Evaluation of <i>Euseius gallicus</i> as a biological control agent of western flower thrips and greenhouse whitefly in rose

Abstract

Euseius gallicus is a new phytoseiid species recently described from southern France that has shown potential as a biocontrol agent for thrips and whitefly in rose, if pollen is supplied as an additional food source. To investigate if the use of E. gallicus provides improved thrips and whitefly control, we conducted laboratory experiments examining the biology of E. gallicus and a semi-field experiment comparing the biological control efficiency of E. gallicus with that of Amblydromalus limonicus and Amblyseius swirskii, two phytoseiid species commonly used for biological control of thrips and whitefly in roses. Euseius gallicus had high oviposition rates on Typha latifolia pollen (3.9 eggs/day) and on young whitefly eggs (3.6 eggs/day). Oviposition on first instar Frankliniella occidentalis larvae was lower (1.5 eggs/day). Euseius gallicus predated 2.6 first instar thrips larvae per day; however, predation of thrips larvae was nearly zero when T. latifolia pollen was offered as a supplementary food source. Euseius gallicus females did not enter diapause under short-day conditions, and juvenile development was completed at 13 . When released in combination with T. latifolia pollen on roses in the semi-field trial, E. gallicus developed the largest population of the predatory mites tested; however, despite reducing the whitefly population, it had no control effect on the thrips population.

Chilli thrips rose management using an Amblyseius swirskii or Amblydromalus limonicus (Acari: Phytoseiidae) pepper banker plant

“…While the successful use of A. swirskii as a biological control agent for S. dorsalis has been demonstrated (Avery et al, 2014; Kumar et al, 2015), data on the efficacy of A. limonicus were unavailable and the results suggest that it is a promising predator of S. dorsalis . The lack of differences in S. dorsalis populations on plants between mite species treatments in this study aligns with the findings of van Houten et al (2016), who found no difference in the control achieved by A. limonicus and A. swirskii released against F. occidentalis infesting roses. They observed, however, that A .…”

The indigenous species of predatory mites (Acari: Phytoseiidae) as biological control agents of plant pests in Slovenia

“…Van Houten et al (2016) reported that the development time from egg to egg-laying female is affected by temperature. At 13 °C, the development takes 22 days with 1.1 eggs laid/day/ female, while at 25 °C, the development takes 5 days only with 3.6 eggs laid/day/female.…”

Integrative taxonomy demonstrates synonymy between Euseius amissibilis Meshkov and Euseius gallicus Kreiter & Tixier (Acari: Phytoseiidae)</p >

“…Euseius gallicus Kreiter & Tixier (in Tixier et al 2010) is one of the recently described species, and its natural populations have been reported from a total of 10 countries (Döker et al 2014;Tsolakis & Ragusa 2017;Kreiter & Abo-Shnaf 2020;Farazmand et al 2023;Novljan et al 2023). Most importantly, it had become a commercial product due to its potential as a biocontrol agent of western flower thrips and whiteflies (Pijnakker et al 2014;Van Houten et al 2016). The original description of species is quite detailed with illustrations and more than 100 type specimens.…”

“…Most importantly, it had become a commercial product due to its potential as a biocontrol agent of western flower thrips and whiteflies (Pijnakker et al . 2014; Van Houten et al . 2016).…”