Development and Oviposition of Eight Native Phytoseiid Species (Acari: Phytoseiidae) Reared on Eggs of the Mediterranean Flour Moth, Ephestia kuehniella Zeller (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

The provision of suitable alternative foods for predacious natural enemies is indispensable for efficient rearing. In Japan, tea pollen is known to be a favorable food for many native phytoseiid species (Kishimoto et al., 2014). However, tea pollen may be insufficient in the mass rearing of phytoseiid mites, because collecting a large amount of tea pollen is rather laborious, and tea flowers bloom only from late October to early November. To further improve the rearing efficiency, the utilization of factitious foods is one prospective approach (Riddick, 2009). The eggs of the Mediterranean flour moth, Ephestia kuehniella Zeller, are available commercially, and are known as a suitable food for rearing of many natural enemy species, such as Orius bugs, lacewings and lady beetles (e. g. Hamasaki and Matsui, 2006; Haruyama et al., 2012; Honda et al., 1998). Thus, the eggs of E. kuehniella may be a candidate alternative food for rearing phytoseiid mites. In this study, I examined the effects of E. kuehniella eggs on the development and oviposition of eight native phytoseiid mite species (Amblyseius eharai Amitai and Swirski, Amblyseius tsugawai Ehara, Euseius sojaensis (Ehara), Neoseiulus californicus (McGregor), Neoseiulus womersleyi (Schicha), Phytoseius nipponicus Ehara, Typhlodromus vulgaris Ehara and Typhlodromus transvaalensis (Nesbitt)) for evaluation of the quality as alternative food. T. transvaalensis was recently found in Japan (Ehara and Kishimoto, 2007). The seven other species are often abundant on various crops and vegetation surrounding orchards, and are known to be effective predators of tiny pests, such as spider mites, eriophyoid mites, and thrips (see Kishimoto, 2005; Kishimoto et al., 2014).