Biology and feeding behaviour of ladybird, Clitostethus arcuatus, the predator of the ash whitefly, Siphoninus phillyreae, in Fars province, Iran
1Department of Entomology, Science and Research Campus of Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran 14155-4933
2Department of Plant Protection, Shiraz University, Badjgah, Iran, 71444-65186
3Research Center of Natural Resources and Animal Husbandry of Fars province Shiraz, Iran 71555-617 and former faculty of Research Center of Natural Resources and Animal Husbandry of Fars province Shiraz, Iran 71555-617
4Evin Plant Disease and Pest Research Institute, Ministry of Jihad-e-Keshavarzi, Tehran, Iran 19395-1113
5Potato Development Centre, New Brunswick Department of Agriculture & Aquaculture,
Wicklow, NB, Canada E7L 3S4
Abstract
Clitostethus arcuatus (Rossi) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) is considered as one of the most important natural biological control agents of the ash whitefly, Siphoninus phillyreae (Haliday) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) in Iran. In the current survey, the development, survival, longevity, fecundity, feeding behaviour, and population dynamics of the predator under laboratory and field conditions were studied. The longevity of female insects was significantly longer than that of males. Total feeding of 4th larval instars and females was significantly higher than males and other larval instars. The overall mortality rate from egg to adult under laboratory conditions was 22.7% while under field conditions it was 38.2%. Copulation lasted approximately 67 minutes while the average pre-mating and pre-oviposition times recorded were 3.8 and 1.8 days, respectively. The mean number of eggs laid by each female was 181. The adults could survive starvation for 4 days with a normal longevity of 62-73 days. The maximum population density of the predator was recorded in late August that coincided with the decline of the S. phillyreae population. C. arcuatus had four generations per year, and the adults were observed until mid December. Possible application of C. arcuatus for biological control of S. phillyreae in integrated pest management programs is discussed.
Keywords: biological control, population dynamics, Scymninae, Scymnini
Correspondence: *zarghani@shirazu.ac.ir, *Corresponding author
Received: 8 November 2008 |
Copyright: This is an open access paper. We use the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license that permits unrestricted use, provided that the paper is properly attributed.
ISSN: 1536-2442 | Volume 10, Number 120
Tavadjoh Z, Hamzehzarghani H, Alemansoor H, Khalghani J, Vikram A. 2010. Biology and feeding behaviour of ladybird, Clitostethus arcuatus, the predator of the ash whitefly, Siphoninus phillyreae, in Fars province, Iran. Journal of Insect Science 10:120, available online: insectscience.org/10.120
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