The Biology and Impact of Predators

Role of Vision and Antennal Olfaction in Habitat and Prey Location by Three Predatory Heteropterans

“…Saltatory searching with antennal movements and the observation that signiÞcantly fewer antennectomized individuals located the habitat indicated that antennal olfaction was of greater importance than vision in habitat location for both Nabicula subcoleoptrata and S. diadema. These results are consistent with other studies, documenting that chemoreception of volatile substances from plants or prey is important in the location of prey habitat by predatory insects (Hagen et al 1976, Vinson 1981, Hagen 1986, Hendrichs et al 1994. The Þeld study suggested that both Nabicula subcoleoptrata and S. diadema use antennal olfaction to locate habitat, but whether these predators responded to plant or prey odor could not be determined.…”

“…Indicators of appropriate habitat or prey vary (Hassell andSouthwood 1978, Vinson 1981) and consequently insects may respond to different stimuli while foraging (Hattingh and Samways 1995, Lambin et al 1996, Giurfa and Menzel 1997. Although there have been numerous studies concerning parasitoid use of chemical cues to locate habitats and individual hosts (see reviews by Vinson 1976Vinson , 1981Weseloh 1981;Van Alphen and Vet 1986;Vet and Dicke 1992;Van Alphen and Jervis 1996), less is known about the mechanisms by which invertebrate predators locate prey and prey-containing habitats (Vinson 1981, Vet andDicke 1992; but see Hagen et al 1976, Hagen 1986, Heimpel and Hough-Goldstein 1994, Hattingh and Samways 1995, Lambin et al 1996, Harmon et al 1998.…”

Linking a Predator's Foraging Behavior With Its Effects on Herbivore Population Suppression

“…Although the HSS hypothesis has been controversial, one sphere in which the HSS model of three functional trophic levels has been embraced is the theory of biological control by predatory arthropods (DeBach 1974, Huffaker et al 1976, van den Bosch et al 1982. Although researchers have long recognized that parasitoids cannot be placed neatly in a single trophic level (Brodeur 2000), biological control theory has long viewed predators as a single functional trophic level, acting to suppress herbivores (Hagen et al 1976). …”

Natural Enemy Complex of Some Agroforestry Systems of Aizawl and Their Implications in Insect Pest Management

“…Agroforestry systems, particularly the complex ones, have a great potential for controlling pest populations through increasing the efficiency of biological control agents. Biological control by parasites/predators has been proved to be an excellent alternative to chemical pesticides in many ecosystems (Sithananthan et al, 1973;De Bach, 1974;Hagen et al, 1976;Kring et al, 1985;Yadav et al, 1985;Manjunath, 1988;Singh & Jalali, 1992).…”