Combinations of astigmatid mites for rearing predatory insects and mites

Abstract

The invention relates to prey mite compositions comprising a combination of astigmatid mites, including Acarus siro, and compositions comprising said mite compositions and a predator. The invention also relates to the use of these compositions for mass rearing a predator, for rearing a predator on a crop and for controlling a pest on a crop or on a stored product.

Description

[0001] COMBINATIONS OF ASTIGMATID MITES FOR REARING PREDATORY INSECTS AND MITES

[0002] FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The present invention belongs to the field of methods and compositions for rearing predatory mites and insects, in particular, insects from the family Miridae or from the family Anthocoridae.

[0004] BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0005] There is an urgent need to boost the research for a transition towards a regenerative agriculture system, which is one that puts back more into the environment and society than it takes out. In a global perspective two major trends can be observed:

[0006] (1) A study prepared by FAO, along with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP), indicates that given our current investment patterns and spending on social protection, there would be no improvement in income growth and access to food sufficient to eradicate hunger by 2030.

[0007] (2) The world in general is on a consent negative inclination with our natural resources use. These factors are interlinked. As the pressure on scarce land and water resources increases, the agri-food sector must find ways of reducing its environmental impact, which includes greenhouse gas emissions, water usage, food loss and waste, and its effect on soil health, ecosystem services and biodiversity. However, the global challenge is that this reduction must come hand in hand with increased production capacity. In this context the EU’s Farm-to Fork Strategy aims to reduce the use of hazardous pesticides by 50% in 2030, implementing innovative techniques, including biotechnological solutions and biological products.

[0008] For these reasons there is an increasing demand to produce vegetables, fruits and ornamental plants using alternative non-chemical methods to control pests. One of the most important alternative methods is the use of the biological control offered by beneficial arthropods that are predators and / or parasitoids of these pests. This is recently named bioprotection of the plants. It consists in the intentional manipulation of populations of living beneficial organisms (natural enemies) in order to limit populations of pests.

[0009] The major development of biological control has occurred in greenhouses or plastic houses (protected crops). Biological control programs in greenhouses are often based on periodical releases of natural enemies, produced by biomanufacturers, also referred to as augmentative biological control. This method has been successfully applied for decades, and a professional bioindustry has emerged. However, in some cases there are shortcomings in pest control efficacy, which often can be attributed to the poor establishment of natural enemies. To overcome the problem of establishment and monitoring, some specialist natural enemies (e.g. aphid and whitefly parasitoids) are released routinely (e.g. weekly) as an “insurance policy”. However, this method is not always economically viable.

[0010] A successful ratio is best, often only, achieved if a reasonable breeding population of the biocontrol agent can be established on the crop before the first pests invade. However, if predators are introduced before the pest arrives, they will quickly die of starvation, especially if the crop itself is unable to provide nutrients, such as pollen or nectar. Many valuable crops, e.g. cucumbers, do neither have flowers with pollen, nor possess nectar sites, and so do not have an alternative nutrient source. Other crops, such as young sweet pepper plants or ornamentals, will have yet to flower. However, even if pollen or flowers are present, not all predators can efficiently use pollen or nectar as food sources.

[0011] Thus, a major drawback with current biological programs for protected crops is that the factors which influence the arrival of the first pest populations are complex, and to date neither the commercial producer, nor the grower, has been able to reasonably identify the timing of this event.

[0012] Methods that will increase the persistence of natural enemies in crops could greatly enhance the efficacy, robustness and cost-effectiveness of biological pest control. The establishment and persistence of generalist predators compared to specialist natural enemies may provide more sustainable biological control, as their broader diet range enables them to persist or even reproduce on alternative prey or plant-provided food sources in the absence of pest organisms. This offers the opportunity to inoculate crops that provide such food sources with generalist predators before pest invasions (preventive biological control). However, many crops do not provide the additional resources required by natural enemies.

[0013] Polyphagous natural enemies include some species of heteropteran insects (Heteroptera) and predatory mites. Predatory mites that are particularly useful for biological control of pests comprise species that belong to the groups of Mesostigmatid and Prostigmatid mites.

[0014] The introduction of pollen is one of the strategies that was most investigated as a feeding system to favor the establishment of predatory mite populations, with highly controversial results. Some researchers concluded that pollen represents a viable proposition as an alternative pre-pest food, whereas others defer. This is probably not due to different approaches in methodologies but by the fact that there are very different qualities of “pollen”. The pollen profile for each flowering plant is unique, thus to one predator species a specific pollen may represent a natural food, whilst to another it will be factitious, unknown to it in its natural environment. Other drawbacks associated with pollen as an alternative food are in themselves major problems, for example:

[0015] • pollen also provides a source of nutriment for many pest species

[0016] • scarcity of a regular pollen supply for commercial usage, relative to the need to employ different pollen species,

[0017] • reliability of purchasing from an outside source,

[0018] • storage problems relating to fresh pollen, chiefly rapid protein denaturing,

[0019] • currently only one commercial pollen product is on the market. This product is cattail pollen (Typha sp.). Thus, only a very small market can be satisfied, and

[0020] • in moist, warm environments, such as experienced by crops in certain countries, pollen will quickly become attacked by fungi.

[0021] Successful strategies have been recently developed to improve establishment of predatory mites and insects on the crops, based on the introduction, on top of the crop plants, of a group of prey mites as an alternative or complementary food. Specifically, a group of species of astigmatids, known as “stored food pest mites”, can be reared in large numbers in heated chambers at reasonable costs. Programs and systems for the introduction of these prey mites have been established on top of crop plants, where they cannot produce any damage, as factitious prey for predatory mites and insects. This has allowed improving the establishment of these natural enemies of pests and, especially, the development of biological control strategies in crops where it was previously difficult to establish these predators, as in the case of many ornamentals. In addition, it has been the key to the development of strategies in various open field crops, where the economic margins are, in general, lower and, therefore, the costs that a farmer can invest in inoculative releases of predators is much lower, compared to greenhouses.

[0022] The same species of Astigmatid mites used as food for the predators in the crops are also used to mass-rear several species of predatory mites in climatic rooms, prior to their introduction in the crops or their use for biological control of stored food pests or their use for biological control of animal pests. Currently, commercial rearing systems use living or dead or combinations of both dead and living prey mites in a culture maintained on a carrier to rear predatory mites. Several combinations of a single prey mite species and a predatory species are used to produce populations on commerciallyrelevant scales for an acceptable price. For example, W02006 / 071107, WO2013 / 103295, and W02021110934A1 describe a mite composition comprising a population of individuals of a predatory mite species, a prey mite population as a food source for the predatory mite individuals and a carrier. The compositions according to these prior art documents are suitable for rearing mite species and for the biological control of pests.

[0023] W02006 / 057552, W02008 / 015393, W02008 / 14807 and W02007 / 075081 demonstrate the potential of Astigmatid mites to be used as prey mites in mass-rearing of predatory mites. WO2022063988A1 demonstrate the potential of the same Astigmatid species to be used as a factitious host on a crop for rearing and / or maintaining populations of predatory insects of the family Miridae or from the family Anthocoridae in such crop. However, until now only a few Astigmatid prey mite species are used in mass rearing methods of predatory mites, i.e. Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Schrank), Thyreophagus entomophagus (Laboulbene & Robin), Carpoglyphus lactis L., Lepidoglyphus destructor (Schrank) and more recently Czenspinskia transversostriata (Oudemans).

[0024] Identifying new prey mites for use in biological pest control, which are at the same time economical and easy to breed remains a challenge. This is one of the main factors why no more than 20 species of predatory mites are commercialized despite that thousands of species have been described by academic researchers. Most mites that are preyed upon by predatory mites in nature have subsequently been found not to be suitable for mas-rearing of these predatory mites. Moreover, prey mites that are pests on crops may have potential negative impacts on crop plants. Regarding the Astigmatid mites, all the used species that are harmless for crops belong to a limited group described as storage food mites, and several factors have been described as explanations why many of the tested combinations predators: preys have a low efficiency. Among them, mechanisms of defense of the preys, such as fast movements that disturb the behaviour of the predators when they are surrounded by high prey densities, long hairs of the preys, and alarm pheromones.

[0025] Regarding the polyphagous predatory Heteroptera, although recently Astigmatid mites have been identified as a complementary in-crop food source, these alternative preys which are suboptimal foods for the predatory insects can not substitute the currently used foods to develop effective mass rearing systems in climatic (temperature and humidity controlled) rooms, on commercially relevant scales. In such mass-rearing conditions, the high desirable densities of predators (for instance high numbers of individuals per gram of substrate) can not be achieved using an Astigmatid prey mite, and all the current systems are based on the use of high nutritive quality eggs of moths, such as Ephestia kuheniella and Sitotroga cerealella, as factitious hosts, which are extremely expensive (up to 800 euros / kg).

[0026] Among these predatory insects, the bugs of the Miridae family are the most used for pest control in various crops, especially tomato and eggplant. Currently, all the commercialized species are mass-reared using as food the very expensive eggs of moths, such as Ephestia kuehniella. The species that are massively released in greenhouses are Macrolophus pygmaeus in northern Europe, Nesidiocoris tenuis in Mediterranean countries and some Asians (South Korea) and Australia, and Dicyphus hesperus in Canada. These mirids have a longer period of development compared to most of the phytoseiid mites, and they need several weeks until establishment in the crop. Releases are mostly inoculative and pest control is only achieved subsequently by the following generations that develop in the crop, once populations are well established. For this reason, in order to favor the early establishment, a program of releases of N. tenuis on the nursery plants before transplanting were developed in the south of Spain. In these little seedling plants without pests or alternative nourishment, complementary food must be provided once or twice to support the predators. In other cooler areas, like Canada, Russia, east and north of Europe, where most of tomato crops are planted in winter in the greenhouses, the inoculative releases are made several weeks, or even months, after transplanting, when temperatures increase in spring. Then, an expensive feeding program, with weekly introductions of food for these predatory bugs during the first months, is also usually required to compensate for this delay. In all the cases, the main used food is cysts of Artemia, with the exception of a company, Agrobio, which commercializes a diet comprising a population of an Astigmatid prey mite. Again, only a few number of species have been used so far.

[0027] Another group of polyphagous predators that has been the key to the success of augmentative biological control programs are the bugs of the Anthocoridae family. In particular, various species of the Orius genus, known as flower bugs, are inoculatively introduced into horticultural crops, such as bell peppers, to control thrips. Currently, all the commercialized species are mass-reared using as food the very expensive eggs of moths, such as Ephestia kuehniella. Polyphagous predators O. majusculus and O. laevigatus, are two Paleartic species and two of the natural enemies widely used in biological control programs, both in inoculation and conservation strategies, for the control of thrips, especially the pest Frankliniella occidentalis. Like the mirids, these predators are polyphagous, also feeding on food of vegetable origin, especially pollen, and obtaining nutritional benefits from them.

[0028] The use of Artemia cysts as factitious prey for laboratory breeding of mirids and anthocorids has been evaluated. Artemia cysts are the encapsulated eggs of the brine shrimp Artemia spp., and when de-capsulated form a basic food for exotic ornamental fish species, hence large quantities are sold across the world each year. Artemia sp. cysts have been shown to be a good alternative food for rearing M. pygmaeus and N. tenuis, and its consumption allows preimaginal development and reproduction of the predator (Castane et al. Biological Control 2006, 38: 405-412; Vandekerkhove et al. Journal of Applied Entomology, 2009, 133: 133-142). Fernandez Oveja et al. (2015)() showed that Artemia allows to increase the fertility of Macrolophus pygmaeus and N. tenuis, and proposed their use as food to improve the establishment of these predators in the crop. However, the costs of Artemia are relatively high. Another problem is the variability of the quality of Artemia. This is the food most used for fish production in fish farms, being a market that consumes an enormous quantity, and there is currently a deficit in the quantity available. For this reason, the Artemia cysts that are supplied to feed predators in the crops are of low quality, reserving the best products for the fish farm market that can pay a higher cost.

[0029] In view of the above there is a continuing need to obtain improved (more efficient) mite compositions for mass rearing and large-scale production of both predatory mite populations and predatory heteroptera of the families Anthocoridae and Miridae, for commercial distribution of larger volumes of mites and insects compositions comprising such. Also, there is a continuing need to obtain improved mite compositions for feeding the predatory mites and insects on crops, especially in the absence of their natural prey and even in absence of pollen, with the general aim of ensuring a better pest control (preventive robust and resilient systems) and agricultural management.

[0030] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0031] The authors of the present invention have found that, surprisingly, predatory mites and predatory insects of the family Miridiae and Anthocoridae developed higher populations when feed a mixture of A. siro with other astigmatid mites, such as Carpoglyphus lactis, Aleuroglyphus ovatus, Thyreophagus entomophagus, Tyrolichus casei, Suidasia medanensis and Czenspinskia transversostriata, compared to diets comprising the same amount of total astigmatid mite individuals of a single astigmatid species. This unexpected development of the above-mentioned predators seems to be restricted to combinations of prey astigmatid mites including A siro and at least one additional species of astigmatid mites selected from Carpoglyphus lactis, Aleuroglyphus ovatus, Thyreophagus entomophagus, Tyrolichus casei, Suidasia medanensis and Czenspinskia transversostriata, since the same effect is not found when other combinations of prey mites are used to feed the predators (see Examples 4, 6 and 11).

[0032] Therefore, in a first aspect, the invention relates to a prey mite composition comprising a population of an astigmatid mite of the species Acarus siro and at least one additional population of an astigmatid mite of a species selected from the group consisting of Carpoglyphus lactis, Aleuroglyphus ovatus, Thyreophagus entomophagus, Tyrolichus casei, Suidasia medanensis and Czenspinskia transversostriata, wherein the prey mite composition comprises at least 1000 individuals of said astigmatid mite species per gram of the total weight of the composition or at least 300 individuals of said astigmatid mite species per milliliter of the total volume of the composition, wherein said astigmatid mite species are the species Acarus siro, Carpoglyphus lactis, Aleuroglyphus ovatus, Thyreophagus entomophagus, Tyrolichus casei, Suidasia medanensis and Czenspinskia transversostriata..

[0033] In a second aspect aspect, the invention relates to a composition comprising the prey mite composition of the invention and a rearing population of a predator, wherein said predator is selected from the group consisting of a predatory mite, a predatory insect of the family Miridae, a predatory insect of the family Anthocoridae and a combination thereof or, alternatively to a composition comprising:

[0034] (a) a prey mite composition comprising a population of an astigmatid mite of the species Acarus siro and at least one additional population of an astigmatid mite of a species selected from the group consisting of Carpoglyphus lactis, Aleuroglyphus ovatus, Thyreophagus entomophagus, Tyrolichus casei, Suidasia medanensis and Czenspinskia transversostriata, and

[0035] (b) a rearing population of a predator, wherein said predator is selected from the group consisting of a predatory mite, a predatory insect of the family Miridae, a predatory insect of the family Anthocoridae and a combination thereof.

[0036] In another aspect, the invention relates to a method for mass rearing a predator selected from the group consisting of a predatory mite, a predatory insect of the family Miridae, a predatory insect of the family Anthocoridae and a combination thereof, comprising: (a) contacting a rearing population of the predator with the prey mite composition of the invention and

[0037] (b) allowing the predator to prey on the mite composition.

[0038] In another aspect, the invention relates to a method for rearing a predator on a crop, wherein the predator is selected from the group consisting of a predatory mite, a predatory insect of the family Miridae, a predatory insect of the family Anthocoridae and a combination thereof, comprising:

[0039] (a) providing the crop with the prey mite composition of the invention and

[0040] (b) allowing a rearing population of the predator naturally present on the crop to prey on the prey mite composition or, alternatively, providing the crop with at least a rearing population of the predator and allowing said predator to prey on the mite composition.

[0041] In another aspect, the invention relates to a method for controlling a pest on a crop or on a stored product comprising:

[0042] (a) providing the crop or stored product with the prey mite composition of the invention and

[0043] (b) allowing a rearing population of a predator naturally present on the crop or stored product to prey on the mite composition or, alternatively, providing the crop or stored product with at least a rearing population of a predator and allowing said predator to prey on the prey mite composition, wherein the predator is selected from the group consisting of a predatory mite, a predatory insect of the family Miridae, a predatory insect of the family Anthocoridae and a combination thereof.

[0044] In another aspect, the invention relates to the use of the prey mite composition of the invention for: mass rearing a predator, or rearing a predator on a crop, wherein the predator is selected from the group consisting of a predatory mite, a predatory insect of the family Miridae, a predatory insect of the family Anthocoridae and a combination thereof.

[0045] In another aspect, the invention relates to the use of the composition according to the second aspect for controlling a pest on a crop or in a stored product.

[0046] In another aspect, the invention relates to a composition comprising a population of an astigmatid mite of the species Acarus siro and a rearing population of a predatory insect of the family Miridae or of the family Anthocoridae, wherein the population of Acarus siro and the population of the predatory insect are not physically separated.

[0047] In another aspect, the invention relates to the use of the composition according to the previous aspect for mass rearing a predatory insect of the family Miridae or of the family Anthocoridae of for controlling a pest on a crop or in a stored product.

[0048] In another aspect, the invention relates to a method for mass rearing a predatory insect of the family Miridae or of the family Anthocoridae comprising

[0049] (a) contacting a rearing population of the predatory insect of the family Miridae or of the family Anthocoridae with a population of an astigmatid mite of the species Acarus siro and

[0050] (b) allowing the predatory insect to prey on the population of Acarus siro.

[0051] In another aspect, the invention relates to the use of a population of Acarus siro for mass rearing a predatory insect of the family Miridae or of the family Anthocoridae.

[0052] In another aspect, the invention relates to a method for controlling a pest on a crop or on a stored product comprising:

[0053] (a) providing the crop or stored product with a population of an astigmatid mite of the species Acarus siro

[0054] (b) allowing a rearing population of a predator naturally present on the crop or stored product to prey on the population of the astigamtid mite of the species Acarus siro or, alternatively, providing the crop or stored product with at least a rearing population of a predator and allowing said predator to prey on the population of an astigmatid mite, wherein the predator is selected from the group consisting of a predatory insect of the family Miridae, a predatory insect of the family Anthocoridae and a combination thereof.

[0055] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0056] Figure 1 : Mean (±SE) of mobile stages of A. swirskii counted between December 2022 and February 2023 in a commercial greenhouse, with 3 in-crop feeding treatments based on different factitious preys introduced: (1) C. lactis, (2) C. lactis + A. siro, and (3) A. siro. (Means with different capital letters in each sampling date are different with p= 0.05, Duncan test).

[0057] Figure 2: Mean (±SE) of mobile stages of A. swirskii counted between December 2022 and January 2023 in a commercial greenhouse, with 4 in-crop feeding treatments based on different factitious preys introduced: (1) C. lactis, (2) T. entomophagus, (3) A. siro, and (4) C. lactis + T. entomophagus + A siro. (Means with different capital letters in each sampling date are different with p= 0.05, Duncan test).

[0058] Figure 3: Mean (±SE) of mobile stages of T. montdorensis counted between December 2022 and January 2023 in a commercial greenhouse, with 4 in-crop feeding treatments based on different factitious preys: (1) T. entomophagus, (2) C. lactis, (3) A. siro, and (4) C. lactis + T. entomophagus + A. siro. (Means with different capital letters in each sampling date are different with p= 0.05, Duncan test).

[0059] Figure 4: Mean (±SE) of mobile stages of A. swirskii counted between January and March 2023 in a commercial greenhouse, with 4 in-crop feeding treatments based on different factitious preys: (1) C. lactis, (2) A. ovatus, (3) C. lactis + A. ovatus, and (4) C. lactis + L. destructor (Means with different capital letters in each sampling date are different with p= 0.05, Duncan test).

[0060] Figure 5: Mean (±SE) of mobile stages of A. swirskii counted between September and December 2022 in a commercial greenhouse, with 2 in-crop feeding treatments based on different factitious preys: (1) C. lactis and (2) C. lactis + S. medanensis + A. siro.

[0061] Figure 6. Mean (±SE) of larvae and adults of thrips counted between September and December 2022 in a commercial greenhouse, with 2 in-crop feeding treatments based on different factitious preys: (1) C. lactis and (2) C. lactis + S. medanensis + A. siro.

[0062] Figure 7. Mean (±SE) of nymphs, pupae and adults of whiteflies counted between September and December 2022 in a commercial greenhouse, with 2 in-crop feeding treatments based on different factitious preys: (1) C. lactis and (2) C. lactis + S. medanensis + A. siro.

[0063] Figure 8. Percentage survival (mean ± SE) from egg to adult of Orius laevigatus fed Ephestia eggs or different Astigmatid mite species alone or in mixture. Columns with the same letter are not significantly different (p > 0.05, Tukey test).

[0064] Figure 9. Percentage survival (mean ± SE) from egg to adult of Orius laevigatus fed Ephestia eggs or different Astigmatid mite species alone or in mixtures. Columns with the same letter are not significantly different (p > 0.05, Tukey test).

[0065] Figure 10. Lifetime fecundity (mean ± SE) of females of Orius laevigatus feeding Ephestia eggs or different Astigmatid mite species. Columns with the same letter are not significantly different (p > 0.05, Tukey test).

[0066] Figure 11. Early fecundity (mean ± SE) of females of Macrolophus pygmaeus feeding Ephestia eggs or different Astigmatid mite species alone or in mixtures. Columns with the same letter are not significantly different (p > 0.05, Tukey test). Figure 12. Mean (±SE) of mobile stages of A swirskii counted between February and March (2023) in a commercial cucumber greenhouse, with 2 in-crop feeding treatments based on different factitious preys introduced: (1) C. lactis, (2) ‘C. lactis + S. medanensis + A. siro’.

