Foraging behaviour of predaceous ladybird beetles: a review

Abstract

We review the foraging behaviour of predaceous ladybirds in the light of current knowledge. Ladybirds should forage optimally to maximise their resources; however, they are limited -among other things -by their poor visual acuity. Ladybird foraging behaviour includes location of the habitat of its prey, location of prey and prey-selection. Chemical cues are important in locating the habitats of their prey. This is further driven by volatiles or semiochemicals emitted by injured plants, particularly in response to attack by herbivores. Various chemicals induce positive electroantennographic responses in ladybirds that guide them to prey sites. Honeydew secreted by aphids along with alarm pheromones or kairomones act as secondary chemical cues that narrow the search from extensive to intensive and help in prey location. Visual cues further aid prey-location and enable foraging adults to locate areas with patchy or abundant prey. Thereafter, ladybirds select their prey, which starts with random attacks that result in prey selection in terms of size and palatability. Prey selection seems to be host plant driven, i.e. aphids sequester host plant chemicals, which are imbibed by ladybirds. This is evident from the fact that nutritious prey cultured on toxic host plants are usually less preferred or rejected. Foraging ladybirds, especially larvae, can perceive ladybird footprints or odours that deter them from foraging. The above information could be useful in biocontrol programmes in which foraging ladybirds are manipulated by using chemicals as attractants or rearing aphids on nutritious host plants.

A Review of the Phenotypic Traits Associated with Insect Dispersal Polymorphism, and Experimental Designs for Sorting out Resident and Disperser Phenotypes

“…In the literature, different terms are found for describing the main movements of animals, including insects, the most frequent ones being (i) dispersal, (ii) migration, and (iii) movement (see Holyoak et al [41] for a review). For movement types that do not correspond to dispersal or migration, the following terms are frequently used: Foraging [42,43], homing [44], home range [45], nomadism [46], routine movements [47], or searching behavior [48]. A valuable example of the methodological procedures that can be used for separating the different types of movements can be found in Singh et al [49].…”

Antennal morphology and sensilla of the predaceous ladybirds, Menochilus sexmaculatus and Propylea dissecta

“…Majority of predaceous ladybirds (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) can be utilized for the biological control of numerous phytophagous insect-pests: aphids, scale-insects, mealybugs and whiteflies (Hodek et al 2012;Omkar and Pervez 2016) infesting several economically important crops (Pervez et al 2020). The optimization of their predation potential (Pervez and Yadav 2018;, prey consumption (Pervez and Kumar 2017) and mating behaviour (Pervez and Singh 2013) may enhance the biocontrol potential of ladybirds.…”

A Review on Dispersal Polymorphism in Wing-Dimorphic, Mono-Morphic, Wingless, and Range-Expanding Insects, and Experimental Designs for Sorting out Resident and Disperser Phenotypes

“…In the literature, different terms are found for describing the main movements of animals, including insects, the most frequent ones being (i) dispersal, (ii) migration, and (iii) movement (see Holyoak et al [41] for a review). For movement types that do not correspond to dispersal or migration, the following terms are frequently used: foraging [42][43], homing [44], home range [45], nomadism [46], routine movements [47], or searching behaviour [48]. A valuable example of the methodological procedures that can be used for separating the different types of movements can be found in Singh et al [49].…”