Crop Protection 30 (2011) 1443e1448

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Crop Protection
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How many Orius laevigatus are needed for effective western ower thrips,
Frankliniella occidentalis, management in sweet pepper?
Phyllis G. Weintraub a, *, Shimon Pivonia b, Shimon Steinberg c
a

ARO, Gilat Research Center, D.N. Negev 85280, Israel

Arava Research and Development, Sapir Center, M.P. Arava 86825, Israel
c
BioBee, Sde Eliyahu Ltd, Bet Shean Valley 10180, Israel
b

a r t i c l e i n f o

a b s t r a c t

Article history:
Received 7 March 2011
Received in revised form
21 July 2011
Accepted 22 July 2011

Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) is a primary pest of greenhouse crops worldwide, in organic and
integrated pest management control practices, Orius spp. are frequently released for thrips control.
However, Orius spp. are relatively expensive to produce. More cost-efcient rearing systems and reduced
release rate might reduce the expense. In these trials, we released Orius laevigatus (Fieber) at different
rates with or without simultaneous release the predatory mite Amblyseius swirskii Athias-Henriot,
another known thrips predator, which is less expensive to rear. There was no signicant difference in
the number of O. laevigatus recovered in which either 2 or 6 individuals were released per square meter,
and there was no difference in thrips control among any of the release strategies using O. laevigatus,
suggesting that a reduced release rate can maintain effective thrips control. There was no signicant
difference in the quality or quantity of the pepper yield between treatments in which either 2 or 6 Orius/
m2 or Orius plus A. swirskii were released.
2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords:
Orius laevigatus
Amblyseius swirskii
Frankliniella occidentalis
Sweet pepper

1. Introduction
Thrips, especially the western ower thrips (WFT) Frankliniella
occidentalis (Pergande), are the primary pests of greenhouse crops
worldwide due to their polyphagous diet and their ability to rapidly
develop resistance to insecticides. WFT generally prefers enclosed
areas such as the owers, under the calyx of fruit and in newly opening
leaves, which makes them difcult to reach with insecticides but
controllable by small predatory arthropods. The generalist anthocorid
predator Orius laevigatus (Fieber) has been used as an effective biological control agent for WFT, preying on both larvae and adults
(Dissevelt et al., 1995; Frescata and Mexia, 1996), but it will also
consume other small arthropods found in owers (Shakya et al., 2009
and references therein), as well as pollen (Coll, 1998). Although Orius
spp. are effective thrips predators, they are relatively expensive to
mass-rear and this expense must be borne in-part by the growers. For
that reason there have been a number of investigations on the development of cost-effective factitious hosts for rearing Orius spp. (Lee and
Lee, 2004, and references therein; De Clercq et al., 2005; Mendes et al.,
2005; Ferkovich et al., 2007). Another means of reducing the cost to
growers would be to release fewer individual predators.
* Corresponding author. Tel.: 972 506 220 170; fax: 972 8 992 6485.
E-mail addresses: phyllisw@volcani.agri.gov.il (P.G. Weintraub), shimonp@arava.
co.il (S. Pivonia), s_stein@biobee.com (S. Steinberg).
0261-2194/$ e see front matter 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.cropro.2011.07.015

Some predatory phytoseiid mites are also effective predators of

thrips larvae. Predatory mites are smaller than thrips larvae and
adults and can easily occupy sites preferred by thrips such as, under
the calyx of pepper fruit. The rst predatory phytoseiid mite to be
mass-reared and released for effective thrips control was Neoseiulus
barkeri Hughes (Ramakers and van Lieburg, 1982) although the
subsequently released Neoseiulus cucumeris (Oudemans) became
more successful (De Klerk and Ramakers, 1986; Gillespie, 1989).
N. cucumeris is a generalist predator that can thrive on pollen (Van
Rijn and Tanigoshi, 1999), especially in times when prey populations are low. Typically two introductions of 10e25 N. cucumeris/
pepper plant are made (Higgins, 1992). A more recently developed
phytoseiid predator is Amblyseius swirskii Athias-Henriot. It is
a Mediterranean species initially considered to be a predator of
whiteies (Teich, 1966), but has also been shown to control thrips
(Messelink et al., 2006) and broad mite, Polyphagotarsonemus latus
(Banks) (Tal et al., 2007; Van Maanen et al., 2010). It is a Type III
predator. N. cucumeris was produced in Israel for some years but has
been superseded by A. swirskii, and only the latter is now available to
growers.
Where multiple species of biological control agents (BCAs) are
present, there is potential for intra-trophic interactions, including
intraguild predation (IGP); predators will feed on one another as
well as the shared resource e the pest species (Buitenhuis et al.,
2009). Phytoseiid mite interactions with Orius spp. are complex,

