The olfactory response of Phytoseiulus persimilis on Tetranychus urticae infested bean and cucumber leaves

While searching for food, predators use herbivore induced plant volatiles (HIPV), host plant volatiles and those related to con/heterospecifics to find their prey. Not only the volatile components vary among plant species, but also the predator perception of these components might differ among species and samples. Here, we compared the olfactory response of two samples (Turkey and University of Tehran) of Phytoseiulus persimilis Athias-Henriot (Acari: Phytoseiidae) when received herbivore induced plant volatiles (HIPV) from Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae) infested cucumber and bean leaves, along with testing the effect of rearing experience of Turkey sample on its olfactory response in our laboratory conditions. Our data showed that P. persimilis of both samples significantly moved towards leaf odors (either cucumber or bean) when they received clean air from the alternative arm. For both samples, the predator did not make a preference between clean bean and cucumber leaves. When the predators were offered a choice between T. urticae infested bean and cucumber leaves, they significantly moved towards bean leaves in both samples. Rearing experience did not affect the predator choice of host plant species and P. persimilis from both samples preferred odors related to clean leaves rather than clean air. The number of experienced predatory mites moved towards T. urticae infested bean leaves was significantly higher than that preferred T. urticae infested cucumber leaves in both samples. We discussed whether their similar olfactory responses would be related to their experience of previous rearing conditions.