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Age and parasitism status of Tuta absoluta eggs alter the foraging responses of the predator Nabis pseudoferus

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Abstract

We studied the effect of Trichogramma brassicae Bezdenko (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) parasitism of Tuta absoluta Meyrick (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) eggs on the foraging behavior of Nabis pseudoferus Remane (Hemiptera: Nabidae) feeding on T. absoluta eggs of different ages. Older parasitized eggs (48–72 h old) were rejected after probing with the probosis. A separate experiment showed that probing did not harm developing parasitoids. Bugs greatly reduced their feeding times on older parasitized eggs and spent more time grooming and probing eggs and leaves. Predators exhibited a type III functional response to 24 h-old eggs, but a type II response to older eggs, whether parasitized or not. 24 h-old eggs suffered higher attack rates, and required less handling time than older eggs. Although the predatory efficiency of N. pseudoferus was reduced in the presence of parasitized eggs, the partial refuge enjoyed by T. brassicae in older eggs may permit an additive impact on the pest, and should facilitate the joint augmentation of both species against T. absoluta.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the research deputy of the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad for Grant No (3/45035) which financially supported this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Plant Protection, College of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

    Marzieh Mohammadpour, Mojtaba Hosseini & Javad Karimi

  2. Department of Entomology, Kansas State University, Agricultural Research Center-Hays, Hays, KS, USA

    J. P. Michaud

  3. Department of Plant Protection, Campus of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran

    Vahid Hosseininaveh

Authors
  1. Marzieh Mohammadpour
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  2. J. P. Michaud
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  3. Mojtaba Hosseini
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  4. Javad Karimi
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  5. Vahid Hosseininaveh
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Correspondence to Mojtaba Hosseini.

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The authors declare this to be an original research project comprising part of the PhD thesis requirements of MM under supervision of MH at the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. We have no conflicts of interest to declare and can confirm that this work is not under consideration for publication in any other journal.

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Handling Editor: Marta Montserrat.

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Mohammadpour, M., Michaud, J.P., Hosseini, M. et al. Age and parasitism status of Tuta absoluta eggs alter the foraging responses of the predator Nabis pseudoferus. BioControl 66, 395–406 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10526-021-10078-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10526-021-10078-7

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