Effect of Tetranychus urticae Host Origin and Host Plant on Phytoseiulus persimilis

The twospotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae) is a highly polyphagous pest of agricultural and ornamental crops worldwide. Phytoseiulus persimilis Athias-Henroit (Acari: Phytoseiidae) is a specialized predator that has been used to control the twospotted spider mite in numerous greenhouse and several field cropping systems.  As a commercially available biological control agent, P. persimilis is reared on mite-infested beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), and is reported to perform poorly on tomatoes (Solanum lycoersicon L).  Laboratory studies using P. persimilis colonies adapted to bean and tomato were conducted to determine the effects of prey origin (mites reared on bean vs. tomato) and host plant (bean vs. tomato leaves) on reproduction, juvenile mortality and development time of P. persimilis.