Functional responses of Orius albidipennis Reuter (Hemiptera, Anthocoridae) to Tuta absoluta Meyrick (Lepidoptera, Gelechiidae) on two tomato cultivars with different leaf morphological characteristics

Abstract

Potential of Orius albidipennis Reuter as a biological control agent of tomato leaf miner (Tuta absoluta Meyrick) eggs was evaluated and comparing by estimating its functional response on the two tomato cultivars with different physical characteristics under laboratory conditions. Eight prey densities (8, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, and 40 eggs per leaf disc) were exposed to female adult of the predator during 24-h period for each tested cultivar under controlled conditions of 26 ± 2°C, 60 ± 5% RH and 16:8 h (L:D). Our results revealed that adult females of the predatory bug exhibited type III functional responses to different the densities of prey on both cultivars. The attack rate of the predator on trichome dense cultivar Fillous ® was significantly lower than trichome non-dense cultivar Cherry ®. In addition, its handling time on Fillous ® was significantly higher than Cherry ® cultivar. Our study demonstrates that O. albidipennis can be a good potential candidate for the biological control of T. absoluta eggs in tomato fields and greenhouses. The predator efficacy in low dense trichome cultivars is significantly higher than that in high dense trichome cultivars. The results of the study can be used in integrated pest management programs of T. absoluta.

Temperature-dependent functional response of Nesidiocoris tenuis (Hemiptera: Miridae) to different densities of pupae of cotton whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae)

“…One way of evaluating such features is to study its foraging behaviour, such as its functional response to prey density (Pakyari et al, 2009;Salehi et al, 2016). The functional response of predators is affected by several factors among which temperature is known to be an important abiotic driver.…”

Oviposition deterrent activity of basil plants and their essentials oils against Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae)

“…Moreover, these insecticides also negatively impact the natural enemy populations of T. absoluta (Arnó and Gabarra 2011;Biondi et al 2013;Abbes et al 2015) owing to multiple potential side effects as described by Desneux et al (2007) in a review. The effectiveness of biological control using entomopathogenic organisms (González-Cabrera et al 2011;Ben Khedher et al 2015) beneficial insects (Ferracini et al 2012;Chailleux et al 2012;Chailleux et al 2013;Öztemiz 2013;Salehi et al 2016) present valuable alternative methods to synthetic pesticides. For example, the use of certain Miridae as Macrolophus pygmaeus Rambur or Dicyphus maroccanus Wagner appears to be a reliable biological alternative for the control of T. absoluta (Urbaneja et al 2013;Abbas et al 2014;Jaworski et al 2015).…”

Survival of a specialist natural enemy experiencing resource competition with an omnivorous predator when sharing the invasive prey Tuta absoluta

“…This also mimics preventive releases of omnivorous predators, as usually done by tomato producers (Calvo, Lorente, Stansly, & Belda, ). Moreover, M. pygmaeus , as other heteropteran predators (Salehi, Fatemeh, Arash, & Zandi, ), has a functional response when fed with T. absoluta eggs or larvae, that is, attacking more prey when more prey are available (Jaworski, Bompard, Genies, Amiens‐Desneux, & Desneux,). This response may have led to an initial reduction in pest egg number in proportion to the initial pest release density.…”