Skip to main content

#50: Predatory Mites

Litinsects #50: Month of Mites, Part 6
 
Here's to 50 posts! And how cool is it that this milestone lines up, completely coincidentally, with the species I wrote my thesis on?
 
So, in my last post I told you about spider mites. They are crop pests found on plants all over the world. Now I want to introduce you (finally) to some “good” mites! The heroes that might finally be able to change the mite reputation: PREDATORY MITES, also known as phytoseiid mites from their family name Phytoseiidae.
 
A couple quick facts before I explain why they’re great:
 
  • There are a few thousand species of predatory mites. They live on plants and are found on all continents except Antarctica
  • They are between 0.2-0.5 mm in size and usually have shiny, teardrop-shaped bodies
  • All phytoseiid mites are EYELESS! They are light sensitive but they sense their prey purely through chemical cues. It has even been shown that these mites can localize prey by honing in on the chemical signals that plants emit in response to herbivore feeding! In other words, plants can recruit predators as a strategy to keep herbivores at bay!
     
So here’s what’s great about Phytoseiids:
 
Predatory mites are natural predators of spider mites, whiteflies, thrips, and other small herbivorous arthropods, making them excellent BIOLOGICAL CONTROL AGENTS of pests. Some Phytoseiid species feed exclusively on animal prey while others are generalist feeders that survive on omnivorous diets or, when prey is scarce, exclusively on plant pollen. The exact species chosen for control will depend on which pest species are present but the use of these mites as biocontrol agents reduces the need of pesticides and can lessen the risk of herbivores developing pesticide resistance!
The mite in the photos, the one I did my research on, is a generalist that can survive on spider mites, pollen, or even a mixed diet of animal and plant foods. Its use as a biocontrol agent comes with a number of benefits and it is currently being sold and used all over the world, for both indoor and outdoor use, to control pests. It has a flexible diet, reproduces quickly under favorable conditions, and lacks a DIAPAUSE (a dormant life stage), meaning that a population of predators can sustain itself without having to be reapplied to plants. The best part is they cause no harm to plants, to the growers who apply them, nor to consumers who eat foods grown in their presence.
 
Well, this wraps up my Month of Mites (although there will likely be a part 2 at some point because I still have plenty of other mites to tell you about!) I hope you learned something interesting and I hope that ending on this high note will remind you that not all mites are pests!
 
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

#13: Insect Legs

Litinsects #13: Insect Legs Insect legs can be as diverse as the animals themselves. Some are long and slender like a crane fly’s, some are short and hefty like a mole cricket’s. But what all insects share is the number and layout of those legs. Hexapods have 6 LEGS, a pair each of fore, mid, and hind legs that are made up of the same basic units. Starting closest to the body, they are:  (1) the coxa, which attaches the leg to the thorax  (2) the trochanter (3) the femur, which is oft en the thickest segment  (4) the tibia, often covered in tiny hairs (5) the tarsus, which contains 5 “pseudo-segments”  (6) the pretarsal claws, of which most insects have 2 on each leg The basic units of the leg always occur in this order but may be reduced or highly modified in some species to fit certain tasks such as running, digging, swimming, grasping, or jumping. This photo sums it up perfectly: from < https://wiki.bugwood.org/File:Insect...
Post a Comment
Read more

WELCOME: Social Distancing Entomology Course

All week I’ve been seeing videos and posts of the creative stuff people have been doing while social distancing, all the while thinking, what could I contribute to all the people sitting at home on social media all day?? Well this morning it hit me. I will do what I do best! And that is... drop some nerd knowledge on you all 🤓 Welcome to my social distancing ENTOMOLOGY COURSE!  Every day I will post an insect photo, most of which I’ve taken through my microscope, and explain about the insect group or the feature pictured. My hope is that you might learn something new about insects and maybe, just mayyyyybe, be a bit more fascinated and a bit less grossed out by the most diverse and arguably most successful group of animals to ever live... thanks for reading, stay tuned 🦋 🦟 🦗 🐞 🐜 🐛
Post a Comment
Read more

#22: Caterpillars

Litinsects #22: Caterpillars Since you are freshly familiar with metamorphosis from my last posts, I will today be talking about caterpillars 🐛 and some structures that change drastically in appearance from before to after metamorphosis: legs. Caterpillars are the worm-shaped larval stage of butterflies and moths. They have huge appetites; they mainly feed to grow and gain energy for their transformation into adulthood. In order to do this they need to get around, for which they use le gs because only adult stages have wings.  But insects only 3 pairs of legs, right? So where do all these extra legs come from all down the sides of their bodies?  Caterpillars have 3 pairs of TRUE LEGS, attached to their thorax, which are jointed and have little claws on the end. These legs are still present after metamorphosis, though they will have changed substantially Additionally, they usually have 2 to 5 pairs of PROLEGS, which are protrusions fr...
Post a Comment
Read more