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Life tables and development of Amblyseius swirskii (Acari: Phytoseiidae) at different temperatures

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Abstract

Development time, reproduction, survival and sex ratio were determined for the omnivorous mite Amblyseius swirskii at nine constant temperatures (13, 15, 18, 20, 25, 30, 32, 34 and 36°C) on pepper leaf disks with cattail, Typha latifolia, pollen for food. These data were used to derive life table parameters at these constant temperatures. No development was observed at 13°C. The lower development threshold, based on the fit to the linear portion of the development curve, was 11.3°C. The upper development threshold was 37.4 ± 1.12°C, and the optimum temperature was calculated to be 31.5°C. Average lifetime fecundity ranged from a low of 1.3 ± 0.24 eggs/female at 15°C to a high of 16.1 ± 0.34 eggs/female at 25°C, and r m was greatest at 32°C. Non-linear regression of the relationship between temperature and r m produced an estimate of 15.49 ± 0.905°C for the lower threshold for population growth and 36.99 ± 0.816°C for the upper threshold for population growth, and an optimum temperature of 30.1°C. These values suggest that A. swiskii populations should grow quickly in response to food availability (pollen or prey) between 20 and 32°C, but that, especially below 20°C, population growth could be slow and impacts on prey populations should be monitored carefully.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Hsin Chi for generous help and for valuable comments and suggestions on data analysis. We thank three anonymous reviewers for thoughtful comments that greatly improved the final verion of the manuscript. We thank Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and Gyeongsangnam-do Province Government, Korea, for providing funding and operational support that made this research possible.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Plant Environment, Gyeongnam Agricultural Research & Extension Services, Jinju, 660-370, Korea

    Heung-Su Lee

  2. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre, PO Box 1000, Agassiz, BC, V0M 1A0, Canada

    David R. Gillespie

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  1. Heung-Su Lee
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Correspondence to David R. Gillespie.

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Lee, HS., Gillespie, D.R. Life tables and development of Amblyseius swirskii (Acari: Phytoseiidae) at different temperatures. Exp Appl Acarol 53, 17–27 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10493-010-9385-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10493-010-9385-5

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