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Galendromus annectens
BIOLOGY: This predator has five life stages; egg, larvae, protonymph, deutonymph, adult. As with all arthropods (insects, mites) their rate of increase is dependent on the temperature. It completes a generation in one to two weeks depending on the average temperature (12.6 days at 640 F, 4.8 days at 900F). It lays one or two eggs per day with a total fecundity of 28 eggs, which is less than G. helveolus (40 eggs). It is somewhat smaller than other predatory mites and lives about 30 days. The larvae stage of the predator can feed on spider mite eggs and larvae. It can survive, but not reproduce, on pollen, which may enable it to survive periods when host mite numbers are low. SHIPMENT AND HANDLING: The predators are usually shipped in 15 dram plastic vials containing approximately 2 1/2 tablespoons of corn cob meal, a small amount of host mite eggs (food for predators) and approximately 1,000 active predators plus predator eggs. AUGMENTATION: This predatory mite is well adapted to the Persea mite (Oligonychus perseae). It can penetrate the dense protective webbing formed by the Persea mite to protect its eggs and it feeds on all stages of the pest. Releases of annectens can be made when the Persea mite is present and laying eggs. We suggest releasing 5,000/acre. Approximately 100 predators should be placed on each tree in the grove. Place a small paper lunch bag around a cluster of several leaves at the end of a branch and staple the bag to the leaves. Place a portion of the grit- predator material in each bag. The predators crawl onto the leaves and begin feeding on the Persea mite. They take about three months to spread around an avocado tree from a single release site. Therefore, release on every tree is advisable. PESTICIDES: Avoid using pesticides one week prior and one week after release of the predators. The annectens will tolerate aerial treatments of Omite reasonably well, once they become established. |
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