Mites (Acari) for Pest Control

Transcription

1 Mites (Acari) for Pest Control

2 Mites (Acari) for Pest Control Uri Gerson 1, Robert L. Smiley 2 and Ronald Ochoa 2 1 Department of Entomology, Faculty of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, Hebrew University, Rehovot, Israel 2 Systematic Entomology Laboratory, US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, MD, USA.

3 2003 Blackwell Science Ltd Blackwell Science Ltd, a Blackwell Publishing Company Editorial Offices: Osney Mead, Oxford OX2 0EL, UK Tel: 44 (0) Blackwell Science, Inc., 350 Main Street, Malden, MA , USA Tel: Iowa State Press, a Blackwell Publishing Company, 2121 State Avenue, Ames, Iowa , USA Tel: Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty, 550 Swanston Street, Carlton, Victoria 3053, Australia Tel: 61 (0) Blackwell Wissenschafts Verlag, Kurfürstendamm 57, Berlin, Germany Tel: 49 (0) First published 2003 by Blackwell Science Ltd Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for ISBN A catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library Typeset and produced by Gray Publishing, Tunbridge Wells, Kent Printed and bound in Great Britain by MPG Books Ltd, Bodmin, Cornwall For further information on Blackwell Science, visit our website: The right of the Author to be identified as the Author of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, without the prior permission of the publisher.

4 Contents Acknowledgements Abbreviations Foreword (by J.R. Coulson) Introduction vii ix xi xiii Chapter 1 History, definitions and current work 1 Chapter 2 The Acari 11 Chapter 3 An illustrated key to the relevant acarine families 26 Chapter 4 Acaridae 69 Chapter 5 Acarophenacidae 74 Chapter 6 Anystidae 78 Chapter 7 Arrenuridae 84 Chapter 8 Ascidae 89 Chapter 9 Bdellidae 94 Chapter 10 Camerobiidae 100 Chapter 11 Ceratozetidae 101 Chapter 12 Cheyletidae 103 Chapter 13 Cunaxidae 112 Chapter 14 Ereynetidae 114 Chapter 15 Eriophyidae 117 Chapter 16 Erythraeidae 127 Chapter 17 Eupalopsellidae 131 Chapter 18 Galumnidae 133 Chapter 19 Hemisarcoptidae 136 Chapter 20 Hydryphantidae 149 Chapter 21 Laelapidae 151 Chapter 22 Limnesiidae 159 Chapter 23 Macrochelidae 161 Chapter 24 Otopheidomenidae 170 v

5 vi Contents Chapter 25 Parasitidae 171 Chapter 26 Phytoseiidae 173 Chapter 27 Pionidae 219 Chapter 28 Podapolipidae 222 Chapter 29 Pterygosomidae 225 Chapter 30 Pyemotidae 227 Chapter 31 Scheloribatidae 232 Chapter 32 Stigmaeidae 234 Chapter 33 Tarsonemidae 247 Chapter 34 Tetranychidae 250 Chapter 35 Trombidiidae 255 Chapter 36 Tydeidae 258 Chapter 37 Uropodidae 263 Chapter 38 Acarine biocontrol agents as enemies of problem-causing organisms 266 Chapter 39 Introducing, culturing and establishing acarine biocontrol agents 287 Chapter 40 The sex ratio of acarine biocontrol agents 323 Chapter 41 The effect of host plants and the ground cover on acarine biocontrol agents 332 Chapter 42 Intraguild predation and other interactions among acarine biocontrol agents 360 Chapter 43 The effect of agricultural chemicals on acarine biocontrol agents 367 Chapter 44 Demonstrating the efficacy of acarine biocontrol agents 384 Chapter 45 Environmental constraints in the use of acarine biocontrol agents 399 Chapter 46 Commercial and economic aspects in the use of acarine biocontrol agents 406 Chapter 47 Recommendations for future work 413 Glossary 417 References 428 Author index 509 Subject index 521

