Pest management of postharvest potatoes: Lethal, sublethal, and transgenerational effects of the ectoparasitic mite Pyemotes zhonghuajia on the potato worm Phthorimaea operculella.

P. zhonghuajia induces lethal, sublethal and transgenerational effects and significantly decreases PTM survival and reproductive out, demonstrating its high efficiency in biological control of PTM. Our study provides insight into the mechanisms underlying the non-consumptive effects of parasitism in an ectoparasite-host system and delivers critical information for the design and implementation of augmentative releases of P. zhonghuajia in the biological control of PTM in potato storages. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.