Biology of three species of Agistemus (Acari: Stigmaeidae): life table parameters using eggs of Panonychus citri or pollen of Malephora crocea as food

Abstract

The biology and life table parameters of Agistemus industani Gonzalez, A. cyprius Gonzalez, and A. floridanus Gonzalez (Acari: Stigmaeidae) were studied under laboratory conditions using two food sources: Panonychus citri (McGregor) eggs or ice plant, Malephora crocea (Jacquin) Schwantes pollen at 25 degrees C. The larval, protonymph, deutonymph, and adult stages of A. industani fed on citrus red mite eggs. All active stages of A. industani, except the larva, fed on all P. citri stages and the larval stage could not feed on P. citri adults. All immature stages of A. industani fed on M. crocea pollen. Agistemus cyprius larvae fed on P. citri eggs and larvae or ice plant pollen. The nymphal stages fed on P. citri eggs, larvae, and protonymphs but not deutonymphs or adults while A. cyprius deutonymphs and adults fed on all P. citri stages. Adult and nymphal stages of A. cyprius fed on ice plant pollen and successfully completed their development while A. floridanus did not. Agistemus floridanus larvae fed only on P. citri eggs, while the other stages fed on P. citri eggs, larvae, and protonymphs. The developmental times from egg to adult for A. industani and A. cyprius when fed M. crocea pollen were 11.3 and 13.4 days, respectively. Agistemus floridanus was unable to complete its life cycle on a diet of only M. crocea pollen. Agistemus industani, A. cyprius, and A. floridanus completed development from egg to adult in 11.7, 13.8, and 10.8 days, respectively, when fed P. citri eggs. The intrinsic rate of increase (r(m)) values for A. cyprius and A. industani were 0.0311 and 0.1201 per day on the pollen diet. The net reproductive rate (Ro) was 3.58 for A. cyprius and 10.07 for A. industani with generation times (T) of 45.2 and 35.1 days, respectively, on the ice plant pollen diet. The r(m) values for A. cyprius, A. floridanus, and A. industani on the P. citri egg only diet were: 0.0562, 0.1001, and 0.1031 per day, respectively. The Ro values for each species fed P. citri eggs only were: 6.36, 7.90, and 18.70 for A. cyprius, A. floridanus, and A. industani and the generation times (T) for each of the three species were: 35.2, 29.9 and 37.8 days, respectively.

Pest control by mites (Acari): present and future

“…Goldarazena et al (2004) reared three species of Agistemus on pollen of the ice plant [Malephora croceae (Jacq.) Schwant] and compared their development to individuals maintained on P. citri.…”

Life cycle and behaviour of the predaceous mite Cunaxatricha tarsospinosa (Acari: Prostigmata: Cunaxidae)

“…The slow population growth of C. tarsospinosa is determined by the long developmental time, the low immature viability and the low fecundity. Based on studies with phytoseiids and stigmaeids the general picture arises that food quality has little inXuence on life cycle duration and much inXuence on immature viability and fecundity (Abou-Awad and Elsawi 1993; Fouly et al 1995;Furtado and Moraes 1998;Gnanvossou et al 2003;Goldarazena et al 2004;Vantornhout et al 2005).…”

An In Situ Evaluation of Different CAM Plants as Plant Microbial Fuel Cells for Energy Recovery in the Atacama Desert

“…The species used were seven and are (i) Aloe perfoliate [47,48], (ii) Cereus jamacaru [49][50][51][52][53], (iii) Austrocylindropuntia subulate [54][55][56], (iv) Agave potatorum [57][58][59][60][61], (v) Malephora crocea [33,62], (vi) Kalanchoe daigremontiana [63][64][65][66][67][68], and (vii) Aloe arborescens [69][70][71]. The soil used was a commercial composed of forest residues such as pine bark and sawdust and seaweed residues, with an apparent density of 0.4-0.7, pH (Dilution 1:5) of 5-8.5, Electrical Conductivity (EC) (Dilution 1:5) < 3 dS/m, and C/N relation < 50 for each PMFC.…”