Effect of different diets on the development, mortality, survival, food uptake and fecundity of Tupiocoris cucurbitaceus Burla J.P. auteur aut IRD Grille G. auteur aut IRD Lorenzo M.E. auteur aut IRD Franco J. auteur aut IRD Bonato Olivier auteur aut IRD Basso C. auteur aut IRD text journalArticle eng text/pdf reformatted digital access Several Miridae (Hemiptera) species have been identified as useful predators for biological control of the greenhouse whitefly, Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Westwood) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae). There is interest in determining the effects of different diets on Tupiocoris cucurbitaceus (Spinola) (Hemiptera: Miridae) in order to facilitate their breeding and use in biological control. Given that mirids can be both phytophagous and zoophytophagous, the developmental time, mortality, survival, feeding and fecundity of this species on tomato and tobacco leaves with and without the addition of T. vaporariorum or Ephestia kuehniella Zeller (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) eggs were studied. To determine embryonic duration, T. cucurbitaceus was allowed to oviposit on tobacco plants for 24 h at 26 °C, 83% RH and a photoperiod of 16:8 h L:D. The time of onset of the first instar nymphs was recorded. Subsequently, these nymphs fed on different diets on 9 cm × 1.5 cm plates under the same environmental conditions. Results showed that diet influences the duration of development in T. cucurbitaceus, with nymphal stadia being shorter and the adult stadium being longer when fed prey than when not fed prey. With the addition of prey, nymphal mortality was generally lower and adult survival was higher. The high consumption of T. vaporariorum eggs by T. cucurbitaceus suggests the need for subsequent studies on the latter for inclusion of this species in biological control programs in greenhouses. specialized ZONE TROPICALE URUGUAY 076 Florida Entomologist 97 4 1816-1824 2014 0015-4040 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010063835 0015-4040 [F B010063835] https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010063835 https://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/divers15-07/010063835.pdf IRD - Base Horizon / Pleins textes 2015-07-02 2015-10-30 fdi:010063835 fre