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Predator: Neoseiulus cucumeris or Amblyseius cucumeris
This is a tan-orange predatory mite. Adult females consume up to 10
thrips per day and have a 30 day life span. They can survive on pollen
and spider mites in the absence of thrips.
Optimal Environment: 70°F min.;
moderate RH.
Use of Cucumeris:
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Predatory mites are distributed over the crop weekly or biweekly, or
released in convenient breeding units in which several hundred
mites reproduce several thousand predatory mites over a six-week
period. You can purchase these breeding units as slow release
bags (SRB) or use IPM Laboratories' Release Points™. |
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Predator: Amblyseius degenerans (Neoseiulus degenerans)
These predatory mites work very well on greenhouse peppers, or other
crops with ample pollen. They are able to multiply rapidly and are good
searchers of prey. They do not enter a resting phase until December, and
survive drier conditions than N. cucumeris.
Optimal Environment: 65-85°F ; 60-85% RH, Presence of pollen
Predator: Orius insidiosus Minute
Pirate Bug, Orius sp.
Minute pirate bugs (MPB) are small, predaceous bugs that kill their prey
by attacking with their piercing mouthparts and sucking out the body
contents. Both adults and nymphs are predaceous. Adults lay eggs beneath
the surface of plant tissue, often on stems or near leaf veins. The eggs
hatch into small, yellow nymphs that develop into adults in 9-25 days,
depending on temperature. Adult Orius can eat 5-20 thrips
per day. They can survive on pollen in the absence of prey.
Optimal Environment: 70-90°F, day length 11+ hrs
Predator: Hypoaspis miles
This predatory mite is a scavenger that eats thrips pupae and fungus
gnat larvae in the soil. Adults lay eggs in the soil, which hatch in 1-2
days. The nymphs develop into adults in 5-6 days. The mites reproduce
quickly, and few are needed to establish an effective population.
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