Abstract
ABSTRACT The present paper describes the effect of different host plants on the searching efficiency of the predator Coccinella septempunctata, which was found to decrease linearly with an increase of predator density. This decrease is least for aphids reared on Brassica oleracea followed by Raphanus sativus and Brassica campestris. However, when the prey density increased, the searching efficiency (highest for B. oleracea reared aphids followed by R. sativus and B. campestris aphids) decreased significantly. The leaf surfaces of the host plants and the interference between the predators at high densities is suggested as a cause of this type of behavioural response which is explained by the population model of Hassell & Varley (1969). For the suppression of Lipaphis erysimi population, it is suggested that the predator to prey ratio may be 1:40, while for mass rearing of the predator, when B. oleracea is not available in the field R. sativus may be used as an alternative host plant.
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