Studying of herbivory and predatory behaviors of Nesidiocoris tenuis with feeding of different preys in three different temperatures

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Master student of Khuzestan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources Khuzestan, Ahvaz, Iran

2 ّAssistant Professor, Iranian Research Institute of Plant Protection, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Tehran, Iran.

3 Faculty member of Khuzestan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Ahvaz, Iran

10.22092/bcpp.2024.365847.366

Abstract

Tomato product was threatened with the arrival of the tomato moth, Tuta absoluta in Iran. This pest is one of the most important factors causing damage to tomatoes in the Iran with twelve generations per year. Predator bug Nesidiocoris tenuis is a generalist predator with a carnivorous–herbivorous diet (Zoophytophagus). feeds on plant sap in the absence of animal prey and sometimes damages tomato plants. Therefore, the farmers of greenhouse products are hesitant to use it. Based on this, an important question has been raised among the producers of greenhouse products. Is the bug of N. tenuis a suitable biological control factor in tomato greenhouses? Or is it considered as a pest because of its herbivorous behavior and its population should be controlled in greenhouses? At first, to carry out this research, a population of the bug of the predator N. tenuis, a colony of minnows of the tomato borer, T. absoluta and a rearing colony of Ephestia kuehniella was provided, then herbivory and predation of the insect were investigated. In the study of herbivory behavior, the number of 1, 3 and 6 adult bugs per plant was studied with 10 repetitions in the presence and absence of prey for 72 hours and the number of damage rings on the petioles was counted every 24 hours. In the study of predatory behavior, a number of three–day–old adult bugs were exposed to 80 E. kuahniella eggs and Artemia cysts and 100 T. absoluta eggs with 20 repetitions at 20, 25 and 30 C. After 24 hours the number of fed eggs were counted. The results showed that the highest rate of herbivory was recorded in the absence of animal prey with a density of six adult bugs on each tomato plant, and the highest signs of herbivory were observed in the petiole of tomato. The presence of animal prey was able to reduce the amount of herbivory by 2.39 times. The rate of bug predation on T. absoluta eggs was 42.52%, significantly more than E. kuehniella eggs 26.58 and Artemia cyst 19.14%. The amount of predatory activity of N. tenuis at different temperatures also showed a significant difference. The rate of predation at 30 Ċ was 33.83%, but at 20 Ċ it was 23.74%, which was a 10.09% difference.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

