Temperature-Dependent Development of the Two-Spotted Ladybeetle,Adalia bipunctata, on the Green Peach Aphid,Myzus persicae, and a Factitious Food Under Constant Temperatures

Abstract

The ability of a natural enemy to tolerate a wide temperature range is a critical factor in the evaluation of its suitability as a biological control agent. In the current study, temperature-dependent development of the two-spotted ladybeetle A. bipunctata L. (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) was evaluated on Myzus persicae (Sulzer) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) and a factitious food consisting of moist bee pollen and Ephestia kuehniella Zeller (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) eggs under six constant temperatures ranging from 15 to 35° C. On both diets, the developmental rate of A. bipunctata showed a positive linear relationship with temperature in the range of 15–30° C, but the ladybird failed to develop to the adult stage at 35° C. Total immature mortality in the temperature range of 15–30° C ranged from 24.30–69.40% and 40.47–76.15% on the aphid prey and factitious food, respectively. One linear and two nonlinear models were fitted to the data. The linear model successfully predicted the lower developmental thresholds and thermal constants of the predator. The non-linear models of Lactin and Brière overestimated the upper developmental thresholds of A. bipunctata on both diets. Furthermore, in some cases, there were marked differences among models in estimates of the lower developmental threshold (tmin). Depending on the model, tmin values for total development ranged from 10.06 to 10.47° C and from 9.39 to 11.31° C on M. persicae and factitious food, respectively. Similar thermal constants of 267.9DD (on the aphid diet) and 266.3DD (on the factitious food) were calculated for the total development of A. bipunctata, indicating the nutritional value of the factitious food.

Thermal Biology of the Predatory BugsOrius thripoborusandO. naivashae(Hemiptera: Anthocoridae)

“…In our study, the linear model estimated the lower thermal threshold for egg development of O. thripoborus and O. naivashae to be 9.4 and 11.3ЊC, respectively, whereas our observations showed that eggs of both species did not develop successfully at a constant temperature of 12ЊC. Nonlinear models may enable a more accurate description of the relationship between arthropod development and temperature (Kontodimas et al 2004, Jalali et al 2010); on the negative side, they do not permit the calculation of thermal constants (Kontodimas et al 2004).…”

“…Although the respective degree-day requirements were similar among the studied species, estimated lower thresholds for immature development of O. naivashae were consistently higher than those of O. thripoborus. Linear models have been documented to be suitable for calculation of lower development thresholds and thermal constants of arthropods within a limited temperature range (usually 15Ð30ЊC) (e.g., Campbell et al 1974, De Clercq and Degheele 1992, Jarošik et al 2002, Kontodimas et al 2004, Jalali et al 2010. However, the estimated threshold is an extrapolation of the linear portion of the relationship into a region where the relationship is unlikely to be linear (Jervis and Copland 1996), which may yield ecologically inaccurate estimates (Kontodimas et al 2004).…”

Using functional response modeling to investigate the effect of temperature on predator feeding rate and energetic efficiency

“…Unfortunately, upper developmental thresholds for C. maculata have never been estimated. Published upper developmental thresholds for aphidophagous coccinellids vary from 30 to 35°C for A. bipunctata and Propylea dissecta (Mulsant), respectively (Omkar 2004;Jalali et al 2010a). In the present study, predation occurs between 12.05 and 38.1°C.…”

An Assessment of Methods and Remote-Sensing Derived Covariates for Regional Predictions of 1 km Daily Maximum Air Temperature

“…We focus on daily rather than monthly predictions because often in ecological systems it is extreme events (e.g., the absolute coldest or hottest day) that drives the survival and other ecological events such as reproduction of species [24,25]. Focusing on annual and monthly means removes these extreme events.…”