Effects of acclimation and diapause on the thermal tolerance of the two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae

The two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae, is a worldwide pest species that overwinters as diapausing females. Cold hardening is presumed to start during diapause development to ensure the successful overwintering of this species. To address this hypothesis, we compared cold tolerance between non-diapausing and diapausing females. We measured supercooling point (SCP) and survival to acute cold stress by exposing the mites at a range of sub-zero temperatures (from −4 to −28 °C for 2 h). The mean SCPs of non-diapausing and diapausing females were −19.6±0.5 and −24.7±0.3 °C respectively, and freezing killed the mites. Diapausing females were significantly more cold tolerant than non-diapausing ones, with LT₅₀ of −19.7 and −13.3 °C, respectively. Further, we also examined the effects of cold acclimation (10 d at 0 or 5 °C) in non-diapausing and diapausing females. Our findings indicated that diapause decreased SCP significantly, while cold acclimation had no effect on the SCP except for non-diapausing females that were acclimated at 5 °C. Acclimation at 5 °C enhanced survival to acute cold stress in diapausing and non-diapausing females, with LT₅₀ of −22.0 and −17.1 °C, respectively. Altogether, our results indicate that T. urticae is a chill tolerant species, and that diapause and cold acclimation elevate cold hardiness in this species.     

四种猎物对南方小花蝽生长发育和繁殖的影响

南方小花蝽是多种猎物的天敌,为评价西花蓟马、二斑叶螨、蚕豆蚜和腐食酪螨饲养南方小花蝽的效果,研究了南方小花蝽取食四种猎物时的生长发育和繁殖情况。结果表明南方小花蝽取食腐食酪螨时若虫只能发育到5龄,4龄若虫累计存活率仅为6.8%。其它3种猎物均可使南方小花蝽正常生长发育和繁殖,其中南方小花蝽取食西花蓟马时生长发育时间最短,繁殖率最高;取食二斑叶螨时生长发育时间最长,繁殖率最低。取食西花蓟马的南方小花蝽净生殖率、内禀增长率和周限增长率明显高于其它两种猎物。用3种猎物连续饲养南方小花蝽两代,以蚕豆蚜和二斑叶螨为猎物时南方小花蝽的未成熟期、成虫的寿命、繁殖情况和生命参数在第一代和第二代之间都有所不同,但以西花蓟马为食料时南方小花蝽第一代和第二代之间生长发育和繁殖情况没有明显的差异。以上结果表明在供试猎物中西花蓟马对南方小花蝽实验种群的增长最有利。     

朱砂叶螨成螨在水中的耐受力

【目的】明确朱砂叶螨Tetranychus cinnabarinus(Boisduval)在雨水中的耐受能力,为评价雨水对朱砂叶螨的控制作用提供理论依据。【方法】本文通过采用玻片浸渍法和录像技术,对朱砂叶螨沉于水中的沉浮比例、耐受力以及足的摆动频率进行研究。【结果】在棉花叶片上接螨饲养5 d后(92.79%±0.55%)的朱砂叶螨沉于水中的比例极显著高于2 d后(42.72%±2.37%)的;3日龄的雌(297.4±16.1)min、雄(297.7±7.4)min成螨之间在水中存活时间差异不明显。雌雄成螨在水中最短存活时间分别为48 min和45 min;雌雄成螨数量大约在300 min内死亡达到一半,雌雄成螨在水中最长存活时间分别为773 min和856 min;雌雄成螨死亡数在时间上分布不均匀。沉在水中朱砂叶螨雌雄成螨死亡过程中表现为:足的摆动频次由高到低,足的摆动时间也非连续状态。【结论】朱砂叶螨成螨在水中有一定的耐受能力。     

Adaptive learning of host preference in a herbivorous arthropod

Although many publications deal with the effects of experience on behaviour, adaptive learning (i.e. behavioural change with experience resulting in improved reproductive success) is poorly documented. We present direct evidence that learning of host preference improves fitness in the herbivorous mite, Tetranychus urticae . Individual mites from two strains were repeatedly given a choice between two host plants, tomato and cucumber, and then subjected to a performance test on each. For both strains, food experience affected the subsequent choice: individual mites learned to prefer cucumber over tomato. The performance test showed this effect to be adaptive, as the food plant the mites learned to prefer (cucumber) allowed for increased oviposition, survival and development. These findings have important implications for the interpretation of the preference–performance relationship among herbivorous arthropods. The frequently reported absence of such a relationship may be due to experience-dependent preference and/or performance.     

