Partial consumption of different species of aphid prey by the predator Macrolophus pygmaeus (Hemiptera: Miridae)

When foraging in communities with mixed prey, generalist predators may be confronted with prey species that differ in quality, size and mobility and interact with one another. To examine prey selection, predation by Macrolophus pygmaeus (Heteroptera: Miridae) was recorded by providing a diet of either one or two prey species of Myzus persicae (third‐instar nymphs), Aphis gossypii (fourth‐instar nymphs), Trialeurodes vaporariorum (third‐instar nymphs) and Ephestia kuehniella (eggs). In the experiments, prey mobility, prey quality and prey biomass were considered. The biomass consumed by the predator was dependent on the combination of prey species and the quantity of biomass offered. In choice experiments with diets mixed of two prey species at equal densities, the predation to A. gossypii was significantly reduced in the presence of E. kuehniella but the rate of consumption of M. persicae, T. vaporariorum and E.kuehniella was not significantly affected by the coexistence of any other species in the mixed prey diet. When equal amounts of biomass from two prey species were provided in combination, the total consumed biomass was significantly reduced in the mixed prey diets composed of E. kuehniella eggs and aphid nymphs. Thus, under the mixed‐prey situation, prey selection by predators may be affected by interactions among prey species differing in traits such as quality, mobility and size.

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Prey‐mediated changes in the selectivity of the predator Macrolophus pygmaeus (Heteroptera: Miridae)

Maselou

Perdikis

Fantinou

2018

Entomological Science

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Foraging behaviour of four avian species feeding on the same temporarily available prey

et al. 2020

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Low tide events provide terrestrial predators with ephemeral, but predictable and abundant sources of prey. Understanding the relationships between the tidal cycles, prey availability, and predator abundances is vital to characterizing the ecological relationship between terrestrial predators and their marine prey. Here, we describe the foraging tactics of four common bird species in western North America, bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus Linnaeus, 1766), great blue herons (Ardea herodias Linnaeus, 1758), glaucous-winged gulls (Larus glaucescens Naumann, 1840), and northwestern crows (Corvus caurinus Baird, 1858), feeding on the same transiently accessible fish species, the plainfin midshipman (Porichthys notatus Girard, 1854). We conducted avian predator surveys at midshipman fish breeding beaches across multiple years and sites. Our census data showed that eagle and heron abundances were higher when the tides were receding than incoming at Ladysmith Harbour, British Columbia, but the opposite trend was found for total predator abundance at a second site in Dabob Bay, Washington. Gull abundance decreased over the course of the plainfin midshipman breeding season (April–July) while the abundances of the other three species remained stable. Our data suggest that the foraging activities of birds in the intertidal zones of western North America are linked with the tidal cycles, corresponding to periods of high prey vulnerability.

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Lethal and Sub-Lethal Effects of Organic-Production-Approved Insecticides and Fungicides on the Predator Macrolophus pygmaeus (Rambur) (Hemiptera: Miridae)

Betsi,

Perdikis

2023

Insects

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In this study, the effects of paraffin oil, copper hydroxide, copper oxychloride, wettable sulfur, Beauveria bassiana and deltamethrin, as a toxic reference treatment, on the survival and predation rate of M. pygmaeus were investigated. In each treatment, the prey were classified as slightly, partially or fully consumed. The mortality rate after contact exposure was high (66.6%) when nymphs were treated with copper hydroxide but much lower after residual exposure (6.6%). B. bassiana caused 53.3% and 46.6% mortality via contact and residual exposure, respectively. The total prey consumption was significantly lower in the pyrethroid reference treatment control and B. bassiana treatments. The highest percentage of slightly consumed prey was recorded in the toxic reference and B. bassiana treatments, that of partially consumed prey in the copper hydroxide treatment and, finally, that of fully consumed prey in the paraffin oil treatment. Therefore, assessing the sub-lethal effects by separating the prey killed into slightly, partially and fully consumed is a sensitive approach to detect impacts which otherwise may remain unnoticed. The results provide information for the most appropriate use of M. pygmaeus in IPM programs and introduce more sensitive approaches in the detection of side-effects of pesticides on M. pygmaeus and other hemipteran predators.

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Partial consumption of different species of aphid prey by the predator Macrolophus pygmaeus (Hemiptera: Miridae)

Cited by 3 publications

References 40 publications

Prey‐mediated changes in the selectivity of the predator Macrolophus pygmaeus (Heteroptera: Miridae)

Prey‐mediated changes in the selectivity of the predator Macrolophus pygmaeus (Heteroptera: Miridae)

Foraging behaviour of four avian species feeding on the same temporarily available prey

Lethal and Sub-Lethal Effects of Organic-Production-Approved Insecticides and Fungicides on the Predator Macrolophus pygmaeus (Rambur) (Hemiptera: Miridae)

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