Survey of Lady Beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) in Sweet Corn Using Yellow Sticky Cards

Abstract

Yellow cards coated with adhesive were used to survey for the presence, relative abundance and seasonal patterns of lady beetles in research and commercial fields of processing sweet corn in central and western New York in 1992 and 1993. The lady beetles species recorded, in order of abundance were: Coleomegilla maculata lengi Timberlake, Coccinella septempunctata L., Psyllobora vigintimaculata (Say), Hippodamia parenthesis (Say), Propylea quatuordecimpunctata (L.), Cycloneda munda (Say), Hippodamia glacialis glacialis (F.), Adalia bipunctata (L.), Coccinella trifasciata perplexa Mulsant, and Coccinella transversoguttata richardsoni Brown. Coleomegilla maculata lengi was in sufficient number to reflect seasonal patterns. Coleomegilla maculata lengi populations rapidly increased in early July, peaked in late July or early August and then rapidly declined. The timing of C. maculata lengi peak abundance was more closely related to day-of-year than to stage of crop development based on accumulated degree days from planting. The pattern of capture of C. maculata lengi at incremental distances into the field did not indicate colonization from the field edge.

Biology and Co-Occurrence of Psyllobora vigintimaculata taedata (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) and Powdery Mildews in an Urban Landscape of California

“…Clearly, a dearth in the scientiÞc literature addressing the mycophagy exhibited by these insects has led to some biological inaccuracies. The cosmopolitan genus Psyllobora Chevrolat is represented in temperate and subtropical regions worldwide, in natural and managed systems, and contains a group of insects with the potential to provide biological control of PM (Prasad and Rai 1988, Cruz et al 1989, Hoffman et al 1997, Almeida and Milleo 1998, Tezcan and Uygun 2003. Soylu et al (2002) recorded a reduction in PM conidia of 92% by comparing leaf areas grazed upon by P. bisoctonotata Mulsant with nonfed-upon areas, suggesting a real and measurable PM removal through consumption.…”

Resistance to Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) and Euxesta stigmatias (Diptera: Ulidiidae) in Sweet Corn Derived from Exogenous and Endogenous Genetic Systems

“…Biological control agents may be helpful if they would control both the adults and hidden stages, but information on biocontrol of ulidiid flies is lacking. Major predators of sweet corn pests in the northeastern United States are Coleomegilla maculata (DeGeer), Harmonia axyridis (Pallas) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), and Orius insidiosus (Say) (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) (Andow & Risch 1985;Coll & Bottrell 1992;Coderre et al 1995;Wheeler & Stoops 1996;Hoffmann et al 1997;Musser et al 2004). In Mexico, the wasps, Spalangia spp.…”

Survey of Predators and Sampling Method Comparison in Sweet Corn

“…Based on previous survey work in the northeastern United States (Whitman 1975, Andow and Risch 1985, Coll and Bottrell 1992, Hoffmann et al 1997, the primary predators in sweet corn were expected to be coccinellids, especially Coleomegilla maculata (De Geer), and the anthocorid Orius insidiosus (Say). Another coccinellid, Harmonia axyridis (Pallas), has entered the area since these surveys (Coderre et al 1995, Wheeler andStoops 1996) and has been found in sweet corn Þelds (Musser 2003).…”

“…There are several reports on estimating populations of coccinellids in sweet corn by using sticky cards (Ewert and Chiang 1966, Hoffmann et al 1997, Bruck and Lewis 1998, Colunga-Garcia and Gage 1998, a modiÞed leaf blower (Beerwinkle et al 1999), and visual Þeld counts (Foott 1973, Nault and Kennedy 2000, Wold et al 2001. In grain sorghum, a crop with a plant structure similar to corn, Michels and Behle (1992) found that visual counting had less bias than drop cloths, sweep nets, or pit traps for coccinellid adults.…”