Adequate distribution of natural enemies is necessary for successful augmentative biological control. In California greenhouse cut roses produced using the bent shoot system, the predatory mite Phytoseiulus persimils is widely used for control of the phytophagous mite Tetranychus urticae. One purported advantage of the bent shoot method is that the dense foliage of the lower canopy creates inte...

The impact of daily temperature variations on arthropod life history remains woefully understudied compared to the large body of research that has been carried out on the effects of constant temperatures. However, diurnal varying temperature regimes more commonly represent the environment in which most organisms thrive. Such varying temperature regimes have been demonstrated to substantially af...

BACKGROUND: Chemical control of spider mites and thrips in everbearer strawberry is difficult as few efficient chemicals are available and residues represent a risk. In the north the success of biocontrol of mites and thrips in open fields compared with tunnels needs to be evaluated. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the need for control of spider mites and thrips and evaluate the effectiveness of bio...

BACKGROUND Insect herbivory induces plant odors that attract herbivores' natural enemies. Assuming this attraction emerges from individual compounds, genetic control over odor emission of crops may provide a rationale for manipulating the distribution of predators used for pest control. However, studies on odor perception in vertebrates and invertebrates suggest that olfactory information proce...

In many group-living animals, within-group associations are determined by familiarity, i.e. familiar individuals, independent of genetic relatedness, preferentially associate with each other. The ultimate causes of this behaviour are poorly understood and rigorous documentation of its adaptive significance is scarce. Limited attention theory states that focusing on a given task has interrelated...

Experiments were carried out on the toxicity of selected insecticides and fungicides to the predatory mites species: Amblyseius swirskii, A. andersoni, and Phytoseiulus persimilis. Among the tested active substances: abamectin, hexytiazox, and spinosad were safe to the predators. The mortality level of the tested predator was comparable to the control treatment, seven days after application. Th...