Journal of Pest Science (2010) 83, 47-52
Seyed Ali Asghar Fathi and Gadir Nouri-Ganbalani (2010)
Assessing the potential for biological control of potato field pests in Ardabil, Iran: functional responses of Orius niger (Wolf.) and O. minutus (L.) (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae)
Journal of Pest Science 83 (1), 47-52
Abstract: The two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae), and the onion thrips, Thrips tabaci Lind. (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), are significant field pests of potato in the Ardabil region of Iran. Orius niger (Wolf.) and O. minutus (L.) (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) are locally the predominant natural enemies of these pests. This study compared the functional responses of O. niger and O. minutus to female mites and second instar thrips larvae across a range of prey densities (5, 10, 20, and 40 prey/arena) under controlled conditions of 24 ± 1°C, 50 ± 5% RH and 16:8 h (L:D). The resulting data were appropriately fit to Type II functional response models in four predator-prey interactions, including: (1) O. niger to second instar thrips larvae (a = 0.009 h-1; and T h = 1.62 h); (2) O. niger to female mites (a = 0.006 h-1 and T h = 1.28 h); (3) O. minutus to second instar thrips larvae (a = 0.008 h-1 and T h = 1.93 h) and (4) O. minutus to female mites (a = 0.01 h-1 and T h = 1.1 h). The number of second instar thrips larvae attacked by O. niger was greater than that by O. minutus (P < 0.01); conversely, the number of females mites attacked by O. minutus was greater than that by O. niger (P < 0.01). These results confirm the potential for both O. niger and O. minutus to make valuable contributions to a biological control program against onion thrips and the two-spotted spider mites infesting potato fields in this region.
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Link to article at publishers website
Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
biocontrol - natural enemies
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
general biology - morphology - evolution
