スカエボラの花粉がスワルスキーカブリダニの生存と増殖に及ぼす影響

Abstract

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Thrips tabaci Lindeman （Thysanoptera: Thripidae） is a major pest of green asparagus, while few insecticides are registered for asparagus thrips. Recently, therefore, augmentative biological control with Amblyseius swirskii has been used widely for vegetable crops. However, the predatory mite populations could not persist unless no or few prey are available, although early release of the predator is essential for good control of the pest. In this study, I evaluated Scaevola aemula as an alternative food source in terms of survival and fecundity of adult A. swirskii to develop biological control-based IPM. Female mites provided with pine pollen or Scaevola flowers had significantly increased longevity and fecundity compared to those provided with water alone, Scaevola leaves, or asparagus leaves. On potted Scaevola plants, A. swirskii population increased during the 20 day experiment period after release. Present results suggested that Scaevola plants with flowers allow the predatory mite populations to reproduce when prey thrips are absent or few, leading to early colonizing before thrips occur.