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P.G. Weintraub et al. / Crop Protection 30 (2011) 1443e1448

and their co-occurrence in the greenhouse may have variable results

on pest populations. For example, when Orius insidiosus (Say) and
Phytoseiulus persimilis Athias-Henriot were released together against
WFT and spider mites infesting cucumbers, both pests were efciently controlled (Fejt and Jarosik, 2000). When Orius spp. invaded
sweet pepper high tunnels in which N. cucumeris had been released
to control broad mites, the mite was relegated to the middle and
bottom leaves, although thrips control was adequate/achieved
(Weintraub et al., 2005). The goal of this research was to determine if
signicant WFT control could be achieved in greenhouse sweet
pepper by reducing the number of O. laevigatus released with or
without concomitant releases of A. swirskii.
2. Materials and methods

Table 1
Effect of predator treatments on the number of Polyphagotarsonemus latus
collected weekly on upper Capsicum leaf-samples (n 2000 leaves/treatment)
from 9 September to 11 December 2007.
Treatment

Total  S.E.

Control
100 A. swirskii
6 O. laevigatus
2 O. laevigatus
6 O. laevigatus, 100 A. swirskii
2 O. laevigatus, 100 A. swirskii
P 0.0023, F 5.815, df 5, 18

421.3  159.5 A
44.5  19.73 B
266.0  54.31 AB
187.3  83.2 AB
15.0  11.5 B
8.8  3.9 B

Columns with the same letters are not signicantly different (a 0.05).

for: 6 O. laevigatus/m2, 2 O. laevigatus/m2 and 2 O. laevigatus/m2

plus 100 A. swirskii/m2 plus a non-treated control.

2.1. Experimental site and plants

All trials took place at the Yair Research and Development Farm
in the Arava Valley, Israel. Walk-in tunnels (7  15  3 m high),
covered with 50-mesh insect exclusion screening, were planted
with organically grown, Vergasa, variety sweet pepper seedlings in
three double-row beds. There were approximately 200 plants per
tunnel. Twenty-four tunnels were used in 2007 and 16 in 2008.
Planting took place in the second (2007) or third (2008) week of
August. Plants were fertilized and watered by a drip irrigation
system, according to standard agricultural practices for the area.

2.4. Monitoring
Twenty leaves from the upper stratum, 20 middle leaves from
the middle portion and 20 fully open owers per tunnel were
harvested randomly every week and placed separately in
containers with about 150e200 ml of 80% EtOH with 0.5% NaClO (to
dissolve spider mite webbing if necessary). Upon returning to the

