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- Dec 8, 2003
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I was asked to provide more info on what I know about predatory mites. Much may be connected to those pests we find in our collection, some less so.
Unfortunately most of my knowledge on predatory mites is in conjunction with fields, orchards, and green houses, that being said many predatory mites have a wide range of prey and some will use other non-specific mite, aphids, fungus gnats, ect as prey items. Unfortunately little has been specifically studied on their effect on those types of mites that specifically attack mygales and other pet type arthopods. So that said I'll give you info on several species I have compiled data on (from personal use and from other sources). Sorry if this is too long but I hope it provides you with options to experiment with. In many cases I have used several of these species together with very good effect on crops, fruit trees, and in my greenhouse. I have seen most of them in my enclosures many times (would be hard to keep them out as they get on my clothes while I tend my plants) and have never seen negative effects on my T's, scorps, or pedes. I will say I have never had bad mites in/on my collection during this time. Most of these are available through nursery/ greenhouse retailers. There are basically 3 types of mites.
Type 1 mites: These mites are probably the least usefull in this case, but I'll include them for your use in other situations. These are specialists mites feeding and surviving only on spider mites belonging to the Tetranychidae family. This is the family to which the well-known two-spotted mite, Tetranychus urticae, belongs. Species belonging to this type have strong aggregation behaviors, commonly remaining among pest groupings for extended periods and can respond quickly to rising numbers. Type I mites can also die out quickly when prey isn’t available because they lack the ability to adapt to other food sources such as pollen and other mites. A classic example of a Type I mite is Phytoseiulus persimilis.
Type 2 mites: These are still selective, but easily adapt to other species of pests mites and can also feed on pollen. For general mite control, management, and prevention, due to this adaptability, Type II mites are often a desirable choice. Examples of Type II mites include Neoseiulus californicus, N. cucumeris (which feeds primarily on thrips) and N. fallacis, and
Galendromus occidentalis.
Type 3: These mites are gereralists, extremely opportunistic. Type 3 mites will feed on other non-mite prey, plus pollen, honeydew, and plant juices if need be. Amblyseius swirskii belong to this category. Neoseiulus californicus, N. cucumeris, and N. fallacis are hybrid Type II/Type III mite because of their ability to cross lines in the name of adaptation (being both selective and extremely opportunistic), as are most Phytoseiids.
Phytoseiulus persimilis is the most commonly used predatory mite in greenhouses.The globose, light- to deep-red females of P. macropilis lay oval orange eggs that hatch into six-legged larvae. Both larvae and nymphs have a similar white to light orange color. Males are identical to females in shape and color but are smaller. These mites have a strong preference for immature spider mites over adults. Each predator consumes four to six spider mite eggs or larvae daily during its development and an average of eight eggs per day as an adult. P. macropilis has a short life cycle in comparison to many spider mite species, allowing it to build up quickly to suppress pest populations. In the absence of spider mites they will prey on their own immatures. P. macropilis occurs naturally in Florida. Probably not effective for our purposes.
Typhlodromus occidentalis (Nesbitt) (Acari
hytoseiidae) is a predatory mite that attacks spider mites, particularly two-spotted mite (Tetranychus urticae). T. occidentalis is well adapted to hot, dry climates and is tolerant of many organophospate insecticides. Probably not effective for our purposes.
Zetzellia mali (Ewing)ZM can also complement biological control by phytoseiids by feeding on stationary forms of pest mites (phytoseiids prefer motile forms), such as overwintering eggs and quiescent immature mites. (Acari:Stigmaeidae). Not sure but may work on eggs for our purposes.
Galendromus occidentalis western predatory mites. The preferred foods of western predatory mites are mites of all stages, including eggs, but they also feed on pollen and other food. The western predatory mite is commercially available and is commonly released against Tetranychus spp. spider mites such as the Pacific spider mite and the two-spotted spider mite. Effective control of spider mite pests has been documented in various many crops and ornamentals. The western predatory mite tolerates hot climates as long as the relative humidity is above about 50 percent. These could possibly work for our needs.
Neoseiulus californicus, N. cucumeris, and N. fallacis, (Acari: Phytoseiidae): These are oblong, tiny, mobile, predatory mite that feeds on a variety of prey. These would probably be very effective on the types of mites we may find in our collections.