[0067] Figure 13. Accumulated number of mobile stages of A. swirskii counted between February and March (2023) in a commercial cucumber greenhouse, with 2 in-crop feeding treatments based on different factitious preys introduced: (1) C. lactis, (2) ‘C. lactis + S. medanensis + A. siro’.

[0068] Figure 14. Mean (±SE) of mobile stages of T. montdorensis counted between 20 / 01 / 2023 and 6 / 03 / 2023 in a commercial cucumber greenhouse, with 2 in-crop feeding treatments based on different factitious preys introduced: (1) Powerfood (C. lactis), (2) Powermite 3.0 (C. lactis + S. medanensis + A. siro).

[0069] Figure 15. Accumulated number of mobile stages of T. montdorensis counted between 20 / 01 / 2023 and 6 / 03 / 2023 in a commercial cucumber greenhouse, with two in-crop feeding treatments based on different factitious preys introduced: (1) Powerfood (C. lactis), (2) Powermite 3.0 (C. lactis + S. medanensis + A. siro).

[0070] Figure 16. Mean (±SE) of mobile stages of A. andersoni counted between April and May 2023 in two commercial cucumber greenhouses, with 2 in-crop feeding treatments based on different factitious preys introduced: (1) Powerfood (C. lactis), (2) Powermite 3.0 (C. lactis + S. medanensis + A. siro).

[0071] Figure 17. Mean (±SE) of accumulated nymphs and adults of O. laevigatus counted per m2during the first four weeks after the introduction of the predator in two treatments with different supplementary feeding: (1) Powerfood Plus (S. medanensis + eggs of S. cerealella) and (2) Powermite 3.0 (S. medanensis + A. siro + C. lactis).

[0072] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0073] In a first aspect, the invention relates to a prey mite composition, hereinafter prey mite composition of the invention, comprising a population of an astigmatid mite of the species Acarus siro and at least one additional population of an astigmatid mite of a species selected from the group consisting of Carpoglyphus lactis, Aleuroglyphus ovatus, Thyreophagus entomophagus, Tyrolichus casei, Suidasia medanensis and Czenspinskia transversostriata, wherein the mite composition comprises at least 1000 individuals of said astigmatid mite species per gram of the total weight of the composition or at least 300 individuals of said astigmatid mite species per milliliter of the total volume of the composition.

[0074] The term “mite”, as used herein, refers to a small arachnid (eight-legged arthropod) belonging to two superorders: Acariformes and Parasitiformes. These two orders were historically grouped together in the subclass Acari. About 48,200 species of mites have been described. Mites are actively involved in the fragmentation and mixing of organic matter in soil ecosystems. Mites occur in many habitats and eat a wide variety of materials, including live plants and dead plants and fungal matter, lichens and carrion. Many mites are parasitic on plants and animals.

[0075] The term “prey mite”, as used herein, refers to a mite that is devoured by a predator population of predatory insects or predatory mites.

[0076] The term “prey mite composition”, as used herein, refers to a product containing the specified mite populations, as well as any product that results, directly or indirectly, from a combination of the specified mite populations in any amount. The mite populations of the composition may be together in the same physical space or they can be physically separated.

[0077] The prey mite composition of the invention comprises a population of an astigmatid mite of the species Acarus siro.

[0078] The term “astigmatid mite”, as used herein, refers to a mite belonging to the Astigmata. The term “Astigmata”, as used herein, refers to the infraorder Astigmata, belonging to the suborder Sarcoptiformes and the order Acariformes. In the past Astigmata was classified as an Order, but recently a modification to infraorder was proposed by Mironov & Bochkov, Entomological Review, 2009, 89 (8): 975-992. Astigmata is identified in the NCBI database by the Taxonomy ID: 6951.

[0079] The term “population of an astigmatid mite”, as used herein, refers to a group of individuals that can include individuals of both sexes and of any stages of life, for example, adults and / or nymphs and / or larvae and / or eggs. The population of the astigmatid mite can be a breeding or rearing population, but it can also comprise dead individuals or can even be formed in its entirety by dead individuals.

[0080] The term “egg”, as used herein referred to the prey mite, refers to the first stage of the mites. Astigmatid mite eggs are usually white or translucent and are small in size.

[0081] The term “larva”, as used herein referred to the prey mite, refers to the second stage of the mites. The eggs hatch into larvae, which are very small and have only three pairs of legs. The term “nymph”, as used herein referred to the prey mite, refers to the third and fourth stage of the mites (mites have mostly two nymphal stages). The nymphs have four pairs of legs and are larger than the larvae.

[0082] The term “adult, as used herein referred to the prey mite, refers to the last stage of the mites. Adult astigmatid mites have eight legs and are sexually mature, so they may mate and lay eggs to continue the life cycle.

[0083] The term “breeding population” or “rearing population”, as used interchangably herein, refers to a population that can increase their number by sexual reproduction. A breeding population can comprise alive sexually mature individuals of both sexes and / or other stages of life, for example, eggs and / or nymph from both sexes that can mature into sexually mature adults. Alternatively, a breeding population can comprise one or more fertilized females.

[0084] In a particular embodiment, at least part of the population of the astigmatid mite is not alive, immobilized or non-viable, for example, at least a 5 %, at least a 10%, at least a 20%, at least a 30%, at least a 40%, at least a 50%, at least a 60 %, at least a 70%, at least a 80%, at least a 90% or the 100% of the population. In a particular embodiment, at least part of the population of the astigmatid mite is dead, immobilized or non-viable by a human action, for example, radiation exposure, freezing or exposure to high carbon dioxide levels.

[0085] The term ‘immobilized’ or ‘non-viable’, as used herein, generally means not capable of living, growing, developing, or functioning. The terms ‘dead’, ‘immobilized’ and ‘non-viable’ are used interchangeably herein.

[0086] The term “Acarus siro” or “Acarus siro Linnaeus, 1758”, as used herein, refers to a species of an astigmatid mite identified in the NCBI database by the Taxonomy ID 66546.

[0087] In a particular embodiment, the population of A. siro is a breeding population.

[0088] In a particular embodiment, at least part of the population of the astigmatid mite of the species Acarus siro is not alive, for example, at least a 5%, at least a 10%, at least a 20%, at least a 30%, at least a 40%, at least a 50%, at least a 60 %, at least a 70%, at least a 80%, at least a 90% or the 100% of the population.

[0089] The prey mite composition of the invention comprises at least one additional population of an astigmatid mite of a species selected from the group consisting of: Carpoglyphus lactis, Aleuroglyphus ovatus, Thyreophagus entomophagus, Tyrolichus casei, Suidasia medanensis and Czenspinskia transversostriata. The term “Carpoglyphus lactis" or “Carpoglyphus lactis (L.)”, as used herein, refers to a mite commonly known as prune mite identified in the NCBI database by the Taxonomy ID 223459.

[0090] The term “Aleuroglyphus ovatus” or “Aleuroglyphus ovatus (Troupeau, 1879)”, as used herein, refers to a mite commonly known as brown legged grain mite identified in the NCBI database by the Taxonomy ID 212130.

[0091] The term “Thyreophagus entomophagus" or “Thyreophagus entomophagus (Laboulbene & Robin, 1862)”, as used herein, refers to a mite identified in the NCBI database by the Taxonomy ID 2874286.

[0092] The term “Tyrolichus case or “Tyrolichus casei (Oudemans, 1910)”, as used herein, refers to a mite identified in the NCBI database by the Taxonomy ID 2922345.

[0093] The term “Suidasia medanensis" or “Suidasia medanensis Oudemans”, as used herein, refers to a mite identified in the NCBI database by the Taxonomy ID: 223625.

[0094] The term “Czenspinskia transversostriata" or “Czenspinskia transversostriata Oudemans”, as used herein, refers to a mite identified in the GBIF by the Taxonomy ID: 4653485.

[0095] In a particular embodiment, the prey mite composition of the invention comprises at least 2, at least 3, at least 4, at least 5 or the 6 populations of astimatid mites of the species Carpoglyphus lactis, Aleuroglyphus ovatus, Thyreophagus entomophagus, Tyrolichus casei, Suidasia medanensis and Czenspinskia transversostriata, wherein said at least 2, at least 3, at least 4, at least 5 or the 6 populations are from different species.

[0096] In a particular embodiment, the prey mite composition of the invention comprises a population of A. siro and one additional population of an astimatid mite of the species Carpoglyphus lactis, Aleuroglyphus ovatus, Thyreophagus entomophagus, Tyrolichus casei, Suidasia medanensis and Czenspinskia transversostriata.

[0097] In a particular embodiment, the prey mite compostion of the invention comprises a population of A. siro and a population of Carpoglyphus lactis.

[0098] In a particular embodiment, the prey mite compostion of the invention comprises a population of A. siro and a population of Aleuroglyphus ovatus.

[0099] In a particular embodiment, the prey mite compostion of the invention comprises a population of A. siro and a population of Thyreophagus entomophagus.

[0100] In a particular embodiment, the prey mite compostion of the invention comprises a population of A. siro and a population of Tyrolichus casei. In a particular embodiment, the prey mite compostion of the invention comprises a population of A siro and a population of Suidasia medanensis.

[0101] In a particular embodiment, the prey mite compostion of the invention comprises a population of A. siro and a population of Czenspinskia transversostriata.

[0102] In a particular embodiment, the prey mite composition of the invention comprises a population of A. siro and two additional populations of an astimatid mites of the species Carpoglyphus lactis, Aleuroglyphus ovatus, Thyreophagus entomophagus, Tyrolichus casei, Suidasia medanensis and Czenspinskia transversostriata, wherein said two additional populations are from different species.

[0103] In a particular embodiment, the prey mite compostion of the invention comprises a population of A. siro, a population of Carpoglyphus lactis and a population of Aleuroglyphus ovatus.

[0104] In a particular embodiment, the prey mite compostion of the invention comprises a population of A. siro, a population of Carpoglyphus lactis and a population of Thyreophagus entomophagus.

[0105] In a particular embodiment, the prey mite compostion of the invention comprises a population of A. siro, a population of Carpoglyphus lactis and a population of Tyrolichus casei.

[0106] In a particular embodiment, the prey mite compostion of the invention comprises a population of A. siro, a population of Carpoglyphus lactis and a population of Suidasia medanensis.

[0107] In a particular embodiment, the prey mite compostion of the invention comprises a population of A. siro, a population of Carpoglyphus lactis and a population of Czenspinskia transversostriata.

[0108] In a particular embodiment, the prey mite compostion of the invention comprises a population of A. siro, a population of Aleuroglyphus ovatus and a population of Thyreophagus entomophagus.

[0109] In a particular embodiment, the prey mite compostion of the invention comprises a population of A. siro, a population of Aleuroglyphus ovatus and a population of Tyrolichus casei.

[0110] In a particular embodiment, the prey mite compostion of the invention comprises a population of A. siro, a population of Aleuroglyphus ovatus and a population of Suidasia medanensis. In a particular embodiment, the prey mite compostion of the invention comprises a population of A siro, a population of Aleuroglyphus ovatus and a population of Czenspinskia transversostriata.

[0111] In a particular embodiment, the prey mite compostion of the invention comprises a population of A. siro, a population of Thyreophagus entomophagus and a population of Tyrolichus casei.

[0112] In a particular embodiment, the prey mite compostion of the invention comprises a population of A. siro, a population of Thyreophagus entomophagus and a population of Suidasia medanensis.

[0113] In a particular embodiment, the prey mite compostion of the invention comprises a population of A. siro, a population of Thyreophagus entomophagus and a population of Czenspinskia transversostriata.

[0114] In a particular embodiment, the prey mite compostion of the invention comprises a population of A. siro, a population of Tyrolichus casei and a population of Suidasia medanensis.

[0115] In a particular embodiment, the prey mite compostion of the invention comprises a population of A. siro, a population of Tyrolichus casei and a population of Czenspinskia transversostriata.

[0116] In a particular embodiment, the prey mite compostion of the invention comprises a population of A. siro, a population of Suidasia medanensis and a population of Czenspinskia transversostriata.

[0117] In a particular embodiment, the prey mite composition of the invention comprises a population of A. siro and three additional populations of an astimatid mites of the species Carpoglyphus lactis, Aleuroglyphus ovatus, Thyreophagus entomophagus, Tyrolichus casei, Suidasia medanensis and Czenspinskia transversostriata, wherein said three additional populations are from different species.

[0118] In a particular embodiment, the prey mite composition of the invention comprises a population of A siro and four additional populations of an astimatid mites of the species Carpoglyphus lactis, Aleuroglyphus ovatus, Thyreophagus entomophagus, Tyrolichus casei, Suidasia medanensis and Czenspinskia transversostriata, wherein said four additional populations are from different species

[0119] In a particular embodiment, the prey mite composition of the invention comprises a population of A. siro and five additional populations of an astimatid mites of the species Carpoglyphus lactis, Aleuroglyphus ovatus, Thyreophagus entomophagus, Tyrolichus casei, Suidasia medanensis and Czenspinskia transversostriata, wherein said five additional populations are from different species.

[0120] In a particular embodiment, the prey mite composition of the invention comprises a population of A. siro and the 6 additional populations of an astimatid mites of the species Carpoglyphus lactis, Aleuroglyphus ovatus, Thyreophagus entomophagus, Tyrolichus casei, Suidasia medanensis and Czenspinskia transversostriata.

[0121] In a particular embodiment, the at least one, at least 2, at least 3, at least 4, at least 5 or the 6 additional populations of an astigmatid mite is a breeding population.

[0122] In a particular embodiment, at least part of the at least one, at least 2, at least 3, at least 4, at least 5 or the 6 additional populations of an astigmatid mite is not alive, for example, at least a 5%, at least a 10%, at least a 20%, at least a 30%, at least a 40%, at least a 50%, at least a 60 %, at least a 70%, at least a 80%, at least a 90% or the 100% of the additional population.

[0123] In a particular embodiment, the population of A. siro is a breeding population and the at least one, at least 2, at least 3, at least 4, at least 5 or the 6 additional populations of an astigmatid mite is also a breeding population.

[0124] In a particular embodiment, at least part of the population of A. siro is not alive and the at least one, at least 2, at least 3, at least 4, at least 5 or the 6 additional populations of an astigmatid mite is a breeding population.

[0125] In a particular embodiment, the population of A. siro is a breeding population and at least part of the at least one, at least 2, at least 3, at least 4, at least 5 or the 6 additional populations of an astigmatid mite is not alive.

[0126] In a particular embodiment, at least part of the population of A. siro is not alive and at least part of the at least one, at least 2, at least 3, at least 4, at least 5 or the 6 additional populations of an astigmatid mite is not alive.

[0127] The prey mite composition of the invention comprises at least 1000 astigmatid mite individuals per gram of the total weight of the composition or at least 300 astigmatid mite individuals per milliliter of the total volume of the compostion.

[0128] The term “astigmatid mite individual” a used herein, refers to any individual of any sex or stage of development of the astigmatid mites included in the composition. The term includes therefore both male and females, adults, nymphs and eggs.

[0129] The expression “individuals of said astigmatid mite species” refers to the individuals of the species of astigmatid mite species previously mentioned, including any individual of any sex or stage of development. The term includes therefore both male and females, adults, nymphs and eggs. If the composition comprises astigmatid mites from other species different from A. siro, Carpoglyphus lactis, Aleuroglyphus ovatus, Thyreophagus entomophagus, Tyrolichus casei, Suidasia medanensis and Czenspinskia transversostriata, the indicated number of individuals only refers to individuals of the species A. siro, Carpoglyphus lactis, Aleuroglyphus ovatus, Thyreophagus entomophagus, Tyrolichus casei, Suidasia medanensis and Czenspinskia transversostriata .

[0130] The terms “total weight” and “total volume” of the composition refers to the weight and volume of the composition with all of its components, including all the populations of mites and any carrier, food or similar that may be present.

[0131] In a particular embodiment, the prey mite composition of the invention comprises at least 1000, at least 2000, at least 5000, at least 10000, at least 20000, at least 30000, at least 60000, at least 120000, at least 150000, at least 300000, at least 500000 individuals of said astigmatid mite species per gram of the total weight of the composition.

[0132] In a particular embodiment, the prey mite composition of the invention comprises at least 300, at least 600, at least 750, at least 1500, at least 3000, at least 6000, at least 9000, at least 18000, at least 36000, at least 45000, at least 90000 or at least 150000 individuals of said astigmatid mite species per milliliter of the total volume of the composition.

[0133] In a particular embodiment, the prey mite composition of the invention comprises at least 1000, at least 2000, at least 5000, at least 10000, at least 20000, at least 30000, at least 60000, at least 120000, at least 150000, at least 300000, at least 500000individuals of said astigmatid mite species per gram of the total weight of the composition and / or at least 300, at least 600, at least 750, at least 1500, at least 3000, at least 6000, at least 9000, at least 18000, at least 36000, at least 45000, at least 90000 or at least 150000 individuals of said astigmatid mite species per milliliter of the total volume of the composition.

[0134] In a particular embodiment, the prey mite composition of the invention comprises at least 5%, preferably at least 10%, more preferably at least 20%, even more preferably at least 30% of astigmatid mites of the species Acarus siro.

[0135] In a particular embodiment, the prey mite composition of the invention comprises at least 5%, preferably at least 10%, more preferably at least 20%, even more preferably at least 30% of astigmatid mites selected from the group consisting of Carpoglyohus lactis, Aleuroglyphus ovatus, Thyreophagus entomophagus, Tyrolichus casei, Suidasia medanensis and Czenspinskia transversostriata In a particular embodiment, the prey mite composition of the invention comprises at least 5%, preferably at least 10%, more preferably at least 20%, even more preferably at least 30% of astigmatid mites of the species Acarus siro and at least 5%, preferably at least 10%, more preferably at least 20%, even more preferably at least 30% of astigmatid mites selected from the group consisting of Carpoglyohus lactis, Aleuroglyphus ovatus, Thyreophagus entomophagus, Tyrolichus casei, Suidasia medanensis and Czenspinskia transversostriata.

[0136] In a particular embodiment, when the prey mite composition of the invention comprises a population of A. siro and just one additional population of an astigmatid mite selected from the group consisting of Carpoglyohus lactis, Aleuroglyphus ovatus, Thyreophagus entomophagus, Tyrolichus casei, Suidasia medanensis and Czenspinskia transversostriata, 50% of the mite individuals present in the compostion are of the species A. siro and 50% of the mite individuals present in the compostion are of the other astigamtid mite spcies, preferably C. lactis.

[0137] In a particular embodiment, when the prey mite composition of the invention comprises a population of A. siro and two additional populations of an astigmatid mite selected from the group consisting of Carpoglyphus lactis, Aleuroglyphus ovatus, Thyreophagus entomophagus, Tyrolichus casei, Suidasia medanensis and Czenspinskia transversostriata, approximately 33% of the mite individuals present in the compostion are of the species A. siro, approximately 33% of the mite individuals present in the compostion are of one of the other astigmatid mite species, preferably of C. lactis, and approximately 33% of the mite individuals preset in the composition are of the other astigmatid mite species, preferably of T. entomophagus or S. medanensis.

[0138] The prey mite composition of the invention may comprise other components and, in particular, it may comprise populations of other species of an astigmatid mite. However, in a particular embodiment, the prey mite composition of the invention does not comprise individuals or populations of the species Lepidoglyphus destructor (=Glycyphagus destructor"). In another particular embodiment, the prey mite composition of the invention does not comprise individuals or populations of the family Glycyphagidae. In another particular embodiment, the prey mite composition of the invention does not comprise individuals or populations of other astigmatid mite species different from Acarus siro, Carpoglyphus lactis, Aleuroglyphus ovatus, Thyreophagus entomophagus, Tyrolichus casei, Suidasia medanensis and Czenspinskia transversostriata. The prey mite composition of the invention can comprise other components such as a carrier or a food source for the astigmatid mites. The “carrier” or “substrate” can be any material that is suitable to support and disseminate the astigmatid mites, such as vermiculite, particles of perlite, saw dust, wood dust, bran, buckwheat, shells of seeds and mixtures thereof. Optionally, the carrier can contain food. In a particular embodiment, the carrier material can be entirely composed of food itself. One example for this embodiment is the usage of bran as carrier, which is also a common food for many astigmatid mites.

[0139] First composition of the invention

[0140] In another aspect, the invention relates to a composition, hereinafter first composition of the invention, comprising the prey mite composition of the invention and a rearing population of a predator, wherein said predator is selected from the group consisting of a predatory mite, a predatory insect of the family Miridae, a predatory insect of the family Anthocoridae or a combination thereof.

[0141] Alternatively, the invention relates to a composition comprising:

[0142] (a) a prey mite composition comprising a population of an astigmatid mite of the species Acarus siro and at least one additional population of an astigmatid mite of a species selected from the group consisting of Carpoglyphus lactis, Aleuroglyphus ovatus, Thyreophagus entomophagus, Tyrolichus casei, Suidasia medanensis and Czenspinskia transversostriata, and

[0143] (b) a rearing population of a predator, wherein said predator is selected from the group consisting of a predatory mite, a predatory insect of the family Miridae, a predatory insect of the family Anthocoridae and a combination thereof.

[0144] Component (a) of this composition is the same as the prey mite compostion of the invention but without the limitation regarding the number of astigmatid mites. All the particular and preferred embodiments of the prey mite compostion of the invention also apply to comoponent (a).

[0145] The term “composition” has been previously defined.

