Departament de Ciències Agràries i del Medi Natural, Universitat Jaume I (UJI), Unitat Associada d'Entomologia Agrícola UJI-IVIA, Castelló de la Plana, Spain.
Torres Hnos. y Sucs. S.A.U., Departamento de Calidad. Pol. Ind. Agrícola, Almenara, Castelló, Spain.
Insect Sci. 2018 Dec;25(6):1056-1064. doi: 10.1111/1744-7917.12495. Epub 2017 Aug 11.
Predatory mites of the Phytoseiidae family are considered one of the most important groups of natural enemies used in biological control. The behavioral patterns of arthropods can differ greatly daily and seasonally; however, there is a lack of literature related to Phytoseiidae diel and seasonal predation patterns. The predatory activity of three phytoseiid species (two Tetranychidae-specialists, Phytoseiulus persimilis and Neoseiulus californicus, and one omnivore, Euseius stipulatus) that occur naturally in Spanish citrus orchards was observed under laboratory conditions in winter and summer. The temperature and photoperiod of the climatic chamber where the mites were reared did not change during the experiment. Our study demonstrates that phytoseiids can exhibit diel and seasonal predatory patterns when feeding on Tetranychus urticae (Acari: Tetranychidae). Neoseiulus californicus was revealed to be a nocturnal predator in summer but diurnal in winter. In contrast, P. persimilis activity was maximal during the daytime, and E. stipulatus showed no clear daily predation patterns. The predatory patterns described in this study should be taken into account when designing laboratory studies and also in field samplings, especially when applying molecular techniques to unveil trophic relationships.
捕食性螨科（ Phytoseiidae ）被认为是生物防治中最重要的天敌类群之一。节肢动物的行为模式在日周期和季节性上可能有很大差异；然而，关于捕食螨的昼夜和季节性捕食模式的文献却很少。在冬季和夏季的实验室条件下，观察了三种自然存在于西班牙柑橘园的捕食螨（两种二斑叶螨专食性种，智利小植绥螨和加州新小绥螨，以及一种杂食性种，粗脚粉螨）的捕食活动。饲养螨虫的气候室的温度和光周期在实验过程中没有变化。我们的研究表明，捕食螨在取食二斑叶螨（ Acari ： Tetranychidae ）时可以表现出昼夜和季节性的捕食模式。加州新小绥螨在夏季是夜行性捕食者，而在冬季是昼行性捕食者。相比之下，智利小植绥螨的活动在白天达到最大值，粗脚粉螨则没有明显的昼夜捕食模式。在设计实验室研究和野外采样时，应考虑到本研究中描述的捕食模式，特别是在应用分子技术揭示营养关系时。