Arno, J., Castane, C., Riudavets, J., Roig, J. & Gabarra, R. 2006. Characterization of damage to tomato plants produced by the zoophytophagous predator Nesidiocoris tenuis. IOBC WPRS Bulletin, 29: 249–254.
Arno, J., Castane, C, Riudavets, J. & Gabarra, R. 2010. Risk of damage to tomato crops by the generalist zoophytophagous predator Nesidiocoris tenuis (Reuter). Bulletin Entomological Research, 100: 105–115.
Baniameri, V. 2004. Solutions for integrated pests management of greenhouse vegetable, the third national conference on the development of the use of biological materials and the optimal use of fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture. p. 662. (In Persian with English summary).
Bandani, A. 2012. Physiology of insects: digestion, excretion, symbiotic microorganisms, metabolism. Tehran University Press, Tehran, pp. 186, 212.
Bagheri, M.R, Hassanpour, H., Golizadeh, A., Farrokhi, S. & Samih, M.A. 2016. Age–stage two–sex life table and predation capacity of Nesidiocoris tenuis feeding on Trialeurodes vaporariorum on three important greenhouse crops. Biocontrol in Plant Protection, 3(2): 77–96.
Calvo, J., Bolckmans, K., Stansly, P.A. & Urbaneja, A. 2009. Predation by Nesidiocoris tenuis on Bemisia tabaci and injury to tomato. BioControl, 54: 237–246.
Carnero, A., Diaz, S., Amador, S., Hernandez, M. & Hernandez, E. 2000. Impact of Nesidiocoris tenuis on whitefly populations in protected tomato crops. IOBC⁄ WPRS Bulletin, 23: 259.
Cassis, G. & Schuh, R.T. 2012. Systematics, biodiversity, biogeography, and host associations of the Miridae (Heteroptera: Cimicomorpha). Annual review of entomology, 57: 377–404.‏
Castañé, C., Arnó, J., Gabarra, R. & Alomar, O. 2011. Plant damage to vegetable crops by zoophytophagous mirid predators. Biological control, 59(1): 22–29.‏
Calvo, J. & Urbaneja, A. 2004. Nesidiocoris tenuis, un aliado para el control biológico de la mosca blanca. Horticultura Internacional, 44: 20–25.‏
Chinchilla–Ramírez, 2021. Plant feeding by Nesidiocoris tenuis: Quantifying its behavioral and mechanical components. Biological Control, Vol. 152.
Desneux, N., Wajnberg, E., Wyckhuys, K.A., Burgio, G., Arpaia, S., Narváez–Vasquez, C.A. & Urbaneja, A. 2010. Biological invasion of European tomato crops by Tuta absoluta: ecology, geographic expansion and prospects for biological control. Journal of pest science, 83: 197–215.‏
De Puysseleyr, V., De Man, S., Höfte, M. & De Clercq, P. 2013. Plantless rearing of the zoophytophagous bug Nesidiocoris tenuis. BioControl, 58: 205–213.
El–Dessouki, S.A., El–Kifl, A.H. & Helal, H.A. 1976. Life cycle, host plants and symptoms of damage of the tomato bug, Nesidiocoris tenuis Reut., in Egypt. Journal Plant Disease Protection, 83(4): 204–220.
Linnavuori, R. 2007. Studies on the Miridae (Heteroptera) of Gilan and the adjacent provinces in Northern Iran. II. List of species. Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae, 47: 17–56.
Mollá, O., Biondi, A., Alonso–Valiente, M. & Urbaneja, A. 2014. A comparative life history study of two mirid bugs preying on Tuta absoluta and Ephestia kuehniella eggs on tomato crops: implications for biological control. BioControl, 59(2): 175–183.
Malkeshi, S.H., Talaei Hassanlouii, R., Mohaghegh J. & Allahyari, H. 2017.  Predation rate and Prey preference of Nesidiocoris tenuis on Ephestia kuehniella and Tuta absoluta eggs under laboratory conditions. Biocontrol in Plant Protection, 5(1): 31–43. (In Persian with English summary).
Malkeshi, S.H., Mohaghegh, j., Talaei Hassanlouii, R. & Allahyari, H. 2018. Functional response of Nesidiocoris tenuis on different densities of Ephestia kuehniella and Tuta absoluta eggs. Applied Entomology and Phytophatology, 86(2): 203–217. (In Persian with English summary).
Moayeri, H.R.S., Ashouri, A., Goldansaz, S.H., Mohaghegh, J., Poll, L. & Enkegaard, A. 2008. Olfactory response of the predatory mirid bug, Macrolophus caliginosus (Het.: Miridae) to clean and infested green bean with two–spotted spider mite and identification of their volatile compounds by using GC–MS technique.‏
Mollá, O., Biondi, A., Alonso–Valiente, M. & Urbaneja, A. 2014. A comparative life history study of two mirid bugs preying on Tuta absoluta and Ephestia kuehniella eggs on tomato crops: implications for biological control. BioControl, 59: 175–183.‏
Nahani, A., Shahrokhi, S. & Poorhaji, A. 2016. Population growth parameters of tomato leaf miner, Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lep.: Gelechiidae) at field condition in Khosrowshah region, East Azarbaijan province. Applied Entomology and Phytopathology, 83(2): 247–258. (In Persian with English summary).
Naranjo, S.E. & Gibson, R.L. 1996. Phytophagy in predaceous Heteroptera: effects on life history and population dynamics. In Zoophytophagous Heteroptera: implications for life history and integrated pest management (p. 57). Entomological Society of America.
Perez–Hedo, M., Urbaneja–Bernat, P., Jaques, J., Flors, V. & Urbaneja, A. 2015. Defensive plant responses induced by Nesidiocoris tenuis (Hem.: Miridae) on tomato plants. Journal of Pest Science, 88: 543–554.
Perdikis, D., Fantinou, A., Garantonakis, N., Kitsis, P., Maselou, D. & Panagakis, S. 2009. Studies on the damage potential of the predator Nesidiocoris tenuis on tomato plants. Bulletin of Insectology, 62(1): 41–46.
Sanchez, J. A. 2008. Zoophytophagy in the plant bug Nesidiocoris tenuis. Agricultural and Forest Entomology, 10: 75–80.
Sanchez, J.A. & Lacasa, A. 2008. Impact of the zoophytophagous plant bug Nesidiocoris tenuis (Het.: Miridae) on tomato yield. Journal Economical Entomological, 101: 1864–1870.
Sanchez, J.A., La–Spina, M. & Lacasa, A. 2014. Numerical response of Nesidiocoris tenuis (Hemiptera: Miridae) preying on Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) in tomato crops. European Journal of Entomology, 111(3).‏
Sharifian, I., Sabahi, Q. & Khoshabi, J. 2015. Functional response of Macrolophus pygmaeus (Rambur) and Nesidiocoris tenuis (Reuter) feeding on two different prey species. Archives of Phytopathology and Plant Protection, 48(17–20): 910–920.
Speight, M.R., Hunter, M.D. & White, A.D. 2009. Ecology of insects, Concepts and Applications. Translated by: Ashori A. & Kheradpir, N. University of Tehran, 579 P.
Tahernia, S., Sarraf Moayeri, H., Kavousi, A., Arbab, A. & Davoudi, A. 2020. The influence of photoperiod on two–sex life table parameters of the Mediterranean flour moth, Ephestia kuehniella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae). Journal of Entomological Society of Iran, 40(1): 1–17.‏
Urbaneja, A., González Cabrera, J., Arno, J. & Gabarra, R. 2012. Prospects for the biological control of Tuta absoluta in tomatoes of the Mediterranean basin. Pest management science, 68(9): 1215–1222.‏
Urbaneja, A., Tapia, G. & Stansly, P.A. 2005. Influence of host plant and prey availability on the developmental time and survival of Nesidiocoris tenuis Reuter (Het.: Miridae). Biocontrol Science Technology, 15: 513–518.
BioControl in Plant Protection
Volume 11, Issue 2
January 2025
Pages 15-29

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics