Factitious Prey Research Articles

Feeding lifestyles of the Phytoseiidae revisited: searching for a factitious rearing host for Neoseiulus fallacis (Acari: Phytoseiidae)

Several mite species from the Phytoseiidae (Acari) have been successfully developed as products for augmentative biological control. Rearing of mites using factitious prey in grain-based systems can increase the efficiency of production of phytoseiids. This has been done successfully for several species but usually for Type III (generalist predator) phytoseiids. Neoseiulus fallacis (Garman) (Acari: Phytoseiidae) is a Type II phytoseiid (prefers spider mites) that is currently reared in British Columbia (Canada) on Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae) in a plant-based system. Here, we present feeding behaviour and predation data for N. fallacis on T. urticae and three Astigmatid (Acari) mites: Lepidoglyphus destructor (Schrank) (Acari: Glycyphagidae), Aleuroglyphus ovatus (Tropeau) (Acari: Acaridae) and Thyreophagus entomophagus (Laboulbene) (Acari: Acaridae). Our objective is to identify a candidate factitious host for mass rearing of N. fallacis. Although N. fallacis grabbed prey mites of all four species, successful feeding attempts were more frequent for the native host, T. urticae, than for the three Astigmatid species. N. fallacis rejected A. ovatus and T. entomophagus as hosts more often than T. urticae. In predation trials, N. fallacis fed at the highest rate on T. urticae, at an intermediate rate on L. destructor, and at the lowest rates on A. ovatus and T. entomophagus. For the three mites tested, L. destructor is the most promising species for further development as a factitious host for N. fallacis.

<p class="Body"><strong>Comparison of different pollen grains and a factitious prey as food sources for <em>Amblyseius swirskii</em> (Acari: Phytoseiidae)</strong></p>

Pollen used as an alternative or supplementary food source for a predatory mite not only provides important nutrients but also allows the predator to establish a population before prey becomes available. In this study, we compared the pollen of apricot, pear, hollyhock, opium poppy, and date palm, and a factitious prey, UV-irradiated eggs of Ephestia kuehniella, as food sources for Amblyseius swirskii. Different food items affected all development stages differently, except for hollyhock pollen, where eggs failed to develop to maturity. Food type affected the reproductive ability of females, which did not reproduce when fed on opium poppy during immature stages. Most eggs per female were produced when feeding on the factitious prey, and second most with apricot pollen. Feeding on factitious prey compared with pollen, resulted in greater longevity of both female and male adults. Feeding on pear pollen or factitious prey caused, respectively, the lowest and highest population growth rates (r and λ). Both net (R0) and gross (GRR) reproductive rates were highest when the factitious prey was the food source. Among the pollen diets, apricot was the most beneficial food item. Because of their effects on rates of population increase, either apricot pollen or the factitious prey could be further utilized as cost-effective alternative food diets for both experimental and commercial mass rearing of A. swirskii.

Prey consumption and development of the indigenous lacewing Chrysoperla externa feeding on two exotic Eucalyptus pests

ABSTRACTThe green lacewing Chrysoperla externa is a widespread species in the Neotropical region that occurs in different habitats. Its presence in Eucalyptus plantations infested with Glycaspis brimblecombei (Hemiptera: Aphalaridae) and Thaumastocoris peregrinus (Hemiptera: Thaumastocoridae) suggests that this lacewing might feed on one or both exotic pest species. In order to evaluate C. externa as a potential biocontrol agent of the eucalyptus pests, the prey consumption, development, survival and reproduction of the predator were evaluated under laboratory conditions. C. externa larvae consumed nymphs of both pest species. Developmental time and reproduction parameters of C. externa fed G. brimblecombei were similar to those obtained with the factitious prey Sitotroga cerealella. When fed on T. peregrinus, C. externa showed a delay in its developmental time and the emerged adults were malformed. The results of this study suggest that the green lacewing is a good candidate to be used in augmentative or conservative biological control programmes against G. brimblecombei. Further research is necessary to analyse the potential of this predator as a biocontrol agent under field conditions.

