This work aimed to evaluate the development time and the consumption of Orius insidiosus (Say, 1832) feeding on Aphis gossypii Glover, 1877 as weel as its oviposition behavior on two crysanthemum cut cultivars. The trials were conducted in climatic chamber at 25±1ºC, RH 70±10% and 12h photophase. Nymphs of the predator, less than 24h old, were kept individualy in petri dishes (5cm) with 20 nymphs of A. gossypii (1st, 2nd and 3rt instars) on leaf disc (4cm) of each cultivar ("White Reagan" and "Yellow Snowdon") in a layer of agar-water (1%). Petiole of each crysanthemum cultivar as oviposition substrate was evaluated and the females were feeding on eggs of Anagasta kuehniella (Zeller, 1879). The predador complete its development feeding on A. gossypii kept in both cultivars. The duration of nymphal phase of O. insidiosus were 21.1 and 18.3 days on "White Reagan" and "Yellow Snowdon", respectively. The consumption of the females of O. insidiosus was higher (P<0.01) on A. gossypii in "White Reagan" (2.63 nymphs) compared to the consumption in "Yellow Snowdon" (0.7 nymphs). Females of O. insidiosus oviposited in petiole of both cultivars with 22.5 and 23.3 eggs/female on "White Reagan" and "Yellow Snowdon", respectively. Release of O. insidiosus on chrysanthemum crops could be important to decrease the A. gossypii population, as the predator completes its development having this aphid as prey, and the chrysanthemum cultivars offer conditions to colonization and establishment of O. insidiosus.
Aphis gossypii; biological control; predator
