First report on life history and population parameters of Typhlodromus (Typhlodromus) setubali (Dosse) feeding on two tetranychid mites or pollen (Acari: Phytoseiidae, Tetranychidae)

ABSTRACT

The predatory mite, Typhlodromus (Typhlodromus) setubali Dosse (Acari: Phytoseiidae), is a potential natural enemy for controlling mite and insect pests in the Mediterranean basin. The objective of this study is to investigate the life history and population parameters of T. (T.) setubali feeding on Panonychus ulmi Koch and Tetranychus urticae Koch or the cattail pollen Typha latifolia L. at 15, 20, 25, 30, and 35°C with 65% (RH) and photoperiod of 16:8 (L:D). The results revealed that both tetranychid mites were satisfactory diets for T. (T.) setubali, which completed its entire life cycle on the pollen regardless of the temperature tested. When the target prey was P. ulmi, the highest fecundity was 19.32 eggs per female at 30°C (15.90 eggs on T. urticae and 11.06 eggs on T. latifolia) and the maximum of R₀, r_m, and λ was 14.16 offspring/individual, 0.177, and 1.194 days⁻¹, respectively. Typha latifolia pollen can be an alternative diet for effectively mass-rearing the generalist polyphagous phytoseiid mite, T. (T.) setubali. This species can be released as a biological control agent against P. ulmi and T. urticae populations, in perfect compliance with the principles of integrated mite management.

KEYWORDS:

• Age-stage two-sex life table
• biological control
• Phytoseiidae
• integrated pest management (IPM)
• temperature

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Pr Hsin Chi for granting permission to use analysis tools. We also thank the reviewers for their insightful comments and recommendations for improving this document.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Author contributions

All authors conceived the research. Said Ouassat conducted data collection, statistical analysis, primary draft writing, editing and final manuscript preparation. Latifa Alla helped in life table experiments and editing. Aziz Allabou helped in the sampling of mite source plots and confirmation of the final draft. All authors read and approved the manuscript.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the University Grants Commission, Morocco.