[0146] The term “predatory mite”, as used herein, refers to mites that feed on other organisms, in particular arthropods, including thrips, whiteflies, other mite species and the like. Predatory mites include mesostigmatid mites (of the order Mesostigmata), including mites of the families Phytoseiidae and Ascidae, and prostigmatid mites (of the order Prostigmata), including mites of the families Tydeidae, Cunaxidae, Erythraeidae and Stigmaeidae. In a particular embodiment, the predatory mite is of a family selected from the group consisting of Phytoseiidae, Ascidae, Tydeidae, Cunaxidae, Erythraeidae and Stigmaeidae. In a more particular embodiment, the predatory mite is of the family Phytoseiidae. In an even more particular embodiment, the predatory mite is of a species selected from the family Phytoseiidae and from the group consisting of the subfamily of the Amblyseiinae, such as from the genus Amblyseius, from the genus Euseius, from the genus Neoseiulus, from the genus Amblydromalus, from the genus Typhlodromalus, from the genus Typhlodromips or from the genus Phytoseiulus, from the subfamily Typhlodrominae, such as from the genus Galendromus or from the genus Typhlodromus. In an even more particular embodiment, the predatory mite is of a species selected from the group consisting of Amblyseius swirskii, Amblyseius aerialis, Amblyseius andersoni, Neoseiulus barkeri, Neoseiulus californicus, Neoseiulus cucumeris, Neoseiulus fallacis, Transeius montdorensis, Amblydromalus limonicus, Typhlodromus recki, Typhlodromus pyri, Typhlodromus athiasae, Kampimodromus aberrans, Phytoseiulus persimilis, Euseius scutalis and Euseius stipulatus. In a preferred embodiment, the predatory mite is Amblyseius swirskii or Transeius montdorensis.

[0147] The term “predatory insect”, as used herein, refers to an insect that eats other animals, called prey. Predatory insects from the family Miridae (also known as “predatory mirids”) are considered zoophytophagous or true omnivore predators, as these organisms consume both plant and animal resources during their life cycle. Predatory mirids are important predators for plant pests, like whiteflies, thrips, aphids, leafminers, spidermites and lepidoptera.

[0148] Illustrative non-limitative examples of predatory insects from the family Miridae includes insects from the subfamilies Bryocorinae, Deraeocorinae, Phylinae and Orthotylinae, preferably, from the subfamily Bryocorinae and the tribe Dicyphini, from the subfamily Deraeocorinae and the tribe Deraeocorini, from the subfamily Phylinae and the tribes Pilophorini and Nasocorini, from the subfamily Orthotylinae and the tribe Orthotylini. More preferably, the insects from the tribe Dicyphini are selected from the genus Nesidiocoris, such as N. tenuis, N. volucerand N. callani, the genus Macrolophus, such as M pygmaeus (formerly described as M. caliginosus), M. melanotoma, M. costalis and M. basicornis, the genus Engytatus, such as E. varians and E. modestus, from the genus Dicyphus, such as D. tamaninii, D. bolivari, D. errans, D. hesperus and D. marrocanus, from the genus Tupiocoris, such as T. cucurbitaceus, from the genus Campyloneuropsis, such as C. infumatus, or from the genus Cyrtopeltis, such as C. callosus. The insects selected from the tribe Deraecorini are preferably selected from the genus Deraeocoris, such as D. brevis and D. nebulosus, the insects selected from the tribe Pilophorini are preferably selected from the genus Pilophorus, such as P. typicus and P. gallicus. The insects selected from the tribe Nasocorini are preferably from the genus Campylomma, such as C. verbasci and C. chinensis. The insects selected from the tribe Orthotylini are preferably from the genus Cyrtorhinus, Orthotylus and Eurotas, such as Cyrtorhinus lividipennis, Orthotylus marginalis and Eurotas brasilianus.

[0149] In a particular embodiment, the predatory insect from the family Miridae is of a genus selected from the group consisting of Macrolophus, Nesidiocoris, Dicyphus, Deraeocoris, Engytatus, Tupiocoris, Campyloneuropsis, Cyrtopeltis, Pilophorus, Campylomma, Cyrtorhinus, Orthotylus and Eurotas. In a more particular embodiment, the predatory insect from the family Miridae is of a species selected from the group consisting of Macrolophus pygmaeus, M. costalis, M. basicornis, Nesidiocoris tenuis, N. volucer, N. callani, Dicyphus bolivari., D. errans, D. hesperus, D. marrocanus, D. geniculatus, D. tamaninii, Engytatus varians, E. modestus, Tupiocoris cucurbitaceus, Campyloneuropsis infumatus, Cyrtopeltis callosus, Deraeocoris brevis, D. nebulosus, Pilophorus typicus, P. gallicus, Campylomma verbasci, C. chinensis, Cyrtorhinus lividipennis, Orthotylus marginalis and Eurotas brasilianus.

[0150] In a more particular embodiment, the predatory insect from the family Miridae is Nesidiocoris tenuis, or Macrolophus pygmaeus, or Dicyphus hesperus, or Dicyphus bolivari. Macrolophus pygmaeus corresponds to a species identified in the NCBI database by the Taxonomy ID: 370844, Nesidiocoris tenuis corresponds to a species identified in the NCBI database by the Taxonomy ID:355587, Dicyphus hesperus corresponds to a species identified in the NCBI database by the Taxonomy ID: 257967, Dicyphus bolivari corresponds to a species identified in the NCBI database by the Taxonomy ID: 2080277.

[0151] The term “family Anthocoridae”, as used herein, refers to a family of insects belonging to the order Hemiptera and the superfamiliy Cimicoidea, and are commonly known as minute pirate bugs or flower bugs. The family Anthocoridae corresponds to the family identified in the NCBI database by the Taxonomy ID: 82738. Insects from the family Anthocoridae can feed on plants, but are mostly predatory, feeding on other small- soft bodied arthropods, some of which can be agricultural pest, such as mites and thrips.

[0152] Illustrative non-limitative examples of predatory insects from the family Anthocoridae include the tribe Anthocorini, Orinii and Xylocorini. Preferably, the insects from the Anthocorini are selected from the genus Anthocoris, such as A. nemorum, A. nemoralis, A. confusus and A. minki, the genus Wollastoniella, such as W. rotunda, and the genus Blaptostethus, such as B. pallescens, the insects from the tribe Orinii are selected from the genus Orius, such as O. laevigatus, O. insidiosus, O. majusculus, O. niger, O. albidipennis, O. minutus, O. thripoborus, O. naivashae, O. strigicollis, O. sauteri, O. tristicolor, O. nagaii, O. tantillus, O. limbatus, O. thripoborus, O. naiashae, O. horvathi, O. vicinus, O. pumilio, Orius laticollis, and O. lindbergi, the genus Montandoniola, such as M. confusa and M. pictipennis, and the genus Macrotracheliella, and the insects from the tribe Xylocorini are preferably selected from the genus Xylocoris, such as X. flavipes.

[0153] In a particular embodiment, the predatory insect from the family Anthocoridae is an insect of a genus selected from the group consisting of Orius, Anthocoris, Wollastoniella, Blaptostethus, Montandoniola, Macrotracheliella and Xylocoris. In a more particular embodiment, the predatory insect from the family Anthocoridae is an insect of a species selected from the group consisting of Orius laevigatus, O. insidiosus, O. majusculus, O. niger, O. albidipennis, O. minutus, O. thripoborus, O. naivashae, O. strigicollis, O. sauteri, O. tristicolor, O. nagaii, O. antillus, O. limbatus, O. thripoborus, O. naiashae, O. horvathi, O. vicinus, O. pumilio, Orius laticollis, O. lindbergi, Anthocoris nemorum, A. nemoralis, A. confusus and A. minki, Blaptostethus pallescens, Montandoniola confuse, M. pictipennis and Xylocoris flavipes. In a more particular embodiment, the predatory insect from the family Anthocoridae is Orius laevigatus. Orius laevigatus corresponds to a species identified in the NCBI database by the Taxonomy ID: 82742.

[0154] In a particular embodiment, the composition of the invention comprises a rearing population of a predatory mite, preferably a phytoseid mite, and a rearing population of a predatory insect of the family Miridae. In a particular embodiment, the composition of the invention comprises a rearing population of a predatory mite, preferably a phytoseid mite, and a rearing population of a predatory insect of the family Anthocoridae.

[0155] In a particular embodiment, the composition of the invention comprises a mite compostion comprising a population of A. siro and: a population of C. lactis and a rearing population of the predator A. swirskii, or a population of C. lactis, a population of T. entomophagus and a rearing population of the predator A. swirskii, or a population of C. lactis, a population of T. entomophagus and a rearing population of the predator T. montdorensis, or a population of C. lactis, a population of S. medanensis and a rearing population of A. swirskii, or a population of C. lactis, a population of S. medanensis and a rearing population of A. andersoni, or a population of C. lactis, a population of S. medanensis and a rearing population of T. montdorensis, or a population of T. entomophagus and a rearing population of O. laevigatus, or a population of C. lactis and a rearing population of O. laevigatus, or a population of C. lactis, a population of T. entomophagus, and a rearing population of O. laevigatus, or a population of C. lactis, a population of S. medanensis, and a rearing population of O. laevigatus, or a population of S. medanensis, and a rearing population of O. laevigatus, or a population of C. lactis and a rearing population of the predator Macrolophus pygmaeus, or a population of C. lactis, a population of T. entomophagus and a rearing population of the predator Macrolophus pygmaeus, or a population of C. lactis, a population of S. medanensis and a rearing population of the predator M. pygmaeus, or a population of C. lactis and a rearing population of the predator Nesidiocoris tenuis, or a population of C. lactis, a population of S. medanensis and a rearing population of the predator Nesidiocoris tenuis, or a population of C. lactis, a population of T. entomophagus and a rearing population of the predator Nesidiocoris tenuis, or a population of S. medanensis and a rearing population of the predator Nesidiocoris tenuis, or a population of T. entomophagus and a rearing population of the predator Nesidiocoris tenuis, or a population of C. lactis and a rearing population of the predator Orius insidiosus, or a population of C. lactis, a population of S. medanensis and a rearing population of the predator Orius insidiosus, or a population of C. lactis, a population of T. entomophagus and a rearing population of the predator Orius insidiosus, or a population of S. medanensis and a rearing population of the predator Orius insidiosus, or a population of T. entomophagus and a rearing population of the predator Orius insidiosus, or a population of C. lactis and a rearing population of the predator Dicyphus hes perus, or a population of C. lactis, a population of S. medanensis and a rearing population of the predator Dicyphus hes perus, or a population of C. lactis, a population of T. entomophagus and a rearing population of the predator Dicyphus hesperus, or a population of S. medanensis and a rearing population of the predator Dicyphus hesperus, or a population of T. entomophagus and a rearing population of the predator Dicyphus hesperus, or a population of C. lactis and a rearing population of the predator Orius majusculus, or a population of C. lactis, a population of S. medanensis and a rearing population of the predator Orius majusculus, or a population of C. lactis, a population of T. entomophagus and a rearing population of the predator Orius majusculus, or a population of S. medanensis and a rearing population of the predator Orius majusculus, or a population of T. entomophagus and a rearing population of the predator Orius majusculus, or a population of S. medanensis and a rearing population of the predator M. pygmaeus, or a population of T. entomophagus and a rearing population of the predator M. pygmaeus.

[0156] In the first composition of the invention, the prey mite composition and the rearing population of the predator can be in contact, sharing the same physical space, or they can be physically separated, so that there is no contact between the population of the predator and the populations of the prey mites. In a particular embodiment, the rearing population of the predator and the populations of astigmatid prey mites are physically separated so that there is no contact between the population of the predator and the populations of the prey mites. In a particular embodiment, the first composition comprises at least 2, at least 5, at least 10, at least 50, at least 100, at least 200, at least 300, at least 400, at least 500, at least 600 individuals of predatory mites, preferably Phytoseiid individuals, per ml carrier, and / or the first composition comprises at least 0.1 , at least 0,5, at least 1 , at least 1.5, at least 2, at least 3, at least 4, at least 6, at least 8, at least 10, at least 15, at least 20 individuals of predatory mirid or predatory anthocorids per ml.

[0157] In a particular embodiment, the first composition of the invention comprises a carrier or substrate for the predators. Preferably, the carrier materials contain cavities where the predators can hide. Examples of substrates are cardboard or wrinkled paper, sawdust, shells of seeds, for example buckwheat, popcorn, brans and vermiculite.

[0158] In a particular embodiment, the first composition of the invention is comprised inside a container. Such a container can be, for example, a sachet. The term “sachet”, as used herein, refers to a small paper envelope into which populations of predators and prey are placed, optionally with a farinaceous food supply for the prey, and optionally plus a small quantity of commercial, bulking substrate composed of bran flakes or vermiculite particles. The envelope is sealed and provided with a small cardboard hook, which is used to hang the sachet on to a plant. A very small hole is pierced in the side of the sachet towards the top margin at the time of filling so that the predators can exit on to the leaf.

[0159] Method for mass rearing a predator

[0160] In another aspect, the invention relates to a method for mass rearing a predator selected from the group consisting of a predatory mite, a predatory insect of the family Miridae or of the family Anthocoridae and a combination thereof, comprising:

[0161] (a) contacting a rearing population of the predator with the prey mite composition of the invention and

[0162] (b) allowing the predator to prey on the prey mite composition.

[0163] The terms “predatory mite”, “predatory insect of the family Miridae”, “predatory insect of the family Anthocoridae” and “rearing population” have been previously defined. All the particular and prefered embodiments of the other aspects of the invention regarding these terms also apply to the method for mass rearing a predator of the invention.

[0164] The term “rearing”, as used herein, broadly refers to breeding, reproducing, surviving and growing of individuals, and includes the propagation and increase of a population by sexual reproduction. The term “mass rearing”, as used herein, refers to rearing the predators for at least several generations under controlled or semicontrolled conditions at a site or facility that is not itself a field release site. Specifically, mass rearing doe not take place on a crop. Mass rearing conditions are optimized so at to produce the highest number of predators in the shortest time possible and at a low cost.

[0165] In a particular embodiment, the predatory mite is of a family selected from the group consisting of Phytoseiidae, Ascidae, Tydeidae, Cunaxidae, Erythraeidae and Stigmaeidae. In a more particular embodiment, the predatory mite is of the family Phytoseiidae. In an even more particular embodiment, the predatory mite is of a species selected from the family Phytoseiidae and from the group consisting of the subfamily of the Amblyseiinae, such as from the genus Amblyseius, from the genus Euseius, from the genus Neoseiulus, from the genus Amblydromalus, from the genus Typhlodromalus, from the genus Typhlodromips or from the genus Phytoseiulus, from the subfamily Typhlodrominae, such as from the genus Galendromus or from the genus Typhlodromus. In an even more particular embodiment, the predatory mite is of a species selected from the group consisting of Amblyseius swirskii, Amblyseius aerialis, Amblyseius andersoni, Neoseiulus barkeri, Neoseiulus californicus, Neoseiulus cucumeris, Neoseiulus fallacis, Transeius montdorensis, Amblydromalus limonicus, Typhlodromus recki, Typhlodromus pyri, Typhlodromus athiasae, Kampimodromus aberrans, Phytoseiulus persimilis, Euseius scutalis and Euseius stipulatus.

[0166] In a particular embodiment, the predatory insect from the family Miridae is of a genus selected from the group consisting of Macrolophus, Nesidiocoris, Dicyphus, Deraeocoris, Engytatus, Tupiocoris, Campyloneuropsis, Cyrtopeltis, Pilophorus, Campylomma, Cyrtorhinus, Orthotylus and Eurotas. In a more particular embodiment, the predatory insect from the family Miridae is of a species selected from the group consisting of Macrolophus pygmaeus, M. costalis, M. basicornis, Nesidiocoris tenuis, N. volucer, N. callani, Dicyphus bolivari., D. errans, D. hesperus, D. marrocanus, D. geniculatus, D. tamaninii, Engytatus varians, E. modestus, Tupiocoris cucurbitaceus, Campyloneuropsis infumatus, Cyrtopeltis callosus, Deraeocoris brevis, D. nebulosus, Pilophorus typicus, P. gallicus, Campylomma verbasci, C. chinensis, Cyrtorhinus lividipennis, Orthotylus marginalis and Eurotas brasilianus.

[0167] In a particular embodiment, the predatory insect from the family Anthocoridae is an insect of a genus selected from the group consisting of Orius, Anthocoris, Wollastoniella, Blaptostethus, Montandoniola, Macrotracheliella and Xylocoris. In a more particular embodiment, the predatory insect from the family Anthocoridae is an insect of a species selected from the group consisting of Orius laevigatus, O. insidiosus, O. majusculus, O. niger, O. albidipennis, O. minutus, O. thripoborus, O. naivashae, O. strigicollis, O. sauteri, O. tristicolor, O. nagaii, O. antillus, O. limbatus, O. thripoborus, O. naiashae, O. horvathi, O. vicinus, O. pumilio, Orius laticollis, O. lindbergi, Anthocoris nemorum, A. nemoralis, A. confusus and A. minki, Blaptostethus pallescens, Montandoniola confuse, M. pictipennis and Xylocoris flavipes.

[0168] In a more particular embodiment, the predatory insect from the family Anthocoridae is Orius laevigatus.

[0169] In a more particular embodiment, the predatory insect from the family Miridae is Nesidiocoris tenuis, or Macrolophus pygmaeus, or Dicyphus hesperus, or Dicyphus bolivari.

[0170] In a particular embodiment: the prey mite composition comprises a population of A. siro and a population of C. lactis, and the predator is A. swirskir, or the prey mite composition comprises a population of A. siro, a population of C. lactis and a population of T. entomophagus and the predator is A. swirskir, or the prey mite composition comprises a population of A. siro, a population of C. lactis and a population of T. entomophagus, and the predator is T. montdorensis’, or the prey mite composition comprises a populationof A. siro, a population of C. lactis and a population of S. medanensis, and the predator is A. swirskir, or the prey mite composition comprises a populationof A. siro, a population of C. lactis and a population of S. medanensis, and the predator is A. andersonr, or the prey mite composition comprises a populationof A. siro, a population of C. lactis and a population of S. medanensis, and the predator is T. montdorensis’, or the prey mite composition comprises a population of A. siro and a population of T. entomophagus and the predator is O. laevigatus’, or the prey mite composition comprises a population of A. siro and a population of C. lactis and the predator is O. laevigatus’, or the prey mite composition comprises a population of A. siro, a population of C. lactis and a population of T. entomophagus, and the predator is O. laevigatus’, or the prey mite composition comprises a population of A. siro, a population of C. lactis and a population of S. medanensis, and the predator is O. laevigatus’, or the prey mite composition comprises a population of A. siro and a population of S. medanensis, and the predator is O. laevigatus’, or the prey mite composition comprises a population of A. siro and a population of C. lactis and the predator is Macrolophus pygmaeus’, or the prey mite composition comprises a population of A. siro, a population of C. lactis and a population of T. entomophagus and the predator is Macrolophus pygmaeus; or the prey mite composition comprises a population of A. siro, a population of C. lactis and a population of S. medanensis and the predator is M. pygmaeus’, or the prey mite composciton comprises a population of A. siro and a population of

[0171] S. medanensis and the predator is M. pygmaeus’, or the prey mite composciton comprises a population of A. siro and a population of

[0172] T. entomophagus and the predator is M. pygmaeus’, or the prey mite composition comprises a population of A. siro and a population of C. lactis and the predator is Nesidiocoris tenuis’, or the prey mite composition comprises a population of A. siro, a population of C. lactis and a population of S. medanensis and the predator is Nesidiocoris tenuis’, or the prey mite composition comprises a population of A. siro, a population of C. lactis and a population of T. entomophagus and the predator is Nesidiocoris tenuis’, or the prey mite composition comprises a population of A. siro and a population of

[0173] S. medanensis and the predator is Nesidiocoris tenuis’, or the prey mite composition comprises a population of A. siro and a population of

[0174] T. entomophagus and the predator is Nesidiocoris tenuis’, or the prey mite composition comprises a population of A. siro and a population of C. lactis and the predator is Orius insidiosus’, or the prey mite composition comprises a population of A. siro, a population of C. lactis and a population of S. medanensis and the predator is Orius insidiosus’, or the prey mite composition comprises a population of A. siro, a population of C. lactis and a population of T. entomophagus and the predator is Orius insidiosus’, or the prey mite composition comprises a population of A. siro and a population of

[0175] S. medanensis and the predator is Orius insidiosus’, or the prey mite composition comprises a population of A. siro and a population of

[0176] T. entomophagus and the predator is Orius insidiosus’, or the prey mite composition comprises a population of A. siro and a population of C. lactis and the predator is Dicyphus hesperus’, or the prey mite composition comprises a population of A. siro, a population of C. lactis and a population of S. medanensis and the predator is Dicyphus hesperus’, or the prey mite composition comprises a population of A. siro, a population of C. lactis and a population of T. entomophagus and the predator is Dicyphus hesperus’, or the prey mite composition comprises a population of A. siro and a population of

[0177] S. medanensis and the predator is Dicyphus hesperus’, or the prey mite composition comprises a population of A. siro and a population of

[0178] T. entomophagus and the predator is Dicyphus hesperus’, or the prey mite composition comprises a population of A. siro and a population of C. lactis and the predator is Orius majusculus’, or the prey mite composition comprises a population of A. siro, a population of C. lactis, a population of S. medanensis and the predator is Orius majusculus’, or the prey mite composition comprises a population of A. siro, a population of C. lactis and a population of T. entomophagus and the predator is Orius majusculus’, or the prey mite composition comprises a population of A. siro and a population of

[0179] S. medanensis and the predator is Orius majusculus’, or the prey mite composition comprises a population of A. siro and a population of

[0180] T. entomophagus and the predator is Orius majusculus.

