Maternally transmitted bacteria of the genus Wolbachia are obligate, intracellular symbionts that are responsible for cytoplasmic incompatibility in a wide range of arthropods such as insects and mites. Spider mites often show uni- and bidirectional incompatibilities among populations with and without Wolbachia. Therefore, we surveyed the presence of Wolbachia by PCR and then conducted crossing experiments among 25 populations of Panonychus mori to determine how Wolbachia are related to the incompatibility in this species. Five out of the 25 populations were infected with Wolbachia. These five populations were treated with an antibiotic (rifampicin) to eliminate Wolbachia. We carried out round-robin crosses among 20 Wolbachia-uninfected populations, five infected populations and five rifampicin-treated populations (30 x 30=900 crosses in total). Incompatibility among P. mori populations was caused by Wolbachia infection, nuclear-cytoplasmic interactions or nuclear-nuclear interactions. Wolbachia-mediated incompatibility was observed in crosses between uninfected females and infected males or between females and males harboring different Wolbachia strains. Nuclear-cytoplasmic interactions may be responsible for the unidirectional incompatibility in crosses between the two northern populations and one of the southern populations. Bidirectional incompatibility caused by nuclear-nuclear interactions was observed in 99 combinations of interpopulation crosses (99/300=0.33). Although no geographical trends were detected in the distribution of bidirectionally compatible populations, the results reveal a genetic divergence among P. mori populations.

We studied the relationship between number of diapausing eggs produced by the spider mite Panonychus mori and the subsequent population trend for a period of 3 years. Panonychus mori showed a single population density peak on its host plant moonseed, Cocculus trilobus. The position and height of this peak were correlated with the density of diapausing eggs around the moonseed leaf buds produced the winter before. In 1994 the density of diapausing eggs measured in February was 4.3/bud, which was 6-14 times higher than the density of diapausing eggs for the same period in 1995 (0.3/bud) and 1996 (0.7/bud). The subsequent population density peak in 1994 occurred in mid June and was about 2.5 times higher than the peaks in 1995 and 1996, which both occurred early September. Thus, the present study showed a positive correlation between the density of diapausing eggs on the host plant and the start and the extend of the population increase the next growing season. Predators associated with the spider mite population were phytoseiid mites, especially Amblyseius eharai was well synchronized with the spider mite density in 1994. Field observations revealed that P. mori produced diapausing eggs in response to short photoperiod in early October each year, which corresponded with the timing predicted by the critical photoperiod around 13 h at 18 degrees C, as assessed in laboratory trials. Diapause ended by early April when egg hatchability attained about 50% and eggs took 9 days to hatch at 25 degrees C and a 16L:8D photoperiod. Hatching in early April was twice faster than in late February.