Life Table Parameters of Tetranychus merganser Boudreaux (Acari: Tetranychidae) on Five Host Plants.

The quality of the host plant affects the life history parameters of tetranychid mites. The biology and fertility life tables of Tetranychus merganser on five host plants ( Carica papaya , Phaseolus vulgaris , Capsicum annuum var. glabriusculum , Helietta parvifolia , and Rosa hybrida ) were assessed under laboratory conditions at 28 ± 1 °C and 70-80% relative humidity (RH) with a photoperiod of 12:12 h (L:D). The development period of immature females differed among the tested host plants and ranged from 9.32 days on P. vulgaris to 11.34 days on H. parvifolia . For immature males, it ranged from 9.25 days on P. vulgaris to 11.50 days on H. parvifolia . The female survival rate varied from 53.97% on H. parvifolia to 94.74% on P. vulgaris . The highest total fecundity rate was recorded on P. vulgaris (125.40 eggs/female) and the lowest on H. parvifolia (43.92 eggs/female). The intrinsic rate of increase (rm) varied from 0.271 ( H. parvifolia ) to 0.391 ( P. vulgaris ). The net reproductive rate (R O ) was higher on P. vulgaris than on the other host plants. The longest mean generation time (GT) was calculated on C. annuum var. glabriusculum and the shortest on Rosa hybrida . The demographic parameters suggest the unsuitability of H. parvifolia as the host for the development of red spider mites, and the best performance of T. merganser was on P. vulgaris .