6 Acknowledgements The following colleagues kindly read and commented critically on various chapters: Dr Val Behan-Pelletier (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada), Dr Heather Proctor (Australian School of Environmental Studies, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia), Prof. Zhi-Qiang Zhang (Landcare Research, Auckland, New Zealand), Dr Yael Argov (The Israel Cohen Institute for Biological Control, Bet Dagan, Israel), Dr Eric Palevsky (Department of Entomology, Volcani Center, Bet Dagan, Israel), Prof. Baruch Rubin and Dr Moshe Coll (Faculty of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, Rehovot, Israel). The senior author wishes to extend special thanks to Dr R. Mozes-Koch (Faculty of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, Rehovot, Israel) for help with esoteric terms and methodology. The special assistance of Prof. Zhang and Drs Behan-Pelletier and Ian M. Smith (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ottawa, Canada) and Dr Calvin C. Welbourn (Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Gainesville, Florida, USA) is also appreciated. For the authorisation to use figures in this book we thank Drs G.W. Krantz (Oregon State University, Oregon, USA), Dr David R. Cook (Paradise Valley, Arizona, USA), Dr Vikram Prasad (Indira Publishing House, Michigan, USA) and Prof. Harold A. Denmark (Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Gainesville, Florida, USA). Thanks are also due to Dr M. Bertrand (Acarologia, Paris, France), Ms J. Byron (Hilgardia, California, USA), Mrs I. de Boer (Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands) and Prof. A. Fain (Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique, Bruxelles, Belgium) for permission to use certain figures. In addition, we express our thanks to Christopher J. Fall, BioQuip Products, Inc. (Gardena, California, USA, for permission to use their figures. Finally, we extend our appreciation to Dr Michael Schauff (Systematic Entomology Laboratory, USDA, ARS, Maryland, USA), for support during the preparation of this publication, and to Ethan C. Kane (University of Maryland, Beltsville, USA) and Eric F. Erbe and Christopher Pooley (Electron Microscopy Unit-SGIL, USDA ARS), for help with figures and SEM photo digital preparations. Special thanks are due to Dr Jack R. Coulson (Director, Biological Control Documentation Center, USDA, ARS, Maryland, USA), for preparing the Foreword. vii

7 Abbreviations ABA AChE AI AIRS Bt CGM COI CPB CRB DDT DNA EI ELISA ERM FA F/M GM GST HQ IGP IGR IOBC IPM km L/D LMC Lx MFO MRF OCL OP OSR PAGE PCR PE PYR RAPD RFLP RH Acarine biocontrol agent Acetylcholinesterase Active ingredient (of a pesticide) Airborne Insect Release System Bacillus thuringiensis Cassava green mite, Mononychellus tanajoa Cytochrome oxidase subunit I Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata Carbamates (group of insecticides) Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, an OCL pesticide Deoxyribonucleic acid Ecoclimatic index Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay European red mite, Panonychus ulmi Fluctuating asymmetry Female to male ratio Genetically modified (plants) Glutathione S-transferase Host quality (model) Intraguild predation Insect growth regulator International Organisation for Biological Control Integrated pest management Kilometre Light/dark (hours) Local mate competition (model) Lux (unit of illumination) Mixed function oxidase Mass-rearing facility Organochlorines (group of insecticides) Organophosphates (group of insecticides) Operational sex ratio (model) Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis Polymerase chain reaction Postcolonisation evolution Pyrethroids (group of insecticides) Random amplified polymorphic DNA Restriction fragment length polymorphism Relative humidity ix

8 x Abbreviations RLEM r m R 0 RRD SCR SEM SJS SPB SR TRM TSSM TSWV VAM WA WFT Red-legged earth mite, Penthaleus major Intrinsic rate of increase Net reproductive rate Rose rosette disease Southern corn rootworm, Diabrotica undecimpunctata howardi Scanning electron microscope San José scale, Quadraspidiotus perniciosus Southern pine beetle, Dendroctonus frontalis Sex ratio (proportion of females from total population; females/males + females) Tomato russet mite, Aculops lycopersici Two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Tomato spotted wilt virus Vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi Western Australia Western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis

