Comparison of Eggs, Larvae, and Pupae ofPlutella xylostella(Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) as Prey forPodisus nigrispinus(Hemiptera: Pentatomidae)

Abstract

Understanding the prédation on pest insects through controlled feeding on their prey can provide insight into natural methods of pest control. The growth, survival, and development of the predatory stink bug (Podisus nigrispinus Dallas) fed on the eggs, larvae, and pupae of the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella L., was examined in the laboratory. Second instar P. nigrispinus (12-24 h old) were fed various prey and monitored daily as they molted through nymphal stages and adulthood until death. The growth, survival, and egg production of stink bugs fed P. xylostella larvae and pupae were compared. P. xylostella eggs and first instars are inadequate food sources, whereas fourth instars and pupae can sustain the development of P. nigrispinus. Egg output of females was greater with pupae than with larvae. Male longevity was greater with larvae than with pupae. More P. xylostella larvae than pupae were consumed by P. nigrispinus. The high consumption rates of P. xylostella by P. nigrispinus in the laboratory indicate that this predatory stink bug may be a potential biological control agent for this pest.KEY WORDS Asopinae, biological control, insect biology, predatory stink bug, Brassicaceae

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

“…However, our results differed from those of Lemos et al (2003), in which larvae of M. domestica were alternated with T. molitor pupae, which resulted in a nymphal viability of 51.84%. Vacari et al (2007) reported a nymphal viability of 89% for P. nigrispinus when they were fed on larvae of D. saccharalis, which differs from our results. The highest viability (98.96%) recorded for P. nigrispinus occurred when feeding on larvae of Alabama argillacea Hübner, 1818 (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) (Lemos et al, 2003).…”

“…Our data differ from those of Vacari et al (2007), who found that the weight of the fifth-stage P. nigrispinus nymphs fed on larvae of D. saccharalis was 20.40 mg, and from those of Oliveira et al (2004b), who found that the weight of these nymphs fed on S. frugiperda and T. molitor were 26.26 and 27.11 mg, respectively. According to Zanuncio et al (2001), greater nymphal weight is due to the accumulation of biomass required for the reproductive stadium and early growth of the reproductive system in females begins in the fifth instar.…”

“…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. Zanuncio et al (2008) reported longevities of 27.4 and 39.6 days when P. nigrispinus was fed on T. molitor alone and T. molitor with Eucalyptus grandis, respectively.…”

“…In the field, the rate of predation of Podisus Herrich-schaeffer, 1851 on several prey species varies from 0.32 to 2.46 attacks/female/day (Oliveira et al, 2008;Pires et al, 2009;Vivan et al, 2002) and is mainly affected by the size of the larva, plant type, and climatic conditions. According to Vivan et al (2002), adult P. nigrispinus consumed an average of 50.8 T. absoluta larvae, which are smaller than M. domestica larvae, P. nigrispinus adults consumed 9.1 Plutella xylostella (Linnaeus, 1758) (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) larvae daily and up to 346.0 during their adulthood (Vacari et al, 2013). According to Oliveira et al (2008), P. nigrispinus adults consumed 0.93 to 1.23 A. gemmatalis larvae/day.…”

“…The predator Podisus nigrispinus (Dallas, 1851) (Hemiptera: (Lemos et al, 2005). Mass rearing P. nigrispinus requires alternative prey (Vacari et al, 2007) due to the difficulty of rearing natural prey in the laboratory, but P. nigrispinus performs better with lepidopteran prey (Oliveira et al, 2004a). Mass production P. nigrispinus is a challenging because task this need food supply at a maximum 4 days interval, which requires large and expensive prey colonies (De Clercq et al, 1998).…”