[0181] In a particular embodiment, in the composition according to the invention the ratio of predatory insect from Anthocoridae or Miridae individuals relative to Astigmatid individuals may be from about 100:1 to 1:500, preferably from 1 :1 to 1:500, most preferably from 1 :1 to 1 :200 and more preferably from 1 :10 to 1 :100, and in the composition according to the invention the ratio of predatory mites, preferably Phytoseiids, relative to Astigmatid individuals may be from 100:1 to 1 :100, preferably from 1 : 1 to 1 :50, more preferably from 1 :2 to 1 :40, such as 1:4, 1 :10, 1 :20 or 1 :30.

[0182] In another aspect, the invention relates to a method for rearing a predator on a crop, wherein the predator is selected from the group consisting of a predatory mite, a predatory insect of the family Miridae, a predatory insect of the family Anthocoridae and a combination thereof, comprising:

[0183] (a) providing the crop with the prey mite composition of the invention and

[0184] (b) allowing a rearing population of the predator naturally present on the crop to prey on the prey mite composition or, alternatively, providing the crop with at least a rearing population of the predator and allowing said predator to prey on the prey mite composition.

[0185] The method for rearing a predator on a crop of the invention is directed to rear a predatory mite and / or a predatory insect of the families Miridae and / or Anthocoridae on a crop. The expression “rearing on a crop”, as used herein, means that these predators are located on the surface of any plant, including pot plants and crops, including an open field crop or on a greenhouse crop. The term “crop”, as used herein, refers to a plant of economic importance and / or a men-grown plant.

[0186] In a particular embodiment, the plant or crop is selected from the group consisting of vegetables (including cucumber, pepper, eggplant, zucchini, melon, watermelon, tomato, leaf vegetables like lettuce or rocket, potato, beans and onion), orchards, vineyard, olive trees, citrus trees, stone fruit trees, berries, ornamental plants, including pot plants and cut flowers, aromatic plants, and plants for pharmaceutic use like cannabis. In a more particular embodiment, the plant or crop is selected from the group consisting of vegetables, orchards, vineyard, olive trees, berries and ornamental plants, including pot plants and cut flowers.

[0187] The terms “rearing”, “predatory mite”, “predatory insect of the family Miridae”, “predatory insect of the family Anthocoridae” and “rearing population have been previously defined. All the particular and preffered embodiments of the other aspects of the invention regarding these terms also apply to the method for mass rearing a predator of the invention.

[0188] In a particular embodiment, the predatory mite is of a family selected from the group consisting of Phytoseiidae, Ascidae, Tydeidae, Cunaxidae, Erythraeidae and Stigmaeidae. In a more particular embodiment, the predatory mite is of the family Phytoseiidae. In an even more particular embodiment, the predatory mite is of a species selected from the family Phytoseiidae and from the group consisting of the subfamily of the Amblyseiinae, such as from the genus Amblyseius, from the genus Euseius, from the genus Neoseiulus, from the genus Amblydromalus, from the genus Typhlodromalus, from the genus Typhlodromips or from the genus Phytoseiulus, from the subfamily Typhlodrominae, such as from the genus Galendromus or from the genus Typhlodromus. In an even more particular embodiment, the predatory mite is of a species selected from the group consisting of Amblyseius swirskii, Amblyseius aerialis, Amblyseius andersoni, Neoseiulus barkeri, Neoseiulus californicus, Neoseiulus cucumeris, Neoseiulus fallacis, Transeius montdorensis, Amblydromalus limonicus, Typhlodromus recki, Typhlodromus pyri, Typhlodromus athiasae, Kampimodromus aberrans, Phytoseiulus persimilis, Euseius scutalis and Euseius stipulatus.

[0189] In a particular embodiment, the predatory insect from the family Miridae is of a genus selected from the group consisting of Macrolophus, Nesidiocoris, Dicyphus, Deraeocoris, Engytatus, Tupiocoris, Campyloneuropsis, Cyrtopeltis, Pilophorus, Campylomma, Cyrtorhinus, Orthotylus and Eurotas. In a more particular embodiment, the predatory insect from the family Miridae is of a species selected from the group consisting of Macrolophus pygmaeus, M. costalis, M. basicornis, Nesidiocoris tenuis, N. volucer, N. callani, Dicyphus bolivari., D. errans, D. hesperus, D. marrocanus, D. geniculatus, D. tamaninii, Engytatus varians, E. modestus, Tupiocoris cucurbitaceus, Campyloneuropsis infumatus, Cyrtopeltis callosus, Deraeocoris brevis, D. nebulosus, Pilophorus typicus, P. gallicus, Campylomma verbasci, C. chinensis, Cyrtorhinus lividipennis, Orthotylus marginalis and Eurotas brasilianus.

[0190] In a particular embodiment, the predatory insect from the family Anthocoridae is an insect of a genus selected from the group consisting of Orius, Anthocoris, Wollastoniella, Blaptostethus, Montandoniola, Macrotracheliella and Xylocoris. In a more particular embodiment, the predatory insect from the family Anthocoridae is an insect of a species selected from the group consisting of Orius laevigatus, O. insidiosus, O. majusculus, O. niger, O. albidipennis, O. minutus, O. thripoborus, O. naivashae, O. strigicollis, O. sauteri, O. tristicolor, O. nagaii, O. antillus, O. limbatus, O. thripoborus, O. naiashae, O. horvathi, O. vicinus, O. pumilio, Orius laticollis, O. lindbergi, Anthocoris nemorum, A. nemoralis, A. confusus and A. minki, Blaptostethus pallescens, Montandoniola confuse, M. pictipennis and Xylocoris flavipes. In a more particular embodiment, the predatory insect from the family Anthocoridae is Orius laevigatus.

[0191] In a particular embodiment, the method for rearing a predator on a crop comprises using any one of the combinations of prey mite compositions and predators specified for the method for mass rearing a predator.

[0192] The method for rearing a predator on a crop encompasses both methods where the predator rearing population is naturally present on the crop and methods where the predator rearing population is not naturally present on the crop and, therefore, it is delivered on the crop. The term “adult”, as used herein referred to the predatory insect, refers to an individual sexually mature or imago. It is in the adult stage that insects reproduce. In biology, the imago is the last stage an insect attains during its metamorphosis, its process of growth and development; it also is called the imaginal stage, the stage in which the insect attains maturity. It follows the final ecdysis of the immature instars. In a member of the Ametabola or Hemimetabola, in which metamorphosis is "incomplete", like the predatory bugs from the family Miridae or Anthocoridae, the final ecdysis follows the last immature or nymphal stage.

[0193] The term “nymph”, as used herein referred to the predatory insect, refers to an individual sexually immature, similar to the adult and found in such insects which have incomplete, or hemimetabolic, metamorphosis. Wings, if present, develop from external wing buds after the first few molts. The body proportions of the first nymphal stages are quite different from those of the adult. During each successive growing stage (instar) the nymph begins to resemble the adult more closely. The predatory Mirids and Anthocorids have 5 nymphal instars before reaching the adult stage.

[0194] The term “egg”, as used herein referred to the predatory insect, refers to the first stage of the insects. Eggs of Miridae and Anthocoridae generally are moderate to large in size relative to adults and have a smooth to finely sculptured surface, sometimes with a colour pattern and often with slender projections. Eggs contain sufficient nutrients to permit the embryo to develop into a free-living, sexually immature, wingless nymph. Predatory mirids and anthocorids generally insert the eggs into the tissue of selected host plants.

[0195] When nymph populations of Miridae or Anthocoridae are supplied the last stages 4thand 5thare preferred. Additionally, substrates containing eggs can optionally be introduced, either with nymphs, adults or mixtures. Preferably pieces of vegetables, for instance beans, with the eggs embedded into the tissue, but also some artificial substrates containing the eggs can be introduced. The pieces of vegetables have the advantage that are also a source of water and nutrients for the predators.

[0196] The introduction of adult insects of Miridae or Anthocoridae containing females that are ready to lay eggs is often preferred in order to fasten the establishment of the populations in the crop. In a particular embodiment, the breeding populations comprises between 30 and 100% of females, preferably between 40 and 80%, more preferably between 45 and 65%. The females need a preoviposition period to start laying eggs, which may vary according to the species. In a particular embodiment, the breeding insect population comprises adults between 1 hour and 10 days old. The age of the adults refers to the time elapsed since molting. The needed transport time from the massrearing facilities to the crop is also conditioning the age of the females when released. For this reason, the released insect adults are preferably between 1 and 7 days old, more preferably between 2 and 6 days old, most preferably between 3 and 5 days old. In a particular embodiment, the released insect adults are between 3-5 days if the adults have been maintained at a temperature comprised between 8°C and 20°C and between 2-4 days if the adults have been maintained at a temperature between 20°C and 30°C.

[0197] Predators are introduced into the plant or crop preferably with a carrier material. This facilitates the distribution of loose material containing the populations. The carrier material or substrate is also commonly necessary to minimize the mortality produced by cannibalistic behavior of the living predators during storage and transport from the rearing facilities to the crop. Substrates can be any material that provides a surface where predators can hide from each other. Preferably, the materials contain cavities where the predators can hide. Examples of substrates are cardboard or wrinkled paper, sawdust, shells of seeds, for example buckwheat, popcorn, and vermiculite. However, populations can also be supplied without substrate and, optionally, they can be mixed with a carrier material after transport, just before the distribution in the crop.

[0198] Predators are introduced on the plants before or after transplanting the crop or both. Preferably, the predators are introduced between 15 days and 1 hour before transplanting the crop when a fast establishment is desired. More preferably the predators are introduced between 12 days and 1 day before transplanting, and even more preferably between 10 days and 7 days before transplanting. When predators are introduced before transplanting, between 1 and 4 introductions are performed, preferably between 1 and 3, most preferably between 1 and 2 introductions. When predators are introduced after transplanting, preferably between 1 and 30 introductions are performed, more preferably between 1 and 10 introductions, most preferably between 1 and 4 introductions.

[0199] A ratio of between 0.05 and 200 individuals (nymphs, adults or mixtures) of Mirids or Anthocorids per plant are introduced each releasing time. Preferably, between 0.08 and 50 individuals of this insects per plant are introduced, more preferably between 0.3 and 10, and even more preferably between 0.5 and 2 individuals per plant. A ratio between 0.5 and 25000 individuals of predatory mites are introduced per plant each releasing time. Preferably, between 10 and 1500 individuals per plant are introduced, more preferably between 10 and 1000 individuals per plant, even more preferably between 10 and 250 individuals per plant. Ratios depend on the target crop, with the lowest numbers per plant introduced on crops with high density of plants, for instance, in cut flowers like chrysanthemums, where typically transplanting is performed at more than 60 plants per m2. The highest numbers are introduced on crops with low density and bigger plants, for instance orchards.

[0200] Since commercial crop patterns, especially ‘rowed’ crops, as well as plant configurations can limit the spread of the predator which is essential for good control, in a preferred embodiment of the first method of the invention, the population of the predatory insect is released in the plant or crop at a plurality of ‘spots’. The density of releasing spots of predators in the crop is preferably between 1000 spots / m2and 1 spot / 3500 m2. However, even higher densities of spots in the crop are possible, especially when the material is sprayed by machinery in the seedlings before transplanting. When the populations of Mirids or Anthocorids are introduced in the crop after transplanting, more preferably the material is spread by hand into cardboard cages that are hang on the plants, being considered each cage a spot or releasing point. Then, the preferred density is between 1 releasing spot / 5 m2and 1 spot / 2000 m2, most preferably between 1 spot / 10m2and 1 spot / 100 m2, and even more preferably between 1 spot I 12m2and 1 spot I 25 m2. When populations of predatory mites, preferably Phytosiids, are introduced in the crop, sachets (commonly with aprox. 250 individuals per sachet) are hung on the plants, or lose material is sprayed by hand or using machinery. Between 1 sachet every 10 plants and 10 sachets per plant are released, preferably between 1 sachet every 5 plants and 2 sachets per plant, even more preferably between 1 sachet every 2 plants and 1 sachet per plant.

[0201] To provide a suitable density of predator mirids or anthocorids and to establish a stable population of these predators it is preferred that a population comprising between 1 and 1000 individuals of the predatory insects is released at each releasing spot, preferably between 5 and 500 individuals, more preferably between 10 and 100 individuals, most preferably between 25 and 50 individuals of the predatory insects. The number of individuals can be adjusted depending on the required density of the releasing spots in the crop, the activity of the predatory insects, the species of predatory insects and their reproductive rate.

[0202] In a particular embodiment, the prey mite composition is released in the plant or crop at a plurality of ‘spots’. The density of spots of the prey mite compostion in the crop is preferably between 1000 spots / m2and 1 spot / 25 m2. More preferably, when the composition is released by hand, the density of spots of the prey mite composition is between 3 spots / m2and 1 spot / 5 m2, most preferably between 1 spot / m2and 1 spot / 2 m2. However, even higher densities of spots of the prey mite compostion in the crop are possible, especially when the material is sprayed by machinery.

[0203] In a preferred embodiment, the prey mite composition is sprayed onto the crop. In this embodiment, a vast number of small spots of astigmatid mites are applied to the crop. Depending on the method of application these spots of astigmatid mites supply can be located on leaves and other parts of a plant such as stipes, stalks, flowers, etc. These spots can also be located on the ground.

[0204] In a particular embodiment, the density of the individuals of the astigmatid prey mite species in the prey mite composition is between 300.000 and 50 million individuals / litre. Using a density in this range permits the application of a suitable number of individuals per spot on the plant. In a further preferred embodiment, the density of the individuals of the astigmatid prey mite is between 500.000 and 30 million individuals / litre, most preferably between 1 million and 20 million individuals / litre. At these densities, it is easy to apply a suitable number of individuals to each spot on the plant using known techniques. Independent of the density, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, when a carrier substrate is used, a volume between 0.01 ml and 50 ml of the astigmatid prey mites is placed on one spot. Preferably between 0.1 ml and 10 ml, most preferably between 0.3 ml and 2 ml of the astigmatid prey mite is placed on the same spot. These volumes can be located and applied on the plant by known techniques. They include known apparatus such as automatic or manually operated sprayers, syringes, dropping devices or spoons.

[0205] Although predator populations, especially mirids and anthocorids, are commonly transported from the mass-rearing facilities to the crop at low temperatures, so that the activity of the insects is minimized, these predators can be supplied with food. Therefore, in a particular embodiment, the breeding population of the predatory insect can be provided to the plant or crop together with an additional source of food. This additional source of food can comprise a natural food, for example pollen, prey arthropods, for example aphids, or a factitious prey or artificial foods, and mixtures thereof. When natural prey arthropods are used, species that are not pests of the target crop are selected. For instance, aphids from cereals that cannot survive and damage a horticultural or an orchard crop, when the last are the target crops, are selected. Alternatively, dead pest species are selected, like frozen dipteran larvae of Ceratitis capitata. Another preferred food are factitious prey, which are arthropods that are not naturally occurring in the living habitat of the predators. Preferably, pest insects of storage food, like eggs of lepidoptera moths, crustacean cysts of Artemia and nematodes. Most preferred factitious prey are the eggs of the moths Ephestia kuehniella and Sitotroga cerealella.

[0206] Optionally, artificial foods containing sugars, fatty acids, vitamins and / or aminoacids, combined with or without preservatives, can also be supplied with the predator populations. In a particular embodiment, the additional source of food is selected from the group consisting of eggs of Ephestia kuehniella, cysts of Artemia, eggs of Sitotroga cerealella, pollen, nematodes, , such as Panagrolaimus, larvae of Ceratitis capitata, larvae and / or adults of Drosophila melanogaster, artificial foods, and a combination thereof.

[0207] Steps (a) and (b) of the method for rearing a predator on a crop of the invention can be performed simultaneously or separately in any order, that is, the plant or crop can be first provided with the breeding population of the predator and, after that, the plant can be provided with the prey mite composition; or the plant or crop can be first provided with the prey mite composition and, after that, the plant or crop can be provided with the rearing population of the predator; or the plant or crop can be provided with the rearing population of the predator and with the prey mite composition simultaneously.

[0208] In a preferred embodiment, the plant or crop is first provided with the predator and after that, the plant or crop is provided with the prey mite composition.

[0209] In a more particular embodiment, the plant or crop is first provided with the predator and after 1 , 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 days or more, preferably after 3 days, the plant or crop is provided with the prey mite composition.

[0210] In a particular embodiment, the crop is provided with the prey mite composition more than once, for example, at least 2, at least 3 or even more times after the crop is provided with the predator, preferably at least 2.

[0211] In a more particular embodiment, the crop is first provided with the predator, after 1 , 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 days or more, preferably after 3 days, the crop is provided with the prey mite composition, and after 10, 11 , 12, 13, 14, 16, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, or 21 days, preferably after 21 days, the crop is provided again with the prey mite composition.

[0212] In a particular embodiment, when the population of the predator and the prey mite composition are provided to the plant or crop simultaneously, they can be provided inside a common housing, for example, predator and prey mites can be spread by hand into cardboard cages that are hang on the plants.

[0213] The method for rearing a predator on crop of the invention comprises allowing the predator to prey on the astigmatid mites. In case the population of the predator and the population of the astigmatid mites are provided to the crop simultaneously with any kind of physical separation, this means allowing both populations to be in physical contact.

[0214] Method for controlling a pest in a crop or on a stored product with the prey mite composition of the invention

[0215] In another aspect, the invention relates to a method for controlling a pest on a crop or on a stored product comprising:

[0216] (a) providing the crop or stored product with the prey mite composition of the invention and

[0217] (b) allowing a rearing population of a predator naturally present on the crop or stored product to prey on the mite composition or, alternatively, providing the crop or stored product with at least a rearing population of a predator and allowing said predator to prey on the prey mite composition, wherein the predator is selected from the group consisting of a predatory mite, a predatory insect of the family Miridae, a predatory insect of the family Anthocoridae and a combination thereof.

[0218] The terms “rearing”, “predatory mite”, “predatory insect of the family Miridae”, “predatory insect of the family Anthocoridae”, “rearing population” and “crop” have been previously defined. All the particular and preffered embodiments of the other aspects of the invention regarding these terms also apply to the method for controlling a pest in a crop or on a stored product of the invention.

[0219] In a particular embodiment, the predatory mite is of a family selected from the group consisting of Phytoseiidae, Ascidae, Tydeidae, Cunaxidae, Erythraeidae and Stigmaeidae. In a more particular embodiment, the predatory mite is of the family Phytoseiidae. In an even more particular embodiment, the predatory mite is of a species selected from the family Phytoseiidae and from the group consisting of the subfamily of the Amblyseiinae, such as from the genus Amblyseius, from the genus Euseius, from the genus Neoseiulus, from the genus Amblydromalus, from the genus Typhlodromalus, from the genus Typhlodromips or from the genus Phytoseiulus, from the subfamily Typhlodrominae, such as from the genus Galendromus or from the genus Typhlodromus. In an even more particular embodiment, the predatory mite is of a species selected from the group consisting of Amblyseius swirskii, Amblyseius aerialis, Amblyseius andersoni, Neoseiulus barkeri, Neoseiulus californicus, Neoseiulus cucumeris, Neoseiulus fallacis, Transeius montdorensis, Amblydromalus limonicus, Typhlodromus recki, Typhlodromus pyri, Typhlodromus athiasae, Kampimodromus aberrans, Phytoseiulus persimilis, Euseius scutalis and Euseius stipulatus.

[0220] In a particular embodiment, the predatory insect from the family Miridae is of a genus selected from the group consisting of Macrolophus, Nesidiocoris, Dicyphus, Deraeocoris, Engytatus, Tupiocoris, Campyloneuropsis, Cyrtopeltis, Pilophorus, Campylomma, Cyrtorhinus, Orthotylus and Eurotas. In a more particular embodiment, the predatory insect from the family Miridae is of a species selected from the group consisting of Macrolophus pygmaeus, M. costalis, M. basicornis, Nesidiocoris tenuis, N. volucer, N. callani, Dicyphus bolivari., D. errans, D. hesperus, D. marrocanus, D. geniculatus, D. tamaninii, Engytatus varians, E. modestus, Tupiocoris cucurbitaceus, Campyloneuropsis infumatus, Cyrtopeltis callosus, Deraeocoris brevis, D. nebulosus, Pilophorus typicus, P. gallicus, Campylomma verbasci, C. chinensis, Cyrtorhinus lividipennis, Orthotylus marginalis and Eurotas brasilianus.

[0221] In a particular embodiment, the predatory insect from the family Anthocoridae is an insect of a genus selected from the group consisting of Orius, Anthocoris, Wollastoniella, Blaptostethus, Montandoniola, Macrotracheliella and Xylocoris. In a more particular embodiment, the predatory insect from the family Anthocoridae is an insect of a species selected from the group consisting of Orius laevigatus, O. insidiosus, O. majusculus, O. niger, O. albidipennis, O. minutus, O. thripoborus, O. naivashae, O. strigicollis, O. sauteri, O. tristicolor, O. nagaii, O. antillus, O. limbatus, O. thripoborus, O. naiashae, O. horvathi, O. vicinus, O. pumilio, Orius laticollis, O. lindbergi, Anthocoris nemorum, A. nemoralis, A. confusus and A. minki, Blaptostethus pallescens, Montandoniola confuse, M. pictipennis and Xylocoris flavipes. In a more particular embodiment, the predatory insect from the family Anthocoridae is Orius laevigatus.

