Impact of temperature and prey density on the predacious capacity and behaviour ofStethorus punctillumWeise

Abstract

Temperature had various effects on the predacious efficacy of immature and mature stages of the coccinellid predator, Stethorus punctillum on the two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae. In the case of immature stages, food consumption at the lowest tested temperature (158C) was significantly higher than that at higher temperatures (25 and 358C). On the contrary, positive correlation between food consumption and temperature was evaluated in the case of adult predator. Regarding predator responses to different prey density, a high positive correlation between food consumption and prey density was evaluated among 4 th instar larvae of the predator, followed by adult predator, while younger instars did not show reasonable increases with increasing prey densities. These results confirm that larval and adult stages of S. punctillum exhibit ''Type II'' functional response. In conclusion, the 4 th instar larvae and adult predator are the most preferable stages in winter and summer crops to control T. urticae, respectively.

Host Plant Mediates Foraging Behavior and Mutual Interference Among AdultStethorus gilvifrons(Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) Preying onTetranychus urticae(Acari: Tetranychidae)

“…The functional and numerical responses of Stethorus spp. to various mite species and environmental factors have also been examined (e.g., Houck and Strauss 1985, Haji-Zadeh et al 1994, Matter et al 2011, Osman and Bayoumy 2011. In this study, experiments were designed to evaluate the inßuence of host plant type on the response of adult S. gilvifrons females to varying densities of spider mites and foraging conspeciÞcs.…”

Modeling Thermal Developmental Trajectories and Thermal Requirements of the Ladybird Stethorus gilvifrons

“…Taken together, the total developmental duration in the range of 25 to 27 °C was 19 to 13 days for both females and males in all the different Stethorus spp. tested [ 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 ].…”

Foraging Behavior of Two Coccinellid Species (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) Fed on Aphids

“…Specifically, searching rates of both predators were higher on A. gossypii than on A. punicae, which implies that A. gossypii may be the favorable food source. The foraging behavior and predatory efficiency of coccinellids may be affected by many factors including their developmental stage (Koch et al 2003, Osman & Bayoumy 2011, body size (Kajita & Evans 2010), the prey species (Abd El-Kareim 2002, Sarmento et al 2007), prey density (Matter et al 2011), temperature (Skirvin et al 1997), foraging cues (Hodek & Honek 1996, Pasteels 2007, plant architecture (Grevstad & Klepetka 1992), cannibalism and intraguild predation (Burgio et al 2002), food deprivation (Santos-Cividanes et al 2011), and entomopathogenic fungi (Poprawski et al 1998).…”