Feeding Fauna and Foraging Habits of Tiger Beetles Found in Agro‐ecosystems in Western Ghats, India¹

Abstract

Cicindela (Calochroa) whithilli (Hope) and Cicindela (Calochroa) flavomaculata Hope (Cicindelidae: Coleoptera) are seasonally dominant predatory insects in the cultivated, and irrigated rice paddy fields of the South Indian peninsula. While studying the feeding ecology of these tiger beetles in rice paddy agro‐ecosystems in Sringeri area of the central Western Ghats, we examined their potential as biocontrols on the major rice paddy pest populations available in this region. Earthworms and tadpoles were significant prey organisms during the early cultivation period, while other traditional prey organisms like ants and spiders (mainly wolf and jumping spiders) were more common as prey organisms toward the mid‐season. The results showed that the feeding fauna of tiger beetles can extend to prey items beyond arthropods, to include vertebrates. Cicindela (Calochroa) duponti Dejean is another common species that occurs abundantly in the Areca orchards and on the bunds that separate rice paddy fields from adjacent uncultivated lands. We performed laboratory tests to determine the feeding guild of these beetles, and to investigate their possible role as a predator of the rice paddy pests. Although preliminary in nature, the results suggest that both C. whithilli and C. flavomaculata are ineffective as biocontrol agents of rice paddy agro‐ecosystems. They appear to have only a marginal impact on the larvae of Leptocorisa acuta, a major insect pest of paddy rice, but further experimental and observational studies are needed to firmly establish the significance of this observation.

Peer Review #2 of "Catch fast and kill quickly: do tiger beetles use the same strategies when hunting different types of prey? (v0.1)"

“…That makes both species opportunistic predators hunting for the type of prey which is actually available in the beetle's habitat as it was shown in some other tiger beetle species occurring in different parts of the world (e.g. Sinu et al, 2006). Moreover, it also may predict significant differences in their hunting strategies and prey references (Brose et al, 2006).…”

“…Although tiger beetles can modify their diet according to types of prey which are actually available in the habitat (Sinu et al, 2006), the size of prey is the second important parameter playing a crucial role in hunting success of the predator (Alcock, 1993;Brose et al, 2006;Brose et al, 2008;Ball et al, 2015;Kalinkat et al, 2011). Generally it is known that at least in case of some predators, including different beetles (e.g.…”

The Association between Body-size and Habitat-type in Tiger Beetles (Coleoptera, Cicindelidae) of Sri Lanka

“…The reservoirs of Sri Lanka are known to constitute one of the richest sources of wetland biodiversity (GIAHS, 2005;Boccardo et al, 2006). Tiger beetles are predators of a range of invertebrates such as earthworms, spiders, larval glow worms, sandhoppers, bugs, ants and other insects (Hori, 1982;Knisley and Hill, 1992;Satoh et al, 2006;Sinu et al, 2006;Pearson, 2011). Tiger beetles with large mandibles prey upon organisms with a broad range of sizes (1-46 mm), while species with small mandibles are limited to smaller prey (1-12 mm) (Pearson and Stemberger, 1980).…”

“…Further, tiger beetles are prey to predators such as insectivorous birds, insectivorous lizards, water scorpions, and dragonflies, wasps of the family Tiphiidae, beeflies of the family Bombyliidae and robberflies of the family Asilidae (Bhargav and Uniyal, 2008;Pearson, 1990;Schultz, 1983;Sinu et al, 2006). Body size of tiger beetles is related with predation from various predator types and small tiger beetles are consumed by insectivorous lizards, spiders and robber flies while large species are predated upon by insectivorous birds (Pearson, 1990).…”

“…Tiger beetles (Coleoptera, Cicindelidae) are highly habitat specific (Adis et al, 1998;Cardoso and Vogler, 2005;Dangalle et al, 2012a;Knisley and Hill, 1992;Morgan et al, 2000;Satoh et al, 2006;Pearson and Cassola, 2007;Rafi et al, 2010). Each species tends to be restricted to a narrow and unique habitat such as coastal sand dunes (Morgan et al, 2000;Neil and Majka, 2008;Dangalle et al, 2012a), riverine habitats (Ganeshaiah and Belavadi, 1986;Satoh et al, 2006;Dangalle et al, 2011a;Dangalle et al, 2011b), reservoirs (Dangalle et al, 2012b, forests (Adis et al, 1998), agroecosystems (French et al, 2004Sinu et al, 2006), parks, areas with human disturbances (Bhardwaj et al, 2008;Mosley, 2009), open areas with sparse vegetation (Schiefer, 2004) and grasslands (Acorn, 2004). The association of tiger beetle species with habitat has been related to their preferences for mating and oviposition sites, food availability, seasonality, vegetation cover and physical, chemical and climatic qualities of the habitat (Pearson et al, 2006).…”