Coenosia attenuata (Diptera: Muscidae): a predator being studied for use in greenhouses

Coenosia attenuata Stein, or “tiger-fly”, a polyphagous predator of important agricultural pests, as larva and adult, was detected for the first time, in Portugal, in 2002, in the “Oeste” region. For mass rearing optimization, the methodologies described in literature were changed. A higher number of emergences occurred on substrates with higher number of sciarids larvae and on the substrate with soil mixed with coconut fiber. The predation capacity and behaviour of C. attenuata was studied in laboratory in relation to several species, including parasitoids and predators with an important role in protected crops. All species tested were predated: Diglyphus isaea, Trialeurodes vaporariorum, Liriomyza huidobrensis, Drosophila melanogaster, Eretmocerus mundus, Nesidiocoris tenuis, Orius laevigatus, Dacnusa sibirica, Pseudococcus viburni, Tuta absoluta and some Psycodidae species. There was evidence of female preference for whiteflies and leafminers in relation to Diglyphus isaea, as well as predation behaviour differences over whiteflies when leafminers or drosophilids were present.