Effects of diet switching from almond pollen to natural prey on predation capacity of Neoseiulus cucumeris

Abstract

Monitoring the performance of a predator long-term reared on a non-prey diet when switches to a prey is extremely important to have a successful biological control program. In the current study, the efficacy of Neoseiulus cucumeris Oudemans long-term reared on almond pollen during 30 generations in encountering with its natural prey, Tetranychus urticae Koch was evaluated under laboratory conditions. Every 10 generations (G1, G10, G20 and G30), the development, reproduction, population growth potential and predation capacity of the predator were determined after exposure to the natural prey, for one (S1), three (S3) or five (S5) successive generations. The results indicated that the pre-adult duration of N. cucumeris before diet switching did not differ from those after diet switching in G1, G20 and G30. Similarly, the values of the intrinsic rate of increase (r) and finite rate of increase (λ) were not significantly affected by the diet switching in all generations tested. Furthermore, there was no significant difference in pre-adult duration between the individuals reared on natural prey for one generation or more in all generations tested, except for G1. Continuous feeding on the prey for five generations (G1-S5 and G30-S5) significantly reduced the fecundity compared with those reared for three generations (G1-S3 and G30-S3).We found that continuous feeding on natural prey for three or five generations after different periods of feeding on almond pollen did not significantly change the most important life history traits and predation capacity. In other words, the overall performance of the mass-reared predator remained effective after exposure to natural prey for five generations. It can be concluded that almond pollen is a good food source for the rearing of N. cucumeris because the population growth potential and reproduction of the predator remained constant during the long-term rearing and after switching to the natural prey.

Effects of Prey Switching at Different Stages on Life Parameters of Neoseiulus bicaudus

“…putrescentiae, was 0.278. N. bicaudus experienced a decline in its intrinsic rate of increase upon prey switching, similar to the observed decrease also seen in N. cucumeris' intrinsic rate of increase following prey switching [43]. The intrinsic rate of increase serves as a crucial parameter for evaluating and comparing pest population dynamics; it is also influenced by mortality and developmental duration factors [44].…”

Long-term effects of saffron pollen on development, reproduction and predation capacity of Neoseiulus cucumeris (Acari: Phytoseiidae)

“…Switching N. cucumeris mites from saffron pollen to natural prey (T. urticae) after 10 and 20 generations showed that the values of the population growth parameters such as GRR, R 0 , and r did not decrease over the generations; N. cucumeris after 10 and 20 generations on almond pollen (Yazdanpanah et al 2023) and cattail pollen (Gravandian et al 2022) had similar results. However, when N. cucumeris fed on the natural prey, T. urticae, the total lifespan decreased significantly; mostly because of decreasing in adult longevity.…”

“…Our study revealed that saffron pollen did not affect negatively the predation capacity of N. cucumeris after 20 generations. Similarly, N. cucumeris maintained its predation potential after 20 generations of rearing on cattail pollen (Gravandian et al 2022), and after 30 generations of feeding on almond pollen (Yazdanpanah et al 2023).…”

Bird-of-paradise, thorn apple and maize pollens are promising alternative diets for the long-term rearing of predatory mite Amblyseius swirskii (Acari: Phytoseiidae)

“…Monitoring the performance of a predator long-term reared on a non-prey diet when switching to its prey is extremely important to have a successful biological control program (Yazdanpanah et al . 2023).…”

“…Monitoring the performance of a predator long-term reared on a non-prey diet when switching to its prey is extremely important to have a successful biological control program (Yazdanpanah et al 2023). Because of the high performance of A. swirskii when fed with the bird-of-paradise pollen, the predation potential of the predator was evaluated during the rearing process when switched to the natural prey, T. urticae.…”