Sublethal effects of diflovidazin on demographic parameters of the predatory mite, Neoseiulus californicus (Acari: Phytoseiidae)

ABSTRACT

The present study first evaluated the sublethal effects of diflovidazin (Flumite®) with three concentrations (LC5, LC10, and LC20) on life table parameters of Neoseiulus californicus (McGregor) (Acari: Phytoseiidae), as an effective predator of Tetranychus urticae (Koch) (Acari: Tetranychidae). Experimental results indicated that exposure to the sublethal concentrations of diflovidazin, has no significant effect on the development time of the treated mite offspring. Diflovidazin treatments gradually reduced the longevity and total life span of both sexes. The highest fecundity was observed in the control treatment (35.31 offspring/female), while the lowest was related to the LC20 concentration. However, the effects of different treatments on intrinsic (r), as well as finite rate of increase (λ) of this predator were insignificant. The r value, ranged from 0.2112 to 0.1989 day−1 for the mites treated with distilled water and the LC20 concentration, respectively. Furthermore, λ was not affected by enhancing the concentration, as the values were 1.2401 and 1.2205 day−1 for the mites treated with control and LC20, respectively. Those treated with LC20 had a significantly reduced R0, compared to those treated with control only. Thereby, the sublethal effects of diflovidazin in combination with N. californicus were emphasized for designing management programs of T. urticae.

KEYWORDS:

• Diflovidazin
• Neoseiulus californicus
• life table
• sublethal concentration
• Tetranychus urticae

Acknowledgments

We greatly appreciate University of Tehran’s support on this project.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.