Fourteen predatory species of ladybirds (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) were collected from May to October 2008 from mountain ash (Sorbus aucuparia) infested with the scale insect Chionaspis salicis at 31 localities in the Ore Mountains, northern Bohemia, Czech Republic. Chilocorus renipustulatus, usually a rare species, made up 85% of the individuals collected (1690). Other abundant species were Coccinella septempunctata, Calvia quatuordecimguttata, Adalia bipunctata and Adalia decempunctata. The invasive alien Harmonia axyridis was present but made up less than one per cent of the individuals collected. Niche overlap between pairs of ladybird species measured in terms of the coefficient of community, Morisita's index and cluster analysis showed that microhabitat preferences were similar and hence the possibility of competition was high in two pairs of congeneric species (Chilocorus and Calvia). Larvae of Ch. renipustulatus were abundant from mid-June through August and were still present in October. and Emanuel Kula, Oldřich Nedvěd.
Two blacklight traps were operated in a non-agricultural setting in Cary, North Carolina, USA, from spring through fall in 2004 and 2005 and all Coccinellidae collected and identified. More than 1300 lady beetles were collected in each of the two years, with Harmonia axyridis dominant (> 98%) and collected consistently over the course of the trapping period. Although other coccinellid species were observed in the vicinity of the traps during photophase, their appearance in blacklight traps was negligible. Harmonia axyridis exhibited a distinct diel periodicity in appearance at the traps, beginning approximately an hour after sunset and ending about midnight. Sunrise and sunset collections from flight interference and sticky traps in a local alfalfa field suggest that H. axyridis may be more flight active during the scotophase than Coleomegilla maculata, Hippodamia convergens, and Coccinella septempunctata. This study supports the suggestion that blacklight traps give a biased depiction of coccinellid species composition in a given area, and indicates that seasonal and circadian thresholds for flight activity, phototaxis, or both in H. axyridis may diverge from those in most other Coccinellidae., Christine A. Nalepa., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
The Asian ladybird Harmonia axyridis (Pallas) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) is regarded as an invasive species in many parts of the world. In a previous study we hypothesised that H. axyridis enters diapause at the end of October and then shifts to a quiescent state in December in northwestern Europe. In the present study we test this idea of a short, early period of diapause by sampling beetles from their hibernation sites immediately after their migratory flights in October, subsequently keeping them in outdoor cages, and then, after certain time-intervals, measuring the pre-oviposition time under optimal egg-laying laboratory conditions at 25°C. We did this at both short (12L) and long (16L) photoperiods, since a photoperiodic response is an indicator of true diapause, rather than quiescence. A significant, albeit small, difference in pre-oviposition period between the two photoperiods, which disappears in December, corroborates our earlier hypothesis that the ladybirds are in a state of diapause until mid-December. Compared with that of native ladybirds the diapause of H. axyridis generally is relatively short and weak; moreover, it appears to have become shorter over the last decade. This flexibility in diapausing behaviour may be an important factor that contributes to the invasive success of H. axyridis., C. Lidwien Raak-Van Den Berg ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje seynam literatury
The use of light traps for controlling insect pests is restricted since they kill both pests and beneficial insects. It may be a possible to reduce the numbers of beneficial insects trapped by adjusting nightly trapping time based on differences recorded in the timing of the nocturnal flight peaks of target pests and beneficials. To test this, insects were collected hourly over night using black light traps at three locations in China from 2003 to 2005. Groups of lepidopteran and coleopteran pests were selected as the target pests that we would control by trapping and groups of beneficial predatory insects the catches of which needed to be reduced. The highest numbers of Coleoptera were caught between 20:00 and 22:00 h and of most Lepidoptera between 02:00 and 04:00 h. The hourly numbers of predatory insects caught by light traps were evenly distributed throughout the night. A model was developed to describe the relationships between the cumulative proportions of insects caught and time of night. The model accurately describes the flight activity of insects that were mainly caught before midnight, after midnight and evenly throughout a night by using different parameters for the three different insect groups. A beneficial-friendly trapping strategy was developed to reduce the numbers of beneficial insects trapped, which was based on differences in the nocturnal flight activity of pests and beneficial insects and validated by a field study in Shandong province. Results show that this trapping strategy reduced the number of beneficial insects caught by 46% and the electricity consumption by 50% compared to the traditional strategy. Thus this strategy is more beneficial-friendly than the traditional trapping strategy for controlling pests., Gang Ma, Chun-Sen Ma., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
