Location, reproduction and movement of Neoseiulus californicus (Acari: Phytoseiidae) during the autumn, winter and spring in orchards in the south of France

Abstract

Raworth, D.A., Fauvel, G. and Auger, P., 1994. Location, reproduction and movement of Neoseiulus californicus (Acari: Phytoseiidae) during the autumn, winter and spring in orchards in the south of France. Exp. Appl. Aearol,, 18; 593~502.

A new method for the release of Amblyseius andersoni (Acari: Phytoseiidae) in young apple orchards

“…These results indicate that (1) A. andersoni migrates from ground litter up into the foliage of trees in search of prey and (2) ground litter is an appropriate medium for releasing mites in apple orchards. In accordance with the findings of Raworth et al (1994), we suppose that the mites reach the foliage by moving up the trunks of the trees to which the net bags of litter were attached. Although in the release treatment this mite was already the dominant species at the beginning of the growing seasons, it did not significantly affect the numbers of E. finlandicus, which was more abundant in the control than A. andersoni.…”

“…Ground litter containing A. andersoni can be used again for releasing this mite in other orchards. According to our study, the spatial and seasonal distribution of A. fallacis and N. californicus in orchards (Johnson & Croft, 1981;Raworth et al, 1994) is similar to that of A. andersoni, thus their release using ground litter is also possible. In our opinion, this new, simple and rapid method of release can also be successfully used to release mites in other horticultural crops (rose, strawberry, etc.…”

“…Authors most often mention crevices and cracks in the trunks on older parts of trees as places for overwintering (Chant, 1959;Overmeer, 1985;Duso, 1989;Zacharda, 1989). However, there are many reports of phytoseiid species overwintering in ground litter, fallen leaves and dried weeds (McGroarty & Croft, 1978;Raworth et al, 1994). According to Putman (1959), Typhlodromus pyri overwinters in trunk crevices, A. andersoni on the trees and in ground litter, whereas A. cucumeris mainly in ground litter and soil.…”

“…Overwintering sites might be important in determining the effectiveness of predatory mites as biological control agents in productive orchards; probably due to the low number of overwintering places on healthy trees predators do not become sufficiently abundant before the end of summer (Chant, 1959). Raworth et al (1994) proved using herbaceous test plants that Neoseiulus californicus does not only overwinter in the ground litter, but migrates from there to the canopy in spring. Similarly, Amblyseius fallacis, which is primarily adapted to living on plants at ground level, migrates up into the canopy of trees in early summer if the food source on the herbaceous plants is depleted (Johnson & Croft, 1981).…”

“…It is assumed that this species has the same spatial and seasonal distributions as A. fallacis (Johnson & Croft, 1981) and N. californicus (Raworth et al, 1994). These mites overwinter in the ground litter, migrate up into the canopy during the growing season and in autumn migrate back down to ground level.…”