| Affiliation: | (1) Dept. of Agricultural Sciences, Imperial at Wye, TN25 5AH Wye, Ashford, Kent, UK;(2) Laboratory of Agricultural Zoology and Entomology, Faculty of Plant Science, Agricultural University of Athens, 11855 Athens, Greece;(3) Laboratory of Agricultural Entomology, Dept. of Entomology & Agricultural Zoology, Benaki Phytopathological Institute, 14561 Kifissia, Attica, Greece;(4) Institute of Zoology, Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro |
| Abstract: | Laboratory experiments were conducted to evaluate the prey stage preference and the daily consumption of each stage of the coccinellid predatorStethorus punctillum Weise (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) feeding on the two-spotted spider miteTetranychus urticae (Koch) (Acari: Tetranychidae). Groups of different life stages of the prey were offered (eggs, larvae, nymphs and adults). The prey preference varied with the stage ofS. punctillum. First larval instars had no significant preference among theT. urticae stages offered. Second larval instars consumed significantly more spider mite larvae in comparison with nymphs. In contrast, third larval instars indicated a strong preference for mite eggs. Significantly fewerT. urticae larvae were consumed by the fourth larval instars ofS. punctillum, in comparison with the three other mite stages. Finally, adult predators consumed significantly more mite eggs than the other stages offered. This preferential trend was similar for all adults tested, whether during the pre-oviposition or the oviposition period. http://www.phytoparasitica.org posting Feb. 17, 2004. |
