The effects of imidacloprid on 1-day-old third instars of Harmonia axyridis were assessed by topical treatment and contact with treated glass plates in laboratory bioassays. When 5 µl of imidacloprid solutions were applied topically, the LD50 was 0.085 g/l per insect after 24 h. Contact with imidacloprid-treated plates had little effect on the number of third instars that became adults. Average duration of larval development was not significantly affected by duration of contact and imidacloprid concentrations. There were no significant differences in maximal larval weight, weight gain and day at maximum larval weight. There were significant differences in average weight gain per day (from third instar to prepupa) after treatments with different imidacloprid concentrations. A temporary knockdown effect was observed with higher concentrations and longer durations of contact with treated plates. Compared with untreated third instars, contact with imidacloprid-treated plates caused an increase in time spent (in seconds) on the glass plates resulting from an increase in number of stops (per second) and angular speed (degrees per second) and a decrease in linear speed, excluding stops (mm/second). The changes in locomotory behavior (i.e., duration of stay on untreated plate, number of stops and angular speed) lasted up to 24 h after contact with imidacloprid-treated plates.
Cannibalism and intraguild predation (IGP) are both common phenomena amongst aphidophagous coccinellids and serve as vital alternative feeding strategies which can prolong survival during periods of aphid scarcity. A reduction in essential prey density and the acceptance of conspecific or heterospecific prey are likely to have a considerable influence on both larval development and adult reproduction. However, little is known about the legacy of larval diet on adult performance. This paper considers the effects of the diet provided to larvae of Harmonia axyridis (Pallas) and Adalia bipunctata (Linnaeus) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) on the reproductive output of the resulting females. Results showed that larval diets, including treatments analogous to competition and IGP, did not affect adult longevity, ovipositional lag, proportion of eggs laid in clutches or ovariole number in H. axyridis or A. bipunctata. However, some variation in the maximum clutch size and oviposition rate was seen. A larval diet of unlimited aphids resulted in the largest clutches of eggs being laid by both species. The total number of eggs laid over 30 days was largest for H. axyridis when larvae were reared on unlimited aphids or limited aphids supplemented with either conspecific or heterospecific eggs, whereas oviposition was lower for A. bipunctata females that had received conspecific or heterospecific eggs in their larval diets. The results have also enabled us to make some general comparisons of reproductive parameters between the two species, and to refute the hypothesis that the maximum clutch size laid by a female ladybird is limited by the number of ovarioles within an ovary. We conclude that IGP of A. bipunctata eggs by H. axyridis larvae has a positive effect on reproductive output and is therefore likely to further contribute to the spread and increase of H. axyridis in Britain.
A variety of plant protection products and other agrochemicals are used in agro-ecosystems. Products approved for integrated pest management (IPM) or organic farming should have minimal negative side effects on benefi cial insects. The Asian harlequin ladybird Harmonia axyridis (Pallas, 1773) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) has become a widespread and important generalist predator of certain agricultural pests, mainly aphids, throughout Europe. We studied the effects of two agrochemicals, Boundary SW® (auxiliary plant protection product) and Prev B2® (foliar boron fertilizer), usually regarded as “environmentally friendly” and known to have insecticidal side effects against some fruit and vegetable pests (e.g., aphids, spider mites, weevils), on the last larval instar and adults of Harmonia axyridis. The conventional organophosphate insecticide Reldan 22® was used as a chemical standard for evaluating the lethal effect, because this product is usually effective against a broad spectrum of insects, and indeed was immediately lethal for both the adults and larvae of this species. However, whereas Prev B2® had no effect, adult ladybirds sprayed with Boundary SW® survived only for up to 25 h and also none of the larvae completed their development. Thus, although our experiments were not made under natural conditions, the use of Boundary SW® cannot be recommended for IPM and organic farming in terms of safeguarding insect predators such as Harmonia axyridis until further more detailed testing.
