Abstract
This study was on the effect of three species of aphids (Aphis fabae, Macrosiphoniella sanborni, Brevicoryne brassicae) on the survival, growth and development of the immature stages of the aphidophagous coccinellids Coccinella septempunctata, Ceratomegilla undecimnotata, Propylea quatuordecimpunctata and Oenopia conglobata. The percentage survival was lowest, immature development most prolonged and the adults the lightest when these predators were fed on B. brassicae. In addition, C. septempunctata and C. undecimnotata performed better when fed on M. sanborni (74.1 and 72.0% total immature survival, respectively) than P. quatuordecimpunctata and O. conglobata (25.0 and 13.8% total immature survival, respectively). In addition, the host plant of A. fabae also had a significant effect on the performance of the predators. These coccinellids survived best, had shorter developmental times and were heavier as adults when fed on A. fabae reared on Vicia faba than on Phaseolus vulgaris. These results may be useful for improving the effectiveness of biological control practice and the production of coccinellids in an insectary.
Highlights
Coccinellids are predators of several pest species, especially aphids, whiteflies, coccids, mealybugs and spider mites, and important components of biological control in many crops (Obrycki & Kring, 1998; Iperti, 1999)
The lowest survival rate was recorded on B. brassicae (73%) and the highest on A. fabae feeding on broad bean plants (100%)
This study provides a comprehensive description of the effect of three aphid species (A. fabae, M. sanborni and B. brassicae) on immature survival, development and adult body weights of four common aphidophagous cocinellids (C. septempunctata, C. undecimnotata, P. quatuordecimpunctata and O. conglobata)
Summary
Coccinellids are predators of several pest species, especially aphids, whiteflies, coccids, mealybugs and spider mites, and important components of biological control in many crops (Obrycki & Kring, 1998; Iperti, 1999). Important factors affecting the performance of insect predators are the nutritional value and availability of prey (Francis et al, 2001a). The abundance of aphidophagous coccinellids is affected, among other factors, by the quality and quantity of aphid prey, as some aphids and their host plants are toxic for predators (Hodek, 1993; Kamo et al, 2010; Hodek & Evans, 2012). The effect of prey on the development and survival of aphidophagous coccinellids is well studied for some common species Aphid prey may adversely affect the survival and development of larvae (Kamo et al, 2010) and their availability during the larval stage may affect adult fitness (Dmitriew & Rowe, 2011). Plant physical characteristics, like trichomes, and architecture (morphological complexity) may affect predators by impeding their movement and effectiveness, and reducing their survival (Carter et al, 1984; Clark & Messina, 1998; Legrand & Barbosa, 2003)
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