Performance of a predatory ladybird beetle, Anegleis cardoni (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) on three aphid species

Abstract

Abstract. Qualitative and quantitative differences in prey are known to affect the life histories of predators. A laboratory study was used to evaluate the suitability of three aphid prey, Aphis gossypii, Aphis craccivora and Lipaphis erysimi, for the ladybird beetle, Anegleis cardoni (Weise). Development was fastest on A. gossypii followed by A. craccivora and L. erysimi. Percentage pupation, immature survival, adult weight and the growth index were all highest when reared on A. gossypii and lowest on L. erysimi. Similarly, oviposition period, lifetime fecundity and egg viability were all highest on a diet of A. gossypii, lowest on L. erysimi and intermediate on A. craccivora. Age-specific fecundity functions were parabolic. Adult longevity, reproductive rate and intrinsic rate of increase were all highest on A. gossypii and lowest on L. erysimi. Life table parameters reflected the good performance on A. gossypii and poor performance on L. erysimi. Estimates of individual fitness values for the adults reared on A. gossypii and A. craccivora were similar and higher than that of adults reared on L. erysimi. Thus, the three species of aphid can all be considered essential prey for A. cardoni.

Slow and fast development in ladybirds: occurrence, effects and significance

“…Semyanov, 2001;Pervez and Omkar, 2004;Nasution, 2007), prey quality (e.g. Kalaskar and Evans, 2001;Omkar and Srivastava, 2003;Kalushkov and Hodek, 2004;Michaud, 2005;Omkar and Mishra, 2005), prey quantity (Omkar and Pervez, 2003;Omkar et al, 2009), photoperiods and wavelengths (Hodek and Ružička, 1979;Hodek and Iperti, 1983;Mishra and Omkar, 2005;Omkar et al, 2005) and sex (Hodek and Hönek, 1996;Dixon, 2000).…”

Prey species modify interactions within two predator conspecific and heterospecific combinations: A case study using two sympatric Coccinella species (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)

“…Although the mustard aphid, L. erysimi has higher levels of proteins (Atwal and Sethi, 1963), but numerous studies have reported that this aphid sequesters chemicals from its host plant, which contains certain alkaloids that are toxic for many ladybirds (Hodek, 1956;Okamoto, 1966). Its pungent smell, possibly due to the presence of allyl isothiocyanates, is also responsible for its reduced suitability as a prey (Joshi et al, 1999;Noble et al, 2002;Omkar et al, 2009). Studies have further shown that the allelochemicals that L. erysimi derive from their host plant are highly suitable for the metabolic activity of C. septempunctata while C. transversalis cannot easily detoxify the harmful chemicals of L. erysimi; hence the former and latter have higher and lower predation rates on this aphid prey, respectively (Kumar et al, 2013).…”

Prey preference and consumption capacity ofNephus arcuatus(Coleoptera: Coccinellidae): the influence of prey stage, prey size and feeding experience

“…Similarly, Saboori, Hosseini, and Hatami (2003) observed that the predator mite Allothrombium pulvinum Ewing selected eggs of P. citri according to prey quality and larger size over Pulvinaria aurantii Cockerell eggs. Moreover, Omkar, Kumar, and Sahu (2009) reported that the fecundity and survival rate of Anegleis cardoni Weise were higher when they were reared on Aphis gossypii Glover than Aphis craccivora Koch and Lipaphis erysimi Kaltenbach, respectively.…”