Can Soil‐Dwelling Predatory Mites Control the Invasive Thrips Species Thrips parvispinus ?

ABSTRACT Thrips parvispinus (Karny) has recently become an important invasive thrips in crops world‐wide. It is highly polyphagous and a threat to both ornamental and vegetable crops. Often, new pests are controlled with chemical pesticides, but sustainable options such as biological control are in increasing demand as alternatives. Because prepupae and pupae of this pest occur in the litter layer of the soil, the aim of this work was to test the biological control potential of two belowground predatory mites, Stratiolaelaps scimitus (Berlese) and Macrocheles robustulus (Berlese) in the presence or absence of the nematode Panagrellus redivivus as alternative food supplied to the predators in the soil. Both predators significantly reduced densities of T. parvispinus on sweet pepper plants irrespective of the presence of the nematodes in the soil, however, they did not significantly reduce plant damage. Perhaps combining these predators with an aboveground natural enemy may result in more effective control of T. parvispinus .