title: Factitious food for mass production of predaceous phytoseiid mites (Acari: Phytoseiidae) commonly found in Brazil.
abstract: Phytoseiid mites are commonly used as biological control agents of mite and small insect pests. To facilitate the production of phytoseiids, alternative food sources have been evaluated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the suitability of different food sources for the rearing of the phytoseiids Amblyseius tamatavensis Blommers, Euseius concordis (Chant) and Neoseiulus anonymus (Chant and Baker). This study evaluated the levels of oviposition of these predators when fed with 15 Astigmatina (Sarcoptiformes) mite species, one species of a bacteriophagous nematode, and pollen from five plant species. The highest oviposition rates of A. tamatavensis were obtained when fed on the mites Thyreophagus cracentiseta Barbosa, OConnor & Moraes and Aleuroglyphus ovatus (Troupeau) (2.6 and 2.1 eggs/female/day, respectively). The five highest oviposition levels of E. concordis occurred when the food source was pollen, especially of Ricinus communis L. (1.7 eggs/female/day). The evaluated oviposition levels of N. anonymus were at most 0.5 eggs/female/day on all food sources. The construction of life tables of A. tamatavensis and E. concordis with the two most favorable food sources showed that in both cases the values of rmwere higher when the predator was fed with T. cracentiseta and R. communis, respectively. The possible use of pollen of Elaeis guineensis L. should be further evaluated, given the acceptance of this type of pollen by E. concordis and the ease of obtaining large amounts of this pollen in areas where this crop is grown.
authors.affiliation: Depto Entomologia e Acarologia, Escola Superior de Agricultura "Luiz de Queiroz", Universidade de São Paulo, Piracicaba, SP, 13418-900, Brazil. m.massaro@usp.br.
authors.forename: Marcela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Massaro
authors.affiliation: Depto Entomologia e Acarologia, Escola Superior de Agricultura "Luiz de Queiroz", Universidade de São Paulo, Piracicaba, SP, 13418-900, Brazil.
authors.forename: João Pedro Ignez
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.affiliation: Depto Entomologia e Acarologia, Escola Superior de Agricultura "Luiz de Queiroz", Universidade de São Paulo, Piracicaba, SP, 13418-900, Brazil.
authors.forename: Gilberto José
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: de Moraes
mesh_terms: D000821:Animal Feed / Q000032:analysis*; D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil; D004032:Diet; D005248:Feeding Methods / Q000592:standards*; D008925:Mites / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D010058:Oviposition; D010572:Pest Control, Biological / Q000379:methods*; D013045:Species Specificity
keywords: Amblyseius tamatavensis; Astigmatina; Euseius concordis; Factitious food; Mass rearing; Nematode; Neoseiulus anonymus; Phytoseiidae mites; Pollen