Moisture source and diet affect development and reproduction of Orius thripoborus and Orius naivashae, two predatory anthocorids from southern Africa

Jochem Bonte1a, Dominiek Vangansbeke1b, Sara Maes1c, Maarten Bonte1d, Des Conlong2,3e, and Patrick De Clercq1f*

1Laboratory of Agrozoology, Department of Crop Protection, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium
2South African Sugarcane Research Institute, Private Bag X02, Mount Edgecombe, 4300, South Africa
3School of Biological and Conservation Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Private Bag X01, Scottsville, Pietermaritzburg, 3209. KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Abstract

The effect of moisture source and diet on the development and reproduction of the pirate bugs, Orius thripoborus (Hesse) and Orius naivashae (Poppius) (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) was examined in the laboratory. Both species had been collected in and around sugarcane fields in South Africa. Supplementing eggs of the flour moth Ephestia kuehniella (Zeller) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) with a green bean pod as a moisture source yielded better nymphal survival and faster development, as compared with free water encapsulated in Parafilm, suggesting that the predators may extract extra nutrients from the bean pod. The impact of two factitious foods and moist honey bee pollen on developmental and reproductive parameters of both predators was also investigated. The overall performance of both Orius species on E. kuehniella eggs and cysts of brine shrimp, Artemia franciscana Kellogg (Crustacea: Artemiidae) was better than on pollen. Nonetheless, a pollen diet alone allowed 66 and 78% of the nymphs of O. thripoborus and O. naivashae, respectively, to reach adulthood. Overall, developmental and reproductive performance of O. thripoborus on the tested diets was superior to that of O. naivashae. The implications of these findings for the mass production of these predators and their potential role in biological control programs in southern Africa are discussed.

Keywords: Anthocoridae, biological control, factitious prey, Hemiptera, pollinivory, South Africa, zoophytophagy

Correspondence: a Jochem.Bonte@ugent.be, b Dominiek.Vangansbeke@ugent.be, c Sara.Maes@ugent.be, d maarten.bonte1@telenet.be, e Des.Conlong@sugar.org.za, f Patrick.Declercq@ugent.be, *Corresponding author

Editor: Allen Cohen was Editor of this paper.

Received: 8 March 2011 | Accepted: 1 August 2011 | Published: 9 January 2012

ISSN: 1536-2442 | Volume 12, Number 1

Bonte J, Vangansbeke D, Maes S, Bonte M, Conlong D, De Clercq P. 2012. Moisture source and diet affect development and reproduction of Orius thripoborus and Orius naivashae, two predatory anthocorids from southern Africa. Journal of Insect Science 12:1 available online: insectscience.org/12.1