Abstract
Larvae and adults of certain species of predator lady beetles feed on pollen, guaranteeing their survival, and at times, reproduction in the absence of preferred prey. Palynology, therefore, may contribute in the investigation of botanical families visited by these predators in order to obtain this floral resource. There are records of the visitation of Apiaceae flowers by Coleomegilla maculata DeGeer, 1775 (Coleoptera, Coccinellidae), but not the ingestion of their pollen grains by this lady beetle. The external morphology of pollen grains of three Apiaceae aromatic species (Anethum graveolens L., Coriandrum sativum L., Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) was characterized, and it was evaluated the ingestion of these pollens by fourth instar larvae and adults of C. maculata upon confinement along with flowers of these Apiaceae for 24 and 48 hours. The pollen grains of those species presented similar external morphology. In the two times of exposure, the larvae ingested the same amount of pollen from the three Apiaceae species, and the amount of C. sativum pollen ingested was the same between larvae and adults. The amount of A. graveolens pollen grains ingested by the adults was significantly greater than the pollens of C. sativum and F. vulgare, in 24 hours, with the opposite occurring in 48 hours. In the first 24 hours, the adults ingested more A. graveolens pollen than the larvae, with the opposite occurring with F. vulgare. There was no significant difference in the amount of Apiaceae pollen ingested between larvae and adults in 48 hours. The results suggest that the pollen-eating habits of certain aphidophagous lady beetles may be crucial in their preservation within agro-ecosystems.
Highlights
IntroductionPredator Coccinelidae (Coleoptera) are normally found in different crops, where they contribute to the natural biological control of pest-insects, and are considered efficient biological control agents due to being voracious feeders, having a large ability to find prey as well as a generalist feeding habit, occupying all of the preys’ habitats and being predators in the larval and in the adult phases (Hodek and Honek, 1996; Obrycki and Kring, 1998; Almeida and Ribeiro-Costa, 2009).Coleomegilla maculata has a polyphagous feeding habits and is normally present in agro-ecosystems, including Brazil, where it develops and reproduces itself well when feeding on aphids alone, or even on eggs and neonate larvae of Lepidoptera and Coleoptera (Patt et al, 1997a; Harmon et al, 2000; Lundgren et al, 2005; Lixa et al, 2010).pollen may comprise up to 50% of its diet (Hoffmann and Fordsham, 1993)
The morphological similarity between the pollen grains prevented the simultaneous offer of their flowers, and these were offered individually to the fourth instar larvae and C. maculata adults, in order to detect possible differences in the quantity of pollen grains consumed by them, among the aromatic flowers
Pollen grains of the three Apiaceae species were recovered from both life phases of C. maculata, where at least one individual from each repetition/cage ingested the grain
Summary
Predator Coccinelidae (Coleoptera) are normally found in different crops, where they contribute to the natural biological control of pest-insects, and are considered efficient biological control agents due to being voracious feeders, having a large ability to find prey as well as a generalist feeding habit, occupying all of the preys’ habitats and being predators in the larval and in the adult phases (Hodek and Honek, 1996; Obrycki and Kring, 1998; Almeida and Ribeiro-Costa, 2009).Coleomegilla maculata has a polyphagous feeding habits and is normally present in agro-ecosystems, including Brazil, where it develops and reproduces itself well when feeding on aphids alone, or even on eggs and neonate larvae of Lepidoptera and Coleoptera (Patt et al, 1997a; Harmon et al, 2000; Lundgren et al, 2005; Lixa et al, 2010).pollen may comprise up to 50% of its diet (Hoffmann and Fordsham, 1993). The ingestion of corn pollen grains (Zea mays L., Poaceae) by larvae and adult C. maculata has been recorded, and whose mean average protein content was estimated at 24% (Roulston et al, 2000), making up quite an attractive botanical species for this coccinellid (Smith, 1965; Lundgren et al, 2005; Weber and Lundgren, 2011). Offering attractive flowers to these predator insects represents an agricultural practice to be considered regarding the preservation of said insects in and around the agro-ecosystems, since the nectar (source of carbohydrates) and/or pollen (source of proteins) of these flowers constitute nourishment that could prolong the longevity and fertility of certain predator insects, and becomes a requirement to optimize their efficacy as biological control agents of agricultural pests (Clercq et al, 2005; Barbosa et al, 2011)
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