The potential use of different predatory bug species in the biological control of Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae)

Abstract

In the present study, the suitability of different predatory bug species, such as Dicyphus tamaninii Wagner, Macrolophus pygmaeus (Rambur), Orius albidipennis Reuter, Orius majusculus Reuter and Orius sauteri Poppius, for the biological control of Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), were investigated. Development of the predatory bug species, their reproduction as well as their daily and total prey consumption over a 18-day period with F. occidentalis larvae or various stages of Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae) individuals as prey species were studied during the experiments in the laboratory. In further experiments, the efficiency of D. tamaninii, M. pygmaeus, O. albidipennis and O. majusculus in controlling F. occidentalis under glasshouse conditions was investigated. Results showed that all the predators could develop under the experimental conditions with either F. occidentalis larvae or different stages of T. urticae as prey. When F. occidentalis larvae were offered as prey, the shortest duration of development was observed for O. albidipennis with a mean of 17.7 days, while D. tamaninii took the longest to develop with a mean of 36.3 days. With different stages of T. urticae as prey, the duration of development ranged from 19.3 days in O. albidipennis to 42.9 days in M. pygmaeus. Mean daily fecundity ranged from 0.8 eggs/female for O. majusculus to 2.2 eggs/female for O. sauteri with F. occidentalis larvae as prey and from 0.6, O. majusculus, to 2.3 eggs/female/day, O. sauteri, when different stages of T. urticae were offered as prey. Over the 18-day reproduction period, O. sauteri was the most fecund predatory species, laying a mean total of 31.6 and 31.3 eggs/female with F. occidentalis and T. urticae as prey, respectively. Daily consumption from F. occidentalis larvae ranged between 5.5 individuals consumed per day by O. majusculus and 29.1, by O. sauteri. When different stages of T. urticae were offered as prey, maximal consumption was observed in D. tamaninii with a mean of 29.0 individuals/day, while O. albidipennis consumed the least with an average of 8.1 preys/day. Over the 18-day prey consumption period, D. tamaninii consumed the highest mean number of 422.8 F. occidentalis larvae, while O. majusculus only consumed 98.8 larvae. Also, D. tamaninii had the maximum consumption of different stages of T. urticae with a mean of 522.4, while M. pygmaeus and O. albidipennis consumed the least, with an average of 146.1 and 146.0, respectively. The predatory bugs D. tamaninii, M. pygmaeus, O. albidipennis and O. majusculus significantly reduced the density of F. occidentalis on hybrids of Euphorbia milii, Serissa foetida and Saintpaulia ionantha in the glasshouse, which confirms their efficiency against this pest on different hosts under controlled climatic conditions.

The abundance of Orius niger (Wolf.) and O. minutus (L.) in potato fields and their life table parameters when fed on two prey species

“…Continuous use of insecticides is not a suitable control method of TSSM and OT, since these pests has developed resistance to most of the available insecticides in many parts of the world (Cranham and Helle 1985;Lewis 1997). Therefore, there has been an increasing interest in using biological control agents, especially Orius species, against these pests (Tommasini and Nicoli 1993;Yasunaga 1997;Kohno and Kashio 1998;Lattin 1999;Blaeser et al 2004;Zhang et al 2006). Yano et al (2002) mentioned that the use of indigenous predator species is preferable to the use of imported species.…”

Olfactory responses of Neoseiulus cucumeris (Acari: Phytoseiidae) to odors of host plants and Frankliniella occidentalis (Thysanoptera: Thripidae)–plant complexes

“…Moreover, chemical control is difficult because F.occidentalis has become resistant to many insecticides (Willem et al 1997;Herron and Cook 2002;Pedro et al 2002;Fatih and Irfan 2007). A new group of biological control agents, the predatory bugs Dicyphus tamaninii, Macrolophus pygmaeus, Orius albidipennis, and Orius majusculus significantly reduce the density of F. occidentalis on hybrids of Euphorbia milii, Serissa foetida, and Saintpaulia ionantha in the glasshouse (Blaeser et al 2004), but little is known about the foraging behavior of N. cucumeris in response to chemical cues.…”

Human-biting potential of the predatory flower bug Orius majusculus (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae)

“…O. majusculus in particular is used for the biological control of the western flower thrips Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande), a major pest of plants that had formerly been introduced from North America to Europe (Fischer et al 1992). Under greenhouse conditions the bug is an important predator of this species as well as of Tetranychus urticae Koch in Germany (Blaeser et al 2005). Other research has documented that O. majusculus is able to maintain populations of Thrips tabaci Lindeman below economic thresholds (Hernandez and Stonedahl 1999) and reduces Aphis pomi De Geer on apple trees in the Czech Republic (Kabicek and Hejzlar 1996).…”