title: Predation by Allothrombium pulvinum on the spider mites Tetranychus urticae and Amphitetranychus viennensis: predation rate, prey preference and functional response.
abstract: The deutonymphs of Allothrombium pulvinum Ewing (Acari: Trombidiidae) are among the most important natural enemies of spider mites in North, North East and West Iran. In this study, maximum predation rate and preference experiments were conducted with A. pulvinum deutonymphs on apple leaf discs, to determine their preference for either of two spider mite species: Amphitetranychus viennensis (Zacher) and Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae). Maximum predation rate tests showed that the predatory mite consumed more eggs and females of T. urticae than of A. viennensis. Furthermore, the Manly's preference index for eggs and females of T. urticae confirmed that T. urticae were the preferred prey. The functional response of A. pulvinum deutonymphs on females of T. urticae was examined over a 24-h period. Predation of A. pulvinum deutonymphs presented with females of T. urticae followed a type III functional response. Estimated handling time for the predatory mites was 4.51 h and attack coefficient b, which describes the changes in attack rate with prey densities in a type III functional response, was 0.021.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tehran, 31587-11167, Karaj, Iran.
authors.forename: Mojtaba
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hosseini
authors.forename: Bijan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hatami
authors.forename: Alireza
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Saboori
authors.forename: Hossein
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Allahyari
authors.forename: Ahmad
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ashouri
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D005518:Food Preferences; D016015:Logistic Models; D008925:Mites / Q000502:physiology*; D011235:Predatory Behavior; D040102:Tetranychidae / Q000145:classification / Q000502:physiology*; D015053:Zygote