BIOLOGY OF THE CARMINE SPIDER MITE, Tetranychus cinnabarinus Boisduval (Acari: Tetranychidae) ON STRAWBERRY

Abstract

Strawberries are a new and high-value economic crop for farmers in Son La province. In Mai Son, Son La, this crop has been seriously damaged by the carmine spider mite, Tetranychus cinnabarinus Boisduval. The biology and life table of T. cinnabarinus were constructed to effectively manage this species. The life cycle consists of the egg, larva, protonymph, deutonymph, and adult stages. Its life cycles last for 8.00±0.47 days. The immature stage periods for males and females are equivalent, with durations of 7.07±0.33 and 6.70±0.36 days, respectively. Fecundity and female ratio are higher at the early stage of the oviposition period. The intrinsic rate of natural increase is 0.361 female offspring/ female/day, the generation time is 10.86 days, and the double generation time is 1.92 days. Under the conditions of an average temperature of 29.3 and average humidity of 75.3%, T. cinnabarinus can rapidly develop their population.