[0222] In a particular embodiment, the plant or crop is selected from the group consisting of vegetables (including cucumber, pepper, eggplant, zucchini, melon, watermelon, tomato, leaf vegetables like lettuce or rocket, potato, beans and onion), orchards, vineyard, olive trees, citrus trees, stone fruit trees, berries, ornamental plants, including pot plants and cut flowers, aromatic plants, and plants for pharmaceutic use like cannabis. In a more particular embodiment, the plant or crop is selected from the group consisting of vegetables, orchards, vineyard, olive trees, berries and ornamental plants, including pot plants and cut flowers.

[0223] In a particular embodiment, the method for controlling a pest in a crop or on a stored product comprises using any one of the combinations of prey mite compositions and predators specified for the method for mass rearing a predator. The term “pest”, as used herein, refers to plant pest, and is understood to include any species, strain or biotype of plant, animal or pathogenic agent injurious for plant or plant products. The pests that can be controlled by the method of the invention are animals that are prey for predatory mites or for predatory insects from the family Miridae or from the family Anthocoridae. In a particular embodiment, the pest is a pest of a crop and it is selected from the group consisting of spider mites, tarsonemid mites, eriophyid mites, thrips, whiteflies, aphids, psyllids, scale insects, and moths. The term ‘pest’, as used herein, can also refer to a storage food pest that it is susceptible of being preyed by a predatory mite, such as weevils, such as species of the genus Tribolium, Oryzaephilus and Rhizopherta, moths and mites, such as Tyrophagus putrescentiae. The term ‘pest’, as used herein, can also refer to a pest of a non-human organism, said pest being a suitable prey for a predatory mite, such as a pest of an avian species, such as the poultry red mite (Dermanyssus gallinae).

[0224] The term “thrips”, as used herein, includes any member of the order Thysanoptera. The order Thysanoptera includes the suborders Terebrantia and Tubulifera, the super families of Aeolothripoidea, Thripoidea, and Merothripoidea, and the families of Aeolothripidae, Heterothripidae, Thripidae, Uzelothripidae, and Phlaeothripidae. Specific varieties of thrips include greenhouse thrips ( Heliothrips haemorrhoidalis), banded greenhouse thrips (Hercinothrips femoral is), flower thrips (Frankliniella tritici), Western flower thrips (WFT) (Frankliniella occidental is), onion or tobacco thrips (Thrips tabaci), citrus thrips (Scirtothrips aurantii and Scirtothrips citri), cereals thrips (Limothrips cerealium), pea thrips (Kakothrips robustus), lily bulb thrips (Liothrips), black hunter thrips (Leptothrips mali), coffee thrips (Diarthrothrips), avocado thrips (Scirtothrips perseae), melon thrips (Thrips palmi), tobacco thrips (Thrips parvispinus), Echinothrips americanus, fruit tree thrips (Taeniothrips inconsequens), gladiolus thrips (Taeniothrips simplex), azalea thrips (Heterothrips azaleae), olive thrips (Liothrips oleae), six-spotted thrips (Scolothrips sexmaculatus), and cotton thrips (Caliothrips sp. and Frankliniella sp). In a particular embodiment, the thrips is of a genus selected from the group consisting of Frankliniella, Thrips and Hoplandrothrips. In a more particular embodiment, the thrips is of a species selected from the group consisting of Frankliniella occidentalis, Thrips tabaci, T. palmi, T. simplex, T. fuscipennis, T. angusticeps, Thrips parvispinus, Echinothrips americanus and Heliothrips haemorrhoidalis.

[0225] The term “whiteflies”, as used herein, refers to insects of the order Hemiptera that typically feed on the undersides of plant leaves. Whiteflies comprise the family Aleyrodidae, the only family in the superfamily Aleyrodoidea. Main pest species of whiteflies include Aleurocanthus woglumi (citrus blackfly), Aleyrodes proletella (cabbage whitefly), Bemisia tabaci (silverleaf whitefly), Trialeurodes vaporariourum (greenhouse whitefly).

[0226] The term “aphids”, as used herein, refers to plant pest insects belonging to the family Aphididae, including but not limited to Aphis gossypii, A. fabae, A. glycines, A. nerii, A. nasturtii, Myzus persicae, M. cerasi, M. ornatus, Nasonovia especially N. ribisnigri, Macrosiphum especially M. euphorbiae, Aulacorthum especially A. solani and Brevicoryne.

[0227] The term “moth”, as used herein, refers to a group of insects that includes all member of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies. The caterpillar of moths feed on leaves or other parts of plants and therefore, moths can be considered as plant pests. Illustrative non-limitative example of moths that can be controlled with the second method of the invention include tomato leafminer (Tufa absoluta), beet armyworm (Spodoptera exigua), (Spodoptera littoralis), cotton bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera), tomato Looper (Chrysodeixis chalcites), codling moth (Cydia pomonella), holm oak leafmining moths (Phlyllonoricter messaniella and Ectoedemia heringella), horse chestnut leaf-mining moth (Cameriaria ohridella), leek moth (Acrolepiopsis assectella), pea moth (Cydia nigricana), plum moth (Grapholita funebrana), winter moth (Operophtera brumata, Erannis defoliaria, Alsophila aescularia) and tortrix moth (Cacoecimorpha pronubana and Epiphyas postvittana). In a particular embodiment the moth is Tuta absoluta.

[0228] The term “stored product”, as used herein, refers to products, generally food, which can be stored under conditions where there is moisture o increased humidty, or are stored as dry food items such as flour, grains, dried fruits, cereal and dry dog and cat foods.

[0229] Uses and compositions

[0230] In another aspect, the invention relates to the use of the prey mite composition of the invention for: mass rearing a predator, or rearing a predator on a crop, wherein the predator is selected from the group consisting of a predatory mite, a predatory insect of the family Miridae, a predatory insect of the family Anthocoridae and a combination thereof. In another aspect, the invention relates to the use of the first composition of the invention for controlling a pest on a crop or in a stored product.

[0231] All the terms have been previously defined in connection with the other aspects of the invention. The definitions and particular and preferred embodiments of said terms also apply to the use of the invention.

[0232] In a particular embodiment, the predatory mite is of a family selected from the group consisting of Phytoseiidae, Ascidae, Tydeidae, Cunaxidae, Erythraeidae and Stigmaeidae. In a more particular embodiment, the predatory mite is of the family Phytoseiidae. In an even more particular embodiment, the predatory mite is of a species selected from the family Phytoseiidae and from the group consisting of the subfamily of the Amblyseiinae, such as from the genus Amblyseius, from the genus Euseius, from the genus Neoseiulus, from the genus Amblydromalus, from the genus Typhlodromalus, from the genus Typhlodromips or from the genus Phytoseiulus, from the subfamily Typhlodrominae, such as from the genus Galendromus or from the genus Typhlodromus. In an even more particular embodiment, the predatory mite is of a species selected from the group consisting of Amblyseius swirskii, Amblyseius aerialis, Amblyseius andersoni, Neoseiulus barkeri, Neoseiulus californicus, Neoseiulus cucumeris, Neoseiulus fallacis, Transeius montdorensis, Amblydromalus limonicus, Typhlodromus recki, Typhlodromus pyri, Typhlodromus athiasae, Kampimodromus aberrans, Phytoseiulus persimilis, Euseius scutalis and Euseius stipulatus.

[0233] In a particular embodiment, the predatory insect from the family Miridae is of a genus selected from the group consisting of Macrolophus, Nesidiocoris, Dicyphus, Deraeocoris, Engytatus, Tupiocoris, Campyloneuropsis, Cyrtopeltis, Pilophorus, Campylomma, Cyrtorhinus, Orthotylus and Eurotas. In a more particular embodiment, the predatory insect from the family Miridae is of a species selected from the group consisting of Macrolophus pygmaeus, M. costalis, M. basicornis, Nesidiocoris tenuis, N. volucer, N. callani, Dicyphus bolivari., D. errans, D. hesperus, D. marrocanus, D. geniculatus, D. tamaninii, Engytatus varians, E. modestus, Tupiocoris cucurbitaceus, Campyloneuropsis infumatus, Cyrtopeltis callosus, Deraeocoris brevis, D. nebulosus, Pilophorus typicus, P. gallicus, Campylomma verbasci, C. chinensis, Cyrtorhinus lividipennis, Orthotylus marginalis and Eurotas brasilianus.

[0234] In a particular embodiment, the predatory insect from the family Anthocoridae is an insect of a genus selected from the group consisting of Orius, Anthocoris, Wollastoniella, Blaptostethus, Montandoniola, Macrotracheliella and Xylocoris. In a more particular embodiment, the predatory insect from the family Anthocoridae is an insect of a species selected from the group consisting of Orius laevigatus, O. insidiosus, O. majusculus, O. niger, O. albidipennis, O. minutus, O. thripoborus, O. naivashae, O. strigicollis, O. sauteri, O. tristicolor, O. nagaii, O. antillus, O. limbatus, O. thripoborus, O. naiashae, O. horvathi, O. vicinus, O. pumilio, Orius laticollis, O. lindbergi, Anthocoris nemorum, A. nemoralis, A. confusus and A. minki, Blaptostethus pallescens, Montandoniola confuse, M. pictipennis and Xylocoris flavipes. In a more particular embodiment, the predatory insect from the family Anthocoridae is Orius laevigatus.

[0235] In a particular embodiment, the plant or crop is selected from the group consisting of vegetables (including cucumber, pepper, eggplant, zucchini, melon, watermelon, tomato, leaf vegetables like lettuce or rocket, potato, beans and onion), orchards, vineyard, olive trees, citrus trees, stone fruit trees, berries, ornamental plants, including pot plants and cut flowers, aromatic plants, and plants for pharmaceutic use like cannabis. In a more particular embodiment, the plant or crop is selected from the group consisting of vegetables, orchards, vineyard, olive trees, berries and ornamental plants, including pot plants and cut flowers.

[0236] In a particular embodiment, the uses of the invention comprise using any one of the combinations of prey mite compositions and predators specified for the method for mass rearing a predator of the invention.

[0237] In a particular embodiment, the pest is selected from the group consisting of spider mites, tarsonemid mites, eriophyid mites, thrips, whiteflies, aphids, psyllids, scale insects, and moths.

[0238] In another aspect, the invention relates to a composition, hereinafter second composition of the invention, comprising a population of an astigmatid mite of the species Acarus siro and a rearing population of a predatory insect of the family Miridae or of the family Anthocoridae, wherein the population of Acarus siro and the population of the predatory insect are not physically separated.

[0239] The terms “composition”, “population”, “predatory mite of the species A. siro”, “rearing population”, “predatory insect of the famility Miridae”, “predatory insect of the family Anthocoridae” and “physically separated” have been previously defined. All the particular and preferred embodiments of other aspects of the invention regarding these terms also apply to the second composition of the invention.

[0240] In a particular embodiment, the predatory insect from the family Miridae is of a genus selected from the group consisting of Macrolophus, Nesidiocoris, Dicyphus, Deraeocoris, Engytatus, Tupiocoris, Campyloneuropsis, Cyrtopeltis, Pilophorus, Campylomma, Cyrtorhinus, Orthotylus and Eurotas. In a more particular embodiment, the predatory insect from the family Miridae is of a species selected from the group consisting of Macrolophus pygmaeus, M. costalis, M. basicornis, Nesidiocoris tenuis, N. volucer, N. callani, Dicyphus bolivari., D. errans, D. hesperus, D. marrocanus, D. geniculatus, D. tamaninii, Engytatus varians, E. modestus, Tupiocoris cucurbitaceus, Campyloneuropsis infumatus, Cyrtopeltis callosus, Deraeocoris brevis, D. nebulosus, Pilophorus typicus, P. gallicus, Campylomma verbasci, C. chinensis, Cyrtorhinus lividipennis, Orthotylus marginalis and Eurotas brasilianus.

[0241] In a particular embodiment, the predatory insect from the family Anthocoridae is an insect of a genus selected from the group consisting of Orius, Anthocoris, Wollastoniella, Blaptostethus, Montandoniola, Macrotracheliella and Xylocoris. In a more particular embodiment, the predatory insect from the family Anthocoridae is an insect of a species selected from the group consisting of Orius laevigatus, O. insidiosus, O. majusculus, O. niger, O. albidipennis, O. minutus, O. thripoborus, O. naivashae, O. strigicollis, O. sauteri, O. tristicolor, O. nagaii, O. antillus, O. limbatus, O. thripoborus, O. naiashae, O. horvathi, O. vicinus, O. pumilio, Orius laticollis, O. lindbergi, Anthocoris nemorum, A. nemoralis, A. confusus and A. minki, Blaptostethus pallescens, Montandoniola confuse, M. pictipennis and Xylocoris flavipes. In a more particular embodiment, the predatory insect from the family Anthocoridae is Orius laevigatus.

[0242] In a particular embodiment, the population of A. siro is a breeding population. In another particular embodiment, at least part of the population of Acarus siro is not alive, for example, at least a 5%, at least a 10%, at least a 20%, at least a 30%, at least a 40%, at least a 50%, at least a 60 %, at least a 70%, at least a 80%, at least a 90% or the 100% of the population.

[0243] In a particular embodiment, in the composition according to the invention the ratio of predatory insect from Anthocoridae or Miridae individuals relative to the A. siro individuals may be from about 100:1 to 1 :700000, preferably from 1 :1 to 1 :100000, most preferably from 1 :10 to 1 :20000, more preferably from 1 :10 to 1 :2000, and most preferably from 1 :20 to 1 :1000.

[0244] In a particular embodiment, the prey mite composition of the invention comprises at least 5%, preferably at least 10%, more preferably at least 20%, even more preferably at least 30% of astigmatid mites of the species Acarus siro.

[0245] In a particular embodiment, the second composition of the invention comprises at least 0.1 , at least 0,5, at least 1 , at least 1.5, at least 2, at least 3, at least 4, at least 6, at least 8, at least 10, at least 15, at least 20 individuals of predatory mirid or predatory anthocorids per ml. The second composition of the invention can comprise other components such as a carrier or a food source for Acarus siro or for the predatory insects or for both of them. Suitable carriers have been previously defined.

[0246] In another aspect, the invention relates to the use of the second composition of the invention for mass rearing a predatory insect of the family Miridae or of the family Anthocoridae or for controlling a pest on a crop or in a stored product.

[0247] Method for mass rearing a predatory insect

[0248] In another aspect, the invention relates to a method for mass rearing a predatory insect of family Miridae or of the family Anthocoridae, comprising:

[0249] (a) contacting a rearing population of the predatory insect of the family Miridae or of the family Anthocoridae with a population of an astigmatid mite of the species Acarus siro and

[0250] (b) allowing the predatory insect to prey on the population of Acarus siro.

[0251] The terms “mass rearing”, “predatory insect of the family Miridae”, “predatory insect of the family Anthocoridae”, “rearing population” and “A. siro” have been previously defined. All the particular and preffered embodiments of the other aspects of the invention regarding these terms also apply to the method for mass rearing a predator of the invention.

[0252] In a particular embodiment, the predatory insect of the family Miridae is of a genus selected from the group consisting of Macrolophus, Nesidiocoris, Dicyphus, Deraeocoris, Engytatus, Tupiocoris, Campyloneuropsis, Cyrtopeltis, Pilophorus, Campylomma, Cyrtorhinus, Orthotylus and Eurotas. In a more particular embodiment, the predatory insect from the family Miridae is of a species selected from the group consisting of Macrolophus pygmaeus, M. costalis, M. basicornis, Nesidiocoris tenuis, N. volucer, N. callani, Dicyphus bolivari., D. errans, D. hesperus, D. marrocanus, D. geniculatus, D. tamaninii, Engytatus varians, E. modestus, Tupiocoris cucurbitaceus, Campyloneuropsis infumatus, Cyrtopeltis callosus, Deraeocoris brevis, D. nebulosus, Pilophorus typicus, P. gallicus, Campylomma verbasci, C. chinensis, Cyrtorhinus lividipennis, Orthotylus marginalis and Eurotas brasilianus.

[0253] In a particular embodiment, the predatory insect of the family Anthocoridae is an insect of a genus selected from the group consisting of Orius, Anthocoris, Wollastoniella, Blaptostethus, Montandoniola, Macrotracheliella and Xylocoris. In a more particular embodiment, the predatory insect from the family Anthocoridae is an insect of a species selected from the group consisting of Orius laevigatus, O. insidiosus, O. majusculus, O. niger, O. albidipennis, O. minutus, O. thripoborus, O. naivashae, O. strigicollis, O. sauteri, O. tristicolor, O. nagaii, O. antillus, O. limbatus, O. thripoborus, O. naiashae, O. horvathi, O. vicinus, O. pumilio, Orius laticollis, O. lindbergi, Anthocoris nemorum, A. nemoralis, A. confusus and A. minki, Blaptostethus pallescens, Montandoniola confuse, M. pictipennis and Xylocoris flavipes. In a more particular embodiment, the predatory insect from the family Anthocoridae is Orius laevigatus.

[0254] In a particular embodiment, the ratio of predatory insect from Anthocoridae or Miridae individuals relative to A. siro individuals may be from about 100:1 to 1 :1000, preferably from 1 :1 to 1 :500, most preferably from 1 :10 to 1 :200 and more preferably from 1 :20 to 1 :100.

[0255] Method for controlling a pest in a crop or on a stored product with a population of A. siro In another aspect, the invention relates to a method for controlling a pest on a crop or on a stored product comprising:

[0256] (a) providing the crop or stored product with a population of an astigmatid mite of the species Acarus siro

[0257] (b) allowing a rearing population of a predator naturally present on the crop or stored product to prey on the population of the astigamtid mite of the species Acarus siro or, alternatively, providing the crop or stored product with at least a rearing population of a predator and allowing said predator to prey on the population of an astigmatid mite, wherein the predator is selected from the group consisting of a predatory insect of the family Miridae, a predatory insect of the family Anthocoridae and a combination thereof.

[0258] The terms “astigmatid mite of the species A. siro”, “pest”, “predatory insect of the family Miridae”, “predatory insect of the family Anthocoridae”, “rearing population”, “crop” and “stored product” have been previously defined. All the particular and preffered embodiments of the other aspects of the invention regarding these terms also apply to the method for controlling a pest in a crop or on a stored product of the invention.

[0259] In a particular embodiment, the predatory insect of the family Miridae is of a genus selected from the group consisting of Macrolophus, Nesidiocoris, Dicyphus, Deraeocoris, Engytatus, Tupiocoris, Campyloneuropsis, Cyrtopeltis, Pilophorus, Campylomma, Cyrtorhinus, Orthotylus and Eurotas. In a more particular embodiment, the predatory insect from the family Miridae is of a species selected from the group consisting of Macrolophus pygmaeus, M. costalis, M. basicornis, Nesidiocoris tenuis, N. volucer, N. callani, Dicyphus bolivari., D. errans, D. hesperus, D. marrocanus, D. geniculatus, D. tamaninii, Engytatus varians, E. modestus, Tupiocoris cucurbitaceus, Campyloneuropsis infumatus, Cyrtopeltis callosus, Deraeocoris brevis, D. nebulosus, Pilophorus typicus, P. gallicus, Campylomma verbasci, C. chinensis, Cyrtorhinus lividipennis, Orthotylus marginalis and Eurotas brasilianus.

[0260] In a particular embodiment, the predatory insect of the family Anthocoridae is an insect of a genus selected from the group consisting of Orius, Anthocoris, Wollastoniella, Blaptostethus, Montandoniola, Macrotracheliella and Xylocoris. In a more particular embodiment, the predatory insect from the family Anthocoridae is an insect of a species selected from the group consisting of Orius laevigatus, O. insidiosus, O. majusculus, O. niger, O. albidipennis, O. minutus, O. thripoborus, O. naivashae, O. strigicollis, O. sauteri, O. tristicolor, O. nagaii, O. antillus, O. limbatus, O. thripoborus, O. naiashae, O. horvathi, O. vicinus, O. pumilio, Orius laticollis, O. lindbergi, Anthocoris nemorum, A. nemoralis, A. confusus and A. minki, Blaptostethus pallescens, Montandoniola confuse, M. pictipennis and Xylocoris flavipes. In a more particular embodiment, the predatory insect from the family Anthocoridae is Orius laevigatus.

[0261] In a particular embodiment, the plant or crop is selected from the group consisting of vegetables (including cucumber, pepper, eggplant, zucchini, melon, watermelon, tomato, leaf vegetables like lettuce or rocket, potato, beans and onion), orchards, vineyard, olive trees, citrus trees, stone fruit trees, berries, ornamental plants, including pot plants and cut flowers, aromatic plants, and plants for pharmaceutic use like cannabis. In a more particular embodiment, the plant or crop is selected from the group consisting of vegetables, orchards, vineyard, olive trees, berries and ornamental plants, including pot plants and cut flowers.

[0262] In a particular embodiment, the method for controlling a pest in a crop or on a stored product comprises using any one of the combinations of prey mite compositions and predators specified for the method for mass rearing a predator.

[0263] In a particular embodiment, the pest is a pest of a crop and it is selected from the group consisting of spider mites, tarsonemid mites, eriophyid mites, thrips, whiteflies, aphids, psyllids, scale insects, and moths. In another particular embodiment, the pest is a pest of a stored product such as weevils, such as species of the genus Tribolium, Oryzaephilus and Rhizopherta, moths and mites, such as Tyrophagus putrescentiae.

[0264] In a particular embodiment, the stored product is flour, grains, dried fruits, cereal or dry dog and cat foods.

[0265] Additional aspects of the invention ***

[0266] The invention will be described by way of the following examples which are to be considered as merely illustrative and not limitative of the scope of the invention.

