Abstract
Nesidiocoris tenuis (Reuter) (Hemiptera: Miridae) is a zoophytophagous predator that feeds on plants as well as prey. Several non-crop host plant species have been used to maintain this mirid as a biological control agent in different crop systems. To evaluate the benefit of these non-crop host plants on biological control services, data on the life-history traits of N. tenuis on these plants are important as fundamental information. Herein, we studied the demographic growth parameters of N. tenuis reared on three alternative non-crop host plants (Cleome hassleriana Chod., Brassicales: Cleomaceae; Verbena × hybrida Voss, Lamiales: Verbenaceae; and Sesamum indicum L., Lamiales: Pedaliaceae) and one crop plant (tomato) in the absence of prey under laboratory conditions (25 ± 1 °C, 16:8 h L:D). The estimated intrinsic rate of increase in each plant was significantly greater in the following order: S. indicum (0.094) > C. hassleriana (0.074) > tomato (−0.002) > Verbena × hybrida (−0.060). The results indicated that C. hassleriana and S. indicum were able to fully support the development and reproduction of N. tenuis with nutrients derived from only its plant tissues, whereas Verbena × hybrida and tomato were not. Our findings revealed that C. hassleriana is a promising resource for the conservation or mass rearing of N. tenuis besides S. indicum.
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