Two spotted spider MITE (Tetranychus urticae complex) is an important pest of  EGG-plant in Iran. In the present study, population of EGGs and active stages and amount of losses of the spider MITE were determined on upper and lower leaves of nine EGG-plant cultivars in Varamin during 2001-2002. The experiment was in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Each plot consisted of four rows and on each row ten EGG-plants were cultivated. Spider MITE population on all cultivars was checked at weekly samplings, from July to October. Number of MITEs (EGGs and active stages) on upper and lower leaves were then counted by stereo binocular microscope. Loss percent of MITE was assessed by measuring the weight of ten randomly selected fruits of each cultivar in three replications at fifteen day intervals during fruiting period. Analysis of variance on data showed significant differences of MITE population on upper and lower leaves of different cultivars and also among the cultivars. In 2000, the highest mean populations of active MITEs on lower leaves, 37.80 and 46.87, and on upper leaves, 27.19 and 38.08 were recorded on Borazjan cv. in naturally and artificially infested treatments, respectively. In 2001, EGG and active MITE populations on cultivar were significantly different only in artificially infested treatment. The maximum numbers of EGGs (63.47) and active stage (107.94) were recorded on Imami 905 cultivar. Maximum and minimum losses of 69.42% and 12.86% were recorded on Imami 905 and Ghalami Varamin cultivars. These cultivars were determined as the most susceptible and resistant cultivars to MITE damage, respectively.

Background & Aim: Tetranychus urticae Koch is one of the most important pests of crops, ornamental and greenhouse plants in the world and, can damage to 900 plant species. Resistances to pesticides and acaricides have guided researches to introduce new methods to control T. urticae. Botanical pesticides are an important group of natural productions that are usually safer than conventional pesticides for humans and the environment. Extracts of genus Melia have insecticidal and anti-nutritional effects. The effect of ethanolic extracts of M. azedarach seeds on EGGs hatching (hatching time & hatching rate) and EGG-laying of T. urticae were investigated under laboratory conditions.Experimental: Treatments included the ethanolic plant extract (36 mg/ml) and control (ethanol 95%). The sub-lethal effect of the plant extracts was determined using a spraying bioassay.Results & Discussion: The duration of EGG stage of T. urticae after exposing to plant extracts were significantly longer than control treatment with a mean±SE of 5.24±0.05 and 4.85±0.04 days, respectively. In control treatment, hatching rate of the spider MITE EGGs was significantly more than in plant extract treatment. The ethanolic plant extracts had significant deleterious effects on the oviposition behavior of the spider MITE. So that, during four days of the experiment, the mean±SE of total oviposition of the MITEs was 2.95±0.65 and 12.17±1.33 in plant extract and control treatments, respectively.Industrial and practical recommendations: According to this result, substituting conventional pesticides with ethanolic seed extract of M. azedarach can be useful. However, formulating the plant extract is essential for commercial use of the acaricidal extracts. Therefore, it needs more scientific studies levels.

Food choice in omnivorous animals is influenced by the balance of nutritional needs, food availability, and quality of a particular food items. Here, we study whether omnivorous onion thrips Thrips tabaci Lindeman (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) feed on the EGGs of its competitor Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae) when an alternative supplemental source is, or is not, available. Thrips were either fed a cucumber leaf alone, or this diet was supplemented with pollen, MITE EGGs, or both. We demonstrated that the supplemental food sources improved several fitness-determining traits of thrips with pollen being nutritionally superior to MITE EGGs. Pollen reduced the development time and increased the population growth of thrips compared to MITE EGGs. When both pollen and MITE EGGs were available, thrips fed on both; pollen to improve nutritional status and EGGs to eliminate the opponent, despite the latter’s consisting lower of nutritional benefit. In all, this study showed that omnivorous thrips benefit from a cucumber leaf diet that is supplemented with other food sources and that pollen and MITE EGGs increase several fitness traits and positively affect the dynamics of future thrips generations.

Two-spotted spider MITE, Tetranychus urticae Koch, is one of the most harmful pests causing serious damages to beans farms throughout the world including Iran. Among the various beans genotypes, black beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L. ) have showed high resistance level to most of pests and diseases. In addition to the high direct resistance, the black beans can protect themselves against the pests indirectly by attracting natural enemies of herbivores. Since these direct and indirect protections have not been studied on black bean genotypes before, it was necessary to investigate the resistance of six black bean genotypes to two-spotted spider MITE in a greenhouse condition. These results were further analysed by using an olfactometry test to investigate attraction of the predatory MITE, Phytoseiulus persimilis Athias-Henriot to black bean genotypes. The results of the greenhouse experiments showed that all the black bean genotypes were resistant to spider MITE. The results of olfactometer test also indicated that two resistant genotypes of black beans genotypes of black beans (KS1157 and KS1179) attracted more predator MITEs than the others. Therefore, the less damaged genotypes, KS1179 and KS1157, could be incorporated with predatory MITE and used in an integrated pest control program.

