Morphological characterization of pollens from three Apiaceae species and their ingestion by twelve-spotted lady beetle (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)

Abstract

Larvae and adults of certain species of predator lady beetles feed on pollen, guaranteeing their survival, and at times, reproduction in the absence of preferred prey. Palynology, therefore, may contribute in the investigation of botanical families visited by these predators in order to obtain this floral resource. There are records of the visitation of Apiaceae flowers by Coleomegilla maculata DeGeer, 1775 (Coleoptera, Coccinellidae), but not the ingestion of their pollen grains by this lady beetle. The external morphology of pollen grains of three Apiaceae aromatic species (Anethum graveolens L., Coriandrum sativum L., Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) was characterized, and it was evaluated the ingestion of these pollens by fourth instar larvae and adults of C. maculata upon confinement along with flowers of these Apiaceae for 24 and 48 hours. The pollen grains of those species presented similar external morphology. In the two times of exposure, the larvae ingested the same amount of pollen from the three Apiaceae species, and the amount of C. sativum pollen ingested was the same between larvae and adults. The amount of A. graveolens pollen grains ingested by the adults was significantly greater than the pollens of C. sativum and F. vulgare, in 24 hours, with the opposite occurring in 48 hours. In the first 24 hours, the adults ingested more A. graveolens pollen than the larvae, with the opposite occurring with F. vulgare. There was no significant difference in the amount of Apiaceae pollen ingested between larvae and adults in 48 hours. The results suggest that the pollen-eating habits of certain aphidophagous lady beetles may be crucial in their preservation within agro-ecosystems.Keywords: aphidophagous lady beetle, pollinivory, aromatic plant, conservation biological control. Caracterização morfológica de três espécies de Apiaceae e sua ingestão pela joaninha de doze pintas (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)Resumo Larvas e adultos de certas espécies de joaninhas predadoras podem se alimentar de pólen, garantindo a sua sobrevivência, e, às vezes, a reprodução na ausência da presa preferencial. Palinologia, portanto, pode contribuir na investigação de famílias botânicas visitadas por estes predadores a fim de obter esse recurso floral. Há registros da visitação de flores de Apiaceae por Coleomegilla maculata DeGeer, 1775 (Coleoptera, Coccinellidae), mas não da ingestão de seus grãos de pólen por essa joaninha. A morfologia externa de grãos de pólen de três espécies aromáticas de Apiaceae (Anethum graveolens L., Coriandrum sativum L., Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) foi caracterizada e avaliou-se a ingestão desses polens por larvas de quarto instar e adultos de C. maculata em confinamento com flores dessas Apiaceae por 24 e 48 horas. Os grãos de pólen dessas espécies apresentaram morfologia externa semelhante. Nos dois tempos de exposição, as larvas ingeriram a mesma quantidade de pólen das três espécies de Apiaceae, e a quantidade de pólen de C. sativum ingerida foi semelhante entre as larvas e adultos. A quantidade de ...

Fennel (<i>Foeniculum vulgare</i>) Rests on the Holy Maria-Magdalena’s Hairs, Studied by Scanning Electron Microscopy and Elemental Analysis

“…A detailed study of the fennel pollens (Foeniculum vulgare) was recently published (D'Avila et al, 2016). In the present study, examination of more than fifty pollen grains (seen in equatorial or longitudinal views) confirms this diagnosis.…”

Moroccan Monofloral Bee Pollen: Botanical Origin, Physicochemical Characterization, and Antioxidant Activities

“…Scanning electron microscopy analysis of bee pollen samples, presented in Figure 1 and Table 2, showed that the botanical origin of each bee pollen sample according to its predominant pollen grains was as follows: the botanical origin of bee pollen sample from LARACHE was Coriandrum sativum (Apiaceae) (70%), the botanical origin of bee pollen sample from KHENICHAT was Ulex europaeus (Fabaceae) (73%), the botanical origin of bee pollen sample from HED KOURT was Scorzonera cana (Asteraceae) (77%), the botanical origin of bee pollen sample from KENITRA was Trifolium pretense (Fabaceae) (76%), the botanical origin of bee pollen sample from FEZ was Ulex europaeus (Fabaceae) (64%), the botanical origin of bee pollen sample from SEFROU was Reseda luteola (Resedaceae) (60%), the botanical origin of bee pollen sample from ARFOUD was Spiraea salicifolia (Rosaceae) (68%), and the botanical origin of bee pollen sample from TAZA was Lamium galeobdolon (Lamiaceae) (59%). e bee pollen identification was carried out by comparing the morphology, sizes, and exine ornamentations of bee pollen studied to that described elsewhere [20][21][22][23][24][25][26]. Louveaux et al reported that when the percentage of pollen grains is >45% of total, the sample is classified as monofloral [9].…”

Life tables of the ladybird beetles Harmonia axyridis, Cycloneda sanguinea and Hippodamia convergens reared on the greenbug Schizaphis graminum

“…Higher fecundity was also reported for H. convergens (729.15 eggs per female) reared on Aphis craccivora Koch, 1854 (Hemiptera: Aphididae) (El-Heneidy et al, 2008). The causes of variation in the fecundity of coccinellids are diverse and depend on several factors such as temperature, photoperiod, age of the parents, length of the oviposition period, and quality and quantity of food (Nedvěd and Honěk, 2012;D'Ávila et al, 2016;Lima et al, 2018).…”