The development and reproduction of A. swirskiion ornamental peppers was investigated using the following protocol. A gravid adult female was confined on a 2.5-cm diameter leaf disc with domatia of each treatment plant until death. Each leaf disc was placed on a moistened filter paper fitted inside a small Petri dish (3.0 cm diameter0.5 cm depth). Four small Petri dishes equidistant from each other were fixed in a large Petri dish (15 cm diameter1.5 cm) filled with water in order to isolate each smaller dish. The large Petri dishes were then sealed with Parafilm to prevent mites from escaping and the leaf disc desiccating. The experiment had six treatments (varieties or species): three ornamental
pepper varieties, one variety of tomato, one variety of green bean, and one filter paper (control). Each treatment (variety) had four large Petri dishes, each large Petri dish contained 4 small Petri dishes with the same type of leaf disc (16 replicates/treatment). A total of 24 large Petri dishes were arranged in a randomized complete block design for each experiment. The numbers of eggs laid, immature developmental time, and gravid female longevity were
recorded for each experiment