Nesidiocoris tenuis response to colour traps

Nesidiocoris tenuis (Reuter) (Hemiptera: Miridae) is an effective biological control agent of several key agricultural pests, including the South American tomato pinworm Tuta absoluta (Meyrick). However, the use of this predator may result challenging in tomato due to its herbivory when prey is scarce. For this reason, new eco-sustainable strategies are required to exploit the positive role of this resilient predator while managing its potential negative effects. Due to the limited knowledge on the effect of colours toward the mirid, we evaluated the response of N. tenuis to seven colours (i.e., black, blue, green, orange, red, yellow, and white) by using plastic dyed sticky traps in a randomized experimental block design in greenhouse tomato crop. Other pests and natural enemies were also monitored. Yellow and blue traps captured significantly higher number of N. tenuis with an average of 85.88 and 76.75 adults trap-1, respectively. Yellow traps beside attracting more N. tenuis adults also captured a higher number of other pests and natural enemies compared to blue traps. Considering the selectivity of the blue traps, usually applied for trapping the western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande), they may be safer for beneficials and recommended especially in case of other biological control agent releases. Our results provide clear evidence of the changing behavioural response to colours in N. tenuis and these findings might support its management in tomato crop. However, further investigations on density, timing and trap placement are needed for better defining mass trapping protocols for this multifaceted mirid.