Lethal, sublethal, and behavioral effects of sulfur-containing products in bioassays of three species of orchard mites.

The effects of three sulfur products (calcium polysulfide [= lime sulfur], dry flowable sulfur, and ammonium thiosulfate, a plant nutrient), were tested in bioassays against a predatory mite, Galandromus occidentalis (Nesbitt), and two species of tetranychid (pest) mites, twospotted spider mite (Tetranychus urticae Koch) and European red mite [Panonychus ulmi (Koch)]. Calcium polysulfide and ammonium thiosulfate were acutely toxic on contact to adult females of all three mite species, causing 58-100% mortality in 48 h. Dry flowable sulfur, in contrast, was nontoxic to adults of all three species.