et al. 2018

Acta Zool Acad Sci H

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Specialist and generalist predator mites have been recommended against the two-spotted spider mite (Tetranycus urticae) as biological control agents, but their effectiveness in population regulation has been rarely examined under circumstances when prey had the opportunity to express antipredatory responses. We tested the efficiency and preference for prey life stages of three predator mites, one specialist (Phytoseiulus persimilis) and two generalists (Amblyseius swirskii and Iphiseius degenerans). We used two predator densities and performed the experiment under 'seminatural' conditions. We found that significantly less eggs and adult spider mites survived in the presence of P. persimilis compared to the control group, and this predator mite consumed more eggs at high density than the other predators. In the presence of A. swirskii fewer adult spider mites survived at low density compared to the control, whereas egg survival was lower than in the control group at both densities. In the presence of I. degenerans, only the survival of eggs was lower than in the control group and only at high density. Our results suggest that the generalist A. swirskii, but not I. degenerans, may be efficient in regulating prey populations through egg consumption, and, thus, represents an alternative to the effective specialist predator.

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Alternative food and biological control by generalist predatory mites: the case of Amblyseius swirskii

Cited by 54 publications

References 47 publications

Biological control of Echinothrips americanus by phytoseiid predatory mites and the effect of pollen as supplemental food

Biological control of Echinothrips americanus by phytoseiid predatory mites and the effect of pollen as supplemental food

Size of predatory mites and refuge entrance determine success of biological control of the coconut mite

Efficiency against the Two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae and prey-age-related choice of three predatory mites

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