<p class="Body">Life tables and feeding habits of Proprioseiopsis lenis (Acari: Phytoseiidae) and implications for its biological control potential in Southeast Asia

Development, survival and reproduction of Proprioseiopsis lenis (Corpuz and Rimando) (Acari: Phytoseiidae), a predatory mite distributed in parts of Southeast Asia, were assessed on different foods. These included four pollens (Typha latifolia, Luffa aegyptiaca, Zea mays, Ricinus communis), the natural prey Tetranychus urticae (mixed stages) and Frankliniella occidentalis (first-second instars), and the storage mite Carpoglyphus lactis (mixed stages) as a factitious prey. The total immature developmental time of females fed at 27 °C on T. latifolia pollen (4.1 days) or C. lactis (4.0 days) was significantly shorter than that of those offered Z. mays pollen (5.3 days), R. communis pollen (6.7 days) or T. urticae (4.3 days). Nearly 60% of the predators fed on R. communis pollen died in the immature stages and adult females failed to produce eggs. The daily oviposition rate of P. lenis reared on C. lactis (2.9 eggs/female/day), T. latifolia pollen (2.7 eggs/female/day) and F. occidentalis (2.6 eggs/female/day) was significantly higher than that of females maintained on the other diets. Total fecundity of females offered C. lactis (37.3 eggs/female) was highest, followed by F. occidentalis (26.5 eggs/female), T. urticae, L. aegyptiaca pollen, and T. latifolia pollen and was lowest on Z. mays pollen (7.4 eggs/female). The intrinsic rates of increase (rm) were highest on C. lactis (0.293), T. latifolia pollen (0.285) and T. urticae (0.283), followed by F. occidentalis (0.260) and L. aegyptiaca pollen (0.233) and were lowest on Z. mays pollen (0.115). Our findings suggest that P. lenis may have potential as a natural enemy to be used in augmentative biological control of spider mites and thrips in Southeast Asian greenhouse or field crops. The predator can be reared on the storage mite C. lactis and can also survive on several pollens in case prey is scarce or absent in the crop.

Colombian population of the mite Gaeolaelaps aculeifer as a predator of the thrips Frankliniella occidentalis and the possible use of an astigmatid mite as its factitious prey

Gaeolaelaps aculeifer (Canestrini) is a well-known generalist predator currently commercialized to control several edaphic organisms, including Diptera larvae and thrips pre-pupae and pupae. The recent detection of this species in the Bogotá plateau of Colombia raised the interest to investigate details about the biology of this new population and evaluate its potential as a biological control agent for use in that country against Frankliniella occidentalis Pergande (Thripidae), the western flower thrips. The objective of this study was to evaluate experimentally the biological characteristics of the Colombian population of G. aculeifer and its predation capacity on F. occidentalis, as well as the possibility to use a factitious prey for its mass production or as complementary food in predator field releases. The study was conducted with three diets: F. occidentalis (T), Aleuroglyphus ovatus (A), and A. ovatus + F. occidentalis (TA), in a randomized design experiment using G. aculeifer females. Predation rate was about 2.6 pre-pupae/pupae of F. occidentalis/female/day when only thrips was available as prey, reducing to 2.0 when thrips was combined with A. ovatus. Oviposition was the same when fed each of those prey and their combination (2.5–2.9 eggs/female/day). Some differences between diets were observed for duration of some periods of the life cycle, but no differences were observed for life table parameters. The greatest differences observed between this population and what has been reported for other populations of the same predator (evaluated when feeding other prey) refer to duration of deutonymphal period and Ro (respectively longer and higher in the former). It is concluded that the Colombian population is able to feed, develop, and reproduce on pre-pupae and pupae of F. occidentalis and that A. ovatus can be used for its small scale mass production and as a complementary diet in predator field releases.

