Influence of banker plants and spiders on biological control by Orius insidiosus (Heteroptera: Anthocoridae)
2012
Wong, Sarah K. | Frank, Steven D.
Banker plant systems are a form of conservation biological control intended to enhance natural enemy efficacy by providing an alternative source of food when prey items are scarce or absent. The Black Pearl pepper, Capsicum annuum ‘Black Pearl’, banker plant system provides pollen to sustain populations of the omnivorous predator Orius insidiosus say (Heteroptera: Anthocoridae). Black Pearl pepper pollen has been shown in previous studies to increase O. insidiosus longevity, survival to adult, female size, and abundance, and decrease nymphal development time. However, there is no research demonstrating the efficacy of this banker plant system in commercial crop production. We investigated the efficacy of the Black Pearl pepper banker plant system compared to augmentative releases of O. insidiosus for thrips management at a commercial nursery that produces native and ornamental grasses. We found that augmentative releases of O. insidiosus effectively reduced thrips abundance in hoop houses compared to houses where no predators were released. However, the presence of banker plants did not further reduce thrips abundance. Interestingly, we found spiders in 82% of banker plant samples during this experiment and hypothesized that spiders could reduce access to floral resources provided by banker plants, thus reducing their benefits for biological control. We found that spiders reduced O. insidiosus abundance on banker plants by increasing the rate at which O. insidiosus emigrate and reducing their survival. We conclude that this banker plant system may be more successful in enclosed growing systems where higher-order predators and emigration of O. insidiosus is restricted.
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