STUDIES ON AGISTEMUS INDUSTANI GONZALEZ-RODRIGUEZ (ACARINA: STIGMAEIDAE), AN EFFICIENT PREDATOR OF TETRANYCHUS LUDENI ZACKER ON MULBERRY

About authors:

M. Arbabi, Department of Agricultural Zoology Research, Plant Pests and Diseases Research Institute, P.O. Box 1454, Tehran-19395, Iran
J. Singh, Department of Agricultural Zoology and Entomology, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi-221005, India

Acknowledgments:

The authors are thankful to Dr. S К Gupta, Joint Director, Zoological Survey of India, Calcut-ta for identification of predatory mites.

Annotation:

Distribution, biology and feeding behavior of the predatory mite Agistemus industani (Acarina: Stigmaeidae) were studied with Tetranychus lude-ni being the prey mite on mulberry leaves. This predator was observed feeding voraciously on eggs of the prey in the field. One or two individuals of the predators were often recorded on mulberry leaves in the time period between September and Febru-ary. Under laboratory conditions, a fertilized fe-male produced female and male progeny in the ratio of 3:1 while an unfertilized female produced male progeny only. The ovipositional period ranged from 20 to 43 days when 42-98 eggs were depos-ited by a female. The total developmental period of a female predatory mite fed on eggs of T.ludeni varied from 11 to 17 days but it was 10-16 days in case of the male. The longevity of the adult female varied from 23 to 46 days, whereas the male lived 23-48 days. The feeding rate of the female predator was three times higher than that of the male. On an average 3 predator eggs were deposited per day after consumption of 15 prey eggs. The male pred-ator consumed nearly 6 eggs per day. The occur-rence and abundance of A.indutani during infesta-tion of T. ludeni (March-June) on vegetable crops suggests that it can be an efficient predator of this pest species.

 

 

 

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