Adequacy of Drosophila melanogaster as prey for the development and reproduction of Coleomegilla maculata

Factitious prey are preferentially used to rear lady beetles in the laboratory in lieu of natural prey with an aim towards facilitating and lowering the cost of producing these predators. We tested the hypothesis that live dipteran larvae of Drosophila melanogaster Meigen (factitious prey) meet the nutritional requirements of the coleopteran Coleomegilla maculata and can substitute for its natural aphid prey [Lipaphis erysimi (Kaltenbach)]. The biological cycle of C. maculata was faster and the immature stages suffered a lower rate of mortality when fed D. melanogaster larvae rather than when fed L. erysimi. The factitious prey resulted in improved reproductive attributes for C. maculata, with the exception of fecundity. The N content was the same for both prey types, but the dipteran larvae had a higher C content, water content and C:N ratio than the aphids. The conclusion of this study is that D. melanogaster larvae are adequate factitious prey for the development and reproduction of C. maculata under laboratory conditions.

Cosmolaelaps keni a polyphagous predatory mite on various insect and mite species (Acari: Laelapidae)

The predatory mite Cosmolaelaps keni is a native laelapid mite in Egypt. Development and adult longevity durations as well as fecundity of C. keni reared on five types of prey, Bactrocera zonata, Spodoptera littoralis and Corcyra cephalonica eggs (as insects prey), Aceria dioscoridis and Caloglyphus rodriguez (as mites prey) were determined under laboratory conditions. Cosmolaelaps keni was able to feed, develop and sustain oviposition on all examined insect and mite species. The mean developmental period of C. keni on B. zonata and S. littoralis eggs was significantly shorter than those fed C. cephalonica eggs and both mite species. Deutonymphs of C. keni were consumed similar number of insect eggs, while during the oviposition period, more B. zonata eggs were consumed. A diet of C. rodriguez provided the shortest oviposition period and longevity, while C. cephalonica eggs showed the longest period in this respect. During the oviposition period, preying on B. zonata and C. cephalonica eggs gave the highest fecundity rates for the predatory mite compared to S. littoralis and C. rodriguez. The sex ratio of C. keni progeny was in female-biased. Bactrocera zonata eggs as a prey gave the highest rate of oviposition as shown by the maximum fertility, net reproductive rate and gross reproductive rate as well as the shortest generation time compared to other tested prey; therefore B. zonata eggs were appropriate factitious prey for oviposition and mass rearing of the predatory mite C. keni.

BIOLOGIA DE <i>Montandoniola confusa</i> STREITO & MATOCQ (HEMIPTERA: ANTHOCORIDAE) EM PRESA NATURAL E ALTERNATIVA

O percevejo Montandoniola confusa Streito & Matocq tem sido citado como sendo o principal predador de Gynaikothrips ficorum Marchal, espécie monófaga que induz galhas em plantas de Ficus, como a espécie Ficus microcarpa L.f. (Moraceae). Estas espécies de fícus têm sido introduzidas em diversas partes do mundo, incluindo o Brasil, para utilização no paisagismo. Assim, este trabalho estudou o desenvolvimento e a reprodução do percevejo-predador usando o tripes, sua presa natural, comparado com ovos de Anagasta kuehniella (Zeller) e de Sitotroga cerealella Oliver, empregados como presas alternativas para a sua multiplicação. O percevejo-predador apresentou menor duração ninfal e superior viabilidade quando alimentado com o tripes e ovos de Anagasta kuehniella comparado a ovos de Sitotroga cerealella. A oviposição, no entanto, foi 2,37 e 3,71 vezes maior quando criados com o tripes em relação às presas alternativas Anagasta kuehniella e Sitotroga cereallea, respectivamente. Ovos das presas alternativas permitem a criação do predador, mas com desempenho inferior a presa natural.

Factitious prey and artificial diets: do they all have the potential to facilitate rearing of Typhlodromus bagdasarjani (Acari: Phytoseiidae)?

