Development and reproduction of Podisus distinctus (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) fed on larva of Bombyx mori (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae)

Abstract

Biological control has been reducing the use of chemical products against insect pests, especially predatory Pentatomidae. Species of this group can present high variations in their life cycle as a result of their diet. Thus, the objective of this research was to study nymph development and reproduction of Podisus distinctus (Stäl, 1860) (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) fed on Bombyx mori L., 1758 (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae) larvae (T1), compared to those fed on Tenebrio molitor L., 1758 (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) (T2) and Musca domestica L., 1758 (Diptera: Muscidae) larvae (T3) at a temperature of 25 +/- 0.5 degrees C, relative humidity of 70 +/- 2%, and photophase of 12 h. Predators fed on B. mori showed duration of the nymph phase (18.68 +/- 1.02) similar to those fed on T. molitor (18.32 +/- 1.49). Pre-oviposition and oviposition periods and number of egg masses, besides eggs and nymphs per female, were higher with B. mori (5.83 +/- 2.02; 15.00 +/- 7.40; 8.42 +/- 1.84; 296.69 +/- 154.75; and 228.55 +/- 141.04, respectively) while longevity of males and females of P. distinctus was 25.76 +/- 16.15 and 35.00 +/- 16.15 days with T. molitor, and 20.57 +/- 13.60 and 23.46 +/- 12.35 days with B. mori, respectively.

Selection of prey to improve biological parameters of the predator Podisus nigrispinus (Dallas, 1851) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) in laboratory conditions

“…Lacerda et al (2004) recorded a development time of 19.03 days for P. nigrispinus fed on M. domestica larvae, which is similar to the results observed in the present study. According to Strohmeyer et al (1998), in addition to prey type, the quality of the diet of the prey affects the growth rate of some predators, including the pentatomids which as Podisus maculiventris (Say, 1832) (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae).…”

“…Our results differed from those obtained by Oliveira et al (2004a) who found no difference in the longevity of P. nigrispinus males fed on T. molitor or S. frugiperda larvae. Lacerda et al (2004) obtained similar results when P. nigrispinus were fed on T. molitor larvae (23.46 days) and M. domestica larvae (19.20 days). The longevity of P. nigrispinus males fed on larvae of D. saccharalis was 14.87 days for Vacari et al (2007), which differed from the results of this study.…”

“…Although various factors affect the development of bugs in the subfamily Asopinae (Zanuncio et al, 2001Lemos et al, 2003Lemos et al, , 2005Lacerda et al 2004), several researchers have reported P. nigrispinus nymphal stage durations of approximately 20 days when they are reared on different prey (Zanuncio et al, 2001), suggesting that the prey evaluated in the present study does not dramatically change the duration of the nymphal stage, as pointed out by Oliveira et al (2004a).…”

“…Vacari et al (2007) observed that the lifespan of female P. nigrispinus fed on D. saccharalis larvae was 17.61 days, unlike the results obtained in this study, and much lower than the results of Oliveira et al (2004a), when they fed P. nigrispinus with T. molitor larvae to P. nigrispinus. The lifespans were also lower than when female P. nigrispinus were fed on larvae of Thyrinteina arnobia (Stoll, 1782) (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) larvae (35.54 days) (Oliveira et al, 2011) and larvae of M. domestica (20.3 days) (Lacerda et al, 2004). Lemos et al (2003) and Oliveira et al (2004a;) also observed that females live longer than males (29.3 days compared to 28.1 days when fed on larvae of Bombyx mori (Linnaues, 1758) (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae) and M. domestica alternately, 67.2 days compared to 49.5 days when fed on T. molitor larvae).…”

“…The pre-ovipositon period of Podisus distinctus (Stäl, 1860) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) was shorter when they were fed on B. mori larvae, which is a higher-quality prey from which the female predator may quickly obtain nutrients for egg production (Lemos et al, 2003(Lemos et al, , 2005. Lacerda et al (2004) reported shorter periods of oviposition and post-oviposition when P. distinctus was fed on B. mori larvae, which indicates that this prey is of high quality. This resulted in high reproductive capacity, which is similar to that reported for P. nigrispinus females fed fourth-stage P. xylostella larvae was reported by Vacari et al (2013), while Peluzio (2008) reported a 16.58 days ovipositon period when predators were fed on A. gemmatalis larvae and 7.33 days when they were fed on T. molitor larvae.…”