Predation efficacy of the Neoseiulus longispinosus on the Tetranychus cinnabarinus at different temperatures

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of temperature on the functional response exhibited by predatory mite, Neoseiulus longispinosus Evans, preying on Tetranychus cinnabarinus Boisduval. Predation efficiency of female adult of N. longispinosus on various life stages of T. cinnabarinus, including eggs, larvae, protonymphs, deutonymphs, and female adults were observed across temperatures ranging from 15℃ to 30℃. The predation of N. longispinosus on T. cinnabarinus increased with elevating temperature and prey density. At equivalent temperature and density, the predation amounts of female adult of N. longispinosus on different stages of T. cinnabarinus from large to small were as follow: larvae > protonymphs > deutonymphs > eggs > female adults. The predation function response of N. longispinosus to each stage of the T. cinnabarinus followed the Holling-Ⅱ equation within the 15~30℃ temperature spectrum. Predation ability was evaluated by average daily predation and predation efficacy (a/T_h). Notably, and the N. longispinosus exhibited the highest predation ability on the larvae of T. cinnabarinus at 30℃, reaching 111.80 individuals per day, whereas the weakest predation capability (4.98 individuals per day) was found when preying on the female adult of T. cinnabarinus at 15℃. The search efficiency of the N. longispinosus on T. cinnabarinus larvae was higher than that of other stage, increasing with elevating temperatures. At 30℃, N. longispinosus demonstrated a strong ability to control T. cinnabarinus larvae and protonymphs.