TY  - JOUR
JF  - Acarologia
T1  - Prospecting soil-dwelling laelapid mites from French Mediterranean vineyards for the biological control of insect pests
VL  - 66
IS  - Suppl
SP  - 154
EP  - 154
PY  - 2026
SN  - 0044-586X
SN  - 2107-7207
PB  - Les Amis d'Acarologia
AU  - Thais Juliane, do Prado
AU  - Lucas, Ducros
AU  - Lou, Paindaveine
AU  - Alice, Charalabidis
AU  - Jean, Trap
AU  - Alexandra, Labbetoul
AU  - Simon, Fellous
AU  - Denise, Navia
UR  - https://doi.org/10.24349/c30p-t7zk
DO  - 10.24349/c30p-t7zk
DA  - 2026-07-20
ET  - 2026-07-20
KW  - Ecosystem service
KW  - Mesostigmata
KW  - Natural enemies
KW  - Pest management
KW  - Predatory mites
AB  - Soil-dwelling predatory mites are known to feed on a wide range of soil microinvertebrates, including crop pests, and may therefore serve as valuable allies in agroecological pest management. However, prey suitability for the development and reproduction of laelapid mites (Mesostigmata) occurring in French Mediterranean vineyard soils remains largely unknown. In this study, we investigated the potential of two laelapid species, Gaeolaelaps aculeifer and Cosmolaelaps sp. (under description), collected from French Mediterranean vineyard soils, to feed and reproduce on four prey types: (i) a factitious astigmatid mite used for mass rearing, (ii) free- living nematodes, and two soil-associated crop pests: (iii) Drosophila suzukiilarvae and (iv) grape phylloxera (Daktulosphaira vitifoliae). Bioassays were conducted under controlled conditions. Experimental units consisted of Petri dishes containing either a single adult female predator with one prey type provided ad libitum, or five females with one larva in the D. suzukii treatment. A no-prey treatment served as a control. Predation and fecundity were recorded daily for four days. Ten replicates per prey–predator combination were tested, and the experiment was repeated over three consecutive weeks (n= 30 per treatment). Fecundity was analyzed using generalized linear models with a log link function. To account for variation in predator numbers among treatments, the number of predators was included as an offset term in the models. Post hoc comparisons were performed using Tukey’s method. The fecundity of Gaeolaelaps aculeifer was significantly higher when fed astigmatid mites (5.48 ± 0.26) and nematodes (5.22 ± 0.25). It was intermediate when fed D. suzukiilarvae (2.15 ± 0.08), and very low when exposed to grape phylloxera (0.30 ± 0.05), similar to the no-prey treatment. In contrast, Cosmolaelaps sp. exhibited significantly higher fecundity on nematodes (0.51 ± 0.07), and lower fecundity on astigmatid mites (0.32 ± 0.05). Almost no fecundity was observed when exposed to either pest species, suggesting poor prey suitability. Our findings suggest that G. aculeifer is a promising biological control agent targeting the soil stages of D. suzukii. Nematode also appear to be an important food source for both predators. In addition, both species were able to develop on factitious prey, which is an important prerequisite for future mass rearing. This bioassay represents a first step of research aimed at improving our understanding of the trophic habits of these two soil mite species, while helping to clarify their potential contribution to regulating ecosystem services and pest management.
ER -