Abstract

BANOS, Heyker L.; RUIZ GIL, Tay; DEL TORO BENITEZ, Marbely  and  MIRANDA CABRERA, Ileana. Consumption and functional response of Nesidiocoris tenuis Reuter (Hemiptera: Miridae) feeding on immature stages of Bemisia tabaci Gennadius (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae). Rev. Protección Veg. [online]. 2016, vol.31, n.3, pp. 217-223. ISSN 2224-4697.

To determine the capacity of Nesidiocoris tenuis Reuter to regulate populations of Bemisia tabaci Gennadius biotype B, the consumption and functional response of the predator to eggs and nymphs of the pest were evaluated on tomato plants as a substrate under laboratory conditions. This predator showed a higher preference for nymphs (α = 0.6) than for eggs. The average of whitefly eggs and nymphs consumed by the mirid in one day was 100 and 192, respectively. The functional response of N. tenuis females to nymphs described a sigmoid curve, which could be classified as type III. The females of N. tenuis were voracious predators for the immature stages of B. tabaci, which makes this natural enemy a viable alternative for the current biological control methods in tomato in Cuba

Keywords : biological control; Cuba; mirid; whitefly; tomatoes.

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