Nouri-Miri Mahsa, Kheradmand Katayoon, Fathipour Yaghoub
Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, College of Aburaihan, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
Department of Entomology, Faculty of Agriculture, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.
Exp Appl Acarol. 2025 May 6;94(4):54. doi: 10.1007/s10493-025-01022-w.
Neoseiulus californicus (McGregor) is one of the main predators belonging to the family Phytoseiidae classified as a type II generalist predator that has been used to control greenhouse pests such as thrips, eriophyids, and spider mites. One of the significant ways to recognize the efficacy of the phytoseiid predatory mites is the study of their foraging behavior. Mutual interference is a negative relationship between a predator's searching efficiency and its density. This study appraised the effect of the age-dependent mutual interference of N. californicus on larvae and nymphs of Tetranychus urticae Koch under laboratory conditions at 25 ± 1℃, 70 ± 5% RH and a photoperiod of 16 L: 8D h. To determine the per capita searching efficiency and interference coefficient, Nicholson's model and linear regression were used, respectively. The results showed that the total predation of N. californicus reared on T. urticae nymphs was significantly affected by predator density and age. In addition, per capita searching efficiency of the predator significantly declined with predator density, which is the result of mutual interference. Furthermore, the slope of the linear regression (m) between the logarithm of per capita searching efficiency and the logarithm of the predator density increased, ranging from - 0.465 in 5-day-old individuals to -0.1452 in 40-day-old individuals. The negative effects of mutual interference decreased along with growing age. Our findings showed that in different tested ages, the rate of interference among adults differed compared to immature individuals. These results suggest that age-specific differences in mutual interference should be considered when optimizing the mass rearing and field release of predators for the biological control of T. urticae.
加州新小绥螨（McGregor）是植绥螨科主要捕食性天敌之一，属于II型多食性捕食者，已被用于控制温室害虫，如蓟马、叶螨和红蜘蛛。认识植绥螨捕食性螨类功效的重要方法之一是研究它们的觅食行为。相互干扰是捕食者搜索效率与其密度之间的负相关关系。本研究在25±1℃、70±5%相对湿度和16L:8D光周期的实验室条件下，评估了加州新小绥螨年龄依赖性相互干扰对二斑叶螨若虫和幼虫的影响。分别使用Nicholson模型和线性回归来确定人均搜索效率和干扰系数。结果表明，以二斑叶螨若虫为食的加州新小绥螨的总捕食量受捕食者密度和年龄的显著影响。此外，捕食者的人均搜索效率随着捕食者密度的增加而显著下降，这是相互干扰的结果。此外，人均搜索效率对数与捕食者密度对数之间的线性回归斜率（m）增加，范围从5日龄个体的-0.465到40日龄个体的-0.1452。相互干扰的负面影响随着年龄的增长而降低。我们的研究结果表明，在不同测试年龄下，成虫之间的干扰率与未成熟个体相比有所不同。这些结果表明，在优化捕食者的大规模饲养和田间释放以进行二斑叶螨的生物防治时，应考虑相互干扰的年龄特异性差异。
