Laboratory rearing of Sycanus annulicornis (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) on two species of prey: Differences in its biology and efficiency as a predator of the nettle caterpillar pest Setothosea asigna (Lepidoptera: Limacodidae)

Abdul Sahid,Wahyu D Natawigena,Sudarjat Sudarjat,Hersanti Hersanti

doi:10.14411/eje.2018.019

Abstract

Setothosea asigna van Eecke is a dominant defoliator pest in oil palm plantations. To control this pest, a generalist predatory bug, Sycanus annulicornis Dohrn, was used as it is easy to rear on several different species of prey. In this study, we evaluated the influence of different prey on the biology and the ability of S. annulicornis to attack and kill the nettle caterpillar pest S. asigna. Based on laboratory rearing, the larvae of Crocidolomia pavonana F. (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) is a suitable prey for both the growth and development of S. annulicornis, as its nymphal development is shorter (74.0 ± 7.3 days) and adult longevity longer (81.0 ± 9.0 days for male and 64.8 ± 12.4 days for female, respectively) than when reared on the larvae of Tenebrio molitor L. (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) (44.0 ± 16.7 days for male and 52.6 ± 14.4 days for female). However, S. annulicornis reared on T. molitor larvae attacked 2.0-2.2 larvae of S. asigna per day, which is more than the 1.6-1.7 larvae per day of those reared on C. pavonana, which indicates that the larvae of T. molitor are a more effective diet for rearing S. annulicornis as biocontrol agent for the S. asigna.

Highlights

Oil palm, Elaeis guineensis Jacq, is an important oil crop introduced to meet the vegetable oil needs of Indonesia
S. annulicornis reared on T. molitor larvae attacked 2.0–2.2 larvae of S. asigna per day, which is more than the 1.6–1.7 larvae per day of those reared on C. pavonana, which indicates that the larvae of T. molitor are a more effective diet for rearing S. annulicornis as biocontrol agent for the S. asigna
S. annulicornis reared on T. molitor can attack as many as 2.2 larvae of S. asigna per day, which is more than those reared on C. pavonana, which only attack 1.7 larvae of S. asigna per day (Fig. 3)

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Elaeis guineensis Jacq, is an important oil crop introduced to meet the vegetable oil needs of Indonesia. Several species of Sycanus have been studied as biological control agents of the defoliator pests in oil palm plantations. This accords with our observation in the laboratory that S. annulicornis can attack the last instar of S. asigna, which has a body length of up to 3.5 cm (1 cm longer than S. annulicornis adults) and other caterpillars with body lengths up to 5.0 cm (twice the longth of S. annulicornis adults) (Fig. S5) This indicates that this predatory insect has the potential to be used as a biological control agent to control S. asigna. Different species of prey can influence the biology of the predatory insects reared on them (George et al, 1998; Mendes et al, 2002; Zulkefli et al, 2004; Chandral & Sinazer, 2011; Syari et al, 2011; Ahmad & Kamarudin, 2016) and their predatory ability in terms of the target pest (van Alphen & Jervis, 1996; Lv et al, 2016). In order to find a suitable prey for rearing S. annulicornis with a strong tendency to attack and kill S. asigna, we evaluated the biological characteristics and predatory ability of S. annulicornis in terms of S. asigna when reared on different species of prey, i.e., Tenebrio molitor L. larvae (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) and Crocidolomia pavonana F. larvae (Lepidoptera: Crambidae)

MATERIAL AND METHODS

RESULTS

DISCUSSION