To determine the causes of the variation in the seasonal dynamics of Harmonia axyridis (Pallas) in Central Europe, numbers of adults and larvae of this invasive species were recorded on trees (Acer, Betula, Tilia) throughout the growing seasons from 2011 to 2016. Each year beetles were collected every two weeks, using a standardized sweeping method. The seasonal dynamics was expressed as plots of abundance (number of individuals per 100 sweeps) against time (Julian day) and these plots (seasonal profi les) were compared in terms of their size (area under the seasonal profi le curve), range, timing and height of the mode (maximum abundance). Timing and size of seasonal profi les varied among hostplants, years and sites. Abundance of larvae paralleled aphid occurrence and peak abundance of adults followed that of larvae 10 to 20 days later. Population dynamics before and after the peak were determined by dispersal. Adults arrived at sites before the start of aphid population growth and persisted there long after aphid populations collapsed. The abundance of H. axyridis decreased from 2011 to 2013 and then increased, achieving the previous levels recorded in 2015 and 2016. The variation in seasonal profi les revealed that H. axyridis, in terms of its response to environmental conditions, is a plastic species and this fl exibility is an important factor in its invasive success.
This is the first record of the harlequin ladybird Harmonia axyridis (Pallas) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) occurring in the Caucasus (Sochi region of Krasnodar territory, Russia). All the adults collected in the field there and reared from collected eggs, larvae and pupae, and their progeny were H. axyridis f. succinea, which is the most common morph in natural populations in South-Eastern Asia and the Russian Far East as well as in invasive populations in the Americas and Europe. In contrast in Western Siberia f. axyridis predominates and this indicates that an occasional introduction from the closest native range in Siberia cannot be considered as the source of the Caucasian population. It is known that populations of H. axyridis can also differ in their photoperiodic responses. The results of earlier experiments on H. axyridis, which originated from the Russian Far East, indicate that the threshold day lengths for the acceleration of preimaginal development and deceleration of reproductive maturation were 13–14 h, while for the invasive populations of this species in Europe these two thresholds are approximately 12 h. In the population studied, the thresholds for both of these photoperiodic responses were also approximately 12 h. Thus, it is concluded that the population of H. axyridis studied is a further eastward continuation of the invasion of this species in Europe., Natalia A. Balyakova, Sergey Ya. Reznik., and Seznam literatury
The coccinellid H. axyridis shows considerable intraspecific variability of elytral patterns. In this paper, we suggest that a genotype that confers a specific pattern of elytra could also confer other specific autecological attributes. The aim of this paper is to compare fitness parameters of two phenotypes (aulica and nigra). Aulica is a common morph characterized by two light red areas that nearly cover the whole elytra, leaving a narrow black border, whereas nigra is completely black; the latter is a rare morph that was naturally obtained from mass cultures. Intraspecific differences occur between H. axyridis phenotypes. The aulica phenotype is more voracious than nigra. Consumption rate of males is higher in aulica than in nigra, but there is no difference for females. Larval biomass of aulica is generally higher than that of nigra. The maximum body-weights reached by larval instars and adults are significantly higher for aulica. Aulica also has greater longevity and reproductive capacity. Only life stage duration of eggs and pre-pupae differ between the two phenotypes. Nigra shows lower fecundity and fertility. Our study showed that the strong differences in phenotype traits of the coccinellid H. axyridis could affect its fitness.
