Abstract
The importance of the acarine predator, Zetzellia mali, in the control of phytophagous mites in apple orchards is not well understood. Zetzellia mali tends to prefer the eriophyid, Aculus schlechtendali, over the economically more significant tetranychid, Panonychus ulmi, but quite a wide range of preference values have been reported in the literature. In sets of laboratory choice trials, we determined that prey preference of this predator varies with the relative but not absolute density of its prey. We attempt to explain these results in terms of behavioural mechanisms and discuss the potential implications of our results for the effectiveness of Z. mali in the biological control of phytophagous mites in apple orchards.
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Walde, S.J., Magagula, C.N. & Morton, M.L. Feeding preference of Zetzellia mali: does absolute or relative abundance of prey matter more?. Exp Appl Acarol 19, 307–317 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00052388
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00052388