Predatory MITE Amblyseius swirskii Athias-Henriot is one of the most important species of Phytoseiidae. In the current study, the effects of feeding on different preys including two-spotted spider MITE Tetranychus urticae Koch, cereal MITE Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Schrank), silverleaf whitefly Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius); together with integrated treatments of these preys including spider MITE+cereal MITE, spider MITE+whitefly, cereal MITE+whitefly and spider MITE+cereal MITE+whitefly on the biological charactristics of adult females of this predator (predation, fecundity and survivorship) were investigated after seven days storage at 10 ° C. Larva and adult female with 72. 34 and 11. 76 % mortality had the highest and lowest susceptibility of this predator to temperature of 10 ° C, respectively. The highest feeding of predatory MITE after cold storage was observed on the larva and protonymph of T. urticae (91. 63 prey). The lowest feeding was recorded on EGGs of cereal MITE (10. 18 prey). Total fecundity of the predatory MITE was significantly affected by different prey; the highest (5. 13 EGG) and lowest (1. 55 EGG) values of this parameter were recorded when the predatory MITE fed on “ spider MITE+cereal MITE+whitefly” and “ cereal MITE” , respectively. In the view point of mortality, the highest percentage was recorded in the predatory MITEs that reared on the cereal MITE. According to the results obtained, integrated treatment of “ spider MITE+cereal MITE+whitefly” was the most suitable treatment for the storage of A. swirskii at cold conditions than other treatments tested.

Following the reports of resistant red MITE to some insecticides as well as pyrethroids in some parts of the world, this study was designed to evaluate the effect of Deltamethrin (Butoflin 2.5% Hoechest) on this ectoparasite in an EGG layer house in Iran. The population of red MITE in the EGG layer house was estimated before and after spraying of the acaricide, using monitoring card traps. The cages and hens were sprayed by a manual sprayer (35 psi pressure) with 0.4% (v/v) solution of the insecticide. The result showed that the acaricide could not control the MITE. Although the population density of the MITE decreased after spraying, the differences were not statistically significant. Further investigation is necessary to prove the resistance of this MITE to Deltamethrin.

The two-spotted spider MITE, Tetranychus urticae Koch, is one of the most important phytophagous pests where high reliance on chemical pesticides to subsidize its population density resulted in undesirable effects. The use of natural enemies could be considered promising in reducing the negative impacts of earlier methods. In the present study, the LC50 (1. 3 × 107 spore/ml) of entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana (Bals. ) Vuill. (strain MZ) was used in on a choice and no-choice predation test, feeding preference and switching behavior of predatory MITE Phytoseiulus persimilis Athias-Henriot feeding on different life stages of the two-spotted spider MITE (EGG, larvae, protonymph, deutonymph, adult male and adult female) in laboratory condition. According to results obtained, in no-choice test (i. e. without B. bassiana), the highest predation rate of predatory MITE was observed to EGG stage (15. 22 ± 0. 57 EGG). In the test (with B. bassiana), the highest predation rate was recorded on the larvae of T. urticae (4. 90 ± 0. 64 larvae). In choice test (without B. bassiana), the highest predation was observed on EGG stage (14. 75 ± 0. 56 EGG). In the test (with B. bassiana), the highest predation was recorded on larvae (9. 90 ± 0. 53 larvae). The highest calculated value of Manly’ s β index (without B. bassiana) was obtained on EGG stage (0. 89 ± 0. 03). The estimated value of this parameter after treatment of different stages of prey with B. bassiana had the highest value on larval stage (0. 61 ± 0. 05). Switching behavior of P. persimilis was not observed in both with and without B. bassiana conditions. The present findings revealed that while using two natural enemies simultaneously, more attention should be devoted to evaluate their possible interactions.

Pathogens are an important and significant hazard for human and animal health. In recent years, antibiotics are used to treat different types of infection caused by bacterial agents. In veterinary medicine, antibiotics injected into hatching EGGs to eliminate pathogens and prevention of EGG transmission of disease, but the adverse effects of drugs have always been a major concern. There is scantly information available about the safety and pathological alterations of florfenicol drug in embryonated EGGs. The objective of this study was to investigate using of various dosages of florfenicol solution for in ovo administration in chicken embryo. Fertile chicken EGGs were divided into four equal treatment groups as follows: group 1: no injected group. Group 2: phosphate buffered saline-injected group; whose individuals were injected with phosphate buffered saline. Groups 3 and 4 whose individuals were injected with florfenicol injectable solution at a dosage of 20 and 30 mg per Kg EGG-weight, respectively. Embryos were re-incubated post-treatment and allowed to develop until day 18 after which; they were examined for macroscopic and microscopic lesions. Results showed that embryos were normal in all treatment groups. Microscopically, no lesions were also diagnosed in tissues. Based on macroscopic and microscopic findings, it is concluded that florfenicol at above-mentioned concentration is not toxic for the chicken embryo. So, florfenicol EGG-injection can be used to eliminate pathogens and prevention of EGG transmission of the disease without any adverse effect.

EGG sharing or oocyte sharing has different meanings: one is usage of a donor for two recipients that the recipients share the donated oocytes and compensation expenses. But the more popular definition of oocyte sharing is that an infertile woman undergoing assisted reproductive techniques gives half of her own oocytes to a recipient in return for subsidized expenses of fertility treatment. This paper focuses on the later definition and compares this procedure with oocyte donation from ethical, religious, social and legal perspective. The key results are as follows: oocyte sharing is more acceptable upon Islam, ethically it does not put a normal and fertile young woman under risk of fertility drugs, anesthesia and operations, socially it reduces the danger of “oocyte business” like changing the donor to vender, payment, brokers, arguments, advertisements, etc … and legally there is no difference between these two procedure and if donation is acceptable, so is the sharing program. There are two major concerns about EGG sharing which are as follows: 1. maybe there are some psychological effect on donors who do not succeed to have a child but the recipient does. Although this effect was not reported in many researches and donors were always happy about what they did, but with complete anonymity it can be reduced. 2. There is a concern about the health of donor who is infertile and can have some health problems and advanced age which can be afforded by definition of some criteria for the suitable EGG sharers.