Side Effect of Indigenous Entomopathogenic Fungi on the Predatory Mite, Cydnoseius negevi (Swirski and Amitai) (Acari: Phytoseiidae)

The present study deals with the side effect of the four entomopathogenic fungi EPF, Metarhizium anisoplia (Metchnikoff), Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo), Paceliomyces fumosoroseus(Vassiljevsky) and Cladosporium cladosporiodes (Fresen), which used mainly against insect pests and spider mites, on the phytoseiid predatory mite, Cydnoseius negevi(Swirski and Amitai) in laboratory.  Spore suspensions of LC50 (1x106=106 conidia/ml) of the tested fungi, which achieved a significant reduction% in populations of the two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch, were sprayed on different stages of C. negevi individuals. In general, a slight negative toxic effect of EPF observed where no adverse effect was noticed on eggs while a negative effect was increasingly observed on larvae, protonymps and deutonymphs. Mortality percentage of treated adult females increased by increasing time after treatment, where the highest mortality achieved 8 days after exposure. Paceliomyces fumosoroseus had the highest rate of reduction in egg production and followed by B. bassiana then M. anisoplia, while C. cladospriodes came last. Same ranking was observed regarding the life table parameters, where LC50 of P. fumosoroseus caused the lowest Ro, rm and ermvalues and prolonged the mean generation time T and doubling timeDt (days). Accordingly, in IPM program against insect and mite pests, we should use EPF as biocontrol agents, that are safe to biocontrol agents.