<i>Orius albidipennis</i> (Heteroptera: Anthocoridae): Intraguild predation of and prey preference for <i>Neoseiulus cucumeris</i> (Acari: Phytoseiidae) on different host plants

A widespread interaction in natural enemy populations is intraguild predation (IGP), the intensity and outcome of which may be influenced by several factors. This study examined the influence of host plant characteristics on IGP between Orius albidipennis (Reuter) and Neoseiulus cucumeris (Oudemans) in laboratory experiments. The intraguild predation between the two predators was bi-directional, but predation by N. cucumeris on O. albidipennis is presumably of negligible importance. Orius albidipennis preyed uponmite eggs and adults in the absence of Thrips tabaci (Lindeman) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), but in its presence predation on mite eggs was abandoned and predation on adult mites unchanged (sweet pepper) or reduced (eggplant, cucumber). The IGP-level of O. albidipennis on N. cucumeris was highest on sweet pepper and lowest on cucumber. Inclusion of host plant aspects in evaluations of the IGPpotential between predators intended for simultaneous applications for biocontrol is thus of importance.