An experiment was conducted to compare the predation efficiency of the coccinellids Harmonia axyridis and Coleomegilla maculata on potato plants, Solanum tuberosum, and on a wild aphid-resistant species, Solanum tarijense. Harmonia axyridis females reduced aphid populations more than C. maculata females. Aphid predation by the predators was reduced on S. tarijense compared to S. tuberosum. Coleomegilla maculata spent less time on S. tarijense than on S. tuberosum. Harmonia axyridis spent the same amount of time on both plant species. The plant species did not affect IGP between larvae. Compared to S. tuberosum, the resistant plant offers M. persicae an enemy-free space against both coccinellid predators., Bruno Fréchette ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
Reduced oviposition by ladybirds in the presence of tracks of fourth instar larvae owing to the presence of oviposition deterring pheromones is well established across many genera. However, deterrence, if any, by other life stages has not been well investigated, in particular the effect of conspecific presence. The present study investigates the effects of conspecific presence and semiochemicals of conspecific life stages (eggs, fourth instar larvae, pupae, adult males and females) on oviposition by five ladybird (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) species, viz. Coccinella septempunctata, Coccinella transversalis, Cheilomenes sexmaculata, Propylea dissecta and Anegleis cardoni. Results reveal that the presence of life stages inhibits oviposition and the inhibition is density-dependent, although the degree of inhibition is species-specific. Surface semiochemicals of eggs and larval and adult tracks also show density-dependent inhibitory effects. Moreover, the semiochemicals in tracks (oviposition deterring pheromones) and egg surface semiochemicals are not similar, indicating semiochemical parsimony. Of all species tested, C. transversalis and C. septempunctata were the most and the least responsive to both conspecific presence and semiochemicals, respectively., Geetanjali Mishra ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
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
From 1994-1997 the food of Coccinella septempunctata L. was investigated on the basis of gut dissections of adults and larvae collected in the field. Additionally, the gut contents of adults fed under laboratory conditions were investigated. The likelihood of recovering different prey types during gut dissection was variable, which will be illustrated by presenting some common prey fragments. The food eaten by adult C. septempunctata throughout a year was studied at a locality in Berlin-Staaken. Ladybirds were collected from March 1994 until November 1997 in different crops and habitats on roughly a monthly basis. Aphid feeding was detectable from April until October. In May and June they were the most frequent food type. Fungal spores, in most cases the conidia of Alternaria spp., became most frequent in July. Additionally non-aphid arthropods were frequently preyed upon in July. A very common non-aphid prey item were thrips. Pollen was important in May and September. Comparing the food components of newly emerged adults with those of overwintered adults some remarkable differences were detected. In newly emerged adults non-aphid arthropods and fungal spores were much more frequent than in overwintered adults whereas aphids were less frequently found. The diet of adults and larvae was also investigated in June and July in cereal fields at two other localities, Northern Flaeming and Magdeburger Boerde. No difference in adult diet was found between the three localities. The composition of the larval diet was relatively similar to that of the adults., Holger Triltsch, and Lit
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
1_Intraguild predation (IGP) and cannibalism occur in the field and could affect the dominance structure of guilds of coccinellid species. The exotic biological control agent Harmonia axyridis (Pallas) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) is now well established in most areas of Northern and Central Italy, but it is unclear what effect this species could have on native dominant and non-dominant coccinellids with which it co-occurs. In order to predict the trophic interactions in coccinellid guilds and the likely effect of H. axyridis, the incidence of IGP and cannibalism among the following six species were evaluated under laboratory conditions: H. axyridis, three native dominant species, Adalia bipunctata (L.), Oenopia conglobata (L.) and Coccinella septempunctata L. and two native non-dominant species, Platynaspis luteorubra (Goeze) and Scymnus apetzi (Mulsant). Unfed and fed fourth instar larvae of the above species were paired in an experimental arena and the incidence of predation recorded over a period of 24 h. In absence of aphids, the survival probabilities (SP) of A. bipunctata and O. conglobata were lowest when paired with either C. septempunctata or H. axyridis (< 0.20 SP after 24 h). The SP of C. septempunctata was similar if paired with either a conspecific larva or H. axyridis (< 0.34 SP after 24 h) and that of H. axyridis was reduced similarly if paired with either a conspecific larva or C. septempunctata (> 0.71 SP after 24 h). The SP of P. luteorubra was lower when paired with A. bipunctata and C. septempunctata (< 0.07 SP after 24 h) than with other species and that of S. apetzi was greatly reduced when paired with all the dominant and exotic species (< 0.27 SP after 24h)., 2_In presence of aphids no predatory events occurred in most combinations. H. axyridis acted as a strong predator of native dominant and non-dominant coccinellids when the aphids are scarce. We did not find any evidence, however, that the incidence of IGP among exotic and native species is higher than either IGP or cannibalism in native species. The likelihood of IGP occurring in the field is discussed., Gabriele Rondoni, Andrea Onofri, Carlo Ricci., and Obsahuje seznam literatury