Comparison of life tables and mate choice of two <i>Neoseiulus californicus</i> (Acari: Phytoseiidae) strains reared on natural and alternative prey

Neoseiulus californicus McGregor (Acari: Phytoseiidae) is a commercialized natural predator of Tetranychidae mites. Natural and alternative prey species are commonly used in the mass rearing of predators. Long-term rearing of predatory mites on alternative prey may lead to a decline in life table parameters and the elimination of mate choice competition in their offspring. In this study, the development and reproduction of N. californicus reared on natural prey Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae) and alternative prey Oulenziella bakeri Hughes (Acari: Winterschmidtiidae) were compared using age-stage, two-sex life tables. In addition, we compared the mate choice of N. californicus reared on the two prey species. Life table results showed that the natural prey strain developed faster, lived longer, and had a higher fecundity than the alternative prey strain. The population parameters (except for the mean generation time) of the natural prey strain were higher than the alternative prey strain. The mate choice study revealed that females of most mating combinations preferred to mate with the males of their own strain. Moreover, with an increase the number of male mites, the mating latency of the two strains gradually increased, while the mating duration shortened. These results demonstrate that rearing N. californicus with T. urticae is more beneficial for the fitness of the offspring than rearing with O. bakeri, providing theoretical reference for mass rearing mites in Phytoseiidae.