Temperature-dependent development of Macrolophus pygmaeus and its applicability to biological control

Martínez-García, Héctor; Sáenz-Romo, María Gloria; Aragón-Sánchez, Miguel; Román-Fernández, Luis Rubén; Sáenz-de-Cabezón, Eduardo; Mancebón, Vicente Santiago Marco; Pérez-Moreno, Ignacio

doi:10.1007/s10526-017-9798-8

Cited by 16 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…For example, M. caliginosus Wagner [syn. Macrolophus melanotoma (Costa)] took 47.7 days to develop on the whitefly Trialeurodes vaporariorum Westwood (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), M. pygmaeus took the same amount of time to develop on the aphid M. persicae and E. kuehniella, and M. basinicornis (Stal) needed 39.3 d to reach adulthood when reared on E. kuehniella eggs (Hart et al ., 2002; Perdikis and Lykouressis, 2002; Martínez-García et al ., 2017; Bueno et al ., 2018). The developmental parameters of mirids vary depending on the quality of the prey consumed (Sylla et al ., 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biological traits of the predatory mirid Macrolophus praeclarus, a candidate biocontrol agent for the Neotropical region

Pérez‐Hedo

Gallego

Roda

et al. 2021

Bull. Entomol. Res.

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The predatory mirid Macrolophus praeclarus is widely distributed throughout the Americas, and is reported to prey upon several horticultural pest species. However, little is known about its biology, thermal requirements, crop odour preferences, phytophagy, and capability to induce defensive responses in plants. When five temperatures studied (20, 25, 30, 33 and 35°C) were tested and Ephestia kuehniella was used as prey, the developmental time from egg to adult on tomato, was longest at 20°C (56.3 d) and shortest at 33°C (22.7 d). The ability of nymphs to develop to adults decreased as the temperature increased, with the highest number of nymphs reaching the adult stage at 20°C (78.0%) and lowest at 35°C (0%). The lower and upper developmental thresholds were estimated at 11.2° and 35.3°C, respectively. The maximum developmental rate occurred at 31.7°C and the thermal constant was 454.0 ± 8.1 degree days. The highest predation rate of E. kuehniella eggs was obtained at 30°C. In Y-tube olfactory choice tests, M. praeclarus selected tomato, sweet pepper and eggplant odours more frequently than no plant control treatment. Macrolophus praeclarus feeding did not damage tomato plants compared to another zoophytophagous mirid, Nesidiocoris tenuis, which caused necrotic rings. The phytophagy of M. praeclarus induced defensive responses in tomato plants through the upregulation of the jasmonic acid metabolic pathway. The implications of the findings for using M. praeclarus in tomato biological control programmes in the Americas are discussed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biological traits of the predatory mirid Macrolophus praeclarus, a candidate biocontrol agent for the Neotropical region

Pérez‐Hedo

Gallego

Roda

et al. 2021

Bull. Entomol. Res.

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“…This may be due to the warmer and sunnier weather in 2018, leading to higher mortality rates of the predatory bugs. Martínez‐García et al . found that temperatures above 31 °C cause excessive mortality of M. pygmaeus .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is leaf pruning the key factor to successful biological control of aphids in sweet pepper?

Brenard

Bosmans

Leirs

et al. 2019

Pest Management Science

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BACKGROUND: Aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae) are a problematic pest in global sweet pepper cultivation. Control of aphids often relies on insecticides, leading to widespread resistance. Biological control of aphids is mainly based on releasing specialist natural enemies, but they often fail to control outbreaks. Macrolophus pygmaeus Rambur (Hemiptera: Miridae) is a zoophytophagous generalist which attacks several sweet pepper pests, including aphids. Previous research showed that M. pygmaeus is capable of strongly reducing aphid populations in sweet pepper, but complete control was seldom achieved. Sweet pepper plants continue to grow during the season, reaching > 3 m high in Belgian and Dutch greenhouses. Dense foliage and large vertical distance from the flowers to the lower leaves impede the search efficiency of the predator. Leaf pruning may improve aphid predation by M. pygmaeus by increasing the probability of encountering prey. RESULTS: Four and five treatments (foliage range: 100 cm to full length) respectively were tested in a semi-commercial sweet pepper greenhouse in 2017 and 2018. Aphid populations in pruned treatments grew more slowly than in the control and M. pygmaeus was eventually able to control aphids in all pruned treatments in 2018. There was no difference in aphid control between the pruned treatments. Sweet pepper production was lower in the treatments with the shortest foliage lengths. CONCLUSION: Leaf pruning up to 160 or 190 cm foliage length improves aphid control by M. pygmaeus in sweet pepper without affecting production.

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“…Therefore, it would be pertinent to select and produce N. tenuis populations that better resist low temperatures and consequently recover quicker. Conversely, M. pygmaeus is not very tolerant to high temperatures above 30 °C, 13 thus in warm periods this predatory mirid bug tends to suffer in tomato crops. For this reason, M. pygmaeus strains adapted to high temperatures near or above 30 °C would also be of interest for selection.…”

Section: Approaches To Improve and Increase The Use Of Mirid Bugsmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…M. pygmaeus is mainly used in production areas with temperate climates while N. tenuis is used in areas with warmer climates. This distribution is associated, in part, with the thermal tolerance of both species, 13,14 but also with the predation capacity of the species. N. tenuis is used in areas of relatively high pest pressure where its high efficiency as a predator compensates for the crop damage it can cause 10 .…”

Section: Current Strategies Using Predatory Mirid Bugs As Biocontrol mentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of zoophytophagous mirid bugs in horticultural crops: Current challenges and future perspectives

Pérez‐Hedo

Riahi

2020

Pest Management Science

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In recent years, the use of predatory mirid bugs (Hemiptera: Miridae) in horticultural crops has increased considerably. Mirid bugs are zoophytophagous predators, that is, they display omnivorous behavior and feed on both plants and arthropods. Mirid bugs feed effectively on a wide range of prey, such as whiteflies, lepidopteran eggs and mites. In addition, the phytophagous behavior of mirid bugs can activate defenses in the plants on which they feed. Despite the positive biological attributes, their use still presents some constraints. Their establishment and retention on the crop is not always easy and economic plant damage can be caused by some mirid species. In this review, the current strategies for using zoophytophagous mirid bugs in horticultural crops, mainly Nesidiocoris tenuis, Macrolophus pygmaeus and Dicyphus hesperus, are reviewed. We discuss six different approaches which, in our opinion, can optimize the efficacy of mirids as biocontrol agents and help expand their use into more areas worldwide. In this review we (i) highlight the large number of species and biotypes which are yet to be described and explore their applicability, (ii) present how it is possible to take advantage of the mirid-induced plant defenses to improve pest management, (iii) argue that genetic selection of improved mirid strains is feasible, (iv) explore the use of companion plants and the use of alternative foods to improve the mirid bug management, and finally (vi) discuss strategies for the expansion of mirid bugs as biological control agents to horticultural crops other than just tomatoes.

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Temperature-dependent development of Macrolophus pygmaeus and its applicability to biological control

Cited by 16 publications

References 33 publications

Biological traits of the predatory mirid Macrolophus praeclarus, a candidate biocontrol agent for the Neotropical region

Biological traits of the predatory mirid Macrolophus praeclarus, a candidate biocontrol agent for the Neotropical region

Is leaf pruning the key factor to successful biological control of aphids in sweet pepper?

Use of zoophytophagous mirid bugs in horticultural crops: Current challenges and future perspectives

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