Differences of dominant natural enemies of Monolepta hieroglyphica and Brevipalpus obovatus in Baihaozao and Wuniuzao tea gardens

Objective To determine the dominant natural enemies of Monolepta hieroglyphica and Brevipalpus obovatus in Baihaozao and Wuniuzao tea gardens.

Method A total of 30 quadrats were randomly selected in Baihaozao and Wuniuzao tea gardens using parallel jumping method.The numbers of species of pests and their natural enemies, and individuals of each species were recorded.Grey correlation degree method and niche analysis method were applied to analyze the relationships between two pest species, M.hieroglyphica and B.obovatus, and eleven species of natural enemies in quantity, occurring time and space.

Result The top six species of natural enemies of M.hieroglyphica in Baihaozao tea garden were Misumenops tricuspidatus, Tetragnatha squamata, Erigonidium graminicolum, Theridion octomaculatum, Clubiona japonicola and Oxyopes sertatus, and in Wuniuzao tea garden were T.squamata, Brachymeria obscurata, M.tricuspidatus, Neoscona theisi, Tetragnatha maxillosa and E.graminicolum.The overlapping natural enemies between two tea gardens accounted for 50% of the total.The top six natural enemies of B.obovatus in Baihaozao tea garden were T.octomaculatum, E.graminicolum, T.squamata, O.sertatus, B.obscurata and N.theisi, and in Wuniuzao tea garden were E.graminicolum, T.maxillosa, T.squamata, N.theisi, B.obscurata and O.sertatus.The overlapping natural enemies between two tea gardens accounted for 83.33% of the total.

Conclusion The cumulative ratio of overlapping natural enemies between two tea gardens increases as the number of species of natural enemies increases.The influences of tea tree varieties on dominant natural enemies are higher for M.hieroglyphica compared to B.obovatus.