Plantless rearing of the zoophytophagous bug Nesidiocoris tenuis
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Plantless rearing of the zoophytophagous bug Nesidiocoris tenuis Veronic De Puysseleyr • Sofie De Man Monica Ho¨fte • Patrick De Clercq
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Received: 5 April 2012 / Accepted: 24 August 2012 / Published online: 2 September 2012 Ó International Organization for Biological Control (IOBC) 2012
Abstract Nesidiocoris tenuis Reuter (Heteroptera: Miridae) is widely distributed in the Mediterranean area, where it is used as an augmentative biological control agent of several pests. This zoophytophagous predator maintains a close relationship with its host plants using them not only to feed on, but also as an oviposition substrate. In the present study, a plantless rearing system was developed and developmental and reproductive parameters of bugs that had no access to plant material were compared with their counterparts living on plants. Eggs deposited in an artificial substrate took longer to develop and had lower hatching rates than those laid in tomato leaves. However, the biological parameters of nymphs that had hatched from the artificial substrate did not differ from those of nymphs that had emerged from plants, suggesting that, besides water, no essential nutrients are absorbed from the oviposition substrate during embryogenesis. Our results regarding the role of plant feeding indicate that water acquisition is the critical function of phytophagy in N. tenuis. In addition, supplementary nutrients derived from plants had a positive effect on adult weight and significantly enhanced survival in the absence of prey.
Handling Editor: Ralf Ehlers. V. De Puysseleyr (&) S. De Man M. Ho¨fte P. De Clercq Department of Crop Protection, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium e-mail: [email protected]
Plantless rearing for five generations led to a prolonged preoviposition period and lower egg hatching rates and adult weights, but other developmental and reproductive parameters were not adversely affected. Our experiments suggest that prolonged plantless rearing of N. tenuis is possible provided that the mirid has access to a nutritionally superior food like Ephestia kuehniella eggs. Keywords Nesidiocoris tenuis Predatory mirid Zoophytophagy Artificial oviposition substrate Biological control
Introduction Nesidiocoris tenuis (Reuter) is a common predatory mirid in the Mediterranean area, where it contributes to the suppression of whiteflies, thrips, leafminers and other small arthropod pests of tomato crops both in greenhouses and in the open field. Although it is considered an effective biological control agent and it is currently widely commercialized, several authors reported that it can also damage crops due to its zoophytophagous feeding habits (Arno et al. 2010; Calvo et al. 2009; Castan˜e´ et al. 2011; Perdikis et al. 2009; Sanchez 2008; Sanchez and Lacasa 2008). The damage ranges from brown rings on leaves and stems to flower abortion and fruit blemish (Arno et al. 2006, 2010). Several authors suggest that plants are a suboptimal food source for N. tenuis, which is exploited mo
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