Cucumeris

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Cucumeris is a generalist predatory mite that has been used for the biological control of thrips for well over 20 years. It does prefer higher humidities so thick crops or those low to the ground provide the best environment for their successful deployment.

Cucumeris adults are very small not really getting any bigger than .5ml, they are a brown to reddish orange teardrop shaped with the adult females being plumb whereas the adult males tend to be almost flat in appearance. Juveniles and freshly hatched eggs are extremely small. Cucumeris are extremely active as temperatures start to rise. Cucumeris eggs hatch in about 3 days, and take somewhere in the order of 10 days to achieve adulthood during this period they are active feeders of thrips and spider mite eggs. Adults will live for about a month and lay approximately 34 eggs.

Each litre of Cucumeris contains 100,000 predators.

More About Cucumeris

Cucumeris are suitable for thrips management in most crops however plants with excessive hairs can hamper their effectiveness. Ideally the temperate temperatures between 20 -25 degrees Celsius works best for the cucumeris, however in Australian conditions this is just unrealistic for much of the year, here at Bio Works we expose the cucumeris breeding rooms to temperatures that they should expect upon release, if it is 35 degrees outside then the cucumeris are bred close to this ensuring no shock to the cucumeris upon arrival at yours.

Cucumeris should be released prior to thrips incursions for best results a couple of releases are recommended and in high value or high periods of thrips pressure they should be released regularly. Cucumeris is able to maintain itself by eating pollen and mite eggs.

Cucumeris are supplied in vermiculite where they are bred and concentrations of 50-100K depending on temperatures at higher temps we tend to have more per litre. The cucumeris in vermiculite are sprinkled onto plants. Release rates vary depending on crop and thrips pressure but somewhere in the range of 5-20L per ha should be applied.

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