To develop an augmentative biological control programme for
Bemisia tabaci
(Gennadius) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) and
Thrips palmi
Karny (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) using
Nesidiocoris tenuis
(Reuter) ...(Hemiptera: Miridae), we studied the life history traits of a Japanese strain of
N. tenuis
reared on
B. tabaci
and
T. palmi
in controlled environments. The lower developmental threshold during the nymphal period was far higher than those estimated for Spanish, Moroccan, and Iranian strains, indicating that the Japanese strain is better adapted to higher temperatures than the other three strains tested. The intrinsic rate of increase
r
m
was highest at 30 °C and lowest at 20 °C. The
r
m
value for individuals reared on
T. palmi
at 25 °C was lower than that for individuals reared on
B. tabaci
at the same temperature. Implications of these results for the biological control of
B. tabaci
and
T. palmi
in greenhouses are discussed.
The zoophytophagous mirid predator
Nesidiocoris tenuis
(Reuter) (Hemiptera: Miridae) is used in the augmentative biological control of
Thrips palmi
Karny (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), a fruit and ...vegetable pest in protected culture in Japan.
N. tenuis
can be maintained on certain plants without arthropod prey. Although such plant species may be useful as banker plants, their attractiveness to
N. tenuis
is underresearched. We investigated the behavioral responses of
N. tenuis
to (1) uninfested and conspecific-infested banker plants,
Verbena
×
hybrida
(verbena),
Scaevola aemula
(scaevola),
Cleome hassleriana
(cleome), and
Lobularia maritima
(sweet alyssum) and (2) conspecific-infested banker plants and
T. palmi
-infested eggplants, using a Y-tube olfactometer. Female
N. tenuis
preferred the volatiles emitted by (1) uninfested verbena over clean air but showed no preference for those emitted by the other uninfested banker plants, and (2) conspecific-infested verbena over clean air but showed no preference for those emitted by conspecific-infested scaevola over clean air. The attractiveness of the volatiles of
T. palmi
-infested eggplants for
N. tenuis
was not significantly different from those of
N. tenuis
-infested verbena and scaevola. As both uninfested and conspecific-infested verbena attracted female
N. tenuis
, this species is a promising banker plant. Chemical analyses and principal coordinate analyses of the volatiles from the headspaces of uninfested and
N. tenuis
-infested verbena and scaevola showed that 1-octen-3-ol, (
E
)-β-caryophyllene, and (
E
)-4,8-dimethyl-1,3,7-nonatriene distinguished these plant species and are candidate volatile
N. tenuis
attractants.