2.2. Predators
A. swirskii and O. laevigatus were obtained from a commercial
insectary, Bio-Bee Sde Eliyahu Ltd., Israel. A. swirskii was reared and
packaged for release in wheat bran containing a non-phytophagous
mite (Carpoglyphus lactis L.) as prey. O. laevigatus was released as
a population of adults and 5th instar nymphs from vials containing
vermiculite.
2.3. Trials
Each tunnel constituted a replicate and there were four replicates of each treatment in each year. In commercial greenhouses,
O. laevigatus is released gradually, X individuals per week, over
consecutive weeks until the desired release rate is achieved;
a practice that we followed in these trials. Producers of biological
control agents often recommend the gradual release to avoid the
consequences of an accidental insecticide application killing all of
the released predators. Therefore, to achieve a nal density of 6
O. laevigatus/m2, 2 individuals/m2 were release for three consecutive weeks. Similarly, A. swirskii was released in groups of 50
individuals/m2 (ca. 10/plant) per week for two consecutive weeks,
until the desired release rate was achieved. Predator releases started 3 weeks after transplanting. A treatment of 1% liquid sulfur was
applied to foliage for broad mite control 2 weeks after transplanting. Sweet pepper is susceptible to powdery mildew (Leveillula taurica (Lv.) G. Arnaud); therefore, from the end of October
all tunnels were treated biweekly with 1% liquid sulfur, as
commonly practiced in the area (Elad et al., 2007).
Six treatments were randomly assigned to the tunnels in the
rst year (2007): non-treated control, 100 A. swirskii/m2, 6
O. laevigatus/m2, 2 O. laevigatus/m2, 6 O. laevigatus/m2 plus 100
A. swirskii/m2, and 2 O. laevigatus/m2 plus 100 A. swirskii/m2. Due to
the results of the rst year in which 100 A. swirskii/m2 did not
control thrips this treatment was eliminated in the second year.
Additionally the treatment of 6 O. laevigatus/m2 plus 100 A. swirskii/
m2 was deemed unnecessary because the lower release rate
controlled the thrips. Therefore the second year served a validation

Fig. 1. Total number of Frankliniella occidentalis (larvae and adults) and Orius laevigatus
(nymphs and adults) in 20 owers averaged over the 4 replicated tunnels during the
2007 season. Standard error bars are indicated. Arrows indicate predator release dates;
see text for further explanation.

P.G. Weintraub et al. / Crop Protection 30 (2011) 1443e1448

1445

the rst year, harvest took place from 20 December 2007 to 30

January 2008 and in the second year from 25 November 2008 to 15
January 2009. Peppers were divided into two groups: export and
local market. Export quality allows a cumulative area/length of
thrips damage of up to 2 cm of thrips damage, a blotch or wider
area of damage would render the pepper for local market
consumption only. Since thrips damage is not strictly linear, the
determination of export quality is highly subjective.
2.5. Statistics
The cumulative number of arthropods (A. swirskii, P. latus,
O. laevigatus nymphs and adults, F. occidentalis larvae and adults)
collected from each tunnel was totaled for the season. To avoid
statistical problems associated with data points of zero, data were
transformed [(x 0.5)0.5] before analysis. Percentage yield data
were transformed by arcsin before statistical analysis. Transformed
data were analyzed by one way ANOVA and means were separated
by TukeyeKramer analysis, a 0.05, using the statistical software,
JMP 5.0.1 (2002). Since sampling was done randomly throughout
the tunnels, and not on specic plants, repeated measurement
analysis does not apply.
2.6. Predator:prey ratios
Once the data were collected and analyzed, we attempted to
retroactively determine what the predator:prey ratios were at the
times of Orius releases and to determine the nal or cumulative
estimates. Estimated number of WFT was based on the total
number found in 20 owers, which approximates average number
of owers found in 1 square meter of pepper plants during the
weeks that Orius were released. Additionally the ratios for the
cumulative total numbers of invasive Orius and WFT in non-treated
control tunnels and for the tunnels in which 2 O. laevigatus and 100
A. swirskii were calculated.
3. Results
Fig. 2. Total number of F. occidentalis (larvae and adults) and O. laevigatus (nymphs and
adults) in 20 owers averaged over the 4 replicated tunnels during the 2008 season.
Standard error bars are indicated. Arrows indicate predator release dates; see text for
further explanation.

laboratory, leaves and owers were individually rinsed into the

wash to remove all arthropods. The EtOH wash was examined
under a dissecting microscope to accurately count all pests (WFT,
broad mites, spider mites, etc.) and predators (Orius and A. swirskii)
present. Plants were sampled until thrips populations declined to
near zero.
Ripe peppers were harvested from 20 plants in the middle of the
central bed every 2e3 weeks and evaluated for thrips damage. In

