Artemia cysts as an alternative food for the predatory bug Macrolophus pygmaeus

Abstract

The suitability of cysts of the brine shrimp Artemia sp. as a factitious food for the predator Macrolophus pygmaeus Rambur was investigated. The influence of decapsulation time and hydration of the cysts on the performance of the predator were studied in the absence of plant material. A longer time of decapsulation had a positive influence on the development of the predator. Hydration of cysts had a significant impact on nymphal survival when cysts where non‐decapsulated or poorly decapsulated. An experiment in which nymphs were switched from a diet of hydrated cysts to non‐hydrated cysts showed that in the absence of plant material the relative importance of hydrating the cysts decreased with nymphal age. Especially, the first instar and to a lesser extent the second instar appear to be susceptible to water shortage. Effects of prolonged rearing on development and reproduction on brine shrimp cysts from different origins were tested in the presence of plant material. Rearing M. pygmaeus on Artemia sp. (Jingyu Lake) cysts yielded similar survival, development, adult weight and fecundity in the fourth as in the second generation. In contrast, for Artemia franciscana cysts, an increase in nymphal development was notable. Biochemical analyses showed that total amino acid content and the concentration of the different amino acids did not differ among diets and generations. There were, however, differences in total fatty acid content between the different diets and generations and in the concentration of certain fatty acids, indicating that insects fed brine shrimp cysts may show nutritional deficiencies compared to those reared on a diet of Ephestia kuehniella eggs. Our results indicate that decapsulated brine shrimp cysts are an economically viable alternative food source in at least part of the rearing process for M. pygmaeus.

Supplemental food forAmblyseius swirskiiin the control of thrips: feeding friend or foe?

“…In contrast to our results, A. franciscana cysts proved to be unsuitable for A. swirskii in the study by Leman and Messelink . This might be due to the variable intrinsic quality of the Artemia strains used in the experiments, and thus their nutritional value for the predators, or to differences in the decapsulation process . Also, the cysts in our study were not fully hydrated by immersion in water, as was done in the study by Leman and Messelink, but were only partially hydrated by absorbing water from the humid environment (over 90% RH) in our experimental cages .…”

“…This might be due to the variable intrinsic quality of the Artemia strains used in the experiments, and thus their nutritional value for the predators, or to differences in the decapsulation process . Also, the cysts in our study were not fully hydrated by immersion in water, as was done in the study by Leman and Messelink, but were only partially hydrated by absorbing water from the humid environment (over 90% RH) in our experimental cages . The hydration process of the cysts might have affected the mites' access to the content of the cysts.…”

Microbial community of predatory bugs of the genus Macrolophus(Hemiptera: Miridae)

“…The general procedure largely follows the method of Vandekerkhove et al [48], with slight modifications. First instars (<24h) of the 39 th generation of each population were individually caged in vented plastic cups (4 cm diameter and 2.5 cm high) containing a wax paper drenched in paraffin.…”

Development and reproduction of Adalia bipunctata on factitious and artificial foods

“…Cysts of Artemia franciscana Kellogg were successfully used as a factitious food for Orius laevigatus (Fieber) (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) (Arijs and De Clercq 2001) and Macrolophus spp. (Hemiptera: Miridae) (Castañé et al 2006;Vandekerkhove et al 2009). …”