Life history parameters of Orius sauteri (Poppius) (Het., Anthocoridae) reared on Ephestia kuehniella eggs and the minimum amount of the diet for rearing individuals

Abstract

Mass rearing techniques are essential elements in developing a reliable and economic biological control method for Orius sauteri, a promising indigenous Orius species for biological control of Thrips palmi in greenhouses. Orius sauteri was reared on Ephestia kuehniella eggs and life history parameters and the minimum number of E. kuehniella eggs for rearing O. sauteri individuals were measured at 25°C and L16:D8. Developmental time during the nymphal stages was about 14 days for both sexes. Total fecundity and female longevity were 103.9 and 27.9 days, respectively. The intrinsic rate of natural increase per day was 0.115. An individual requires at least 30 eggs for nymphal development and survival and 20 eggs for adult oviposition and survival per four days.

Comparison of the reproductive potential of three Orius species, O. strigicollis, O. sauteri, and O. minutus (Heteroptera: Anthocoridae), using eggs of the Mediterranean flour moth as a food source

“…The mean daily oviposition rate of O. sauteri at 26°C in our study was almost the same as that reported by Nagai and Yano (1999), who used T. palmi as a diet at 25°C, and that reported by Murai et al (2001) and Yano et al (2002), who used E. kuehniella eggs as a diet at 24 and 25°C. On the other hand, although the longevity and fecundity values in our study were almost the same as those reported by Murai et al (2001) and Yano et al (2002), the longevity was longer and the fecundity was larger than that reported by Nagai and Yano (1999).…”

“…On the other hand, although the longevity and fecundity values in our study were almost the same as those reported by Murai et al (2001) and Yano et al (2002), the longevity was longer and the fecundity was larger than that reported by Nagai and Yano (1999). It has been reported that dietary differences affect the longevity and fecundity of Orius species (Kiman and Yeargan, 1985;Bush et al, 1993;Chyzik et al, 1995 (Tommasini and Nicoli, 1993) and those of O. insidiosus fed on moth, Heliothis virescens (F.), eggs (Kiman and Yeargan, 1985) lived longer and laid more eggs than those fed on thrips: Frankliniella occidentalis (Tommasini and Nicoli, 1993) and Sericothrips variabilis (Beach) (Kiman and Yeargan, 1985).…”

“…Theoretical work on the r m -value (Lewontin, 1965) has shown that total longevity, determined by the ages of the first reproduction, peak reproduction, and last reproduction, affects the r m -value. The r m -value for O. sauteri reared at 26°C in our study (0.110) was similar to that (0.115) for O. sauteri reared at 25°C by Yano et al (2002). However, our r m -value was lower than that of O. sauteri (0.128) reared at 25°C by Nagai and Yano (1999).…”

“…It has been reported that dietary differences affect the longevity and fecundity of Orius species (Kiman and Yeargan, 1985;Bush et al, 1993;Chyzik et al, 1995 (Tommasini and Nicoli, 1993) and those of O. insidiosus fed on moth, Heliothis virescens (F.), eggs (Kiman and Yeargan, 1985) lived longer and laid more eggs than those fed on thrips: Frankliniella occidentalis (Tommasini and Nicoli, 1993) and Sericothrips variabilis (Beach) (Kiman and Yeargan, 1985). Honda et al (1998) and Yano et al (2002) also reported that Orius species collected in Japan produce more eggs when provided E. kuehniella eggs than with their natural hosts. Our results are consistent with these reports.…”

“…They also suggested that some nutrition contents in the diet might affect the fecundity of the bug. Many Orius species can be successfully reared on E. kuehniella eggs (Alauzet et al, 1992(Alauzet et al, , 1994Tommasini and Nicoli, 1993;Richards and Schmidt, 1996;Cocuzza et al, 1997;Vacante et al, 1997;Honda et al, 1998;Yano et al, 2002). However, the existence of non-ovipositing females is an important problem from the viewpoint of quality control in the mass-production of Orius species as a biological control agent.…”