Patch residence by aphidophagous ladybird beetles: Do specialists stay longer?

Sloggett, John J.; Zeilstra, Ilja; Obrycki, John J.

doi:10.1016/j.biocontrol.2008.08.003

Cited by 10 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Specialist ladybirds often persist in one patch or area for long period of time, within and across seasons (e.g. Majerus, ; Sloggett et al ., ). However, associated with its preference for pioneer habitats, which rapidly become overgrown, C. quinquepunctata population turnover appears to be high and it typically persists at individual sites for a short period of time.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Geographic variation in the habitat preference of a scarce predatory insect: evolutionary and conservation perspectives

Sloggett

Zeilstra²

2020

Ecological Entomology

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1. While there has been considerable focus on prey occurrence as a factor determining the habitat preference of predators, the roles of other factors related to the habitat are less well characterised.2. In aphidophagous ladybird beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), a number of species are more restricted in the habitats in which they live than are their prey. A number of such ladybirds appear to show geographic variation in habitat preference.3. To better understand these phenomena, this study considered geographic variation in habitat preference in one such species, the 5-spot ladybird Coccinella quinquepunctata. Because of this ladybird's scarcity, a combination of over 20 years' observations, habitat surveys and online data was used to reach the study's conclusions.4. The data collected indicate that the ladybird is specialised in pioneer habitats close to water, but broadens its range to non-riverine pioneer habitats in north-west continental Europe, where it is likely that a damper (micro)climate allows it to do so. Thus, microclimatic factors appear to be important in determining the habitat of this and probably other predators that are not constrained by prey occurrence. 5. Although threatened by river management elsewhere, in north-western Europe, this species clearly benefits from human activity, which creates many of the disturbed habitats it colonises there. This finding provides further support for the contention that many ladybirds are net beneficiaries of human influence, although they are often characterised as threatened.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Geographic variation in the habitat preference of a scarce predatory insect: evolutionary and conservation perspectives

Sloggett

Zeilstra²

2020

Ecological Entomology

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“…It is widely documented that H. axyridis is often the most abundant coccinellid at urban sites, however this was not the case for rural woodland and grassland habitats in this study. Adalia bipunctata is reported to have high niche overlap with H. axyridis (Sloggett, 2008), however, the extent of co-occurrence between H. axyridis and A. bipunctata is likely to vary between habitats (urban/rural, tree/grass). Recently, Gardiner et al (2021) reported native coccinellid diversity to be positively associated with forested habitat, while being negatively associated with urbanised habitats.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ladybird communities in rural woodlands: Does an invader dominate?

Farrow

Roy²,

Brown³

2022

Front. Conserv. Sci.

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The invasive alien species Harmonia axyridis (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) was first observed in the UK in 2004. Previous studies have demonstrated the adverse effects on other species of H. axyridis during its early stages of establishment. However, habitat factors are important in determining distribution and population trends of ladybirds. Whilst the abundance of H. axyridis is well known in the UK within urban and other managed habitats, much less is known about its abundance in the wider countryside. Here we present the results of surveys from rural woodland habitats to assess whether or not H. axyridis dominates coccinellid communities in these rural habitats. Additionally, we explored the relationship between coccinellid and aphid abundance within these habitats. All field sites were in Cambridgeshire or Suffolk, East Anglia, UK and were surveyed between May and October 2016 and 2017. Three deciduous sites and three coniferous sites were included in the study. Surveys were conducted using a standardised approach involving sweep-netting within grass margins and tree beating to sample ladybirds from trees. Three distinct vegetation structures or layers were surveyed within both the coniferous and deciduous sites; tree, shrub and herb layer. All captured coccinellids were identified to species-level. Seventeen species of coccinellid and over 1300 individuals were recorded during the study period from two distinct site types (deciduous, coniferous). Species richness was lower at deciduous sites (n = 12) in comparison to coniferous (n = 16) sites. The coccinellid community also did not appear to be dominated by H. axyridis at rural sites, in contrast to urban areas. Deciduous woodland appeared to be a lesser preferred habitat of H. axyridis than coniferous woodland. Additionally, there was a distinct difference in the coccinellid community in relation to vegetation structure (across the tree, shrub and herb layers) between coniferous and deciduous sites. Our results indicate that there appear to be distinct native coccinellid communities at deciduous and coniferous sites. We discuss the way in which rural woodlands could act as a refuge for some native coccinellids.

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“…Third, even though habitat tracking remains a possibility, loss and fragmentation of suitable habitats for ladybirds and/or their prey poses a much greater problem for specialists when dispersing, because there are fewer suitable habitats available to a specialist and they are on average further apart. Specialist aphidophagous species tend to be more sedentary than generalists (Sloggett et al ., 2008) and not to disperse widely (e.g., Vandenberg, 1990; Humble, 1994), making them yet more vulnerable. Aphid‐mediated competition from generalists could also play a role in suppressing specialist numbers.…”

Section: Extinctionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aphidophagous ladybirds (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) and climate change: a review

Sloggett

2021

Insect Conserv Diversity

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1. I here review the potential effects of climate change on aphidophagous ladybirds and their future diversity. Aphidophagous ladybirds face challenges arising directly from climatic change and indirect challenges due to the effect of climate on their aphid prey and other organisms with which they interact.2. Ladybirds show at least some potential to respond to changes of climate through genetic change or phenotypic plasticity, notably through changes in colour pattern, dormancy and voltinism but also through thermal physiology and microhabitat or habitat plasticity.3. Phenological changes will likely occur in many aphidophagous species arising from relations with their prey. Changes in aphid abundance may lead to changes in ladybird prey associations over the season. The tendency to prey on multiple aphid species will insulate many ladybird predators from decline resulting from changes in the abundance of particular aphids.4. Like other insects, the geographic ranges of aphidophagous ladybird species will change as they track the climate. This is evidenced by the fossil record of ladybirds and by recent changes in ladybird biogeography. Such changes may be accompanied by a degree of thermal or phenological adaptation.5. It is likely that cold-adapted ladybirds and some island species will go extinct. Specialised species may also be threatened. A problem in assessing the threat to the latter is the minimal amount of research carried out on specialised species.6. In summary, aphidophagous ladybirds exhibit some potential resilience against climate change, but future climatic effects on their overall biodiversity are not fully clear.

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Patch residence by aphidophagous ladybird beetles: Do specialists stay longer?

Cited by 10 publications

References 37 publications

Geographic variation in the habitat preference of a scarce predatory insect: evolutionary and conservation perspectives

Geographic variation in the habitat preference of a scarce predatory insect: evolutionary and conservation perspectives

Ladybird communities in rural woodlands: Does an invader dominate?

Aphidophagous ladybirds (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) and climate change: a review

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