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Performance of the predatory mite Amblydromalus limonicus on factitious foods

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An Erratum to this article was published on 25 February 2014

Abstract

Amblydromalus limonicus Garman & McGregor (Acari: Phytoseiidae) is a generalist predatory mite with economic potential to control thrips and whiteflies in protected cultivation. We tested the development and reproduction of A. limonicus on three food sources with potential for use in laboratory production or to support its populations in a crop: fresh cattail pollen, Typha latifolia L. (Poales: Typhaceae), dry decapsulated cysts of the brine shrimp Artemia franciscana Kellogg (Branchiopoda: Artemiidae) and frozen eggs of the Mediterranean flour moth, Ephestia kuehniella Zeller (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae). The diets were tested both on an artificial substrate and on kidney bean leaves. In the absence of food, all larvae died on the artificial substrate, whereas they succeeded in reaching the protonymphal stage on bean leaves. Immature survival was high (>90 %) on all diet–substrate combinations, except when E. kuehniella eggs were offered on the artificial substrate (35 % survival). Both sexes showed the fastest development when offered E. kuehniella eggs on leaf discs, followed by A. franciscana cysts, whereas the slowest development was achieved on T. latifolia pollen. Fecundity and oviposition rate were higher on E. kuehniella and A. franciscana than on T. latifolia. Amblydromalus limonicus females lived longer on the leaf discs than on the artificial substrates. The intrinsic rate of increase (rm) was highest when E. kuehniella eggs were offered on leaf discs (0.256 females per female per day), whereas the lowest rate (0.128 females per female per day) was obtained when the eggs were provided on artificial substrates. The intrinsic rate of increase on A. franciscana cysts was not affected by substrate and averaged 0.22 females per female per day. Diet significantly influenced the size of A. limonicus females as measured by the distance between specific setae on the dorsal shield of the idiosoma. The application of the investigated food sources to sustain a colony of predatory mites upon their release in a greenhouse crop is discussed.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by project number 090931 from the Institute for the Promotion of Innovation through Science and Technology in Flanders (IWT-Vlaanderen). Two anonymous referees are acknowledged for their constructive comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Agrozoology, Department of Crop Protection, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000, Ghent, Belgium

    Dominiek Vangansbeke, Duc Tung Nguyen, Luc Tirry & Patrick De Clercq

  2. PCS-Ornamental Plant Research, Schaessestraat 18, 9070, Destelbergen, Belgium

    Joachim Audenaert, Ruth Verhoeven & Bruno Gobin

  3. Hanoi University of Agriculture, Trau Quy, Gia Lam, Hanoi, Vietnam

    Duc Tung Nguyen

Authors
  1. Dominiek Vangansbeke
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  2. Duc Tung Nguyen
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  4. Ruth Verhoeven
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  5. Bruno Gobin
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  6. Luc Tirry
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  7. Patrick De Clercq
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Correspondence to Patrick De Clercq.

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Vangansbeke, D., Nguyen, D.T., Audenaert, J. et al. Performance of the predatory mite Amblydromalus limonicus on factitious foods. BioControl 59, 67–77 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10526-013-9548-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10526-013-9548-5

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