Kin recognition by the adults of a biological control agent, Propylea dissecta (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)

Abstract

The ability to recognize kin is a well-established behavior across several animal phyla including insects. A laboratory experiment was designed to find out whether adults of an aphid-biocontrol agent, Propylea dissecta (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) may avoid consuming their own eggs in prey scarcity in the presence of unrelated conspecific eggs. For the purpose, starved parent ladybirds were provided with their eggs and unrelated conspecific (alien) eggs in the absence of their natural prey (aphids). The predatory/avoidance behavior of the parents towards alien-eggs and their eggs was recorded. The adult male of P. dissecta had lesser food demand than the female and consumed significantly lesser (0.7±0.20) kin eggs than the alien eggs (2.8±1.89). Similarly, the adult female cannibalized significantly lesser number of kin eggs (1.6±0.209) than the alien-eggs (3.5±0.15). Seemingly, both the parents had recognized their eggs and refrained from consuming them. This could be a strategy adopted by the parents to conserve their gene-pool and to further protect it by consuming the heterospecific eggs of potential enemies (alien eggs) in prey scarcity. This insurance of their gene-pool could benefit these parents by conserving their genetic lines.