ABSTRACTThe rearing possibility of Typhlodromus bagdasarjani (Phytoseiidae) on three factitious prey (Ephestia kuehniella eggs, cysts of Artemia franciscana and Tyrophagus putrescentiae), and nine artificial diets including a basic artificial diet (AD1) and the others (AD2–AD9) consisted of 80% AD1 enriched with different nutrients including maize pollen, haemolymph of Plusia gamma L., Ephestia eggs, Artemis cysts, Ephestia larvae, multivitamin syrup, bovine serum albumin and bull sperm, as well as a natural pollen diet (almond+ maize pollen) were investigated. None of the three factitious prey supported development of T. bagdasarjani beyond protonymphal stage. The highest GRR (gross reproductive rate), R0 (net reproductive rate), r (intrinsic rate of increase) and λ (finite rate of increase) were obtained when the adults were reared on cysts of Artemia, immediately after their emergence. On pollen diet, all population growth parameters except T (mean generation time) were higher than artificial diets. The mites reared on AD6 and AD8 could not develop beyond deutonymphal stage. Although r was negative on both AD3 and AD5, its value on AD3 was higher. In conclusion, except pollen diet, none of diets tested is recommendable for mass rearing of this predator and utilizing on crop as alternative food.

The potential of Dicyphus hesperus as a biological control agent of potato psyllid and sweetpotato whitefly in tomato.

The potential of the mirid predator Dicyphus hesperus Knight (Heteroptera: Miridae) as a biological control agent of the sweetpotato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci Gennadius (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) and the potato psyllid, Bactericera cockerelli Sulcer (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) in tomato was investigated in two experiments. The first experiment focused on the study of the life history traits of D. hesperus when fed on nymphs of the potato psyllid compared with the factitious prey Ephestia kuehniella Zeller (Lepidoptera: Pyrallidae) eggs. Although reproductive and development rates were higher on E. kuehniella eggs, the predator exhibited a good intrinsic rate of natural increase (rm) when feeding on B. cockerelli nymphs (rm: B. cockerelli 0.069 ± 0.0001; E. kuehniella 0.078 ± 0.0001), thus reflecting good potential as a biocontrol agent of this pest. The second experiment focused on the efficacy of D. hesperus as a biocontrol agent of the potato psyllid and the sweetpotato whitefly in a tomato greenhouse. Prey species were offered individually or together in a series of five treatments in greenhouse cages. Results showed that the predator was able to establish and suppress populations of both pests inhabiting tomato plants when pests occurred alone or together. Thus, D. hesperus was demonstrated to be a suitable biocontrol agent of these two important pests that could be used in tomato greenhouses.

Natural diets versus factitious prey: comparative effects on development, fecundity and life table of Amblyseius swirskii (Acari: Phytoseiidae)

Using the most suitable alternative diets that are easily available and less expensive than the natural diets may give rise to reduce the rearing costs of natural enemies. Alternative or additional food used for this purpose should be in accordance with the food spectrum of the respective mite species. To our knowledge no information is accessible on the comparison between natural diets and factitious prey for Amblyseius swirskii Athias-Henriot. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the nutritional value of three natural diets including almond pollen, maize pollen and Tetranychus urticae Koch, as well as four factitious prey comprising eggs of Ephestia kuehniella Zeller, Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Schrank), decapsulated and encapsulated cysts of Artemia franciscana Leach for A. swirskii. The data would seem to suggest that developmental time of individuals fed on pollens was shorter than that of those fed on factitious prey. The gross and net reproductive rate, intrinsic and finite rate of increase of the individuals consumed factitious prey were lower than those of mites fed on natural food diets, for the simple reason of shorter developmental time and higher oviposition rate of this predator on the latter. In conclusion, our results showed that natural foods were more favorable than factitious prey and among them almond pollen and maize pollen were the most suitable for A. swirskii, and thus it should be taken into account for application in its mass production, and supporting its population in greenhouse or field conditions when used in an augmentative approach.

