The effects of water-stress, temperature, and plant traits on the outbreak potential of a specialist and generalist spider mite species (Acari: Tetranychidae)

The host-generalist two-spotted spider mite [Tetranychus urticae (Acari: Tetranychidae); TSM] and host-specialist Banks grass mite [Oligonychus pratensis (Acari: Tetranychidae); BGM] are common pests of corn (Zea mays L.) in the arid western United States. Climate warming and decreased precipitation may promote conditions favored by these spider mites. However, rapid evolution of spider mite resistance to commercially available acaricides is driving the need for alternative solutions for managing outbreaks. Planting of drought-tolerant corn hybrids has been proposed to be a dual-purpose strategy for mitigating water deficits for irrigation and reducing leaf conditions favorable for BGM outbreaks. However, understanding of the mechanisms responsible for reducing the BGM in the field is lacking, and determining whether outbreaks of the TSM can also be averted using drought-tolerant corn is a pressing concern. We conducted a two-year field study testing a drought-tolerant corn hybrid and a..., , , # The effects of water-stress, temperature, and plant traits on the outbreak potential of a specialist and generalist spider mite species (Acari: Tetranychidae)

\[Access this dataset on Dryad\]\(Dataset DOI: 10\.5061/dryad\.4j0zpc8jd\)

Give a brief summary of dataset contents, contextualized in experimental procedures and results.
Dataset contents include supporting data of leaf temperature, leaf nutrients, spider mite and egg densities, spider mite and egg morphometrics, plant (corn) field measurements, and soil moisture and nutrient measurements.
Data are generally separated between the two sampling seasons, 2020 and 2021. 2020 experimental treatments included levels of irrigation, corn drought tolerance, and spider mites introduced. In 2021, experimental treatments focused on irrigation and levels of drought tolerance.
The experiment was conducted at Greenville Agricultural Research Station and Utah State University in Northern Utah, USA.

## Description of the data and file struct...