<i>Dicranolaius bellulus</i> (Guérin‐Méneville) (Coleoptera: Melyridae: Malachiinae), a possible biological control agent of lepidopterous pests in inland Australia

Horne, Paul A.; Edward, Cindy L; Kourmouzis, Tony

doi:10.1046/j.1440-6055.2000.00141.x

Cited by 10 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…For example, studies on predation of Helicoverpa spp. using cages range from Petri dishes (Grundy & Maelzer, ; Pearce et al ., ), small 400 mL containers (Horne et al ., ), individually caged plants (Johnson, 1999), small 1‐m squared cages (Dillon et al ., 1994; Stanley, ), to 2‐m square field cages (Titmarsh, 1992). Effective cage studies require an understanding of prey and predator preferences towards oviposition and feeding sites, prey dispersion and predator searching behavior.…”

Section: Direct Impactsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the impact of arthropod natural enemies on crop pests at the field scale

2014

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There are many reasons why it is important that we find ways to conserve, and better utilize natural enemies of invertebrate crop pests. Currently, measures of natural enemy impact are rarely incorporated into studies that purport to examine pest control. Most studies examine pest and natural enemy presence and/or abundance and then qualitatively infer impact. While this provides useful data to address a range of ecological questions, a measure of impact is critical for guiding pest management decision-making. Often some very simple techniques can be used to obtain an estimate of natural enemy impact. We present examples of field-based studies that have used cages, barriers to restrict natural enemy or prey movement, direct observation of natural enemy attack, and sentinel prey items to estimate mortality. The measure of natural enemy impact used in each study needs to be tailored to the needs of farmers and the specific pest problems they face. For example, the magnitude of mortality attributed to natural enemies may be less important than the timing and consistency of that mortality between seasons. Tailoring impact assessments will lead to research outcomes that do not simply provide general information about how to conserve natural enemies, but how to use these natural enemies as an integral part of decision-making.

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Section: Direct Impactsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the impact of arthropod natural enemies on crop pests at the field scale

2014

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“…fragments within their guts. Laboratory tests confirm this observation by showing that this species (Horne et al, 2000;Hossain et al, 2000c), as well as C. transversalis, consume both eggs (Room, 1979;Hossain et al, 2000c) and larvae of Helicoverpa spp. (Z. Hossain, unpublished data).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 69%

Habitat manipulation in lucerne (Medicago sativa L.): Strip harvesting to enhance biological control of insect pests

Hossain

Gurr

Wratten

2001

International Journal of Pest Management

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Habitat manipulation in lucerne (Medicago sativa L.): strip harvesting to enhance biological control of insect pests(Abstract. Habitat manipulation by strip harvesting as a means of enhancing biological control of insect pests was tested in a commercial field of lucerne. Vacuum sampling was used on five dates to measure the population densities of the predators Dicranolaius bellulus, Coccinella transversalis and spiders, as well as the lepidopteran pests Helicoverpa spp. and Merophyas divulsana. Predator population densities were consistently and significantly greater in strips with tall regrowth than in more recently harvested strips on all dates for C. transversalis and for all but one date in the case of D. bellulus and spiders. Densities of pest larvae did not differ between these treatments during periods of low pest abundance. In late January to mid-February, however, larvae were more numerous in unharvested strips. For both Helicoverpa spp. and M. divulsana, the high larval densities 11 days after a harvest were not reflected in samples taken 7 days later, in which densities had declined significantly. Catches of M. divulsana pupae on the latter date were also low in both treatments, suggesting that the fate of lepidopteran larvae, so numerous in the unharvested treatment on the previous sample date, was attributable to predation rather than to pupation. This conclusion is supported by the observation that the rate of predation of Helicoverpa spp. egg`baits' was significantly greater in unharvested strips with dense predator populations than in harvested strips where predators were less dense. Similarly Helicoverpaspp. egg parasitism by Trichogramma spp. was significantly higher in unharvested strips than in harvested strips. Predator populations were higher in the strip harvest experiment than in a contiguous area of the same crop in which conventional harvesting was used. In the`conventional' area, densities of Helicoverpaspp. larvae were higher but no such effect was apparent for M. divulsana. The present study supports previous findings, showing that natural enemies exploit unharvested strips as refuges, and that enhancing the within-field community of natural enemies by strip harvesting contributes towards pest management.

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“…Previous studies suggest that D. bellulus and M. frenata feed primarily on pollen, but they can also be predacious on Lepidoptera eggs and larvae, and on aphids, respectively (Anderson & Hales 1983; Hawkeswood 1994; Horne et al . 2000; Hawkeswood & Turner 2002; Rencken 2006).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2001; Hossain et al . 2002), and horticultural crops such as carrot and potatoes (Horne et al . 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Functional response of two common Australian predators, Dicranolaius bellulus (Guérin-Méneville) (Coleoptera: Melyridae) and Micraspis frenata (Erichson) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), attacking Aphis gossypii Glover (Hemiptera: Aphididae)

Chenaux

Bianchi

Schellhorn

2011

Australian Journal of Entomology

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The red and blue beetle, Dicranolaius bellulus (Guérin-Méneville) (Coleoptera: Melyridae), and the striped ladybird beetle, Micraspis frenata (Erichson) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), are two widespread predators in Australian agroecosystems. However, very little is known about their biology and their potential as predators of agricultural pests. Here functional response studies for these two predators against the melon aphid Aphis gossypii Glover (Hemiptera: Aphididae) are reported. Prey consumption rates for females of both predators were assessed for five aphid densities using clip-cages around leaves of living melon plants (Cucumis melo L.) in the laboratory. A type I functional response for D. bellulus was obtained, with a constant linear increase in the number of aphids consumed, and an attack rate of 0.152 day -1 . In contrast, M. frenata showed a type II functional response, with an attack rate of 0.464 day -1 , and a handling time of 0.007 day, estimated by the random predator equation. M. frenata showed a trend of having a higher predation rate than D. bellulus, but this was only significantly at low prey densities. The maximum predation rates observed were 39 and 60 aphids per day for D. bellulus and M. frenata, respectively. This is the first study that demonstrates predation of D. bellulus on aphids and describes the functional response of both predatory beetles. The predatory efficacy shown here combined with their ability to tolerate low prey densities when alternative food resources are present suggests that these two predators can potentially play an important role in aphid suppression in Australian agroecosystems.

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Dicranolaius bellulus (Guérin‐Méneville) (Coleoptera: Melyridae: Malachiinae), a possible biological control agent of lepidopterous pests in inland Australia

Cited by 10 publications

References 4 publications

Assessing the impact of arthropod natural enemies on crop pests at the field scale

Assessing the impact of arthropod natural enemies on crop pests at the field scale

Habitat manipulation in lucerne (Medicago sativa L.): Strip harvesting to enhance biological control of insect pests

Functional response of two common Australian predators, Dicranolaius bellulus (Guérin-Méneville) (Coleoptera: Melyridae) and Micraspis frenata (Erichson) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), attacking Aphis gossypii Glover (Hemiptera: Aphididae)

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