Dominiek Vangansbeke

• PhD
• Senior Researcher at Biobest Sustainable Crop Management

Amblydromalus limonicus Garman & McGregor (Acari: Phytoseiidae) is a generalist predatory mite with economic potential to control thrips and whiteflies in protected cultivation. We tested the development and reproduction of A. limonicus on three food sources with potential for use in laboratory production or to support its populations in a crop: fr...

In IPM systems in greenhouse crops, the predatory mite Amblyseius swirskii is becoming increasingly important as a biological control agent of various pests, especially thrips and whiteflies. An emerging strategy to promote the predator's establishment and retention in the crop consists of providing food supplements. However, when faced with omnivo...

The impact of daily temperature variations on arthropod life history remains woefully understudied compared to the large body of research that has been carried out on the effects of constant temperatures. However, diurnal varying temperature regimes more commonly represent the environment in which most organisms thrive. Such varying temperature reg...

BACKGROUND The temperature–size rule is a well‐known example of phenotypic plasticity in ectothermic organisms. When exposed to colder temperatures, ectotherms develop more slowly, but mature at larger body sizes and vice versa at higher temperatures. We investigated whether a phytoseiid predatory mite can obtain a larger body size by rearing it at...

Predatory mites, and phytoseiids in particular, are among the most important biological control agents used in integrated pest management. The ability to mass-produce these predators at high density on inexpensive food sources is a key driver of their success. In this chapter, we provide an overview of the rearing systems currently in use by biocon...

The mite Thyreophagus entomophagus is a cosmopolitan species of significant economic importance in biocontrol applications, serving as a factitious prey for the mass rearing of predatory mites. This species has been reported from a variety of habitats. However, the taxonomic reliability of its name is questionable due to inconsistencies in historic...

Natural enemy surveys, especially for indigenous anthocorid predators of sugarcane thrips Fulmekiola serrata Kobus, were completed between 2008 and 2013 in and around sugarcane fields in the Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal provinces of South Africa. Four Orius species were recorded during the surveys. First records for South Africa of Orius tantillus...

Phytoseiid predatory mites are one of the most important groups of biocontrol agents, commonly used in biological control. The ability to produce these predatory mites economically, at high density on cheap factitious food sources, is a major contributor to their success. Astigmatid mites are the most widely used factitious food for this purpose. I...

Pronematus ubiquitus (McGregor) is redescribed based on specimens collected at the type locality. Additionally, in a survey for natural enemies of Aculops lycopersici (Tryon), P. ubiquitus was found in most European countries where samples were gathered as well as in Morocco. Together with specimens available from museum collections and originating...

Mites of the genus Thyreophagus (Acari: Acaridae) are distributed worldwide; they inhabit concealed habitats and include several beneficial and economically important species. However, species identification is difficult because many species are poorly described or delimited and their phoretic stages are unknown or uncorrelated. Furthermore, Thyreo...

BACKGROUND The tomato russet mite, Aculops lycopersici, is a major pest in tomato crops, causing damage through leaf and stem browning, defoliation and russeting of fruit. Biological control of this mite on tomato plants is difficult. While several phytoseiid mites feed on the pest, they cannot survive, move, or reproduce on tomato plants due to th...

The poinsettia thrips, Echinothrips americanus Morgan (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), is a key pest of various ornamental and vegetable greenhouse crops. As current biological control alternatives lack efficiency, applying chemicals remains the dominant control strategy, thereby heavily disturbing the biocontrol-based integrated management of other pest...

The mites Homeopronematus anconai (Baker) and Pronematus ubiquitus (McGregor) (Acari: Iolinidae) are common predators in berries and can occur spontaneously on tomato plants, where other commercially available predatory mite species fail to establish. This study on H. anconai was initiated to improve biological control of tomato russet mites using...

