The predatory mite Amblyseius swirskii(Acari: Phytoseiid: Mesostigmata) is important in controlling pests such as whiteflies, mites and thrips in greenhouses. Commercial mass rearing of this mite has been increasingly noticed and different diets have been investigated and suggested for its mass production. In the present study, a diet based on the use of Rhizoglyphus robini (Acari: Astigmata: Acaridae) mite, live and frozen, was used along with almond pollen for the mass rearing the predatory mite A. swirskii. To eva‎luate the suitability of different diets, the life-fertility table parameters of mites reared on them after three and ten generations were calculated. Also performance of predatory mites on the target pest Tetranychus urticae (Acari: Tetranychidae: Prostigmata )after the three and ten generations that reared on different diets eva‎luated by using a functional response of predatory mite to different pest densities. Considering that the predator mite does not feed on frozen R. robini mites, four diets with live mites were defined as follows: diet of 30% Rhizoglyphus mites + 70% almond pollen (R30), 50% Rhizoglyphus mites + 50% almond pollen(R50). 80% Rhizoglyphus mite + 20% almond pollen (R80), and 100% Rhizoglyphus mite (R100). The fertility life table parameters showed that in the third generation, the highest intrinsic rate of increase (0.20 day-1), the net reproductive rate (16.12 individuals) and the mean generation time (15.56 days) were observed in the R50 treatment. In the 10tenth generation, the diet had a significant effect on the life-fertility tables, with the highest intrinsic rate of increase (0.17 day-1), the net reproductive rate (19.95 individuals) and the mean generation time (15.03 days) were observed in R50 and R80 treatments. Comparisons of the life-fertility table parameters of the third generation with the tenth generation showed that long-term rearing on these diets reduces fitness of A. swirskii, so that the intrinsic rate of increase decreased with the passage of generation. The logistic regression analysis of data showed that the functional response of the predatory mite to different densities of target pest was the second type in the third generation and searching efficiency and handling time were not affected by the type of diet of predatory mites. Our results showed that long-term rearing of A. swirskii on these diets does not change a type of functional response, but in the tenth generation compared to the third generation, a decrease in predatory efficiency was observed in all diets. In the 10th generation, the highest (0.05 h-1 ) and the lowest (0.04 h-1) searching efficiency were observed in R50 and R30 treatments, respectively. Also, the highest (1.7920 h) and the lowest (1.2849 h) handling time were recorded in R30 and R50 treatments, respectively. The results of the present research can be used to optimize the mass rearing of most effective predatory mite A.swirskii for controlling of the spider mite.

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لادن طلايي , حسن كريم مجني