[0267] EXAMPLES

[0268] Example 1 Objectives

[0269] To evaluate the establishment of the predatory mite Amblyseius swirskii (Acari :Phytoseiidae) on a cucumber crop using three different supplementary foods. The aim was to compare the development of the predatory mite when feeding on one or another species of prey mites (offered as single species), and when feeding on a mixed diet comprising the two different species of prey mites. The species Acarus siro (Acari: Astigmata) was compared with Carpoglyphus lactis (Acari: Astigmata), which is the reference diet that is commonly introduced as in-crop food for A. swirskii in the recent years.

[0270] Materials and methods

[0271] The trial was conducted in a commercial greenhouse in the south of Spain (Almeria) between December 2022 and February 2023. The plastic greenhouse had 7.000 m2, with the typical ‘parral’ structure of the area, with a flat roof, with zenithal and lateral windows to offer ventilation, all covered with insect proof nets, and without active climate control, which are the structures comprising 80% Almeria’s greenhouses. A cucumber crop of the variety Sedal was planted on October the 18th, 2022, with a density of 2 plants / m2. The predator A. swirskii was released in the crop with a rate of 1 sachet with 250 individuals per plant in December the 2on. A feeding was performed 3 and 17 days after the release of the predator, introducing each time a volume of aprox. 1.5 ml / plant of supplementary food, comprising a living population of astigmatid mites on a carrier substrate, according to the treatment: (1) a population of C. lactis (commercial product Powermite with 10 million individuals / L), (2) a population of Acarus siro (10 million individuals / L) and (3) a mixture comprising 50% C. lactis and 50% A. siro (aprox. 5 million individuals / L of each species). Each treatment was applied on about 2,300 m2. All the mites were produced at Agrobio’s facilities on ventilated boxes placed on climatic rooms (24°C and 75%RH), using wheat bran as carrier material. To evaluate the seasonal abundance of the populations of A. swirskii, the number of mobile stages (larvae, nymphs, and adults) were counted every week on 3 leaves per plant (on a basal, medium and higher position) from a total of 8 randomly selected plants per treatment. The three rows of plants in the borders between treatments were kept as a buffer area and were not considered when sampling.

[0272] Means and standard errors of predators were calculated per treatment and sampling date. The numbers of A. swirskii were analyzed using an ANOVA per each sampling date and means separated using a Duncan test (SAS System 9.0).

[0273] Results

[0274] Mean number (±SE) of mobile stages of A. swirskii counted in the three treatments in each sampling date are represented in figure 1. The populations were well established in 100% of the plants in the 3 treatments. The populations were significantly different among treatments on the four sampling dates: 14 (F= 5.1 , p= 0.025), 21 (F=20.6, p<0.001), 28 (F= 16.3, p<0.001) and 43 (F=9.4, p= 0.003). The mean number of individuals was significantly higher in all the sampling dates in the treatment with the mixed diet comprising C. lactis +A. siro compared to the use of only A. siro, with means between 2.9 and 4 times higher. The number of A. swirskii was also significantly higher with the mixed diet compared to the treatment with only C. lactis in three dates, with means between 2 to 3 times higher. The treatment with C. lactis had higher numbers of the predator than the treatment with A. siro in the second sampling date (Figure 1). Conclusions

[0275] A. swirskii was well established in all the treatments and the populations decreased in January probably due to the decrease of the temperatures. The populations that developed feeding C. lactis were higher than the populations feeding A. siro (although only significant in one of the sampling dates). This was already expected considering that C. lactis is a well-known food, and this prey mite is used in the commercial mass-rearing facilities before the release of the predators in the crop. However, unexpectedly, the predator developed higher populations when feeding a mixture of ‘C. lactis + A. siro’ compared to the treatments based on a single prey mite as supplemental food, and surprisingly much higher than the commonly used C. lactis. Since the total amount of astigmatid individuals provided as food was the same in the three treatments, the higher development of the population of A. swirskii may be due to a synergistic effect of the combination of the two preys ‘C. lactis + A. siro’.

[0276] Example 2 Objectives

[0277] To evaluate the establishment of the predatory mite Amblyseius swirskii (Acari:Phytoseiidae) on a cucumber crop using four different supplementary foods. The aim was to compare the development of the predatory mite when feeding one or another of three different prey mites (offered as single species), and when feeding on a mixed diet comprising the three species of prey mites. The astigmatid species Acarus siro and Tyreophagus entomophagus were compared with Carpoglyphus lactis, which is the reference diet that is commonly introduced as in-crop food for A. swirskii in the recent years.

[0278] Materials and methods

[0279] The trial was conducted in a commercial greenhouse in the south of Spain (Almeria) between December 2022 and February 2023. The plastic greenhouse had 10.000 m2, with the typical ‘parral’ structure of the area, with a flat roof, with zenithal and lateral windows to offer ventilation, all covered with insect proof nets, and with active climate control. A cucumber crop of the variety Burgos was transplanted on October the 26th, 2022, with a density of 2 plants / m2. The predator A. swirskii was released in the crop with a rate of 1 sachet with 250 individuals per plant in December the 9th. A feeding was performed 7 and 21 days after the release of the predator, introducing each time a volume of aprox. 1.5 ml / plant of supplementary food, comprising a living population of astigmatid mites on a carrier substrate, according to the treatment: (1) a population of C. lactis (commercial product Powermite with 10 million individuals / L), (2) a population of T. entomophagus (10 million individuals / L), (3) a population of Acarus siro (10 million individuals / L) and (4) a mixture comprising 33% C. lactis, 33% T. entomophagus and 33% A. siro (aprox. 3.3 million individuals / L of each species). Each treatment was applied on about 2,500 m2. All the mites were produced at Agrobio’s facilities on ventilated boxes placed on climatic rooms (24°C and 75%RH), using wheat bran as carrier material.

[0280] To evaluate the seasonal abundance of the populations of A. swirskii, the number of mobile stages (larvae, nymphs, and adults) were counted weekly on 3 leaves per plant (on a basal, medium and higher position) from a total of 6 randomly selected plants per treatment. The three rows of plants in the borders between treatments were kept as a buffer area and were not considered when sampling.

[0281] Means and standard errors of predators were calculated per treatment and sampling date. The numbers of A. swirskii were analyzed using an ANOVA per each sampling date and means separated using a Duncan test (SAS System 9.0).

[0282] Results Mean number (±SE) of mobile stages of A swirskii counted in the four treatments in each sampling date are represented in figure 2. The populations were well established in 100% of the plants in the 4 treatments. The populations were significantly different among treatments on the five sampling dates: 14 (F= 8.8, p= 0.001), 19 (F=14.8, p<0.0001), 24 (F= 16.4, p<0.0001), 35 (F=11.5, p=0.0003) and 40 (F=15.8, p<0.0001). The mean number of individuals was significantly higher in the treatment with the mixed diet comprising C. lactis, T. entomophagus + A. siro, compared to the use of only one of these three species, with the only exception of one sampling date (35 days after the release of sachets), where population of predators with the mixture was higher but not significantly different than the populations in the treatment with C. lactis. The mean number of A. swirskii was also higher when the predator was feeding on C. lactis compared to T. entomophagus or A. siro on sampling date 35. The number of predators were similar when feeding C. lactis or T. entomophagus, and both were higher than feeding A. siro in the sampling day 24 (figure 2).

[0283] Conclusions

[0284] A. swirskii was well established in all the treatments and higher populations developed when feeding C. lactis compared with T. entomophagus or A. siro. This was already expected considering that C. lactis is a well-known food, and this prey mite is used in the commercial mass-rearing facilities before the release of the predators in the crop. The lower populations of predators developed when the supplemented food was a population of A. siro. However, unexpectedly, the predator developed higher populations when feeding a mixture of ‘C. lactis + T. entomophagus + A. siro’ compared to the treatments based on a single prey mite as supplemental food, and surprisingly the populations with this mixture were up to two times higher than the populations feeding the standard and commonly used C. lactis. Since the total amount of astigmatid individuals provided as food was the same in the four treatments, the higher development of the population of A. swirskii may be due to a synergistic effect of the combination of the three preys ‘C. lactis + T. entomophagus + A. siro’.

[0285] Example 3

[0286] Objectives

[0287] To evaluate the establishment of the predatory mite Transeius montdorensis (Acari: Phytosei idae) on a cucumber crop using four different supplementary foods. The aim was to compare the development of the predatory mite when feeding on one or another of three different prey mites (offered as single species), and when feeding on a mixed diet comprising the three species of prey mites.

[0288] Materials and methods

[0289] The trial was conducted in a commercial greenhouse in the south of Spain (Balanegra, Almeria) between December 2022 and February 2023. The plastic greenhouse had 10.000 m2, with the typical ‘parral’ structure of the area, with a flat roof, with zenithal and lateral windows to offer ventilation, all covered with insect proof nets, and with active climate control. A cucumber crop of the variety Burgos was transplanted on October the 26th, 2022, with a density of 2 plants / m2. The predator T. montdorensis was released in the crop with a rate of 1 sachet with 250 individuals per plant in December the 9th. A feeding was performed 7 and 21 days after the release of the predator, introducing each time a volume of aprox. 1.5 ml / plant of supplementary food, comprising a living population of astigmatid mites on a carrier substrate, according to the treatment: (1) a population of C. lactis (commercial product Powermite with 10 million individuals / L), (2) a population of T. entomophagus (10 million individuals / L), (3) a population of Acarus siro (10 million individuals / L) and (4) a mixture comprising 33% C. lactis, 33% T. entomophagus and 33% A. siro (aprox. 3.3 million individuals / L of each species). Each treatment was applied on about 2,500 m2. All the mites were produced at Agrobio’s facilities on ventilated boxes placed on climatic rooms (24°C and 75%RH), using wheat bran as carrier material.

[0290] To evaluate the seasonal abundance of the populations of T. montdorensis, the number of mobile stages (larvae, nymphs, and adults) were counted weekly on 3 leaves per plant (on a basal, medium and higher position) from a total of 6 randomly selected plants per treatment. The three rows of plants in the borders between treatments were kept as a buffer area and were not considered when sampling.

[0291] Means and standard errors of predators were calculated per treatment and sampling date. The numbers of T. montdorensis were analyzed using an ANOVA per each sampling date and means separated using a Duncan test (SAS System 9.0). Results

[0292] Mean number (±SE) of mobile stages of T. montdorensis counted in the four treatments in each sampling date are represented in figure 3. The populations were well established in 100% of the plants in the 4 treatments. The populations were significantly different among treatments on all the sampling dates: 14 (F= 5.1 , p= 0.025), 19 (F= 15.7, p< 0.0001), 24 (F=17.6, p<0.0001), 35 (F=8.8, p=0.001) and 40 (F=17.9, p<0.0001). The populations of the predatory mites were significantly higher in the treatment with the mixed diet comprising ‘C. lactis + T. entomophagus + A siro’, compared to the other treatments, in three sampling dates (19, 35 and 40 days after introduction of the sachets). The numbers of T. montdorensis on the plants provided with this mixture were also higher than the treatments with C. lactis or A. siro on sampling day 24. The mean number of predators were higher when supplemented with T. entomophagus compared to C. lactis or A. siro on sampling date 24, and higher than treatment with A. siro on dates 19, 35 and 40 (figure 3).

[0293] Conclusions

[0294] T. montdorensis was established in all the treatments and higher populations developed when feeding T. entomophagus compared with C. lactis or A. siro in several sampling dates. This was already expected considering that T. entomophagus is a well- known food, and this prey mite is used by a commercial biomanufacturer in their massrearing facilities before the release of the predators in the crop. The lower populations developed when the supplemented food was a single population of A. siro. However, unexpectedly, the predator developed higher populations when feeding a mixture of ‘C. lactis + T. entomophagus + A. siro’ compared to the treatments based on a single prey mite as supplemental food, and surprisingly the populations with this mixture were up to two times higher than the populations feeding the commonly used prey mites C. lactis or T. entomophagus. Since the total amount of astigmatid individuals provided as food was the same in the four treatments, the higher development of the population of T. montdorensis with the mixed diet may be due to a synergistic effect of the combination of the three preys ‘C. lactis + T. entomophagus + A. siro’.

[0295] Example 4

[0296] Objectives

[0297] To evaluate the establishment of the predatory mite Amblyseius swirskii (Acari:Phytoseiidae) on a cucumber crop using four different supplementary foods. The aim was to compare the development of the predatory mite when feeding on one or another of two different prey mites (offered as single species), and when feeding on a mixed diet comprising two species of prey mites.

[0298] Materials and methods

[0299] The trial was conducted in a commercial greenhouse in the south of Spain (Las Norias, Almeria) between January and March 2023. The plastic greenhouse had 8.000 m2, with the typical ‘parral’ structure of the area, with a flat roof, with zenithal and lateral windows to offer ventilation, all covered with insect proof nets, and with active climate control. A cucumber crop of the variety Maritime was transplanted on January the 15th, 2023, with a density of 2 plants / m2. The predator A. swirskii was released in the crop with a rate of 1 sachet with 250 individuals per plant in February the 21st. A feeding was performed 6 and 20 days after the release of the predator, introducing each time a volume of aprox. 1.5 ml / plant of supplementary food, comprising a living population of astigmatid mites on a carrier substrate, according to the treatment: (1) a population of C. lactis (commercial product Powermite with 10 million individuals / L), (2) a population of Aleuroglyphus ovatus (10 million individuals / L), (3) a mixture comprising 50% C. lactis and 50% A. ovatus (aprox. 5 million individuals / L of each species), and (4) a mixture comprising 50% C. lactis and 50% Lepidoglyphus destructor (=Glycyphagus destructor) (aprox. 5 million individuals / L of each species). Each treatment was applied on about 2,000 m2. All the mites were produced at Agrobio’s facilities on ventilated boxes placed on climatic rooms (24°C and 75%RH), using wheat bran as carrier material.

[0300] To evaluate the seasonal abundance of the populations of A. swirskii, the number of mobile stages (larvae, nymphs, and adults) were counted weekly on 3 leaves per plant (on a basal, medium and higher position) from a total of 6 randomly selected plants per treatment. The three rows of plants in the borders between treatments were kept as a buffer area and were not considered when sampling.

[0301] Means and standard errors of predators were calculated per treatment and sampling date. The numbers of A. swirskii were analyzed using an ANOVA per each sampling date and means separated using a Duncan test (SAS System 9.0).

[0302] Results

[0303] Mean number (±SE) of mobile stages of A. swirskii counted in the four treatments in each sampling date are represented in figure 4. The populations were well established in 100% of the plants in the 4 treatments. The populations were significantly different among treatments on all the sampling dates: 13 (F= 10.6, p= 0.0004), 20 (F= 6, p< 0.006), 27 (F=11.1 , p=0.0003), 34 (F=12.92, p=0.0002). The populations of the predatory mites were significantly lower in the treatment with A. ovatus compared to the other treatments, and there were no differences among the other treatments (figure 4). Conclusions

[0304] A. swirskii was established in all the treatments and lower populations developed with A. ovatus compared with the other treatments. There were no differences among the other three treatments, (1) C. lactis, (2) ‘C. lactis + A. ovatus’, and (3) ‘C. lactis + L. destructor1. No synergistic effect was stated when the predator was supplemented with a mixed diet comprising ‘C. lactis + A ovatus’ or ‘C. lactis + L. destructor’, compared with the treatment with only C. lactis.

[0305] Example 5

[0306] To evaluate the establishment of the predatory mite Amblyseius swirskii (Acari:Phytoseiidae) and the biological control of pests on a zucchini crop, using two different supplementary foods. The aim was to compare the development of the predatory mite when feeding a mixed diet comprising three different populations of astigmatid mites with a commercial standard procedure based on feeding the predator with a population of the astigmatid species C. lactis.

[0307] Materials and methods

[0308] The trial was conducted in a commercial greenhouse in the south of Spain (Almeria) between August and December 2022. The plastic greenhouse had 7.500 m2, with the typical ‘parral’ structure of the area, with a flat roof, with zenithal and lateral windows to offer ventilation, all covered with insect proof nets, and without active climate control. A zucchini crop of the variety Dharma was transplanted on August the 22nd, 2022. The predator A. swirskii was released three times in the crop spreading lose material at the top of all the plants, with a rate of 35 individuals / m2each time on September 21st, October 6thand 21st. A feeding was performed the same dates, spreading each time through all the plants a total of 5.6 liters of food per treatment. The food consisted of a living population of different astigmatid mites on a carrier substrate, according to the treatment: (1) a population of C. lactis (commercial product Powermite) with 10 million individuals / L, releasing aprox. 15,000 individuals / m2, and (2) 33% C. lactis + 33% Suidasia medanensis + 33% Acarus siro (aprox. 3.3 million individuals / L of each species), releasing about 5,000 individuals of each species / m2. All the mites were produced at Agrobio’s facilities on ventilated boxes placed on climatic rooms (24°C and 75%RH), using wheat bran as carrier material.

[0309] To evaluate the seasonal abundance of the populations of A. swirskii and the major pests, the number of mobile stages (larvae, nymphs, and adults) of predators, nymphs, pupae and adults of whiteflies, and larvae and adults of thrips, were counted weekly on 3 leaves per plant from a total of 10 randomly selected plants per treatment. The three rows of plants in the borders between treatments were kept as a buffer area and were not considered when sampling. Means and standard errors of predatory mites, whiteflies and thrips were calculated per treatment and sampling date.

[0310] Results

[0311] Mean number (±SE) of mobile stages of A swirskii, larvae and adults of thrips, and nymphs, pupae and adults of whiteflies, that were counted in the two treatments in each sampling date are represented in figure 5, 6 and 7, respectively. The predator A. swirskii was well established in both treatments. Higher populations developed in the treatment with the mixed diet, up to 10 times higher in October and between 1.4 and 2 times higher in December, compared to only C. lactis as food (Figure 5).

[0312] There was a high infestation of thrips in October that was successfully controlled by the predator in both treatments, but the control was better in the treatment with the mixed diet, where up to 3 times lower number of thrips developed (Figure 6). The same tendency was obtained with the populations of whiteflies (Figure 7), developing between 2- and 3-times lower populations in several sampling dates in the treatment with the mixed diet, compared to the treatment with only C. lactis as supplementary food.

[0313] Example 6

[0314] Objectives

[0315] To evaluate the immature development of Orius laevigatus feeding on different prey mite species (Astigmatid mites) using an optimal food (eggs of Ephestia kuehniella) as a reference. The aim was to compare the survival from egg to adult of a population of O. laevigatus feeding on different prey mite species alone or in mixture.

[0316] Materials and methods

[0317] The immature survival of O. laevigatus was evaluated feeding the predator with diets based on living populations of astigmatid mites provided on a carrier material, using different species alone or combined according to the treatment: (1) Aleuroglyphus ovatus (aprox. 10 million individuals / L), (2) Carpoglyphus lactis (commercial product Powerfood with 10 million ind. / L), (3) 50% A. ovatus + 50% C. lactis (aprox. 5 million individuals / L of each species). An additional treatment (4) with a well-known optimal food (eggs of Ephestia kuehniella), was used as a reference.

[0318] To collect fresh eggs from O. laevigatus, small pieces of bean pods (maximum 3 cm) were introduced into containers with adults of O. laevigatus. The bean pod sections were changed every 24 h for a week. In order to obtain the high number of fresh eggs necessary for the experiment, several extractions of eggs were carried out and the bean pod sections removed each day were put at 6 °C in the refrigerator to avoid the development of the eggs. At the end of the week (four changes of bean pods), all the sections of bean pods with eggs were put at 26 ± 1 °C, 65 ± 5% RH and 16:8 light — dark photoperiod. The eggs of each piece of bean were counted using a stereoscopic microscope and every 90-110 eggs were placed in 200 mL card-board cups with a piece of bean of approximately 5 cm and sealed on both sides, buck-wheat husk and the corresponding diet (Ephestia eggs or the prey mite species), thus forming a replication. Each cup containing 90-110 eggs was considered a replication, totaling five replications for each diet (a total of around 500 eggs per diet). The change of bean pods and the supply of fresh food was made three times a week, always examining the nymphal stage of the individuals born in each cup. After 10 days, the cups were observed every 24 h to remove newly emerged adults (<24 h), following this procedure until there were no nymphs left.

[0319] Immature survival among diets were analyzed by using ANOVA tests. When significant differences between diets were observed, means were separated using Tukey’s HSD test.

[0320] Results

[0321] Mean percentages of survival of O. laevigatus from egg to adult when fed Ephestia eggs or Astigmatid mite species alone or in mixture are shown in figure 8. The individuals fed the prey mite species A. ovatus survived more than those fed C. lactis. It was expected that when the individuals were offered the mixtures of prey mite species, the survival would be that obtained for the best prey mite species at the highest. In effect, the individuals fed the mixture of A. ovatus with C. lactis exhibited survival similar to that observed for those individuals fed the best mite species as diet, A. ovatus. Conclusions

[0322] The use of the mixture of the prey mite species A. ovatus with C. lactis as diet resulted in similar survival from egg to adult of the individuals of O. laevigatus compared to using only the best prey mite species alone (A. ovatus) as diet. Therefore, it was stated that the use of mixtures of Astigmatid mites as diet for the development of O. laevigatus not always results in better survival than the use of single species as diet.

[0323] Example 7

[0324] Objectives

[0325] To evaluate the immature development of Orius laevigatus feeding on different prey mite species (Astigmatid mites) using an optimal food (eggs of Ephestia kuehniella) as a reference. The aim was to compare the survival from egg to adult of a population of O. laevigatus feeding on different prey mite species alone or feeding mixed diets comprising two or three different species of prey mites.

