Resource amount and discontinuity influence flight and reproduction in Hippodamia convergens (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)

Abstract

Industrial‐scale agriculture creates a mosaic of large monocultures in the landscape, where seasonal cropping cycles generate discontinuous resource availability for insect predators both spatially and temporally. In this environment, selection will favor predator movement and reproductive behaviors that optimize the location and effective utilization of resource (prey) pulses that are both patchy and ephemeral in nature. Using a model system to study predator movement and reproduction, we tested how discontinuous periods of food resource access that mimic fluctuating resource populations (aphids) would influence flight behavior and reproduction of a highly mobile predator, Hippodamia convergens (convergent lady beetle), and possibly modify energetic trade‐offs between these behaviors. Adult beetles were provided either short (3 h) or long (6 h) food pulses daily (continuous availability) or short (6 h) or long (12 h) food pulses every other day (discontinuous availability). We measured preoviposition period, fecundity, and fertility during an 18‐day oviposition period, and female tethered flight activity (3 h) before and after the oviposition period. We found that discontinuous food access delayed the onset of oviposition in the high food quantity treatment; fewer females laid eggs overall, and 18‐day fecundity was lower compared with continuous provision of the same food quantity. A longer preoviposition period was associated with fewer reproductive days and lower fitness. Flight distance and fecundity were negatively correlated, suggesting that energetic expenditure in flight can deplete energetic reserves otherwise used for subsequent reproduction. The negative effects of discontinuous resource access at fine temporal scales reveal how gaps in resource availability could influence lady beetle population dynamics and their ecosystem services within the agricultural landscape.

Landscape‐scale floral resource discontinuity decreases bumble bee occurrence and alters community composition

“…Although this suggests a focus on planting floral resources that increase resource continuity, such a strategy may be more logistically challenging than simply adding flowers to the landscape, requiring specific knowledge of what, and more importantly, when existing resources are available. Possible ways to side-step this challenge include ensuring that flower planting schemes include blooming periods that span the growing season in hopes that any interruptions or bottlenecks in resource continuity are at least partially filled (Stowe et al, 2022).…”