Annals of the Entomological Society of America (2017) 110, 244-253

Elham Riahi, Yaghoub Fathipour, Ali Asghar Talebi and Mohamad Mehrabadi (2017)
Linking life table and consumption rate of Amblyseius swirskii (Acari: Phytoseiidae) in presence and absence of different pollens
Annals of the Entomological Society of America 110 (2), 244-253
Abstract: Amblyseius swirskii Athias-Henriot is used as a biocontrol agent against various pests. Pollen grains not only provide important nutrients but also play an important role in providing the energy source of migration and aid in the reproduction process for different predators such as phytoseiid mites, especially if being consumed along with main prey. Because no research has addressed the nutritional value of a combination of non-prey food diets with Tetranychus urticae Koch for A. swirskii, this study aims to determine some biological characteristics of this predator fed on T. urticae in the presence and absence of three different pollens. Individuals of A. swirskii successfully completed their immature development on all diets tested. The shortest and longest female and male developmental times were observed on T. urticae + almond pollen and T. urticae + bee pollen, respectively. Not only in the presence but also in the absence of T. urticae feeding on almond pollen resulted in higher intrinsic (r) and finite rate of increase (λ) compared with feeding on date and bee pollens. The highest female predation rate was observed for the T. urticae diet compared with other diets. The predators consumed more prey in the presence of bee pollen than in the presence of almond and date pollen. Amblyseius swirskii required an average of 17.69, 32.33, 27.87, and 18.04 prey to produce a single predator egg on date + T. urticae, bee pollen + T. urticae, T. urticae, and almond + T. urticae, respectively. Overall, A. swirskii had greater control potential of T. urticae in the presence of almond pollen than other diets.
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Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Yaghoub Fathipour, Mohammad Mehrabadi, Ali Asghar Talebi

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
biocontrol - natural enemies
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
general biology - morphology - evolution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Tetranychus urticae
Amblyseius swirskii (predator)	Tetranychus urticae