Comparative biology and demography of the predatory mite Neoseiulus longispinosus (Evans) on five prey species of Tetranychus (Acari: Phytoseiidae, Tetranychidae)

Abstract

Biological parameters (development and reproduction) and life table of Neoseiulus longispinosus were studied at 25±2 0C temperature and 65±5% relative humidity continuously on five different species of spider mites Tetranychus urticae, T. ludeni, T. macfarlanei, T. truncatus and T. neocaledonicus to ascertain its preference across different prey species. The mean developmental duration (egg-adult) of N. longispinosus was lowest on T. truncatus (4.75±0.03 days) and highest on T. macfarlanei (7.36±0.05 days). The highest longevity of N. longispinosus female was observed when it fed on T. macfarlanei (19.25± 0.62 days) but maximum fertility and daily ovipositional rate were recorded on T. neocaledonicus (29.76±1.57 and 2.17±0.836, respectively). The net reproduction rate (R0), intrinsic rate of increase (rm) and finite rate of increase (λ) of N. longispinosus were highest on T. neocaledonicus (21.18±0.01, 0.22±0.06 and 1.24±0.01, respectively) followed by T. macfarlanei (17.04±0.07, 0.16±0.03, 1.18±0.04, respectively). The rm-value of the predator on different prey species ranged from 0.13±0.04 to 0.22±0.04 per day. The results demonstrated N. longispinosus as a potential predator of all the five species of Tetranychus, but T. neocaledonicus and T. macfarlanei were more preferred as prey.