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Effects of starvation on reproduction of the predacious mite Neoseiulus californicus (Acari: Phytoseiidae)

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Abstract

Effects of starvation on gravid females of Neoseiulus californicus were investigated at 20°C and 85% RH. When females that had been reared with abundant prey were swapped, just after laying their first egg, to conditions without any prey and water, they laid 1.8 eggs and survived for 4.3 days. In the body of well-fed females, an egg with eggshell and/or two oocytes were observed in the ventral and dorsal regions, respectively. The larger oocyte had two roundish nuclei and abundant yolk granules, and was enveloped with a vitelline membrane. These two nuclei were not fused but were just close to each other. The smaller oocyte had a nucleus, but had not yet formed yolk granules and vitelline membrane. Females after 12 h starvation had an egg in the ventral region and an oocyte in the dorsal region of the body. After more than 24 h starvation females maintained an oocyte in the dorsal region of the body, but had no egg in the ventral region. The oocyte was filled with abundant yolk granules and contained two irregular nuclei when females were starved for 24 h, but when starved for more than 36 h it contained one irregular nucleus. These findings suggest that (1) gravid females maintained an oocyte in the dorsal region after laying two eggs during starvation, (2) the oocyte was not absorbed during starvation, (3) the oocyte advanced vitellogenesis and the fusion of two nuclei, and (4) the vitellogenic oocyte was not enveloped with an eggshell and had not started embryogenesis.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Mrs. C. Putzar for her skilful technical assistance and Mr. Ard van der Maarel (Koppert Biological Systems) for his kindness to provide N. californicus. We also thank anonymous reviewers for their advisory comments to this manuscript. This study was financially supported by a grant-in-aid from the National Agriculture and Food Organization of Japan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Institute of Fruit Tree Science, Morioka, 020-0123, Japan

    Shingo Toyoshima

  2. Zoological Institute and Museum, Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-University Greifswald, Johann-Sebastian-Bach-Strasse 11/12, 17489, Greifswald, Germany

    Peter Michalik, Giovanni Talarico, Anja E. Klann & Gerd Alberti

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  1. Shingo Toyoshima
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  2. Peter Michalik
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  3. Giovanni Talarico
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  4. Anja E. Klann
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  5. Gerd Alberti
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Correspondence to Shingo Toyoshima.

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Toyoshima, S., Michalik, P., Talarico, G. et al. Effects of starvation on reproduction of the predacious mite Neoseiulus californicus (Acari: Phytoseiidae). Exp Appl Acarol 47, 235–247 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10493-008-9211-5

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