How does feeding on different diets affect the life history traits of Neoseiulus californicus?

Abstract

ABSTRACT We examined how feeding on different diets affects the life-history traits of Neoseiulus californicus using seven pollen grains (pistachio, walnut, date palm, wild almond, pomegranate, oak, and peach) as well as a natural prey (two-spotted spider mites (TSSM)). The pre-adult duration of individuals reared on TSSM was significantly longer, whereas duration on oak and peach pollen was shorter than all the others. Females fed on peach, wild almond, and walnut pollen showed low fecundity. The highest number of eggs was laid by the females reared on TSSM. When the mites were reared on pistachio pollen, the fecundity was higher compared with other pollen grains. The net reproductive rate (R 0) varied from 1.77 (on peach pollen) to 26.28 offspring (on TSSM). The cohort reared on pistachio pollen had the highest intrinsic rate of increase (r) as well as the finite rate of increase (λ); however they were insignificant to the values obtained for the cohort reared on the date palm, oak, and pomegranate pollen. Pistachio and date palm pollen provide commensurate nutritional effects on survivorship, development, and fecundity of N. californicus. Knowledge about the profitability of different pollens can be used to optimize rearing systems for phytoseiid predators.