Comparison of bacterial microbiota of the predatory mite Neoseiulus cucumeris (Acari: Phytoseiidae) and its factitious prey Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Acari: Acaridae)

Neoseiulus cucumeris is a predatory mite used for biological control of arthropod pests. Mass-reared predators are fed with factitious prey mites such as Tyrophagus putrescentiae. Although some information on certain endosymbionts of N. cucumeris and T. putrescentiae exists, it is unclear whether both species share bacterial communities. The bacterial communities in populations of predator and prey mites, as well as the occurence of potential acaropathogenic bacteria were analyzed. The comparisons were based on the following groups: (i) N. cucumeris mass-production; (ii) N. cucumeris laboratory population with disease symptoms; (iii) T. putrescentiae pure populations and; (iv) T. putrescentiae from rearing units of N. cucumeris. Only 15% of OTUs were present in all samples from predatory and prey mite populations (core OTUs): the intracellular symbionts Wolbachia, Cardinium, plus other Blattabacterium-like, Solitalea-like, and Bartonella-like symbionts. Environmental bacteria were more abundant in predatory mites, while symbiotic bacteria prevailed in prey mites. Relative numbers of certain bacterial taxa were significantly different between the microbiota of prey mites reared with and without N. cucumeris. No significant differences were found in the bacterial communities of healthy N. cucumeris compared to N. cucumeris showing disease symptoms. We did not identify any confirmed acaropathogenic bacteria among microbiota.

An artificial diet containing plant pollen for the mealybug predator Cryptolaemus montrouzieri.

The specialist predatory ladybird Cryptolaemus montrouzieri is an effective natural enemy of mealybugs and plays a key role in the biological control of these pests. However, its mass production is complicated by the dependence on parallel cultures of mealybugs or the need for Ephestia kuehniella eggs as an expensive factitious prey. Here we developed a pollen-based artificial food for the predator to lower its dependence on natural prey. We found that this artificial diet was an effective alternative food for larvae and adults of this predator. The artificial food supported the development and reproduction of the predator not only in the first generation (F0) but also in the next generation (F1). Although the developmental time and preoviposition period of C. montrouzieri on the artificial food were ca 1.5 days and 4 days longer than on the natural prey, the citrus mealybug Planococcus citri, respectively, its immature survival, fecundity and egg hatch were similar to those on mealybugs. In addition, adult C. montrouzieri maintained on natural or artificial food had a similar starvation resistance. Our results suggest that the pollen-based artificial diet can be used as an alternative food in the rearing of C. montrouzieri, and indicate its potential to support the mass production and wider application of this predator in biological control programmes. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

Potential of astigmatid mites (Acari: Astigmatina) as prey for rearing edaphic predatory mites of the families Laelapidae and Rhodacaridae (Acari: Mesostigmata).

Laelapidae and Rhodacaridae are important families of edaphic predatory mites and species of these families have been considered for use in biological control programs of soil pests. Mites of Cohort Astigmatina (Acari: Sarcoptiformes) have been largely used as factitious prey in the mass rearing of various edaphic or plant-inhabiting predatory mites. Stratiolaelaps scimitus (Womersley) (Mesostigmata: Laelapidae) (widely commercialized for the control of fungus gnats and thrips) and Protogamasellopsis zaheri Abo-Shnaf, Castilho and Moraes (Mesostigmata: Rhodacaridae) (not available commercially but promising for the control of thrips and nematodes) are known to be reared on Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Schrank) (Astigmatina: Acaridae), but the possibility to find a perhaps more efficient prey has not been evaluated. The objective of this paper was to evaluate different astigmatid species as prey for these predators. S. scimitus and P. zaheri oviposited on all evaluated astigmatids and the acarid mites T. putrescentiae and Aleuroglyphus ovatus (Tropeau) were the most suitable prey; to confirm the effect of prey on oviposition rates, pregnant females of the predators were kept under starvation conditions and oviposition was negligible or null. Survivorship was always higher than 78% and was not influenced by prey species or starvation.