In the rst year, despite the sulfur treatment, there were still
populations of broad mites, and they were only signicantly
reduced in treatments that included A. swirskii (Table 1). It is
notable that the lowest populations of broad mites were seen in the
tunnels that also had O. laevigatus although this difference was not
statistically signicant. This may indicate that there was some
feeding on the broad mites by Orius. In the second year, broad mites
were adequately controlled with the liquid sulfur application early
in the season.
Orius spp. were found to have invaded tunnels where it was not
released about two months after transplanting the seedlings (Figs. 1
and 2), possibly being carried passively by workers or through
active invasion by local populations. Because of this movement we

Table 2
Cumulative total (S.E.) number of Frankliniella occidentalis (WFT) adults and larvae, Orius laevigatus (O.l.) adults and nymphs, and Amblyseius swirskii (A.s.) per replicate from
weekly counts of Capsicum owers (n 2600 owers/treatment) from 9 September to 6 November 2007.
Treat-ment

A. swirskii

WFT adults

WFT larvae

Orius adults

Orius nymphs

Control
100 A. s.
6 O. l.
2 O. l.
6 O. l., 100 A. s.
2 O. l., 100 A. s.

1.0  0.4 C
24.3  5.4 A
0C
1.0  0.4 C
9.3  1.9 B
6.3  2.5 BC
P < 0.0001
F 16.145
df 5, 18

1206.5  228.3 A
315.3  97.5 B
118.3  35.2 B
123.8  13.0 B
88.8  22.1 B
66.0  14.2 B
P < 0.0001
F 22.520
df 5,18

311.8  48.9 A
106.0  15.5 B
31.3  8.5 C
42.5  9.9 BC
43.5  13.5 BC
29.3  7.6 C
P < 0.0001
F 25.521
df 5, 18

2.5  1.9 B
1.0  0.7 B
43.5  3.1 A
54.0  6.7 A
73.0  11.4 A
60.3  8.5 A
P < 0.0001
F 65.343
df 5, 18

3.7  3.4 B
1.5  0.6 B
101.0  7.5 A
128.0  26.9 A
142.5  22.7 A
116.3  15.5 A
P < 0.0001
F 51.156
df 5, 18

Individual columns with the same letters are not signicantly different (a 0.05).

1446

P.G. Weintraub et al. / Crop Protection 30 (2011) 1443e1448

Table 3
Cumulative total (S.E.) number of F. occidentalis (WFT) adults and larvae, O. laevigatus (O.l.) adults and nymphs, and A. swirskii (A.s.) per replicate from weekly counts of
Capsicum owers (n 2200 owers/treatment) from 16 September to 4 November 2008.
Treat-ment

A. swirskii

WFT adults

WFT larvae

Orius adults

Orius nymphs

Control
6 O. l.
2 O. l.
2 O. l., 100 A. s.

0.5  0.5 AB
0B
0B
8.0  4.3 A
P < 0.018
F 4.950
df 3, 12

286.5  20.3 A
12.8  2.8 B
23.3  3.1 B
16.3  4.2 B
P < 0.0001
F 62.350
df 3, 12

95.8  10.5 A
4.0  0.8 B
7.8  2.8 B
5.5  1.9 B
P < 0.0001
F 37.370
df 3, 12

2.5  0.9 B
59.8  8.7 A
58.5  7.6 A
58.8  4.9 A
P < 0.0001
F 45.342
df 3, 12

0.5  0.2 B
108.3  8.6 A
101.0  3.5 A
75.8  11.6 A
P < 0.0001
F 68.238
df 3, 12

Individual columns with the same letters are not signicantly different (a 0.05).

