LIFE HISTORY OF Tetranychus bastosi TUTTLE, BAKER & SALES, (ACARI: TETRANYCHIDAE) AND ITS PREDATORS IN ALAGOAS STATES
Red spider mite, biological parameters. predator mites, biological control.
Tetranychus bastosi Tuttle, Baker & Sales (Acari: Tetranychidae) is a species with restricted occurrence in Brazil and has already been reported infesting 36 species of plants, including ornamental, fruits, leguminous and spontaneous plants. In Alagoas state, its presence was found on Turnera subulata L. and Ipomoea batatas L. To analyse the population growth of T. bastosi on the hosts, bioassays were carried out evaluating the instantaneous rate of increase (ri). For both hosts, the population growth of T. bastosi showed positive values of 0.3509 ± 0.0239 and 0.2179 ± 0.0934 for I. batatas and for T. subulata, respectively, with significant differences between them. In addition, significant differences were observed for the mean number of eggs, nymphs, and the final population after 10 days of evaluation. Thus, it is registered the presence o T. bastosi in the state of Alagoas with high potential of development on I. batatas and T. subulata.