Prey Preference of Native Minute Pirate Bug Orius minutus (L.)

A native minute pirate bug, Orius minutus (L.), is a generalist predator of small insect pests such as thrips, mites, scale, etc. By comparing with Tetranychus urticae Koch in choice test, we evaluated the prey preference by counting number of prey killed for 4 hours on Amphitetranychus vienensis (Zacher), Frankliniella intonsa (Trybom), Stephanitis pyrioides Scott, and Eriococcus sp. nymph. Among them F. intonsa was the only one killed more than T. urticae by O. minutus. In no choice test, mean number of prey killed was highest in F. intonsa (7.2) followed by T. urticae (3.0), A. vienensis (2.4), Eriococcus sp. (2.0), and S. pyrioides (0.0) for 4 hours. This experiment shows that O. minutus could be a good predator for F. intonsa and T. urticae.