Abstract
The carabids (Coleoptera: Carabidae) are recognized as polyphagous predators and important natural enemies of insect pests. However, little is known about the feeding habits of these beetles. In this work, we determine the types of food content in the digestive tracts of nine species of Carabidae associated with herbaceous plants and different growth stages of coloured cotton. The food contents were evaluated for beetles associated with the coloured cotton cv. BRS verde, Gossypium hirsutum L. latifolium Hutch., adjacent to weed plants and the flowering herbaceous plants (FHPs) Lobularia maritima (L.), Tagetes erecta L., and Fagopyrum esculentum Moench. The digestive tract analysis indicated various types of diets and related arthropods for Abaris basistriata, Galerita brasiliensis, Scarites sp., Selenophorus alternans, Selenophorus discopunctatus and Tetracha brasiliensis . The carabids were considered to be polyphagous predators, feeding on different types of prey.
Highlights
The coleopteran Carabidae are recognized as ground beetles, with approximately 40,000 species described
In the Neotropical region, this family includes 203 genera and 1,132 species (Costa, Vanin, & Casari-Chen, 1988; Lövei & Sunderland, 1996). These beetles have emerged as important natural enemies of insect pests of various crops including cotton (Chocorosqui & Pasini, 2000; Wyckhuys & O'Neil, 2006)
The study was conducted from August 2012 to July 2013 at Fazenda Experimental de Ensino, Pesquisa e Produção (21°15'32"S and 48°16'49"W) and in the Laboratório de Ecologia de Insetos (LECOL), Departamento de Fitossanidade, Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (FCAV), Universidade Estadual "Júlio de Mesquita Filho" (UNESP), Jaboticabal, São Paulo State, Brazil
Summary
The coleopteran Carabidae are recognized as ground beetles, with approximately 40,000 species described. In the Neotropical region, this family includes 203 genera and 1,132 species (Costa, Vanin, & Casari-Chen, 1988; Lövei & Sunderland, 1996). These beetles have emerged as important natural enemies of insect pests of various crops including cotton (Chocorosqui & Pasini, 2000; Wyckhuys & O'Neil, 2006). The diet of carabids includes Collembola, earthworms, nematodes, slugs, snails, aphids, eggs and larvae of Diptera and Coleoptera, Lepidoptera pupae and seeds of herbaceous plants (Kromp, 1999; Holland & Luff, 2000; Holland, 2002; Tooley & Brust, 2002)
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