Functional Response and Predation Rate of Dicyphus cerastii Wagner (Hemiptera: Miridae)

Abstract

Dicyphine mirids are important biological control agents (BCAs) in horticultural crops. Dicyphus cerastii Wagner can be found in protected tomato crops in Portugal, and has been observed feeding on several tomato pests. However, the predation capacity of this species is poorly studied. In order to investigate the predation capacity of D. cerastii, and how it is affected by prey size and mobility, we evaluated the functional response (FR) and predation rate of female predators on different densities of four prey species: Myzus persicae 1st instar nymphs (large mobile prey), Bemisia tabaci 4th instar nymphs, Ephestia kuehniella eggs (large immobile prey) and Tuta absoluta eggs (small immobile prey). Experiments were performed on tomato leaflets in Petri dish arenas for 24 h. Dicyphus cerastii exhibited type II FR for all prey tested. The predator effectively preyed upon all prey, consuming an average of 88.8 B. tabaci nymphs, 134.4 E. kuehniella eggs, 37.3 M. persicae nymphs and 172.3 T. absoluta eggs. Differences in the FR parameters, attack rate and handling time, suggested that prey size and mobility affected predation capacity. Considering the very high predation rates found for all prey species, D. cerastii proved to be an interesting candidate BCA for tomato crops.

Dicyphus predatory bugs pre-established on tomato plants reduce Nesidiocoris tenuis population growth

“…Therefore, the agile nature of mirid nymphs may render them less vulnerable to IGP or cannibalism. This hypothesis is further supported by the low consumption rate of adults in our experimental arenas in the absence of extraguild prey (~ 2 predated mirid nymphs in 4 days), while when predating on sessile aphids, adult predators consume more than 20 nymphs (similar size with mirid nymphs) in 24 h (Messelink et al 2015;Abraços-Duarte et al 2021). Yet, despite the relatively low predation rates of adult Dicyphus predators on N. tenuis nymphs and the absence of IGP in the presence of extraguild prey, we still observed a very strong effect of the pre-established population of Dicyphus predators on the population growth of N. tenuis in the greenhouse trial.…”

Factors driving the within‐plant patterns of resource exploitation in a herbivore

“…Searching time is more decisive for organisms that encounter resources sequentially, while handling time is more decisive for organisms that encounter resources simultaneously since it represents the only component of the time spent foraging. Moreover, handling time seems to depend mainly on prey mobility and size for predators (Abraços‐Duarte et al, 2021; Beissinger et al, 1994), whereas resource accessibility seems of more importance for herbivores (Mallinger & Prasifka, 2017; Meire & Ervynck, 1986; Sayers & Menzel, 2012). This makes resource accessibility related to the perianth a key parameter to consider to explain pollen beetles' foraging decisions, since pollen beetles encounter all buds of an inflorescence simultaneously.…”

Half Friend, Half Enemy? Comparative Phytophagy between Two Dicyphini Species (Hemiptera: Miridae)

“…The colony of N. tenuis was started with individuals from the Oeste region (Silveira) and from Koppert Biological Systems (The Netherlands). For rearing details, see [3]. Young adult females (between 1 and 7 days old), for all three bioassays, were obtained from the regular collection of large nymphs from breeding cages that were transferred to separate cages, where they could reach adulthood.…”

“…Dicyphus cerastii Wagner is a Palearctic mirid, reported in the Mediterranean Basin, which spontaneously colonizes Portuguese greenhouses [2]. It is currently being evaluated as a candidate biological control agent (BCA), since it can feed on several horticultural pests [3]. Nesidiocoris tenuis is currently commercialized and released to control whiteflies and Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) in Mediterranean greenhouses [1,4,5] Dicyphine mirids may resort to phytophagy in periods of prey scarcity [6,7], and to obtain water [8] and nutrients [9] from plants.…”