The predatory mites Amblyseius cucumeris (Oudemans) is successfully used for thrips control in
Dutch sweet pepper greenhouses, but in Southern Europe it appears not very effective. This
might be caused by the high temperatures in combination with low humidity conditions.
Therefore we are looking for control agents that originate from southern regions and are more
adapted to its climatic conditions. I. degenerans Berlese might be a good candidate, but this
predator is difficult to rear in large quantities. Amblyseius swirskii (Athias-Henriot), collected in
Israel, and A. andersoni (Chant), widespread in North and Southern Europe are potential
candidates. Both A. swirskii (Messelink & Steenpaal, 2003) and A. andersoni (personal
observations) are predators of thrips. In this study the performance of A. swirskii and A.
andersoni are compared with A. cucumeris and I. degenerans as biological control agents of
thrips in sweet pepper.
Material and