9 Foreword The initial publication of Acarine Biocontrol Agents, published in 1990, was a most welcomed reference work for practitioners of biological control. A Chinese translation of the book was published in This new book provides important additional and updated information. As in the first, this new version discusses, in detail, the 34 acarine families (five more than in the first book) that contain mites useful for the control of insects, mites and nematodes, as well as of weeds (a subject new to this edition), and provides an illustrated taxonomic key for their identification. This information and the list of relevant publications are brought up to date. Mites have been used in various ways for biological control, and a number of species, particularly phytoseiids, are sold commercially throughout the world for biological control. My specific interest in the subject matter relates to the use of mites in classical biological control, i.e. the importation of exotic species for the control of introduced pests. The authors have all been involved in taxonomic and other research on mites for many years, with many publications to their credit. Their authorship of such a comprehensive work relating to biological control as this book is most fitting. In regard to my specific interest: Uri Gerson long ago reminded me that the first biological control agent involved in classical biological control was a mite; Robert Smiley is the describer of an acarine parasite introduced by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) (but not established) in the USA as a biological control agent of the Mexican bean beetle; and Ronald Ochoa has provided comments concerning exotic mites proposed for introduction in North America to me in my role as a member of USDA s Technical Advisory Group for Biological Control of Weeds. Several species of mites have recently been introduced throughout the world for the biological control of weeds, and I am pleased to see this subject covered in the new version. To conclude, I can only repeat the words of the author of the Foreword to the first edition, Lloyd Knutson, that this updated book will be of great value to the biological control worker and to acarologists, the specialist and non-specialist, the fieldperson and the theoretician. It will certainly be a welcomed addition to the ARS Biological Control Documentation Center library. Jack R. Coulson Director, Biological Control Documentation Center US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service xi

10 Introduction Biological control provides an environmentally safe, cost-effective and energyefficient means of pest control, either alone or as a component of integrated pest management. The predatory mites in the family Phytoseiidae are examples of biological control agents that have been recognised only recently as effective components of agricultural systems. The relative slowness with which this fact was recognised suggested to us that other mite groups may be overlooked at present but be capable of serving as effective biological control agents as soon as we gain additional knowledge. This paragraph, which opened the introduction to the first ever conference on the biological control of pests by mites (Hoy et al., 1983a), was also the starting point of our first book (Gerson & Smiley, 1990) and serves the same purpose in the present, much enlarged version. In the past there was little communication between acarologists and biological control practitioners; the conference whose proceedings were edited by Hoy et al. (1983a) was convened to serve as a meeting ground for these two groups of scientists. The wide choice of topics discussed attested to advances that had been made as well as to the very many goals that were yet to be attained. One of the major problems recognised was the need to educate pest management practitioners that mites (Acari) could serve as biocontrol agents. Professionals engaged in economic entomology (including medical and veterinary applications) often recognise mites and record their presence in association with pests. However, being untrained in acarology, these practitioners seldom identify the Acari and often ignore them or, at best, refer their specimens to overworked mite specialists. Answers are long in coming and interest raised in the observer could be dissipated by that time, or the situation in the field might have changed. The present volume, as was our first version, is intended to serve as an introduction to the use of mites in the biological control of pests and includes data published up to the end of the year 2000; a few later publications are also included. This book does not discuss all mite families that have ever been recorded as being associated with pests. Only families with one or more members that are known or are postulated to have an adverse effect on pest numbers and/or to reduce their damage are included, comprising a total of 34 families of acarine biological agents, abbreviated throughout to ABAs. Members of many additional families are known to prey on or to parasitise pests (Smiley & Knutson, 1983), but the lack of quantitative data about their effects (if any) on the prey/host populations precluded their inclusion. Cases in point are some terrestrial and aquatic families of the prostigmatic Parasitengona, and the terrestrial Caligonellidae. The former include several families that could have potential use in pest control (Welbourn, 1983), as well as many xiii

