The Fitness of Mass Rearing Food on the Establishment of Chrysopa pallens in a Banker Plant System under Fluctuating Temperature Conditions

Abstract

Banker plant systems can be used to sustain a reproducing population of biological control agents (BCAs) within a crop, thus providing long-term pest suppression. The founder population of natural enemies in banker plant systems is usually mass-reared on factitious hosts. Thus, a better understanding of the population fitness and pest control performance of mass-reared BCAs in the field is crucial when developing integrated pest management (IPM) strategies. In this study, we determined the fitness of the generalist predator, Chrysopa pallens (Hemiptera: Chrysopidae) ever cultured on different food sources (i.e., mass rearing food, Corcyra cephalonica eggs, and aphid food, Megoura japonica) preying on Aphis craccivora in a banker plant system in a greenhouse based on Chi’s age-stage, two-sex life table analysis method. The life tables and predation rate parameters of C. pallens were not significantly different between both treatments under fluctuating temperature conditions. Corcyracephalonica eggs did not significantly weaken the performances of C. pallens in a Vicia faba–A. craccivora banker plant system compared to aphids. In conclusion, C. cephalonica eggs can be used for the mass production of C. pallens as the founder population in a banker plant system. Moreover, linking the life table data with the predation rate is an effective strategy for evaluating mass rearing programs in establishing banker plant systems.

Direct and indirect effects of banker plants on population establishment of Harmonia axyridis and aphid control on pepper crop

“…The banker plant system, integrating the essence of augmentative and CBC, has been widely used to aid establishment, development, and dispersal of beneficials employed in pest biological control ( Parolin et al., 2012 ; Miller et al., 2018 ; Wang et al., 2021 ; Ardanuy et al., 2022 ). However, the size of the founder population of the banker plant system has received little attention despite their importance in biological control efficacy and adoption ( Sanchez et al., 2021 ).…”

“…Alternative prey generally has been shown to enhance predator densities and to have a negative effect on the population of another prey species, resulting in increased biocontrol services on target pests in agroecosystems ( Desneux and O’Neil, 2008 ; Eubanks and Finke, 2014 ; Ramirez and Eubanks, 2016 ; Wang et al., 2021 ). When alternative prey and target pests co-existed, the spatial location of the two prey species may reduce the efficiency of indirect interactions, especially likely when the alternative prey is provided by using mulch or banker plants ( Chailleux et al., 2014 ).…”

“…The use of banker plant systems has been increasingly investigated and developed for greenhouse and field crops ( Zheng et al., 2017 ; Xu et al., 2020 ; Chen et al., 2022 ). However, research studies mainly focus on the establishment of the banker plant system ( Wang et al., 2020 ; Wang et al., 2021 ), and further research is needed to understand the quantitative relationship among trophies when the banker plant system applied to pest control ( Li et al., 2020 ).…”

Optimizing the Use of Basil as a Functional Plant for the Biological Control of Aphids by Chrysopa pallens (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) in Greenhouses

“…The colony was founded in June 2019 by live lacewing individuals collected from a maize field at the Noah Organic Farm (116°59′ E, 40°6′ N) in Pinggu County, Beijing. Rearing protocols were adapted from Wang et al [ 26 ]. In brief, adults and immatures of lacewings were kept at a density of 30–40 pairs in 60 cm × 60 cm × 60 cm aluminum cages with plastic 80-mesh screen walls.…”

“…One of the most common BCAs in China is the lacewing, Chrysopa pallens (Rambur) (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae). This generalist predator, which is widely deployed for biological control in agriculture and forestry [ 26 ], engages in predation during both the adult and larval stages [ 27 ]. Given the dispersal capabilities of C. pallens , a timely colonization of the focal crop is key to ensure successful biological control [ 28 ].…”