Phytoseiid mites are commonly used as biological control agents of mite and small insect pests. To facilitate the production of phytoseiids, alternative food sources have been evaluated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the suitability of different food sources for the rearing of the phytoseiids Amblyseius tamatavensis Blommers, Euseius concordis (Chant) and Neoseiulus anonymus (Chant and Baker). This study evaluated the levels of oviposition of these predators when fed with 15 Astigmatina (Sarcoptiformes) mite species, one species of a bacteriophagous nematode, and pollen from five plant species. The highest oviposition rates of A. tamatavensis were obtained when fed on the mites Thyreophagus cracentiseta Barbosa, OConnor & Moraes and Aleuroglyphus ovatus (Troupeau) (2.6 and 2.1 eggs/female/day, respectively). The five highest oviposition levels of E. concordis occurred when the food source was pollen, especially of Ricinus communis L. (1.7 eggs/female/day). The evaluated oviposition levels of N. anonymus were at most 0.5 eggs/female/day on all food sources. The construction of life tables of A. tamatavensis and E. concordis with the two most favorable food sources showed that in both cases the values of r were higher when the predator was fed with T. cracentiseta and R. communis, respectively. The possible use of pollen of Elaeis guineensis L. should be further evaluated, given the acceptance of this type of pollen by E. concordis and the ease of obtaining large amounts of this pollen in areas where this crop is grown.

Several species of predatory mites, especially those of the family Phytoseiidae, are potentially useful for the control of pest mites and insects. Among the phytoseiids, Euseius concordis (Chant), a species commonly found in South America, has been studied for possible use as biological control agent of pest mites. Given that Euseius species are known to feed on plant leaves and on pollen, the objective of this study was to determine plant species and pollen sources suitable to establish a pilot method of production of that species, based on a set of comparisons in the laboratory. Out of four plant species evaluated in the study, higher survivorship of E. concordis females in the absence of supplementary food was observed on leaflets of Canavalia ensiformis L. Out of two pollen types, higher survivorship was obtained on pollen of Typha domingensis L. In a subsequent step, the population of E. concordis increased 19.3× within 21 days when that pollen of T. domingensis was offered to the predator on plantlets of C. ensiformis, at 25.0 ± 1 °C, 70.0 ± 10% RH and 12 h photophase. Future studies may confirm the economic viability of this setup for the mass production of E. concordis.

Amblyseius tamatavensis has been reported from over 20 countries around the world, and is also widely distributed in Brazil. It has been reported as potentially useful for the control of Bemisia tabaci, a pest/vector insect of great economic importance worldwide. Some studies have reported some biological differences among phytoseiid populations. The objective of this work was to compare 14 populations of different regions of Brazil (from the states of Alagoas, Goiás, Minas Gerais and São Paulo; straight line distance between northern and southern extremes of 2,560 km) in relation to the predation and oviposition potential when fed with eggs of B. tabaci biotype B. The morphological characterization of these mites showed that the population from Olhos d'Agua das Flores (Alagoas state) and a population from mixed origin maintained in the laboratory for about 5 years were constituted by mites with larger dorsal and ventrianal shield dimensions and presented the highest rates of daily predation (respectively 7.9 and 7.0 eggs/ female) and oviposition (1.2 and 1.1 eggs/ female). A positive and significant relationship was observed between mean population predation and oviposition rates. The results suggest that subsequent efforts should focus on exploring the variability of mites of these two populations in relation to predation and oviposition potential, in order to select a new, more promising population to control B . tabaci biotype B.

Amblyseius tamatavensis, a predatory mite, has been mentioned as potentially useful for the control of Bemisia tabaci. The objective of this work was to compare the production rates of A. tamatavensis in closed units containing T. cracentiseta as food, at different combinations of numbers of predator inoculated, periods of production and volumes of rearing units. Final predator densities increased with increasing production periods up to 30–45 days, reducing afterward. Likewise, maximum final densities increased with increasing predator inoculation levels, up to 200 predators per rearing unit. The results led us to select the proportion of 150 predators per unit for a production period of 30 days to evaluate the effect of the size of the experimental unit. Then, in the second part of the study, a direct relationship was observed between volume and final predator density (y = 8610.25x + 2166.04; R2 = 0.99; p < 0.0001). It was also calculated that ri value was quite stable (0113–0.119), with a calculated value of 0.115 at all volumes of rearing units. It can be concluded that progressively larger numbers of predators can be obtained with progressively larger rearing units.

The spider mite Mononychellus planki (McGregor) has been considered a threat to soybean in Brazil, where it is referred to as soybean-green-mite. It has been reported from several countries in the American continent and in the Caribbean, attacking 68 plant species of 12 families, but mostly Fabaceae and Malvaceae. Calopogonium mucunoides Desv. is a common plant of spontaneous occurrence in Brazil, where it is often attacked by M. planki. Both the mite and C. mucunoides seem to be of American origin. The objective of this work was to evaluate the importance of C. mucunoides as a host for M. planki. Duration of the immature phase (11.5 ± 0.9 – 11.9 ± 0.2 days) was comparable to values reported for the mite on soybean, but total fecundity (18.1 ± 0.5 – 18.7 ± 2.3 eggs) was much lower. Values of life table parameters (rm, R0 and λ) were relatively low, reflecting the reduced ability of M. planki to reach high numbers on this plant, possibly as a result of their co-evolution. Yet, the present study suggests the importance of C. mucunoides in maintaining M. planki population under natural conditions, in the absence of soybean, a plant introduced to the Americas.