[0326] Materials and methods

[0327] The immature survival of O. laevigatus was evaluated feeding the predator with diets based on living populations of astigmatid mites provided on a carrier material, using different species alone or combined according to the treatment: (1) Acarus siro (aprox. 10 million individuals / L), (2) Thyreophagus entomophagus (10 million individuals / L), (3) Carpoglyphus lactis (10 million individuals / L), (4) 50% A. siro + 50% T. entomophagus (5 million individuals / L of each species), (5) 50% A. siro + 50% C. lactis (5 million individuals / L of each species), (6) 33% A. siro + 33% T. entomophagus + 33% C. lactis (3.3 million of individuals / L of each species). An additional treatment (7) with a well- known optimal food (eggs of Ephestia kuehniella), was used as a reference.

[0328] For this experiment, to collect fresh eggs of O. laevigatus, small pieces of bean pods (maximum 3 cm) were introduced into containers with adults of O. laevigatus. The bean pod sections were changed every 24 h for a week. In order to obtain the high number of fresh eggs necessary for the experiment, several extractions of eggs were carried out and the bean pod sections removed each day were put at 6 °C in the refrigerator to avoid the development of the eggs. At the end of the week (four changes of bean pods), all the sections of bean pods with eggs were put at 26 ± 1 °C, 65 ± 5% RH and 16:8 light — dark photoperiod. The eggs of each piece of bean were counted using a stereoscopic microscope and every 90-110 eggs were placed in 200 mL cardboard cups with a piece of bean of approximately 5 cm and sealed on both sides, buckwheat husk and the corresponding diet (Ephestia eggs or the prey mite species), thus forming a replication. Each cup containing 90-110 eggs was considered a replication, totaling five replications for each diet (a total of around 500 eggs per diet). The change of bean pods and the supply of fresh food was made three times a week, always examining the nymphal stage of the individuals born in each cup. After 10 days, the cups were observed every 24 h to remove newly emerged adults (<24 h), following this procedure until there were no nymphs left.

[0329] Immature survival among diets were analyzed by using ANOVA tests. When significant differences between diets were observed, means were separated using Tukey’s HSD test.

[0330] Results

[0331] Mean percentages of survival from egg to adult when fed Ephestia eggs or Astigmatid mite species alone or in mixtures are shown in figure 9. The individuals fed the prey mite species A. siro survived more than those fed the other two species alone, T. entomophagus and C. lactis. It was expected that when the individuals were offered the mixtures of prey mite species, the survival would be that obtained for the best prey mite species at the highest. However, surprisingly, the individuals fed the mixtures ‘A. siro + T. entomophagus’ or ‘A. siro + C. lactis’ or ‘A. siro + C. lactis + T. entomophagus’ exhibited a higher survival than that observed for those individuals fed any prey mite species alone, even reaching the survival achieved with the optimal food Ephestia.

[0332] Conclusions

[0333] Surprisingly, the survival from egg to adult of the predatory bug O. laevigatus was much higher when eating the astigmatid prey mite A. siro, compared to the other already commercially available astigmatid species that are commonly used as in-crop food, C. lactis and T. entomophagus. Unexpectedly, the provision as food of mixtures of the prey mite species A. siro with T. entomophagus or C. lactis or both showed a synergistic effect, resulting in a higher survival of O. laevigatus from egg to adult compared to the best treatment (A siro) where these species of prey mites were provided alone. With one of these mixed diets (A siro + C. lactis) the survival of the predator was even similar than the survival obtained with the expensive eggs of Ephestia.

[0334] Example 8

[0335] Objectives

[0336] To evaluate the reproductive performance Orius laevigatus (Heteroptera: Anthocoridae) feeding on different prey mite species (Astigmatid mites) using an optimal food (eggs of the moth Ephestia kuehniella) as a reference. The aim was to compare the fecundity of females of a population of O. laevigatus feeding on different prey mite species.

[0337] Materials and methods

[0338] The lifetime fecundity of O. laevigatus was evaluated when the predator is feeding different diets, based on living Astigmatid mite species supplied on a carrier material, according to the treatment: (1) Acarus siro (aprox. 10 million individuals / L), (2) Thyreophagus entomophagus (10 million individuals / L), and (3) Carpoglyphus lactis (10 million individuals / L ). An additional treatment was set up, using the well-known food Ephestia kuehniella eggs, as a reference.

[0339] Freshly emerged females and males were allowed to mate for 4 days. After mating and pre-oviposition period, adults were sexed, and females isolated to test fecundity. Females were placed individually into small polypropylene recipients (45 mL) with ventilated lids with a piece of green bean pod end-sealed with paraffin wax as an egg-laying substrate, and excess of diet (Ephestia eggs or prey mites were provided ‘at libitum") as food. Eggs counting was carried out every 2-3 days, switching females to a clean piece of bean pod and adding fresh food. Fecundity was assessed until the females’ death. Between 20 and 28 replicates per treatment were performed.

[0340] Fecundity among diets were analyzed by using ANOVA tests. When significant differences between diets were observed, means were separated using Tukey’s HSD test.

[0341] Results

[0342] The data of lifetime fecundity of O. laevigatus females when fed Ephestia eggs or Astigmatid mite species are shown in figure 10. Fecundity of females fed the prey mite A. siro was similar to that obtained when fed the optimal food Ephestia eggs, and higher than when the females were fed the other prey mite species, T. entomophagus or C. lactis.

[0343] Conclusions

[0344] The results of fecundity of O. laevigatus feeding the astigmatid mites T. entomophagus or C. lactis confirms that this predatory bug can reproduce eating astigmatid mites, although these mites are suboptimal foods. However, it has been surprisingly stated that this predator has a much higher fecundity when eating the astigmatid mite A. siro, compared to the other prey mites. Unexpectedly, the fecundity achieved when eating A. siro is similar to that obtained when eating the commonly used, very expensive, diet of E. kuehniella eggs. This is the first time that an alternative diet to Ephestia, which is much cheaper, has been described. This will allow to significantly improve the establishment of the predators in the crops using a supplementary food release strategy. Especially considering that much higher volumes of this new food through all the plants in a crop can be released, and the longer time that this living prey mites remain available on the plants for the predators, compared to the dead eggs of Ephestia (UV treatment and / or frozen), which use is limited by the expensive cost. This improvement will consequently allow to achieve more robust, efficient, and sustainable biological pest control.

[0345] Example 9 Objectives

[0346] To evaluate the reproductive performance Macrolophus pygmaeus feeding on different prey mite species (Astigmatid mites) using an optimal food (eggs of Ephestia kuehniella) as a reference. The aim was to compare the fertility (number emerged nymphs per female) of females of a population of M. pygmaeus feeding on different prey mite species.

[0347] Materials and methods

[0348] Early fertility (number of emerged nymphs per female after ovipositing for 10 days) of M. pygmaeus was evaluated when the predator is feeding different diets, based on living Astigmatid mite species supplied on a carrier material, according to the treatment: (1) Acarus siro (aprox. 10 million individuals / L), (2) Thyreophagus entomophagus (10 million individuals / L), (3) Carpoglyphus lactis (10 million individuals / L ), (4) 50% A. siro + 50% C. lactis (5 million individuals / L of each species), (5) 33% A. siro + 33% C. lactis + 33% T. entomophagus (3.3 million of individuals / L of each species), and (6) 50% T. entomophagus + 50% C. lactis (5 million individuals / L of each species). An additional treatment was set up (7), using the well-known food Ephestia kuehniella eggs, as a reference. All the astigmatid prey mite populations were produced in sealed ventilated boxes in climatic chambers (23-25°C and 75-85% RH) at Agrobio’s facilities, using wheat bran as a carrier material.

[0349] Freshly emerged females and males were allowed to mate for 7 days. After mating and pre-oviposition period, adults were sexed and females isolated to test fertility. Females were placed individually into small polypropylene recipients (100 mL) with ventilated lids with a piece of green bean pod end-sealed with paraffin wax as an egglaying substrate, and excess of diet (Ephestia eggs or prey mites were provided ‘at libitum") as food. At day 10ththe females were removed, and the eggs laid in the bean pods were allowed to develop. Ten days after female removing, the nymphs emerged in each container were counted. Between 9 and 13 replicates per treatment were performed.

[0350] Fertility among diets were analyzed by using ANOVA tests. When significant differences between diets were observed, means were separated using Tukey’s HSD test.

[0351] Results

[0352] Number of nymphs emerged when the females were fed Ephestia eggs or Astigmatid mite species are shown in figure 11. Fertility of females fed the prey mite A. siro was higher than those fed T. entomophagus or C. lactis. It was expected that when the females were offered the mixtures of prey mite species, the fertility would be that obtained for the best prey mite species at the highest. Indeed, that was the result when the females were fed with the mixture of T. entomophagus + C. lactis, which fertility was slightly inferior to that obtained for the best prey mite species, T. entomophagus. However, surprisingly, the fertility of the females fed with the mixture of A. siro with either C. lactis or with T. entomophagus plus C. lactis, was higher than when the females were fed any prey mite species alone, even obtaining a fertility similar to that achieved with the optimal food Ephestia eggs.

[0353] Conclusions

[0354] The use of the mixture of the prey mite species T. entomophagus with C. lactis as diet resulted in inferior fertility of females of M. pymaeus compared when using each prey mite species alone as diet. Therefore, the use of mixtures of Astigmatid mites as diet for the reproduction of M. pygmaeus not always result in better fertility than the use of single species as diet.

[0355] However, unexpectedly, the mixtures of the prey mite species A. siro with T. entomophagus or with T. entomophagus plus C. lactis resulted in higher fertility of M. pygmaeus females when used as diet compared when using those prey mite species alone as diet.

[0356] Example 10

[0357] Objectives

[0358] To evaluate the establishment of the predatory mite Amblyseius swirskii (Acari:Phytoseiidae) on a cucumber crop using two different supplementary foods. The aim was to compare the development of the predatory mite when feeding on the prey mite Carpoglyphus lactis (Acari: Astigmata) or when feeding on a mixed diet based on three species of prey mites comprising C. lactis, Suidasia medanensis and Acarus siro. The prey mite C. lactis is the reference diet that is commonly introduced as in-crop food for A. swirskii in the recent years, and it is the diet used in the mass-rearing in the bio factories prior to the introduction of the predator in the crop.

[0359] Materials and methods

[0360] The trial was conducted in a commercial greenhouse in the south of Spain (Almeria) between January and March 2023. The plastic greenhouse had 5,000 m2, with the typical ‘parral’ structure of the area, with a flat roof, with zenithal and lateral windows to offer ventilation, all covered with insect proof nets, and without active climate control, which are the structures comprising 80% Almeria’s greenhouses. A cucumber crop of the variety Darksun (Rijk Zwaan) was planted on January the 15th, 2023, with a density of 2 plants / m2. The predator A. swirskii was released in the crop with a rate of 1 sachet with 250 individuals per plant 20 days after transplanting. A feeding was performed 7 and 21 days after the release of the predator, introducing each time a volume of aprox. 1 ml / plant of supplementary food, comprising a living population of astigmatid mites on a carrier substrate, according to the treatment: (1) Powermite, a population of C. lactis (commercial product Powermite with 10 million individuals / L), (2) Powermite 3.0, a mixture comprising 33% C. lactis, 33% S. medanensis and 33% A. siro (aprox. 3.3 million individuals / L of each species). Each treatment was applied on about 2,400 m2. All the mites were produced at Agrobio’s facilities on ventilated boxes placed on climatic rooms (24°C and 75%RH), using wheat bran as carrier material.

[0361] To evaluate the seasonal abundance of the populations of A. swirskii, the number of mobile stages (larvae, nymphs, and adults) were counted every week on 3 leaves per plant (on a basal, medium and higher position) from a total of 10 randomly selected plants per treatment. The three rows of plants in the borders between treatments were kept as a buffer area and were not considered when sampling.

[0362] Means and standard errors of predators were calculated per treatment and sampling date.

[0363] Results

[0364] Mean number (±SE) of mobile stages of A. swirskii counted in the two treatments in each sampling date are represented in figure 12. The populations were well established in 100% of the plants in the two treatments. The mean number of individuals was higher in all the sampling dates in the treatment with the mixed diet comprising C. lactis + S. medanensis + A. siro compared to the use of only C. lactis, with means between 1.5 and 3 times higher (Figure 12). The accumulated number of A. swirskii counted in all the samplings is represented in Fig. 13. The number of mobile stages of the predator was almost twice in the treatment with the mixed diet compared to the treatment with only C. lactis.

[0365] Conclusions

[0366] A. swirskii was well established in both treatments. Unexpectedly, the predator developed higher populations when feeding a mixture of ‘C. lactis + S. medanensis + A. siro’ compared to the treatment with C. lactis as supplemental food. Since the total amount of astigmatid individuals provided as food was the same in the two treatments, the higher development of the population of A. swirskii may be due to a synergistic effect of the combination of the three preys ‘C. lactis + S. medanensis + A. siro’.

[0367] Example 11 Objectives To evaluate the establishment of the predatory mite Transeius montdorensis (Acari:Phytoseiidae) on a cucumber crop using two different supplementary foods. The aim was to compare the development of the predatory mite when feeding on the prey mite Suidasia medanensis (Acari: Astigmata) or when feeding on a mixed diet based on three species of prey mites comprising Carpoglyphus lactis, Suidasia medanensis and Acarus siro. The prey mite S. medanensis is the reference diet that is commonly introduced as in-crop food for T. montdorensis in the recent years, and it is the diet used in the mass-rearing in the bio factories prior to the introduction of the predator in the crop. Materials and methods

[0368] The trial was conducted in a commercial greenhouse in the south of Spain (El Ejido, Almeria) between 14 / 12 / 2022 and 06 / 03 / 2023. The plastic greenhouse had 9,000 m2, with the typical ‘parral’ structure of the area, with a flat roof, with zenithal and lateral windows to offer ventilation, all covered with insect proof nets, and without active climate control, which are the structures comprising 80% Almeria’s greenhouses. A cucumber crop of the variety Litoral was planted on 14 / 12 / 2023, with a density of 2 plants / m2. The predator T. montdorensis was released in the crop with a rate of 1 sachet with 250 individuals per plant in January the 9th, 2023. A feeding was performed 7, 21 and 35 days after the release of the predator, introducing each time a volume of aprox. 1 ml / plant of supplementary food, comprising a living population of astigmatid mites on a carrier substrate, according to the treatment: (1) Powerfood, a population of S. medanensis (commercial product Powerfood with 10 million individuals / L), (2) Powermite 3.0, a mixture comprising 33% C. lactis, 33% S. medanensis and 33% A. siro (aprox. 3.3 million individuals / L of each species). Each treatment was applied on about 2,300 m2. All the mites were produced at Agrobio’s facilities on ventilated boxes placed on climatic rooms (24°C and 75%RH), using wheat bran as carrier material.

[0369] To evaluate the seasonal abundance of the populations of T. montdorensis, the number of mobile stages (larvae, nymphs, and adults) were counted every week on 3 leaves per plant (on a basal, medium and higher position) from a total of 10 randomly selected plants per treatment. The three rows of plants in the borders between treatments were kept as a buffer area and were not considered when sampling.

[0370] Means and standard errors of predators were calculated per treatment and sampling date.

[0371] Results

[0372] Mean number (±SE) of mobile stages of T. montdorensis counted in the two treatments in each sampling date are represented in figure 14. The populations were well established in 100% of the plants in the two treatments. The mean number of individuals was higher in the treatment with the mixed diet comprising C. lactis + S. medanensis + A. siro compared to the use of only S. medanensis, with means between 1.8 and 7 times higher in the days following a feeding procedure (Figure 14). The accumulated number of T. montdorensis counted in all the samplings is represented in Fig.15. The number of mobile stages of the predator was almost twice in the treatment with the mixed diet compared to the treatment with only Suidasia medanensis.

[0373] Conclusions

[0374] T. montdorensis was well established in both treatments. Unexpectedly, the predator developed higher populations when feeding a mixture of ‘C. lactis + S. medanensis + A. siro’ compared to the treatment with S. medanensis as supplemental food. Since the total amount of astigmatid individuals provided as food was the same in the two treatments, the higher development of the population of T. montdorensis may be due to a synergistic effect of the combination of the three preys ‘C. lactis + S. medanensis + A. siro’.

[0375] Example 12

[0376] Objectives

[0377] To evaluate the establishment of the predatory mite Amblyseius andersoni (Acari:Phytoseiidae) on a cucumber crop using two different supplementary foods. The aim was to compare the development of the predatory mite when feeding on the prey mite Suidasia medanensis (Acari: Astigmata) or when feeding on a mixed diet based on three species of prey mites comprising Carpoglyphus lactis, Suidasia medanensis and Acarus siro. The prey mite S. medanensis is the reference diet that is commonly introduced as in-crop food for A. andersoni in the recent years, and it is the diet used in the mass-rearing in the bio factories prior to the introduction of the predator in the crop. Materials and methods

[0378] The trial was conducted in two commercial greenhouses in the south of Spain (Almeria) between April and June 2023. The plastic greenhouses had 9,000 m2and 6,800 m2, respectively. Both greenhouses had the typical ‘parral’ structure of the area, with a flat roof, with zenithal and lateral windows to offer ventilation, all covered with insect proof nets, and without active climate control, which are the structures comprising 80% Almeria’s greenhouses. A cucumber crop of the variety SV0091CE (Seminis) was planted on April the 26thin both greenhouses, with a density of 2 plants / m2. The predator T. montdorensis was released in both crops with a rate of 1 sachet with 250 individuals per plant 20 days after transplanting. A feeding was performed 3 days after the release of the predator, introducing a volume of aprox. 1 ml / plant of supplementary food, comprising a living population of astigmatid mites on a carrier substrate, according to the treatment: (1) Powerfood (a population of S. medanensis with 10 million individuals / L), (2) Powermite 3.0, which is a mixture comprising 33% C. lactis, 33% S. medanensis and 33% A. siro (aprox. 3.3 million individuals / L of each species). Each treatment was applied on about 1 ,300 m2. All the mites were produced at Agrobio’s facilities on ventilated boxes placed on climatic rooms (24°C and 75%RH), using wheat bran as carrier material.

[0379] To evaluate the seasonal abundance of the populations of A. andersoni, the number of mobile stages (larvae, nymphs, and adults) were counted every week on 3 leaves per plant (on a basal, medium and higher position) from a total of 10 randomly selected plants per treatment, in each crop The three rows of plants in the borders between treatments were kept as a buffer area and were not considered when sampling.

[0380] Means and standard errors of predators were calculated per treatment and sampling date.

[0381] Results

[0382] Mean number (±SE) of mobile stages of A. andersoni counted in the two treatments in each sampling date in both greenhouses are represented in figure 16a and 16b, respectively. The populations were well established in 100% of the plants in the two treatments in both greenhouses. The mean number of individuals was higher in the treatment with the mixed diet comprising C. lactis + S. medanensis + A. siro compared to the use of only S. medanensis, with means up to 4 times higher in the following two weeks after a feeding procedure (Figures 16a and 16b).

[0383] Conclusions

[0384] A. andersoni was well established in both treatments in the two crops. Unexpectedly, the predator developed higher populations when feeding a mixture of ‘C. lactis + S. medanensis + A. siro’ compared to the treatment with S. medanensis as supplemental food. Since the total amount of astigmatid individuals provided as food was the same in the two treatments, the higher development of the population of A. andersoni may be due to a synergistic effect of the combination of the three preys ‘C. lactis + S. medanensis + A. siro’.

[0385] Example 13

[0386] Introduction of astigmatid mites as food for Orius laevigatus in a chrysanthemum crop Objectives

[0387] To evaluate the establishment of Orius laevigatus in a chrysanthemum crop using two different supplementary foods. The aim was to compare the development of the predatory bug when feeding on the diet Powerfood PLUS, comprising the prey mite Suidasia medanensis (Acari: Astigmata) and eggs of the moth Sitotroga cerealella, or when feeding on a mixed diet based on three species of prey mites comprising Carpoglyphus lactis, Suidasia medanensis and Acarus siro. The eggs of the moth S. cerealella is a well-known optimal diet (and very expensive) that is commonly used in the mass-rearing in the bio factories prior to the introduction of the predator in the crop. Materials & methods

[0388] The trial was conducted in a commercial greenhouse situated in the Dutch province of Gelderland, between December 2022 and March 2023. The greenhouse was a typical high-tech Dutch glasshouse with artificial light and heating system with aprox. 3 hectares. Chrysanthemums are planted all year round (5 cycles per year), and following the common practice of the producers, the greenhouse was divided in plots of approx. 1 ,000 m2, and different varieties of Chrysanthemums were planted in different plots with different starting dates, with a duration of each crop of 10 weeks. The trial was performed on twelve different crops (plots of 1 ,000 m2) with 2 different varieties, all planted between December 2022 and January 2023.

[0389] One introduction of O. laevigatus was performed the first week after transplanting with a dosage of 10 individuals / m2. Two treatments were evaluated based on releases of two different supplementary foods:

[0390] (1) 2.5 liters of a populations of the astigmatid mite Suidasia medanensis (with aprox. 10 million individuals / L), commercially sold by Agrobio (Powerfood). This prey mite populations, which are packaged with bran and vermiculite as a substrate in paper bags, were complemented in each release with 15 grams of eggs of the moth S. cerealella (250,000 eggs / gram). The eggs of the moth were homogeneously mixed with the 2.5 I populations of mites and distributed together with the mites. This feeding was introduced once per week during the first 5 weeks after the introduction of the predator.

[0391] (2) 2.5 liters of a mixture named Powermite 3.0, comprising 33% C. lactis, 33% S. medanensis and 33% A. siro (aprox. 3.3 million individuals / L of each species). This feeding was also introduced once per week during the first 5 weeks after the introduction of the predator. Each treatment was repeated in 6 different crops (plots), comprising 3 plots of each of the two varieties. To distribute the material an automatic device commercialized under the name Biospreader designed to distribute mites was used. This is based on a modified spin disc apparatus that is hang in the irrigation system and offers an even distribution of the material on the top of all the plants, so that a ratio of >100 factitious prey mites / plant were introduced each time.

