Biological and behavioural traits of two mirid predator species

Abstract: In vegetable and ornamental greenhouses, generalist predators can provide a more sustainable biological control because of their broad diet range. Several dicyphine species have been found spontaneously colonizing crops under low pesticide-input management, and some of them are commercially mass-produced and used in augmentative biological control. An overview of some characteristics (i. e., biological traits, thermal requirements, predatory efficacy, plant preference, food requirements and habitats) that must be considered to select the most suitable mirid predator for pest control in specific greenhouse crops and at specific climatic conditions is here presented.