Amblyseius swirskii: Amblyseius swirskii is found in the wild in the eastern Mediterranean region, i.e. Israel, Italy, Cyprus and Egypt. The predatory mite is found there in crops like apples, vegetables and cotton. In Israel, A. swirskii is a small predatory mite which feeds on many types of small arthropod prey and pollen. I think these too would work well against the mites that could affect our collections.
Typhlodromus pyri (Scheuten)They can survive and reproduce on a diet of pollen, fungi, and plant fluids during the early season when animal prey are absent. Adults are pear-shaped, minute (slightly smaller than an ERM adult), and generally a creamy white color, but because their guts take on color from prey, they may appear red or brown. TP move actively over plant surfaces in search of prey.TP females live approximately 20 days and lay an average of 20-30 eggs. A possible good candidate.
Amblyseius fallacis: AF live nearly as long as Typhlodromus pyri, but lay twice as many eggs, which are indistinguishable from those of TP. Immatures develop in one-third of the time required by TP. AF populations can increase rapidly and may overtake and deplete prey populations. In such cases it readily migrates to sites with more prey. It completes 4-6 generations per year in New York.In general, an "effective" predator (1) prefers to feed on the pest species, (2) actively searches for its preferred prey, (3) has the reproductive potential to increase its numbers more quickly than its prey, and (4) has the ability to persist when prey numbers are low. A predator's effectiveness is determined by which traits it exhibits either alone or in combination with another species. Another good candidate.
Both phytoseiid species prefer to feed on tetranychid mites and actively search for them but can adapt to other prey. Short-term, AF can better control a large pest mite population than TP. It is voracious and it's population increases quickly in relation to its prey. When the pest mite population is high, AF numbers can overtake the pest population. If it reduces its prey to very low numbers, AF will leave in search of more prey. TP does not reproduce as quickly as AF and cannot overtake and control an expanding pest mite population, but it can thrive at low prey density. It remains in trees, surviving on a variety of alternative foods. Once the pest mite population has been reduced to a low density, TP will prevent its buildup unless disrupted by the use of a pesticide to which it is susceptible. A mixed population of AF and TP is desirable, but alone TP provides more consistent pest mite control for a longer time.
Hope you found this informative, I would love to see folks experiment with these in their collections and post how effective they find them.
Rev
Unfortunately most of my knowledge on predatory mites is in conjunction with fields, orchards, and green houses, that being said many predatory mites have a wide range of prey and some will use other non-specific mite, aphids, fungus gnats, ect as prey items. Unfortunately little has been specifically studied on their effect on those types of mites that specifically attack mygales and other pet type arthopods. So that said I'll give you info on several species I have compiled data on (from personal use and from other sources). Sorry if this is too long but I hope it provides you with options to experiment with. In many cases I have used several of these species together with very good effect on crops, fruit trees, and in my greenhouse. I have seen most of them in my enclosures many times (would be hard to keep them out as they get on my clothes while I tend my plants) and have never seen negative effects on my T's, scorps, or pedes. I will say I have never had bad mites in/on my collection during this time. Most of these are available through nursery/ greenhouse retailers. There are basically 3 types of mites.
Type 1 mites: These mites are probably the least usefull in this case, but I'll include them for your use in other situations. These are specialists mites feeding and surviving only on spider mites belonging to the Tetranychidae family. This is the family to which the well-known two-spotted mite, Tetranychus urticae, belongs. Species belonging to this type have strong aggregation behaviors, commonly remaining among pest groupings for extended periods and can respond quickly to rising numbers. Type I mites can also die out quickly when prey isn’t available because they lack the ability to adapt to other food sources such as pollen and other mites. A classic example of a Type I mite is Phytoseiulus persimilis.
Type 2 mites: These are still selective, but easily adapt to other species of pests mites and can also feed on pollen. For general mite control, management, and prevention, due to this adaptability, Type II mites are often a desirable choice. Examples of Type II mites include Neoseiulus californicus, N. cucumeris (which feeds primarily on thrips) and N. fallacis, and
Galendromus occidentalis.
Type 3: These mites are gereralists, extremely opportunistic. Type 3 mites will feed on other non-mite prey, plus pollen, honeydew, and plant juices if need be. Amblyseius swirskii belong to this category. Neoseiulus californicus, N. cucumeris, and N. fallacis are hybrid Type II/Type III mite because of their ability to cross lines in the name of adaptation (being both selective and extremely opportunistic), as are most Phytoseiids.
