Influence of abiotic factors on diapause termination and temperature requirements for postdiapause development in the European red mite, Panonychus ulmi (Acari: Tetranychidae)

The European red mite Panonychus ulmi (Koch) is widely distributed and it can severely affect pome fruit crops, particularly apple. Pest outbreaks are related to an overuse of non-selective pesticide treatments that lead to the development of resistance and the absence of natural enemies in the orchard. A key aspect to optimize the use of pesticide treatments in the context of IPM is to increase the knowledge on the biology and ecology of the pest to better predict population dynamics and outbreaks. For the European red mite, knowledge on the conditions that lead to diapause breaking by winter eggs is essential to model population dynamics. To increase this knowledge, winter eggs were collected during field surveys in northen Spain during three years and egg hatching was monitored under controlled temperature and photoperiod conditions in the laboratory. The “number of days exposed to cold temperatures” was the most significant factor that positively affected hatching of overwintering eggs. The time required for 50% of the egg population to hatch (T_50%) was also negatively modulated by the duration of exposure to cold temperature. The temperature threshold for postdiapause eggs development collected from the field was estimated between 5 and 6 ºC in 2005 and 2007, respectively. Moreover, the degree-days required for post diapause development were estimated between 263.2 and 270.3, depending on the year of collection. Collectively, we provide additional information on the diapause termination and postdiapause development of the European red mite that may effectively contribute to optimize pest population models.