Abstract
A new technique was developed for the efficient rearing of phytoseiid mites. The developed artificial rearing arena consists of a 24-well tissue culture plate and pieces of woolen yarn. The rearing efficiencies of four species of phytoseiid mites belonging to different genera, Phytoseius nipponicus, Amblyseius eharai, Typhlodromus vulgaris and Typhlodromips tsugawai, were compared in regard to the newly developed arena and several types of conventional artificial arenas. P. nipponicus, A. eharai, and T. vulgaris increased significantly in number on the new artificial arenas. T. tsugawai also multiplied well on the new artificial arena, although no significant differences were observed in the number of mites between the new artificial arena and a conventional artificial arena made of a plastic board containing pieces of woolen yarn. These results confirmed the usefulness of the new artificial arena, and lead to the expectation that this technique could be applied for rearing many other species of phytoseiid mites.