Functional responses at each developmental stage of predators and intraspecific competition associated with direct interactions among them provide insights into developing biological control strategies for pests. The functional responses of Harmonia axyridis (Pallas) at each developmental stage of Melanaphis sacchari (Zehntner) and intraspecific competition among predators were evaluated under laboratory conditions. The results showed that all stages of H. axyridis displayed a type II functional response to M. sacchari. Based on Holling's disc equation, the instantaneous searching rates were highest (a) and handling time was shortest (Th) of fourth instar larvae (a = 0.8818; Th = 3.9 min) and female adults (a = 0.9881; Th = 3.0 min) at larval and adult stages, respectively. The coefficients of mutual interference (m) assessed by the intraspecific competition equation were higher for fourth instar larvae (m = 0.4764) and female adults (m = 0.4183). The present study indicates that fourth instar and female adult were more effective stages of H. axyridis in the context of biological control but suitable predator densities need to be considered before natural enemy release., Pengxiang Wu, Jing Zhang, Muhammad Haseeb, Shuo Yan, Lambert Kanga, Runzhi Zhang., and Obsahuje bibliografii
a1_Hesperomyces virescens is an ectoparasite of some Coccinellidae, which until the mid-1990s was relatively rarely only reported from warm regions in various parts of the world. Analysis of the host and distribution data of H. virescens recorded in the Western Palaearctic and North America reveals several trends in the occurrence and abundance of H. virescens: (1) it has recently been much more frequently recorded, (2) most of the recent records are for more northerly (colder) localities than the early records and (3) the recent records are mostly of a novel host, the invasive harlequin ladybird (Harmonia axyridis). While in North America H. virescens is almost exclusively found on H. axyridis, all European records of this association are very recent and still less numerous than records of Adalia bipunctata as a host. However, based on a relatively few published cases of the H. axyridis-H. virescens association in Europe and the case described in this paper, it is clear that the harlequin ladybird is currently the main host of this parasite. These changes in the abundance and geographical distribution of H. virescens are probably linked to some features of H. axyridis, such as its abundance, multivoltinism with overlapping generations, high level of promiscuity and overwintering in mass aggregations. The occurrence of these features in one species may make it especially suitable for H. virescens and other parasites that require close contact of host individuals for efficient transmission. Indeed, some of the data indicate that parasites other than H. virescens, like the podapolipid mite Coccipolipus hippodamiae and allantonematid nematodes of the genus Parasitylenchus may also heavily parasitize H. axyridis., a2_We hypothesize that the acquisition of H. axyridis as a host by H. virescens, C. hippodamiae and Parasitylenchus spp. may have further consequences for the abundance and distribution of these parasites, including the expansion of their ranges to other continents colonized by invasive populations of this ladybird and areas in Asia where H. axyridis is native., Piotr Ceryngier, Kamila Twardowska., and Seznam literatury
Chemical cues involved in both host location and oviposition by Harmonia axyridis Pallas (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) were investigated in laboratory and field experiments. Among the five volatiles tested in a four-arm olfactometer ((E)-β-farnesene, β-pinene, β-caryophyllene, cis-3-hexen-1-ol, and limonene), gravid H. axyridis females were significantly attracted to limonene and β-caryophyllene. These two chemicals also increased H. axyridis oviposition on plants. Attraction of H. axyridis towards limonene was further tested under field conditions using controlled-release dispensers. (E)-β-farnesene, a major aphid alarm pheromone and a potential predator kaironome, was also tested in this study. Field data confirmed those from laboratory studies concerning the attraction of H. axyridis towards limonene and a lack of response to (E)-β-farnesene. In contrast, the aphid predator Episyrphus balteatus DeGeer (Diptera: Syrphidae) was attracted to (E)-β-farnesene but not to limonene. These findings indicate that H. axyridis uses chemicals, such as limonene, for prey location and oviposition, and support the potential use of volatiles in the management of H. axyridis.
The impact of the arrival of the exotic coccinellid Harmonia axyridis on the biological control and dispersion of apple mites and aphids, and on the vertical distribution of the established coccinellids Coccinella septempunctata and Coleomegilla maculata have been studied. Assemblages of adults of the three coccinellid species were tested on apple saplings and on apple trees against Aphis citricola and Tetranychus urticae. The presence or substitution of adults of H. axyridis for adults of C. maculata or C. septempunctata did not reduce the predation impact on mite or aphid prey. H. axyridis was a more efficient predator of mites than was C. septempunctata and generated lower prey dispersal from host plants. Substitutions of adults of H. axyridis for those of C. maculata, and in some cases of C. septempunctata, resulted in greater reduction in number of aphids. On apple trees, the three coccinellid species occurred at different heights. Neither C. maculata nor C. septempunctata modified their vertical distribution on apple tree over a 24 hour period in response to the presence of H. axyridis.