11 xiv Introduction families of predatory and parasitic water mites. An example is the Sperchontidae; one of its members was believed by Davies (1959) to have some controlling effect on a group of black flies (Diptera: Simuliidae). As to the Caligonellidae, some species were assumed to feed on the eggs of pestiferous spider mites (Tetranychidae) (Summers & Schlinger, 1955; Dosse, 1967), but no quantitative data are available. Other potential species are noted in Chapter 47. Also excluded are common but mostly harmless phoretic mites, found on the bodies of numerous pests, including beetles, flies, grasshoppers and termites. When occurring in very large numbers on certain pests (e.g. house flies) they may cause their death and/or a decline in fecundity (e.g. Elzinga & Broce, 1988), but these seem to be isolated cases whose potential for exploitation is not clear. Nor did we include families whose members are natural enemies of non-pest insects and mites and of non-weed plants; when these mites become better known, some could be found to affect pest populations. Insect mite associations are listed in many general reviews (Costa, 1969; MacNulty, 1971; Lindquist, 1975; Karg & Mack, 1986; Hunter & Rosario, 1988; Houck & OConnor, 1991; Kaliszewski et al., 1995; and others). Thompson and Simmonds (1965) compiled a catalogue of the Acari associated with pests. The 34 families discussed herein probably represent only a portion of the acarine families that could and should play a role in biological pest control. As noted, biological control is concerned with the manipulation of natural enemies of pests; the ability to recognise these beneficial organisms is an essential first step in this endeavour. We feel that most work is only at the initial, exploratory stage, where the actual recognition of mites active in pest control and of their capabilities is still deficient. We hope that this book will promote further research on exploring, developing and realising the potential of mites in pest control. Following this Introduction we present a brief historical review of the use of ABAs, provide basic definitions and overview current work. This is followed (in Chapters 2 37) by a discussion of acarine form and structure, basic information on collecting, examining and identifying mites, some notes on rearing and then keys to each of the 34 families (presented alphabetically). Each family is briefly diagnosed, the biology of its members summed up and their use in biocontrol elaborated. Following this vertical approach, we address topics of general, horizontal interest in Chapters These include: the search for, introduction, mass-rearing and establishment of ABAs the effect of sex ratios on the performance of ABAs the influence of host plants mutual interference between ABAs and intraguild predation the effect of pesticides on ABAs the desired attributes of ABAs and how to demonstrate their efficacy environmental constraints on the use of ABAs and risk assessment economic and commercial aspects.

12 Introduction xv In addition, there are short chapters on ABAs as predators of: soil pathogens nematodes weeds scale insects stored product pests. Finally, we propose a few avenues for future work and append a Glossary. Two chapters from the first version were deleted: Chapter 33, about ABAs that attack locusts and grasshoppers, and Chapter 35, on mites affecting aquatic Diptera of medical importance. The former was removed because extensive exploration for the natural enemies of locusts and grasshoppers failed to show that mites have any important effect on their populations (Lomer & Prior, 1992). In addition, a recent evaluation of the European grasshopper mite, Eutrombidium trigonum (Hermann), suggests that this natural enemy has little effect on its hosts (Wohltmann et al., 1996) (for a dissenting view, see Belovsky et al., 2001). Species affecting grasshoppers are discussed in the chapters on the Podapolipidae and Trombidiidae. Chapter 35 was deleted because water mite communities are considered to be affected mainly by abiotic factors, such as geomorphological components, temperature and type of water body (standing or flowing) (Di Sabatino et al., 2000). It follows that reciprocal interactions with pest or host prey are, at best, of minor importance. In addition, little new information on the ability of ABAs to limit the numbers of these pests has been published since 1990; the pertinent data were incorporated into the chapters on water mites (Chapters 7, 20, 22 and 27, as well as 47). Limitations on the use of water mites for pest control are discussed in Chapter 27. Some replication was unavoidable in this vertical and horizontal presentation. In order to minimise redundancies interested readers are referred to other relevant chapters, as appropriate.