Modeling the Role of Climate in Distribution of two-spotted spider mite: Case study of Tehran province

The two- spotted mite Tetranychus urticae Koch is one of the cosmopolite pests, which attack many agricultural and greenhouse plants. The Maximum Entropy model (Maxent) was used to potential distribution in 70 stations (orchards) of Tehran provinces. Distribution model was obtained using out of 19 environmental variables that only six environmental predictors and presence records had a greater impact on this species were used in the modeling. The accuracy models were also evaluated by the area receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) value. According to the Jacknife test, rainfall variables of the warmest season of the year and the maximum temperature of the warmest month of the year were the most contributing in two-spotted spider mite distribution modeling in Tehran province that the rainfall of warmest season was more important. The AUC values, based on training data, was 0.75 confirning the high accuracy of Maxent in predicting the distribution model of two-spotted spider mite.