Interactions of two natural enemies of Tetranychus evansi, the fungal pathogen Neozygites floridana (Zygomycetes: Entomophthorales) and the predatory mite, Phytoseiulus longipes (Acari: Phytoseiidae) V.W. Wekesa a , G.J. Moraes a , M. Knapp b , I. Delalibera Jr. a, * a Department of Entomology, Plant Pathology and Agricultural Zoology, ESALQ/University of Sa ˜o Paulo, C.P. 9 13418-900 Piracicaba, SP, Brazil b ICIPE – African Insect Science for Food and Health, P.O. Box 30772, 00100 Nairobi, Kenya Received 27 December 2006; accepted 15 March 2007 Available online 21 March 2007 Abstract Tetranychus evansi is an exotic pest of Solanaceous crops in Africa discovered in Zimbabwe in 1979. Two natural enemies, the pred- atory mite Phytoseiulus longipes and the fungal pathogen Neozygites floridana are important causes of mortality in T. evansi populations in Brazil. The first part of this study assessed the effects of N. floridana on predation and oviposition of P. longipes fed on N. floridana infected T. evansi and T. urticae. No N. floridana hyphal bodies were found in P. longipes after this feeding, demonstrating that N. flor- idana is not pathogenic to P. longipes and does not affect its oviposition. The second part of the study investigated the time spent on searching for and consuming of eggs on leaf discs with and without N. floridana capilliconidia. Both the searching and the feeding time on the first egg were similar on leaf discs with and without capilliconidia. When P. longipes was offered the choice of feeding on eggs on leaf discs with or without capilliconidia, the numbers of eggs consumed were not different. The only N. floridana effect observed on P. longipes was reduced egg predation. In addition, increased time spent grooming on leaf discs with capilliconidia was observed. P. longipes was efficient in removing most capilliconidia attached to the body through self-grooming behavior. This suggests that although the predator did not avoid areas with capilliconidia, it detected and removed most capilliconidia attached to the body. Increased grooming may account for the lower egg predation rates. Ó 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Keywords: Tetranychus evansi; Phytoseiulus longipes; Neozygites floridana; Capilliconidia; Grooming; Hyphal bodies; Classical biological control 1. Introduction Tetranychus evansi Baker and Pritchard is an important pest of field grown tomatoes in many parts of Africa (Saunyama and Knapp, 2003), where it was found for the first time in Zimbabwe in 1979 on Nicotiana tabacum L. (Blair, 1983; Knapp et al., 2003). It was later found in southern Africa (Smith Meyer, 1996), Congo (Bonato, 1999), Morocco (El-Jaouani, 1988), Kenya (Knapp et al., 2003) and Tunisia (Bolland et al., 1998). It has also been reported in other parts of the world, including Brazil, Puerto Rico, USA (Moraes et al., 1987), Spain (Ferragut and Escudero, 1999), Portugal (Bolland and Vala, 2000), France (Migeon, 2005) and other Mediterranean countries (EPPO, 2004). Absence of effective natural enemies is thought to contribute to its pest status in Africa (Blair, 1989; Sibanda et al., 2000). A potential control approach to reduce the impact caused by an exotic arthropod pest is the intentional introduction of exotic natural enemies for permanent 1049-9644/$ - see front matter Ó 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.biocontrol.2007.03.003 * Corresponding author. Address: Departamento de Entomologia, Fitopatologia e Zoologia Agrı ´cola, Escola Superior de Agricultura ‘Luiz de Queiroz’, ESALQ/USP, 13418–900 Piracicaba, SP, Brazil. Fax +55 19 3429 4338. E-mail address: italo@esalq.usp.br (I. Delalibera Jr.). www.elsevier.com/locate/ybcon Biological Control 41 (2007) 408–414