Abstract
Clitostethus arcuatus (Rossi) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) is considered as one of the most important natural biological control agents of the ash whitefly, Siphoninus phillyreae (Haliday) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) in Iran. In the current survey, the development, survival, longevity, fecundity, feeding behaviour, and population dynamics of the predator under laboratory and field conditions were studied. The longevity of female insects was significantly longer than that of males. Total feeding of 4th larval instars and females was significantly higher than males and other larval instars. The overall mortality rate from egg to adult under laboratory conditions was 22.7% while under field conditions it was 38.2%. Copulation lasted approximately 67 minutes while the average pre-mating and pre-oviposition times recorded were 3.8 and 1.8 days, respectively. The mean number of eggs laid by each female was 181. The adults could survive starvation for 4 days with a normal longevity of 62–73 days. The maximum population density of the predator was recorded in late August that coincided with the decline of the S. phillyreae population. C. arcuatus had four generations per year, and the adults were observed until mid December. Possible application of C. arcuatus for biological control of S. phillyreae in integrated pest management programs is discussed.
Highlights
Whiteflies feed heavily on plant sap and produce sticky honeydew
Rearing of C. arcuatus Adults of the whitefly S. phillyreae were collected from trees in nature, and a stand of 30 young ash trees in Shiraz were artificially infested with the pest
Biology of C. arcuatus under laboratory conditions The mean number of eggs laid per day per female was 2.3 ± 03 with a total of 181.8 ± 5.0 eggs per female during its lifetime (6 pairs) (Table 1)
Summary
Ash whitefly (Siphoninus phillyreae) (Halliday) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) is a small white sap sucking insect that occurs in both temperate and Mediterranean climates. The highest population density of this pest occurs on ash trees, but more than seventeen other host plants (including apple, pears, apricot, acer, and plum) are reported under its host range in Fars Province of Iran (Alemansoor and Fallahzadeh 2004). It can be found on many small trees and shrubs during outbreaks (Caon and de Barro 1999). Outbreaks of S. phillyreae frequently occur when their natural enemies have been disturbed or destroyed by pesticides or other factors (Flint 2002)
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