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© 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

Simple Summary

The western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis, is a common pest in many crops worldwide. Predatory mites (Acari: Phytoseiidae) are effective predators of first-instar thrips and have been extensively used for biological control of the pest. However, the short development time of thrips larvae limits the effectiveness of thrips control. Recent studies have shown that some species of phytoseiid mites are capable of consuming thrips eggs embedded in leaf tissue, thereby extending the window for effective predation on F. occidentalis populations. In this study, we aimed to investigate the predatory ability of three phytoseiids native to Southeast Asia and one commercially available species on western flower thrips eggs and compare it with their predation on first instars of the pest. Both at 25 °C and 30 °C, the functional response of all the studied mites was type II to first instars of the thrips, whereas it shifted to type III when thrips eggs were provided. The consumption of first-instar thrips was consistently higher than that of thrips eggs. More thrips eggs were consumed at 30 °C than at 25 °C, whereas predation on larvae was minimally affected by temperature. Our research indicates the potential of the studied mites to contribute to the suppression of F. occidentalis outbreaks in Southeast Asia.

Abstract

The predation capacity and functional responses of adult females of the phytoseiid mites Amblyseius largoensis (Muma), Proprioseiopsis lenis (Corpuz and Rimando), Paraphytoseius cracentis (Corpuz and Rimando), and Amblyseius swirskii (Athias-Henriot) were studied on eggs and first instars of the western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande), in the laboratory at 25 °C and 30 °C. At both temperatures, the functional response of all four phytoseiid mites was type II to first instars of the thrips. In contrast, when offered thrips eggs, the functional response was type III. At both temperatures tested, A. swirskii had the highest mean daily consumption of first-instar F. occidentalis, followed by A. largoensis, P. cracentis, and P. lenis. Amblyseius largoensis had the shortest handling time and the highest maximum attack rate when first-instar thrips were the prey. When fed on thrips eggs, A. largoensis had the highest mean daily consumption, followed by A. swirskii, P. cracentis, and P. lenis. On thrips eggs, A. swirskii showed the shortest handling time and highest maximum attack rate. Our findings indicate that all four phytoseiids had a better ability to prey on first-instar larvae of F. occidentalis compared to thrips eggs. At 25 and 30 °C, A. largoensis was the better predator on thrips larvae, whereas A. swirskii was superior in consuming eggs of F. occidentalis. Proprioseiopsis lenis was the inferior predator on both thrips larvae and eggs compared to the other phytoseiids tested.

Details

Title
Functional Response of Four Phytoseiid Mites to Eggs and First-Instar Larvae of Western Flower Thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis
Author
Viet Ha Nguyen 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Song, Ziwei 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Duc Tung Nguyen 3   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Thomas Van Leeuwen 1 ; De Clercq, Patrick 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

 Laboratory of Agrozoology, Department of Plants and Crops, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium; [email protected] (V.H.N.); [email protected] (T.V.L.) 
 Key Laboratory of Green Prevention and Control on Fruits and Vegetables in South China Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of High Technology for Plant Protection, Plant Protection Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agriculture Sciences, 7 Jinying Road, Tianhe District, Guangzhou 510640, China; [email protected] 
 Entomology Department, Vietnam National University of Agriculture, Trau Quy, Gia Lam, Hanoi 131000, Vietnam; [email protected] 
First page
803
Publication year
2024
Publication date
2024
Publisher
MDPI AG
e-ISSN
20754450
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
3120662449
Copyright
© 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.