influence of sublethal deposits of agricultural mineral oil on the functional and numerical responses of Phytoseiulus persimilis (Acari: Phytoseiidae) to its prey, Tetranychus urticae (Acari: Tetranychidae)

Occasional pesticide application in integrated pest management to at least part of a crop requires that any biological control agents must re-invade previously sprayed areas in order that resurgent pests can be constrained. The ability of the phytoseiid predatory mite Phytoseiulus persimilis to feed...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Experimental & applied acarology 2009-08, Vol.48 (4), p.291-302
Main Authors: Xue, Yingen, Meats, Alan, Beattie, G. Andrew C, Spooner-Hart, Robert, Herron, Grant A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acari
Acari - drug effects
Acari - physiology
Animal Ecology
Animal Genetics and Genomics
Animal Systematics/Taxonomy/Biogeography
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Animals
Applied ecology
Araneae
Biological and medical sciences
Biological control
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Control
Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution
Effects of pollution and side effects of pesticides on protozoa and invertebrates
Entomology
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Integrated pest control
Life Sciences
Mineral Oil - pharmacology
Oviposition - drug effects
Pest Control, Biological
Pesticides - pharmacology
Phytopathology. Animal pests. Plant and forest protection
Phytoseiidae
Phytoseiulus persimilis
Predatory Behavior - drug effects
Protozoa. Invertebrates
Tetranychidae
Tetranychidae - anatomy & histology
Tetranychidae - drug effects
Tetranychus urticae
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Summary:Occasional pesticide application in integrated pest management to at least part of a crop requires that any biological control agents must re-invade previously sprayed areas in order that resurgent pests can be constrained. The ability of the phytoseiid predatory mite Phytoseiulus persimilis to feed on adult two-spotted spider mite (TSSM) Tetranychus urticae on excised leaf discs in both control conditions and in a treatment with a sub lethal residue of agricultural mineral oil (AMO) was assessed. The predator exhibited a Type II functional response with the asymptote significantly higher in the AMO conditions due to the fact that the prey grew slower and reached a smaller size in this treatment. In terms of prey volume eaten, the satiation level of the predator was unchanged by the AMO deposits. The numbers of eggs produced by adult P. persimilis females at densities of 4, 8 and 16 TSSM adult females/disc in the control were significantly higher than those in the AMO treatment, but were similar for the higher density levels, 32 and 64 prey per disc. Thus the functional response in terms of volume of prey eaten explained the numerical response in terms of predator eggs produced. The presence of AMO deposits when the prey were at high density had no effect on predator efficiency (volume eaten) but resulted in a lower intake than that in control conditions when there was a greater distance between prey.
ISSN:0168-8162
1572-9702
DOI:10.1007/s10493-009-9242-6