Phytoseiulus persimilis is the most commonly used predatory mite in greenhouses.The globose, light- to deep-red females of P. macropilis lay oval orange eggs that hatch into six-legged larvae. Both larvae and nymphs have a similar white to light orange color. Males are identical to females in shape and color but are smaller. These mites have a strong preference for immature spider mites over adults. Each predator consumes four to six spider mite eggs or larvae daily during its development and an average of eight eggs per day as an adult. P. macropilis has a short life cycle in comparison to many spider mite species, allowing it to build up quickly to suppress pest populations. In the absence of spider mites they will prey on their own immatures. P. macropilis occurs naturally in Florida. Probably not effective for our purposes.
Typhlodromus occidentalis (Nesbitt) (Acari
hytoseiidae) is a predatory mite that attacks spider mites, particularly two-spotted mite (Tetranychus urticae). T. occidentalis is well adapted to hot, dry climates and is tolerant of many organophospate insecticides. Probably not effective for our purposes.Zetzellia mali (Ewing)ZM can also complement biological control by phytoseiids by feeding on stationary forms of pest mites (phytoseiids prefer motile forms), such as overwintering eggs and quiescent immature mites. (Acari:Stigmaeidae). Not sure but may work on eggs for our purposes.
Galendromus occidentalis western predatory mites. The preferred foods of western predatory mites are mites of all stages, including eggs, but they also feed on pollen and other food. The western predatory mite is commercially available and is commonly released against Tetranychus spp. spider mites such as the Pacific spider mite and the two-spotted spider mite. Effective control of spider mite pests has been documented in various many crops and ornamentals. The western predatory mite tolerates hot climates as long as the relative humidity is above about 50 percent. These could possibly work for our needs.
Neoseiulus californicus, N. cucumeris, and N. fallacis, (Acari: Phytoseiidae): These are oblong, tiny, mobile, predatory mite that feeds on a variety of prey. These would probably be very effective on the types of mites we may find in our collections.
Amblyseius swirskii: Amblyseius swirskii is found in the wild in the eastern Mediterranean region, i.e. Israel, Italy, Cyprus and Egypt. The predatory mite is found there in crops like apples, vegetables and cotton. In Israel, A. swirskii is a small predatory mite which feeds on many types of small arthropod prey and pollen. I think these too would work well against the mites that could affect our collections.
Typhlodromus pyri (Scheuten)They can survive and reproduce on a diet of pollen, fungi, and plant fluids during the early season when animal prey are absent. Adults are pear-shaped, minute (slightly smaller than an ERM adult), and generally a creamy white color, but because their guts take on color from prey, they may appear red or brown. TP move actively over plant surfaces in search of prey.TP females live approximately 20 days and lay an average of 20-30 eggs. A possible good candidate.
Amblyseius fallacis: AF live nearly as long as Typhlodromus pyri, but lay twice as many eggs, which are indistinguishable from those of TP. Immatures develop in one-third of the time required by TP. AF populations can increase rapidly and may overtake and deplete prey populations. In such cases it readily migrates to sites with more prey. It completes 4-6 generations per year in New York.In general, an "effective" predator (1) prefers to feed on the pest species, (2) actively searches for its preferred prey, (3) has the reproductive potential to increase its numbers more quickly than its prey, and (4) has the ability to persist when prey numbers are low. A predator's effectiveness is determined by which traits it exhibits either alone or in combination with another species. Another good candidate.
Both phytoseiid species prefer to feed on tetranychid mites and actively search for them but can adapt to other prey. Short-term, AF can better control a large pest mite population than TP. It is voracious and it's population increases quickly in relation to its prey. When the pest mite population is high, AF numbers can overtake the pest population. If it reduces its prey to very low numbers, AF will leave in search of more prey. TP does not reproduce as quickly as AF and cannot overtake and control an expanding pest mite population, but it can thrive at low prey density. It remains in trees, surviving on a variety of alternative foods. Once the pest mite population has been reduced to a low density, TP will prevent its buildup unless disrupted by the use of a pesticide to which it is susceptible. A mixed population of AF and TP is desirable, but alone TP provides more consistent pest mite control for a longer time.
Hope you found this informative, I would love to see folks experiment with these in their collections and post how effective they find them.
Rev
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