Effect of prey type and pesticides on some biological aspects of the predatory mite Agistemus exsertus gonz,(acari:stigmaeidae) [electronic resource].

Includes references.

The present study aimed to throw light on certain biological aspects of the predatory mite Agistemus exsertus Gonz. when fed on eggs, immatures and pesticide-treated nymphs of Tetranychus urticae Koch. Results indicated that, duration of immature stages of A. exsertus were insignificantly influenced by the stage of the introduced prey. The female and male life cycle durated an average of 10.89 and 10.48 days when fed on eggs of T urticae, while the parallel values were 11.15 and 10.76 days when fed on immatures of the same prey. Female lived longer than male. Longevity of female and male were shorter on immature stages than on eggs of the prey. Feeding on T. urticae eggs resulted greater number of eggs (62.57 eggs) than fed on immature stages (57.22 eggs). Life span for the predator female and male lasted 29.48 and 27.31 days, respectively when mites fed on immatures of T urticae. This periods were extended to 32.26 and 28.31 days for female and male respectively when reared on eggs of T urticae.

Summary in Arabic.

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