| Switching behavior of Typhlodromus bagdasarjani (Acari: Phytoseiidae) on Eotetranychus frosti (Acari: Tetranychidae) and Cenopalpus irani (Acari: Tenuipalpidae) |
| Paper ID : 1115-3IICE (R1) |
| Authors: |
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Fereshteh Bazgir *1, Jahanshir Shakarami2, Shahriar Jafari2 1Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Lorestan University, Khorramabad, Iran 2Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Lorestan University, Khoramabad, Iran |
| Abstract: |
| Switching is an important aspect of natural enemy’s behavior which may be a helpful factor in efficient utilization of Typhlodromus bagdasarjani Wainstein & Arutunjan (Acari: Phytoseiidae) for the control of Eotetranychus frosti (McGregor) (Acari: Tetranychidae) and Cenopalpus irani Dosse (Acari: Tenuipalpidae) in apple orchards where they occur simultaneously. In a study, prey switching of T. bagdasarjani was evaluated on E. frosti and C. irani at 25±1°C, 60±10% RH and 16:8 h (L: D) on apple leaves. Five different densities of E. frosti protonymphs to C. irani protonymphs including 20:60, 30:50, 40:40, 50:30 and 60:20 were provided to T. bagdasarjani adult females starved for 24 h. Results revealed that prey switching occurred in T. bagdasarjani when exposed to the various ratios of protonymphs of both prey. The predator female over-attacked the most abundant prey belonging to either E. frosti or C. irani. In general, the preference varied directly with increasing relative density of the prey. Nevertheless, there was a significant preference for C. irani over E. frosti at a relative density of E. frosti of 20:60 (0.33). The preference value (C) was estimated using Murdoch’s index. It was 1.36 in the favor of E. frosti. Prey switching of T. bagdasarjani may be useful for integrated pest management in apple orchards, especially for optimal simultaneous management of C. irani and E. frosti, which very frequently co-occur on apple trees. |
| Keywords: |
| Phytoseiid mite, switching, preference, apple, Eotetranychus frosti, Cenopalpus irani |
| Status : Paper Accepted (Poster Presentation) |
