Neoseiulus cucumeris
Neoseiulus cucumeris is a mite and, unlike insects, has four pairs of legs instead of the adult three. It is well-suited to controlling thrips in protected crops such as peppers and cucumbers. On tomatoes, where the hair on the stems and leaves impede its movements, its performance is more limited. It acts against small fruit thrips by devouring the larvae at their first stage of development.
We therefore have to wait a number of weeks before seeing the effects of its predation on the thrips population in the glasshouse, and we cannot expect the pest to be eliminated.
Neoseiulus cucumeris takes around ten days to complete its life cycle at a temperature of 20°C and around six days at 25°C.()
Neoseiulus cucumeris can be used as a biological agent against thrips and mites.