An astigmatid defence volatile against a phytoseiid mite

AbstractNumerous semiochemicals have been isolated from several species of astigmatid mites with various identified or unidentified functions. Alarm pheromonal activity is widespread with neryl formate and neral, being the most common compounds eliciting alarm response in conspecifics. The cosmopolitan astigmatid mite Suidasia medanensis (= S. pontifica) Oudemans (Acari: Suidasidae) has been reported to use neral as an alarm pheromone, but neral can also act as an allomone towards predators of oribatid mites. Suidasia medanensis can be utilised as a factitious prey for mass‐rearing of the phytoseiid predatory mite Amblyseius (= Typhlodromips) swirskii (Athias‐Henriot) (Acari: Phytoseiidae), which is used for biological control of insect and mite pests in protected crops. This study investigated the potential defence properties of the S. medanensis volatiles against A. swirskii, comparing the repellency to pollen‐reared (naïve) vs. S. medanensis‐reared (experienced) predators using a synthetic blend of the isomers neral and geranial (1:1) as a model compound. In a repellency bioassay, the synthetic blend elicited a significant repellence to A. swirskii with no difference between naïve and experienced predators. During capture success studies, S. medanensis under repeated attack could release sufficient quantities of the defence volatile to deter 1–5 attacks from A. swirskii, whereas hexane‐treated S. medanensis artificially depleted of volatiles were significantly more vulnerable to an attack. This is the first report of an astigmatid defence volatile with repellent activity to a phytoseiid mite and the starting point to understanding semiochemical interactions in any current or novel factitious predator‐prey mass‐rearing system.

Development and Reproduction of Chrysoperla externa (Hagen) (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) Fed on Myzus persicae (Sulzer) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) Vectoring Potato leafroll virus (PLRV).

The aim of this study was to evaluate the biological parameters of Chrysoperla externa (Hagen) while feeding on Myzus persicae (Sulzer) acting as a vector of potato leafroll virus (PLRV). In laboratory experiments, three different diets were offered ad libitum to C. externa during the larval period: M. persicae fed on PLRV-infected potato leaves, M. persicae fed on uninfected potato leaves, and eggs of the factitious prey Anagasta kuehniella (Zeller) as the control. The following parameters were studied: the developmental time and survival rate of the larval and pupal stages, the sex ratio, the proportion of fertile females, female fecundity and egg viability, and the survival curve of the first 30 days after adult emergence. PLRV-infected aphids influenced the C. externa larval developmental time and survival compared to PLRV-uninfected aphids and A. kuehniella eggs. The pupal developmental time of C. externa was shorter when fed on aphids compared to A. kuehniella eggs, but no differences were recorded between the PLRV-infected and uninfected aphid diets. Additionally, no differences were observed for pupal survival and reproduction. However, adult survival was affected by the prey type, as 75% of C. externa control adults remained alive at an age of 30 days compared to 51 and 54% for those fed on PLRV-uninfected and infected aphids, respectively.

Evaluation of astigmatid mites as factitious food for rearing four predaceous phytoseiid mites (Acari: Astigmatina; Phytoseiidae)

Phytoseiids are possibly the most important mites used in biological control and are usually produced using a tritrophic system that, although efficient, is expensive and laborious. Mites of the cohort Astigmatina (Sarcoptiformes) have been used as factitious prey in the mass rearing of phytoseiids and may allow a much simpler production system. This research evaluated the potential of ten Astigmatina species to serve as factitious food sources for Euseius concordis (Chant), Iphiseiodes zuluagai Denmark and Muma, Neoseiulus barkeri Hughes and Neoseiulus californicus McGregor, all phytoseiid species commonly found in different countries. The high fecundity and survival rates obtained suggest that Thyreophagus n. sp. is a suitable prey for rearing N. barkeri and that Austroglycyphagus lukoschusi (Fain) and Blomia tropicalis is suitable for rearing N. californicus. Oviposition by E. concordis was negligible, but survivorship was high on most prey species, suggesting that these species may be useful for maintenance of the predator. I. zuluagai had low fecundity and survival on all the astigmatid species evaluated and none were suitable for its rearing.

