Predation response of Nabis pseudoferus (Hemiptera: Nabidae) on untreated and Metarhizium anisopliae-treated larvae of Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechidae)

Functional response is an important behavioral characteristic of prey-predator interactions that can be utilized for assessing impact of natural enemies. In this research, the functional response of Nabis pseudoferus Remane females was examined to the third-instar larvae of Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) which were exposed to LC30 (2.03 × 104 conidia/ml) values of Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschnikoff) Sorokin isolate DEMI 001. Six densities of the prey (1, 2, 4, 8, 10 and 16) were exposed to the predator (0, 24, 48 and 72 h) after inoculation. N. pseudoferus exhibited a type II functional response to prey density in all treatments, indicating that predation increases asymptotically to a satiation level. The highest and the lowest attack rates (a) were 0.1052 ± 0.0440 and 0.0509 ± 0.0133h-1 for 48h and 72h post-infection treatments, respectively. Maximum theoretical predation rate (T/Th) was estimated 10.96 in control. Our results suggest that M. anisopliae and N. pseudoferus, can be a useful combination in pest management of tomato leaf miner, although it must be confirmed in field condition.