Abstract
A two-sex life table is a useful tool for studying the fitness of predators. Previous studies of Orius strigicollis Poppius (Heteroptera: Anthocoridae) fitness have not been done on Pectinophora gossypiella (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) using a two-sex life table tool. This study reports the fitness of the minute predatory flower bug, O. strigicollis when feeding on the cotton pest P. gossypiella using a two-sex life table tool. Different densities (5, 10, and 15 eggs) of P. gossypiella eggs were used to calculate the feeding capacity and fitness of O. strigicollis in the laboratory at 28 °C ± 1, 75 ± 5% RH and 16:8 (L:D). The results concluded that O. strigicollis is an efficient predator of P. gossypiella. The maximum growth capacity of the predatory bug O. strigicollis was attained when it was fed on 10 and 15 P. gossypiella eggs. Furthermore, shorter generation and development time were also observed in the case of 15 eggs of P. gossypiella. These results suggest that O. strigicollis has considerable predatory potential and prefers feeding on P. gossypiella eggs than on the first instar larvae at the fourth instar or the female stage. Although the field potential of O. strigicollis is still unknown, this study will support future investigations in terms of field applications.
Highlights
Natural enemies of insect pests feed on different insects belonging to different families [1,2].The potential of a predator usually depends on its voracity, area of discovery, functional response to prey density, mutual interference, Insects 2020, 11, 275; doi:10.3390/insects11050275 www.mdpi.com/journal/insectsInsects 2020, 11, 275 reproductive, behavioral and numerical responses and spatial heterogeneity
This study addresses by examining the interactions between O. strigicollis and P. gossypiella
Our study was designed, for the first time, to study predator–prey interactions by using the age-stage, two-sex life table tool to calculate the feeding potential and fitness traits of O. strigicollis under selection pressures when fed on different densities of the P. gossypiella eggs
Summary
Natural enemies of insect pests feed on different insects belonging to different families [1,2].The potential of a predator usually depends on its voracity (wanting or devouring great quantities of prey or food), area of discovery, functional response to prey density, mutual interference, Insects 2020, 11, 275; doi:10.3390/insects11050275 www.mdpi.com/journal/insectsInsects 2020, 11, 275 reproductive, behavioral and numerical responses and spatial heterogeneity. The potential of a predator usually depends on its voracity (wanting or devouring great quantities of prey or food), area of discovery, functional response to prey density, mutual interference, Insects 2020, 11, 275; doi:10.3390/insects11050275 www.mdpi.com/journal/insects. Prey density is one of the important factors contributing to the competition or interference between the predator and prey [3,4]. The fitness of natural enemies is key to the success of efficient biological control systems, worldwide [5,6,7,8,9,10]. There are many factors that affect the fitness traits of predators such as prey quality, density and temperature [10,11]. Voracious or keen prey is an important factor [11,12,13,14]
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