Group-Living Spider <i>Cyrtophora citricola</i> as a Potential Novel Biological Control Agent of the Tomato Pest <i>Tuta absoluta</i>
Group-living spiders may be uniquely suited for controlling flying insect pests, as their high tolerance for conspecifics and low levels of cannibalism result in large, predator dense capture webs. In laboratory settings, we tested the ability of the facultatively communal spider, <i>Cyrtophor...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Insects |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/14/1/34 |
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| author | Thomas A. Roberts-McEwen Ella K. Deutsch Monica A. Mowery Lena Grinsted |
| author_facet | Thomas A. Roberts-McEwen Ella K. Deutsch Monica A. Mowery Lena Grinsted |
| author_sort | Thomas A. Roberts-McEwen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Group-living spiders may be uniquely suited for controlling flying insect pests, as their high tolerance for conspecifics and low levels of cannibalism result in large, predator dense capture webs. In laboratory settings, we tested the ability of the facultatively communal spider, <i>Cyrtophora citricola</i>, to control the tomato leafminer, <i>Tuta absoluta</i>; a major pest of tomato crops worldwide. We tested whether prey capture success was affected by spider body size, and whether prey capture differed among <i>T. absoluta</i>, flightless fruit flies (<i>Drosophila hydei</i>), and larger black soldier flies (<i>Hermetia illucens</i>). We found that larger spiders generally caught more prey, and that prey capture success was similar for <i>T. absoluta</i> and easily caught fruit flies, while black soldier flies were rarely caught. We further investigated the seasonal variations in web sizes in southern Spain, and found that pest control would be most effective in the tomato planting and growing season. Finally, we show that <i>C. citricola</i> in Spain have >50% infection rates of an egg predatory wasp, <i>Philolema palanichamyi</i>, which may need controlling to maintain pest control efficacy. These results suggest that using <i>C. citricola</i> as a biological control agent in an integrated pest management system could potentially facilitate a reduction of pesticide reliance in the future. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T12:14:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-49059e7b389343f7bd7177f5e50d7cc0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-4450 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T12:14:41Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Insects |
| spelling | doaj.art-49059e7b389343f7bd7177f5e50d7cc02023-11-30T22:48:02ZengMDPI AGInsects2075-44502022-12-011413410.3390/insects14010034Group-Living Spider <i>Cyrtophora citricola</i> as a Potential Novel Biological Control Agent of the Tomato Pest <i>Tuta absoluta</i>Thomas A. Roberts-McEwen0Ella K. Deutsch1Monica A. Mowery2Lena Grinsted3School of Biological Sciences, University of Portsmouth, King Henry Building, King Henry 1 Street, Portsmouth PO1 2DY, UKSchool of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UKJacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Midreshet Ben-Gurion 8499000, IsraelSchool of Biological Sciences, University of Portsmouth, King Henry Building, King Henry 1 Street, Portsmouth PO1 2DY, UKGroup-living spiders may be uniquely suited for controlling flying insect pests, as their high tolerance for conspecifics and low levels of cannibalism result in large, predator dense capture webs. In laboratory settings, we tested the ability of the facultatively communal spider, <i>Cyrtophora citricola</i>, to control the tomato leafminer, <i>Tuta absoluta</i>; a major pest of tomato crops worldwide. We tested whether prey capture success was affected by spider body size, and whether prey capture differed among <i>T. absoluta</i>, flightless fruit flies (<i>Drosophila hydei</i>), and larger black soldier flies (<i>Hermetia illucens</i>). We found that larger spiders generally caught more prey, and that prey capture success was similar for <i>T. absoluta</i> and easily caught fruit flies, while black soldier flies were rarely caught. We further investigated the seasonal variations in web sizes in southern Spain, and found that pest control would be most effective in the tomato planting and growing season. Finally, we show that <i>C. citricola</i> in Spain have >50% infection rates of an egg predatory wasp, <i>Philolema palanichamyi</i>, which may need controlling to maintain pest control efficacy. These results suggest that using <i>C. citricola</i> as a biological control agent in an integrated pest management system could potentially facilitate a reduction of pesticide reliance in the future.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/14/1/34socialitycommunalcolonial spiderspredator-preyfood securitypesticide resistance |
| spellingShingle | Thomas A. Roberts-McEwen Ella K. Deutsch Monica A. Mowery Lena Grinsted Group-Living Spider <i>Cyrtophora citricola</i> as a Potential Novel Biological Control Agent of the Tomato Pest <i>Tuta absoluta</i> Insects sociality communal colonial spiders predator-prey food security pesticide resistance |
| title | Group-Living Spider <i>Cyrtophora citricola</i> as a Potential Novel Biological Control Agent of the Tomato Pest <i>Tuta absoluta</i> |
| title_full | Group-Living Spider <i>Cyrtophora citricola</i> as a Potential Novel Biological Control Agent of the Tomato Pest <i>Tuta absoluta</i> |
| title_fullStr | Group-Living Spider <i>Cyrtophora citricola</i> as a Potential Novel Biological Control Agent of the Tomato Pest <i>Tuta absoluta</i> |
| title_full_unstemmed | Group-Living Spider <i>Cyrtophora citricola</i> as a Potential Novel Biological Control Agent of the Tomato Pest <i>Tuta absoluta</i> |
| title_short | Group-Living Spider <i>Cyrtophora citricola</i> as a Potential Novel Biological Control Agent of the Tomato Pest <i>Tuta absoluta</i> |
| title_sort | group living spider i cyrtophora citricola i as a potential novel biological control agent of the tomato pest i tuta absoluta i |
| topic | sociality communal colonial spiders predator-prey food security pesticide resistance |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/14/1/34 |
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