How promising is Lasioseius floridensis as a control agent of Polyphagotarsonemus latus?

Abstract

The blattisociid mite Lasioseius floridensis Berlese was found associated with the broad mite, Polyphagotarsonemus latus (Banks), on gerbera leaves in Mogi das Cruzes, State of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Blattisociid mites are not common on aerial plant parts, except under high air humidity levels. Some Lasioseius species have been mentioned as effective control agents of rice pest mites, but nothing is known about the biology of L. floridensis. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether the observed co-occurrence of L. floridensis and P. latus was just occasional or whether the latter could be important as food source for the former, assumed by laboratory evaluation of the ability of the predator to maintain itself, reproduce and develop on that prey. Biological parameters of L. floridensis were compared when exposed to P. latus and to other items as food. The study showed that mating is a pre-requisite for L. floridensis to oviposit and that oviposition rate was much higher on the soil nematode Rhabditella axei (Cobbold) (Rhabditidae) than on P. latus. Ovipositon on the acarid mite Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Schrank) was about the same as on P. latus, but it was nearly zero when the predator was fed the fungi Aspergillus flavus Link or Penicillium sp., or cattail (Typha sp.) pollen. Survivorship was higher in the presence of pollen and lower in the presence of A. flavus or Penicillium sp. than in the absence of those types of food. Life table parameters indicated that the predator performed much better on R. axei than on P. latus. To evaluate the potential effect of L. floridensis as predator of P. latus, complementary studies are warranted to determine the frequency of migration of L. floridensis to aerial plant parts, when predation on P. latus could occur.

Biology of Blattisocius mali (Oudemans) (Acari: Gamasida: Ascidae) feeding on different diets under laboratory conditions

“…They have higher fecundity when females were fed on free living nematode, R. sccanica than feeding on R. robini. The present agrees with obtained results by Britto et al, (2012), they found that the fecundity of Lasioseius floridensis Berlese was 3 times higher when fed on the free living nematode rather than Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Schrank). Somespecies of Ascidae and Macrochelidae are so reliant on nematodes as food.…”

Potential of Ascidae, Blattisociidae and Melicharidae (Acari: Mesostigmata) as Biological Control Agents of Pest Organisms

“…Development and reproduction on R. robini were reported for L. africanus (Mowafi 2005 ), L. athiasae (Nasr et al 1990b ) and L. allii (= bispinosus ) (Nawar et al 1990 ;Lesna et al 1995 ). Similarly, development and reproduction on T. putrescentiae were reported for L. africanus (Mowafi 2005 ), L. athiasae (Nasr et al 1990a ), L. allii (= bispinosus ) (Nawar et al 1990 ), L. dentatus (Fouly 1997 ), L. fl oridensis (= fi metorum ) (Enkegaar and Broodsgaard 2000 ;Britto et al 2012 ), Lasioseius sewai Nasr and Abou-Awad ) and unidentifi ed Lasioseius species (Wu et al 2009 ;Xu 2011 (Britto et al 2012 ), Lasioseius lindquisti Nasr and Abou-Awad on A. dioscoridis (Momen et al 2011 ), an unidentifi ed Lasioseius on C. lactis , Rhizoglyphus echinopus (Fumouze and Robin) and Tetranychus kanzawai Kishida (Wu et al 2009 ) and Lasioseius zaheri Nasr on T. putrescentiae (Nawar and El-Sherif 1992 ). In a comparative study, Lo and Ho ( 1984 ) observed quicker development and higher oviposition and predation rates of L. youcefi on an unidentifi ed Tarsonemus than on S. spinki Smiley, both tarsonemids from rice.…”

“…Pollen of Phoenix dactylifera L. was reported to allow development and reproduction of L. lindquisti (Momen et al 2011 ). However, pollen of Ricinus communis L. did not promote the oviposition of L. lindquisti (Momen et al 2011 ) or of L. fl oridensis (Britto et al 2012 ), although it allowed immature development of the former species. Thus, acceptance of pollen may vary according to the Lasioseius species and, probably according to the type of pollen offered.…”

“…and Typha sp. pollen (Britto et al 2012 ); L. lindquisti on R. robini , T. urticae , H. haematococca (= F. solani ) and R. communis pollen (Momen et al 2011 ); and Lasioseius sp. on immature housefl ies (Wu et al 2009 ).…”

“…Mating has been shown necessary for oviposition of several Lasioseius species, namely L. aegypticus (Afi fi 1985 ), L. africanus (Mowafi 2005 ), Lasioseius boomsmai Womersley (Walter and Lindquist 1995 ), L. dentatus (Fouly 1997 ), L. fl oridensis (Walter and Lindquist 1995 ;Britto et al 2012 ), L. kiniknik Walter and Lindquist ( 1995 ), L. lindquisti (Momen et al 2011 ), Lasioseius queenslandicus (Womersley) (Walter and Lindquist 1995 ), Lasioseius subterraneus (Chant) (Walter and Lindquist 1995 ) and L. zaheri (Nawar and El-Sherif 1992 ).…”