Prey preference of predatory mite Amblyseius swirskii (Acari: Phytoseiidae) on Tetranychus urticae (Acari: Tetranychidae) and Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) |
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Authors: | Samaneh Soleymani Marjan Seiedy |
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Affiliation: | 1. Department of Plant Protection, College of Agriculture, Shahrood University of Technology, Shahrood, Iran;2. School of Biology and Center of Excellence in Phylogeny of Living Organisms, College of Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran |
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Abstract: | Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae) and Bemisia tabaci Gennadius (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) are major pests in greenhouse crops. Recently, Amblyseius swirskii Athias-Henriot (Acari: Phytoseiidae) was shown to be an effective biological control agent of both pests. Therefore, the prey preference of A. swirskii was determined using immature stages of T. urticae and B. tabaci in three various treatments based on Manly's β preference index (β). These treatments consisted of immature stages of two prey species (egg, first and second instar nymphs) with densities 12:12, 6:6 and 3:3, respectively, and with 13 replicates. After 24?h starvation, same-aged females of A. swirskii were added to the leaf discs. All experiments were done on bean leaf discs in Petri dishes (8?cm in diameter) in laboratory conditions with 25?±?2°C, 70?±?5% relative humidity and the photoperiod of 16L:8D hours. Comparing the preference indices using t-tests indicates a significant preference of the predator on eggs (t?=?10.80, df?=?24, P?0.0001) and second instar nymphs (t?=?8.17, df?=?24, P?0.0001) of T. urticae than B. tabaci. Our findings suggest that developmental stages of prey have effect on the prey selection by A. swirskii. |
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Keywords: | Prey preference prey stage predator biological control |
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