Bionomics of sapota fruit mite, Tuckerella kumaonensis Gupta (Acari: Tuckerellidae)

Biology of sapota fruit mite, Tuckerella kumaonensis Gupta (Acari: Tuckerellidae) on sapota fruit was studied under laboratory condit ions at Navsari, Gujarat, India. Both sexes had four developmental stages (larva, protonymph, deutonymph and tritonymph) interrupted in between with a quiescent stage. The average incubation period was 11.12±1.74 days. The mean larval period was 10.75±1.48 days. There were three nymphal instars viz., protonymph, deutonymph and t ritonymph and their mean durat ion were 10.30±1.34, 10.85±1.95 and 10.80±1.50 days, res pectively. The pre-oviposition, oviposition and post-oviposition period varied from11.95±1.23, 22.60±4.10 and 12.05±2.52 days, respectively. On an average the adult period was 40.750±2.937 days and a single female laid on an average 19.35±4.44 eggs in entire life span. In the present study the highest mortality was recorded in larval stage (17.58%) followed by egg stage (9.00%). The length and width of fully grown adult mite were 0.347±0.006 and 0.171±0.008 mm, respectively.