[0392] To evaluate the seasonal abundance of the populations of O. laevigatus a weekly sampling was performed. The number of nymphs and adults of O. laevigatus, were counted every week on 10 randomly selected plants per treatment.

[0393] Means and standard errors of predators were calculated per treatment and sampling date.

[0394] Results

[0395] Mean accumulated number (±SE) of nymphs and adults of O. laevigatus counted per square meter in the two treatments between week 1 and week 4 (4 weeks after the introduction of the predator) are represented in figure 17. The populations of the predator counted in the plots with the diet Powerfood 3.0 (A siro + C. lactis + S. medanensis) were higher than in the plots with the diet Powerfood Plus (S. medanensis + eggs of the moth S. cerealella). The populations feed with the diet Powerfood Plus were lower than the populations counted in previous years using the same supplementary food, most probably due to the lower temperatures maintained in the greenhouses due to the huge increase of the gas price. The mean accumulated number in the treatment with Powerfood 3.0 was 6.9 times higher compared to the mean number in the plots where the predator was fed with the expensive product Powerfood Plus.

[0396] Conclusions

[0397] Thanks to the in-crop release of factitious preys as supplementary foods the populations of predator were established in both treatments. The populations were lower in the treatment with the expensive food Powerfood Plus compared to the populations counted in the previous year using the same feeding system, due to the lower temperatures maintained in the greenhouses in the winter of 2022 / 23. However, surprisingly, the populations were much higher when feed with the mixture of 3 prey mites ( / A. siro + S. medanensis + C. lactis) in all the crops (6), counting an accumulated mean number 6.9 times higher.

[0398] These results offer, for the first time, the possibility to establish high populations of O. laevigatus in chrysanthemums crops during winter. Current biocontrol programs in this crop are based on releases of predator mites, which offers a good control of the larvae of thrips. However, the predator mites cannot eat the adults of thrips, and often significant damages of the pest cannot be avoided. The lack of authorized chemical treatments, together with the very low accepted threshold of thrips populations in this crop, has brough a desperate situation for the growers. Some growers are using O. laevigatus with a feeding system based on the introduction of an expensive food called Powerfood Plus. The better development of O. laevigatus with the new mixed diet will offer a cheaper and importantly, more robust biocontrol program, and eventually may also decrease the needed release dosages of O. laevigatus, and so will reduce very significantly the economic cost of the biocontrol.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A prey mite composition comprising a population of an astigmatid mite of the species Acarus siro and at least one additional population of an astigmatid mite of a species selected from the group consisting of Carpoglyphus lactis, Aleuroglyphus ovatus, Thyreophagus entomophagus, Tyrolichus casei, Suidasia medanensis and Czenspinskia transversostriata, wherein the prey mite composition comprises at least 1000 individuals of said astigmatid mite species per gram of the total weight of the composition or at least 300 individuals of said astigmatid mite species per milliliter of the total volume of the composition, wherein said astigmatid mite species are the species Acarus siro, Carpoglyphus lactis, Aleuroglyphus ovatus, Thyreophagus entomophagus, Tyrolichus casei, Suidasia medanensis and Czenspinskia transversostriata.

2. The prey mite composition according to claim 1 , wherein:- the population of an astigmatid mite of the species Acarus siro and / or the at least one additional population of an astigmatid mite is a rearing population or- at least part of the population of an astigmatid mite of the species Acarus siro and / or the at least one additional population of an astigmatid mite is not alive.

3. The prey mite composition according to any one of claims 1 or 2, comprising at least two populations of an astigmatid mite selected from the group consisting of Carpoglyohus lactis, Aleuroglyphus ovatus, Thyreophagus entomophagus, Tyrolichus casei, Suidasia medanensis and Czenspinskia transversostriata, wherein said at least two populations are from different species.

4. The prey mite composition according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the composition comprises at least 5%, preferably at least 10%, more preferably at least 20%, even more preferably at least 30% of astigmatid mites of the species Acarus siro and at least 5%, preferably at least 10%, more preferably at least 20%, even more preferably at least 30% of astigmatid mites selected from the group consisting of Carpoglyohus lactis, Aleuroglyphus ovatus, Thyreophagus entomophagus, Tyrolichus casei, Suidasia medanensis and Czenspinskia transversostriata of the total amount of mite individuals present in the composition.

5. The prey mite composition according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the at least one additional population of an astigmatid mite is a population of C. lactis or a population of T. entomophagus.

6. The prey mite composition according to claim 5, comprising a population of A siro and:- a population of C. lactis, or- a population of C. lactis and a population of T. entomophagus, or- a population of C. lactis and a population of Suidasa medanensis, or- a population of T. entomophagus.

7. A composition comprising the prey mite composition according to any one of claims 1 to 6 and a rearing population of a predator, wherein said predator is selected from the group consisting of a predatory mite, a predatory insect of the family Miridae, a predatory insect of the family Anthocoridae and a combination thereof.

8. A composition comprising:(a) a prey mite composition comprising a population of an astigmatid mite of the species Acarus siro and at least one additional population of an astigmatid mite of a species selected from the group consisting of Carpoglyphus lactis, Aleuroglyphus ovatus, Thyreophagus entomophagus, Tyrolichus casei, Suidasia medanensis and Czenspinskia transversostriata, and(b) a rearing population of a predator, wherein said predator is selected from the group consisting of a predatory mite, a predatory insect of the family Miridae, a predatory insect of the family Anthocoridae and a combination thereof.

9. The composition according to any one of claims 7 or 8, wherein the rearing population of the predator and the populations of astigmatid prey mites are physically separated so that there is no contact between the population of the predator and the populations of the prey mites.

10. The composition according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein the predatory mite is of the family selected from the group consisting of Phytoseiidae, Ascidae, Tydeidae, Cunaxidae, Erythraeidae and Stigmaeidae, and / or the predatory insect of the family Miridae is of a genus selected from the group consisting of Macrolophus, Nesidiocoris, Dicyphus, Deraeocoris Engytatus, Tupiocoris, Campyloneuropsis, Cyrtopeltis, Pilophorus, Campylomma, Cyrtorhinus, Orthotylus, Eurotas, and / or the predatory insect of the family Anthocoridae is of a genus selected from the group consisting of Orius, Anthocoris, Wollastoniella, Blaptostethus, Montandoniola, Macrotracheliella and Xylocoris.

11. The composition according to claim 10, wherein the predatory insect of the family Miridae is of a species selected from the group consisting of Macrolophus pygmaeus, M. costalis, M. basicornis, Nesidiocoris tenuis, N. volucer, N. callani, Dicyphus bolivari., D. errans, D. hesperus, D. marrocanus, D. geniculatus, D. tamaninii, Engytatus varians, E. modestus, Tupiocoris cucurbitaceus, Campyloneuropsis infumatus, Cyrtopeltis callosus, Deraeocoris brevis, D. nebulosus, Pilophorus typicus, P. gallicus, Campylomma verbasci, C. chinensis, Cyrtorhinus lividipennis, Orthotylus marginalis and Eurotas brasilianus and / or the predatory insect of the family Anthocoridae is of a species selected from the group consisting of Orius laevigatus, O. insidiosus, O. majusculus, O. niger, O. albidipennis, O. minutus, O. thripoborus, O. naivashae, O. strigicollis, O. sauteri, O. tristicolor, O. nagaii, O. antillus, O. limbatus, O. thripoborus, O. naiashae, O. horvathi, O. vicinus, O. pumilio, Orius laticollis, O. lindbergi, Anthocoris nemorum, A. nemoralis, A. confusus and A. minki, Blaptostethus pallescens, Montandoniola confuse, M. pictipennis and Xylocoris flavipes.

12. The composition according to claim 11 , comprising:- Amblyseius swirskii and a prey mite composition comprising a population of A. siro and a population of C. lactis, or- Amblyseius swirskii and a prey mite composition comprising a population of A. siro, a population of C. lactis and a population of T. entomophagus, or- Transeius montdorensis and a prey mite composition comprising a population of A. siro, a population of C. lactis and a population of T. entomophagus, or- Transeius montdorensis and a prey mite composition comprising a population of A. siro, a population of C. lactis and a population of S. medanensis,- Amblyseius swirskii and a prey mite composition comprising a population ofA. siro, a population of C. lactis and a population of Suidasa medanensis, or- Orius laevigatus and a prey mite composition comprising a population of A. siro and a population of T. entomophagus or,- Orius laevigatus and a prey mite composition comprising a population of A. siro and a population of C. lactis or,- Orius laevigatus and a prey mite composition comprising a population of A. siro, a population of C. lactis and a population of T. entomophagus, or- Orius laevigatus and a prey mite composition comprosing a population of A siro, a population of C. lactis and a population of S. medanensis, or- Amblyseius andersoni and a prey mite composition comprising a population of A. siro, a population of C. lactis and a population of Suidasa medanensis.

13. A method for mass rearing a predator selected from the group consisting of a predatory mite, a predatory insect of the family Miridae or of the family Anthocoridae and a combination thereof, comprising:(a) contacting a rearing population of the predator with the prey mite composition according to any one of claims 1 to 6 and(b) allowing the predator to prey on the mite composition.

14. A method for rearing a predator on a crop, wherein the predator is selected from the group consisting of a predatory mite, a predatory insect of the family Miridae, a predatory insect of the family Anthocoridae and a combination thereof, comprising:(a) providing the crop with the prey mite composition according to any one of claims 1 to 6 and(b) allowing a rearing population of the predator naturally present on the crop to prey on the prey mite composition or, alternatively, providing the crop with at least a rearing population of the predator and allowing said predator to prey on the mite composition.

15. A method for controlling a pest on a crop or on a stored product comprising:(a) providing the crop or stored product with the prey mite composition according to any one of claims 1 to 6 and(b) allowing a rearing population of a predator naturally present on the crop or stored product to prey on the mite composition or, alternatively, providing the crop or stored product with at least a rearing population of a predator and allowing said predator to prey on the prey mite composition, wherein the predator is selected from the group consisting of a predatory mite, a predatory insect of the family Miridae, a predatory insect of the family Anthocoridae and a combination thereof.

16. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 15, wherein the crop is selected from the group consisting of vegetables, orchards, vineyard, olive trees, berries and ornamental plants, including pot plants and cut flowers or wherein the storedproduct is selected from the group consisting of flour, grains, dried fruits, cereal, dry dog foods and dry cat foods.

17. The method according to any one of claims 13-16, wherein the predatory insect of the family Miridae is of a genus selected from the group consisting of Macrolophus, Nesidiocoris, Dicyphus, Deraeocoris Engytatus, Tupiocoris, Campyloneuropsis, Cyrtopeltis, Pilophorus, Campylomma, Cyrtorhinus, Orthotylus, Eurotas, and / or the predatory insect of the family Anthocoridae is of a genus selected from the group consisting of Orius, Anthocoris, Wollastoniella, Blaptostethus, Montandoniola, Macrotracheliella and Xylocoris.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the predatory insect of the family Miridae is of a species selected from the group consisting of Macrolophus pygmaeus, M. costalis, M. basicornis, Nesidiocoris tenuis, N. volucer, N. callani, Dicyphus bolivari., D. errans, D. hesperus, D. marrocanus, D. geniculatus, D. tamaninii, Engytatus varians, E. modestus, Tupiocoris cucurbitaceus, Campyloneuropsis infumatus, Cyrtopeltis callosus, Deraeocoris brevis, D. nebulosus, Pilophorus typicus, P. gallicus, Campylomma verbasci, C. chinensis, Cyrtorhinus lividipennis, Orthotylus marginalis and Eurotas brasilianus and / or the predatory insect of the family Anthocoridae is of a species selected from the group consisting of Orius laevigatus, O. insidiosus, O. majusculus, O. niger, O. albidipennis, O. minutus, O. thripoborus, O. naivashae, O. strigicollis, O. sauteri, O. tristicolor, O. nagaii, O. antillus, O. limbatus, O. thripoborus, O. naiashae, O. horvathi, O. vicinus, O. pumilio, Orius laticollis, O. lindbergi, Anthocoris nemorum, A. nemoralis, A. confusus and A. minki, Blaptostethus pallescens, Montandoniola confuse, M. pictipennis and Xylocoris flavipes.

19. Use of the prey mite composition according to any one of claims 1 to 6 for: mass rearing a predator, or rearing a predator on a crop, wherein the predator is selected from the group consisting of a predatory mite, a predatory insect of the family Miridae, a predatory insect of the family Anthocoridae and a combination thereof.

20. Use of the composition according to any one of claims 7 to12 for controlling a pest on a crop or in a stored product.21 . The use according to any one of claims 19 or 20, wherein the predatory insect of the family Miridae is of a genus selected from the group consisting of Macrolophus, Nesidiocoris, Dicyphus, Deraeocoris Engytatus, Tupiocoris, Campyloneuropsis, Cyrtopeltis, Pilophorus, Campylomma, Cyrtorhinus, Orthotylus, Eurotas, and / or the predatory insect of the family Anthocoridae is of a genus selected from the group consisting of Orius, Anthocoris, Wollastoniella, Blaptostethus, Montandoniola, Macrotracheliella and Xylocoris.

22. The use according to claim 21 , wherein the predatory insect of the family Miridae is of a species selected from the group consisting of Macrolophus pygmaeus, M. costalis, M. basicornis, Nesidiocoris tenuis, N. volucer, N. callani, Dicyphus bolivari., D. errans, D. hesperus, D. marrocanus, D. geniculatus, D. tamaninii, Engytatus varians, E. modestus, Tupiocoris cucurbitaceus, Campyloneuropsis infumatus, Cyrtopeltis callosus, Deraeocoris brevis, D. nebulosus, Pilophorus typicus, P. gallicus, Campylomma verbasci, C. chinensis, Cyrtorhinus lividipennis, Orthotylus marginalis and Eurotas brasilianus and / or the predatory insect of the family Anthocoridae is of a species selected from the group consisting of Orius laevigatus, O. insidiosus, O. majusculus, O. niger, O. albidipennis, O. minutus, O. thripoborus, O. naivashae, O. strigicollis, O. sauteri, O. tristicolor, O. nagaii, O. antillus, O. limbatus, O. thripoborus, O. naiashae, O. horvathi, O. vicinus, O. pumilio, Orius laticollis, O. lindbergi, Anthocoris nemorum, A. nemoralis, A. confusus and A. minki, Blaptostethus pallescens, Montandoniola confuse, M. pictipennis and Xylocoris flavipes.

23. A composition comprising a population of an astigmatid mite of the species Acarus siro and a rearing population of a predatory insect of the family Miridae or of the family Anthocoridae, wherein the population of Acarus siro and the population of the predatory insect are not physically separated.

24. The composition according to claim 23, wherein the predatory insect of the family Miridae is of a genus selected from the group consisting of Macrolophus, Nesidiocoris, Dicyphus, Deraeocoris Engytatus, Tupiocoris, Campyloneuropsis, Cyrtopeltis, Pilophorus, Campylomma, Cyrtorhinus, Orthotylus, Eurotas, orthe predatory insect of the family Anthocoridae is of a genus selected from the group consisting of Orius, Anthocoris, Wollastoniella, Blaptostethus, Montandoniola, Macrotracheliella and Xylocoris.

25. The composition according to claim 24, wherein the predatory insect of the family Miridae is of a species selected from the group consisting of Macrolophus pygmaeus, M. costalis, M. basicornis, Nesidiocoris tenuis, N. volucer, N. callani, Dicyphus bolivari., D. errans, D. hesperus, D. marrocanus, D. geniculatus, D. tamaninii, Engytatus varians, E. modestus, Tupiocoris cucurbitaceus, Campyloneuropsis infumatus, Cyrtopeltis callosus, Deraeocoris brevis, D. nebulosus, Pilophorus typicus, P. gallicus, Campylomma verbasci, C. chinensis, Cyrtorhinus lividipennis, Orthotylus marginalis and Eurotas brasilianus or the predatory insect of the family Anthocoridae is of a species selected from the group consisting of Orius laevigatus, O. insidiosus, O. majusculus, O. niger, O. albidipennis, O. minutus, O. thripoborus, O. naivashae, O. strigicollis, O. sauteri, O. tristicolor, O. nagaii, O. antillus, O. limbatus, O. thripoborus, O. naiashae, O. horvathi, O. vicinus, O. pumilio, Orius laticollis, O. lindbergi, Anthocoris nemorum, A. nemoralis, A. confusus and A. minki, Blaptostethus pallescens, Montandoniola confuse, M. pictipennis and Xylocoris flavipes.

26. A method for mass rearing a predatory insect of the family Miridae or of the family Anthocoridae comprising(a) contacting a rearing population of the predatory insect of the family Miridae or of the family Anthocoridae with a population of an astigmatid mite of the species Acarus siro and(b) allowing the predatory insect to prey on the population of Acarus siro.

27. A method for controlling a pest on a crop or on a stored product comprising:(a) providing the crop or stored product with a population of an astigmatid mite of the species Acarus siro(b) allowing a rearing population of a predator naturally present on the crop or stored product to prey on the population of the astigamtid mite of the species Acarus siro or, alternatively, providing the crop or stored product with at least a rearing population of a predator and allowing said predator to prey on the population of an astigmatid mite, wherein the predator is selected from thegroup consisting of a predatory insect of the family Miridae, a predatory insect of the family Anthocoridae and a combination thereof.

28. The method according to claim 27, wherein the crop is selected from the group consisting of vegetables, orchards, vineyard, olive trees, berries and ornamental plants, including pot plants and cut flowers or wherein the stored product is selected from the group consisting of flour, grains, dried fruits, cereal, dry dog foods and dry cat foods29. The method according to any one of claims 27 or 28, wherein the predatory insect of the family Miridae is of a genus selected from the group consisting of Macrolophus, Nesidiocoris, Dicyphus, Deraeocoris Engytatus, Tupiocoris, Campyloneuropsis, Cyrtopeltis, Pilophorus, Campylomma, Cyrtorhinus, Orthotylus, Eurotas, or the predatory insect of the family Anthocoridae is of a genus selected from the group consisting of Orius, Anthocoris, Wollastoniella, Blaptostethus, Montandoniola, Macrotracheliella and Xylocoris.

30. The method according to claim 29, wherein the predatory insect of the family Miridae is of a species selected from the group consisting of Macrolophus pygmaeus, M. costalis, M. basicornis, Nesidiocoris tenuis, N. volucer, N. callani, Dicyphus bolivari., D. errans, D. hesperus, D. marrocanus, D. geniculatus, D. tamaninii, Engytatus varians, E. modestus, Tupiocoris cucurbitaceus, Campyloneuropsis infumatus, Cyrtopeltis callosus, Deraeocoris brevis, D. nebulosus, Pilophorus typicus, P. gallicus, Campylomma verbasci, C. chinensis, Cyrtorhinus lividipennis, Orthotylus marginalis and Eurotas brasilianus or the predatory insect of the family Anthocoridae is of a species selected from the group consisting of Orius laevigatus, O. insidiosus, O. majusculus, O. niger, O. albidipennis, O. minutus, O. thripoborus, O. naivashae, O. strigicollis, O. sauteri, O. tristicolor, O. nagaii, O. antillus, O. limbatus, O. thripoborus, O. naiashae, O. horvathi, O. vicinus, O. pumilio, Orius laticollis, O. lindbergi, Anthocoris nemorum, A. nemoralis, A. confusus and A. minki, Blaptostethus pallescens, Montandoniola confuse, M. pictipennis and Xylocoris flavipes.

31. Use of the population of Acarus siro according to any one of claims 23-24 for mass rearing a predatory insect of the family Miridae or of the family Anthocoridae or for controlling a pest on a crop or in a stored product.

32. The use according to claim 31 , wherein the predatory insect of the family Miridae is of a genus selected from the group consisting of Macrolophus, Nesidiocoris, Dicyphus, Deraeocoris Engytatus, Tupiocoris, Campyloneuropsis, Cyrtopeltis, Pilophorus, Campylomma, Cyrtorhinus, Orthotylus, Eurotas, or the predatory insect of the family Anthocoridae is of a genus selected from the group consisting of Orius, Anthocoris, Wollastoniella, Blaptostethus, Montandoniola, Macrotracheliella and Xylocoris.

33. The use according to claim 32, wherein the predatory insect of the family Miridae is of a species selected from the group consisting of Macrolophus pygmaeus, M. costalis, M. basicornis, Nesidiocoris tenuis, N. volucer, N. callani, Dicyphus bolivari., D. errans, D. hesperus, D. marrocanus, D. geniculatus, D. tamaninii, Engytatus varians, E. modestus, Tupiocoris cucurbitaceus, Campyloneuropsis infumatus, Cyrtopeltis callosus, Deraeocoris brevis, D. nebulosus, Pilophorus typicus, P. gallicus, Campylomma verbasci, C. chinensis, Cyrtorhinus lividipennis, Orthotylus marginalis and Eurotas brasilianus or the predatory insect of the family Anthocoridae is of a species selected from the group consisting of Orius laevigatus, O. insidiosus, O. majusculus, O. niger, O. albidipennis, O. minutus, O. thripoborus, O. naivashae, O. strigicollis, O. sauteri, O. tristicolor, O. nagaii, O. antillus, O. limbatus, O. thripoborus, O. naiashae, O. horvathi, O. vicinus, O. pumilio, Orius laticollis, O. lindbergi, Anthocoris nemorum, A. nemoralis, A. confusus and A. minki, Blaptostethus pallescens, Montandoniola confuse, M. pictipennis and Xylocoris flavipes.

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