Simple Summary The tomato russet mite (TRM), Aculops lycopersici (Eriophyidae), causes severe damage to tomato plants Lycopersicon esculentum, which results in a wilted, russetted appearance with desiccated leaves. This study focused on the search for a suitable biological control agent against TRM, as an alternative to commonly used sulfur or chem...

This study provides five new records of phytoseiid mites; Amblyseius herbicolus, Neoseiulus reductus, Kampimodromus corylosus, Paraseiulus triporus and Typhlodromus (Anthoseius) rhenanoides for the Belgian fauna. In the study, additional morphological information and new illustrations for the new records as well as an identification key for the Bel...

The genus Thyreophagus is distributed worldwide, containing species occurring in stored food, house dust, bark, subcortical habitats, scale insect associations, and nests of wasps and bees. As species of this genus prefer concealed habitats, the actual species diversity is currently underappreciated. In addition, some described taxa are poorly know...

Phytoseiid predatory mites are efficient biocontrol agents of important thrips pests, such as the western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis Pergande (Thysanoptera: Thripidae). Until recently, it was believed that first instars, and to a lesser extent second instars, were the most vulnerable developmental stages of thrips to be attacked by p...

Simple Summary Biocontrol practitioners have increasingly released generalist predators to control a variety of greenhouse pests. In this study, the effects of alternative food sources on the oviposition rate and the population dynamics of the mite Pronematus ubiquitus were assessed. The alternative food sources were selected among those the mite m...

Pronematus ubiquitus (McGregor) is a small iolinid mite that is capable of establishing on tomato plants. Once established, this mite has been shown to control both tomato russet mite, Aculops lycopersici (Tryon) (Acari: Eriophyidae) and tomato powdery mildew (Oidium neolycopersici L. Kiss). In the present study, we explored the nutritional value o...

BACKGROUND The tomato russet mite (TRM), Aculops lycopersici, and powdery mildew (PM), Oidium neolycopersici, are two major problems in tomato cultivation for which no effective biocontrol solutions exist to date. In a greenhouse compartment, we investigated the potential of preventatively establishing the iolinid omnivorous mite Pronematus ubiquit...

The spider mites Tetranychus evansi Baker & Pritchard and Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae) are key tomato pests worldwide. Biological control of spider mites using phytoseiid predatory mites remains challenging. The glandular trichomes on the tomato leaves and stem severely hamper the movement and establishment of the predatory mites...

Phytoseiid predatory mites are the most important group of biocontrol agents currently used in protected cultivations worldwide. The possibility to produce these predators at high densities on factitious prey mites is a crucial factor for their success. Commonly used factitious prey mites comprise mainly species belonging to the cohort of Astigmati...

Repeated mass introductions of natural enemies have been widely used as a biological control strategy in greenhouse systems when the resident population of natural enemies is insufficient to suppress the pests. As an alternative strategy, supporting the establishment and population development of beneficials can be more effective and economical. Th...

To date, some species in the genus Thyreophagus, such as Th. entomophagus and Th. cracentiseta, have been shown to be useful factitious prey for mass-rearing of predacious phytoseiid mites, one of the most common groups of mites used for biological control. Here, we describe a new species, Thyreophagus plocepasseri sp. n. from Kenya that can serve...

Phytoseiid predatory mites are the most important group of biocontrol agents currently implemented in protected cultivations worldwide. The possibility to produce these predators at high densities on factitious prey mites is a crucial factor for their success. Commonly used factitious prey mites comprise mainly species belonging to the cohort of As...

There is an increasing body of evidence demonstrating that biological control using generalist predators can be a successful strategy. A major benefit of generalist predators is their possibility to establish in a crop before pest food is available. In the present study, we compared the pre-establishment potential of the phytoseiid predatory mites...

The tydeoids Homeopronematus anconai (Baker) and Pronematus ubiquitus (McGregor) occur naturally on tomato without being entrapped by the tomato trichomes and can reach high densities when suitable pollen is supplied. They can feed on Aculops lycopersici Massee, the tomato russet mite (TRM), an eriophyoid that causes severe damage to greenhouse tom...

