Maryam Alikhani - Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran.
Seyed Ali Safavi - Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran.
Shahzad Iranipour - Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran.

Functional response is an important behavioral characteristic of prey-predator interactions that can be utilized for assessing impact of natural enemies. In this research, the functional response of Nabis pseudoferus Remane females was examined to the third-instar larvae of Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) which were exposed to LC۳۰ (۲.۰۳ × ۱۰۴ conidia/ml) values of Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschnikoff) Sorokin isolate DEMI ۰۰۱. Six densities of the prey (۱, ۲, ۴, ۸, ۱۰ and ۱۶) were exposed to the predator (۰, ۲۴, ۴۸ and ۷۲ h) after inoculation. N. pseudoferus exhibited a type II functional response to prey density in all treatments, indicating that predation increases asymptotically to a satiation level. The highest and the lowest attack rates (a) were ۰.۱۰۵۲ ± ۰.۰۴۴۰ and ۰.۰۵۰۹ ± ۰.۰۱۳۳h-۱ for ۴۸h and ۷۲h post-infection treatments, respectively. Maximum theoretical predation rate (T/Th) was estimated ۱۰.۹۶ in control. Our results suggest that M. anisopliae and N. pseudoferus, can be a useful combination in pest management of tomato leaf miner, although it must be confirmed in field condition.

Functional response, Attack rate, N. pseudoferus, T. absoluta, M. anisopliae