Alternative food sources for the ladybird Brumoides foudrasii (Mulsant) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)

Abstract

The predator Brumoides foudrasii (Mulsant) (Coleoptera, Coccinellidae) has been naturally found in plants infested by mealybugs. In this study, the striped mealybug Ferrisia dasylirii (Cockerell) (Hemiptera, Pseudococcidae) and Anagasta kuehniella Zeller (Lepidoptera, Pyralidae) eggs were evaluated as diets for the development and reproduction of B. foudrasii. Brumoides foudrasii immatures developed faster when fed with A. kuehniella eggs than when fed with F. dasylirii. However, the survival and longevity of B. foudrasii adults were not affected by the diets. Oviposition was more frequent when B. foudrasii females were fed with F. dasylirii (95%) than those fed with A. kuehniella eggs (65%). Brumoides foudrasii females fed with F. dasylirii were 2.5 times more fecund than those fed with A. kuehniella eggs. Although both diets may be considered proper for B. foudrasii, A. kuehniella eggs were more suitable for immature development, while F. darsyrili provided more nutritious resources for adult biological parameters as oviposition period, egg viability and fecundity. These results suggests that this predator can play an important role in regulating populations of the stripped mealybug F. dasylirii in the field.Keywords: coccinellids, biological control, essential food, diet, laboratorial rearing. Palavras-chave: coccinelídeos, controle biológico, alimento essencial, dieta, criação de laboratório. Fontes de alimento alternativo para a joaninha

Life tables of the ladybird beetles Harmonia axyridis, Cycloneda sanguinea and Hippodamia convergens reared on the greenbug Schizaphis graminum

“…Higher fecundity was also reported for H. convergens (729.15 eggs per female) reared on Aphis craccivora Koch, 1854 (Hemiptera: Aphididae) (El-Heneidy et al, 2008). The causes of variation in the fecundity of coccinellids are diverse and depend on several factors such as temperature, photoperiod, age of the parents, length of the oviposition period, and quality and quantity of food (Nedvěd and Honěk, 2012;D'Ávila et al, 2016;Lima et al, 2018).…”

Survival, development and reproduction of Phenacoccus solenopsis (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) on kaolin-treated cotton

“…Heavy infestation of the cotton mealybug may result from the absence of natural enemies of this invasive pest (Noureen et al, 2016). Parasitoids (Aslam et al, 2017;Karmakar and Shera, 2017;Joodaki et al, 2018) and predators (Arif et al, 2012;Zazycki et al, 2015;Aslam et al, 2017;Lima et al, 2018) can control this mealybug. However, chemical control, with highly toxic insecticides to natural enemies, is the main method to reduce populations of this mealybug (Huang et al, 2012; Karmakar and Shera, 2017).…”

First report of Coccinellid (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) species found on Citrus orchards from the Central-West region of Santa Catarina, Brazil

“…Compiled fromGuerreiro et al (2003),Hodek and Evans (2012),Alvim et al (2016),Ducatti et al (2017),Majerus et al (2007) andLima et al (2018).…”