Adult survival and reproduction of many species of arthropod natural enemies depend exclusively on sugar-rich food such as honeydew. Here, we tested the impact of two types of honeydew as well as several sugars at different concentrations (10%, 25%, 50%) on the longevity and reproduction of two life-history omnivores. On the one hand, the aphid-fee...

Recently, the Japanese flower thrips Thrips setosus has been invading some European ornamentals. This plant-feeder and virus-vector was first detected in Europe (in the Netherlands) in autumn 2014 where it spread mostly in cut flowers and potted plants of Hydrangea. Thrips setosus has not been categorized as an invasive pest species and no official...

Echinothrips americanus Morgan is not a new pest in European horticulture. It has been an upcoming problem since 1993. But over the last decade, with the wider implementation of integrated pest management in ornamentals, reports of feeding damages caused by Echinothrips are increasing. Problems are particularly reported in roses, gerberas, bouvardi...

Western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis Pergande (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) remains one of the most challenging problems in protected crops worldwide. Although a variety of natural enemies can be introduced to control this pest, phytoseiid predatory mites remain a cornerstone in IPM programs. It is well-established that phytoseiids mainly...

In this study, we provide some examples of applications of the " standing army " concept in commercial greenhouses with the focus on the use of cattail pollen (Typha angustifolia), marketed as Nutrimite TM. This product has been the first commercially available food supplement for predatory mites, allowing growers to build up and maintain predatory...

In this study, we provide some examples of applications of the " standing army " concept in commercial greenhouses with the focus on the use of cattail pollen (Typha angustifolia), marketed as Nutrimite TM. This product has been the first commercially available food supplement for predatory mites, allowing growers to build up and maintain predatory...

Food supplementation is an emerging strategy to improve the establishment and resilience of generalist predators in greenhouse crops. This study was conducted to assess the pre-establishment of the generalist predatory mite Amblyseius swirskii Athias-Henriot (Phytoseiidae) on two ornamental greenhouse crops, chrysanthemum and ivy. In the first gree...

Since its first record in 1993 in Europe, Echinothrips americanus Morgan (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) has been an pesky problem in horticulture. Biological control of this thrips pest is a serious challenge, mainly due to the lack of suitable natural enemies which necessitates the use of chemical treatments. In this study, we investigated whether the...

In the present study, we tested whether the body size of phytoseiid predators can be increased by exploiting the temperature-size rule for ectothermic organisms. This rule states that ectotherms will develop slower at lower temperatures, but will mature at larger body size. Therefore, we reared 4 phytoseiids, namely Phytoseiulus persimilis, Neoseiu...

The consumption rate of an ectothermic predator is highly temperature-dependent and is a key driver of pest-predator population interactions. Not only average daily temperature, but also diurnal temperature variations may affect prey consumption and life history traits of ectotherms. In the present study, we evaluated the impact of temperature alte...

Artificial diets have been developed to sustain the mass rearing of a wide range of arthropod natural enemies, with varying success. In some cases, such diets can be optimized using insect-derived materials, such as haemolymph. In this study, we examined the effect of supplementing haemolymph of the black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens, to a basic...

In order to better adapt the use of predatory mites with the modern greenhouse climate regulation strategies, functional response models were constructed to demonstrate the impact of realistic climate variations on the predation efficiency on Tetranychus urticae eggs by Neoseiulus fallacis, Phytoseiulus persimilis and N. californicus predatory mite...

In order to reduce the cost of repeated introductions of natural enemies in protected crops, food supplements can be provided when target prey levels are low. However, selecting such foods should be done with extreme care, as some omnivorous pests may also benefit from those resources. Western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis Pergande (Thy...

