Biological Control #12 Amblyseius fallacis (=Neoseiulus fallacis) field mite predator

[Gardens Keeper]

These are great on two spotted and European Red mites + many more.

General info on predators at Cornell University:

http://www.biocontrol.entomology.cornell.edu/predators/Neoseiulus.html


http://appliedbio-nomics.com/sites/default/files/201-fallacis.pdf

Amblyseius (Neoseiulus)
fallacis
Spider Mite Predator

Target pests
Two-spotted spider mite
(Tetranychus urticae)
European red mite
(Panonychus ulmi)
spruce spider mite
(Oligonychus ununguis)
southern red mite
(Oligonychus ilicis)
bamboo mite
(Schizotetranychus celarius)

Schmalphy I would be happy to point you in the right direction.

http://www.rinconvitova.com/predator%20mite.htm

I grow 100% organic like this thread and just like these soil mixes out do anything a synthetic fert can do and is virtually plug and play I have also found predator bugs are more efficient than synthetic chemicals.

Order Hypoaspis Miles for fungus gnats and thrips. You can propagate them in a soil bin you never till or use. Simply add nematodes and they will have a feast that will last for 2 months plus. I reintroduce them to the flowering and vegetative rooms after transplants are done by scooping top layers of soil out of the rubber-maid I propagate them in. These little guys will destroy anything that gets near the root systems as they live a couple of inches on the outer soil layer. As long as they have a food source they will stick around and in massive numbers. You will see your soil moving after watering or before if you look at it close enough. They are extremely fast and mobile as well as small enough to penetrate the entire root ball. They are not mobile on the entire plant however. They like the lowest parts. They will destroy even the worst fungus gnat infestation in 2-3 days. This is why you need to add nematodes if you want to keep them around because they will reproduce quicker than the fungus gnats as well as kill the fungus gnats a long side the Hypoaspis Miles. This is the only way to conquer recurrent and seasonal infestations.

For predator mites that stay on the plant above ground go with the ones that target the type of mite you have. For two spotted I would get Amblyseius fallacis and Phytoseiulus persimilis. You can propagate them in vermiculite and pollen. So screw female seeds and use some male pollen to keep them a live =)

Early Christmas present to all of you suffering from pests.

In short just make sure they have a constant supply of pollen. I just throw a flowering male plant in every 2 weeks or so you can continue to water it or just chop it if it is in full pollen mode and throw it in the bin of vermiculite. I would add 2-3 table spoons of pollen throughout a 10-15 day period in a 35 gallon rubber-maid if I was propagating them with fresh pollen probably. You will have to experiment with raw sifted pollen a bit as I mostly always have male plants flowering so pollen is used from them. I also think that bee pollen may be good food for them, but I have not tried it yet. I will be coming up though. There are many types of pollen that can be ordered very cheap on line to feed them with if you do not want to use MJ pollen.

http://www.bee-pollen-buzz.com/buy-bee-pollen.html

Here are some links of places to buy bulk pollens:

http://www.pollencollectionandsales.com/pollenproducts.shtml

http://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale/wholesale-pine-pollen-powder.html

Also:

http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/abs/10.1139/z70-092#.UHXdxcXA-vR

ABSTRACT

Populations of the two-spotted mite, Tetranychus urticae, and its acarine predator, Amblyseius fallacis, were propagated on alfalfa in the greenhouse at constant temperatures in the range 65 to 85 °F (18.3–29.4 °C). The predator limited the initial increase in prey abundance only at temperatures above about 70 °F (21.1 °C). At 80 and 85 °F (26.7 and 29.4 °C) fluctuations in prey and predator numbers increased in amplitude as propagation continued. The age structure of the predator population reared at 75 °F (23.9 °C) differed from that of populations propagated at the other temperatures.

Link to more papers, but you have to have the $:

http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/action/doSearch?searchText=Amblyseius+fallacis&stemming=yes&publication=


Temperature and humidity information on several beneficial species:

http://www.rinconvitova.com/predator%20mite.htm#Plant-Feeding Mite Biocontrols

You can also keep them in corn grits just keep feeding them pollen. If you lose colony order more.

Seriously folks, this soil cultivation technique and propagating your own beneficial biological controls, fungicides, and foliar sprays is the ultimate middle finger to chemical companies and your risk of cancer etc. while practicing professional horticulture. They are far more effective than chemicals could ever dream of being on top of being SAFE.

 

[Microbeman]

awesome.

 

[h.h.]

Amended BC thread to add this link under control # 7 for now for safekeeping.
If any of the mods want to amend the list, it's all good.

 

[Pseudo]

wheres the best place to order them on the east coast?
green methods wants $15 plus $25 to ship from cali,
any ideas??

 

[AJSpencer]

Pseudo, that is a great price. There is also IPM labs from New York.
Keep in mind, these are usually one-time treatments. The predators will cycle in the media, ultimately saving you a lot of money, not to mention a healthier crop.

 

[moses wellfleet]

Never heard of this one before thanx for posting

 

[Skunkmonkey420]

So pred mites survive on pollen AND two-spotted mites?

 

[MuricanWeedwolf]

Everyone be aware these (and most) mite predators won't hatch if your growing area's avg. daily RH is much below 60% (which it should be, haha). I haven't tried it, but I think enclosing the egg sachets in (shaded?) plastic bags with a couple small holes when you hang them on your plants might raise the humidity enough to get them going.

Another possibility involves using "banker plants", but this system is better for large-scale grows. In this system, corn seedlings are raised in 3" pots and infested with Banks Grass Mite (Oligonychus pratensis [Banks]), a pest mite that only eats grasses (in the Poaceae family, not "grass" hehe) and will be easy to maintain once established. Then move some of the infested corn to a high humidity environment and introduce your predatory mites on the infested corn seedlings. Up to a week later, move these plants to your weed plants being bothered by the mites. The predators dine on the grass mites for up to a week and then move on to the mites on your plants, but not without laying eggs and boosting the population first! Again, this system is only recommended for large grows, but it is far more effective than relying on the sachet populations only, and you can monitor your live predator populations and avoid issues with humidity.