Florida Entomologist (2014) 97, 367-373

Vivek Kumar, Vitalis W. Wekesa, Pasco B. Avery, Charles A. Powell, Cindy L. McKenzie and Lance S. Osborne (2014)
Effect of pollens of various ornamental pepper cultivars on the development and reproduction of Amblyseius swirskii (Acari: Phytoseiidae)
Florida Entomologist 97 (2), 367-373
Abstract: The rationale behind the current study was to assess if the commercially available generalist phytoseiid mite, Amblyseius swirskii Athias-Henriot (Acari: Phytoseiidae), can survive and reproduce when fed on pollen from ornamental pepper (Capiscum annum L.; Solanales: Solanaceae). Results from this study will help in the selection of ornamental pepper cultivars as candidate banker plants for establishment of A. swirskii in ornamental nurseries. To determine the effect of different types of pepper pollen on survival and multiplication ability of mites; their longevity, daily rate of oviposition and total egg deposition was assessed. Amblyseius swirskii was reared on pollen collected from 4 ornamental pepper cultivars namely `Red Missile´, `Masquerade´, `Black Pearl´ and `Explosive Ember´. Amblyseius swirskii was able to survive, develop and oviposit when fed with pollens of all the 4 ornamental pepper cultivars and the 2 standard controls i.e., commercially available olive pollen Olea europaea L. (Lamiales: Oleaceae) and Scirtothrips dorsalis Hood (Thysanoptera: Thripidae). No significant differences were observed among the various diet treatments for the following biological parameters: mean duration from larvae to adult death (22.8–23.7 days), duration from larvae to eggs (11.8–12.5 days) and adult longevity (12.4–13.1 days). However, for mites fed on pollen the highest daily rate of oviposition (~1.07 eggs/female/day) and total oviposition (~10.23 eggs/female) was recorded on the `Red Missile´. Outcome of this study can boost the management strategies being used against S. dorsalis and other pest species affecting ornamental plants in Florida.
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Full text of article
Database assignments for author(s): Vivek Kumar, Cindy L. McKenzie, Pasco B. Avery, Lance S. Osborne

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.
	Scirtothrips dorsalis		U.S.A. (SE)
Amblyseius swirskii (predator)	Scirtothrips dorsalis		U.S.A. (SE)