Phytoseiid predator of whitefly feeds on plant tissue

Abstract

Predatory mites of the family Phytoseiidae feed on herbivorous mites and insects but they also use a variety of non-prey food items, such as pollen and nectar. Plant tissue is another potential food source. We investigated whether plant feeding occurs in the two phytoseiids Euseius scutalis (Athias-Henriot) and Typhlodromips swirskii (Athias-Henriot), which are natural enemies of whiteflies. These predatory mites can suppress populations of Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) on isolated plants and are candidates for biological control of this pest. Both species can be reared on a diet of pollen, but E. scutalis requires a leaf tissue substrate, suggesting that this species might feed on plant tissue. To test this hypothesis, we applied a systemic insecticide (aldicarb) to cucumber plants and assessed the survival of predatory mites on leaves from insecticide-treated plants and untreated plants, both in presence and absence of pollen. The survival of T. swirskii was not affected by the presence of systemic insecticide in the plant. However, the survival of E. scutalis on leaves from insecticide-treated plants was 10 times lower than on leaves from untreated plants. Since the two species showed similar sensitivity to the insecticide when applied in a slide-dip test, this suggests that E. scutalis ingested insecticide through feeding on the leaf tissue. Mortality on treated leaves was observed both in absence and presence of pollen, suggesting that plant feeding is indispensable for E. scutalis. The extent to which plants are used as food by E. scutalis requires further analysis.