Experimental and Applied Acarology (2014) 63, 37-47

Guillaume Jean Le Goff, Thierry Hance, Claire Detrain, Jean-Louis Deneubourg and Anne-Catherine Mailleux (2014)
Impact of living with kin/non-kin on the life history traits of Tetranychus urticae (Acari: Tetranychidae)
Experimental and Applied Acarology 63 (1), 37-47
Abstract: In many vertebrates and invertebrates, living in a group may influence the life history traits, physiology and behaviour of its individual members, whereas genetic relatedness affects social interactions among individuals in a group. The two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae is characterised by a communal organization, in which silk production plays a key role. A silken web protects the colony against biotic and abiotic agents such as predators, competitors, humidity, wind, rain and acaricides. To evaluate the potential costs and benefits of being associated with genetically distant vs genetically close individuals in T. urticae, we assessed various fitness indicators (faecal pellet production, fecundity, death rate) in pure and mixed groups of two distinct populations of T. urticae: a red-form population from Tunisia and a green-form population from Belgium. If genetic origin had no influence, the values of fitness indicators in mixed groups composed of green and red individuals, would be intermediate between those of the pure green-form and red-form groups. Our results show that in a mixed group, faecal pellet production and death rate were statistically similar to the values obtained in the pure group of green-form individuals. Therefore, our study suggests that strain recognition ability may occur in T. urticae and that the genetic background of an individual may have a great impact on several of its life history traits.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Thierry Hance

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
environment - cropping system/rotation
general biology - morphology - evolution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Tetranychus urticae		Belgium
	Tetranychus urticae		Tunisia