considered only the WFT populations before Orius was found in

control tunnels; there were signicant differences in arthropod
populations in owers in both years (Tables 2 and 3). A. swirskii
appeared in very low numbers in tunnels where it was not released,
apparently being passively transferred by the workers. There were
signicantly fewer A. swirskii recovered from owers in tunnels
where O. laevigatus was released alone. Adult and larval WFT
populations were greatest in owers in the non-treated tunnels,
peaking in the rst year at about 20/ower and over 11/ower in
the second year. In the rst year, there were signicantly fewer
adult and larval thrips in the tunnels where A. swirskii was released
alone as compared to control tunnels, but because this WFT population reduction was insufcient, this treatment was not repeated
in the second year. In both years there was no signicant difference
between thrips populations in owers in treatments where
O. laevigatus alone or O. laevigatus plus A. swirskii were released and
there was no difference in their population densities.
For both years A. swirskii and O. laevigatus were found in very
low numbers on leaves in the middle section of the plant (Tables 4
and 5); insignicant numbers were captured on the upper-most
leaves, therefore data were not shown. In both years, there was
a signicant difference between total number of thrips found in the
control tunnels versus all other treatments (Tables 4 and 5).
Blemish-free and export quality yield data for the 2007e2008
and 2008e2009 seasons are shown in Table 6. In the rst year, nontreated plants had the lowest yield and quality of fruit (having
extensive thrips damage), followed by treatment with A. swirskii
alone. There were no signicant differences in the fruit quality and
quantity among the O. laevigatus and Orius plus A. swirskii treatments. In the second year these results were validated; there were
no difference among releases of O. laevigatus and O. laevigatus plus
A. swirskii, in the quality and quantity of pepper fruit.
4. Discussion
The goal of this research was to answer two questions with
regard to the use of O. laevigatus: Are the current recommended
Table 4
Cumulative total (S.E.) number of F. occidentalis (adults and larvae), O. laevigatus
(O.l.) (adults and nymphs) and A. swirskii (A.s.) per replicate from weekly counts of
Capsicum mid-leaves (n 2600 leaves/treatment) from 9 September to 6 November
2007.
Treatment

A. swirskii

F. occidentalis

O. laevigatus

Control
100 A. swirskii
6 O. laevigatus
2 O. laevigatus
6 O. l, 100 A. s.
2 O. l., 100 A. s.

0.5  0.5 C
54.0  7.2 A
2.0  2.0 BC
1.8  1.0 BC
12.3  5.8 B
11.8  2.4 B
P < 0.0001
F 24.574
df 5, 18

134.0  27.4 A
2.0  0.9 B
12.3  7.1 B
8.0  2.9 B
2.7  1.6 B
1.8  0.6 B
P < 0.0001
F 24.993
df 5, 18

1.3  0.8
1.5  0.9
6.5  1.9
6.3  3.0
4.8  0.7
4.3  1.1
P 0.175
F 1.746
df 5, 18

Individual columns with the same letters are not signicantly different (a 0.05).

release rates of Orius alone excessive? Could the release rates of

Orius be lowered by combining A. swirskii in the releases? As is
typical in Israel, the initial O. laevigatus release was early in the
season, when the majority of plants had at least 3 owers and
thrips populations were still low (see Fig. 1). Thrips and whitey
populations are relatively low at the beginning of the season in the
Arava Valley because there is a legislated crop-free cut-off period
during the hot ( 40 C daily) summer days (Ucko et al., 1998) in
which all annual plants must be removed and most greenhouse
soils are solarized to kill pests and pathogens. As a result, WFT pest
populations build up very slowly, as opposed to a situation where
the thrips is established on crops and invading a newly planted one.
In the rst year, we observed no signicant difference in the total
number of O. laevigatus recovered when 2 or 6 individuals were
released per square meter of pepper, which was validated in the
second year of the study.
The number of Orius spp. released to control thrips in greenhouse situations varies in published literature (Chambers et al.,
1993; Tavella et al., 1996; Bosco et al., 2008). Often multiple
releases were made based on the apparent lack of establishment of
the predator, but not necessarily on a scheduled release regime.
Analysis of spatial patterns of WFT (Shipp and Zariffa, 1991) and
Orius spp. (Shipp et al., 1992) on plant leaves has shown that both
the thrips and Orius are aggregated on leaves in the top third of
pepper plants, where we sampled. However, because Orius spp.
exhibits random inter-plant spatial distribution patterns, Shipp
et al. (1992) and Hansen et al. (2003) concluded that the most
reliable sampling of Orius spp. and Frankliniella spp. is in the
owers. While ideally commercial growers should use strict
monitoring regimes to determine Orius releases, in actuality they
release Orius spp. sequentially to achieve a xed density recommended based on biological suppliers. Similarly to the results we
found through strict monitoring, pepper growers in Spain have
realized that they achieve thrips control with fewer Orius than
recommended by suppliers and have been withholding the nal
sequential release of Orius (S. Steinberg, unpublished results).
Based on the number of WFT and Orius found in owers only, in
the rst year a prey:predator ratio of 4 WFT to 1 Orius was achieved