Effects of triflumuron on the two-spotted spider mite,Tetranychus urticae (Acari: Tetranichydae)

The effects of triflumuron on the mortality, fecundity, and fertility of the two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae, were evaluated in the laboratory. No differences in toxicity for larvae, protonymphs and deutonymphs were observed, but immature stages were 3.8-times more susceptible than adults at the LC₅₀. The compound exhibited a direct contact ovicidal activity influenced by eggs age. 48–72 hold eggs were significantly more sensitive than eggs of the other age classes. No hatch inhibition was observed in eggs laid by treated adult females using a sublethal dose at two physiological times (<12 and 48–72h old). However, fecundity decreased in younger treated females, but it increased in the older-ones. The toxicity for immatures and eggs, and the sublethal effects described suggest that triflumuron could be an interesting incorporation in integrated pest programs of T. urticae. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Maintenance of diapause variability in the two-spotted spider mite,tetranychus urticae, in a heterogeneous and stochastic environment

A simple nongenetic mathematical model analyzed the processes responsible for the variations in the diapause percentage among populations of the two-spotted spider mite,Tetranychus urticae Koch. This model incorporates the following assumptions. 1) Mites have diapause (DD), non-diapause (NN), and “plastic” (DN) populations (plasticity exists in the phenotypic expression of diapause in response to habitat conditions at the time of diapause induction). 2) A heterogeneous mite habitat consists of microhabitat L, in which all the non-diapausing mites die during the winter due to the lack of winter host plants, and microhabitat O with winter hosts capable of supporting some of the non-diapausing mites overwinter. 3) Temporal fluctuation of winter conditions which affect the survival and reproduction of non-diapausing mites. Using these assumptions, we compared the fitness functions of the three populations and analyzed the conditions under which each population is favoured over the other two, thereby elucidating the processes involved in the maintenance of variability in diapause. Our analysis revealed: 1) frequent mild winters are of primary importance for the non-diapause trait to be maintained, 2) the existence of winter hosts is also important for the nondiapause trait to be favoured, and this importance depends greatly on the degree of the adaptive diapause expression in the DN mites in response to habitat conditions, i.e., the better the phenotypeenvironment matching in DN, the higher the probability that DN will be favoured, 3) The combined effect of the temporal and spatial variation enhances the maintenance of variablity in the diapause trait of the mites.     

Effects of predator-mediated apparent competition on the population dynamics of Tetranychus urticae on apples

The two spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch, is an important herbivore pest of apple trees in Northwest China. This spider mite and another less damaging spider mite, Eotetranychus pruni Oudemans, are attacked by a common and often effective phytoseiid predator, Euseius finlandicus (Oudemans). Functional relationships were studied in the field to evaluate the impact of E. pruni and E. finlandicus on T. urticae. The results from this study showed that the predator-mediated apparent competition strongly affected the population dynamics of T. urticae. The addition of the apparent competitor E. pruni alone had little impact on T. urticae densities. Although the release of the predator E. finlandicus alone could result in reduction in T. urticae densities, the greatest reduction in T. urticae densities occurred in plots where both the predator E. finlandicus and apparent competitor E. pruni were released. In apple orchards, the early introduction of both the apparent competitor E. pruni and predator E. finlandicus would evidently increase the population size of the predator E. finlandicus and consequently significantly enhance the control of T. urticae populations. It is concluded from the study that the predator and apparent competitor release might be an appropriate control for the target species.     

二斑叶螨对阿维菌素、哒螨灵和甲氰菊酯的抗性选育及其解毒酶活力变化

在室内模拟田间药剂的选择压力,用阿维菌素、哒螨灵和甲氰菊酯对二斑叶螨Tetranychuc urticae逐代处理,以选育其抗性种群。选育至12代,对阿维菌素抗性增长到6.72倍,对哒螨灵抗性增长到12.1倍,对甲氰菊酯抗性增长到19.9倍。酶抑制剂和离体酶活性的测定结果表明,阿维菌素抗性种群的多功能氧化酶和谷胱甘肽S-转移酶的活性均有所提高;二斑叶螨对哒螨灵的抗性可能与多功能氧化酶、羧酸酯酶的活性增强有关;而羧酸酯酶、多功能氧化酶和谷胱甘肽S-转移酶活性的增强可能是二斑叶螨对甲氰菊酯产生抗性的主要原因。     

Étude du phytoseiideCydnodromus chilenensis en vue de son utilisation contreTetranychus urticae en culture protégée de fraisier

Résumé La comparaison de deux espèces de PhytoseiidesP. persimilis etC. chilenensis sur le terrain et en laboratoire, montre qu'elles sont très semblables mais différent principalement pour leur résistance au je?ne et leur fécondité. Des lachers des deux espèces conjointement, ou deP. persimilis seul lorsqueC. chilenensis est présent, peuvent permettre d'utiliser le premier plut?t pour son effet de choc et le deuxième plut?t pour son effet de régulation.

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Summary The comparison between two species of predatory mites,Phytoseilus persimilis andC. chilenensis in the fields as well as in the laboratory shows that they differ from each other primarily in voracity. ReleasesP. persimilis, C. chilenensis being present, afford a good combination between the drastic effect of the former and the regulating one of the latter.