Predation of the Peach Aphid Myzus persicae by the mirid Predator Macrolophus pygmaeus on Sweet Peppers: Effect of Prey and Predator Density.

Integrated Pest Management strategies are widely implemented in sweet peppers. Aphid biological control on sweet pepers includes curative applications of parasitoids and generalist predators, but with limited efficiency. Macrolophus pygmaeus is a zoophytophagous predator which has been reported to predate on aphids, but has traditionally been used to control other pests, including whiteflies. In this work, we evaluate the effectiveness of M. pygmaeus in controlling Myzus persicae (Homoptera: Aphididae) by testing different combinations of aphid and predator densities in cage-experiments under greenhouse conditions. The impact of the presence of an alternative factitious prey (E. kuehniella eggs) was also investigated. Macrolophus pygmaeus, at densities of four individuals/plant, caused rapid decline of newly established aphid populations. When aphid infestations were heavy, the mirid bug reduced the aphid numbers but did not fully eradicate aphid populations. The availability of a factitious prey did not influence M. pygmaeus predation on aphids. Based on our data, preventive application of M. pygmaeus, along with a supplementary food source , is recommended to control early infestations of aphids.

Amblyseius swirskii: what made this predatory mite such a successful biocontrol agent?

The predatory mite Amblyseius swirskii quickly became one of the most successful biocontrol agents in protected cultivation after its introduction into the market in 2005 and is now released in more than 50 countries. There are several key factors contributing to this success: (1) it can control several major pests including the western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis, the whiteflies Bemisia tabaci and Trialeurodes vaporariorum and the broad mite, Polyphagotarsonemus latus, simultaneously in vegetables and ornamental crops; (2) it can develop and reproduce feeding on non-prey food sources such as pollen, which allows populations of the predator to build up on plants before the pests are present and to persist in the crop during periods when prey is scarce or absent; and (3) it can be easily reared on factitious prey, which allows economic mass production. However, despite the fact that A. swirskii provides growers with a robust control method, external demands were initially a key factor in promoting the use of this predator, particularly in Spain. In 2006, when exports of fresh vegetables from Spain were stopped due to the presence of pesticide residues, growers were forced to look for alternatives to chemical control. This resulted in the massive adoption of biological control-based integrated pest management programmes based on the use of A. swirskii in sweet pepper. Biological control increased from 5 % in 2005, 1 year before A. swirskii was commercially released, to almost 100 % of a total 6,000 ha of protected sweet pepper in Spain within 3 years. Later, it was demonstrated that A. swirskii was equally effective in other crops and countries, resulting in extensive worldwide use of A. swirskii in greenhouses.

Sugars as complementary alternative food for the establishment of Nesidiocoris tenuis in greenhouse tomato

AbstractNesidiocoris tenuis (Reuter) (Hemiptera: Miridae) is an omnivorous generalist predator which is augmentatively released and conserved for control of whiteflies (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) and Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) in tomato crops. Eggs of Ephestia kuehniella Zeller (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) are often provided as factitious prey to improve the establishment of N. tenuis after its release. We first tested different amounts of E. kuehniella eggs per plant to optimize N. tenuis establishment and then investigated whether the amount of eggs that optimized N. tenuis establishment might be reduced by adding sugars (hydrocapsules filled with 0.5 m sucrose) under walk‐in cage and commercial greenhouse conditions. These experiments demonstrated that the addition of sugar to the diet of N. tenuis could half the amount of E. kuehniella eggs required to establish N. tenuis. Under greenhouse conditions, the progeny of N. tenuis per plant did not differ significantly between E. kuehniella alone or the half amount of E. kuehniella plus hydrocapsules. These results demonstrated that the sugar could partially substitute for E. kuehniella eggs improve establishment of N. tenuis and suggest that natural sugars such as nectar and honeydew might also beneficial.