Liquid meridic artificial diets, lyophilized forms of these liquid diets and solid meridic artificial diets supplemented with pupal hemolymph of Antheraea pernyi (Guérin-Méneville) or with Artemia franciscana Kellogg (Anostraca: Artemiidae) cysts were tested for Amblyseius swirskii (Athias-Henriot) (Acari: Phytoseiidae), an important biological con...

Amblyseius swirskii (Athias-Henriot) (Acari: Phytoseiidae) is a key predator of a wide range of pests including thrips, whitefly and several mite pests. A number of artificial diets have been developed for this predator, but all of these are liquid, complicating their use in mass production. In the present study, we investigated the survival, devel...

Amblydromalus limonicus (Garman & McGregor) (Acari: Phytoseiidae) is a commercially available predator of key pests in protected crops, particularly of thrips and whiteflies. Basic information on the developmental and reproductive performance of the predator as a function of food is largely lacking. In the present study, development, reproduction a...

In greenhouses with ornamental crops, predatory mites like Amblyseius swirskii Athias-Henriot and Amblydromalus limonicuss Garman & McGregor (Acari: Phytoseiidae) are increasingly implemented in crop protection strategies due to resistance problems and legal restrictions on pesticides. As predatory mites can only control pests adequately when repea...

Predatory mites like Phytoseiulus persimilis Athias-Henriot and Neoseiulus californicus McGregor (Acari: Phytoseiidae) are essential in sustainable control strategies of the two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae) in warm greenhouse cultures to complement limited available pesticides and to tackle emerging resistance...

Predatory mites like Phytoseiulus persimilis Athias-Henriot, Neoseiulus californicus McGregor and N. fallacis (Garman) (Acari: Phytoseiidae) are essential in sustainable control strategies of the two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae) in warm greenhouse cultures to complement imited available pesticides and to tackl...

Amblyseius swirskii (Athias-Henriot) (Acari: Phytoseiidae) is being used in Europe on a commercial scale as a biological control agent of whiteflies and thrips in several greenhouse crops. Amblyseius swirskii can feed on various types of food including arthropod prey but also plant materials like pollen and honeydew. In the commercial production of...

The generalist predatory mite Amblyseius swirskii Athias-Henriot (Acari: Phytoseiidae) was reared on Ephestia kuehniella Zeller eggs (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), decapsulated dry cysts of the brine shrimp Artemia franciscana Kellogg (Anostraca: Artemiidae), and on meridic artificial diets (composed of honey, sucrose, tryptone, yeast extract, and egg y...

Predatory mites like Phytoseiulus persimilis Athias-Henriot and Neoseiulus californicus McGregor (Acari: Phytoseiidae) are essential in sustainable control strategies of the two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae) in warm greenhouse cultures to complement limited available pesticides and to tackle emerging resistance...

In greenhouses with ornamental crops, predatory mites like Amblyseius swirskii Athias-Henriot and Amblydromalus limonicuss Garman & McGregor (Acari: Phytoseiidae) are increasingly implemented in crop protection strategies due to resistance problems and legal restrictions on pesticides. As predatory mites can only control pests adequately when repea...

Development, survival and reproduction of the predatory mite Amblyseius swirskii (Athias-Henriot) (Acari: Phytoseiidae) were assessed when fed on cattail pollen (Typha latifolia L.), dried fruit mite (Carpoglyphus lactis L.), or on two artificial diets. The basic artificial diet (AD1) was composed of honey, sucrose, tryptone, yeast extract, and egg...

Increasing energy costs force glasshouse growers to switch to energy saving strategies. In the temperature integration approach, considerable daily temperature variations are allowed, which not only have an important influence on plant growth but also on the development rate of arthropods in the crop. Therefore, we examined the influence of two con...

The effect of moisture source and diet on the development and reproduction of the pirate bugs, Orius thripoborus (Hesse) and Orius naivashae (Poppius) (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) was examined in the laboratory. Both species had been collected in and around sugarcane fields in South Africa. Supplementing eggs of the flour moth Ephestia kuehniella (Zel...