Abstract
The daily and total prey consumption and the fecundity of the predatorRhyzobius lophanthae Blaisdell (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) fed on the scaleAspidiotus nerii Bouche (Homoptera: Diaspididae) were studied under controlled laboratory conditions. The prey consumption ofR. lophanthae was studied on larvae and on virgin adults, and the fecundity on mated females. For the development of the 1 st instar larvae ofR. lophanthae at 25° C, 1.2 adult femaleA. nerii were consumed; for the development of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th instar larvae, prey consumption was 2.7, 7.5 and 24.6 adult females, respectively. The duration of the larval development of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th instars was 3, 2.2, 2.7 and 6.2 days, respectively,R. lophanthae male and female adults consumed in their lifetime 390.6 and 672.3 adult femaleA. nerii, respectively. Thus, the male’s daily prey consumption came to 7 and the female’s to 12 adult femaleA. nerii. The average fecundity ofR. lophanthae was calculated to be 633.7 eggs per female and the daily fecundity to be 18–25 eggs. The average longevity was 63.4 days for mated adult females and 119.4 days for unmated.
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