Artificial diet development and its effect on the reproductive performances of Propylea japonica and Harmonia axyridis

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aspen.2016.03.005Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Three semi-solid artificial diets were developed and tested to rear immature P. japonica and H. axyridis.

  • Artificial diet composed of shrimps, beef, beef liver, and egg yolk in a 5:4:8:4 ratios.

  • Artificial diet also supported adult's survival but no oviposition was observed.

  • Oviposition was restored in females reared on artificial diet when later fed pea aphids.

Abstract

The use of augmentative biological controls in greenhouse pest management has increased the demand for predators. To meet demands, suitable artificial diets must be developed to enable fast and cost-effective mass rearing of predators. In this study, three artificial diets were developed and their suitability for immature development and survival of Japanese ladybird Propylea japonica (Thunberg) and Multi-colored Asian ladybird Harmonia axyridis (Pallas) were investigated. An artificial diet composed of shrimp, beef, beef liver, and egg yolk in a 5:4:8:4 ratio is an adequate source of nutrition for the development of immature P. japonica and H. axyridis, resulting in 83% and 68% adult emergence rates, respectively. The reproductive performances of emerging P. japonica and H. axyridis females fed the artificial diet or pea aphids were compared. The pre-oviposition period was shorter in emerging females from immature ladybirds fed an artificial diet compared with those emerging from immature ladybirds fed pea aphids. However, the total fecundity did not vary significantly. When adults were fed artificial diets, females did not lay eggs, but oviposition could be restored by feeding adults on pea aphids. The developed artificial diet can be used for the mass rearing of P. japonica and H. axyridis for biological control applications and rearing of adults during prey shortage.

Introduction

Most of the coccinellid species (about 90%) are predacious, preferring to prey on aphids, coccids, aleyrodids, and psyllids, which are some of the most destructive pests of fruit trees, field, and vegetable crops (Hodek et al., 2012). Japanese ladybird Propylea japonica (Thunberg) and multi-colored Asian ladybird Harmonia axyridis (Pallas) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) are widely distributed in China, Japan, and the Korean peninsula and prefer to feed on aphids, whiteflies, and plant hoppers but can feed on pollen during prey scarcity (Kim and Choi, 2000, Ying, 2002, Agarwala et al., 2003, Liu et al., 2004, Zhang et al., 2004, Luo et al., 2014). P. japonica and H. axyridis are commercially available and are used as biological control agents in greenhouse pest management (Yang et al., 2014). Recently, an increased trend for using predators as biological control agents has increased demand for these species. To meet rising demands, the efficient mass production of high-quality predators requires a suitable artificial diet (Riddick, 2009, Smith and Nordlund, 2000). The mass production of commercially available predators is normally carried out on live or factitious prey (Guo and Wan, 2001, van Lenteren, 2012), and their production requires host plants and other facilities to ensure an uninterrupted supply. Factitious prey, such as the eggs of the Mediterranean flour moth Ephestia kuehniella Zeller (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), rice moth (Corcyra cephalonica), angoumois grain moth (Sitotroga cerealella), and Trichogramma pupae raised in Chinese silk moth eggs (Antheraea pernyi) are being used to rear P. japonica and H. axyridis. The production costs of live and factitious prey are high and the demand for factitious prey is increasing because they are used in the mass production of other predators and parasitoids (De Clercq, 2008, Bonte et al., 2010). The development of adequate artificial diets for predators could reduce dependency on live and factitious prey and could improve mass production efficiency (Cohen and Smith, 1998, Thompson, 1999, van Lenteren, 2012).

Artificial diets have been developed for several coccinellids, such as Coleomegilla maculata, Coccinella septempunctata, Adalia bipunctata, Hippodamia variegata, Menochilus sexmaculatus, and H. axyridis (Atallah and Newsom, 1966, Dong et al., 2001, Khan and Khan, 2002, Specty et al., 2003, Sighinolfi et al., 2008, Bonte et al., 2010, Mirkhalilzadeh et al., 2013) and are being used partially to rear ladybird beetles (Obrycki and Kring, 1998). However, no adequate artificial diet has been developed to rear P. japonica. Moreover, previous artificial diets used to rear ladybirds resulted in a high mortality, reduced adult size, and fecundity (Racioppi et al., 1981). Therefore, further improvements are needed in artificial diets to improve adult emergence, adult size, and fecundity (Grenier and De Clercq, 2003).

Section snippets

Arthropod culture

Adults of P. japonica were collected from cotton fields planted in the East Research Farm of the Institute of Cotton Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences Anyang (36°N 114.32°E) and rearing was initiated in a Plexiglas insect-rearing chamber (50 cm × 25 cm × 50 cm) on pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris) (Homoptera: Aphididae). Pea aphids were reared on potted broad bean Vicia faba seedlings. Newly hatched < 24-h-old neonates of P. japonica were used to initiate the experiment.

Immature survival and development

The semi-solid consistency of artificial diets closely resembled the consistency of pea aphids in texture. The predators readily ate the diet and successfully completed immature development. Survival rates for P. japonica were 53%, 56%, 85%, and 92% with diets AD1, AD2, AD3, and pea aphids, respectively. The highest pupation and adult emergence rates for P. japonica (92% and 92%) were recorded when larvae were fed pea aphids, followed by artificial diet AD3 (85 and 83%). The similarity between

Discussion

Ladybird beetles P. japonica and H. axyridis are prevalent predators of the insect pests that attack economic crops, vegetables, and fruit trees in China. Owing to their polyphagous nature and capability to complete development during periods of prey shortages by feeding on pollen, P. japonica and H. axyridis are promising predators for biological control release. To use P. japonica and H. axyridis as predators of aphids, whiteflies, leaf miners, and mites in greenhouse pest management, it is

Conclusion

P. japonica has been reared on live aphids or factitious prey, but this study is the first record of P. japonica larvae reared on a pure artificial diet that resulted in a greater than 80% adult emergence rate. AD3 is a suitable diet for the mass production of P. japonica and H. axyridis and can be used during prey shortages. Moreover, the artificial diet is a better alternative for immature mass rearing and an optimal source of nutrients for adults during prey scarcity or when no eggs are

Conflict of interest

We all authors declares no conflicts of interest and we all authors are agreed to submit article in this journal

Acknowledgments

This study was funded by the Transgenic Major Projects program of the Ministry of Science and Technology, China (2014ZX08011-002) and the Chinese scholarship council. The funding source did not play a role in any aspect of the study or in our decision to submit the paper for publication.

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