Table 5
Cumulative total (S.E.) number of F. occidentalis (adults and larvae), O. laevigatus
(O.l.) (adults and nymphs) and A. swirskii (A.s.) per replicate from weekly counts of
Capsicum mid-leaves (n 2200 leaves/treatment) from 16 September to 4
November 2008.
Treatment

A. swirskii

F. occidentalis

O. laevigatus

Control
6 O. laevigatus
2 O. laevigatus
2 O. l., 100 A. s.

00 B
00 B
00 B
5.3  3.1 A
P 0.0237
F 4.556
df 3, 12

17.0  10.3 A
0.3  0.3 B
0.5  0.5 B
0.5  0.5 B
P 0.0145
F 5.329
df 3, 12

0.8  0.84
5.8  1.1
2.8  1.6
2.8  1.1
P 0.086
F 2.797
df 3, 12

Individual columns with the same letters are not signicantly different (a 0.05).

P.G. Weintraub et al. / Crop Protection 30 (2011) 1443e1448

1447

Table 6
Percent of pepper yield (S.E.) without blemish and of export quality (which includes blemish-free peppers) for 2007e2008 and 2008e2009.
Treatment

2007e2008 % blemish-free

2007e2008 % export quality

2008e2009 % blemish-free

2008e2009 % export quality

Control
100 A. swirskii
6 O. laevigatus
2 O. laevigatus
6 O. l, 100 A. s.
2 O.l., 100 A. s.

0B
21.49  4.73
72.19  3.72
69.95  3.88
59.15  6.48
64.88  3.68
P < 0.0001
F 39.869
df 5, 90

3.47  2.15
64.09  7.48
98.75  6.67
99.44  3.20
85.58  8.35
96.84  9.66
P < 0.0001
F 65.540
df 5, 90

45.04  11.24 B

51.84  12.02 B

99.75  0.25 A
93.29  4.30 A

100.0 A
97.84  1.44 A

96.15  2.33 A
P < 0.0001
F 30.577
df 3, 44

99.8  0.17 A
P < 0.0001
F 27.399
df 3, 44

B
A
A
A
A

D
C
AB
A
B
AB

Individual columns with the same letters are not signicantly different (a 0.05).

at the time of the rst release (see Table 7 for subsequent releases
and for the ratios in the second year). At no time did the prey:predator ratio exceed 7.5:1 in tunnels where O. laevigatus was
released. Natural invasion or movement by workers of Orius into
the non-treated control tunnels reached cumulative prey:predator
ratios of 17 and 6.7 for the years 2007 and 2008, respectively. Bosco
et al. (2008) also found in general that prey:predator ratios were
lower in greenhouses where they released O. laevigatus as
compared to greenhouses where natural invasion occurred.
The WFT dynamics at the predator:prey ratios we observed did
not conform to the predictions of Sabelis and van Rijns (1997)
model; we observed a type-2 pest dynamics (which predicts
a delayed decrease in WFT populations) in which it took 4e5 weeks
for the WFT population to reach near zero. For predator:prey ratios
of less than 1:50 they predicted a type 1 pest dynamics (which
predicts an immediate decline in pest population within approximately 1 week). They noted that some eld research results supported their model, but that other research did not. No clear
explanation can be offered for a delayed decrease in WFT populations; there is an element of physical protection in the owers,
perhaps pollen feeding by Orius reduces their thrips-feeding rate,
or as Chow et al. (2010) suggested, Orius will switch to feeding on
whatever food (WFT or broad mites) is most abundant. Indeed, we
found lower population densities of broad mites in tunnels where
both A. swirskii and O. laevigatus were released (Table 1.) e
circumstantial evidence that Orius feeds on broad mites.
WFT populations in tunnels in which only A. swirskii was
released were signicantly lower than the non-treated control, but
control was insufcient in terms of practical WFT management.
Similarly to the case with our release of O. laevigatus, A. swirskii did
not t the Sabelis and van Rijn (1997) model of type 1 dynamics
with predator:prey ratios of 1:9 or greater in owers. Predator:prey
ratios, although hard to estimate, were closer to 1:1 (as mites were
released before thrips were captured); however, WFT demonstrated a type-2 dynamics, gradually increasing in population size

