Development and oviposition of predacious insects, Stethorus japonicus (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), Oligota kashmirica benefica (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae), and Scolothrips takahashii (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) reared on different spider mite species (Acari: Tetranychidae).

Abstract

The development and oviposition of three predacious insects, Stethorus japonicus, Oligota kashmirica benefica, and Scolothrips takahashii, reared on different species of spider mites were studied at 27°C: 16L8D. Eggs and deutonymphs of three species of spider mites, Panonychus mori, Tetranychus urticae, and Amphitetranychus viennensis, which are pest species on Japanese pear, were provided as the prey for the predacious insects. The quality of each spider mite species as prey differed markedly among the three predacious insect species. Both the development and oviposition of S. japonicus differed greatly with the prey species. A. viennensis was a superior prey for both development and oviposition, while P. mori was not. In particular, most larvae reared on P. mori eggs died during the first stadium and only about 10% of larvae developed to pupae. Most larvae of O. kashmirica benefica reared on P. mori eggs also died during the first stadium. However, their development and oviposition were not greatly affected by the difference in prey species. S. takahashii developed and oviposited well regardless of the prey species examined, except that larvae reared on P. mori deutonymphs required more time to complete development.