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Feeding lifestyles of the Phytoseiidae revisited: searching for a factitious rearing host for Neoseiulus fallacis (Acari: Phytoseiidae)

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Abstract

Several mite species from the Phytoseiidae (Acari) have been successfully developed as products for augmentative biological control. Rearing of mites using factitious prey in grain-based systems can increase the efficiency of production of phytoseiids. This has been done successfully for several species but usually for Type III (generalist predator) phytoseiids. Neoseiulus fallacis (Garman) (Acari: Phytoseiidae) is a Type II phytoseiid (prefers spider mites) that is currently reared in British Columbia (Canada) on Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae) in a plant-based system. Here, we present feeding behaviour and predation data for N. fallacis on T. urticae and three Astigmatid (Acari) mites: Lepidoglyphus destructor (Schrank) (Acari: Glycyphagidae), Aleuroglyphus ovatus (Tropeau) (Acari: Acaridae) and Thyreophagus entomophagus (Laboulbène) (Acari: Acaridae). Our objective is to identify a candidate factitious host for mass rearing of N. fallacis. Although N. fallacis grabbed prey mites of all four species, successful feeding attempts were more frequent for the native host, T. urticae, than for the three Astigmatid species. N. fallacis rejected A. ovatus and T. entomophagus as hosts more often than T. urticae. In predation trials, N. fallacis fed at the highest rate on T. urticae, at an intermediate rate on L. destructor, and at the lowest rates on A. ovatus and T. entomophagus. For the three mites tested, L. destructor is the most promising species for further development as a factitious host for N. fallacis.

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Acknowledgements

Thanks to Applied Bio-nomics Ltd for providing N. fallacis and T. urticae for use in experimental trials, and for providing grain mites to initiate colonies. Thanks also to Drs. Fred Beaulieu and Wayne Knee of the National Insect Collection at Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada for mite identifications.

Funding

Funding for this project was provided by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the British Columbia (BC) Ministry of Agriculture through the Canada-BC Agri-Innovation Program under Growing Forward 2, a federal-provincial-territorial initiative. Growing Forward 2 is delivered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC.

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  1. Institute of Urban Ecology, Douglas College, New Westminster, BC, Canada

    Robert McGregor, Katelyn Crisp & Camile Castiglia

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  1. Robert McGregor
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  2. Katelyn Crisp
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  3. Camile Castiglia
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Correspondence to Robert McGregor.

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McGregor, R., Crisp, K. & Castiglia, C. Feeding lifestyles of the Phytoseiidae revisited: searching for a factitious rearing host for Neoseiulus fallacis (Acari: Phytoseiidae). BioControl 65, 593–599 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10526-020-10024-z

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