Table 7
Predator:prey estimates at time of O. laevigatus releases and ratio based on cumulative total numbers of O. laevigatus and F. occidentalis found in owers in 2007 and
2008. Additionally the estimates for 2 O. laevigatus and 100 A. swirskii (O. l. A.s.) are
given.
Cumulative number
of O. laevigatus
released
1st release
2nd release
3rd release
Natural
invasiona
O. l. A.s.

2/m
4/m2
6/m2

2007 ratio

2008 ratio

Initial

Cumulative

Initial

Cumulative

1:4
1:7.5
1:6
1:140

1:0.27

1:0.22

1:0.28
1:17

1:1
1:1.25
1:1.25
1:30

1:0.09
1:6.7

1:4

1:0.14

1:1

1:0.07

a
This may have been due to workers moving O. laevigatus among tunnels or
natural invasion of O. albidipennis.

before declining to near zero after almost two months (Fig. 1).
However, Sabelis and van Rijn (1997) also noted that for phytoseiid
mites the model predictions tend to be more qualitative (predicting
the rate of decline in prey populations) rather than quantitative.
Quantitative predictions would require knowing the specics of the
predatory mite species the ability to attack rst or second instar
thrips, predation rate, oviposition rate, etc.
When A. swirskii was combined in a release strategy with
O. laevigatus, a signicant improvement in thrips control over the
non-treated control or over A. swirskii alone was observed. There
was circumstantial evidence of IGP (O. laevigatus is the intraguild
predator); fewer A. swirskii were found in owers in tunnels where
O. laevigatus was released. While Urbaneja et al. (2003) concluded
that N. cucumeris (Oudemans) helped the establishment of Orius by
being a supplemental food source, and that indirectly enhanced
thrips control, we found that A. swirskii contributed directly to
thrips control. Additionally, there is no evidence from these trials
that O. laevigatus established faster or in larger numbers in the
presence of A. swirskii (Figs. 1 and 2).
The results from this study strongly suggest that fewer
O. laevigatus individuals could be released and still maintain
effective WFT control, thus reducing the costs to growers. Recommended Orius release rates, according to major companies on
internet websites vary according to crop and location, but with the
recommended 2e4 sequential releases, the total number of Orius
per square meter is often between 4 and 8/m2 and up to 10/m2 for
hot spots (US$400e1000 per 1000 m2 greenhouse); therefore
a reduction of even a few individuals would represent a substantial
saving to the growers. Application rates of A. swirskii are usually 50/
m2, sequentially for 2 weeks (approximately $220 for bulk release
per 1000 m2 greenhouse). As shown in both years, a reduction in
the number of Orius released for WFT control does not adversely
affect the quality or quantity of pepper fruit. Early release of Orius is
an important factor in effective thrips management. More research
on the timing and number of releases of different Orius species
should be conducted to determine if our observations with
O. laevigatus are in accord with other species.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Marilyn Steiner for insightful
comments on the manuscript, Sophia Kleitman, Danit Parker, and
Talya Samany for technical assistance. This paper is a contribution
from the Agricultural Research Organization, Institute of Plant
Protection, Bet Dagan, Israel.
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