Endemic and invasive Coccinellidae associated with maize (Zea mays L.) fields, in Manabi province, Ecuador

Maize (Zea mays L.), which is considered an important cereal everywhere, is widely cultivated in different agroecological conditions. Throughout their phenological stages, maize crops are attacked by pests and diseases, and in Ecuador these phytosanitary problems are usually counteracted with applications of pesticides. However, knowledge of beneficial entomofauna is fundamental to guide pest management programs. As part of this objective, the Coccinellidae species present in maize fields in localities (Santa Ana, Colon, and Danzarin) in Manabí province were identified. In each zone, maize plants were sampled from 2018–2019. A total of 2,654 specimens belonging to 14 taxa were collected in this study, of which Cheilomenes sexmaculata, Cycloneda sanguinea, Hippodamia convergens, Hyperaspis arida, and Psyllobora confluens were found in all the studied areas. Hyperaspis arida and Diomus apollonia are reported for the first time in Ecuador.

Floral Resources Enhance Fecundity, but Not Flight Activity, in a Specialized Aphid Predator, Hippodamia convergens (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)

Adult aphid predators disperse across the landscape seasonally in search of prey aggregations that are patchily distributed and temporally variable. However, flight is energetically costly and consumes resources that could be invested in reproduction. Hippodamia convergens is an important aphid predator in North American cereal crops and other agricultural systems. Consumption of floral resources can enhance adult survival during periods of low prey availability and may improve reproductive success. We tested how an omnivorous adult diet containing floral resources (diluted honey and pulverized bee pollen) interacts with body size to influence reproduction and flight behavior compared to a prey-only diet. Two sizes of beetles were produced by controlling larval access to food—3 h daily access produced small beetles; ad libitum access produced large beetles with faster development. Reproductive performance was tracked for 18 days, and female flight activity was assayed via 3 h bouts of tethered flight. Diet composition and body size interacted to influence preoviposition period, with large females in prey-only treatments delaying oviposition the longest. The omnivorous adult diet improved 18-day fecundity relative to a prey-only diet, but egg fertility was unaffected. Adult size affected oviposition pattern, with small beetles laying smaller, but more numerous, clutches. Females flew up to 7 km in 6 h, but neither body size nor adult diet influenced flight distance, suggesting that all diet treatments generated energy reserves sufficient to power flights of short duration. However, pre-reproductive females flew > 60% further than they did post-reproduction, likely due to the energetic costs of oviposition. Thus, access to pollen and nectar increased reproductive success and altered oviposition patterns in H. convergens, indicating the importance of floral resources in the agricultural landscape to conservation of this predator and its biological control services.

OCURRENCE OF COCCINELLIDS IN A SPONTANEOUS PLANT CONYZA CANADENSIS (L.)

The objective of this work to register the occurrence and the influence of meteorological factors in the species of coccinelids, associated to the self- grown plant Conyza canadensis (L.). The work was performed during the period between March, 23 rd and July, 31 st, in 2019, in the vegetable garden of the Olericulture Department at IFSULDEMINAS, Campus Machado. The ladybugs were collected weekly in the weed plants, which were later forwarded to the Biology lab, where they were sorted and submitted to the identification. It has been found the species of Cycloneda sanguinea, Harmonia axyridis, Hippodamia convergens and larvae of ladybirds. Temperature and humidity influenced in the occurrence of ladybugs in the plants of C. canadensis.

The Benefits of Omnivory for Reproduction and Life History of a Specialized Aphid Predator, Hippodamia convergens (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)

The convergent lady beetle, Hippodamia convergens Guerin-Meneville, is a specialized predator of cereal aphids on the High Plains, completing its first generation each year in winter wheat, the resulting adults dispersing into summer crops and producing additional generations, contingent on the availability of aphids. In the present study, we tested the collective value of supplementary plant resources (sugars, pollen, and seedling wheat leaves), and small amounts of alternative prey, eggs of Ephestia kuehniella (Zeller) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), all provided together, for improving beetle life history and reproductive success even when suitable prey, Schizaphis graminum (Rondani) (Hemiptera: Aphididae), were provided ad libitum. Although a monotypic diet of S. graminum yielded slightly faster larval development and heavier adults than the omnivorous diet, preoviposition periods were extended and 21-d fecundities greatly reduced when this diet was continued through adult life, largely due to fewer oviposition days, although egg fertility was unaffected. The results highlight the critical importance of plant-derived resources even when suitable prey are not limiting. However, monotypic diet beetles that diapaused for 21 d in the presence of supplementary plant resources, plus moth eggs, achieved the same reproductive success as those reared on the omnivorous diet, with or without diapause, demonstrating that access to these resources post-emergence was sufficient to compensate for their absence during development. The diapause treatment itself had no impact on the fitness of beetles reared on the omnivorous diet, likely because neither its duration, nor the caloric restriction imposed, were sufficient to diminish reproductive effort.

ALGUNOS COCCINELLIDOS (COLEÓPTERA: COCCINELLIDAE) PREDADORES DE IMPORTANCIA ECONÓMICA EN EL DEPARTAMENTO DEL CUSCO, PERÚ

<p>El examen de cerca de 2500 especímenes de la familia Coccinellidae, presentes en la Colección Entomológica de la Universidad Nacional San Antonio Abad del Cusco, Perú, permitió determinar la presencia de 16 especies de conocidos hábitos predadores de importancia económica, provenientes de 74 localidades en 40 distritos de las 13 provincias del departamento del Cusco. Las 16 especies se hallan distribuidas en 10 géneros y 7 tribus, todas ellas dentro de la sub familia Coccinellinae Mulsant: <em>Eriopis peruviana</em> Hofmann, 1970, <em>Eriopis andina</em> Hofmann, 1970, <em>Eriopis minima</em> Hofmann, 1970, <em>Paraneda pallidula guticollis</em> (Mulsant, 1850), <em>Cycloneda vandenbergae</em> González, Bustamante &amp; Oróz, 2008, <em>Cycloneda sanguinea</em> (Linnaeus, 1763), <em>Cycloneda dieguezi</em> González, 2018, <em>Cycloneda arcula</em> (Erichson, 1847),<em> Hippodamia convergens</em> (Guerin-Meneville, 1842), <em>Hippodamia variegata</em> (Goeze, 1777), <em>Azya scutata</em> Mulsant, 1850, <em>Scymnus (Pullus) rubicundus</em> Erichson, 1847, <em>Hyperaspis festiva</em> (Mulsant, 1850), <em>Rodolia cardinalis</em> (Mulsant, 1850), <em>Parastethorus histrio</em> (Chazeau &amp; Fursch, 1974), <em>Curinus coeruleus</em> Mulsant, 1850. Se indica una diagnosis para cada especie, su distribución en el departamento e imágenes de su habitus y aparato genital.</p><p> </p>