Laboratory studies on the feeding habits,reproduction and development of three phytoseiid species,Typhlodromus pomi,Phytoseius macropilis andAmblyseius finlandicus (Acari: Phytoseiidae), occurring on abandoned apple trees in Ontario,Canada

Laboratory studies on predation, reproduction and development were conducted on three phytoseiid species,Typhlodromus pomi (Parrott),Phytoseius macropilis (Banks) andAmblyseius finlandicus (Oudemans). These species were dominant phytoseiid mites on the abandoned apple trees with which ecological experiments were carried out in southern Ontario, Canada. Throught the studies, a rust mite species (Diptacus gigantorhynchus sp. complex), a single consistent prey in the orchard, was used as food. Results showed that the three predators developed well with the rust mites as food, and thatA. finlandicus developed most rapidly and had the highest predation rate. However, this species showed a poor tolerance to low prey densities. These observations suggest that this species is a predacious species and the other two species were more or less general feeders. All species showed the same pre-mating behaviour (Amblyseius-Typhlodromus type), but they exhibited a variety of mating and oviposition behaviours.