Development, larval voracity, and greenhouse releases of Stethorus punctillum (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)

2001 ◽  
Vol 133 (5) ◽  
pp. 721-724 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.A. Raworth

Stethorus punctillum Weise (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) is a Palearctic species first found in North America in the 1940s (Putman 1955). Commercial mass-rearing methods were developed in the late 1990s (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, London, Ontario, and Applied Bio-nomics Ltd, Saanich, British Columbia). The beetle is now released in North America to control two-spotted spider mites, Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae). Knowledge of the life-history traits of S. punctillum is necessary for effective use of the predator in greenhouses. Putman (1955) provides useful information, but his results cannot be readily interpreted with respect to larval voracity, lower developmental temperature threshold, and developmental time in degreedays (°d), traits that affect efficacy. In this note I report new results relating to these life-history traits and to beetle releases in greenhouse vegetable crops.

2018 ◽  
Vol 111 (5) ◽  
pp. 2383-2390 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wadaka Mamai ◽  
Leanne N Lobb ◽  
Nanwintoum S Bimbilé Somda ◽  
Hamidou Maiga ◽  
Hanano Yamada ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
N.F. Addeo ◽  
C. Li ◽  
T.W. Rusch ◽  
A.J. Dickerson ◽  
A.M. Tarone ◽  
...  

Population growth and rapid urbanisation have increased the global demand for animal feed and protein sources. Therefore, traditional animal feed production should be increased through the use of alternative nutrient sources. Insects as feed are beginning to fill this need. One such insect is the black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens L. (Diptera: Stratiomyidae). However, to more effectively mass produce the black soldier fly, a better understanding of its thermal biology is needed. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of age, size, and sex on adult black soldier fly thermal preference. The thermal preference of adult black soldier flies was determined by exposing flies to a thermal gradient with a range of surface temperatures and monitoring their positions over time. An aluminium plate was used to create a linear thermal gradient where surface temperatures ranged from ~15-60 °C. Flies were distinguished by age (1-d-post-emergence vs 7-d-post-emergence), size (large vs small) and sex (male vs female) to assess whether thermal preference differed by specific life-history traits. Thermal preference for 7-d-post-emergence adults was significantly lower (19.2 °C) than 1-d-post-emergence adults (28.7 °C), respectively. Similarly, small adults selected significantly cooler (21.1 °C) temperatures than large adults (26.9 °C). No significant differences in thermal preferences were found between sex, regardless of age or size. In fact, males and females had similar thermal preference of 23.8 and 24.2 °C, respectively. This study reveals that multiple life-history traits of adult black soldier fly affect their thermal preference, and thus should be taken into consideration by mass rearing facilities to optimize production.


Genetika ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 693-703 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bojan Kenig ◽  
Aleksandra Patenkovic ◽  
Marko Andjelkovic ◽  
Marina Stamenkovic-Rada

Contamination represents environmental stress that can affect genetic variability of populations, thus influencing the evolutionary processes. In this study, we evaluate the relationship between heavy metal contamination (Pb) and phenotypic variation, assessed by coefficients of variation (CV) of life-history traits. To investigate the consequences of population origin on variation of life history traits in Drosophila subobscura in response to different laboratory conditions we compared populations from relatively polluted and unpolluted environments. Prior to experiment, flies from natural populations were reared for two generations in standard Drosophila laboratory conditions. Afterwards, all flies were cultured on three different media: one medium without lead as the control, and the other two with different concentrations of lead. Coefficients of variation (CV) of life- history traits (fecundity, egg-to-adult viability and developmental time) were analyzed on flies sampled in generations F2, F5 and F8 from these three groups. In later generations samples from both polluted and unpolluted environments showed the increased fecundity variation on media with lead. This increase is expressed more in population from unpolluted environment. On contrary, population from unpolluted environment had increased variation of developmental time in earlier, F2 generation, compared to the population from polluted environment. Our results showed that the response to heavy metal contamination depends on the evolutionary history of the populations regarding habitat pollution.


Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 1122
Author(s):  
Mirjana Beribaka ◽  
Mihailo Jelić ◽  
Marija Tanasković ◽  
Cvijeta Lazić ◽  
Marina Stamenković-Radak

Life history traits determine the persistence and reproduction of each species. Factors that can affect life history traits are numerous and can be of different origin. We investigated the influence of population origin and heavy metal exposure on microbiota diversity and two life history traits, egg-to-adult viability and developmental time, in Drosophila melanogaster and Drosophila subobscura, grown in the laboratory on a lead (II) acetate-saturated substrate. We used 24 samples, 8 larval and 16 adult samples (two species × two substrates × two populations × two sexes). The composition of microbiota was determined by sequencing (NGS) of the V3–V4 variable regions of the 16S rRNA gene. The population origin showed a significant influence on life history traits, though each trait in the two species was affected differentially. Reduced viability in D. melanogaster could be a cost of fast development, decrease in Lactobacillus abundance and the presence of Wolbachia. The heavy metal exposure in D. subobscura caused shifts in developmental time but maintained the egg-to-adult viability at a similar level. Microbiota diversity indicated that the Komagataeibacter could be a valuable member of D. subobscura microbiota in overcoming the environmental stress. Research on the impact of microbiota on the adaptive response to heavy metals and consequently the potential tradeoffs among different life history traits is of great importance in evolutionary research.


2009 ◽  
Vol 100 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.-P. Chapuis ◽  
L. Crespin ◽  
A. Estoup ◽  
A. Augé-Sabatier ◽  
A. Foucart ◽  
...  

AbstractParental environments could play an important role in controlling insect outbreaks, provided they influence changes in physiological, developmental or behavioural life-history traits related to fluctuations in population density. However, the potential implication of parental influence in density-related changes in life-history traits remains unclear in many insects that exhibit fluctuating population dynamics, particularly locusts. In this study, we report a laboratory experiment, which enabled us to characterize the life-history trait modifications induced by parental crowding of female individuals from a frequently outbreaking population ofLocusta migratoria(Linnaeus) (Orthoptera: Acrididae). We found that a rearing history of crowding led to reduced female oviposition times and increased offspring size but did not affect the developmental time, survival, fecundity, and the sex-ratio and the number of offspring. Because all studied females were raised in a common environment (isolation conditions), these observed reproductive differences are due to trans-generational effects induced by density. We discuss the ecological and evolutionary implications of the observed density-dependent parental effects on the life-history ofL. migratoria.


2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre Marie Sovegnon ◽  
Marie Joelle Fanou ◽  
Romaric Akoton ◽  
Oswald Yédjinnavênan Djihinto ◽  
Hamirath Odée Lagnika ◽  
...  

The success achieved in reducing malaria transmission by vector control is threatened by insecticide resistance. To strengthen the current vector control programmes, the non-genetic factors underlying the emergence of insecticide resistance in Anopheles vectors and its widespread need to be explored. This study aimed to assess the effects of larval diet on some life-history traits and pyrethroid-insecticide susceptibility of Anopheles gambiae s.s. Three (3) An. gambiae strains, namely Kisumu (insecticide susceptible), AcerKis (homozygous ace-1 R G119S resistant) and KisKdr (homozygous kdr R L1014F resistant) were fed with three different diets (low, medium, and high) of TetraMin ® Baby fish food. Pre-imaginal developmental time, larval mortality, adult emergence rate and female wing length were measured. Mosquito females were exposed to insecticide-treated net (ITN) PermaNet 2.0 and PermaNet 3.0. In the three An. gambiae strains, significant differences in adult emergence rates ( F = 1054.2; df = 2; p <0.01), mosquito wing length ( F = 970.5; df = 2; p <0.01) and adult survival post insecticide exposure ( χ2 = 173; df = 2; p <0.01), were noticed among the three larval diets. Larvae fed with the low food diets took more time to develop, were smaller at emergence and displayed a short lifespan, while the specimens fed with a high regime developed faster and into big adults. Although being fed with a high diet, none of An. gambiae strain harbouring the kdr R and ace-1 R allele survived 24 hours after exposure against PermaNet 3.0. This study showed that variation in the larval diet significantly impacts An. gambiae life-history traits such as larval mortality and developmental time, adult wing length, and female susceptibility to pyrethroid insecticides. Further investigations through field-based studies would allow an in-depth understanding of the implications of these non-genetic parameters on the physiological traits of malaria vectors and consequently improve resistance management.


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