Miridae (Hemiptera) of the tribe Dicyphini are important zoophytophagous predators use to control pest arthropods in vegetable crops. However, the risk that their herbivory may cause economic damage could hinder their application as useful biocontrol agents and may limit the likelihood they would meet regulatory requirements for importation. We conducted field cage studies to assess the predation capacity and tomato plant damage of three mirid species established in south USA, a known biocontrol agent (Nesidiocoris tenuis), and two native species (Macrolophus praeclarus and Engytatus modestus). All three species significantly reduced the number of whiteflies (Bemisia tabaci) on tomato plants compared to tomato plants without mirids. More damage, evaluated as the number of necrotic rings, was observed on tomato plants with E. modestus and N. tenuis compared to M. praeclarus. In our experiments that included sesame plants (Sesamum indicum) with tomato plants, mirid numbers increased despite a low number of prey, thus showing a benefit of the plant-feeding habit of these predators. USA’s established mirids may therefore prove to be immediately available biological agents for the management of present and future tomato pests.

中文翻译：

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美国三种食草性黑粉虱对烟粉虱的生物防治潜力和缺点


Dicyphini 族的 Miridae（半翅目）是重要的食草性捕食者，用于控制蔬菜作物中的害虫节肢动物。然而，它们的食草性可能造成经济损失的风险可能会阻碍它们作为有用的生物防治剂的应用，并可能限制它们满足进口监管要求的可能性。我们进行了田间网箱研究，以评估在美国南部建立的三种蚱蜢物种、一种已知的生物防治剂（ Nesidiocoris tenuis ）和两种本地物种（ Macrolophus praeclarus和Engytatusmodeus ）的捕食能力和番茄植株损害。与没有瞳孔的番茄植株相比，这三个物种都显着减少了番茄植株上烟粉虱（ Bemisia tabaci ）的数量。与M. praeclarus相比，在E.modeus和N.tenuis 的番茄植株上观察到更多的损害（以坏死环的数量来评估）。在我们的实验中，包括芝麻植物（ Sesamum indicum ）和番茄植物，尽管猎物数量较少，但鸢尾花的数量却有所增加，从而显示出这些捕食者的植物摄食习惯的好处。因此，美国已建立的Mirids可能被证明是立即可用的生物制剂，可用于管理当前和未来的番茄害虫。