Abstract
Eotetranychus frosti and Cenopalpus irani Dosse are pests of apple trees that are widely distributed in apple orchards in Iran. The functional responses and predation rates of Amblyseius swirskii, one of the most commonly utilized phytoseiid mites for biological control, on these two pests were evaluated at 25 ± 1 °C, with 16:8 h L: D, and a relative humidity of 60 ± 10 % on apple leaves. The results of predation rate experiments on the two prey species indicated that the predator consumed significantly more eggs than larvae and protonymphs whereas consumption of deutonymphs were very rare. Likewise, the results of logistic regression analysis showed that A. swirskii exhibited a Type II functional response on all immature stages of E. frosti and C. irani. Handling time (Th) increased as prey size enlarged; the lowest handling times were determined as 0.4858 and 0.3819 h on eggs of E. frosti and C. irani, respectively, whereas the highest were found to be 1.4007 and 1.0190 h on deutonymphs, respectively. Amblyseius swirskii had the higher attack rate coefficient (α) on immature stages of C. irani than E. frosti. Attack rate coefficients (α) varied significantly between life stages of both pests with the highest attack rate obtained on eggs, followed by larvae, protonymphs, and deutonymphs. Results of this study suggest that A. swirskii could be a highly efficient biological control agent of E. frosti and C. irani at least at low prey densities.
Highlights
Eotetranychus frosti (McGregor) (Acari: Tetranychidae) and Cenopalpus irani Dosse (Acari: Tenuipalpidae) are phytophagous mites that were reported on various plant species, especially Rosaceae in Western regions of Iran (Kamali et al, 2001; Mehrnejad, 2001; Khanjani et al, 2012)
The attack rate (α) was the highest for predators feeding on eggs and estimated to be 0.1142 and 0.1404 h-1 on E. frosti and C. irani, respectively
The value of handling time ( Th) of A. swirskii was much shorter on immature stages of C. irani than E. frosti
Summary
Eotetranychus frosti (McGregor) (Acari: Tetranychidae) and Cenopalpus irani Dosse (Acari: Tenuipalpidae) are phytophagous mites that were reported on various plant species, especially Rosaceae in Western regions of Iran (Kamali et al, 2001; Mehrnejad, 2001; Khanjani et al, 2012). Occasional outbreaks of these pests have caused serious concerns about their detrimental effects on different plants (Darbemamieh, 2008; Khodayari et al, 2010; Bazgir et al, 2015a; Bazgir et al, 2015b).
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