The carmine spider mite Tetranychus cinnabarinus (T. cinnabarinus) is a common polyphagous pest that attacks crops, vegetables, flowers, and so on. It is necessary to find lead compounds for developing novel, powerful, and environmentally-friendly acaricides as an alternative approach to controlling the carmine spider mite because of the serious resistance and residual agrochemicals in the environment. In addition, the study on the acaricidal activities of marine bioactive substances is comparatively deficient. In the present study, the acaricidal activity of venom (NnFV) from the jellyfish Nemopilema nomurai against the carmine spider mite T. cinnabarinus was determined for the first time. The venom had contact toxicity, and the 24-h LC50-value was 29.1 μg/mL. The mite body wall was affected by the venom, with the mite body having no luster and being seriously shrunken after 24 h. T. cinnabarinus was a potential target pest of NnFV, which had potential as a type of natural bioacaricide. The repellent activity and systemic toxicity of the venom against T. cinnabarinus were also studied. However, NnFV had no repellent activity and systemic toxicity against T. cinnabarinus.
Keywords: Nemopilema nomurai; acaricidal activity; jellyfish; venom.